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The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its first meeting of the year this Wednesday, October 2, and discussed a host of new initiatives, including providing more services to students from low-income backgrounds and creating an ad hoc committee to handle complaints about WiFi problems.
Last weekend, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), of which Bowdoin is a member, voted to eliminate parts of its ethics code. These sections, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, stifle competition between schools and limit students’ choices in the college application process.
The Bowdoin student body received an email on Thursday afternoon announcing stricter penalties for students who do not comply with the College’s prohibition of candles in all campus housing. Beginning today, consequences for having an open flame in campus housing may include a hearing before the Judicial Board, which may result in suspension or dismissal.
On Monday night, Kresge Auditorium was filled with voices from across the globe. Carla from Cuba. Jesse from Mexico. Hernando from Colombia. Audience members quickly realized that Daniel Alarcón’s talk, titled “How to Listen: Telling Latin American Stories in Sound and Print,” was actually a multimedia performance, a series of performed podcasts.
This Thursday the Brunswick chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) hosted a panel entitled “Solving the Climate Crisis” at Curtis Memorial Library. The discussion focused on the ways Maine residents—farmers, fishermen and coastal homeowners alike—will be affected by climate change and the details of the CCL’s proposed policy solution.
The number of on-campus liquor violations rose 28 percent from 2017 while the number of drug violations dropped by a third, according to the Bowdoin Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. These numbers, however, follow a general downward trend that began in the early 2010s.
In an email to the Orient on Sunday evening, Vice President of Bowdoin Student Government Arein Nguyen ’21 announced the results of the class council elections for the classes of 2020 and 2023. Eighty-six votes were cast in the senior class council election, representing approximately 17 percent of the class.
Last Friday, Michael Cato, senior vice president and chief information officer of Information Technology (IT), sent a campus-wide email detailing email hacks that occurred through Chegg, Bowdoin’s previous online textbook vendor, as well as continuing WiFi connectivity issues.
Clad in red and blue colored top hats, student workers and volunteers congregated in David Saul Smith Union and Thorne Hall on Tuesday for National Voter Registration Day. Bowdoin Votes, a non-partisan voting advocacy initiative on campus, tabled at both sites to spread awareness and assist students with voter registration.
Last Wednesday evening, Frances Kendall, renowned expert on diversity and privilege, visited campus to lead two workshops on white privilege. The first four-hour morning workshop was held in Daggett Lounge for approximately 70 faculty and staff members, while the evening session for students was cancelled a couple hours before it was scheduled to start.
On Wednesday, Danny Richter, vice president of government affairs for Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an international environmental lobbying group, held a lecture in the Roux Center for the Environment about his proposals for solutions to climate change which center on implementing a carbon tax.
Eight Bowdoin students were cited early Sunday morning for furnishing alcohol to minors at a party at the students’ off-campus residence. The party was held at 49 Pleasant Street, known by Bowdoin students as “Red Brick House.” All eight residents of the house are members of the men’s Ultimate Frisbee team.
“This is what democracy looks like!” chanted the hundreds of Bowdoin students and Brunswick community members gathered at the steps of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art at 10 a.m. last Friday morning. Spilling out across the grass of the quad, the crowd sang songs, waved signs and listened to various speakers at the Global Climate Strike Rally hosted by Bowdoin Climate Action.
For eight weekends this fall, College House residents will gather in their respective chapter rooms and embark on an hour-long discussion about the implications of class at Bowdoin. Students will share stories, ask questions and reckon with the issues of class on campus.
This summer, Bowdoin announced that it would donate $450,000 to build a “discovery classroom” at Kate Furbish Elementary School, which is set to open in 2020. A plan for the classroom was reviewed and approved in last week’s meeting of the Brunswick Planning Board.
The Bowdoin College Library and Department of Government and Legal Studies teamed up this month to celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. A series of events around campus will mark the day and focus on the nation’s founding document.
From top-ranked dining services to state-of-the-art dorm rooms, Bowdoin is known for leading in student comfort. However, after sleeping on a twin XL bed in a first-year brick, Jake Maus ’22 became inspired by restless nights.
Last Friday, Taco the Town arrived at 30 College Street to kick off Latinx Heritage Month and Beyond. Students, faculty, staff and even President Clayton Rose joined the festivities. Although campus programming for the month has been significantly reduced since last year, this event marked the first of five programs scheduled for this year’s Latinx Heritage Month and Beyond.
On Thursday night, Masha Gessen, a renowned Russian Jewish journalist, delivered this year’s Harry Spindel Memorial Lecture to a full and engaged audience in Kresge Auditorium. The lecture, titled “Jews and Borders,” delved into the idea of migration and dispersion as central tenets of Jewish identity, while also drawing attention to common experiences amongst different ethnic minorities.
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum were awarded a $239,344 federal grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) last week. The IMLS award description says the museums will use the funds to “improve both physical and digital access to the collections of its two museums.” The College matched the federal fund with an additional $249,000 to support the project.
Ryan Britt ’22 was elected Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) chair of student affairs Friday night, beating River Fenton ’22 and Lucas Johnson ’22 in a special election governed by ranked-choice voting. Only 373 students voted in the election, approximately one-fifth of the student body.
Last Saturday, a handful of Bowdoin students woke up at the crack of dawn to drive to Manchester, New Hampshire. At 8 a.m., they arrived at their destination: the New Hampshire Democratic Convention. Justin Ko ’22 has volunteered for Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign for the past five months.
Voting in the special election for Bowdoin Student Government’s (BSG) vacant chair of student affairs opened Wednesday morning and will remain open until 8 p.m. tonight. The special election follows the resignation of the Chair of Student Affairs, Anibal Husted ’22 on May 13—four weeks after he was elected in an uncontested race.
Injury Prevention Around the Clock will focus on providing information to reduce the likelihood of injuries and/or adverse incidents on campus and beyond. September is Campus Safety Month, and fire safety is always a top priority in new surroundings.
This fall, the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) is amending the structure of its Leadership Training (LT) program to extend through the full year rather than a single semester, and to incorporate members of the former Out of the Zone (OZ) program into general LT programming.
Last weekend, College Houses hosted their annual house crawl. This time, however, something was noticeably different: there was less alcohol. Though the College’s policy regarding parties has not changed since last year, the volume of alcohol allowed at College House events has been reduced.
Nearly a month before Bowdoin proudly unveiled the four new state-of-the-art apartment buildings on Park Row, the College found itself under fire due to the practices of one of its subcontractors, Timberland Drywall, Inc. Approximately 15 protestors, half of them from the New England Regional Council of Carpenters (NERCC), held signs outside the construction site accusing Timberland Drywall of tax fraud via the misclassification of their workers.
After only three weeks at Bowdoin, the Class of 2023 has already decided on their favorite dining hall—67 percent chose Thorne Hall over Moulton Hall. And on average, the first years are more excited than they are nervous for their next four years at the College.
Lucas Johnson ’22 Hey everyone! My name is Lucas, and I hope the beginning of the year is going well for you all. This year, we have the opportunity to make progress on the numerous issues our campus is facing, from increasing the mental health resources available to students, to strengthening our relations with the Town of Brunswick, to decreasing our carbon footprint by expanding our renewable energy portfolio.
While most of the Class of 2023 has spent the past week figuring out where the Roux Center for the Environment is and how to avoid getting caught in the 6 p.m. rush at Thorne Dining Hall, one cohort of 18 students already knew their way around campus.
Since five students were issued court summonses at a Helmreich House party by Brunswick Police Department (BPD) last April, Bowdoin students expressed concerns about hosting parties. Concern grew into confusion after College House students met with BPD and Bowdoin Security officers during College House orientation.
James “Jes” Staley ’79 P ’11, a member of the Board of Trustees and the CEO of Barclays, visited sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein at his private island in 2015, and during his incarceration in Palm Beach, Florida in 2008, according to Bloomberg.
With one construction project complete, the College is moving forward with its plan to revamp housing for upper class students. Construction began in May on the new Harpswell Apartments, which will house 132 students in three buildings of four-, six- and eight- person apartments, and virtual renderings of the apartments are now available online.
Over the summer, just three miles from campus, nearly 60 asylum seekers were welcomed to the Brunswick community. The group is just a fraction of the 450 asylees who have journeyed from sub-Saharan Africa to Maine since June.
This fall, Information Technology (IT) has introduced a second student-run help desk called TechHub. This help desk is intended to serve as a resource for those in need of assistance with common technology issues such as connecting to Wi-Fi, installing PolarPrint drivers, account access and two-step authentication with Duo Security.
The beginning of this school year will mark a transition for religious life at Bowdoin. In July, Macauley Lord ’77 finalized a $1 million donation to the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, renaming it to honor his late mother, Rachel Lord.
With SuperSnack closed for the first weekend of the semester, students will—for the second year— be able to tuck into free snacks at Food Truck Maineia, which opened last night and continues tonight on Dudley Coe Quad.
The new Park Row Apartments opened just in time for students to return to campus for the fall semester. One of the four buildings received approval for occupancy from town officials on September 1, just hours before students were set to move in.
While seniors on campus update their LinkedIn profiles and rush to the Career Exploration and Development office, Jean Claude Kagame has crossed borders and oceans in search of work. He moved from Kigali, Rwanda to Brunswick, Maine in late June.
Kristina Bethea Odejimi has been named the new dean of students and will begin at the College on August 1. The post was previously held by Janet Lohmann, who was hired as dean for student affairs in April, replacing Tim Foster upon his retirement.
Editor’s Note, 6/26/19, 7:44 p.m.: Bank of America announced on Wednesday afternoon that it would cease lending to private prison corporations. President Clayton Rose issued a statement in support of this decision on Wednesday evening. On Monday morning, President Clayton Rose became the first subject of an online campaign to protest Bank of America, the only major bank still financing private prison corporations that operate migrant detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Over 100 students, faculty and alumni showed up on Thursday afternoon to show their support for Bowdoin’s housekeeping staff, several of whom spoke on the front porch of Baxter House to tell their stories and voice their demands to be paid a living wage.
This year, over 30 Bowdoin students received national fellowships or scholarships to pursue professional opportunities around the world. These opportunities range from teaching students in various countries such as Portugal, Israel, South Korea and Mexico to pursuing public service work in Washington, D.C.
Most current Bowdoin students had not yet been born when Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster came to Bowdoin in the fall of 1996. Today from 4:30 to 8 p.m. in Thorne Hall, students, faculty, staff and guests will celebrate the myriad contributions that Foster has made to the Bowdoin community during his 23 years at the College.
On Allen Wells’ final day of teaching last spring, students and colleagues packed into his classroom in Kanbar Hall, surprising the Roger Howell, Jr. Professor of History with flowers and teary goodbyes. “What was very funny and very Allen is, he was not quite done teaching, and he was quite visibly like, ‘Okay wait, but we were in the middle of something important here,’” said Meghan Roberts, associate professor of history, with a laugh.
Associate Dean of Student Affairs Wilmarie Rodriguez will be resigning from her position at the end of this school year as she looks to complete the last phase of her doctoral program and to spend more time with her family.
When she was deciding which college she would attend, a Bowdoin program called Geoffrey Canada Scholars caught the eye of Lynn Nguyen ’22. The program, which began this year under a new initiative called THRIVE, offered 15 incoming first-year students, who identified as first-generation, low-income or students of color, the opportunity to live on campus and participate in summer classes for six weeks before orientation began.
With no campaigns to canvas for and no debates to watch, conversations about politics at Bowdoin are continuing in smaller settings. In this civic spirit, the College Republicans will welcome former U.S. Representative Tom Allen ’67 this Saturday for an informal dinner conversation about political polarization and public service.
Career Planning has changed its name to “Career Exploration and Development” (CXD), Kristin Brennan, executive director of CXD, announced on Wednesday in an email to the student body. The name marks a shift in the office’s focus towards helping students explore their passions while gaining practical skills necessary for the workplace.
Four weeks after Brunswick Police Department (BPD) issued 13 court summonses to Bowdoin students in a single weekend, the five students who received summonses in Helmreich House have not been notified as to whether BPD is proceeding with the charges.
Last November, the College announced a policy to increase the number of veterans that apply and are admitted to each graduating class. Ten veterans in total submitted applications this year, and two were accepted as transfer students.
Last weekend, a Muslim student received threatening phone calls from a blocked number, and two Asian students had their identities mocked in two separate incidents. These incidents were likely perpetrated by Bowdoin students. In addition, late Tuesday night, the N-word and other racial epithets were hurled at a black student from a driver and a passenger in a passing car, neither of whom are affiliated with the College.
Last week, BowdoinOne Day—the College’s largest annual donation campaign—proceeded as normal, despite a movement among alumni to withhold donations until the College pays its workers a living wage. As the campaign concluded, the number of donations has not yet reached the College’s target of 8,200 gifts.
This academic year marks the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good. The McKeen Center has had a short existence compared to that of the College, but it has come to play an integral role in the Bowdoin community.
This spring, only three students signed up for the Bowdoin Outing Club’s (BOC) Out of the Zone (OZ) program, an all-time low since the program’s founding in 2009. On average, more than ten students have participated in each rotation in past years.
Last week, students objected to a comedy set by guest Fumi Abe, deeming several of his jokes racist and sexist. While Abe’s visit was sponsored by the Asian Students Alliance (ASA) and the Student Center for Multicultural Life, ASA quickly condemned Abe’s act, and Director of the Student Center for Multicultural Life Benjamin Harris said that the College had no reason to anticipate any of the offensive comments from the performance.
Bowdoin students and community members gathered in the Great Room of 30 College on Monday night for an intimate conversation about refugee resettlement with Salim Salim ’20 and Deacon Dean Lachance, the chief operating officer of Catholic Charities in Maine.
Russia, according to a popular refrain that Julia Ioffe quoted at Bowdoin on Monday, cannot be understood with the mind alone. Her lecture, titled “What Russia Wants and What it Means for America,” focused on the 21st century geopolitical history of Russia and its relationships with the West, in particular with the United States.
For the first time since Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) became nationally recognized in 2001, several student groups collaborated on programming this April. While the month provided students with the opportunity to learn about supporting survivors of sexual assault and align themselves with national movements, organizers say that outreach continues to pose a challenge.
A stand-up comedy routine performed by Fumi Abe on Thursday night in Kresge Auditorium was met with criticism for offensive and racist language. Abe’s show was sponsored by the Asian Students Alliance (ASA) and the Student Center for Multicultural Life as part of Asian Heritage Month.
As the academic year approaches its end, so, too, does funding for student activities. The Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC)—responsible for allocating funds to student organizations throughout the year—spent the last of its $700,000 budget on April 1.
Born in London and having completed middle and high school in Nepal, Ural Mishra ’20 made the decision to attend a college in the United States. Now, he will be its president, after winning the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) election for the 2019-20 academic year, the results of which were announced Sunday night.
John Kasich wouldn’t say whether he’ll run for president in 2020. However, the former Ohio governor did speak about his disagreements with the Republican Party and fielded what were, at times, confrontational questions from students during an hour-long discussion in Pickard Theater on Monday night.
At 9 p.m. on Tuesday evening, 50 candles illuminated the steps of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, each representing a victim of the terror attacks at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15.
President Clayton Rose announced last week that Arthur C. Brooks will be the inaugural Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow next year. Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank, represents a commitment to “the Common Good, broadly defined,” said Rose.
In a talk aptly named “Inequality and the Injustice of Poverty” on Tuesday night, President and CEO of Oxfam America Abigail Maxman challenged her audience of around three dozen students and professors in Kresge Auditorium to consider the challenge that these two forces pose today.
Making the Green New Deal (GND) a legislative reality remains a daunting challenge, but a few Maine politicians are certainly trying. On Thursday night, State Representative Chloe Maxmin (D-Nobleboro), along with Representative of the Houlton Band of Maliseets Henry Bear and 2018 Democratic U.S.
Ural Mishra ’20 was elected Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) president Sunday night after prevailing in a three-way race in BSG’s first elections governed by ranked-choice voting. Just 926 students voted in this year’s elections, down from 1,075 last year and 1,234 in 2017.
“Whenever you break the mold and you do something different or you stand for something, you’re going to get pushback. You’re going to get people who want to shun you and shut you out,” said Sophia Nelson during a moderated discussion with Assistant Professor of Government Chryl Laird in Kresge Auditorium on Tuesday evening.
In an email to the Bowdoin community on Monday morning, President Clayton Rose announced that current Dean of Students Janet Lohmann will serve as Bowdoin’s new Dean of Student Affairs, effective July 1, 2019. Lohmann will replace current Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster when he steps down at the end of the academic year Rose noted that the College conducted a national search to replace Foster, ultimately interviewing four finalists.
As the semester winds down, students must begin preparing for the housing lottery, which begins on Tuesday, April 16. Like previous years, there are four separate lotteries within the overall housing lottery process, each with its own application and deadline.
On Wednesday, students filled the chairs of Jack Magee’s Pub and Grill to watch the annual Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) election debates. Moderated by the Orient’s editors-in-chief Calder McHugh ’19 and Jessica Piper ’19, the debates gave students the opportunity to get to know the candidates for next year’s BSG executive team and hear their proposed platforms.
In recent months there has been a pattern of stories in the Orient exploring the complexities and limitations of Bowdoin’s endowment and operating budget. To add context to the series of articles and op-eds, the Orient has decided to break down the numbers behind the money that makes Bowdoin run.
Bowdoin’s current Dean of Students, Janet Lohmann, will replace Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, effective July 1 of this year. Foster announced that he would be leaving Bowdoin at the conclusion of the academic year this November.
In recent months there has been a pattern of stories in the Orient exploring the complexities and limitations of Bowdoin’s endowment and operating budget. To add context to the series of articles and op-eds, the Orient has decided to break down the numbers behind the money that makes Bowdoin run.
When Jordan Hsia ’19 was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder earlier this year, she found a silver lining. These official diagnoses, she thought, would allow her to keep an emotional support animal in her dorm.
The first weekend back from Spring Break was a busy one for both students and the Brunswick Police Department (BPD). Thirteen students received alcohol-related court summons and one student received a warning between last Friday and Saturday nights.
On March 21, President Trump signed an executive order which mandated that colleges receiving federal funds must uphold the principles of free speech. While the order has the potential to increase anxieties around what has been a hot-button topic for years, Bowdoin is not concerned.
Imagine walking into a bookstore and seeing a bookshelf labeled “Asian History” that includes volumes on Chinese history alongside volumes on Asian-American history. Now imagine a bookshelf labeled “African History” that includes volumes on the history of Nigeria alongside volumes on African Americans in the United States.
On Monday evening, students filled the Center for Multicultural Life at 30 College Street for the kickoff celebration of Asian Heritage Month. This event is the first of eight that will take place in April as part of a celebration of Asian and Asian American identity.
On Monday evening, College House decisions came out. Two hundred sixty students applied to live in the College Houses, an increase from 247 applications for the 2018-2019 academic year. The most popular houses were Quinby House and Boody-Johnson House, which is new this year.
Students of Arabic will finally be able to put their language classes toward an officially recognized academic program starting next fall, after faculty unanimously voted on Monday to approve a minor in Arabic and a minor in Middle East and North African Studies.
Earlier this month, the College sent first years, sophomores and juniors the Enrolled Student Survey, a mid-year assessment of student life at Bowdoin that will allow the College to compare the student experience at Bowdoin to several dozen peer schools.
A record-low 8.9 percent of applicants were admitted to the Class of 2023 from a pool of 9,332 candidates, down from 10.3 percent last year. This marks the first time that the College’s acceptance rate has dipped below 10 percent.
As students spread around the globe for spring break, community members were confronted with news of the latest act of racially-charged terrorism to make international headlines: the murder of 50 Muslims by a fanatical white supremacist in the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Earlier this month, federal prosecutors charged 50 participants in a multimillion-dollar college admissions scheme in which wealthy parents bribed coaches and standardized test administrators to gain their children admission to elite colleges including Georgetown, Stanford and Yale.
When C.J. Chivers travelled to Afghanistan in 2001 to report on the new U.S. war, he didn’t expect to cover it for two decades. Eighteen years later, he wonders how best to bring public attention to the human consequences of the far-off conflict.
After years of discussion, faculty and administration are taking final steps to approve the creation of two new minors at the College: Arabic and Middle East and North African Studies. Bowdoin began to permanently offer Arabic courses in 2008 under Lecturer in Arabic Russell Hopley, who remained the single instructor of the language before leaving the College last year.
On Tuesday, storyteller Roxanne Baker, an educator and activist, told a crowded room in Moulton Union’s Lancaster Lounge a story from her childhood about coming to terms with both her deafness and her Jewish identity. Baker was born in Portland to a hearing family and until she was eight, attempted to get by with reading lips with the help of intense speech therapy.
At around 2:15 a.m. on Monday morning, a lit candle ignited a jacket and a bedspread, activating the smoke alarm in Baxter House. A student in the room extinguished the fire, resulting in a minor hand injury.
In an email to campus on Wednesday with the subject line “No Bamba,” co-chair of the Entertainment Board (E-Board) Amanda Newman ’19 announced that Jamila Woods, Mick Jenkins and the duo Lion Babe will headline this year’s Ivies Weekend.
When she took to the stage in Kresge Auditorium on Tuesday night, April Ryan faced a nicer crowd than she’s encountered at the White House lately. In front of a packed audience of students and community members in Kresge Auditorium, Ryan spoke about her experience covering the White House and the long quest for a “more perfect union.” The event, sponsored by the African-American Society, was the the final program of Black History Month and Beyond and the first of Herstory, a celebration of Women’s History Month.
Beyond the confines of Bowdoin’s campus, Maine boasts the highest rate of food insecurity in New England. Brunswick’s homeless population is growing, but the town’s zoning restrictions don’t currently allow for the creation of an additional homeless shelter.
While Bowdoin students don’t remember a time before the Roe v. Wade decision, local grandmothers certainly do. On Tuesday, Bowdoin Reproductive Justice Coalition brought Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights (GRR) to campus for a talk called “Life Before Roe v.
On Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) representatives deliberated and voted on a new voting system. Out of the three choices—a student-created, computer-based system, paper ballots and software purchased from an external provider—the majority voted for buying student-created software.
Last night, the exhibition “Beauty in Color” opened in the Lamarche Gallery in David Saul Smith Union. It featured photos that were taken on February 3 during Bowdoin’s second annual Women of Color Photoshoot, where 40 Bowdoin women of color (WOC), three organizers and general photographers gathered in room 601 of Memorial Hall.
Weaving together literature, biotechnology, philosophy and political theory, Eileen Hunt Botting ’93 took to the podium in the Searles Science Building on Monday evening to deliver her lecture “Shelley, Hawthorne, and the Ethics of Genetic Engineering.” Addressing Bowdoin students, professors and community members in a packed lecture hall, Botting explored the ethical and political implications of advancements in biotechnology through a discussion of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birth-Mark” and other works she calls “hacker literature” in a talk sponsored by the Peucinian Society.
For its next foray into climate activism, Bowdoin Climate Action (BCA) is connecting with the Sunrise Movement, a national organization that advocates for political action on climate change. Sunrise has mostly recently been linked to activism surrounding the Green New Deal—not divestment campaigns, for which BCA had long been known.
There is a common perception on campus that many members of the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) fit into a particular stereotype. But this semester, the BOC is renewing its efforts to push back against historical narratives about the outdoors.
