Compass Rose

Editorial: A more vocal majority

Why a productive campus conversation needs to involve all students, not just students of color

“If your conscience stops at the border of Maine then you are less than who you should be,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained while at Bowdoin on May 6, 1964. King’s words should resonate for the many students who find that Bowdoin’s New England location isolates them from recent national racial issues. As these issues make headlines both nationally and at Bowdoin, the College is primed for dialogue about race relations; however, that conversation will not be productive without participation from students of all races. While many students of color have mobilized in response to recent events, there has been a lack of engagement from the majority of Bowdoin’s largely-white student body.
There is no excuse for such apathy at Bowdoin. Recent events have demonstrated that Bowdoin is neither immune to insensitivity regarding race and culture, nor isolated from national events. In November, members of the men’s lacrosse team hosted an annual party where some guests wore Native American costumes, despite warnings from other students and the administration that doing so would be offensive. The administration rightfully chose to punish the guests involved. Then, in December, a man reacted to the non-indictments in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases by murdering two New York City policemen, an event that directly impacted the Bowdoin community.
Bowdoin has begun to facilitate conversations about race. The new Student Center for Multicultural Life will serve as a hub for programming on campus. President Mills indicated that classes will likely no longer be held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day beginning in 2020, the next time the start of the semester coincides with the holiday. Furthermore, College policies regarding bias incidents and the College’s responses to national race-based events show a willingness to confront those who are racially insensitive.
Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of the student body to take advantage of the resources provided by the administration, and not leave them just for the minority members on campus. At a panel held as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations this Monday, a number of minority students expressed frustrations at the microaggressions they still face regularly on campus. However, as the panel was mostly attended by students of color, those comments were not able to reach those who would most benefit from hearing them.
While Bowdoin can provide the spaces for discussion, they cannot force students to participate in them. Students must choose to do so on their own, whether by attending organized forums or by having casual discussions with their peers. We understand that this kind of engagement can be uncomfortable—that is part of what makes it so important.
As Elina Zhang ’16 wrote in her December 5 op-ed, “Always assume you have the legitimacy to be concerned about other peoples’ struggles.” For any substantial conversation to occur on campus, students of all colors must participate.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Garrett Casey, Ron Cervantes, Sam Chase, Matthew Gutschenritter, Nicole Wetsman and Kate Witteman.

Editorial: Addressing comments

After the redesign of its website several years ago, the Orient began using the commenting platform Disqus to provide an easy way for readers to respond to articles. Recently, many large publications have eliminated their comment sections entirely, while many others are re-evaluating their comment policies and engaging in more active moderation. Too often the Orient’s comment threads devolve into off-topic arguments or personal attacks on writers, rather than thoughtful discussions of issues. The editorial board believes in the value of open discourse and hopes that our articles spark thoughtful and respectful conversations. Readers deserve to be heard and our comment section is an important medium for people to voice their opinions. We are therefore implementing a set of guidelines that we believe will elevate the quality of the discourse in our comment sections.
Please read our new Comment Policy below:
The Bowdoin Orient encourages its readers to submit thoughtful and relevant comments on its stories. Our goal is to provide a space for considerate discussion, civil debate and informed commentary.The Orient strongly encourages commenters to use their real names, or at the very least, a relevant descriptor (i.e. class of '92, parent, sophomore, etc.). Commenters should not misrepresent themselves by using someone else's name; if this is discovered, the comment will be removed.When a comment is submitted, the name and email address provided are made available to the Orient. This information is never shared nor made public.Comments are moderated by a small team of Orient editors and they will not appear on the site immediately. Comments will be approved if they are relevant and contribute to a thoughtful discussion of the article.Comments will not be approved if:They contain hate speech (including speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation).They contain obscene, suggestive, vulgar, profane (including insinuated profanity using dashes or asterisks), threatening, disrespectful, defamatory or libelous language.They do not relate to the article (including spam, commercial promotion and incoherence).They are written by a commenter who continually comments on the same story without adding anything new to the discussion.They include personal attacks on reportersThey are longer than 200 words. If you feel strongly about an issue, we recommend submitting a full Op-Ed or a Letter to the Editor.They only point out factual or spelling errors. Comments pointing out errors are appreciated but will not be posted online. Instead, please send corrections to orient@bowdoin.edu.The Orient strives to be as consistent as possible in moderation, but final judgements are the subjective decision of the moderators. The Orient reserves the right to reject or delete any comment, or disable commenting, for any reason. Due to the high volume of comments, the Orient may not be able to respond to inquiries related to specific moderation decisions.Commenting may be disabled on high-profile stories that attract spam comments. Additionally, the Orient reserves the right to disable commenting on an article that is no longer topical or that was published more than four years ago.Once submitted, comments become the property of the Bowdoin Orient. They may be published in print using the name attached to the comment. If a real name is used, the commenter will be contacted to confirm his or her identity before the comment is published in print.The views expressed in comments are solely those of the commenter. They are not endorsed or promoted by the Bowdoin Orient or Bowdoin College.
The Bowdoin Orient encourages its readers to submit thoughtful and relevant comments on its stories. Our goal is to provide a space for considerate discussion, civil debate and informed commentary.
The Orient strongly encourages commenters to use their real names, or at the very least, a relevant descriptor (i.e. class of '92, parent, sophomore, etc.). Commenters should not misrepresent themselves by using someone else's name; if this is discovered, the comment will be removed.
When a comment is submitted, the name and email address provided are made available to the Orient. This information is never shared nor made public.
Comments are moderated by a small team of Orient editors and they will not appear on the site immediately. Comments will be approved if they are relevant and contribute to a thoughtful discussion of the article.
Comments will not be approved if:
They contain hate speech (including speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation).They contain obscene, suggestive, vulgar, profane (including insinuated profanity using dashes or asterisks), threatening, disrespectful, defamatory or libelous language.They do not relate to the article (including spam, commercial promotion and incoherence).They are written by a commenter who continually comments on the same story without adding anything new to the discussion.They include personal attacks on reportersThey are longer than 200 words. If you feel strongly about an issue, we recommend submitting a full Op-Ed or a Letter to the Editor.They only point out factual or spelling errors. Comments pointing out errors are appreciated but will not be posted online. Instead, please send corrections to orient@bowdoin.edu.
The Orient strives to be as consistent as possible in moderation, but final judgements are the subjective decision of the moderators. The Orient reserves the right to reject or delete any comment, or disable commenting, for any reason. Due to the high volume of comments, the Orient may not be able to respond to inquiries related to specific moderation decisions.
Commenting may be disabled on high-profile stories that attract spam comments. Additionally, the Orient reserves the right to disable commenting on an article that is no longer topical or that was published more than four years ago.
Once submitted, comments become the property of the Bowdoin Orient. They may be published in print using the name attached to the comment. If a real name is used, the commenter will be contacted to confirm his or her identity before the comment is published in print.
The views expressed in comments are solely those of the commenter. They are not endorsed or promoted by the Bowdoin Orient or Bowdoin College.

Editorial

This piece represents the opinion of The Bowdoin Orient editorial board.

January 30, 2015

On Monday, Bowdoin announced that Clayton S. Rose, a professor at the Harvard Business School, will be the College’s 15th President. Admittedly, Rose is not the most exciting or novel candidate, but that in no way means that he is not the best fit to lead the College. The dedicated members of the search committee spent countless hours evaluating candidates and we are confident that he is exceptionally qualified for the position. There is no sense in passing judgment on President-elect Rose’s ability to lead the College before his work has begun. While some may have initial reservations about Rose, we have every reason to be optimistic.

While it is fruitless to scrutinize Rose before he takes office, it can be valuable to ask how his unique characteristics can help the College at this moment in its history. His tenure as chief operating officer of J.P. Morgan and his management expertise indicate he has the leadership skills the College will need. That he did research on race in corporate settings after transitioning to academia shows a commitment to addressing issues of diversity not unlike those that affect Bowdoin on a daily basis. Too often, the values of corporate America and the liberal arts seem in conflict with one another, but Rose’s résumé proves he can reconcile the two. His contributions to both areas can serve as a model for students looking to achieve business success without sacrificing a committment to the common good.

When President Barry Mills announced his plan to retire, the Orient’s editorial board wrote, “An outsider will be able to evaluate campus culture without the bias toward the status quo that comes with having been a part of it; he or she will also have a fresh start with Bowdoin’s various interest groups—the students, the faculty, the staff, and the Brunswick community.” President-elect Rose’s position as an outsider will allow him to recognize the College’s strengths and also identify where it has room to improve. Rose has a clean slate with Bowdoin’s interest groups, which gives him an opportunity to forge new relationships between the administration and the student community.

His experience makes him particularly well-suited to address several important areas of concern for the College. Increasing Bowdoin’s accessibility and diversity by growing the endowment and prioritizing financial aid was one of Mills’ strengths and should be a top priority for the president-elect. Rose must also continue to modernize the College’s curriculum while still maintaining its liberal arts identity. While addressing these issues and the others that will arise, we hope that Rose will be willing and eager to engage with students, faculty and alumni. Collaboration will be key to making Rose—a newcomer to the environment of a small liberal arts college—successful in his new role.

Leadership changes in an institution like Bowdoin are an important time for reflection, not a time for quick criticisms. As our seventh president, William DeWitt Hyde, wrote in the Offer of the College, part of Bowdoin’s mission is, “To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work and the criticism of your own.” The Bowdoin community should receive Rose’s unique knowledge base with optimism and be ready to work toward preserving what we love about Bowdoin and changing what we do not.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Garrett Casey, Ron Cervantes, Sam Chase, Matthew Gutschenritter, Nicole Wetsman and Kate Witteman.

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