The Bowdoin Orient

This past week Bowdoin was hit by a series of snowstorms, the worst of which occurred late Sunday night and continued through Monday morning. They were accompanied by high winds. As a result, classes were cancelled Monday, the first weather-related cancellation in almost 10 years and the second in close to 40 years, according to a 2007 Orient article.

While many students were excited by the cancellation and headed outside to enjoy the snow, Bowdoin’s essential employees from Facilities and Dining Service set to work clearing the roads and sidewalks and preparing meals for all on-campus students and staff.

“This [storm] was of particular concern because of the rapidity of the snowfall and the fact that there [were] blizzard conditions in conjunction with it,” said Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance Ted Stam.

Stam said that one of the biggest challenges his department faced this week was having to remove the massive amounts of snow in such a short window of time. In order to keep up with the snowfall, all 20 of the College’s grounds department employees found themselves plowing, shoveling, applying salt and sand and operating the College’s assortment of trucks, plows and snowblowers. 

In addition to the work done by these employees on the central campus, outsourced contractors brought larger machines to clear farther-away areas such as the Farley Field House parking lot.

Stam also noted the necessity of maintaining power throughout such weather emergencies. Director of Dining Mary Kennedy said that this was also a major concern of Dining Service.

“That’s why I’m here,” said Kennedy, in response to the possibility of a power outage. “Operationally they don’t really need me, but if something happened and people just couldn’t get here or we lost the power, then people [would] be too busy getting the food out to be making [special] arrangements.”

In order to make sure that as many dining employees as possible can make it to work during serious storms, Kennedy explained that the College makes reservations for the employees to stay the night at the nearby Brunswick Inn. 

“We spend a lot of time with who’s coming from where, [and if they] can get home at the end of the shift,” said Kennedy. “Usually they don’t want to stay; usually they want to go home, but then they realize it’s bad, so many of us stay [at the Inn].”

Kennedy said that one employee who needed to be at the dining hall by 5:30 a.m. was given a ride to work by a man plowing her neighborhood. “He saw her in her driveway trying to get out and he said ‘You think you’re going somewhere?’ and she said ‘I have to go to work!’”

In addition to causing some minor complications for commuting employees, not all students were thrilled with the storm. 

“I’ve grown up all my life just in sun and I used to complain about the sun, but I would take that over this any day,” said Amanda Rickman ’20, who is from Jamaica.

Other students took advantage of the lack of classes. 

“I saw some people sliding down the steps of the museum while on trays, and it actually worked,” said Clare Murphy ’20. “There was an excited vibe on campus, and I could tell people were really happy about having the day off.”

Kennedy picked up on this positive atmosphere at Thorne Hall on Monday. 

“People came in much more leisurely … [and] I didn’t miss the 1:10 p.m. rush when everyone comes in,” Kennedy said. “Everyone was pretty laid back, just having a good time chatting.”

Behind the intricate designs and bright lights of every Bowdoin production there is a little-known outlet that makes it all happen: the costume shop.

Located on Federal Street and originally operated by student theater troupe Masque and Gown,  the costume shop is home to an extensive array of costumes including frock coats, tuxedos and Victorian-era clothing—which is now too fragile to wear on stage, but provides designs for the shop's handmade period costumes. 

Manager Julie McMurry, who has managed the shop for the last 13 years, oversees both the management of the shop and its costume production. Oftentimes, if the requested costumes are contemporary in style, the shop will first purchase the outfits and then do specific alterations depending on the show.

If the costumes require specific detail or are based on a time period other than our own, student employees at the shop will create the costumes themselves, sometimes from original patterns.

For student employees like Axis Fuksman-Kumpa ’17, a shift at work can include drafting pieces, sewing and fitting, in addition to painting, stitch work, lacework and appliqueing.

“Getting to see [the work] as part of a production is just an incredible experience because we work for so long on these pieces,” she said.

A costume shop employee for the past three years, Fuksman-Kumpa is no stranger to the inner-workings of Bowdoin productions as she has been an outfitter of hair and makeup for almost every mainstage production during her time at Bowdoin. 

Fuksman-Kumpa's time at the costume shop has brought her a great sense of satisfaction, specifically when viewing her work as an opportunity to add depth to the characters on stage and bring them to life. 

“[It’s] so incredible … getting to see people wear [my costumes] and getting to see them become art,” said Fuksman-Kumpa. “Just seeing it [all] come to fruition is such an incredible and powerful experience for me.”

Fuksman-Kumpa has also utilized her experience at the costume shop to conduct her own independent study with the theater department, in which she made her own creature-themed costumes and expanded her interest in special effects makeup.

In a series of short videos chronicling fictional creatures in nature, Fuksman-Kumpa pursued an unconventional approach to costuming that she felt is underrepresented in many of the theater department's productions. 

"I wanted to really try to push myself to do more creature costumes [and] more prosthetic work,” she said. 

Although working at the costume shop is a lesser-known employment opportunity for students, McMurry emphasized that there is no experience necessary. 

“Across the board [our student employees] seem to really enjoy working here, because it uses a different part of [their] brain, and even though it's definitely work, it’s very creative and they can talk and be social in this environment,” said McMurry. “I just love the enthusiasm that students bring when they come and work here.” 

"There's always zany stuff going on. I've spent a lot of nights at the theater washing fake blood out of stuff after murder scenes, I've had to make wigs out of yarn and clothes out of curtains for certain plays. I've had to make little blood packs and prosthetic wounds," Fuksman-Kumpa added. 

The costume shop will be providing costumes for Masque and Gown’s "Blown Youth," which will be hosted at Pickard Theater from February 16-18, as well as for the theater department's show "Eurydice" that will be hosted at Wish Theater from March 2-4.

Last weekend, a number of Bowdoin students participated in women’s marches across the nation and globe—including the March on Washington—to protest issues related to the Trump administration’s proposed policies including equal pay, racial and gender equality and LGBT rights. 

Danielle Horne ’20 was one student who marched alongside her mother and a friend. She noted the large crowd.  

“There was a wall of people behind you, [and] a wall of people in front of you. [There were] just so many people, so many pussy hats, so many wonderful signs,” Horne said.

“There was every [issue] there. The only reason for you not to go was if you physically could not get there,” she added.

In the United Kingdom, Julia Morris ’18 participated in the Women’s March in her hometown of London. Though the event was conceived by Americans, Morris said, people gathered to protest a wide range of issues— not just Trump’s presidency.

“It was about inequality in terms of pay between men and women, inequality between different races,” she said. “It was also this idea [of] appealing to the lowest common denominator. Like with Brexit, [there was] this idea that sameness is better, or exclusion is better and hate is better, and the overwhelming message, what was chanted, was a lot of, ‘spread love, not hate.’”

Students also chose to march locally in Maine. Katie Morse-Gagne ’19 drove to Augusta to protest.

Morse-Gagne said she was impressed by the crowds that showed up in Augusta. In Augusta, as well as in Portland, Maine, thousands of people people showed up to support the march and peacefully protest gender-related issues.

“I don’t think anyone was really anticipating [a large crowd]. I had no idea there were that many people. In between speeches, the announcer said they were estimating around ten thousand people, and everyone went nuts,” Morse-Gagne said.

She left the march feeling hopeful about resistance to the Trump administration’s policies. 

“If [people] could bring something like [nationwide marches] together then we could do more, despite political worries,” Morse-Gagne said. “[In Augusta], people were looking for a very supportive, generally positive place to be. I got more of an impression of people being positive and hopeful than angry and resisting.”

Morris emphasized the importance of continued political engagement. 

“I think that’s important … not being scared to demonstrate opinion that is unpopular. We have the freedom of speech, so you better use it,” she said.  

Henry Bredar ’19, who lives in Washington, D.C., attended both President Trump’s inaugural ceremony and the Women’s March the following day.

“I think not going to the inauguration would have been [me] missing a big moment in our U.S. history,” he said. “Even if it is something [many] people disagree with.”

While Bredar said he doesn’t personally agree with many of Trump’s policies, he met people who did at the inauguration. 

“I met this one couple … They were in their Trump hats, and they had American flag shirts with ‘Make America Great Again’ slogans,” he said. “They were unbelievably nice people. They were kind, and they talked to me about my views. They were honestly respectful. They definitely weren’t what people might portray them to be.”

Emily Cohen contributed to this report.

Carolyn Brady ’19 won Fourth Runner-Up as well as Miss Congeniality in the 2017 Miss Maine USA pageant this past weekend. Twenty-three women between the ages of 18 and 27 competed for the title of Miss Maine USA. Only five contestants, including Brady, made it to the final round.

The competition was Brady’s first pageant. Aware of the many assumptions about beauty pageants, Brady said she wanted to compete while staying true to herself. 

“Unfortunately, some girls starve themselves and there are a lot of eating disorders associated with it and there can be a lot of negative images,” she said. “I really wanted to see [if I could] just be myself, and see how far that could get me.”

She also felt that she was able to meet a wide array of women who were familiar with both the benefits of the pageant—such as extensive networks and boosted confidence—and the downsides like eating disorders and low self-esteem. 

“I got to meet people on both ends of the spectrum: [People] who benefitted from [the pageantry] and [people who] kind-of felt bent down about themselves. I wanted to try and uplift those [bent-down] people while tugging on the happy energy of the people on the other end,” Brady said.

A newcomer to the pageant scene, Brady competed without having done extensive research or preparation for the pageant categories.

“I went to orientation having done absolutely nothing, other than bought a dress and some shoes,” she said.

Brady excelled despite her lack of preparation and familiarity with the event. She said her primary motivation for competing was to “make new friends in the state of Maine.”

“I liked the idea of not doing any preparations for it and just going and seeing where it led me,” said Brady. “I was like, ‘Let’s just do something totally for fun, something super weird, that most people wouldn’t do.’”

Brady was awarded the title of Miss Congeniality by a popular vote of her fellow contestants, who were asked to pick the contestant who they felt was the “most sister-like” throughout the pageant. 

“I don’t think I’ll do [the pageant] again, or at least not in Maine … I got the title of Miss Congeniality and that’s all I was going for,” said Brady. “I feel like that means more than if I’d practiced for eight months on how to answer a specifically scripted answer.”