The Bowdoin Orient

The elections for next year's Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) and the referendum initiated by Ian Yaffe '09 showed a significant decrease in voter participation among Bowdoin students.

Unrelenting rain and snow have continued to interfere with spring sports and frustrate athletes.

Safe Space's third annual Speak Out was held last week to provide a forum for sexual assault survivors and their supporters to relate their stories as part of the healing process.

The Bias Incident Group recently met for the second time this academic year in response to an act associated with homophobia. A student, who requested anonymity, said that she parked her car at Brunswick Apartments on the night of Friday, February 3, and woke the next morning to discover that the word "gay" had been written in the snow on the front and back windshields of her car. In an interview with the Orient, the student, who is openly gay, said that she knows she was targeted because "it took time, energy, and purpose to find my car and write on both the front and back windshields."

Over the past four years, Bowdoin has quietly been developing an Environmental Management System (EMS)?a vehicle for communicating and consolidating efficiency efforts on campus.

Meredith Segal '08 is in Washington D.C. today, introducing expected presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, at a rally at George Mason University. She has Facebook to thank for it. Last summer, Segal started a Facebook group called ?Barack Obama for President in 2008.? Since then, the Facebook group has transformed into Students for Barack Obama, a grassroots network aimed at demonstrating support for a presidential campaign by Obama. Segal is the executive director.

Bowdoin has adopted a new Student Sexual Assault and Misconduct Policy that aims to make it easier to address matters of sexual assault and misconduct on campus. The new policy, adapted from the University of Virginia (UVA), now offers three different ways to handle a sexual assault case The new policy provides the additional option of a structured meeting with staff from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

If you noticed the chalk coloring Bowdoin's walkways early last week, you probably noticed that the messages were more emotional and political than mere event advertisements.

Students will have to wait a little longer to find out if Bowdoin's WBOR 91.1 FM will stay on the air.

Are you missing the pub on Wednesday nights? According to pub employee Jack Hartman '07, you're probably one of the few who do.

In an effort to breathe new life and diversity into academics at the College, the administration has recently created and filled the position of the Dean for Academic Advancement. A committee of faculty, staff, and students helped to select Kassie Freeman, currently the Dean of Educational and Psychological Studies at Dillard University in New Orleans, as the first to hold the position at Bowdoin.

The Education Department made some cuts this week.

The College will lose a key community member this year in Burgwell "Burgie" Howard, Director of Smith Union and Student Activities, and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

Bowdoin's facilities management department has created two new leadership positions as part of a series of changes following the death of Director of Facilities Management David D'Angelo in October.

A kitchen fire broke out at Baxter House while residents were making snacks during the Super Bowl halftime show. Stephanie Witkin '07 was baking nachos in the oven when they caught fire. The food had been placed too close to the oven's heat source.

A vehicle parked on South Street outside Howard Hall was vandalized late Friday night or early Saturday.

When high school juniors sit down to take the SAT on March 12, they will face a radically different test than today's college students took for college admission. New portions will be added to the test and other parts will be removed.

Students were granted an extra week to rethink their Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) candidate choices last Sunday when President Jay Hafler announced the elections for 2004-2005 were postponed.