The Bowdoin Orient

President Clayton Rose, along with 48 other college and university presidents, signed a letter that was delivered to to President Trump on Thursday urging a re-examination and reversal his the executive order executive order on refugees and immigrants. 

On Monday, Rose sent an email to the campus that expressed concern about the executive order and its potential to harm Bowdoin community members. He rearticulated the College’s commitment to safeguarding the confidentiality of information about students and staff. The message also announced that the College is providing affected community members access to legal assistance.

Across the country, college presidents have taken similar responses. Wheaton College has perhaps gone the furthest, establishing a scholarship that will cover the full cost of attendance for a student from “a war-torn nation” and giving preference to applicants from one of the seven countries—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—targeted by Trump’s executive order. Cornell University, like Bowdoin, has promised to provide legal counsel for affected students and assistance in the event they are detained. Robert Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago, wrote an open letter to Trump outlining the ways in which the order could negatively impact the country and affirming the value of immigrants in America.

The events that have occurred since President Trump’s inauguration are an indication that such policies and decision making will continue raise the question of how colleges and universities should respond to political controversies, particularly when students and faculty are affected or taking action themselves.

At Bowdoin, the 1970 student strike demanding the end to U.S. activities in Southeast Asia offers a historical perspective on the potential extent of institutional activism. 

In the midst of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and an escalation in the Vietnam War, Bowdoin students were galvanized after the shooting of unarmed student protesters at Kent State University in Ohio. On May 4, 1970, 300 Bowdoin students who had gathered in Moulton Union voted to initiate a strike. 

In the days immediately following, Bowdoin President Roger Howell actively solicited student opinion and let it determine the public actions of the College. At an all-campus meeting he initiated the following day, Howell spoke out against actions of the Nixon administration and condemned the government’s actions in Cambodia. 

“We should deplore the events at Kent State and we should deplore the climate which has led to their possibility,” he said.

As the students voted overwhelmingly to strike (73 percent for), Howell expressed skepticism about the efficacy of such an action. But he allowed the strike to proceed and was quoted in the Orient the following day saying, “Our voice will have its maximum impact if it is spoken as the voice of the community.” 

Following the all-college vote on May 5, the majority of the College’s activities shut down for the remainder of the academic year. 

Howell’s actions stand out for the degree to which they differed from responses to student activism around the country. Many administrators across the country were not as receptive to their students, actively resisting student protest or paying it no attention. 

According to a Bowdoin-sponsored report by Luke McKay ’07 and Elyse Terry ’11, Howell’s “actions were crucial in establishing a sense of trust and unity, allowing the strike to progress peacefully until its conclusion at the end of the academic year.” 

They also allowed students the space to make the most productive use of the strike as a learning experience. McKay and Terry quote Director of Moulton Union and Director of Career Counseling Harry Warren who said that “for many students this was the first realization that ‘if they care enough’ about a cause or challenge, ‘they can … see some changes made.’”

In recent history, Bowdoin presidents have been reluctant to respond to student activism with institutional action. 

In an email to the Orient, John Rensenbrink, a professor of government emeritus at the College who was active in founding the Green Party of the United States and the Maine Green Party in 1984, said that, during his interactions with the College, “no president has actually welcomed [student political activism].” 

“Many [presidents] were skeptical of the actions proposed and, even more so, of the actions taken—and became almost distraught when the action included sit-ins,” Rensenbrink wrote. “Some, a very few, responded in an acquiescent mood. Some responded in a guarded mode of (‘I so hope we can weather this, wish it were over!’). Some were definitely opposed. Some got very defensive, feeling fenced in and angry.  Some found ways to rationalize saying “no” so as not to further upset the apple cart with too much overt negativity. Some, in the end, bowed down to pressure. But, no one readily or ever really welcomed it.”

Rose is the only president of the College since Howell that Rensenbrink has not interacted with on the subject of student activism.

In an email to the Orient, Rose explained his philosophy for institutional political response. 

“There is too much uncertainty about what specific policies and legislation could come from the new Administration and Congress to be able to speculate about what I may or may not say or do,” Rose said. “Any actions or statements on my part will be motivated, in the first instance, by those things that challenge our educational mission and/or our [sic] threaten members of our community.”

On May 9, Harriet’s Writing Room, the public space in the recently renovated Harriet Beecher Stowe House, where “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was written in the early 1850s, will be open to the public for the first time as part of a celebration of the house’s designation to the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom program. The Network to Freedom program documents locations on the Underground Railroad. 

This open house event is the culmination of a long journey for the house, which the College purchased in 2001. For approximately 12 years, the house stood vacant, falling into disrepair, while the College searched for a proper use for Stowe’s former home. Associate Professor of Africana Studies and English Tess Chakkalakal, who studies Stowe, has been invested in the house since she came to the College eight years ago. Two years ago, she asked Katie Randall ’16, who is interested in historic preservation, if she would want to do a research project on the house over the summer. 

Randall’s work that summer produced a digital timeline that details the complete history of the house, dating back all the way to its construction in 1806. Randall described her work that summer as something akin to activism, getting people to pay attention to the old empty house and doing research on the Stowe family. 

In her research, Randall drew primarily from structure reports completed in 2008 and the work of Professor Susanna Ashton of Clemson University. Ashton is writing a biography on John Andrew Jackson, the former slave Stowe hid in her home one night while he was fleeing to Canada after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 put his freedom in jeopardy. 

This fall, Randall revisited the house and completed an application to the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom. In order for the house to become part of the Network, Randall submitted a 37-page application that proved the house served as a part of the Underground Railroad and recounted the house’s history since then.

 “In this case, we have Harriet talking about it in a letter and John Andrew Jackson referring to it in his autobiography. The two corroborate each other,” Randall said. “We have definitive evidence that this house was, for one night, a stop on the Underground Railroad and that Harriet Beecher Stowe helped someone there.” 

The house is now one of three places in Maine that are part of the Network to Freedom. The Abyssinian Church in Portland and the Heuston Burying Ground in Brunswick are the other two sites.“The long term goal is to connect the Portland Network to Freedom with the Boston Network to Freedom to create a New England Freedom Trail and to make Bowdoin College part of the Freedom Trail,” Chakkalakal said.

“The other really important thing about getting this house on the Network is that it links ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ with Harriet Beecher Stowe not only writing a novel, a work of fiction, but also breaking the law, practicing what she preaches,” Chakkalakal said. “That’s an important link because it kind of changes the story of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ It makes the work not only a work of fiction, but also something that she’s doing in her everyday life in Brunswick.” 

After Randall completed the timeline in 2014, the Stowe Committee, which was assembled by former President Barry Mills and former Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd, managed to secure the necessary funds to renovate the house. The committee, which included members of the administration, representatives from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, representatives from Hawthorne-Longfellow Library and Assistant Professor of Art History Dana Byrd as well as Chakkalakal, still had two problems to solve—what the renovations should entail and how the house should memorialize Stowe and her work.

 In the 165 years since Stowe lived there, the house had been renovated many times, from aesthetic renovations in 1855 to more major changes when the building was turned into an inn in the latter half of the 20th century. By the time the College bought it, the only similarities between the house and the house Stowe had lived in were the physical location and the layout of the rooms. 

The committee determined that the most cost effective and historically accurate way to renovate the home would be to restore it to its 1855 appearance. Since there is no comprehensive description of what the house looked like then, some aspects of the house, like the color of the shutters, are more representations of what was popular at the time than exact replicas of Stowe’s home. These renovations were completed in 2015. 

As far as remembering Stowe’s life and work there, the committee had to take a less conventional approach. A traditional museum, full of objects from the past, was not an option since so little of what had once belonged to Stowe remained in the house. The committee decided to create Harriet’s Writing Room, which Randall thinks of as “a space where people can think about what Harriet did in that house.”  

The room, which is accessible off the porch, features a large wooden table with benches, a stand-up writing desk, an antique chair and a gorgeous hearth. Pictures of Stowe and information about her life and the house adorn the walls. 

“People can be in this house, where she wrote ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ and think about the written word, what that book did, what words they might have, what issues they might care about,” Randall said. “They can be inspired by her story and the thing that she did in that house to maybe write something of their own.” 

Chakkalakal sees the room as both a historical destination and a bridge connecting Brunswick and Bowdoin. “The town gives a lot to Bowdoin and Bowdoin gives a lot to the town. [This room is] a kind of symbolic reciprocity between the town and Bowdoin.”

Groups from the local schools will be able to visit the room, and Chakkalakal hopes the room becomes a center for collaboration where writing groups could meet, conversation could be held and classes could occasionally be taught. 

“One of the amazing things about this room is that a lot of people converged here—Longfellow was here, Chamberlain was here, Stowe’s sister Catharine Beecher was here and of course John Andrew Jackson was here. In this space, literature happens. I think we too often forget that Bowdoin College is the birthplace, in my opinion, of American literature,” Chakkalakal said. “This is a place that has inspired historical collaborations. I would like to see students collaborating with professors the way Katie and I did; that’s what made the house happen—a series of collaborations.”

The open house will run from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday, with remarks by President Clayton Rose, Chakkalakal and Randall at 3 p.m.

Harriet’s Writing Room will be open to the public from noon to 3 p.m., Thursday to Saturday, following the open house. During these hours, a student will be onsite to talk about Stowe, her book and the house and to answer any questions.

At a place like Bowdoin, chances are high that you will find more than a few students who can do calculus and talk about classical literature, but have no clue how to do taxes or what a 401(k) is. 

A new Financial Literacy Group on campus is looking to solve this problem by helping to educate students on managing personal finance, a skill often not acquired from a Bowdoin education. 

The group, founded by Jessica Gluck '18, aims to educate students through a series of speakers and newsletters. 

Gluck’s inspiration for starting this group came over the summer when she was part of a mentorship program with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which deals with corporate and investment banking. 

“I [asked myself], ‘How am I learning about finance as a career and managing other people’s money when, personally, I don’t know about finance for myself, personal finance?’” she said.  Gluck had heard her friends and peers express similar concerns and decided that creating a club would help herself and others learn about personal finance at Bowdoin.

Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster praised the group’s decision to tap into an area of concern for many students. 

“Seniors identify [that] the thing they feel least prepared for as they leave Bowdoin is managing their personal finances,” said Foster, referring to the annual survey sent to graduating seniors.“For some of our students, personal financial management is something that is a well-developed skill before they ever set foot on campus,” Foster explained. “For other students, it’s not something they’ve had to spend a lot of time thinking about or planning for, and as they get ready to leave, it becomes apparent that they’re going to be managing their own finances.”

The group’s first event, which was on April 18 in MacMillan House’s living room, featured alumnus Emily Lao ’11. Lao, a financial wellness coach, spoke to a group of approximately 20 students, covering topics from budgeting to saving to negotiating salaries with employers and fielding questions throughout her presentation.

“She was really, really engaging—someone who I think would be great to come back,” said Dave Berlin ’19, the group’s vice president. “Especially for college students, it seems like something that would be really, really dry and uninteresting, but she made it really interesting.”

Next semester, the group plans on holding similar events and will begin emailing articles explaining aspects of personal finance to its members. Gluck and Berlin encourage anyone interested in joining to contact them.

Editor's note (Friday, 5/6/2016 at 2am): This article originally featured a sentence that was misidentified as a quote by Jessica Gluck '18. The quote attribution has been removed and the sentence has been clarified.

To expand the use of technology in both classes and daily life, students and faculty are taking advantage of the new resources available in the Media Commons, located in the basement of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library.  

Opened in September, the Media Commons gives students and faculty alike access to resources from iMovie to a soundproof voice-over booth called the Whisper Room. There are two studios, one specializing in audio and the other in video, with additional resources like a green screen, microphones, headphones, lights for film and photography and a variety of software for video editing, sound recording, photography and 3D animation. The Media Commons also has screening rooms of various sizes, an electronic classroom and  multiple Mac computers. Student lab assistants are available Sunday through Thursday in the afternoon and evening to help with software and equipment questions for both academic and personal projects.

At a panel on April 8, several professors discussed how they integrate video and other technologies available in the Media Commons into their classes. Some departments— such as visual arts and the Cinema Studies Program—make heavier use of the Media Commons and other technology resources than others, but many others include video production or viewing in some capacity. 

Assistant Professor of Economics Stephen Morris is one of the professors on campus taking advantage of some of the possibilities the new technology brings to the classroom.  

Morris uses a tool called Learning Glass, which allows him to take videos of himself giving short lectures on specific topics. He then uploads these videos to Blackboard where students can watch them on their own time.

“I found that often just lecturing and giving textbook examples just wasn’t helpful for everyone, so what I wanted to do was to be able to give people something that would be analogous to office hours whenever they needed it,” said Morris.

He added that he noticed students might sometimes search for context on particular subjects by consulting Wikipedia or other online resources.

“I wanted to provide that kind of context in a more rigorous fashion,” he said.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies Sarah Childress has also worked to integrate more technology into her classrooms. For Childress, technology has been important in allowing her students to immerse themselves in the activity of video production through creating short videos using the ideas they study in class.

Video has also helped Childress change who is responsible for communicating information in the classroom. Instead of assigning readings and lecturing, Childress has students read and create presentations on the information. In effect, the students teach each other, simultaneously developing mastery over the subject matter and the technology they use to create their presentations, while Childress provides guidance and clarifies points of confusion.

Childress described how she works in tandem with the Office of Academic Technology and Consulting in order to provide the best learning experience for her students.

“There’s an explicit support for people who want to integrate more technology, but like me, don’t really know how, or have an idea that they’re not really sure how to carry out,” she said.

The Office of Academic Technology and Consulting has existed under various names over the years and helps enhance professors’ teaching and research through technology, often using technologies that professors are not necessarily familiar with. 

“The projects and the things that faculty envision are just so out of the ordinary oftentimes that they require some special expertise,” Director of Academic Technology and Consulting Stephen Houser said.

“A faculty member will have an idea for a project,” Academic Technology Consultant Paul Benham said. “They kind of know an end result that they want to get to, but they’re not really sure how they’re going to get to it using technology.” 

The increasing technological resources at the College have also opened new doors for extracurricular and personal projects. Students regularly use the Media Commons to record music, film and edit movies and take photographs. 

The Commons, a student-written, edited and produced podcast, focuses on telling stories about Bowdoin that are also relevant to the wider world. Another project, Bowdoin Stories, aims to create an archive of conversations between students in which they reflect on their experiences here and discuss topics that they might not usually bring up, such as how they learned to ride a bike. 

Academic Multimedia Producer and Consultant Kevin Travers sees video and other technologies continuing to play a significant role in Bowdoin’s future. “Students are telling stories with video and photography in ways that are expanding exponentially on a regular basis,” he said.

The Judicial Board (J-Board) selected six new members for the 2016-2017 academic year from a pool of 40 applicants, which is slightly fewer applicants than applied last year. Brian Bristol ’19, Cullen Geary ’18, Oceanna Pak ’19, Maya Singh ’19, Ana Timoney-Gomez ’18 and Emmett Ulian ’19 will join the eight veteran members of the J-Board this summer.

The applicants submitted a written application consisting of general background information and several short essays and met with the J-Board for individual interviews. About half of the initial applicants moved on to the second phase—a group interview in which candidates discuss a hypothetical case while the J-Board observes. 

The application process is rigorous, demanding time and considerable thought, but Timoney-Gomez explained that “it needs to be a serious process because it’s a very serious role.”

“I was most intimidated by the individual interview because usually an interview is a one-on-one or two-on-one, but this was a one-on-J-Board,” Timoney-Gomez said.

“The one thing I really like about [the application] was that there wasn’t a spot to put your resume,” Ulian said. “I think, a lot of times, people get really bogged down in that kind of thing. I was really appreciative that they weren’t really concerned about what you’d done or what you’d achieved—they were more concerned with what you thought.”

Within two weeks of the final interview, the J-Board emails their decision to the candidates. Usually, an email to the Bowdoin community announcing the new members follows soon after. This year, the community announcement was not issued until April 4, weeks after the selection process, which began back in January, had concluded.

According to J-Board Chair Maggie Acosta ’16, “With a lot of the events that had been happening around campus, particularly the “tequila” party,...the deans were pretty busy.”

 With selection completed, the new J-Board members have a little over a month until their training begins in May. During training, members will meet with the deans, consider hypothetical cases and practice asking “the right questions in the right ways to get the information people are interested in,” said Acosta. Then, new members will sit in on a case to “see how it works in real life.” In their first or second semester on the J-Board, new members will sit on their first official case.

In his time on the J-Board, Ulian hopes to change the campus environment for the better. In his six months at Bowdoin, he has realized that “sometimes still there are instances where people might not feel totally welcome in places or might feel threatened by things that happen on campus or...how other people treat them.” He feels that “being on the Judicial Board is a good way to try and make a positive difference in that area.”

Timoney-Gomez also hopes to help improve Bowdoin as best she can. “I think the J-Board is special because you’re an individual working with other individuals, and maybe if you fix this smaller situation and improve it and create a better environment from it, you will in turn make a better environment for Bowdoin.”

“I think that I’m someone who, in my time here at Bowdoin, has had the opportunity to meet a lot of different groups of people and has had a very diverse experience,” Timoney-Gomez said. “I think that that is probably one of the most critical components of being a member of J-Board—being a representative of the student body.”

As graduation approaches, some seniors already have the next year of their lives mapped out. This year’s fellowship winners will be traveling across the globe to pursue various personal interests, from home construction to Slavic languages, and, in most cases, to teach English.Of the 38 Bowdoin students who applied for Fulbright fellowships this year, 20 were named national finalists, and seven have been accepted thus far, all as English Teaching Assistants: seniors Kenny Cortum, Talia Cowen, David Jimenez, Bridget Kranz, Michelle Kruk and Anna Piotti and alumnus Mark Richter ’14. A number of applicants are still waiting to hear back, including all those who applied for study research grants. 

In addition, Tess Hamilton ’16 was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and Caroline Martinez ’16 was awarded a grant from the Davis Projects for Peace organization to teach free leadership trainings to women in Ecuador. Will Danforth ’16 received a Princeton in Asia fellowship to work with the organization in Mongolia. Meg Freiberger ’16 was awarded a National Science Foundation research fellowship.

“The beauty is that there is such an array of national fellowships, so it’s not just one particular profile of a student who would look good for a national fellowships, there’s lots of different profiles,” said Director of Students Fellowships and Research Cindy Stocks. 

Several fellowship winners credited the approach of the Office of Student Fellowships and Research in developing their applications. 

“I’ve been through this numerous times, so when a student gives me a draft, I have the perspective of having seen years of earlier drafts and seeing who’s won and who hasn’t, so then I can help students think about what to they can tell their particular fellowships,” Stocks said.  The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, sends newly graduated students and alumni to teach English or conduct research abroad. Fulbright fellows act as representatives of American culture and foster international bonds. 

Applicants apply to a country they are interested in and are selected based upon two page-long essays—the Personal Statement and the Statement of Grant Purpose—as well as three recommendation letters.

Cortum will be traveling to Bulgaria as an English Teaching Assistant. He says that while teaching in Bulgaria, he hopes to be able to further his study of Bulgarian language and culture.“I’m a connoisseur of some sorts of Slavic languages; I collect them, if you can collect languages like Pokemon” said Cortum. 

He says his experiences learning Polish, Russian and Serbian will help him to understand the mistakes his students make learning English. 

Cowen leaves for South Korea in July, where she will complete orientation and start teaching English. Currently, the South Korean education system is shifting its focus from memorization to critical thinking. Cowen describes her own learning style as “at the intersection of both” methods and is excited to witness that transition. 

“[Teaching in South Korea is] a total break from anything I’ve done here,” Cowen said. “I think the liberal arts education, the model of being exposed to many different things, prepares you for the shock of going somewhere totally different.”

Jimenez was accepted to the Romanian program. He says his interest in the country began in middle school with a book his uncle wrote about the country. “I remember reading through it, kind of captivating me a bit in eighth or ninth grade,” said Jimenez.

Kranz will be teaching English at a high school in Slovakia. For Kranz, the allure of Slovakia is deeply rooted in its political history. She is looking forward to seeing how Slovakia, which gained its independence in 1993, is handling itself politically and economically after being occupied by the Germans and the Soviets and being part of Czechoslovakia, where the Slovaks were a minority with little opportunity to self-determine.

A visual arts major, Kranz hopes to use her time in Slovakia to start working towards her goal of bringing art experiences to children in rural areas. “Because I’m only helping teach 15 hours a week, I’m hoping that I’ll either be able to start or help with a pre-existing community or after school art program,” Kranz said.

The Watson Fellowship is awarded “to college graduates of exceptional promise to engage in a year of independent learning and travel abroad, in pursuit of an approved project of unique personal significance,” according to its website. 

Using the fellowship, Hamilton intends to study how people live “in harmony with the surrounding landscape” all over the world. She intends to visit Iceland, Scotland, Mongolia, Tamarin and Portugal to examine the different ways which people build their homes. For example, Mongolia has supported many nomadic peoples in the past. However, desertification caused by Ulaanbaatar, the country’s major city, has made nomadic life more difficult and Hamilton intends to study how this increasing desertification has influenced local home building.

To kick off “No Hate November,” Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) unveiled a photo reception in David Saul Smith Union on Monday to bring attention to the fact that bias incidents still occur on Bowdoin’s campus and to show support for students who have been affected by such incidents. The installation consists of black and white portraits of students holding signs bearing messages such as “We Stand Together” and “We Stand With You.”

“No Hate November” is a month-long event established in the fall of 2013 in response to  a series of bias incidents on and off campus.  According to an email sent by the BSG to club leaders, “‘No Hate November’ is a month dedicated to remembering past bias incidents at Bowdoin and promoting an inclusive, respectful campus.” This year, “No Hate November” also provides a natural extension of the conversations about race and inclusion occurring on campus in the past weeks.

Vice President for Student Affairs Luke von Maur ’16 was part of the team that planned “No Hate November” programming, including this art initiative. He said the night was successful in that it attracted many students and raised campus awareness of “No Hate November” and its goals. 

“Even the fact that we had people in Thorne and Moulton at dinner taking these pictures brought attention to the event,” von Maur said. “Like, ‘What is that for?’ ‘Why are there kids taking pictures?’”

Unlike in 2013, the last year an art initiative was part of “No Hate November,” this year, club leaders were asked to attend the exhibit’s opening reception. Von Maur and the rest of the organizers felt that this would bring more awareness to the event. 

“At attention to diversity or awareness of diversity events, there’s usually a small percentage of the student body there, and it’s the same people every time,” von Maur said. 

This year, the goal was to reach out to more students and bring the whole campus in on the conversation. Von Maur hopes that the inclusion of club leaders in the event will lead to the discussion of the reception and the other events of “No Hate November” among clubs.

“My biggest hope in the future is that [“No Hate November”] involves more students, and that more students know what’s happening and more dialogue can occur,” he said.

Ashley Bomboka ’16, president of the African-American Society (AfAm), praised the event as being a strong way to kick off “No Hate November.”

“What I appreciate is that people enter and exit on their own time and you’re not expected to feel—your emotions can range from either extreme joy or sadness or not expressing anything at all,” she said. “I think the fact that we’re all here means that we’re all being supportive, and I think that’s what makes this event a good event. I think it’s a calm way to enter the conversation—and I’m not saying that other forms of activism aren’t good—but I think this is a good entrance into No Hate November.”

Other club leaders drew attention to the various benefits of the art installation. Talia Cowen ’16 of the Bowdoin Film Society praised its very prominent public location and described it as a constant reminder to students that there is still work to be done to create a truly inclusive campus. Kiefer Solarte ’16, one of the leaders of the Bowdoin Student Athlete Advisory Committee, noted that the exhibit shows a very diverse group of students all united for one cause.

“I think it’s a powerful means of visual communication about something that’s important on our campus and I think it’s been done in a very tasteful way,” said Maddie Livingston ’16, president of Masque & Gown.

Many of the attendees feel the exhibit is another link in the chain of positive discourse about bias issues. 

“It puts a face to some people on campus that you can talk to about these issues, and it makes it a lot more accessible and a lot easier to start those conversations that are a little bit harder to have,” said Solarte.

Livingston, on the other hand, is not so sure. 

“I think it’s an effective way of portraying a certain message on campus although I don’t really know if it’s going to start a dialogue,” she said. “I feel that the extremes of the situation make it difficult to foster an effective dialogue.”

Regardless of whether it will get people talking, students feel the installation achieves one of von Maur’s goals: a sense of support for students who have been hurt by bias incidents. 

​“I think it’s great as a student of the College to see all these different faces on the wall. These are my peers, and they’re here with me,” said Sergio Gomez ’16.

Since the start of the semester, four of Bowdoin’s dance groups—Anokha, Arabesque, Broken and VAGUE—have been extremely busy. From holding auditions for new members to preparing for upcoming performances, these groups have quickly gotten into the swing of things. The groups will perform this weekend as one of the many events scheduled for Family Weekend. 

Juniors Dhivya Singaram and Lizzi Takyi lead Anokha, a group that explores some of the many different styles of dance from India. In the past, they have performed both Bollywood and South Indian styles. This semester, the group has more than doubled in size, growing from six members to 14.

The larger group has brought new challenges, such as obtaining more costumes and integrating new members into the close-knit group.

“When new people joined, I think there was initially a weird dynamic between the two groups. They weren’t mixing as nicely as I wanted, and I want everyone to feel like a family,” Singaram said. “Somewhere in the last few weeks, some of the new girls came to our Anokha cultural dinners, and we really got to know each other through that. I feel like the two groups have integrated now, which is so nice.”

Despite the difficulties of this growth, Singaram and Takyi would like to see more students join Anokha.

“Our goal is also to recruit first years,” Singaram said. “We really want to create a strong foundation so that when we leave, there will be someone who’s willing to step up and take the leadership position.”

This Saturday, the group will be performing a Dandiya Raas dance, a style that comes from Gujarat, India. The dance includes foot-long sticks called dandiyas that are hit together rhythmically, both alone and with a partner. 

“I’m looking forward to people appreciating the cultural aspect of Anokha,” Takyi said. “One of the things that I’m actually very proud of is that the group itself is so diverse. We choose to appreciate this other culture that none of us really have in common. I truly look forward to seeing the parents appreciating it as well.”

Bowdoin’s ballet group, Arabesque, is led by Megan Maher ’16 and Emma Peters ’16. This semester, the group has 10 members who will perform this Saturday for Family Weekend and 11 who will perform in a December production of “The Nutcracker.” 

For Maher, because there are a few members who are studying abroad this semester, this is the smallest group she has experienced since she joined in her first year at Bowdoin.

This weekend, Arabesque will be dancing to Avicii’s “For a Better Day.” 

“It’s a little sentimental for all of us seniors because it’s our last year [performing for the] Parents Weekend show, but we’re super excited to be with the new group,” said Maher.

The breakdancing group, Broken, is led by Simon Pritchard ’16 and Sovannarath Pong ’17. Eight of the group’s 10 members will be participating in this weekend’s show. 

Like many of the campus dance groups, Broken has experienced significant growth of membership this year. Last fall, only four people performed in the Family Weekend show.

Pritchard and Pong both feel that Broken is usually faced with one dominant problem: people assuming they need prior experience to join the club. In fact, most members, including Pritchard and Pong, had no experience with breakdancing before coming to Bowdoin.“I think it’s important to emphasize the fact that anybody can breakdance, and it’s not as hard as it looks. It’s actually very simple to achieve a pretty solid skill base,” Pritchard said. “Anybody can do it and shouldn’t be afraid of doing it. It’s a great way of expressing yourself in a less structured manner.”

This year, Broken has moved away from a performance rooted in solo work and improvisation and has begun using more group choreography.

“If you can do anything synchronized, it looks a lot cooler than just one person doing it,” Pritchard explained.  “We’re now reaching skill levels where we can do some of the things we used to do solo together as a group at the same time. We’re really capitalizing on that.”Broken’s performance this weekend is Halloween-themed and will feature some classic Halloween songs and zombie dance moves.

“Hopefully, we won’t scare too many small children,” Pritchard said.

VAGUE is led by Maddie Rutan ’16 and Olivia Stone ’16. According to Rutan and Stone, the group’s style is a mix of jazz and contemporary dance. This semester, VAGUE has 10 members, although this number will grow once other members return from studying abroad. 

Four of VAGUE’s senior members graduated last year, so the group added four first years and one junior after holding auditions. 

“I think our goals are to unify as a group with the new members, especially because this semester we are in kind of a unique position in that half of our members right now are new,” said Stone. 

In order to achieve that goal, the group goes to dinner together after every practice in order to ensure that the team can bond outside of the practice setting.

Since the beginning of school, VAGUE has been working on its performance for Family Weekend, which will be a routine to Beyoncé’s “Run the World” and “Flawless.”