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News in Brief

Total Number of Articles: 131

First Article on this Page: February 2, 2018

Latest Article on this Page: October 28, 2022

News in Brief

BSG focuses on community building

Soon, Bowdoin students will not be judged on the merits of their academics, but instead on how well they can construct a snowman. During their meeting on Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) made plans for the upcoming Winter Carnival, a proposed community-building event to take place sometime this winter.

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News in Brief

Strong smoke smell reported in Smith Union

This past Monday, numerous students reported the smell of smoke on Coe Quad, inside David Saul Smith Union, in Druckenmiller Hall and in other spaces around campus. While the cause remains unknown, Executive Director of the Office of Safety and Security Randy Nichols speculated the smoke came from intentional fires off campus.

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News in Brief

College appoints new director of institutional equality and compliance

In an email to the campus community, Vice President and Interim Chief Diversity Officer Benje Douglas announced that the College has appointed Kate O’Grady as the College’s first director of institutional equality and compliance. O’Grady, the current associate dean of student affairs and community standards, as well as the deputy Title IX coordinator, will transition to the new role on July 1.

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News in Brief

Board of Trustees elects new chair

Effective July 1, Scott B. Perper ’78 will take over as chair of the Board of Trustees. Perper was elected unanimously during a virtual meeting that took place this February. Perper’s election follows the recommendation of an ad hoc committee composed of six trustees and President Clayton Rose.

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News in Brief

College sees uptick in positive Covid cases in March

The College currently has a total of 50 active Covid-19 cases, with 42 from students and eight from employees, according to the Covid-19 dashboard. “Some told us they were positive. Many were actually part of teams that were traveling together over break,” Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Covid-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen said.

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News in Brief

Rapper IDK to headline spring concert this April

Rapper IDK will headline this year’s spring concert, along with a student band opener, according to the Entertainment Board (E-Board). The concert will take place on Friday, April 8. “We wanted to bring [IDK] for the fall concert, but the administration did not allow that, so we moved him to the Spring.

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News in Brief

College announces Covid-19 protocols for spring break

In an email to the student body on Thursday, Covid-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced that all students are expected to take an antigen test before traveling back to the College after spring break. Some additional restrictions will be in place, as students will return to the Monday/Thursday PCR testing framework that has remained in place this semester.

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News in Brief

Bowdoin IT shuts down Better Bowdoin Directory

Users of the underground college directory known as the “Better Bowdoin Directory” were greeted by an upsetting message Wednesday when they tried to visit the site. Instead of the usual search bars, they found a screenshot of an email written by Erik Pearson, who works as a team lead of integrations and customization at the College’s Office of Information Technology (IT), to the site’s creator James Little ’19 asking that he remove the site.

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News in Brief

Bowdoin Technology set to give students laptops in fall 2022

Members of the Bowdoin Information Technology (IT) Department addressed the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on February 9 to detail plans for expanding the technology distribution program. Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michael Cato spoke to the group about including MacBook computers in addition to iPads for all existing and incoming students.

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News in Brief

Masking and dining restrictions loosen

In a February 4 email to the campus community, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced that some masking and dining restrictions would be relaxed effective immediately. This is the latest development in a series of recent updates loosening COVID-19 restrictions.

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News in Brief

Division of Student Affairs announces two new staff appointments

In an email to the College community on Thursday, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann announced two new staff appointments in the Division of Student Affairs. Katie Toro-Ferrari will serve as Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Director of Student Life, having previously held titles of Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Assistant to the Dean for Student Affairs.

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News in Brief

BSG works on mental health

On Wednesday evening, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its final meeting of the semester where members reflected on their accomplishments and discussed goals for the spring. BSG is going to continue its work confronting mental health in the coming months in an attempt to address the need for student resources on campus.

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News in Brief

Mike Ranen moving to academic affairs position

In an email to faculty, Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon announced that COVID-19 Resource Coordinator and Director of Residential and Student Life Mike Ranen will be transitioning into the newly-established role of associate dean for academic administration sometime in the spring semester.

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News in Brief

Campus Sustainability Honored

Last week, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recognized Bowdoin in the organization’s annual Sustainable Campus Index. The College received a gold Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) rating. As established by the Sustainable Campus index, STARS is a robust and widely-used system by higher education institutions.

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News in Brief

Staley ’79 resigns from Bowdoin Board of Trustees

James “Jes” Staley ’79 P’11, the former CEO of Barclays, stepped down from the Bowdoin Board of Trustees on Monday, according to a statement from Director of Communications Scott Hood. The statement followed an announcement earlier in the day that Staley would resign from his position as Chief Executive of Barclays.

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News in Brief

BSG meeting addresses mental health

On Wednesday, mental health took center stage when the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened to discuss two proposals. The assembly first considered a proposal endorsing the creation of a Mental Health board jointly administered by the Administration and BSG.

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News in Brief

College eases campus masking requirements

Masks will no longer be required in student residence halls, administrative or academic buildings, athletic facilities and Smith Union, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the campus community today. Additionally, dining halls will reopen for faculty and staff, effective immediately.

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News in Brief

HHMI invests $2 billion in DEI work for STEM

On October 14, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), chaired by President Clayton Rose, announced its long-term plan to increase racial, ethnic and gender diversity in science. The institute committed to investing $2 billion over the next decade in pursuit of ten goals, all of which are designed to significantly promote equity and inclusion in academic, research and professional environments.

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News in Brief

College shifts back to Green

The College saw a small number of new COVID-19 cases as students and staff returned to campus after fall break. Two students and one staff member tested positive for the virus on October 14, followed by two more positive cases among staff members on October 17 and 18.

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News in Brief

College remains in yellow status

In an email to the Bowdoin community on Thursday, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator, Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Residential and Student Life Mike Ranen announced that one student tested positive from over 2,000 PCR tests administered Tuesday and Wednesday.

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News in Brief

College shifts to Yellow following an increase in COVID-19 cases before fall break

In an email to the campus community on Thursday, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced that the College would be moving back to Yellow status that evening following an uptick in cases after Homecoming weekend. This change came on the heels of an email sent Tuesday in which Ranen announced that the College would transition back to Yellow beginning Monday, October 11 after fall break.

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News in Brief

College to hold influenza vaccine clinic

On Monday and Tuesday, Health Services will hold an influenza vaccine clinic. Students will be given the shot after their usual PCR COVID-19 test at Farley Field House. Since all students are required to get the shot this year, Health Services has ordered more vaccines than they do during a typical year.

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News in Brief

BSG aims to spearhead DEI and mental health efforts

On Wednesday evening, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its inaugural meeting of the semester, where it outlined its goals for the coming year. Members of the assembly expressed their desire to launch efforts in addressing the mental health of Bowdoin students and providing support for students of traditionally under-represented backgrounds.

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News in Brief

Vaccinations on campus

While the majority of Bowdoin’s student body was fully vaccinated prior to arrival on campus, a few students—primarily international students unable to obtain one or both doses of the vaccine in their home countries—were vaccinated upon arrival through Bowdoin Health Services or at Mid Coast Hospital.

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News in Brief

Super Snack continuing but short-staffed

Serving students in-person or, temporarily, through take-out, Dining Services is readjusting to accomodating a full-capacity campus for the first time in a year and a half. But as the number of people lining up for meals every day has risen, the number of dining employees has lagged behind.

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News in Brief

Indoor mask mandate announced for all members of the campus community and visitors

An indoor mask mandate will be in effect on campus for all students, faculty, staff and visitors beginning Tuesday, August 24, President Clayton Rose announced in an email to the College community Monday morning. There are three exceptions to the indoor mask mandate: face coverings are not required for individuals while actively eating, for students in their own residence halls or for faculty and staff in their own offices.

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News in Brief

Plan for ‘largely normal’ fall semester moves ahead

In an email to the college community on Friday, President Clayton Rose announced that the college’s fall re-opening plan will remain mostly unchanged, even as the COVID-19 Delta Variant continues to spread. While stressing that the college will closely monitor the recently rising number of COVID-19 cases nationwide, Rose wrote that he remains encouraged by the high number of vaccinations in Brunswick and throughout Maine.

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News in Brief

Graffiti at Bates being investigated as possible hate crime; Bowdoin students write letter in solidarity with protestors

The Lewiston Police Department (LPD) has referred graffiti written in chalk on the campus of Bates College to the Maine attorney general, who is investigating the case as a possible hate crime. The Bates Leftist Coalition (BLC) shared pictures of the graffitied phrases, “Free Palestine,” “Stop Ethnic Cleansing,” “Israel is killing innocent people” and “[expletive] Zionist Israel.” According to the Associated Press, Gwen Lexow, Bates’ director of Title IX and civil rights compliance, wrote in an email to students that said she heard members of the Bates community “expressing deep concern about the impact of the language contained in the flyers and graffiti, particularly on Jewish members of our campus community.” Since the investigation was announced on Monday, members of the Bates community have responded to the news of the investigation.

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News in Brief

Nearly 300 community members attend Racial Equity Institute workshop sessions

On March 26, President Clayton Rose announced a series of anti-racism workshops, to be delivered by the Racial Equity Institute (REI), that ran earlier this month on April 15 and April 24. The workshops, designed to build a dialogue as well as generate awareness regarding racial discrepancies in American culture, were a success, according to Benje Douglas, associate vice president for Inclusion and Diversity.

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News in Brief

Student tests positive for COVID-19 after reporting symptoms to Health Services

A student reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and subsequently received a positive result from Health Services’ rapid PCR testing instrument, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the community on Monday. The student is being moved to isolation housing, and through contact tracing, the College determined that no additional students are required to quarantine.

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News in Brief

College to facilitate access to Pfizer vaccines for students living in Maine

Editor’s Note on Friday, April 2, at 12:02 p.m.: This article has been updated to reflect additional information released to the student body about the College’s vaccination partnership with Mid Coast Hospital.  The College will work with Mid Coast Hospital to provide Pfizer vaccinations to all Bowdoin students after vaccine eligibility is extended to all Maine residents over the age of 16 on April 7, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to students on Thursday afternoon.

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News in Brief

College employee tests positive for COVID-19

In an email to the community sent on Saturday afternoon, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator announced that an employee of the College tested positive for COVID-19 in Friday’s on-campus testing. The employee is isolating at home. One other employee was identified as a close contact through contact tracing and is now quarantined at home.

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News in Brief

OneDay postponed, administration says not the time to “focus on Bowdoin”

Bowdoin OneDay, the College’s largest annual fundraising event for the Alumni Fund, has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This year’s event had been scheduled to take place on April 7. Scott Meiklejohn, senior vice president for development and alumni relations, explained that the Alumni Fund is working to reschedule the celebration.

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News in Brief

IRB requests any research requiring in-person interaction stop immediately

The Bowdoin Institutional Review Board (IRB) announced last week that any research requiring in-person interaction with subjects, previously approved or exempted, should stop immediately.  The announcement applies to faculty, staff and student research.   The decision was made by the IRB in consultation with the Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Elizabeth McCormack due to concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

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News in Brief

Class of 2020 commencement tentatively scheduled for May 2021

President Clayton Rose announced preliminary plans to reschedule commencement exercises in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in an email to the Class of 2020 on Thursday morning. Rose stated that, in addition to a virtual gathering on May 23, current seniors will be invited back to the College in May 2021 to walk across the steps of the Walker Art Building.

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News in Brief

Details revealed regarding Harpswell reconstruction

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.

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News in Brief

Orient named best college newspaper in New England

The Orient was named the 2018 College Newspaper of the Year by the New England Society of News Editors (NESNE) and the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) in an announcement on Wednesday. In an email to the Orient, Sydney Conway of NENPA, wrote “It is clear that in the past year you have produced great material, and that lots of hard work has been put in by the newspaper’s staff.” The editors of the Orient will travel to a reception at the Boston Globe on April 19 where all NENPA AND NESNE honors will be presented, joining editors and reporters from news outlets across New England.

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News in Brief

Council approves second phase of Whittier Field plan

The Brunswick Town Council formally approved the second phase of Bowdoin’s plans to renovate Whittier Field, the Forecaster reported yesterday. The project includes building a new road to connect Pine Street and Bath Road. The decision this Tuesday followed a vote in December to allow the College to discontinue Pine Street in order to build new athletic facilities alongside Whittier Field.

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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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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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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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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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