Go to content, skip over navigation

Sections

More Pages

Go to content, skip over visible header bar
Home News Features Arts & Entertainment Sports OpinionAbout Contact Advertise

Note about Unsupported Devices:

You seem to be browsing on a screen size, browser, or device that this website cannot support. Some things might look and act a little weird.

News

Faculty

Faculty debrief affirmative action, first year advising

Last Friday, September 8, faculty convened for the first time under Barry Mills Hall’s lofty wood ceilings for their opening meeting of the 2023–2024 academic year. The meeting, which was moderated by Associate Professor of Government Jeffrey Selinger, covered the Supreme Court’s historic decision on race-conscious admissions practices, provided updates about the College’s ongoing initiatives and welcomed new faculty and staff members.

Read more

Faculty

New faculty meal ticket policy changes dining dynamics

At last Friday’s faculty meeting, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann announced changes to the Division of Student Affairs’ policy on meal tickets for faculty, surprising some faculty members. A meal ticket allows a faculty member to get a free meal swipe at Moulton and Thorne Hall if they attend with or are invited by a student.

Read more

Brunswick

Town Gown dinner returns, connecting student leaders with Brunswick residents

The Main Lounge of Moulton Union was alive with conversation from all ages last Thursday evening as student leaders, staff and Brunswick community members gathered for the annual Town Gown Dinner. For the first time since 2018, the program was revitalized this year, rekindling a tradition symbolizing the strong ties between the College and the local Brunswick community.

Read more

class of 2024

CXD introduces Senior Week, industry-specific workshops

With the Class of 2024 entering their senior year at Bowdoin, Career Exploration and Development (CXD) has begun to offer a new workshop series to help seniors discover possible career paths. Titled “Senior Week,” the program was filled with various industry-specific events and other career exploratory events including a networking workshop.

Read more

DEI

Ladd reopens doors in celebration of intersectionality

After a year of renovations, Ladd House reintroduced itself to students on Thursday evening with a welcome event, which took up the whole first floor of the building and spilled out onto the patio. The event was complete with music, affinity group stations and a formidable line in front of the Taco the Town food truck.

Read more

News in Brief

Bowdoin administration and faculty respond to landmark Supreme Court decision

On Thursday, June 29, President Clayton Rose sent an email statement to the College in response to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision to effectively ban race-based affirmative action in college admissions. Rose, who echoed the Court’s dissenting opinions, wrote the ruling was a step backward in the College’s pursuit of an equal and equitable admissions process.

Read more

Sustainable agriculture panel illuminates networks of change

On Wednesday, The Civic Engagement Team of the Office of Sustainability hosted the final talk of their month-long series on sustainability practices in agriculture. Entitled “Farming For a Greener World,” the talk covered the relationship between agricultural practices and climate change, the intersection between capitalism and sustainability and sustainable methods to grow food.

Read more

BOSS

Students dish on grade inflation, Rose email

Last month, the Orient invited students to share their opinions about student life, academics and recent events at the College in its bi-annual Bowdoin Orient Student Survey (BOSS). The survey garnered 377 responses, representing 20 percent of the student body.

Read more

Lecture

Dean talks Watergate, fifty years on

“First, let me thank you for warning me we’re being taped, and we know where the machine and recording is,” Former White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon John Dean said. Dean and Nixon historian Timothy Naftali discussed the Watergate Scandal and its greater impact on American government and society last night at Kresge Auditorium.

Read more

BSG

BSG passes torch, talks SAFC funding

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met this Wednesday for their final meeting of the year. Both current members and newly elected members of the 2023–24 BSG executive team attended the meeting. Current BSG president Susu Gharib ’23 began the meeting by speaking about the wellness event BSG is hosting this Friday from 1 to 3 p.m.

Read more

MENASA aims to fill cultural gap with welcoming space

Set to the tune of Tunisian music, the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association (MENASA) hosted a jubilant club kickoff on Tuesday in the 30 College Great Room. The event, which featured lively dancing and Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) snacks, marked the organization’s first.

Read more

Sexual Assault

OGVPHE holds workshop on intervention before Ivies

In preparation for Ivies celebrations this weekend, the Office of Gender Violence Prevention and Health Education (OGVPHE) hosted “Intervening at Ivies,” a workshop focused on consent in practice this past Wednesday night. “This is another way of just sort of getting out a conversation that I think is more nuanced and giving people more tools to actually think about consent beyond just what the definition is,” Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Health Education Rachel Reinke said.

Read more

BSG meets to discuss end-of-year initiatives

On Wednesday, April 26, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened in the Main Lounge for its final meeting before the transfer of power to the new executive council elected over the weekend. Sam Thomson ’24 discussed the laundry sheets program.

Read more

COVID-19

College ends Covid vaccination requirement

In an email to the College sent on Wednesday, April 26, the College’s Covid-19 Planning Group announced that Bowdoin will scale back on-campus Covid protocols following the federal government’s announcement that the country’s three-year long public health emergency will cease on May 11.

Read more

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Paris”: Sarah Maza explores nineteenth-century France racism

Students, faculty and community members gathered in a crowded Adams Hall classroom this past Wednesday to hear the Department of History’s latest guest lecturer: Sarah Maza, professor of history at Northwestern University. Maza lectured on the initial reception of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in France and how it reveals the complexity of European racism at the time.

Read more

Lecture

Doing things Badre: Dr. Badre deconstructs cognitive control

Dr. David Badre, a professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences at Brown University—and whose name is pronounced “better”—delivered a talk entitled “How Our Brains Get Things Done” last night. The lecture shares a name with his 2020 book, which a book club of around 30 students, led by Stephanie Dailey ’23, recently read.

Read more

Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies symposium marks department’s 50th year

The Department of Environmental Studies (ES) celebrated its 50th anniversary with a symposium honoring the legacy of the coordinate major and exploring its future at Bowdoin. Last Thursday evening, Teona Willaims ’12 kicked off the symposium with a keynote lecture on her journey as an environmental justice advocate at Bowdoin and her current work as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the geography department at Rutgers University.

Read more

BEMC hosts CPR training for students

The Bowdoin Emergency Medicine Club (BEMC) hosted a CPR training event on Sunday in the 24 College garage, where students gathered to learn the life-saving skill. The 2-hour event was designed to train students on CPR and clarify any questions they may have had about the practice.

Read more

Artificial Intelligence

Professor Hall leads student group discussion on AI fears and optimism

Yesterday evening, 15 students were joined by Associate Professor of Digital Humanities Crystal Hall for an informal discussion on one of this year’s most contentious topics: artificial intelligence (AI). The discussion, hosted by the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good and MacMillan House, centered around questions regarding the biases of AI programs, potential interferences with the creative process and proper uses of the technology.

Read more

Walsh ’95 urges jural participation

Alexandra Walsh ’95 visited Bowdoin on Tuesday to deliver a lecture entitled “The Jury’s Duty: Protecting Participatory Democracy (And All Its Imperfections).” Walsh spoke about the importance of the American jury system, what threats the system is facing and how we can protect this core democratic institution.

Read more

Alumni

Alumni gather for Barry Mills Hall dedication

Bowdoin alumni, faculty and community members from all over the world gathered on campus yesterday for the dedication of the recently constructed Barry Mills Hall. Barry Mills Hall and the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies (CAS) are the newest buildings on campus, completing construction officially in December 2022.

Read more

BSG

BSG and BLA discuss under- and uncompensated student labor

The Bowdoin Labor Alliance (BLA) and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened on Wednesday night to discuss the BLA’s latest campaign to confront under- and uncompensated labor on campus. Over leftover pizza from the earlier presidential debate, BLA members Rachel Klein ’24 and Ahmad Abdulwadood ’24 gave an overview of the group’s achievements and aspirations and fielded questions from BSG members, often referencing their recent op-ed and petition, which has received around 320 signatures.

Read more

Lecture

Ethicalizing Caribbean Thought: Vété-Congolo gives inaugural presentation as Longfellow chair

On Tuesday night, Professor of Romance Languages and Literature Hanétha Vété-Congolo gave her inaugural lecture as the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow chair on the influence of language on the history of the Caribbean, entitled “Ethicalizing Caribbean Thought: An African Contribution.” The endowed chair is granted to an exemplary faculty member for their research and dedication to the studies of romance language.

Read more

Lecture

Cichocka explores the impact of narcissism on political landscape

Aleksandra Cichocka, a professor of political psychology at the University of Kent in Canterbury, U.K., believes that psychology has failed to account for narcissistic behaviors in rising right-wing populists. In the VAC Beam classroom Monday, Cichocka explained that for the past half century, researchers have largely believed that selfish desire is the primary motivator of human behavior.

Read more

Alumni

Justin J. Pearson ’17 reinstated in Tenn. House seat

Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson ’17 was reinstated Wednesday to his House seat on an interim basis. After being expelled on April 6 along with fellow representative Justin Jones for staging a gun rights protest on the House floor, protests broke out throughout the state and country to support their reinstatement.

Read more

Environmental Studies

Williams ’12 delivers environmental studies keynote address

Last night, Teona Williams ’12, environmental activist and current presidential postdoctoral fellow in the geography department at Rutgers University, gave the keynote address to commemorate 50 years of Environmental Studies (ES) at the College. An environmental studies-history coordinate major and Africana studies minor, Williams returned to Bowdoin in Kresge Auditorium to speak about her interdisciplinary approach to her work and teaching at the intersection of environmental and racial justice.

Read more

Admissions

The College hosts admitted students for annual Bowdoin Bearings event

The Office of Admissions hosted its annual Bowdoin Bearings program this Thursday and Friday to welcome the 850 students admitted to the Class of 2027 to campus. After a two-year hiatus from hosting admitted students overnight on campus due to Covid-19 protocols, the admissions team expressed excitement about being able to offer admitted students a more complete experience this year.

Read more

BSG resumes discussions around mental health

Yesterday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) invited students to 30 College for a discussion about mental health services with faculty and administrators. The forum continues a series of discussions held last year intended to facilitate communication between students and administrators on mental wellbeing.

Read more

Appeal of Pickard Field decision rejected by town Zoning Board of Appeals

A request to appeal the Brunswick Planning Board’s decision to approve the College’s renovation of the Pickard Field athletic field complex was unanimously rejected last night by the Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. The request was made by Portland-based law firm Fletcher, Selser & Devine on behalf of resident Edgar Catlin, who lives adjacent to the athletic fields.

Read more

Faculty debate first-year advising options, changes to new faculty hiring

After an extensive review of the current first-year advising program and a prolonged effort to devise alternatives, faculty voiced their opinions about the future of first-year advising at this semester’s third faculty meeting. The meeting, moderated by Associate Professor of Government Jeffrey Selinger, was held on Monday in Daggett Lounge and continued prior discussions about changes to the faculty hiring process.

Read more

College Houses

Baxter House banned from hosting basement events due to puzzling fire safety concerns

Last week, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) notified residents of Baxter House that they will not be permitted to register indoor events for the rest of the semester. The decision is the result of an unresolved issue with Baxter’s fire safety system that has caused the fire alarm to erroneously activate on multiple occasions, specifically during large gatherings.

Read more

Environmental Studies

Trouet talks of tree rings and climate connections

During California’s drought in 2015, the state experienced exceptionally little snowfall, initially estimated to be the least in 80 years. On Thursday evening, Dr. Valerie Trouet explained to her audience in Roux Lantern how her research on tree rings uncovered the true extremity of this event, as her work revealed that this was a record low in over 500 years—a dramatic signal of climate change.

Read more

Lecture

Kathryn Huether discusses Holocaust memorials and sound

Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Kathryn Huether delivered a lecture on Wednesday entitled “Sounding Trauma, Mediating Memory: Holocaust Economy and the Politics of Sound.” The talk centered on how Holocaust memorial sites employ music and human voices to elicit emotions in attendees and how musical signifiers of the Holocaust have infiltrated popular culture.

Read more

diversity

Kate Stern accepts new DEI role

On Tuesday, Senior Vice President for Inclusion and Diversity Benje Douglas announced in an email to the College that Director of the Sexuality, Women, and Gender Center Kate Stern has been appointed to the newly created role of Director of Institutional Inclusion and Diversity Programs.

Read more

News in Brief

Dean Odejimi Leaving

Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi will depart Bowdoin for her new role as dean of students and associate vice president for belonging, engagement and community at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., on June 1. At Emory, Odejimi will continue to advocate for student success, but she will do so with a focus on student belonging and involvement.

Read more

Sustainability

Wheels in Motion: Panel talks sustainable transportation

How to get from place A to place B may seem like a mundane consideration, but a panel hosted by the Office of Sustainability asked the Bowdoin community to approach choices about transportation more critically. The panel, “Wheels in Motion: Exploring Transportation for a Sustainable Future,” was the second in a series of sustainability-focused panel discussions organized by the Office of Sustainability’s Civic Engagement team.

Read more

From Outlaw to Rebel: Belkaïd launches book on the documentary and Algerian national identity

Hawthorne-Longfellow Library hosted its second faculty book launch of the semester yesterday, featuring Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Meryem Belkaïd and her new book, “From Outlaw to Rebel: Oppositional Documentaries in Contemporary Algeria.” Belkaïd was joined by Aviva Briefel, professor of the English language and literature and cinema studies, for a discussion on the book’s key topics.

Read more

DEI

Students join Office of Student Affairs staff to discuss Ladd renovations, new student spaces

With the main structural renovations of Ladd House completed, the Office of Student Affairs hosted an informational session for students to hear about how the space will be utilized to serve the Office of Accessibility, the Center for Multicultural Life (CML), the Sexuality, Women, and Gender (SWAG) Center, the Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and THRIVE.

Read more

Activism

NASA, Bowdoin Dems advocate for Maine tribal sovereignty

Editor’s note 03/03/23 at 2:32 p.m.: An earlier version of this article mistakenly reported that Governor Janet Mills campaigned in 2018 on indigenous sovereignty for Maine’s Wabanaki nations. This has been corrected to reflect the truth that the governor campaigned “on improving and repairing Maine’s relationship with local tribes.” The sovereignty of Maine’s indigenous tribes hangs in the balance, and Bowdoin students have mobilized.

Read more

Professor lectures on controversial study justifying Cold War-era development

Jason Pribilsky, a professor of anthropology at Whitman College, delivered a lecture on Wednesday about the Vicos Project to discuss the morality of humanitarian efforts in developing countries. The Vicos Project was a controversial anthropological study in the Peruvian Andes under the auspices of Cornell University in the 1950s, during the height of the Cold War.

Read more

BSG

BSG discusses Integrated Health Survey, office hours initiative

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened on Wednesday to discuss the Integrated Health Survey (IHS), the success of Tuesday night’s BSG office hours and the winter concert happening Saturday in Morrell Gymnasium. BSG was joined by Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Health Education Rachel Reinke to brainstorm how to incentivize students to take the IHS so that certain areas of health education can be strategically bolstered by the College.

Read more

WBOR

President Rose reflects on his legacy on WBOR

For the first time during his tenure at Bowdoin, President Rose joined WBOR on Tuesday night for an interview with hosts Mason Daugherty ’25, Luke Porter ’23 and Caleb Adams-Hull ’23. The tone of the interview was mostly playful, but a few serious subjects were also addressed.

Read more

Board of Trustees

President Rose, College community react to revealed Epstein ties with former trustee Jes Staley ’79 P’11

On Thursday, February 16, unredacted portions of a federal suit filed against J.P. Morgan unveiled new details about email communications between former Bowdoin trustee James ‘Jes’ Staley ’79 P’11 and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The filing alleges that Staley and Epstein shared “photos of young women in seductive poses” over email and partook in “discussion of sex with young women.” This news comes after over three years of speculation regarding the nature of Staley’s ties to Epstein.

Read more

Leading with place: Ethan Kent ‘98 promotes people-centered placemaking movement

Students and community members filed into Kresge Auditorium Tuesday night to learn about a campaign for better and more people-centered public spaces: the placemaking movement. Executive Director of PlacemakingX Ethan Kent ’98 delivered a lecture on this campaign entitled “Reconnecting People Through Places: Bridging Our Divides Through Public Spaces and Placemaking.” PlacemakingX describes itself as an international group of leaders working to create inclusive and positive communities through urban planning.

Read more

Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees addresses Pickard Field renovations, affirmative action ruling concerns

From February 9 to February 11, President Clayton Rose met with the Board of Trustees and other College administrative bodies to discuss issues pertinent to Bowdoin’s immediate future at Babson College in Massachusetts. Among the developments made during last week’s meetings was the Board of Trustees’ official approval of the Pickard Field renovation project, which members of the Bowdoin and Brunswick communities have debated over the past several months. 

Read more

Ogunnaike talks decolonizing academia

Oludamini Ogunnaike, an assistant professor of African religious thought at the University of Virginia (UVA), visited Bowdoin on Monday to deliver a lecture entitled “From Heathen to Subhuman: Religion, Race, and the Academic Disciplines.” Oludamini Ogunnaike spoke about the development of modern Western racism and the implications of colonial power structures for academics today.

Read more

Hatch student employees face substantial cuts to working hours due to library re-financing

Student workers at Hatch Science Library have had their hours cut by as much as half in response to budgeting re-evaluations that have reduced student working hours across the Bowdoin library system. In total, 20 weekly hours of student work were cut this semester for Hatch employees, which has raised concerns around the future of student employment in the library system.

Read more

BSG

BSG debates EdGE program

On Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened with Director of Multicultural Life Eduardo Pazos to discuss the Education through Global Engagement (EdGE) diversity and inclusion training platform. The Class of 2026 was the first to use this platform in its mandatory diversity and inclusion training in the fall.

Read more

Digital Excellence

Committee aids faculty in reflecting on the efficacy of digital excellence initiative despite low engagement

Interested in discussing how the iPads and MacBooks provided by the College’s Digital Excellence Commitment (DExC) have influenced teaching and learning in Bowdoin’s classrooms? Apparently, most Bowdoin faculty aren’t. On Monday, the Committee on Teaching and Classroom Practice (CoTCP) hosted a space for faculty to express their thoughts on certain DExC technologies that have become integrated into the classroom.

Read more

Facilities

Pipe bursts wreak havoc in residence halls, academic spaces

Extreme cold temperatures last weekend were not only record-breaking, but also pipe-breaking, as flooding in Coles Tower, Memorial Hall and Hawthorne-Longfellow (H-L) Library forced evacuations and damaged building infrastructure. Just after 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, a burst pipe on the second floor of Coles Tower created a ruckus and set off the fire alarm in the building.

Read more

Remembering Charlotte Billingsley, Class of 2024

From her steady presence on the rowing team to her passion for biophysics to her enthusiasm for Arabic, Charlotte Billingsley ’24 was a model Bowdoin student. Charlotte, her humility and her easygoing demeanor are missed by her friends, teammates and professors alike.

Read more