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I never realized how comfortable I had become in the “Bowdoin bubble” until I ventured outside of it for the first time since coming to campus. Stepping off the train at Boston’s North Station during Fall Break felt like a jolt to my system in a way that I had never experienced before.
I didn’t start talking until I was three years old. One of my first conversations was with four walls in my grandmother’s home in Morocco. My mom tells me that I would “faire la bise’’ each wall, enthusiastically (and in Moroccan fashion) talking a mile a minute: “How are you!” “Oh, it’s so great to see you.” “How are the kids?” I nodded along to imaginary responses, carving out equal pockets of ‘eye contact’ to ensure each wall got its share of my attention.
When Kaitlin Weiss ’25 saw the leaked Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision last May, she was frustrated that there was seemingly nowhere for her to direct her passion for reproductive rights on campus. In response to the leak, she, along with Luisa Wolcott-Breen ’25 and Cambron Wade ’24, revived the Bowdoin Reproductive Justice Coalition (BRJC).
For over twenty years, Finestkind Vinyl Haven has offered the Brunswick community a more immersive way to listen to music. Located off Maine Street, the store sells ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, classic rock, straight-ahead jazz, funk soul, world music and psych vinyl.
On Thursday, October 6, Jacob Wheeler gave a talk at Kresge Auditorium regarding his biography, “Angel of the Dump,” which tells the story of Bowdoin alumna, Hanley Denning ’92. Denning founded the non-profit Safe Passage, the mission of which is to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through education, nutrition, healthcare and social services.
Over his thirteen years with Bowdoin Dining, Service Supervisor Cliff Ridley has connected with countless student dining employees, earning him the friendly nickname “Thorne Papa.” “That’s just how close I get to the kids working with them,” he said.
Aniqa Chowdhury ’26 has just begun her journey at Bowdoin and is already working to create a stronger community for herself and others. Her creative journey began after teaching herself henna at age eleven. Now, she is sharing her art with the campus community.
The Chapel’s bell tower sounded a little different this past Monday. For a brief moment, the rings sounded like the heavenly chimes of wedding bells, setting the tone for this year’s Marriage Pact participants. This past Monday, September 26, was the second annual Marriage Pact—a data-based survey that serves to create connections between students at Bowdoin.
The subtle scratch of a pencil. The delicate swipe of a hand, brushing away the eraser marks left behind. Charcoal coats the sides of her palms. There is a rumbling sound of hundreds of students moving in the background.
The 2022 midterm elections are only 39 days away. As political campaigns are preparing for their final push, so is Bowdoin Votes, the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good’s nonpartisan group that serves to increase campus political engagement.
When you think of a forest, maybe you think of an ecosystem. A hierarchy, a function, a mechanism of inputs and outputs driven by competition. Maybe a million tiny elements working asynchronously, maybe a huge, labyrinthine conglomeration of life bound by rain and sunlight and soft dirt.
Your favorite matchmaker is back! And as if that wasn’t good enough, I’ve brought someone special with me. Our first bachelor (class of ’25) uses he/him pronouns and is interested in people of any and all pronouns.
The Ben Bernier Memorial Foundation will host the first Ben Bernier Memorial Run, Walk and Toss at Pineland Farms next Saturday, October 9, in honor of Ben Bernier, who passed away in 2019, shocking the Brunswick community.
MAIZ, a popular Colombian street food restaurant in Portland, recently opened a location on Pleasant Street in Brunswick. The space is the owners’ third culinary venture, the first of which was a food truck called La Fritanga which serves a similar set of dishes to both of their restaurants.
Looking out my bedroom window, I see a bright light blinking across the dark sky. The sound of an engine rumbles low in the distance. “Starlight, star bright,” I whisper to myself. Growing up next to Boston Logan International Airport, there was too much light pollution to see more than the moon and clouds in the night sky.
The other day, I was in Thorne, and I saw two of my friends talking. One of them said something, and the other laughed. My immediate reaction was that they were obviously making fun of me, even though I sat three tables away, and they had just arrived.
June, July, August. They run together in my head: traversing mountaintops, skipping towards a yawning sunset, the electric shock to my system stepping into the snowmelt creek. Dry air and heavy head against my pillow. For eleven weeks, I worked at a summer camp in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Colorado.
There’s a new business on Maine Street for those looking for a sweet treat this fall. Located in the Tontine Mall, The Frappe Shoppe has been open for four weeks and owner Jamie Alexander has enjoyed every second.
As Rupert Holmes so masterfully proves in his hit piña colada-focused song, “Escape,” the dating advertisement can be remarkably successful. If you want to help the College reach its 40 percent Bowdoin marriage success rate (or whatever number they’re claiming in info sessions these days) and be able to tell your kids that you met their mother when you responded to her profile in the Orient, then keep reading.
Associate Dean of Admissions Justin Fahey will be leaving the tour guide program this week, wrapping up five years of work at the College. Approximately two years of his time were spent heading the program, a role that Assistant Dean of Admissions Julia O’Rourke ’19 will enthusiastically take on.
For many students, their first year of college is a formative experience. Bereníce Flores ’24, Issie Gale ’25 and Jenna Barac ’25 have the unique position of being first-year students for a second time, as part of Bowdoin’s first community college student transfer cohort.
“F1 visum, I-20 formulier, paspoort, twee grote tassen en mezelf” is what I thought when I stepped onto the plane in Brussels. Why did I leave? That’s a question I ask myself quite often. I know other people have less of a choice than I do.
As Allie Ostrander says in her 2021 YouTube video “ugh,” being a runner and losing running to an injury or other health issue is a loss that requires grieving. She dramatically (and hilariously) acts out the five stages of grief and explains that it’s possible to experience multiple stages simultaneously or many times.
“Grampa and Gramma called the outdoors ‘a garden of natural healing,’” reads the Grampa’s Garden Website. From the moment you open the door to Grampa’s Garden Sensory Adventure Spa on Maine Street, it’s clear this place is unique.
When Matt and Edwin Cahill first met, they were working on a theatrical production on Fire Island. Several years later and after marrying in Maine, the couple purchased the historic Beckett Castle on Cape Elizabeth with one goal: creating a production company of their own.
Editor’s note 09/15/2022 at 9:22 p.m. EDT: A previous version of this article’s headline read, “Alumni explores NESCAC history in new novel.” The headline has been updated with the singular “Alumnus” and to indicate that Covell’s work is a history book, not a novel.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes that here at Bowdoin, “the sea so near [is] yet unseen.” This line is from a poem Longfellow wrote for his 50th class reunion in 1875. 147 years later, his words still hold water and a little bit of wisdom.
The College Houses were what drew me to Bowdoin. Growing up in Brunswick—and later supported by a tour I took—the College Houses were, in my eyes, Bowdoin’s social life. As a first-year, I have experienced nightlife, a cappella, jazz, capture-the-flag and poetry through the College Houses, all of which have lived up to my expectations of what these houses provide.
The Maine Mobile Health Program (MMHP) is Maine’s only farm worker health organization whose mission is to preserve and improve the health of the state’s seasonal and year-round agriculture and aquaculture workers and their families. Community health workers struggle to navigate the country’s complex health system amidst various cultural barriers.
After weeks of exploring the natural beauty around Bowdoin’s campus, each location has both astounded me and reminded me of the endless opportunities we have to explore the beauty of Maine. As my last column of the year, Woodward Point Preserve is no exception.
The Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs is composed of faculty members responsible for advising the President and Dean on faculty-related issues. The GFA is tasked with overseeing faculty governance with duties ranging from promoting faculty professional development to overseeing department budgets and leading departmental reviews.
On June 6, 2022, Oliver Goodrich will take over as director of the Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. Goodrich is currently the Associate Dean of Students for Spirituality and Meaning-Making at Cornell University.
Following President Rose’s announced resignation, the College is in the market for a new President. Chair of the Bowdoin Board of Trustees Robert White ’77 P’15 appointed two trustees, Sydney Asbury ’03 and Bertrand Garcia-Moreno ’81 P’17, to co-chair a presidential search committee with the hope of finding a new President that aligns with Bowdoin’s institutional goals.
After 22 years at Bowdoin, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Arielle Saiber is departing from the College for a new adventure. Saiber will join John Hopkins University as Professor of Modern Languages and Literature following the end of the academic year.
The night before my economics midterm, I was dumped inside the Smith Union gender-neutral bathroom on the right, sobbing in the last stall. My hands were trembling as I typed out “Is it really over?” I couldn’t really believe it.
In 2004, Yankees player Derek Jeter was in a historic slump. What 2004 was to Derek Jeter, March of 2022 was to us. We were in a tea slump—bored of our usual teas, unwilling to branch out, we were uninspired.
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences Rachel Beane has had an impressive 24 years here at the College. Beane, a recipient of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Neil Miner Teaching Award, studies the microscopic textures in minerals to interpret magma processes.
This past weekend marked the first Ivies weekend at the College following two years of pandemic-related restrictions. Students came together for two Bowdoin-sponsored events as part of the weekend: Harpswell Quad Day on Friday and a Main Quad celebration on Saturday.
Although primarily staffed by local healthcare volunteers or Bowdoin staff members, the Covid-19 testing center in Farley Field House has recently welcomed student volunteers for both PCR and antigen testing. The volunteering program provides students with the opportunity to obtain hands-on training in the medical field while meeting members of the Bowdoin community that they normally wouldn’t have.
I was first introduced to seaside mudflats through Sal’s clamming adventures in Robert McClosky’s “One Morning in Maine.” Growing up far from Maine, this children’s book gave me a glimpse into life in Maine and highlighted nature’s cultural importance in the state.
In her eighth year at the College, Associate Professor of Psychology Hannah Reese has grown into the community on campus and beyond. Reese earned her bachelor’s in psychology from Wellesley College and subsequently both her master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology from Harvard University.
For most students, consciously eating local food may mean having lunch at whichever dining hall is closest, and choosing a seafood option might start and end at the annual Lobster Bake. In an effort to increase consumption of local fish on campus, Dining Services has collaborated with two students to bring new fish options to the dining halls—and they hope to get students hooked.
A hodgepodge of wallpaper details, nooks, crannies and even a time capsule, Bowdoin’s David Saul Smith Union is more than just your average student center. Before the building was constructed, the campus had no comparable student center.
In early March, Arthur Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, spent three days on campus as the College’s Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow for the second time. His visit brought an ongoing national debate surrounding freedom of speech on college campuses back to Bowdoin’s classrooms.
Five years ago, Steven Campbell and Marissa Stahl-Hodgkins met while working at the bakery of the Whole Foods Market in Portland. Today, they have a place of their own: The Butchers & Bakers, a specialty market on Maine Street.
Did you come? Sex Fest attendees sure did (and for those who won the raffle prizes, perhaps even more than once). On Saturday in Smith Union, Peer Health hosted its first-annual Sex Fest, which featured ‘pin the clit on the vulva’ eductional resources, a scavenger hunt, rapid HIV testing and booths from student clubs and community partners.
A visit to the Cathance River Nature Preserve in Topsham will allow you to consider the past, the future and how to stay grounded in the present. Only a 10-minute drive from campus, the preserve features miles of riverside trails winding through growing forests.
“It was awful—it was crude. But it worked,” Dana Bourgeois ’75 said with a humble chuckle while speaking of the first guitar he built. Today, however, Bourgeois, 69, is a luthier with nearly fifty years of experience.
As an Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Russian Department at Bowdoin, Professor Page Herrlinger has been a vibrant member of the Bowdoin community since 1998. She earned a bachelor’s from Yale University and her master’s and doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.
We are the children of loving, emotionally abusive parents who could not break the cycle of abuse. We are the children of immigrant families who constantly question the meaning of love and what the dictionary definition of emotional abuse is.
When I tell people at Bowdoin that I’m from Tampa, Fla., the three most common responses are: “Do you like football?” “My grandparents live in Sarasota” and “Oh wow … how do you like that?” The first always has something to do with Tom Brady, the second with Florida’s large population of the elderly (even though Sarasota is very cool), but the third could go many ways.
On most social media platforms, it’s easy to curate an image—regardless of whether or not it represents one’s real life. On BeReal, however, this is not the case. The app, created in 2020 by French entrepreneur Alex Bareyatt, recently gained traction in the U.S.
From the shores of Puerto Rico to the crowded subway platforms of New York City, the McKeen Center for the Common Good sent students across the United States to volunteer and learn about social issues throughout the country over spring break.
The humble pub trivia game may be a lighthearted, spontaneous event for most Bowdoin students, but the game is a regular—and very serious—part of the week for the Bowdoin Quiz Bowl team. “I think [Quiz Bowl] is a vehicle to test your knowledge and advance your intellect, not to be the smartest people around,” Avery Ellis ’23, one of the team’s leaders, said.
The Bowdoin Pines is a quaint trail on the edge of campus that provides access to nature only minutes from dorms, classrooms or whichever Brunswick spaces you most frequently occupy. With no need for driving or a long hike, this trail offers accessible tranquility amongst a tree that has become a symbol for Maine, and in many ways, Bowdoin itself—the pine.
Civil Rights Movement comes to Bowdoin, students participate across nation From March 7 to March 21, 1965, thousands of nonviolent civil rights demonstrators marched from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. Led from Atlanta by Martin Luther King Jr.
On the weekend of February 10, the Board of Trustees officially promoted nine faculty members from assistant to associate professors, which grants them tenure at the College. The shift goes into effect on July 1, 2022.
Today I wrote an entire page of notes with the date “February 9, 2020” at the top of my notebook. With 20-or-so minutes left in my class, I realized that it was, in fact, the year 2022 and not 2020.
I don’t know who needs to hear this. Maybe just myself. So to whomever I’m writing for, I hope this finds you well. I hope what I say brings you comfort or insight. At the very least, I hope you know you are not alone.
For Mason Daugherty ’25 and Phillip Spyrou ’25, rummaging for a OneCard while in line for Thorne is a distant memory. Instead of grabbing their wallet, phone or lanyard, these students have everything they need right in the palm of their hand—literally.
With fake cigarettes in-hand, New York accents engaged and full-body vagina costumes donned, seniors Gita Kant and Lola Motley took the stage last fall in a sketch about sexual health before an overflowing Kresge Auditorium. After almost two years of Covid-19 restrictions, Purity Pact’s end-of-semester show marked a milestone in the return of campus comedy.
Assistant Professor of Economics Jessica LaVoice joined the College community in 2020, and her impact is already felt across campus. LaVoice first became interested in urban economics when she noticed how segregated and distinct her hometown of Springfield, Mass.
Since the College reopened to students in late August 2020, students, faculty and staff have undergone rigorous testing for Covid-19 twice or even three times each week. While walks to the testing center—once Morrell Gymnasium and now Farley Field House—are ingrained in the collective conscience of the College community, what happens to Covid samples after they are collected remains a mystery to most.
Chef Ali Waks Adams likens Willie and Chet’s, her pop-up restaurant, to the spontaneous, ephemeral excitement of having a crush. “A good dinner can take away some of the outside bad stuff,” Waks Adams said. “It’s temporary, it’s a panacea—but it’s a beautiful one.
With Valentine’s Day in the rearview mirror, students have been reflecting on the most recent romantic phenomenon to sweep campus: Datamatch. The online matchmaking service, run by Harvard University students, arrived on campus for the first time last week.
If you embark on just a 10-minute drive from campus, you may stumble upon the ecological and historical gem that is Skolfield Shores Preserve. After around five minutes of walking on the preserve, you will be met with a view of the ocean.
Instead of spending their weekends at Urban Outfitters or Salvation Army, four students on campus have turned to knitting needles, sewing machines and “floofers.” These students—a small but passionate cohort—have turned to sewing for various reasons but remain united by their love of the craft.
“We all hate home,” declared Phlip Larkin in his poem “Poetry of Departures.” Written in his inimitable and characteristically lugubrious style, it was this idea that rang in my mind as I spent some weeks over winter break pondering what home is and how cruel, challenging, but ultimately vindicating it can prove to be.
“What are y’all sorry about?” Following my first semester as a Polar Bear, I nearly bawled after seeing a cowboy hat at the Memphis International Airport. That flamboyant hat, paired with muddy cowboy boots and a raspy Southern drawl was enough to make me break out into song.
Known for his iconic takeover of the Bowdoin Class of 2025 Instagram page this past summer and for assigning readings on masturbation that were featured on students’ Snapchat stories on his first day at Bowdoin teaching “Sociology of Sexuality,” Assistant Professor of Sociology Theodore Greene has cemented his reputation as a unique professor on campus.
Tucked away alongside a consignment shop, hotel and Vietnamese restaurant, Flip, Maine Street’s new brunch spot, is open for business. “What does Brunswick need? What does Brunswick want? It was breakfast!” owner Mike Jerome said. “There was no place to sit down and get a Bloody Mary and breakfast without having to go across the bridge to Topsham.” The brunch bar opened on Christmas Eve of last year, taking the spot of Benchwarmers, a long-standing sports bar and pub.
At many institutions, and at Bowdoin in particular, professors’ personal lives are far more intertwined than we might expect, and their partners are closer still—sometimes even in the classroom next door. Within Bowdoin’s faculty and staff there are many couples, with some occupying neighboring offices and others situated on opposite ends of campus.
“This story, in a funny way, begins in Paris,” remembered Robert H. Edwards, President of the College from 1990 to 2001. Now 86 years of age, Edwards sat upright at his spotless dining room table in his farmhouse near Wiscasset, Maine.
After a fifty-one-year tenure at Bowdoin, DeAlva Stanwood Alexander Professor of Government Christian Potholm ’62 retired from the College at the end of last semester. A prolific scholar in the field of warfare, as well as both African and Maine politics, Potholm’s teaching career at Bowdoin started in 1970, just as the College first admitted women, and concluded during a tumultuous era for the college caused by a global pandemic.
For many prospective students going through the college application process, traveling to Brunswick can often be difficult, impractical and expensive—especially with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite Bowdoin’s virtual tours and online information sessions, it can be difficult to replicate the College’s atmosphere through the confines of Zoom.
Bowdoin students have all received that email sent from Bowdoin DBMail: “You have a(n) item(s) ready for pick up at the Bowdoin Mail Center.” From here, schedule permitting, students make their way over to Smith Union, wait in a meandering line, recite their ID number, flash their OneCard, smile at the mailroom worker as they grab their package et voilà: a parcel of the student’s own.
While on-campus students began the spring semester adjusting to Zoom classes, grab-and-go meals and chilly January temperatures, over 100 students studying away this semester were dusting off their travel guides and practicing their “Bonjour!” or “Ciao!” as they packed their suitcases for the next four months.
Characterized by his amiable strolls across campus and his preference for 12-point single-spaced Times New Roman font, Professor Allen Springer has become a staple of the Government and Legal Studies department at Bowdoin. Boasting a spectacular record of 45 years teaching at the College, he has maintained a steadfast reputation as an articulate teacher in each and every class he looks over.
For most students, breaking out of the Bowdoin bubble may mean hiking with the Bowdoin Outing Club or taking a weekend trip to Portland with friends. For Andrew Kaleigh ’24, however, it means something different: a foray into state politics.
Donna Sciasia describes her life in three distinct periods. First, as a child on the prairie growing up during the Great Depression. Second, during her marriage when she led the life of a military dependent. And third, when she was a librarian at Bowdoin for almost 25 years.
We were far up the tree, so far above the ground and so quiet. The two of us had started to scale that tree—a massive birch that overlooks the garden plots. I had tapped out fifteen feet off the ground, but my climbing companion clambered up another twenty feet over my head.
One day this past spring, I decided to dust off my old Nintendo DS and pop in “Professor Layton and the Curious Village,” the first installment in a six-game series about Hershel Layton, a gentlemanly archaeology professor in London, and his young apprentice, Luke, who solve puzzles and mysteries together.
Being offered the “aux” is one of those unnecessarily frightening experiences. Sure, it’s an opportunity to share your personal music taste with the world—but that’s not always a boon. You might simultaneously agree with the notions that music being “good” or “bad” is purely subjective, but also that our music taste is a display of identity—so why is one’s personal music taste vulnerable to criticism?
Hello, all. I wanted to provide some specific guidance on ways to stay calm during this final stretch of the first semester. After this, winter break is upon us! Blessed sleep! Blessed Netflix! Until then … For the current situation, I drew the Major Arcana card of Judgement.
The holiday cheer was palpable last Friday night as Randy Nichols, executive director of the office of safety and security, paid Howell House a visit to tell holiday stories and spread the spirit of the season.
As a challenging semester comes to a close, Counseling and Wellness Services and the Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life will invite Western Buddhist monk Gen Khedrub to campus in an effort to help students navigate stress before exams.
With our final push to the end of the semester and reading period quickly approaching, I figure that we need an easy dish to make for this week. So, let’s head back to the Mediterranean, make everyone’s favorite carb and spice things up a little bit with a sauce inspired by the world’s oldest profession!
In the weeks before Thanksgiving break, students and faculty registered for classes for the Spring 2022 semester. For every student, the timing of next semester’s classes was a consideration. Some students grappled with interfering class times, while others chose carefully-curated schedules.
Instead of saying goodbye to high school friends, packing up his childhood bedroom and buying decorations for his dorm room before coming to Bowdoin, Elijah Dumdie ’25 was trading in his army-issued uniform for a gray L.L.
Editor’s Note, Thursday, August 25, at 7:15 a.m.: Another student from the Class of 2022 contributed to this column, but their name was removed from the by-line for extenuating circumstances. If concerned, please email orient@bowdoin.edu. Yes, it’s us: the Love Doctors.
For Visiting Assistant Professor of English Zahir Janmohamed, good literature serves as a vessel for ambiguity. Janmohamed aims for his students to explore the texture, contradictions and uncertainties of their lives through text. “I’m not really interested in certainties, and I’m also not interested in cleverness,” Janmohamed said.
The Bowdoin community has faced unimaginable challenges this semester, and while everyone processes hardship differently, “Polar Pause,” the extended Thanksgiving break this year, has provided students and faculty with additional time and space for rest and reflection.
First and foremost, allow me to preface this article with a word of caution: this is a personal dialogue. In the process of writing, I concluded that this submission was going to be nothing more than a way for me to organize my thoughts—a process for me to take what was crammed into my mind and place it onto paper.
The frost is here, at last. When I step out to go to class, I’m greeted with a blanket of ice on the grass, the trees and my bike seat. Thankfully, it hasn’t come too late.
Hello, friends. My heart is with each one of you, in your joy and in your pain. I hope you have had the time, space and people to process your emotions with. Your grief, confusion, anger and self-doubt—your feelings—deserve to be honored, to be held gently and with tenderness.
Each Friday since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a group of Brunswick residents gather on the town green on Pleasant and Maine Streets, armed with signs calling for world peace. Initially conceived of as a protest to urge the United States government not to retaliate in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the group has continued to convene every Friday at 5:00 p.m.
Every year, my Halloween costume has something to do with my hair. I’ve kept my super-curly hair cut just above my shoulders since middle school, which is the prime length for costumes such as a mad scientist, a lion or a bush.
Did you know that in the 12th century, doctors prescribed those with illnesses broth made from bone marrow and chicken fat? Truly, the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same! Soup is one of the least time intensive and most low effort big-batch meals that humanity could come up with.
Driven by his observation of the high personal and academic standards to which Bowdoin students, faculty and staff are held, Chris Dehney ’24 seized the opportunity to bring Peer Counseling, a peer-based counseling service, to campus this semester.
This Saturday, I met John Trumper. If you read my previous column, then you are familiar with Rudy Horowitz, who is a good friend of John’s, as they both live in the Highlands, a community for elders near Bowdoin.
