The Bowdoin Orient

Three weeks after Bowdoin acknowledged a "possible breach of data security" in which student Social Security numbers, health insurance information, and internal employee reviews were left accessible to anyone with a Bowdoin username, the College remains mum on what happened. "The lawyers are advising us that until we know everything, the information we give out isn't necessarily the truth and so, what we're going to do is?and we promise we'll release everything?to finish the investigation, because it's not done yet," Chief Information Officer (CIO) Mitch Davis said.

Brandon Ashby, the subject of a December 2007 Bowdoin Security alert, was arrested on Saturday by the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) on drug charges. He was charged with possession of Klonopin and paraphernalia. It was not his first encounter with the police. Lt. Shawn O'Leary said the BPD was "familiar with Mr. Ashby."

The College's investigation into the "potential breach" of student data is ongoing, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood said. An investigative firm, brought in by the College to examine how a former administrator's personal files were left open and accessible to anyone with a Bowdoin username, will release a preliminary report on April 29. A folder in the name of Caitlin Gutheil, the former student health program administrator who departed Bowdoin last month, was left open, exposing files that included student health insurance information and student Social Security numbers.

Due to what Information Technology (IT) is calling a "possible breach," confidential information was accessible to anyone with a Bowdoin username and password for an unknown length of time. The data included student Social Security numbers, insurance information, lists of students on medical and disciplinary leave, internal health center contracts and employee reviews, yearly budgets, and e-mails.

Director of Residential Life Kimberly A. Pacelli, known for her competence, intelligence, sense of humor, and penchant for impromptu Boggle games, will leave Bowdoin at the end of this academic year to enroll at the University of Maine Law School.

A bomb scare forced the evacuation and closure of Brunswick's 24-hour Wal-Mart for hours on Sunday morning. The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) received a report at 7:15 a.m. that "a bomb threat had been discovered," according to a BPD press release.

The Board of Trustees met last weekend off-campus where it discussed the business of the College and then spent a day on a retreat, looking at questions relevant to the future of Bowdoin in a small-group setting. The College declared the retreat?the first time the Trustees have engaged in such a forum in at least the last decade?a success. "It was very, very useful and very productive," President Barry Mills said.

Four Brunswick males started their evening using the public computers in Smith Union; an hour and a half later they had been ejected from campus by Security and were lying in slush on South Street on the wrong side of a Brunswick Police officer's Taser. Three of the four men have been issued criminal trespass warnings by the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) and will be arrested if they set foot on campus again; the fourth has yet to be issued a warning.

Lori Chadbourne sat crying in the parking lot of the Dudley Coe Health Center in late September. After six years sitting at the front desk working as the administrative coordinator for the Dudley Coe Health Center?a job she loved so much she hoped to work at Bowdoin for decades, until her retirement?she had decided to quit.

At the core of many of the issues facing Dudley Coe Health Center lies the tension between the educational mission of the College and the necessity of providing healthcare to students. "Obviously Bowdoin in not a medical facility, it's a college," Student Health Program Administrator Caitlin Gutheil said. "What we excel in is educational practices, not medical practices."

Accused of taking money without proper authorization, the Bowdoin College Republicans have been punished by the Student Organizations Oversight Committee (SOOC) of the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG). The College Republicans ability to request money from the $625,000 fund for student activities has been revoked for the remainder of the 2007-2008 academic year.

The Office of the Dean of Student Affairs continues to look into alleged incidents of hazing that may have taken place at a squash team party in 2005 and a sailing team party in 2004. "We're still doing our investigation at this point," Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Margaret Hazlett said.

A recent article in the Portland Press Herald about an alleged incident of "mild hazing" involving the Bowdoin Women's Squash Team has prompted a flurry of activity by College officials. The October 26 story was driven by a tip to the Press Herald leading them to photographs of the squash team from 2005 on the Internet, according to Sports Editor Don Coulter.

Approximately 20 students and several College officials met Tuesday to discuss safety and inclusiveness on campus in a BSG-sponsored town meeting. For some, however, the meeting raised more questions than it answered.

Decades ago, Richard A. Mersereau sat in a classroom, slightly incredulous, as Professor Daniel Levine began a survey course of American history by asking him, "What is history?"

Secretary of the College Richard "Mers" Mersereau '69 has been at Bowdoin for a long time. Starting as a student and continuing as an administrator, career counselor, and coach, he has been here, with the exception of four months in the military and a year at graduate school at Wesleyan, for more than 40 years.

When the Board of Trustees meets this weekend in Boston, they will discuss The Bowdoin Campaign, get updates on the new hockey rink, hear from administrators about Bowdoin's possible purchase of land at Brunsick Naval Air Station, and discuss the College's reaccreditation among other topics, according to Secretary of the College Richard Mersereau '69.

At the beginning of this school year Mark McGranaghan '09 started a web log (blog) devoted to Bowdoin's culinary excellence. McGranaghan writes entries on everything from Thursday afternoon's "Baked Ziti and Chicken Florentine" to "How to eat a grapefruit."

An incident at Super Snack on Friday, October 6, the most recent in a series of conflicts initiated by students at the late-night meal, resulted in a card-checker quitting and the director of dining services reminding students to be respectful of Thorne Hall's staff.

Since the Princeton Review started publishing its influential book, "Best 361 Colleges," Bowdoin College Dining Service has landed the College in one the top six places on the "Best Food" list, garnering the number one spot in the 2003, 2005, and (the most recent) 2007 editions.

According to records obtained from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Bowdoin College Dining Service has an almost-perfect record for sanitation and cleanliness.

In the first month of school this year, at least three Bowdoin students were arrested for drunk driving in Brunswick. During all of last year, only two Bowdoin students were arrested for that offense.

A series of incidents on Saturday night at Quinby House's 1980s-themed party left a police officer injured, one student in jail until he could post bail, and another facing a court appearance.

According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, the party at Quinby, which began at 9:30 p.m., was going "very well." In an interview with the Orient, Nichols explained that prior to the start of the event, a security officer had completed a pre-party check that involved inspecting and recording keg numbers, ensuring that the event hosts and alcohol host were aware of their responsibilities, and verifying that all regulations were being followed.

"We were monitoring the event here at Security," Nichols said. "We had an officer assigned to that general area and he had checked on the party about three times over the course of the evening."

There are times in life when you arrive at a place and know?in some inexplicable yet unimpeachable way?that you have come to exactly where you are meant to be at that moment. Denny's restaurant was not one of those places. Portland, Maine, at 3:00 a.m. one Sunday morning last November was not one of those times.

My mind was just blank at the time?I was 17. I was like, wow, that guy's dead.

Jim Kim, Assistant Dean of First Year Students and Freeman Grant Coordinator since July 2003, has decided to leave the College at the end of this academic year.

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Bowdoin College will meet today.

"Parkview Adventist Medical Center, this is Dorothy, may I help you?" the receptionist asks into a telephone for the fifth time in one minute. Despite the endless repetition, her voice remains jovial and sing-songy. In the reception area, every time Dorothy speaks, something seems amiss. Her joyous tone does not fit in with its decidedly morose and mirthless surroundings. All of one's senses perceive the happy sound of her voice as violently clashing with the vibe of Parkview's main reception area.

"The Solo can be one of the most rewarding parts of the Outward Bound experience," Shane, one of the instructors, tells me and the nine other people in my group. "After we dock and clean the boat at Hurricane Island and go through a bunch of safety briefings, you all will be dropped off at different isolated locations on the island for 48 hours," he said.

Beginning in the Fall 2005 semester, students will not be allowed to sign up for a fifth full-credit class until after Phase I and Phase II registrations.

After receiving the largest number of applications in the history of the College?5,026?and making some tough decisions, Bowdoin has sent out acceptance letters to prospective members of the class of 2009. They are expected to arrive on Monday.

A group of students could create drastic changes in the College's residential life system as it proposes to create Bowdoin's first cooperative residence within the next few years.

The 22-foot high boot which sits outside the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine?seen by the 3.5 million people a year who visit the store?is an interesting creation to most, but a fascinating temptation to an inebriated person.

Bowdoin's student health insurance program faces drastic changes in the near future. Students who do not have the required coverage will have to buy one of the two policies Bowdoin will offer. The first has a coverage cap of $50,000, while the other has a coverage cap of $250,000.

The Superior Court in Portland, Maine is housed in an intimidating building of stone that remains a foreboding gray even on the sunniest of days. At first glance, its color somehow seems out of sync with its purpose of delivering clear, unambiguous justice. One wonders where the shining white marble and statue of blind justice are.

Four students' portable music players proved a little too portable Saturday as their iPods were stolen out of the visitor's locker room near Morrell Gymnasium. The digital devices were snatched from the bags of visiting students from Trinity College. Bowdoin Security and the Brunswick Police Department are investigating.

Erik Tillotson, the Brunswick resident who was arrested for trespassing on the Bowdoin campus in late November, is back in town.

Two thefts that occurred on the Bowdoin campus last year remain unsolved, despite the detailed available information on them.