The Bowdoin Orient

The tales are eye opening. Tear gas, birdshot and police brutality define vivid recollections of a revolutionary time, but this week brought a reminder that nothing has really changed. No, I [Alex] am not talking about the Civil Rights Movement and Ferguson, MO, but instead about the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak during the Arab Spring and his imminent release from jail after the charges against him for overseeing the deaths of 800 protesters were thrown out by a judge. 

Being abroad has given me the opportunity to interact and talk with people who lived and shaped the events that we in the bubble only read about in the international section of the New York Times. Over the past few weeks, an Egyptian professor of mine has been slowly divulging his experiences of living in Tahrir Square, while venting his frustration with the current regime for releasing back into society those who supervised the violence he experienced.

My professor joined the protests after a canister of tear gas flew through the window of his classroom at the American University in Cairo. This, among other events caused the University’s administration to cancel classes and evacuate all non-Egyptian students and professors. Over the next two weeks he lived in the square, only returning home to shower, change his clothes and see his family. 

During the course of the protests he documented the scenes he saw in over 13,000 photos, witnessed eight protesters die and was shot in seven places with bird pellet, one piece of which he refused to let the doctors remove so it could serve as a reminder of the crimes the regime had committed against its people.

My professor’s story is just one of many, and these stories aren’t a new phenomenon. Scholars and intellectuals have a long history of involvement in conflict but today, more than ever, academic institutions have become specific targets for attack. Universities, academics and students across the world, from Colombia to Pakistan, are being targeted by governments and militants for their desire to learn and engage with the global academy. 

This singling out has led to a massive exodus of professors and students from conflict zones to refugee camps and areas where they are unable to continue their research and studies. The rise in academic refugees has largely been a product of the increasingly hostile stance towards scholarship taken by those fighting wars. Take Boko Haram, a militant group in Nigeria whose name means “western education is forbidden,” or ISIS, which has waged a campaign of destruction aimed at academic institutions across Syria and Iraq.

This is a problem not only for the students and teachers it directly affects, but also for the international academic community that has lost valuable participants in scholarly discourse to violent conflict. 

So what can we inside the bubble do for those who have been forced to leave theirs? 

For one, Bowdoin could consider hosting displaced academics from conflict zones around the world that have been unable to find institutions in their immediate regions. This precedent has existed since World War II, when American colleges and universities played a crucial role in helping scholars flee Nazi Europe.

Today, organizations such as the Institute for International Education continue this legacy by facilitating temporary placements for academic refugees at willing host institutions until domestic conditions in their home countries are conducive for their return.

Hosting academic refugees would not only help these professors who wish to continue their teaching and studies, but also help our campus. 

Bowdoin is a pretty homogeneous place when it comes down to it, but there exists a yearning on campus to engage further afield. This desire ought to be met by the institution. In bringing professors to campus who may have experienced first-hand what we learn about in government, history and sociology classes or who have new insights on regional topics, we would broaden our perspectives as an institution. 

This is not to say that our education today is lacking—our professors foster our abilities to think critically, write well and apply what we learn to a variety of situations. However, we do need more opportunities to humanize the issues that are all too often sensationalized in the media, through the thoughts and ideas of those grappling with the issues first hand. These perspectives aren’t prevalent in the American academic and scholarly discourse or in our immediate community, and these international scholars could provide them. This proposal would clearly represent a financial burden to the College, but we believe that the benefits to the College, and such an immense contribution to the common good, would greatly outweigh any costs.

Our experiences, whether abroad or on campus, have convinced us both that there are many ways that Bowdoin students can begin to unravel the problems that our world faces. As global dynamics change, it has become clear that we must work more concertedly to engage with scholars and opinions from outside the West. 

Besides building a knowledge-base to tackle relevant issues, it is necessary that we as students begin thinking critically about how we engage the world through the structure and content of our Bowdoin education. Besides conventional intellectual engagement, it is important that we freely invite and explore the views of those whose experiences are truly immersed in the realities of our changing world. In other words, let’s ensure that Bowdoin graduates continue to feel at home in all lands, and confident that they have the key to the world’s library in their pockets for years and years to come. 

While we usually turn to current events and offer our perspectives on important issues, this week we analyze an equally important aspect of our everyday lives: weather. Alexander is currently frolicking in the deserts of Qatar and enjoying a balmy 80 degrees (no drink in hand however, so people here on campus win on that front). 

Meanwhile, everyone on campus will soon catch a chill, suffer from frostbite and regret ever gallivanting through a blizzard. Obviously, being in such a distinctly different environment has triggered intense meditations and discussions on weather and how it affects our experiences in different places. Like we said, different weather, different life experience.

Indeed, the forecasts for the encroaching winter call to mind a particularly treacherous evening featuring sub-30 degree temps. At that time, Bowdoin Security grimly warned our campus about going outside, lest we suffer a swift death via the demented wind chill factors.

However, Alexander is now ruminating on what is actually necessary to bring when he returns to campus in the spring, so we would like to offer our humble opinions on specific items and gear that people will need to survive the winter—one that Farmer’s Almanac is saying will cause this great country to become a “refriger-nation.”

Bean Boots, around $110: A Maine (read: Bowdoin) staple that is absolutely essential both in terms of fashion and utility. These duck hunting boots will keep your feet dry and toasty even in the face of Mother Nature’s worst spawn, the polar vortex. Alexander desperately wishes he could wear his in Qatar, but that is just nonsensical.

Necessity ratingDanny: 5/5Alexander: 5/5 

Patagonia down jacket, between $150 and $400: Danny believes that a Bowdoin experience simply is not complete without a down sweater or jacket. He highly recommends quickly looking through Patagonia’s array of options. They come in a delightfully vivacious assortment of colors that might also help a driver see you in a blinding snowstorm. Alexander, who is cautious about overheating in the desert, advises against such frivolous items.

Necessity ratingDanny: 5/5Alexander: 3/5 

Flannels, around $40: While they are a fun and cozy layer that can also help you feel like a true Mainer, Danny does not think flannels will do much for you in the face of a Nor’easter. There is also fashion to consider here. Being in Qatar, however, has made Alexander nostalgic for Maine, and he encourages the wearing of flannels while it is socially acceptable to do so.

Necessity ratingDanny: 3/5Alexander: 5/5

Flannel-Lined Pants, around $40: While Alexander, currently wearing shorts and tanning on a beach on the Arabian Gulf, loves the feel of the sun on his legs, he still prefers the warm embrace of expertly brushed flannel. Just as linen pants are sometimes necessary to protect yourself from a sandstorm in the Middle East, so are flannel-lined pants necessary in the face of an Arctic wind. Danny, however, assures you that you can survive without these bulky, khaki monstrosities.

Necessity ratingDanny: 0/5Alexander: 5/5

Wool coat, around $200: This classic comes in all styles, shapes and sizes and is the ultimate overcoat. We highly recommend all things wool—gloves, hats, sweaters and obviously, coats. While abroad, Alexander has reached the conclusion that every climate calls for a particular item, and this is the one for the Northeast. 

Necessity ratingDanny: 4/5Alexander: 5/5

It is an unfortunate fact that many people, especially at Bowdoin, do not realize the importance of current events in the grand scheme of history. Alexander’s experiences abroad have come to highlight this. Although the coziness of the Bowdoin Bubble is comforting, we must realize how detrimental it is to our development as citizens of the world. 

Sometimes, we encounter a person or event that jolts us out of the complacency and asks us to engage with challenging—and sometimes personal—questions about our world around us. That was the case just recently for Danny, when Burnett House hosted a gathering that addressed the challenges of navigating spiritual and religious experience on our secular campus.

The posters for the event, which was led by Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Bob Ives, made me reflect on my own religion, its standing in a rapidly changing world and how it adapts to shifting norms. 

Both columnists are Catholic, and we both had to deal with many issues regarding our faith in recent years. Most of Danny’s spiritual questioning revolves around the incompatibility of church dogma with his identity and its inability to adapt to new social norms across the world. However, Danny knows that he is certainly not the only individual that has grappled with these questions.

This is why we both were excited by Pope Francis’ announcement of a synod—a meeting of cardinals and bishops—that would reevaluate the Church’s stance on issues of homosexuality and unconventional (unmarried or divorced) families. With the calling of the synod, which ended just last week, the current Pope has guaranteed his legacy as an empathetic and lenient, if not socially progressive, pontiff. 

The Pope’s statement that “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community” and his assertion on Tuesday that the Big Bang and evolution are compatible with church doctrine have far-reaching implications. They will make the Catholic Church a more welcoming institution and will play a transformative role in Catholicism for decades to come. There is acknowledgement of this fact both in the U.S. and abroad.

And yet at Bowdoin there was very little discussion about these landmark developments, despite the rampant championing of liberal ideals on our campus. I encountered a few nods of agreement or the occasional, “This Pope is awesome!” from friends. In general, however, much of our community did not engage in substantive conversations on the progress that is changing one of our world’s oldest and most influential institutions.

Here on campus, as in the U.S. at large, thoughts on the development and remodeling of religion usually focus on the danger of radical Islam and its ties to political and security issues. While abroad in Qatar, many of Alexander’s academic discussions have necessitated the factoring in of religious fundamentalism. All the while however, less fundamentalist interpretations of religion permeate everyday life in Qatar and people are well-versed in current events. 

When speaking of the Catholic reforms, students in Qatar have expressed interest in the fluidity of Church doctrine, as well as a fascination with how the church is addressing the challenges posed by modernity. 

Additionally, many of Alexander’s conversations have focused on the similar challenges that Catholicism and Islam face today. His peers have articulated the hope that our generation of religious youth can learn something from one another as we both grapple with our faith. Yet even as the Pope in Rome declared the validity of the Big Bang and evolution, Alexander notes that aspects of religious culture in Quatar contradict recent Catholic progress. For example, no one in his host country believes in evolution. 

Realizing and engaging with these important differences between religions and cultures, and understanding how they affect perspectives on global events is absolutely essential in our globalized world.

Every day, Bowdoin students are exposed to news of what’s happening in the world. Sometimes, as is the case now, we are given opportunities to discuss subjects such as religion and what it means in our secular society. 

Taking part in conversations about these issues does more than keep us well informed. Whether you are reading of happenings far away or immersing yourself in a different culture for a semester, engaging with international discourse offers us the ability to appreciate the historical scope of significant current events. 

Just as in our last column, which examined the complex nature and oftentimes confused perspectives on ISIS, we encourage our peers to unabashedly engage in these sometimes uncomfortable conversations. 

Realizing and acknowledging the importance of significant events and developments, like the future of the religion of 1.2 billion people around the globe, is not academic. It is the first step in becoming an engaged world citizen.

It seems that the Bowdoin Bubble has finally popped. While we are usually immune to the panic and the distress that the rest of the world faces, the rise of ISIS in the Middle East has achieved a trance-like hold over the student body. 

Here at Bowdoin, conversations about ISIS usually revolve around sensationalist fears that our homeland is no longer safe, or focus heavily on the brutal violence and the despicable videos of executions that the group uploads online. 

As The New York Times reported, we have Republicans to blame for the ridiculous idea, still circulating now, that ISIS might try to enter the U.S. via the Mexican border. Additionally, in obsessing over the media coverage of the violence, it seems that the Bowdoin community has forgotten that the problems regarding ISIS are both complex and multilayered. For a new source of information, then, we might consider Alexander’s viewpoint as a Polar Bear now in the Middle East:

The first thing that we should explore is what Arabs call this violent group. It goes by many names, but throughout the Middle East it is referred to as Daesh. Daesh is an acronym for the Arabic name of the group, Al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham, which sounds similar to the word in Arabic that means “to crush” or “to trample.” 

People here in Qatar and across the Middle East use this name to refer to the group and its destructive ways in one short word. There have been reports that Daesh fighters have flogged people in territory they control just for using this name, so it’s the name we will use going forward.

My assumption going into the semester was that the war in Syria was still a civil war being fought between government forces and  rebel forces made up of the Free Syrian Army, Daesh and the Nusra Front. However, a few conversations with Syrian classmates have made me rethink things. 

Firstly, the majority of the Syrians I have talked to agree that the “revolution” has been hijacked by thugs and terrorists that wish only to gain territory and money. 

Very few rebel groups continue to fight in the name of Syria. Daesh rallies around its own national causes and the Nusra Front rallies around an international call to arms. This is a war that is no longer about Syria or Iraq, even though it takes place in both Syria and Iraq. The internationalization of the conflict is devastating for Syrians, because their cities and homes are now being destroyed in the name of ideologies and beliefs not of their own making.

Furthermore, my initial tendency was to lump Daesh and the Nusra Front in one pool of crazy terrorist organizations bent on destroying the West. However, the reality is that animosity exists between the two groups, and Arabs express very different sentiments regarding each. 

Believe it or not, Daesh and the Nusra Front actively engage in combat against one another, and at least a few Qatari classmates of mine believe Daesh was fostered by the Assad regime to weaken the Nusra Front. 

That’s just one of many conspiracy theories that abound about the rise of Daesh, but let’s return to the facts. Unlike the Nusra Front, Daesh has no foreign objectives at this point because it is too concerned with consolidating territory, recruiting more citizens and ensuring service provision in the areas it governs. 

Daesh is similar in a sense to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan pre-9/11; however, as of now it appears it has learned from the Taliban’s experience and has rejected aligning with transnational terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda. 

This is not to say that in the future Daesh won’t focus its sights on the West or harbor a group that does, but for now it appears to be acting solely to enlarge and protect the territory it controls. 

This point is supported by Daesh’s strategic decision not to engage in Turkish territory in order to avoid a ground war with the second largest army in NATO.

Daesh is not a benign group, and it poses a substantial threat not only to regional stability but also to the very idea of national identity. In order to be a helpful player in this crisis, America must better understand the motives and makeup of Daesh, and what our regional allies think of the group. Let’s work on bursting the bubble and exploring issues from the other side.