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News

Coronavirus

Despite College’s assurances, students return to campus from Italy

Editor’s Note, 3/7/20, 3:02 p.m.: The college sent out a statement at 1:36 p.m. today regarding the contents of this article. The Orient has since published a story addressing those updates. Despite assurances from the college that students studying in Italy would not immediately return to campus due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions, several students who were studying in Italy returned to campus earlier this week.

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Dance

Dance Marathon raises record sum for Portland children’s hospital

Last Friday, Bowdoin College Dance Marathon hosted its third annual Dance Marathon to raise money for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland. This year’s Dance Marathon had more students registered than ever before and raised a record amount of money, an increase the leaders of the event attributed to improved collaboration with athletic teams and College Houses.

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Outing Club and SWAG Center partner to create LGBTQ+ ski trip

For many Bowdoin students, outdoor trips are opportunities to relax and unwind off campus. When it comes to trips specifically for LGBTQ+ students, this sense of comfort takes on a new meaning. Today, 15 LGBTQ+ Bowdoin students are skiing with Perry Cohen, founder and executive director of the Venture Out Project, on a trip created in partnership with the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) and the Sexuality, Women and Gender Center (SWAG).

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Construction

Architect reveals plans for Center for Arctic Studies and Mills Hall

Dudley Coe is coming down, along with dozens of pine trees. In its place, HGA—a Minneapolis-based architecture firm—envisions new buildings inspired by arctic landscapes and constructed with sustainable design principles. In presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday, project architect Nat Madson of HGA brought Barry Mills Hall and the new Center for Arctic Studies (CAS) to life, explaining in vivid detail the plans for the two projects.

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Amy Walter addresses community about election

Political journalist Amy Walter joined students, faculty and members of the Brunswick community in Morrell Lounge to discuss the upcoming presidential election in her lecture titled, “The 2020 Election with Amy Walter—The Fundamentals of What You Need to Know.” Tuesday’s talk was sponsored by the Tom Cassidy Lecture Fund, Bowdoin Public Service, Bowdoin Student Government, the Sexuality, Women and Gender Center (SWAG) and Student Activities.

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Election

Maine issue: the Orient’s guide to the 2020 ballot measure

Question 1: Should Maine allow religious and philosophical exemptions to requiring vaccinations for students? Question 1—the only question on the Maine ballot next week—will ask voters whether they want to keep or repeal a law passed last year that would eliminate “religious and philosophical exemptions” to vaccination requirements.

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Bowdoin Student Government

BSG introduces mental health support proposal

Ryan Britt ’22, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) Chair of Student Affairs, introduced a motion to request increased support for mental health and counseling services on campus at Wednesday’s BSG assembly meeting. The motion proposes an increase in hired counselors, additional funding for mental health services and programs and a new college body to look specifically into issues of mental health and wellness.

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Anthony Jack demands more of higher education

Anthony Jack, assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, nearly broke into song as he spoke in front of a packed audience in Kresge Auditorium on Wednesday. With three fingers pressed against his palm and his pointer extended, he painted the air with his outstretched arm while addressing the crowd.

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Administration

The president in the living room: Rose answers student questions

President Clayton Rose joined a small group of students in the living room of Reed House for an intimate question-and-answer session on Thursday evening. During nearly two hours of discussion, students pressed Rose on an array of hot-button campus issues, ranging from James “Jes” Staley’s ’79 P’11 status on the Board of Trustees to campus mental health services and the fight for a living wage for Bowdoin’s housekeeping staff.

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Mental Health

STRESS LESS program teaches everyday mindfulness

As midterm season approaches, Bowdoin can move at a frighteningly quick pace, and stress can weigh heavy on many students. A new program, STRESS LESS, hopes to combat this issue. Associate Director of Clinical and Emergency Services Shelley Roseboro and Assistant Director of Student Wellness Programs Kate Nicholson implemented the month-long mindfulness and stress reduction program earlier this month.

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Student Government

BSG votes to amend election procedures

An amendment to the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) election bylaws to remove Judicial Board (J-Board) oversight from the assembly’s elections passed by a unanimous vote at the BSG meeting on Wednesday. The Vice President or another non-candidate member of the assembly will now oversee each election.

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Over 75 women involved in fourth annual production of RISE

This weekend, over 75 students will take the stage to present the fourth annual production of RISE: Untold Stories of Bowdoin Women. With 49 stories, 31 of which are new, the performance will feature a wide range of emotions as the production’s organizers work to highlight joy as well as women’s stories of difficulty and violence.

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Pilot intragroup dialogue on race to start this Monday

Last fall, 16 students of varying backgrounds and racial identities met at 30 College for seven Monday nights to engage in a dialogue about race and racism. Beginning this Monday, a group of only white-identifying students will congregate for the College’s pilot Intragroup Dialogue on race, specifically designed for white students.

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Students relaunch chapter of mental health club

This spring, Olivia Groell ’22 and Ridhika Tripathee ’22 are re-starting a Bowdoin chapter of Active Minds, a national nonprofit organization that aims to increase mental health awareness on college campuses. “The goal of our club is to spread awareness of mental health and to destigmatize talking about it.

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Board of Trustees

Bowdoin’s trustees: who they are and what they do

Before the members of the Board of Trustees convened in Beverley, Mass., this Thursday, they read a 60-page packet about Gen Z. Among the materials trustees were required to read prior to the meeting was an article by Jeffrey Selingo, a journalist who covers higher education, titled “The New Generation of Students: How colleges can recruit, teach, and serve Gen Z.” “Today’s students are attentive to inclusion across race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and they want colleges to live up to those ideals as well,” writes Selingo.

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Maine Politics

Democratic Senate hopeful Sara Gideon visits campus, answers questions

Students and community members packed into the Pickering Room on February 1 for coffee, cookies and a chance to ask questions of Democratic Senate candidate and Speaker of the Maine State House Sara Gideon. Of all the candidates running in the Democratic primary, Gideon is probably the most connected to Bowdoin: she lives in Freeport and is the aunt of two current Bowdoin students.

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Brunswick

Squirrel knocks out power on north campus

An equipment failure near the Androscoggin hydroelectric plant caused a power outage that left roughly 2,500 customers in Brunswick and parts of Bowdoin’s north campus in the dark last Saturday morning. The outage occurred when a heedless squirrel damaged circuit equipment near Sea Dog Brewing in Topsham, according to Manager of Corporate Communications for Central Maine Power (CMP) Catharine Hartnett.

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College Houses

After senior-only experiment, Ladd to accept applicants from all class years

After two years as an all-senior College House, Ladd House will accept applications from all class years for the 2020-21 academic year, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) announced this week. The change comes after ResLife struggled to fill the house with seniors for the 2019-2020 academic year, according to Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Residential & Student Life Mike Ranen.

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Brunswick

Eight-hour standoff ends peacefully with suspect’s arrest

An eight-hour standoff Monday morning between Brunswick police and an armed man ended with the suspect surrendering after officers deployed tear gas to force him out of his residence, according to police. Nick Christensen, 39, was arrested and charged with felony weapons possession, domestic violence assault, obstruction and creating a police standoff after the impasse ended around 8:20 a.m..

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Maine experts talk HIV activism and concerns

On Monday night, students gathered in Quinby House for “Real Talk on HIV” to discuss medical activism with HIV/AIDS experts in Maine. The panel offered insights from Executive Director of the Frannie Peabody Center Katie Rutherford and Co-Chair of the Maine HIV Advisory Committee Stash Bayley and was moderated by Assistant Professor of Sociology Theo Greene.

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Distribution Requirements

Faculty considers proposal to replace Exploring Social Differences distribution requirement

The Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee (CEP) introduced a motion to change the Exploring Social Differences (ESD) distribution requirement at a faculty meeting on Monday. It would instead be called “Difference, Power, Inequity” and a new definition of the requirement aims to address vagueness of the current requirement.

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Financial Aid

Questions linger about future of depleted Kaempfer Fund

Like many visual art students, Maddie Squibb ’20 went into the semester choosing between a couple of courses. “Printmaking II or an advanced painting independent study?” she wondered. “And then I got the email about the Kaempfer Fund running out and it made me think, ‘Oh, I guess I won’t pursue an independent study,’” said Squibb, who is a visual arts minor.

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Student Government

BSG leaders open dialogue with President Rose at public meeting

President Clayton Rose attended a meeting of the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on Wednesday to field questions from student activists and members of the student government. During the public comment session of the meeting, Rose responded to questions about the College’s relationship with James “Jes” Staley ’79, a member of the Board of Trustees and a known associate of the late discredited financier Jeffrey Epstein, Rose’s role as a member of the Board of Directors of Bank of America and the College’s choice of Arthur Brooks as the inaugural Joseph McKeen Fellow.

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Lived Name Initiative Phase II prioritizes pronoun choice

As students filled out their Enrollment Form upon their return to Bowdoin, they likely spotted a new question asking them to select what pronouns they wish to share with the Bowdoin community. This was the second phase of the Lived Name Initiative, sponsored by Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Information Technology and the Office of Inclusion and Diversity.

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Brunswick

Two arrested after Brunswick burglary spree

Two men have been jailed in connection with a string of burglaries last week that targeted four businesses and two churches in Brunswick, police say. Jonathan West, 25, and Jarrod Sennstrom, 18, who live together at 71 Hennessy Avenue, were arrested on Thursday and charged with theft and burglary.

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Black mold found in Smith Union

A housekeeper discovered black mold in a housekeeping closet behind Jack Magee’s Pub and Grill over winter break. R.J. Enterprises, a contractor that specializes in asbestos abatement and mold removal, was brought in to perform an assessment.

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Black History At Bowdoin

Civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander calls for a ‘revolution of values’

It didn’t take long for the audience in a packed Pickard Theater to give Michelle Alexander a standing ovation. As soon as she walked on stage, everyone stood up. Alexander, a renowned legal scholar, New York Times columnist and author of the best-selling book “The New Jim Crow,” visited Bowdoin on Thursday to participate in a moderated discussion, entitled “Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” this year’s annual Martin Luther King Jr.

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Sophomores explore career options during first annual CXD bootcamp

In an effort to kickstart students’ success in career planning, Career Exploration and Development (CXD) welcomed sophomores back to campus during the final week of winter break for a career development bootcamp. CXD provided programming to students for the week, inviting alumni back to campus to share their post-graduation experiences.

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Jill Lepore discusses US political climate

Jill Lepore H’15 is worried about the nation, and she thinks that you should be too. “It has often been said, in the 21st century and in earlier centuries, too, that Americans lack a shared past and that, built on cracked foundations, the Republic is crumbling,” writes Lepore in the introduction to “These Truths,” her 930-page single-volume history of the United States, published in September 2018.

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Brunswick

Local keg supplier closes after 62 years

“I’m excited for it … I’m free!” said Dan Bouthot, owner of Uncle Tom’s Market, as a sizeable grin emerged from underneath his unruly white beard. After 62 years and seven months, the market, located on the corner of Pleasant Street and Westminster Avenue, has closed its doors.

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Following student complaints, dining removes bulletin board posters

Posters on a Moulton Union bulletin board detailing the calorie counts of standard Thanksgiving foods were taken down after students anonymously pinned angry comments to the board. The posters, which included “strategies to decrease intake and manage weight,” were posted on the Thursday before Thanksgiving—the day of Bowdoin Dining’s annual Thanksgiving dinner.

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Staying safe during the holiday season

Everyone loves to celebrate the holidays with festive decorations. The challenge is to decorate in a safe manner. These are our Fire Prevention Measures based on guidelines provided by the Brunswick Fire Department and the National Fire Prevention Association.

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Alumni

Annual Giving Report shows decline in alumni donations

The College received $34.9 million in donations during the 2018-2019 year, a $700,000 decrease from the $35.6 million received in 2017-2018, according to the Annual Giving Report. The report, prepared by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, also shows alumni and friends, faculty and staff gave less this year than last.

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Brunswick

Shooting on Federal Street leaves one dead Monday night

One man is dead following a shooting in a Federal Street apartment on Monday night. Another man was shot and injured at the scene. The first man, Ali Fisher of Lisbon, broke into the apartment carrying a handgun, according to a release from the Maine State Police, and entered into an altercation with an occupant of the apartment, a 22-year-old woman.

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Panelists address the complexities of land acknowledgements

Sitting on the floor and squeezing into the back,  faculty, staff and students packed Main Lounge in for the panel, “Land and Waters Around Us: A Discussion on Indigenous Land and Acknowledgements.” The event, organized by the Native American Students Association (NASA) as a part of both Native American Heritage Month and No Hate November, discussed the importance and complexity of land acknowledgements.

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No Hate November

Patrick Dempsey delivers No Hate November keynote, sharing experience with dyslexia

On Thursday evening, students packed David Saul Smith Union to hear Patrick Dempsey H’13, former star of the hit ABC show “Grey’s Anatomy,” deliver the annual No Hate November keynote address. Dempsey sat down with Marcus Williams ’21, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) chair of diversity and inclusion, to discuss their experiences with dyslexia.

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Panel illuminates 2019 uprisings in the Middle East

On Monday, Visiting Assistant Professor of History Idriss Jebari moderated “Late Springs: Arab Uprisings in 2019,” a panel that  featured faculty members speaking on uprisings in Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt. The event drew a crowd of students interested in the Middle East to Kanbar Hall to hear stories that, according to Jebari, are largely absent from or misrepresented by media coverage.

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Maine Politics

University of Maine students protest administration’s student job policy

Last Friday, more than 50 students at the University of Maine Orono participated in a sit-in on the second floor of Memorial Union, a central hub of student activity on campus. The students were protesting in response to a three-part series published in the Maine Beacon, which revealed that Director of Government and Community Relations for the University of Maine System Samantha Warren had lobbied the state government to exempt students from a recently passed law granting workers paid time off.

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Three students involved in serious bike accidents

Three students have been involved in serious bicycle crashes on campus in recent weeks, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols wrote in an email to the campus on Tuesday. All three students received minor to moderate injuries and have returned to campus.

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Housing lottery to move all online for next year

In an email to the students on Wednesday, Director of Residential and Housing Operations Lisa Rendall announced that the housing lottery process will take place completely online beginning this spring. Rendall also confirmed that the new Harpswell Apartments will be available for the 2020-21 academic year.

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Coffee house program takes strides against political animosity

Bowdoin students and members of the greater Brunswick community exchanged ideas on the role of the American government and enjoyed live music on Tuesday in Morrell Lounge. The event marked the third installment of the What Matters Community Crossover, a four-part program spearheaded by the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good.

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Maine Politics

Presidential candidate Bennet speaks at Bowdoin

Like most visiting for Family Weekend, presidential candidate and United States Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) P’23 spent the weekend eating brunch at Thorne, exploring campus and spending time with his family. Unlike other visiting parents and family members, Bennet spent Saturday afternoon answering questions about national issues and his presidential campaign from a crowded room of parents, students and Brunswick residents—among whom was Senator Angus King (I-ME)—during a town hall in Chase Barn.

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100 years later, the road to women’s suffrage lives on

To mark the hundred-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s passage, last Tuesday Bowdoin Votes, the Sexuality, Women and Gender Center and the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies department brought author Elaine Weiss to campus to speak about her latest book, “The Women’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote.” The organizers strategically scheduled her talk to precede the centennial of Maine’s ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

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Election

NESCAC Votes aims for 90% registration rate

Last weekend, administrators, faculty and students from eight out of the 11 NESCAC colleges convened at Middlebury College for the first NESCAC Votes Summit to jump start each campus’ election engagement plan. From partnering with the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE), Bowdoin Votes has been able to examine the areas on campus in which voter turnout could be stronger.

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