The Bowdoin Orient

The Bowdoin men’s lacrosse team (11-4, 7-3 NESCAC) earned the no. 3 seed in the NESCAC tournament after losing to Tufts (13-2, 9-1 NESCAC) 20-10 in its final regular season game on Wednesday. The team has drastically improved since last season, when they finished second to last in the NESCAC with a 2-8 conference record and 3-12 overall.

According to Captain Peter Reuter ’16, this exciting change “speaks volumes to the school.”

However, after the team’s nine game winning streak, they appear to have stumbled a little bit in recent games. Bowdoin will enter the playoffs having lost three of its last five.

The result against Tufts is probably the most concerning, though. The team’s other two recent losses—against Keene State and Wesleyan—were both by only one goal.

Captain Adam FitzGerald ’16 explained that the loss to Wesleyan was actually encouraging.

“We were down four goals with maybe three to four minutes left in the game, and then we were able to claw back and take it to overtime,” said FitzGerald.

Although Wesleyan took the win in the end, Bowdoin took it in stride. According to Reuter, the majority of the team’s recent games against Wesleyan have gone into overtime, making it a consistently exciting matchup for the Polar Bears.

“They’re always kind of a fun team to play,” FitzGerald said. “We always have the best games against them.”

The team’s recent success can be attributed to both the players’ health and  focus on individual improvement.

With everyone focused on bettering their own game, the team has been able to improve its results substantially.

“We don’t really rely on one or two guys,” said FitzGerald. “Everyone’s contributing.”

Reuter and Head Coach Jason Archbell pointed to goalie Peter Mumford ’17 as a key player this season. According to Reuter, Mumford’s role as the backbone of the defense has caused a positive chain reaction, impacting all areas of the team. In addition, midfielder Sam Carlin ’19 has been consistent in winning face-offs for the team.

“Just being able to have more possessions has really been the key for success,” said FitzGerald.

In addition to goalkeeping and face-offs, the team has made other improvements on both the offensive and defensive ends.

“We’re defending a lot better than we were before which has been a huge emphasis for us,” said Archbell. “And on the offensive end, we put a lot of onus on shooting better. Our shooting percentage has increased, and we’re getting a lot more high percentage shots closer to the goal.”

According to Reuter and Archbell, the sophomore class as a whole has played a huge role in the team’s success. Many of the sophomores gained experience by starting all of last year. Furthermore, they have been working hard to better themselves.

“They have really good practice work ethics,” said Archbell. “I think that when you have talent that’s working really hard, you’re going to be pretty good.”

The team has been healthy this season, with only a few minor injuries. FitzGerald credits off-season preparation and the work of the training staff for this strength.

Despite the immense growth of the team, Archbell believes there is still room for improvement going into the NESCAC playoffs.

“We’ve probably had too many turnovers and not enough ground balls,” said Archbell. “Certainly, it’s starting to come together.”

Although many of the sophomores gained experience last year, the team is a young one overall and is still learning.

Going forward, the Polar Bears plan on preparing for the tough NESCAC competition they will face in the playoffs. Although the team will consider the “x’s and o’s” to prepare, the players will put more emphasis on making sure the team is doing everything it can to improve.

“We’re trying to look inward and focus on what we need to do to get better, and hopefully that’s enough to overcome whatever opponent we have,” said FitzGerald.

The team is in a good position heading into the playoffs. Reuter noted that the general improvement of the team has been rewarding for the players to see.

“There’s just a sense of excitement that’s kind of flowing throughout the team right now,” said Reuter. “I really do think we have a special group of guys and a special bond that’s been created this year.”

Bowdoin will play its first home playoff game since 2012 tomorrow at 1:00 P.M against Wesleyan.

The women’s ice hockey team has had a busy schedule over the past two weeks. The Polar Bears have already competed in six games and have a current record of 2-4.

The women started off their season with a resounding 6-3 victory over Colby in Brunswick. The next day, at Colby, the Polar Bears were defeated in overtime 4-3.

The team took losses to Holy Cross, Norwich and Saint Anselm before defeating UMASS-Boston 3-2 on Tuesday.

“We have a short bench, a small team, and we were coming off four losses so it was a huge win for us. Hopefully we can take that momentum over the break. It was a big turnaround that lifted everyone’s spirits and brought the energy back up,” said Julie Dachille ’18 of their recent win.

Marne Gallant ’17, Julie Dachille ’18, Maegan Sheehan ’19 and Maryanne Iodice ’18 have all missed time due to injury. Kimmy Ganong ’17 recently came to the team after finishing up the field hockey season.

“We have a small team to begin with, so every person matters,” said Dachille.

“We did have a losing streak, but some of the games were really good games. The score doesn’t always do it justice,” said Miranda Bell ’18.

“So far, if you look at how we’ve played, we’re a really strong third period team. Even if we’re losing a game by a lot, we’re never giving up.”

Given the circumstances, the team is still optimistic about the remainder of the season. “If anything, what we’ve taken so far is just making us better in the long run. We’re going to be a better team for this, so we’re definitely really excited,” said Dachille.

The team has changed their alignment on the ice, which has required some adjusting for the women. They now are putting three defenders back.

“We’re still getting used to the system. I’ve never played it before,” said Bell.

“It’s still very new. We’re working out the kinks in it right now, and I think we saw that this weekend when we had a few breakdowns in the system,” said Dachille.

The change in strategy is a result of the makeup of the team this year.

“We have a lot of returners on D and we moved two forwards back. Coach said we could only use this system this year because of personnel,” said Dachille.

The challenge with this new system is that the women have to adjust to where they are supposed to be.

“If one person’s out of place it’s really easy for the other team to take advantage,” said Bell.

While the team does not have quantity, they have strong players competing.

“Lan Crofton ’17 has been really great for us, and we have a really good freshman in Sophia Lattanzio, so we have really solid goaltending all around,” said Dachille of the team’s goalies.

The team will have a shorter Winter Break in order to jump into their busy January schedule. The Polar Bears are excited to have this time dedicated to practicing.

“Everyone really likes being there. Everyone is having fun always. That’s the most important thing,” said Dachille.

The action will continue on January 3 at the University of New England followed by a number of NESCAC match-ups throughout the month against Williams, Amherst, Middlebury and Wesleyan.

“We’ll be back at full strength when we come back in January. We’re definitely optimistic. We have a lot to look forward to,” said Dachille.

In February, the Polar Bears will take on Hamilton, Connecticut College and Trinity.Along the way, the team will also compete against Southern Maine and Endicott.

“We have incredible character. Everyone wants to be here, everyone wants to win and is so committed to making us better,” said Dachille, “We see ourselves close to the top, if not the number one spot. The good thing about this team is, while we had this bad stretch, I think we’re only getting better.”

Although it is still early in the year, a small portion of the senior class has received and accepted job offers. The students who receive job offers early in the year are usually working in the fields of consulting and finance.

“Typically the earliest campus recruiters are those that have large classes of students that they’re hiring, so they’re hiring 150 or 200 entry-level employees, and they’re blanketing the country and targeting certain schools to find those candidates,” said Director of Career Planning Tim Diehl. 

“The absolute raw number of students that actually have accepted jobs right now is relatively a small portion of the senior class,” Diehl continued. “It’s really only reflective of this small slice of the pie in the career pursuits that are represented.” 

This year has seen a strong start, which is in part a result of an increase in employers visiting campus. For example, McKinsey and Wells Fargo both expressed interest in hiring full-time employees and interns this year.  

“We’re in a very robust hiring market in general,“ Diehl said. “The economy is recovering well, and there is no shortage of Bowdoin alumni, parents and other friends of the college who are reaching out to us now and indicating that they would love to hire a Bowdoin candidate.”

In addition to finance and consulting firms, there have been many employers from the education sector on campus this fall. Hiring opportunities in fields such as marketing, government, communications, education and health tend to peak in the late winter and early spring as opposed to the early spike in finance and consulting hiring.

In the first 10 weeks of the semester, Career Planning has already hosted 100 events, which have been attended by over 3,100 students in total. Last year, Career Planning was involved with organizing 220 events, which were attended by almost 6,200 students.

  In comparison to other NESCAC schools, Diehl believes Bowdoin has been successful in terms of student preparation and success with career planning. 

“We are typically at the top end of volume of activity,” said Diehl. “The campus recruiting program that is physically on campus is only one small part of what we do, obviously, as an operation. But even just looking at access through campus-based recruiting, we’re in a very competitive place versus the other NESCAC schools in terms of volume.” 

The Eastern College Career Day Program is an event in which eight small liberal arts schools collaborate to give students access to smaller organizations that do not visit each school’s campus.

 “Bowdoin students were the top in terms of number of students who applied to the program, number of applications submitted and number of students that attended the program,” said Diehl.

 Some Bowdoin students have been taking advantage of those resources and have their job search wrapped up.

Cam Chisholm ’16, an economics major, will be working as a strategy and operations business analyst at Deloitte after graduation. Chisholm received his offer in early October and accepted it last week.

 “During the whole application process, I went to all of [Deloitte’s] workshops,” said Chisholm. Networking was key for Chisholm, who maintained contact with alumni who work at Deloitte.

 “There was a two-week period of time where I think I had 12 networking calls, so I would have to do research,” Chisholm said. “I was doing 6 per week, which I don’t think is uncommon, but I don’t think it’s common either.”

 “The students that are successful often are very engaged in learning from their peers who may happen to just be a year or two ahead of them,” said Diehl.

 “Many of them were very savvy in seizing that network of people,” said Diehl of the seniors who have received offers.

 Allyson Fulton ’16, a neuroscience major, learned about the job she recently accepted at the Unum Professional Development Program (PDP) from Todd Herrmann at the Career Planning Center. Fulton also sought out alumni at Unum to learn more about the company.

 “I did a lot on my own in terms of finding the people. Since there are a lot of alumni, I really took advantage of that,” said Fulton. “But Todd had a really big hand in it, and I owe Todd for this job.”

Some students remain independent in their job search. Rachel Snyder ’16 recently received a job offer in finance.

“I don’t really feel like [the Career Planning Center] had a role at all in my process,” said Snyder. “I think I pretty much did it on my own.” 

Snyder cited her participation in the Tuck Business Bridge Program as a key reason for her early offer. She spent her summer at the four-week program, which is a crash course that aims to help liberal arts students gain knowledge in topics essential to a business career, such as accounting, corporate finance and marketing. 

“I think it made me a more competitive applicant," she said. 

Summer opportunities like the Tuck Business Bridge Program often aid the process of finding a job. 

“Our goal is to encourage students to consciously engage the three summers that they have while they’re at Bowdoin so they can try things out,” said Diehl. “The program for support for Bowdoin across campus is relatively robust for students’ summer experiences in terms of funding sources. The experience of those internships begins to build the story and the student’s capabilities to be a strong candidate. Internships are certainly the gateway to full-time employment.” 

The women’s soccer team punched its ticket to the NESCAC semifinal game after defeating Tufts at home on Saturday, 3-0. The Polar Bears got off to a quick start when Maggie Godley ’16 scored in the seventh minute of the game. 

“That really set the tone for the rest of the game, and then we came out again at half time really strong and put another few goals away,” said captain Bridget McCarthy ’16.

Jamie Hofstetter ’16 and Jill Rathke ’18 kept up the Polar Bears’ momentum, each scoring in the second half. McCarthy credited Godley, Hofstetter and Eliza Nitzan ’18, who had two assists for Bowdoin, as standout players on Saturday. 

“I think we all played well definitely, overall. I think our offense really shined and those three players were the key players to us winning,” said McCarthy.

Goalkeepers McCarthy and Rachel Stout ’18 each made three saves, securing the team’s shutout. 

“We just really played as a team,” said Assistant Coach Ellery Gould. “We were able to possess the ball and play feet, and I think what we did really well was just doing the little things right.” The team had defeated Tufts earlier that week in Medford with a 3-2 win, earning the second seed in the NESCAC.

“We knew we had to come out even harder than Tuesday because we had just beat them then, and they were going to come out even harder, so that was our mindset coming into Saturday, just team focus and getting it done,” said Hofstetter.

On Saturday, the Polar Bears will face fourth-seed Trinity at Williams for the NESCAC semifinal game. Despite having lost to Trinity midseason, the women are still confident going into Saturday. 

“We did not show up to that game at all really,” said Hofstetter. “We came out really flat.” Since then, the team has been playing better and has begun to work together as a unit. 

“It really was the turning point of our season when we look back, that weekend in particular,” said McCarthy. “Our offense finally clicked and our defense is continuing to improve, so I’m really excited to play them, and I think our whole team is really excited to get a second chance to play them.” 

The Polar Bears see the earlier loss as an advantage rather than a setback going forward.“It just makes us want this game so much more. I very much think this could be dominated by us,” said Hofstetter.

“I think it’s been a shift in our mindset,” said McCarthy of the team’s improvement in the second half of the season.  

Additionally, according to Hofstetter, individuals have been improving, making a difference in each game. 

“Every time someone subbed in the field, there was a difference being made,” said Hofstetter. The team is not overconfident, however, and are keeping the strength of Trinity’s team in mind. 

“They’re a tough team. They are really physical too,” said Gould. “They’re just big players.” 

Since the teams are similar in many ways, the Polar Bears plan to prepare to play Trinity in the same way as Tufts, allowing them to continue focusing on what has worked for them in their past two games. 

In the other semifinal matchup, top-seed Williams will be facing sixth-seed Middlebury on Saturday. 

Although they are taking it one game at a time, the Polar Bears are still keeping the potential championship in mind. Should they advance, the women will play in the NESCAC championship, competing for the league title and a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“[Williams is] very strong team with a lot of offensive threats,” said Gould. “We played them way back in September, so it has been awhile.” 

As for Middlebury, the team is similar to Bowdoin in their technical nature. 

“They have, as of late, done really well so they actually beat Williams,” said Gould. “All the games will be tough.” 

According to Gould, the mental and physical toughness is crucial.

“Being the stronger players and just staying mentally tough for the entire game and having no let ups [is important] because you don’t get another chance in NESCAC playoffs,” Gould said. 

Interest is growing quickly for the Bowdoin Advising Program to Support Academic Excellence (BASE), which provides 30 first-year students from unique backgrounds with intensive advising. Admissions has helped to advertise the program, causing an increase in interest since the program’s founding in 2010.

“We are now seeing students who are reaching out to us even before we send out the application,” said Dean of First-Year Students Janet Lohmann, who finds this interest indicative of the program’s success. 

BASE has been successful in its effort to show students, for whom coming Bowdoin is a big transition, the resources that are available to them in their first year. 

“We are seeing that these students are more actively using their advisers, are more actively using resources and are finding the kinds of experiences we want for every student here,” said Lohmann.

“I think it was a big navigation piece for me and that’s really what I needed, a plug into campus,” said Kevin Hernandez ’18, a first-generation college student who had a BASE adviser. 

 Due to the cost limitations, the program is selective. Initially, a group of about 70 students are invited to apply to BASE because they are likely to benefit from the program. From those who choose to apply, 30 are selected. 

“There is a cost associated with the program and so that has to get factored in and so right now we are limited to ten new faculty,” Lohmann said. 

According to Anna-Bradley Webb ’16, the BASE student liaison, the selectivity of the program is important to its mission.

 “We want students to participate who are really going to use it and are going to take advantage of all the resources it has to offer so by making it an application process, that gets people who are really interested,” Bradley-Webb said.

The program’s increased interest indicates that many students could benefit from BASE. Steps are being taken to provide more students with this opportunity. 

“We are working with the Dean for Academic Affairs Jen Scanlon right now to create ways that we could expand it without increasing the cost too much,” said Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Sarah Dickey, the faculty liaison for advising. 

When the program was founded in 2010, the diversity of the student body was increasing geographically, socially, economically and ethnically and the student body included many first-generation students. BASE aims to help a cohort of these first-year students adjust to Bowdoin each year.

“There were certain students who were really feeling challenged here academically, through no fault of their own,” Lohmann said. “For some students the learning curve is just longer.”

According to Dickey, there is a difference between recruiting a diverse student body and helping them be successful through providing necessary resources once they are on campus. 

“That’s what BASE aims to do, to retain students because we can make them successful once they get here,” Dickey said. 

These students are selected carefully over the summer. 

“Using everything we know about them already plus their application to BASE, we choose those who we think are most likely to both need and get something out of the program,” said Dickey of the selection process. 

These first-years are typically first-generation students, students from states that are very different from New England or students who may have had a disruptive family experience in high school that could have caused an unusual distraction from the classroom. 

BASE advisers meet with their advisees on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Conversations go beyond what classes a student will take and stem to their dorm experience, leadership opportunities and other aspects of student life. 

This year, group activities are being encouraged to foster a connection between BASE students. 

“Some years BASE students have a sense of being a cohort together and some years they don’t, so we’re trying to do things as a group,” said Dickey. 

Each year, a new group of 10 faculty members serve as BASE advisers after going through extensive training. 

The rotation of BASE advisers each year is intentional in order to change advising as a whole in the long run. So far, over 50 faculty members have been trained and worked as BASE advisers. The work of BASE has indirectly benefited the rest of the student body as well. 

“Part of BASE is to sort of redefine how advisers do advising, not just with what we call BASE students but with other students as well,” said Lohmann.

Students often stay in touch with their BASE adviser after their first year.

“During the summer I was on campus and I met up with [my adviser] a couple of times. I met up with her a couple of times this semester just to check in,” said Hernandez in a phone interview with the Orient.

“[BASE] really gives students an opportunity to know an adviser more closely that you might otherwise,” said Bradley-Webb. “It’s not designed to be a four-year program but I think that sometimes from what I’ve heard it can end up being something that extends beyond the first year.”

The last presidential inauguration held at Bowdoin occurred just after the new millennium. The 9/11 attacks had just occurred. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace were yet to be invented. Now, 14 years later, Bowdoin is ready to host another and officially welcome President Clayton Rose as the College’s 15th president.

According to Rick Ganong, senior vice president for development and alumni relations and the chair of Bowdoin’s Inauguration Committee, Bowdoin will be “the place to be in the state of Maine” on the weekend of October 16 for Rose’s inauguration. 

The ceremony will include significant pomp and circumstance. Homecoming and the Board of Trustees’ fall meeting will also take place during that weekend. 

The festivities will kick off on Thursday night with a performance from student a cappella groups in Pickard Theater. On Friday morning, there will be tours of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and the Edwards Center for Art and Dance. 

The Inaugural Symposium’s two panels will take place Friday afternoon in Pickard Theater, starting with a keynote by Hanna Holborn Gray, president emerita of University of Chicago and one of Rose’s mentors. Jennifer Scanlon, interim dean for academic affairs, will moderate the first panel of alumni and academics entitled “Yes, It Still Matters: Why and How We Teach the Liberal Arts.” The second panel, “Making a Living and Making a Life: The Liberal Arts in Commerce and Citizenship,” will consist entirely of alumni: Kenneth Chenault ’73 H’96, Ruthie Davis ’84, Shelley Hearne ’83 and George Mitchell ’54 H’83 will speak. Andy Serwer ’81, journalist and editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance will moderate the panel. The symposium will be streamed live online.

Friday evening, the indie-rock band Guster will perform in Morrell Gym. 

Saturday morning the moment will be President Rose’s. A procession will lead down to Farley Field House, where Rose will officially become Bowdoin’s 15th president. 

While this is Rose’s weekend, he has been minimally involved in the planning process. The Inauguration Committee, which consists of 14 members, has been planning the event. The committee is made up of faculty, staff, students and trustees of the college. 

Scanlon is a member of the committee. According to her, Rose was interested in examining the concept of a liberal arts education throughout the weekend.

“It has provided us with a really exciting opportunity to really think carefully and invite people to talk about the role of the liberal arts,” said Scanlon. She recognizes that there are currently “a lot of demands for more pre-professional education.”

She hopes that the discussion will continue in the community after the panel.

“As a member of the Inauguration Committee, certainly we looked at the past several inaugurations at Bowdoin as well as inaugurations at other places,” said Scanlon. 

The ceremonial aspects of the event will be similar to those of the past and at other schools; however, the symposium keeps the Inauguration unique to Bowdoin.

“I’ve had the good fortune to work with a great committee…They’ve had terrific ideas, they’ve executed well and they’ve followed through,” said Ganong. “We got lucky to have such a great lineup for the symposium, and such a good solid list of those speaking at the ceremony, and we’re looking forward to the music.” 

With the Inauguration still two weeks away, student reaction has been more mixed. One email has been sent to the student body presenting an opportunity to register for the Inauguration itself. According to Ganong, 87 students are currently registered. It is expected, however, that this number will rise in the coming week.

“I RSVP’d to the Inauguration because I feel like it is a big day for the College,” said Lucy Ryan ’19, who registered upon receiving the initial email. 

Aziza Janmohamed ’19 was equally interested but has not yet registered. 

“It seems really exciting and is a special event so I will be there,” Janmohamed said.

Yet other students are less interested in the upcoming inauguration. 

“I got one email and I just read through the thing…I just kind of assumed it was not something that I would want to go to,” said Sophia Ardell ’17.

Ganong declined to comment about the cost of the event, which includes Inauguration, Homecoming and Trustees’ Weekend, but noted that “this only happens once every 10, 15, 20 years,” and thus will be celebrated accordingly.