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News

Safety and Security

In wake of Parkland, College to hold first-ever lockdown drill

Sometime on the week of March 5, the Office of Safety and Security will hold its first ever on-campus lockdown drill, during which all campus buildings will be locked and inaccessible with OneCards. Although this drill comes shortly after a shooter killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Associate Director of Safety and Security Dave Profit said that this drill has been planned for months and was not influenced by the event.

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Academic Affairs

Roux Center progressing on schedule

The Roux Center for the Environment is on track for its scheduled opening next fall, according to Matt Orlando, senior vice president for finance and administration and treasurer of the College. With a $16.5 million budget—$10 million of which was a gift by David and Barbara Roux P’14—the 29,000 square-foot, three-storied building will have four labs dedicated to student coursework, two classrooms and a large flexible classroom space, as well as a variety of common areas.

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Panel outlines student experiences with accomodations, disability

Amid ongoing efforts to improve Bowdoin’s handling of accommodations and disability, students, faculty and staff convened in Lancaster Lounge this week to hear four student panelists speak about their experiences navigating accessibility at Bowdoin, particularly accessibility in academics, and potential steps toward creating a more accessible campus.

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Students, professors to explore disagreement and political polarization in the digital age

In an upcoming panel on intellectual engagement in conversations across political differences, Bowdoin students and professors—representing a variety of political perspectives themselves—will try to tackle the question of how to address disagreement. “The Art of Disagreement in an Age of Outrage,” moderated by Noah Finberg ’16, will take place this Monday in Morrell Lounge from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

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Brunswick

Four students issued summonses in two weeks, Nichols says BPD sending ‘message of caution’

Four students have received court summons in the past two weeks for charges of jaywalking and possession of liquor by a minor. One of those summons resulted after the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) showed up at the annual Cold War party at MacMillan and Quinby Houses last weekend, while the remaining three were issued the previous weekend.

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Over 80 women to put on RISE reprise

  Over 80 women will perform in the College’s second annual production of “RISE: Untold Stories of Bowdoin Women” today and Saturday in Kresge Auditorium, following last night’s debut performance. The show, built around Bowdoin students’ stories about relationships, hookups and other gendered experiences, replaced the production of “The Vagina Monologues,” seeking more intersectionality and stories that better represented the real experiences of Bowdoin women.

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Activism

‘How to be a better environmentalist’: professors, community activists weigh in

Students, faculty, staff and community members packed the Shannon Room last night to consider what types of environmental activism are most effective. The panel, titled “Consumerism, Activism, and Individualism: How to be a Better Environmentalist,” was planned by Lauren Hickey ’20 over the course of several months on behalf of the Office of Sustainability.

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News in Brief

Bowdoin tops Fulbright list, maintains high success ratio

Half of Bowdoin students who applied for Fulbright awards for the 2017-2018 academic received them, the best ratio among any of the nation’s top undergraduate Fulbright Student producers, according to the Fulbright Program. Forty Bowdoin students applied for Fulbrights last year, and 20 received them, the most from Bowdoin since data became available a decade ago.

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Stolen paychecks prompt push for two-step login on Workday

After nearly 20 college students employees, faculty and staff saw their paychecks stolen since the College began using Workday to manage employee finances and payments in January 2016, Bowdoin Information Technology (IT) rolled out a two-step authentication, which became mandatory on Tuesday.

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News in Brief

Mckesson ’07 lands book deal

Civil rights activist and educator DeRay Mckesson ’07 announced on Wednesday that he has signed his first book deal with Viking Books. His book, “On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope” will be released on September 4.

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News in Brief

In series of moves, GSWS to leave Boody-Johnson

Correction: In our desire to break this story, an earlier version of this article jumped to the conclusion that Boody-Johnson House was to become student housing next year. In an email to the Orient, Dean of Students Tim Foster said the administration was only exploring the possibility of the house being converted into student housing, timeframe unknown, and confirmed that if this transition were to happen, it would not be next year. 

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Black History At Bowdoin

MLK to #MeToo: Michael Eric Dyson talks, raps and inspires conversation on race

Prolific author and sociologist, Baptist minister, rap and pop culture connoisseur and dynamic storyteller, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson packed Kresge Auditorium on Tuesday to deliver the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture. Dyson’s talk, titled “MLK for the 21st Century,” set out to imagine King’s vision in the context of contemporary issues such as police violence, sexism, homophobia and patriarchal power, sexual violence and the #MeToo movement.

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Over 60 students’ emails hacked since December

Since mid-December, more than 60 students’ email accounts have been hacked, resulting in a series of phishing attempts. Emails claiming association with Temple University and such fictional institutions as “Recruitment Team,” “Market Force Information” and “Mystery Shoppers” arrived in inboxes with promises of easy pay—provided that recipients enter sensitive personal information first.

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College’s alumni donation rate among highest in country

The Senior Class Giving Campaign (SCGC) officially began at its launch event last Thursday with hopes of continuing the College’s tradition of strong alumni giving. SCGC has a two-fold purpose: to raise awareness about the importance of giving back to Bowdoin after graduation and to solicit donations from seniors this semester.

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News in Brief

Facilities works to keep up with winter weather

As falling temperatures, rain and snow hit midcoast Maine this week—knocking out parts of campus power on Wednesday—Facilities staff got to work extra early to clear ice from the College’s streets and paths. Over the course of Wednesday afternoon and evening, Brunswick received about seven inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

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News in Brief

Senator Angus King wins fight for lobster emoji

Bowdoin students, and anyone with an iPhone or Android device, will soon be able to use a lobster emoji thanks to lobbying efforts from Senator Angus King H’07 (I-Maine). The Unicode Consortium, a Silicon Valley-based group of individuals and corporations that is responsible for designing emojis, unveiled the lobster along with 156 other new emojis on Wednesday.

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News in Brief

Amtrak Downeaster may expand for the summer

The Amtrak Downeaster, which currently runs from Boston to Brunswick, could go as far north as Rockland this summer if the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) approves a pilot program in March. NNERPA wants to ensure that Maine communities will be active Amtrak partners before it finalizes the service, the Maine Free Press reported last week.

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Student Government

Rose seeks funding ideas at BSG meeting

On Wednesday, President Clayton Rose attended the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting to solicit student opinions on future use of the College’s funding. This funding comes primarily from donors and investments. According to Rose, Bowdoin has the second highest alumni donation participation rate in the nation.

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Board of Trustees

Trustee meeting to take place in Palo Alto

The second meeting of the Board of Trustees this academic year will be held in Palo Alto, California beginning next Thursday. It is the first time the meeting will be held outside of the Northeast. “We wanted to engage with the culture of the ‘new economy’—not that new anymore—the culture of technology and innovation and entrepreneurship,” said President Clayton Rose.

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Administration

Dean’s office formalizes emergency aid

The College has created an online form for students to apply for emergency financial aid, Dean of Students Janet Lohmann announced in an email to the student body last Friday. The fund—which will cover the costs of “emergencies, special programs, test prep, supplies, travel and unanticipated events,” according to the website—is composed of donations from the Bowdoin community.

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Student Life

Campus braces for influenza season

Bowdoin has already seen some effects of the influenza epidemic, characterized by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as moderately severe this year. According to Director of Health Services Dr. Jeffrey Maher, the bulk of the cases will present in the coming months.

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College Houses

Ladd House to be seniors-only next year as students seek upperclass spaces

Ladd House, one of the eight College Houses on campus, will be senior-only housing next year if enough rising seniors apply next week. The decision to convert the House, traditionally occupied by sophomores, into senior housing was proposed by a group of juniors, and occurred amid numerous conversations about how to make College housing more appealing to upperclassmen.

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Student Government

BSG talks counseling, new constitution

At its first meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed revising its constitution and improving student counseling resources. BSG hopes to pass a new constitution before spring break, which would require one third of the student body to vote on the constitution and two thirds of those votes to be in favor.

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News in Brief

Intergroup dialogue program expands to discuss class

Twelve students will participate in a trial intergroup dialogue (IGD) curriculum on socioeconomic class beginning this February. Kate Stern and Leana Amaez, associate deans of students for diversity and inclusion and co-directors of the Center for Sexuality, Women & Gender will facilitate discussion with students from various class backgrounds.

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Administration

Cato and Reed to fill administrative roles, Diehl leaving Career Planning after 12 years

President Clayton Rose announced two important additions to the administration over Winter Break. Michael Cato and Michael Reed, will assume their positions on campus on March 1. Cato is the new senior vice president and chief information officer (CIO) while Reed will serve as the senior vice president for inclusion and diversity.

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Two Puerto Rican students arrive for ‘guest semester’

This semester, Bowdoin has accepted two students into its guest semester program for students studying in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands seeking to continue their education following disruption by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Veronica Gutierrez Camacho and Leonardo Núñez, both third-year students at the University of Puerto Rico, arrived in Brunswick on January 18 braced for a new educational and physical environment.

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Mitchell ’54 on life, Democratic party

Senator George Mitchell ’54, H’83 returned to campus early this week to participate in a dialogue with President Clayton Rose titled “Public Service in Times Like These,” during which he challenged his fellow Democrats to reexamine their governing priorities.

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Tax bill to impact financial aid, donations

Currently, both the Senate and the House have passed versions of a revised tax code that would hit wealthy private colleges and universities with new taxes and restrictions. While there are significant differences between the Senate and House proposals, both would affect Bowdoin’s ability to, among other things, provide financial aid through a proposed tax on endowment earnings and a decrease in the number of taxpayers eligible to itemize charitable donations, which may disincentivize donating to the College.

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Activism

Mckesson ’07 addresses activism, action

On Tuesday evening, activist, organizer and educator DeRay Mckesson ’07 returned to campus as the keynote speaker for No Hate November. He delivered his address to a packed audience in Morrell Lounge in Smith Union. Mckesson, an active leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, has used social media, especially Twitter, to spread awareness about the movement, its nationwide protests and the systems of oppression that they seek to change.

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News in Brief

Bowdoin Public Service Initiative accepts 15 applicants

The Bowdoin Public Service Initiative (BPS) announced its first cohort of 10 sophomores and five juniors to take part in a 7-week program in Washington, D.C., and the BPS fellowship program, respectively, last Friday. BPS in Washington allows sophomores to explore public service by traveling to the nation’s capital to meet and network with alumni and other public service representatives.

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‘An outrageous process and a very bad result:’ Senator George Mitchell ’54 on the tax plan

Senator George J. Mitchell ’54 H’83 returned to campus to participate in a dialogue with President Clayton Rose titled “Public Service in Times Like These” in Pickard Theater on Monday. In an exclusive interview with the Orient prior to the event, the senator discussed his deep disappointment with the Republican tax bill passed in the Senate on Saturday.

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Brunswick

Some residents find College contributions lacking

Two op-eds by Brunswick residents published this month in local newspapers expressed that the College should make a greater financial contribution to the town. In a letter to the editor published on November 14 in the Coastal Journal, Brunswick resident Jean Powers called for the town to request a greater gift-in-kind from the College.

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Employee political donations are limited, entirely liberal

During the 2016 election cycle, Bowdoin employees donated less to political causes as a group than employees of many other NESCAC colleges. When Bowdoin employees did donate, none gave to conservative candidates or groups. According to publicly available records from the Federal Election Commission, Bowdoin employees donated the second lowest aggregate sum of any of the 11 schools in the NESCAC in 2016 with $12,164.

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College commemorates World AIDS Day with week of events

This week, Bowdoin hosted the largest event series in the College’s history in recognition of HIV/AIDS. The schedule surrounding today’s World AIDS Day recognition has so far included a screening of the Oscar nominated documentary “How to Survive a Plague,” as well as a discussion with a cast member and a panel on the local and global view of HIV/AIDS.

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Brunswick

Town residents express concern over College’s Pine St. proposal

At a town meeting on the evening of Monday, November 20, Brunswick residents commented on Bowdoin’s proposed plan to discontinue Pine Street in order to build a new athletic facility. If accepted, this plan would mean discontinuing the portion of Pine Street that runs between Bowker Street and Bath Road, adding a perpendicular extension between Pine Street and Bath Road through what is currently a wooded area.

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Academic

Certain classes requested two, three times capacity

When round one of course registration for the spring semester ended, many students were ousted from over-selected classes and have since been scrambling to find new courses that fit their schedules. While many courses saw a significant disparity between the number of available seats and the number of requests, several in particular received nearly twice as many requests as were seats available.

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Events

Government talks bring diversity into politics

Spurred by student and faculty efforts to bring more diverse perspectives to campus, guest speaker Henry Olsen shared a decidedly conservative viewpoint this Tuesday in a talk titled “The Once and Future New Deal Republican: Saving Reagan From Reaganism.” As a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., Olsen focused much of his talk on arguments he advances in his new book, “The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism.” He argues that President Reagan’s core principle was human dignity, not human liberty, and that Reaganism is similar to both Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

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Student Government

Career Planning, BSG launch myth-busting campaign

Last week, the Career Planning Center (CPC) and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) announced a new initiative called “Just the Facts,” an attempt by both groups to better inform students of the career resources and opportunities available to them on campus, while also demystifying and debunking common misconceptions about the role of the CPC and its priorities.

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GOP tax plan includes 1.4 percent endowment tax

Bowdoin is one of about 70 private colleges and universities that would be affected by the implementation of a tax included in the House Republicans’ tax proposal. The tax overhaul approved by House Republicans on Monday proposes a 1.4 percent excise tax on the net investment income of college endowments.

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Off Campus Housing

New off-campus housing policy announced

The College announced its new off-campus housing policy on Wednesday, which includes restricting eligibility for off-campus living to juniors and seniors and capping the total number of students who can live off campus to 185 in the 2018-2019 academic year, down from this year’s cap of 200.

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College joins court brief challenging Trump DACA repeal

Bowdoin has joined 49 other colleges and universities in submitting a legal document of support for a case challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The brief was filed on November 1 in the northern California U.S.

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No Hate November

No Hate November showcases students

Last week, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) kicked off its annual No Hate November programming, a month dedicated to eliminating bias and increasing discussion around identity on campus. The event series has been held for five years, but this year the focus has changed to promote student voices on campus.

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Healthy Relationships group fills gap left by ASAP

Bowdoin Healthy Relationships (BHeRe), a new student group this year, has assumed the programming responsibilities the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), which the Office of Gender Violence Prevention and Education reformatted last spring to become a coalition for other student groups that work to prevent sexual assault on campus.

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50 years later, Arctic Museum celebrates, receives gift

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding with a large addition of new artwork, a birthday party and events that will continue throughout the year. The Museum received 50 pieces of Canadian Inuit art from Judith and Robert Toll to commemorate its fiftieth birthday.

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Endowment

Endowment returns 12.4 percent

The College announced on Friday that the endowment generated an investment return of 12.4 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017. The endowment had a market value of $1.46 billion on June 30, up from $1.34 billion at the close of FY 2016.

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Election 2017

Maine issues: the Orient’s guide to 2017 ballot measures

Q1: Should the Maine Gambling Control Board allow to operation of slot machines or a casino in York County, Maine? If passed, Question 1 would allow for the creation of a gaming and entertainment venue in York County, the most southwestern county in Maine, which includes the towns of Saco, Kennebunk and Old Orchard Beach, among others.

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Academic

German department nationally recognized for excellence

Bowdoin’s Department of German will be honored on November 18 as a Center of Excellence by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). Birgit Tautz, George Taylor Files professor of modern languages, was notified of the department’s designation last month, after submitting an application on behalf of the department to AATG for this honor earlier this year, which included visits by faculty from other institutions to review the department.

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Storm

Storm tests College’s emergency plan

Following a storm early Monday morning that left nearly 500,000 homes and businesses in Maine without electricity, Bowdoin was plunged into the state’s worst ever power outage that, for some, lasted over two days. Students, faculty and staff flocked to Thorne Dining Hall for hot food, heat, electricity and Wi-Fi, while Security and Facilities worked to assess and repair the aftermath.

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Storm

Powered down: how Bowdoin handled the blackout

Even in the chaos of the storm, many students didn’t feel much of a reprieve from their typical day-to-day academic pressures. Tables in Thorne throughout the day could be seen covered in laptops and notebooks as students tried to keep up with their coursework. A photographic look at how Bowdoin reacted to the worst power outage Maine has seen in decades.

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Former student leads identified hate group

As white nationalism has gained prominence across the United States, former Bowdoin student Evan McLaren holds a leading role at one of the movement’s most prominent organizations, the National Policy Institute (NPI). McLaren, who attended Bowdoin for three semesters between 2003 and 2006, became Executive Director of NPI in July.

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Students rally for natural disaster relief

In September, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria struck Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands, as well as southern U.S. states, such as Texas and Florida. In the same month, Mexico was hit with three earthquakes, including the strongest one the country has experienced in over a century.

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OUTtober

Yellow Shirt Day continues tradition of recognition

On Tuesday, hundreds of students, faculty and staff donned yellow shirts that read “Respect. All genders. All sexualities,” for Bowdoin Queer-Straight Alliance’s (BQSA) seventh Yellow Shirt Day. A part of programming for OUTtober, the event is hosted annually near National Coming Out Day in order to show solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community at the College.

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‘Our Bodies, Our Bowdoin’ promotes body positivity, inclusion

Last Friday, “Our Bodies, Our Bowdoin,” sponsored by Peer Health and the Women of Color Coalition, brought together women of color to discuss beauty standards on campus through reflecting on their own experiences. “I just wanted to create a space where women of color could gather because I [not only] feel it is really important to build solidarity and community, but [also] I wanted to be able to have a space [to celebrate] women bodies,” said Elly Veloria ’20, a member of Peer Health and the Women of Color Coalition who helped to plan the event.

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Academic

More than posters: symposium engages humanities and STEM

Today, at the second annual President’s Research Symposium, over 100 students will present research across the fields of STEM, the humanities and social sciences. Last year’s symposium was the first to include research beyond STEM fields, and about 40 percent of this year’s research projects are non-STEM, according to Professor of Chemistry Michael Danahy, the coordinator for the event.

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Socioeconomic Class

‘Class Confess’ Facebook page offers new anonymous platform

Created by an unidentified group of Bowdoin students, the Bowdoin-Class Confess Facebook page has sparked online discussion in the past few weeks around issues such as class, race, gender, sexuality and mental health. With over 1,000 friends and numerous followers including students, alumni and staff members, the page allows students to anonymously post “confessions” and respond to posts.

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Administration

Delong reflects on campus achievements

As Allen Delong, associate dean of student affairs, wraps up the final days of his 12-year Bowdoin career, he reflects with pride as well as nostalgia on the many strides the College has made. During his tenure Delong played a critical role in launching student spaces on campus that promote diversity and inclusivity.

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Panel highlights College’s carbon neutral plan

Students and environmental professionals gathered in Quinby House on Monday night for an intimate panel discussion on Bowdoin’s use of renewable energy sources. During the discussion, hosted by the Bowdoin Organic Garden, panelists also considered the past, present and future of the College’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2020.

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OUTtober

Local Queer/Trans Conference expands sense of community

As part of OUTtober, Bowdoin Queer Straight Alliance (BQSA) sent 13 students to Bates College’s first Maine Youth Summit and Queer/ Trans Conference last Saturday. Open to both college students and community members such as LGBTQIA+ youth, parents and college faculty and staff, the conference allowed Bowdoin students to immerse themselves in a large, diverse group of queer and trans people.

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Career Day offers interview opportunities

Today, a group of approximately 30 Bowdoin seniors will trade their backpacks for briefcases as they travel to Boston to interview with prospective employers. Eastern College Career Day (ECCD) brings together students from includes six schools—Amherst, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Skidmore, St.

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Celebrating women in computing

Over fall break, 13 students and three advisors attended the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) in Orlando, Florida as an educational and advantageous career opportunity. The conference, held from October 4-6, is attended by 18,000 women who are either involved in or interested in the field of computer science.

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