The Bowdoin Orient

In the genus of things that improve with age—wine, women, leftover Indian takeout—TV shows are not usually included. This is because it is nigh impossible to balance the demands of continuous creativity with predictability. For a series to seem fresh, we can't guess what the jokes will be or which characters will kill each other. We need change, but not too much of it. In short, the show that viewers keep watching is the show that fulfills their emotional expectations, while the show they become bored with is too familiar. It's a very delicate distinction.

If you were to hazard a guess, what percentage of all grades distributed at Bowdoin are Bs or As? Or put it this way: Just how prevalent is grade inflation? Well, that depends on when you attended Bowdoin. Twenty years ago, the average GPA at the school was 3.06, around 46 percent of all grades given out were in the B range, and 32 percent were in the A range. A decade later, in the 2001-2002 academic year, the average GPA of the student body was a lusty 3.30, just a hair below a B-plus average. By then, just over 87 percent of grades were either As or Bs. Plus and minus modifiers weren't introduced until 2003, to great student indignation. At the time, students fretted that professors' use of modifiers would result in generally lower marks, but grade inflation plodded on undisturbed by this development. By 2007, 49 percent of all the grades doled out were in the A range, and only 8 percent were a C or lower. Hello, Lake Wobegon!

The Meddiebempsters hazed their first year members at a September 16 initiation event, according to the Student Organizations Oversight Committee (SOOC), which reviewed the matter. As a result, the Meddies face a number of disciplinary measures, including a restriction on their ability to perform. As the College's oldest a cappella group, the Meddies have traditionally had the privilege of singing at select athletic and departmental events. The group has been banned from doing so until March 10.

One would not think, meandering around campus, that Bowdoin students are particularly lustful. Maybe it is the pastels of the omnipresent sweatpants or perhaps the relative unpopularity of sun dresses, but whatever the reason, students here just don't seem libidinous in the manner of those at Arizona State, Berkeley, or Miami. Such trivialities as reality, however, have never given pause to the editorial staff of The Daily Beast. And so, the Beast decreed that Bowdoin College was the fourth-horniest institution of higher learning in the land. Never mind the methodology; that would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?

In the latest issue of the Claremont Review of Books, President Barry Mills receives something of a tongue lashing for his September convocation address dealing with intellectual diversity at the College. A little background: Mills, who has a fondness for telling golf stories, described in his address an interaction which occurred during a golf match this summer.

As Mills told the story, an opponent said to him mid-swing, "I would never support Bowdoin—you are a ridiculous liberal school that brings all the wrong students to campus for all the wrong reasons." Mills added that his interlocutor aggressively opined that he would support neither Bowdoin nor his own alma mater "because of all your misplaced and misguided diversity efforts."

This anecdote launched the larger theme of Mills' address, which posed the question of whether the College's generally liberal persuasion detracts from intellectual diversity on campus. The speech was well-received, and the school year proceeded.

Since arriving in Brunswick over two decades ago, Bill Torrey has traveled the world over raising money for Bowdoin. As the College's chief development officer, it's not unusual for him to be in London one week and Los Angeles the next. Yet his days of tracking down alumni are numbered, as Torrey, senior vice president for planning and development, will step down from the post this coming June.

New York Times columnist and author David Brooks will deliver a lecture entitled "Social Animal and Higher Education" in Pickard Theater on this coming Wednesday, February 23.

President Barry Mills announced last night that he plans to remain at the helm of Bowdoin for at least five more years. "It is important for the College to have a continued sense of leadership," said Mills in explaining why he chose to share his intention, "and I committed to the trustees last spring that I would let them know."

Barry Mills was in the pool, treading water, trying to pass the Bowdoin swim test. There was no end in sight; Charlie Butt, the College's swim coach at the time, had forgotten Mills was there.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings to four companies that produce alcoholic beverages that contain caffeine, among them Phusion Projects, LLC, the producer of Four Loko. The FDA said that alcoholic drinks with caffeine additives pose "a public health concern," and indicated that it would take action if necessary, including possibly seizing inventory or imposing an injunction on production.

A recent report on athletics in Division III indicates that recruited athletes at highly selective colleges have lower GPAs than their teammates who are walk-ons, and significantly lower grades than non-athletes. However, Director of Athletics Jeff Ward said that this is not the case at Bowdoin. "The academic performance of those on teams is the same as those not on teams," he said in an interview.

The athletic department has caught some attention due to a gift endowing the position of head coach of the baseball team. Director of Athletics Jeff Ward said that "as far as we can tell, it is the first Division III baseball position that's endowed, which is very cool."

After dramatically decreasing 17 percent in 2009, Bowdoin's endowment grew by 10.3 percent in fiscal year 2010. Following a decade in which the College's endowment regularly outperformed other school's funds, this rate fell below the 12.2 percent that Cambridge Associates reported as the median return among the educational funds the firm tracks.

Students with accounts at TD Bank must now travel to Hannaford to withdraw cash without incurring fees. The bank did not renew its agreement with the College for the two ATMs it has operated on campus since 2005. Instead, Bank of America and Midcoast Federal Credit Union will have ATMs in Smith Union and the Thorne-Coles Tower lobby, respectively.

Despite a pay freeze at the College, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) reports that this year the salaries received by Bowdoin's full-time full professors are the 10th highest in the country among liberal arts colleges.

During Winter Break, Passion Pit accepted a bid from the Entertainment Board (E-Board) to headline Bowdoin's Ivies Weekend. The Boston-based band joins a provisional Ivies concert lineup which includes Reel Big Fish and The Cool Kids.

Reel Big Fish and The Cool Kids are tentatively set to perform during Bowdoin's Ivies Weekend. The Entertainment Board (E-Board) announced this week that the two groups accepted bids to perform on May 1, 2010. Lucas Delahanty '10, co-chair of the E-Board, stressed that because the bids are non-binding, the groups are not yet obligated to come.

After receiving over 300 preliminary study abroad applications, the Office of Off-Campus Study (OCS) said that the sophomores wishing to study away during the 2010-2011 school year are equally distributed between the fall and spring semesters.

The Bowdoin Film Society (BFS) begins its second annual 48 Hour Film Fest tonight, with teams of students rushing to write, cast, film and edit a movie over the course of the weekend. Given the challenge, coffee, caffeine pills, Red Bull and sugary treats from the C-store will likely be in high demand.

There were two main orders of business at Wednesday night's Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting. The first topic, which took up the majority of the meeting, was a proposal to amend the BSG bylaws in order to create "a liaison position between...BSG and the Brunswick Town Council." The second issue was a discussion of a BSG resolution regarding the College's Credit/D/Fail policy—a resolution dating back to March 31, 2009.

At its second meeting of the year on Wednesday, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) spoke with Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster and discussed T-shirt distribution over Homecoming Weekend.

At its final Wednesday meeting of the semester, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) voted down two proposed changes to the Student Affairs Finance Committee (SAFC) Blue Book. The first change would have increased regulation of student organizations that pay their members stipends, while the second would have adjusted fuel reimbursement rates for student vehicles.

At its Wednesday meeting, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed both a recent incident at Colby and Ivies weekend in a question-and-answer session with members of the Dean's Office and Security, and also addressed funding issues with representatives from the Orient and Bowdoin Cable Network (BCN).

At its Wednesday night meeting, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) debated plans for snack distribution during Ivies and a possible amendment to its constitution affecting the Campus Activities Board (CAB). The Facilities Committee proposed a funding request for food and beverages at Ivies, asking for $2,520 to sponsor a three-hour event on the main Quad.

At its Wednesday meeting, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed safety concerns and suggestions to provide students with entertainment and refreshments during Ivies Weekend. BSG President Sophia Seifert '09 told the assembly that Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols would be present at next week's meeting.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met Wednesday to vote on a funding request for subsidized movie tickets, which was approved, and to address budget and housing questions.

With a number of its members busy rehearsing for "The Vagina Monologues," a depleted Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed a potential campus speaker, the College's Credit/D/Fail grading option, and subsidized movie tickets on Wednesday evening.

At an unusually long meeting Wednesday night, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) wrangled over the issues of co-ed housing, sustainability at the College, and a new reincarnation of the Health Center survey. Conversation over the prospect of co-ed housing commenced with a brief analysis of peer schools' policies on the issue. BSG representatives addressed the systems in place at institutions including Colby, Middlebury, Pomona, Carleton, Harvard, and Stanford.

At its Wednesday meeting, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) debated the content of a new handbook, full of advice to students about cost-cutting measures they can take amidst tough economic times.

In response to a security breach last year, Bowdoin's Information Technology (IT) department has tightened access to the Polar server The server is used to host student and campus organization Web pages and other data.

United States Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Class of 1953, presented a lecture entitled "Priorities for the Next President of the United States in Foreign and Security Policy," to a packed Kresge Auditorium on Tuesday.