Bowdoin Orient

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The

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

As off-campus housing numbers grow, Controversy continues

students face new responsibilities
over 28 College Street
BY LUCIA RYAN AND PETE BULL
ORIENT STAFF

An increasing number of Bowdoin

students are eschewing College housing. In 2010, six percent of students
lived off-campus; that figure rose to
seven percent in 2012 and nine percent
last year. Although the College has not
finished compiling enrollment data for
this academic year, the trend has continued upward, according to Dean of
Student Affairs Tim Foster.
While students cite the freedom,
affordability and flexibility associated with being removed from campus regulations as reasons for living
off-campus, incidents within the first
few weeks of classes have also raised
concerns about the consequences offcampus living for both the College and
the town of Brunswick.

I wanted to live off campus mainly

because Im sick of dorm life. Even
freshman year, by the second semester.
I was like, this feels so sterile and contained, said Stephanie Sun 18.
Sun, who lives on the corner of Maine
and Belmont Streets, began her search
for an off-campus house last spring, beginning with Craigslist and the Bowdoin
Classifieds. At the time, she lived in Burnett House.
With the role that you take as somebody who lives in a College House and
the responsibility that you take on, you
become hyper aware of all these different
rules that you have, said Sun. She wanted
to experience a different side of social life
at Bowdoin by living off campus.
Living off campus removes some regulations from Bowdoins social scene. Offcampus parties are not registered. In the
event of a disturbance, the Brunswick po-

RELATED NEWS

An o-campus residence housing Bowdoin

students was cited for a disorderly event.
For more, see page 5.
licenot campus securityare the first
responders.
A day before the start of the fall semester classes, one student was transported
from an off-campus residence. In an
email to the student body on Wednesday,
Director of Safety and Security Randy
Nichols warned students that neighbors
of the had been complaining about excessive noise, intoxicated students and litter.
Living off campus tasks students with
taking greater responsibility for their own
decisionsa challenge that many students embrace.

LIAM FINNERTY, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

PROPERTY WARS: Bowdoins attempt to purchase the last property on College

Street not owned by the College has become muddled by a lawsuit.

Please see OFF-CAMPUS, page 5

BY SARAH DRUMM
ORIENT STAFF

SHOW UP AND PLAY

EZRA SUNSHINE, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

Evan Schweikert 18 and Katherine Kirk 18 perform acoustic renditions at an open mic night at Ladd House on Thursday. The
Bowdoin Music Collaborative has plans to expand under the leadership of Matt Leventhal 17. Read more on page 9.

The College has launched legal action concerning the sale of the property located
at 28 College Street to a local buyer. The house is the only remaining property on
College Street that Bowdoin does not own.
In the suit filed on August 12 in Cumberland County Court, the College claims
that the propertys owner, Arline Lay, and listing agentwho contend that Harriet
Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Toms Cabin in the homecontinued to list the property for sale despite the Colleges demand to cease and desist. The Colleges demand
derives from a 1996 agreement between the two parties regarding the propertys
future sale.
In April 1996, the College negotiated an option agreement for 28 College Street
when it purchased the adjacent property also owned by Lay at 26 College Street.
Part of the agreement gives Bowdoin the exclusive option to purchase the property
for 125 percent of fair market value if Lay or her husband passes awaywhichever
is last to occuror ceases use of the home as his or her primary residence. Lays husband has since deceased and Lay no longer uses the home as her primary residence.
Additionally, the agreement gives the College a right of first refusal which, although very similar to the option agreement, also grants the College the right to
purchase the home if the seller decides to list the property on the market or sell to
a third party.
The case was filed against Lay, her listing agent David Jones and the prospective South Portland buyer Louise Jonaitis. The College and defendants have recently
agreed to participate in mediation later this month.
In March, the property was listed with F.O. Bailey Real Estate of Falmouth, Maine
at a listing price of $1.6 million. According to the Colleges complaint filed with the
court, the Colleges attorney informed Lay through her attorney in March of its
intention purchase the home as per the 1996 agreement upon information and
belief that Lay had ceased using the property as her primary residence. Lay pro-

Please see HOUSE, page 4

Student employee wages increase after payment restructuring

cess of reviewing
2014
2016
its stipend pay to
ensure that the College is in compliance with new Department of Labor
regulations.
As a result, more
student
employeessuch as those
on Residential Life
who have typically
received pay as a
stipendare
bePAY GRADE A
PAY GRADE B
PAY GRADE C
PAY GRADE D
ing asked to track
their hours.
Well have a better idea of how
In addition, Human Resources our peer institutions to get a sense
many hours theyre working so that plans to continue evaluating student of best practices to run Student Emthey are fairly compensated and not pay going forward.
ployment effectively, Haralson said.
getting something way below miniI think that Ill start working with This is something were used to domum wage or something thats way some of the managers here and also ingreviewing compensation, looking
outside of the norm, said Haralson.
look to other organizations and to at whats right.

$10.50

$9.50

$9.75

$8.75

$9.25

Change in Pay Grades

$8.25

After nearly a decade of flat wages,

Bowdoin student employees are getting
a raise.
Starting this academic year, the lowest
starting salary for student employees has
increased from $7.75 to $9 per hour.
Its exciting! said Son Ngo 17,
who works approximately 18 hours per
week as a student manager in dining
and as a student intern for Information
Technology (IT).
These increases come amidst a nationwide movement to raise the minimum
wageincluding in Maine where voters
will decide this November whether to increase the minimum wage to $12 per hour
by 2020.
According to the Bowdoin Student
Employment Office, approximately 70

percent of students hold at least one job on

campus. Each job is classified under one
of five pay gradesA, B, C, D and Eaccording to type of work and skill level. All
are seeing raises of at least $1.
Bowdoin last increased student salaries
when Maine raised its minimum wage to
$7.50 per hour in 2007. Historically, the
lowest student wage has been about $0.25
above the states minimum.
Associate Director of Employment and
Staffing Meredith Haralson explained
the change.
Its been a number of years since
weve increased [wages] on the student
side, so we worked closely with the director of student employment as well
as the managers and supervisors and
determined that we needed to make an
increase, Haralson said.
Along with increasing the student
hourly wage, Bowdoin is in the pro-

$9.00

ORIENT STAFF

$7.75

BY JAMES CALLAHAN

This assistant cross country

coach is still beating the odds.
Read more on page 11.

the bowdoin orient

news

friday, september 16, 2016

STUDENT SPEAK
you could start any club on
Q: Ifcampus,
what would it be?
Kevin Lane 19
The Flying Squirrel
Jumping Club.

Christina Moreland 17
SOPHIE WASHINGTON

SECURITY REPORT: SEPTEMBER 8-14

Thursday, September 8
A football player with an ankle injury
was taken to the Mid Coast Primary
Care and Walk-In Clinic.
An ill student was escorted from
Chamberlain Hall to Mid Coast
Hospital.
Friday, September 9
Four people loitering near Memorial
Hall were given trespass warnings.
A student with concussion symptoms
was escorted to Mid Coast Hospital.
A student who was feeling faint was escorted to the Mid Coast Primary Care
& Walk-In Clinic.
The Mere Creek Golf Club reported
unruly behavior by a group of student golfers.
Students reported a suspicious man
near Coleman and Hyde Halls who
was claiming to be a student. The man,
who appeared to be intoxicated, was
30-35 years old, had a beard, and was
wearing a gray shirt. Officers searched
the area but did not locate the man.
An officer checked in on a student who
had an earlier knee injury.
Saturday, September 10
Smoke from burnt food caused a

smoke alarm at Brunswick Apartments to go off.

A student reported exterior door damage from an unknown cause at Brunswick Apartment U.
Excessive noise was reported coming
from Pine Street Apartments.
A town resident reported being disturbed by excessive noise in the area of
Longfellow Avenue.
Excessive noise was reported to be
emanating from Coles Tower. An unregistered event was then dispersed.
An unregistered event was dispersed at
Brunswick Apartment F.
A motorist reported that a number of
students were crossing Maine Street
late at night without using crosswalks
and walking in the middle of the road.
Three students were warned for public
urination near Helmreich House.

Sunday, September 11
Brunswick police dispersed an offcampus gathering on Carlisle Avenue
after receiving neighborhood complaints. Four student residents were
warned for disorderly conduct due to
neighborhood disruption.
An officer checked on the well-being
of an intoxicated student near Carlisle

Avenue. The student was escorted to

his residence hall and monitored.
Monday, September 12
A student was transported to Mid
Coast Hospital to be assessed for an injury sustained while playing basketball
at Morrell Gymnasium.
Tuesday, September 13
A fire alarm in the Moulton Dining
kitchen was triggered by a faulty detector.
An officer escorted a student to the
Mid Coast Primary Care and Walk-In
Clinic to be treated for injuries from a
bike mishap.
Wednesday, September 14
Parents requested a wellness check for
a student whom they had been unable
to reach. The student was found to be
doing fine.
A local resident walking a dog around
Pickard Fields near Farley Field House
reported that the dog became agitated
by a suspicious man in the woods. Officers checked the area and made no
contact with any suspicious person.
Other dog walkers in the immediate
area reported no unusual encounters.

Shuttle Karaoke. You

know? Like Carpool
Karaoke.

Sam Monkman 18
The Adventure Napping Club.
You find cool places to nap
around Maine.

Caroline Kranefuss 20
The club would be [about] toetouching and improving ones
ability to do so.

Will Schweller 17
The Thinking About
Gardening Club...I like the
idea of gardening.
COMPILED BY ELIZA GRAUMLICH, OLIVIA ATWOOD AND ELEANOR PAASCHE

At Hawthorne-Longfellow, staplers lose names

BY ELEANOR PAASCHE
ORIENT STAFF

Emotions have been running high this

week on the first floor of the esteemed
Hawthorne-Longfellow Library. Beloved
members of the library staffHarambe,
Hamburger, Guacamole, Jose Ricardo
Santiagowere nowhere to be found. In
their place sat staplers and hole-punchers
with identical noms de guerre, CIRCULATION DESK.
The decision to assign homogenous
appellation to the staplers was made after several students reported some of the
names to be offensive.
Librarians declined to comment.
The de-knighting of the staplers was a
major disappointment to library-goers.
I was very disheartened to see that the
names were taken away from the staplers.
I think it takes a lot of fun out of a mundane task that we perform every night
when we have to do our readings, said
Katie Kaufman 17. I think that the Bowdoin students deserve an explanation for
this terrible event.
Rob Baron 17 reflected on the spirit of

the staplers.
I [felt] like I could identify with them
for whatever reason, and now theyre
stripped of their identity and theyre just
pretty boring now.
Ethan Winter 19 wished the library
could have found another solution.
Im all in favor of fun names, but obviously I think if they were offensive, those
names should be removed, said Winter.
But you know perhaps theres a middle
ground we could walk where we have
some fun with the stapler names.
Stapler-enthusiasts each have a unique
perspective on the staplers identities.
For example, Nicole Feleo 18 is immediately reminded of an outdoor
cat whom she affectionately calls
Tuna, that she has befriended at
Brunswick Apartments.
The staplers are little black
[cat] staplers, like Tuna!
Winter 19, said he
would have named a library stapler Phineas
Gage.
[Gage is] a guy who
worked on a railroad

and he drove spikes into the ground, Winter said. In a way thats what staplers are
doing except driving staples, you know,
into paper.
Despite the elimination of stapler
names, students seem willing to continue
to frequent the library, though perhaps
may do so more gloomily.
I dont think that will affect my stapling needs,
but I am gonna

enjoy stapling a lot less,

said Baron.

SOPHIE

GTON

IN
WASH

friday, september 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

News

NEWS IN BRIEF
COMPILED BY ISABELLE HALLE, JESSICA PIPER AND TARAN SUN

MOULTON UNION FIRE

ALARMS DISRUPT LUNCH
Just 30 minutes after lunch began on Tuesday, flashing lights and the sound of fire
alarms drove students and staff members out of Moulton Union.
I had literally just walked in, said Joseph Hilleary 20. I hadnt even grabbed a
plate yet when I saw a light flashing. The alarm didnt go off at first, but then it started
beeping. It was an underwhelming alarm, It didnt worry me that much. I just walked
out the side door and then walked over to Thorne.
According to kitchen staff, a malfunction with kitchen equipment created enough
heat and smoke to trigger the fire alarm at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Lauren Nguyen 17 was participating in an Admissions panel on the first floor of
Moulton when the alarm sounded.
Around five minutes into the actual panel, the fire alarm goes off and we look
around like, what are we supposed to do? she said. All of us were moved to the
museum steps ... It was very unexpected and smelled like burned toast. The panel still
worked out and [the visitors] got to see the Quad, which was nice.
During the evacuation, dining staff members either directed the flow of traffic or
joined the exodus through Moultons doors.
My job [during an evacuation] is to leave the building, said Dining Services Production Assistant Jennifer Bisson. My responsibility first and foremost is my personal
safety. The supervisors are the ones who help [the remaining people] evacuate the
building.
Dining Services accommodated students whose lunch plans were affected by the
evacuation and dealt with the cause of the fire alarm. By dinner time hungry patrons
once again swarmed Moulton.

BRIDGE TO TOPSHAM DEEMED

STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT
The Frank J. Wood Bridge has connected Topsham to Brunswick since the early
1930s, but the historic bridge at the end of Maine Street faces an uncertain future.
After a regularly scheduled inspection in June and a follow-up inspection in August,
Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) engineers found the bridges structural
steel was significantly deteriorated. As a result, they downgraded the condition of the
bridge deck and superstructure from fair to poor.
Last month, the bridge across the Androscoggin River was branded with a posted
limit of 25 tons, which prevents some commercial trucks from using it. Although
MDOT recommended a full replacement of the bridge last April, neither MDOT nor
the Federal Highway Administration has approved a definitive course of action.
John Graham is one of several community members working to preserve the Frank
J. Wood Bridge.
At one time in the early 1900s, that kind of bridge, or truss bridge, was the most
common bridge in Maine, said Graham in a phone interview with the Orient. Were
losing them at a drastic rate, so at some point theres going to be none of them left. And
if youre going to keep one, this is a great setting to keep it [in].
The bridge is both a historical relic and a local landmark and appears in the Brunswick town filter on Snapchat.
Historical structures create a sense of place, and a sense of place creates a sense of
community and quickly identifies where you are in the world, said Graham. [The
bridge] is one of the big defining characteristics of this town.
Graham co-founded a Facebook page called Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge
and serves as president of a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit group of the same name. He
hopes to keep the public aware of the decision-making process. MDOT is required by
law to present the public with all alternatives to replacement.
Graham added that the final decision for the preservation or replacement of the
bridge is at least a year away.

BSG REMEMBERS 9/11, SIMILAR

DISPLAY DRAWS CONTROVERSY
As a tribute to the victims of 9/11, members of Bowdoin Student Government
(BSG) planted flags for each victim on the Coe Quad last Sunday morning.
Its something thats happened every year since 9/11, said Harriet Fisher 17,
president of BSG. Other things have happened in the past in addition. There used
to be someone who would read aloud the names of every person who died that day.
And I think there used to be a campus-wide moment of silence.
While BSGs actions were welcomed within the Bowdoin community, a similar
display at Occidental Collegea small liberal arts school in Southern California
prompted controversy and vandalism.
According to the Los Angeles Times, members of the Occidental College Republican Club, who had planted flags on the night of September 10, discovered on
September 11 that a number of flags had been ripped from the ground and broken,
while others had been stuffed in the trash. Fliers were also found at the memorial.
R.I.P. The 2,996 Americans who died in 9/11. R.I.P. the 1,455,590 innocent
Iraqis who died during the U.S. invasion for something they didnt do, one
flier read.
Despite the outrage on the opposite coast, Fisher said she heard only positive
reactions to the 9/11 memorial at Bowdoin.
We just had a lot of people who walked by and asked if they could help us,
which was really nice, she said.
Fisher added that the 9/11 memorial does not have to be the only way that Bowdoin remembers tragedies.
I dont feel like that should be the only type of commemorative public event
we host as a campus, she said. I think that we would like to look to doing more
public installations, public moments of recognition for loss or historic events or
things like that.

EMILY WEYRAUCH, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

GET IN FORMATION: From left to right: Associate Professor of Africana Studies Judith Casselberry, Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and
Womens Studies Jennifer Scanlon, Associate Professor of History at Georgia Institute of Technology Sherie Randolph and Distinguished Professor of
Political Science at Brooklyn College, CUNY Jeanne Theoharis speak at a panel on 20th century black women activists.

Panel discusses prominent black female activists

BY MARINA AFFO
ORIENT STAFF

On Thursday night, the Africana

Studies Program, the Gender, Sexuality and Womens Studies Program
and the history department held a
panel entitled OK, ladies, now lets
get in formation to discuss the
lives of three prominent black women in the black liberation and black
power movementsAnna Arnold
Hedgeman, Rosa Parks and Florynce
Flo Kennedy.
The panelists included Bowdoins
Professor of Gender, Sexuality and
Womens Studies Jennifer Scanlon,
distinguished Professor of Political
Science at Brooklyn College, CUNY
Jeanne Theoharis and Associate Professor of History at Georgia Institute
of Technology Sherie Randolph.
The panel was moderated by Bowdoins Associate Professor of Africana Studies Judith Casselberry.
Many students attended the event
as part of various Africana Studies
courses they are currently taking.
Lillian Saunders 20 is currently

enrolled in Introduction to Africana

Studies.
I thought it was great. I had
never heard of Flo Kennedy and
[Hedgeman] so it was great to learn
some new things, she said. I think
its important because so few people
know about them and I think we
need to be aware of everyone that
was involved in such a big movement in our country.
Other students came to supplement their classroom education.
I love these kinds of things that
are learning experiences for me outside of the classroom, said Kama
Jones-El 17. This is stuff I dont get
in the classroom. Im not an Africana Studies major or minor. I take
some of the classes. Even some of
the classes cant cover everything so
its a really cool thing to take advantage of.
The panelists have each recently
published books on the women they
discussed. Scanlon wrote about Hedgeman, Theoharis wrote about Parks and
Randolf wrote about Kennedy.
The panel opened with the profes-

sors detailing the lives of the women,

each of whom had distinct legacies.
Hedgeman was involved in civil
rights efforts spanning the Jim Crow
South and the 1960s. She was the only
female organizer for the 1963 March
on Washington, and was responsible
for getting over 40,000 white people to
participate in the march.
Kennedy was a black feminist who
used intersectionality in activism and
was involved in black and feminist
protests throughout the 20th century.
She was also a prominent lawyer who
assisted activists like Assata Shakur
and other Black Panthers.
Although Rosa Parks is more
widely recognized, Theoharis says
that most know about only one
small chunk of her much longer
activist narrative. Theoharis talked
about her own book, much of which
centered on Parks life in Detroit after the Montgomery Bus Boycott of
1955-1956.
The panel also focused on the
contributions of these women to

Please see FORMATION, page 5

Education department announces coordinate major

BY STEFF CHAVEZ
ORIENT STAFF

Last year, the faculty voted unanimously to approve the Department of

Educations new coordinate major, which
students can begin declaring this fall. Six
education courses are necessary for the
coordinate major, which can be paired
with any existing major.
The only other coordinate major at
Bowdoin is in Environmental Studies.
Associate Professor Doris Santoro,
chair of the education department, said
that creating a coordinate major is a way
of telling students that going into education is a valued, possible option and that
teaching is not a profession of last-resort,
but an intellectually rich pursuit.
The education departments curricular structure has undergone significant
changes in the last four years. Until 2012,
an education minor was the only option
available to students. In the fall of that
year, the education and mathematics departments established an interdisciplinary
major. This fall, the education department
introduced a new interdisciplinary major
with the physics department in addition
to the coordinate major.
According to Santoro, the interdisciplinary majors are designed to provide a
more specific pathway to teaching in math
or physics. The coordinate major allows
students to study education and another
discipline without the final goal necessarily being teaching.
Santoro is excited for students to formally coordinate their studies in a major.
Education is a multi-disciplinary
field, she said. And as a result, we want
students to be immersed in a particular

discipline or area of studysuch as gender, sexuality and womens studiesin order to bring that perspectiveand developing expertise to the study of education.
In the first few months, at least seven
students have declared education as a
coordinate major. Santoro and Associate
Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor
of Education Chuck Dorn said they expect to see between 15 and 20 education
coordinate majors by the end of this academic year. Currently, there are approximately 60 declared education minors.
Many of the students who already declared the major had previously completed most of its requirements.
Lan Crofton 17 was happy to declare a
coordinate education major in addition to
his biology major.
Last year I was actually trying to make
my own coordinate major between education and biology, he said. The only issues were that the biology department did
not agree on which courses were necessary and which ones were not necessary.
The establishment of education as a
coordinate major means students like
Crofton can receive recognition for their
studies in the field of education.
What [the students] werent getting,
was the sort of institutional recognition
for doing it because we didnt have the
major, said Dorn.
Olivia Bean 17 was previously a chemistry major with an education minor.
Id taken a lot of education courses
and Id been frustrated that Id taken this
many and it seems like just a minor, she
said. So I was really excited when I heard
thered be a major.
Santoro spoke to their concern.
We wanted to make sure that there

was a way for students to have public acknowledgement for the work they have
done in this field, she said.
Both Bean and Crofton expressed their
desires to teach after Bowdoin.
I definitely plan on going into teaching
in some way, said Crofton.
He is interested in pursuing teaching
or crafting curricula in the sciences. If he
ends up designing curricula, he aims to integrate other subjects into science so that
students can understand the role science
plays in a world full of many disciplines.
Bean likewise plans to end up somewhere in the field of education.
Right now Im thinking about teaching [science] and then maybe going to
grad school later, she said.
Conversations about a coordinate major began 18 months ago in response to
faculty and student desire for a major.
Santoro said that once the education
department started working with the
physics department to develop the interdisciplinary major, other academic departments approached the education faculty to express an interest in coordinating
their major with education.
Dorn noted that there is growing interest in education on campus, which is reflected by the increased course enrollment
and number of independent studies in the
education department.
I think this major is another opportunity to signal to students that education,
yes, is something that youre here to do,
but its also something that you can take
one giant step back from, he said. Look
at 360 degrees so that you better understand where youve been involved in it in
the past and even whats going on in the
present.

news

the bowdoin orient

September 16, 2016

Heritage Month programming to highlight Latinx issues

BY DANIEL VIELLIEU
ORIENT STAFF

In conjunction with national Hispanic Heritage Month, Bowdoin students are delving into a seven-week
exploration of Latinx experiences,
identities, values and issues.
Latinx Heritage Month and Beyond, a series of programs organized
by the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), the Student Center
for Multicultural Life and several
other groups and academic departments, began yesterday with a talk
by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig titled A
Remedy for Education Justice: Mobilizing Local Education Reform.
LASO will host a celebratory kickoff barbecue at the Student Center
for Multicultural Life this afternoon.
I think its going to be a really cool
month, said LASO treasurer Karla
Olivares 17.
LASO opted to recognize the
month as Latinx Heritage Month,
rather than Hispanic Heritage
Month, to include students who
identify as Latinx, but not necessarily
as Hispanic. The x allows for gender inclusivity taking into consider-

28
COLLEGE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
ceeded to accept an offer of $750,000 from
a third party and negotiate a purchase and
sale agreement despite Bowdoins claims
to cease and desist.
The Brunswick Assessors Department
currently lists the assessed value of 28 College Street at $154,300. That number represents approximately 70 percent market
value, according to the latest town assessments that took place in 2000. Accounting for the high listing price is Lays claim
that Harriet Beecher Stowe sought refuge
at the home to write Uncle Toms Cabin.
The College claims that Lay and her
broker are breaching the agreement by
continuing to actively list the property
for sale after the College indicated it was
exercising its option to purchase. The College also claims that defendants failed to
inform the buyer Jonaitis of the option
agreement, which contractually precluded Lay from accepting an offer from
a third party buyer after receiving notice
from the College in March of its intention
to purchase.
The point were making in the filing
is that all the broker is telling the woman from South Portland is that we have
a right of first refusal. He is not telling
her that we have an option that we have
exercised, so she cannot buy it, James
Kilbreth, the Colleges attorney, said in a
phone interview with the Orient.
In a press release, Lays attorney Sean
Joyce said that his client immediately
informed the College of the offer she received from Jonaitis. Lay and Joyce believed that the agreement stipulated that
Bowdoin had 30 days after initial notification of the offer to respond, either with

ation those who do not identify with

the male-female binary of Latino or
Latina.
Although the months events are
grounded in celebrating Latinx heritage and learning about Latinx issues,
LASO leaders emphasized that they
are for all Bowdoin students.
I feel like this is a good way to
teach Bowdoin students about whats
personal to the Hispanic students on
campus, said Olivares. I hope that
people can come to the kickoff event
and feel comfortable enough to interact with the Hispanic, Latinx students on campus.
Secretary of LASO Raquel Santizo
19 echoed this sentiment.
We want peoplenot just Latino
or Hispanic peoplewe want everyone to go to these events and enjoy
them, she said.
In the past, students struggled to
organize speakers for Hispanic Heritage Month due to the logistical difficulty of planning events so early in
the semester. This year, LASO leaders
worked with Director of the Student
Center for Multicultural Life Benjamin Harris throughout the summer
to prepare. With Harris guidance,

LASO members engaged in many

discussions about which individuals would be the most beneficial and
informative to the Bowdoin community. As a result, the array of events
and speakers is much wider than in
previous years.
Olivares said she was especially
excited for the talk by Priscila Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez, also known
as Woke Brown Girl. Members of
LASO, the Women of Color Coalition
and the Womens Resource Center will
also have the opportunity to join Rodriguez for dinner.
Santizo said she is looking forward
to hearing from writer Junot Daz, who
comes to Bowdoin on November 3.
Harris hopes that all students can
learn from the month, ask questions
and increase their understanding of
the Latinx community.
I hope students can come out and
be a part of the programs and learn
something new, said Harris. The
more we hear voices from a diverse
array of folks, [the more we become]
aware of issues other folks are dealing
with and how they may intersect with
the issues that we are dealing with in
our particular community.

SEPTEMBER

a rejection and consequently the loss of

rights to purchase the property, or with an
offer to purchase the home for the value of
the current offer plus 25 percent.
Instead of accepting or rejecting the
Jonaitis purchase price or making any offer whatsoever, Bowdoin College filed suit
claiming that it should not have to pay so
much for the property, said Joyce.
The defendants believe fair market value is determined by the offer of $750,000
they received from Jonaitis.
However, the 1996 agreement states
that fair market value is to be determined
by averaging two appraisals obtained
from persons and/or firms whose regular
and usual business is real estate appraisals
who have been professional certified as
such in Maine. In the event of a discrepancy of more than 10 percent between
the appraisal acquired by each party, the
agreement stipulated that a third appraisal
would be obtained and averaged with the
other two.
Bowdoin College wants the Court to
force Arline to hire appraisers to come up
with a hypothetical value for the property
and disregard the best evidence of its fair
market value, the Jonaitis offer, Joyce said
in a press release. The agreement does
provide for an appraisal mechanism, but it
is not relevant because it is only triggered
in the event of Arlines death.
Joyce asserts that the appraisal mechanism stated in the 1996 agreement is only
triggered in the event of Arlines death,
and therefore the College is expected to
pay fair market value for the home. Joyce
said that Lay listed her home on the market to gauge its true market value from
buyers because factoring historical significance into home appraisals is a complex process.
In a press release, Joyce claimed that the

College has tried to undermine the offer

from Jonaitis during recent negotiations.
While Arline is not a litigious person,
given the inexcusable and outrageous conduct by Bowdoin Colleges interim treasurer, Matthew Orlando, in trying to negatively influence Ms. Jonaitis on her deal with
Arline, there is a strong likelihood Arline
will and should assert a series of counterclaims for damages against Bowdoin College for such conduct, Joyce wrote.
In response to Joyces claims, Kilbreth,
Bowdoins attorney, said that the College
was making clear to the prospective buyer
that the College was exercising its contractual option to buy and did not believe
that the property was worth anything near
what Jonaitis is willing to pay.
The College is simply trying to follow
an agreement that everybody signed in
1996the whole purpose of [the agreement] was to be fair both to the College
and to the Lays because obviously on the
one hand if you didnt have a process except a price then the Lays would be in a
position to essentially hold the College
up for something unreasonable, said
Kilbreth. On the other hand the College would be in a position to potentially
shortchange the Lays.
The whole idea of this was to create
a process that was fair to both sides, and
thats why both part[ies] gets to pick an appraiserthats an objective way to determine a priceand the College then said
well pay you 125 percent of whatever that
price is to make clear that it was trying to
be as fair, Kilbreth said.

about the houses connection to Harriet

Beecher Stowe.
The property listing falsely states
that Harriet Beecher Stowe sought refuge to write Uncle Toms Cabin at the
property. Defendants Lay and the Jones
knew that this statement was false at the
time it was made, said the College in
court documents.
Jones said in a phone interview with
the Orient that the agency F.O. Bailey Real
Estate investigated Lays claims before including them in the listing.
We went ahead and contacted the
Harriet Beecher Stowe Society and spoke
with them about it he said. Weve had
Richard Coffin write a letter saying that
the story is truehis father was the professor at Bowdoin and he swore to it under oath.
This is not the first time that the house
has been offered for saleand that the
College has refuted these historical claims.
In 2014, Lay listed the home for $3 million with a Beverly Hills agency, advertising the home as the location where Stowe
wrote her famous novel. During that time,
the College also rejected this claim.
The evidence to datesupported by
the historical record, by Stowe scholars
and by the Maine Historic Preservation
Commission, among othersshows that
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Toms
Cabin at her home located at 63 Federal
Street and at Appleton Hall, where her
husband had a study, wrote Scott Hood,
senior vice president for communication
and public affairs, in a February 2014
email to the Orient.
Associate Professor of Africana Studies and English Tess Chakkalakal echoed
Hoods sentiment at that time, saying that
that Stowes correspondences and those of
her family support the claim that the nov-

Historical Claims
The value of the home in the eyes of a
buyer or assessor weighs heavily on claims
about its historical significance. In the
lawsuit, the College refutes Lays claims

16

Latinx Heritage Month Kickoff Celebration

21

Documentary Film Screening

26

Dr. Tanya Hernandez: Racial Diversity and the Latino/a Voice

3:30-5:30 p.m., 30 College Street

7 p.m., Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center

7 p.m., Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center

OCTOBER
4

Priscila Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez: Woke Brown Girl

7 p.m., Room 208, Hubbard Hall

13

Dr. Noam Chomsky: The Democratic Experiment

19

An Evening with Denice Frohman

7 p.m., Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center

7 p.m., Jack Magees Pub and Grill (Smith Union)

el was written at 63 Federal Streetthe

location of the Colleges Harriet Beecher
Stowe House containing Harriets Writing Room.
Lays attorney said that he and his client
stand by their claims that some portion of
the book was written at 28 College Street,
where they believe Stowe rented a room
during the time the novel was written.
Since the August court filing, Bowdoin
has stood by its rejection of Lays claims.
Even if its truewhich it isntit has
a pretty minimal effect on value to the
extent that you could come up with any
argument it might be 10 percent impact.
So we dont think its true and we dont
think its that significant in that case,
said Kilbreth.
But Jones disagrees, saying that the
Colleges actions havent been reasonable.
I think what theyre trying to do to this
87 year old woman is pretty shocking ...
Ive found someone who is willing to pay
a very good price for it and weve given the
opportunity to the College to buy it based
on the agreement and they choose to sue
herI dont understand it. I just dont understand it at all, said Jones.
Last week, the defendants filed a joint
motion to stay deadlines until the completion of upcoming mediation. They have
asked the court that Lays son, James Lay,
attend mediation as her proxy under a
Power of Attorney.
We want the process to be followed.
Weve done an appraisal; were having discussions now with them about appraisals
and at the end of the day thats a fair way
to set a price, said Kilbreth. The College
has agreed to pay 125 percent of whatever
that price is Its pretty hard to complain
about that.

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September 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

News

Residence cited for disorderly event following party Rare bird

pair spotted
ment complex received a notification that should another disorderly
event occur in the next 60 days,
the property will be classified as a
disorderly property. The Bowdoin
students responsible for the party
received a copy of the notification.
Director of Safety and Security
Randy Nichols said that it is typical
for BPD to issue a disorderly conduct warning to an individual, rather than a more serious ordinance for
the whole property.
If a property is designated as disorderly, the property owner is subject to a remediation process. If a
third disorderly event occurs within
120 days of the first event, the landlord faces civil fines imposed by the
town of Brunswick.
Waltz said that four Bowdoin
students also received disorderly
conduct warnings for their roles

BY STEFF CHAVEZ
ORIENT STAFF

The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) has issued a notification under the Brunswick Disorderly Property Ordinance to an
off-campus house on Carlisle Avenue occupied by Bowdoin students.
This is the first time the BPD has
done so since the Disorderly Property Ordinance was passed in 2008.
At midnight on Sunday morning,
BPD responded to excessive noise
complaints at the new off-campus
apartment complex on Carlisle Avenue, colloquially known by students
as Lighthouse. BPD assessed the
ongoing party as a disorderly event
under the ordinance, according to
BPD Commander Mark Waltz.
In accordance with the ordinance
the landlord for the Carlisle apart-

in the party, Waltz said. To Nichols knowledge, these were the first
disorderly conduct warnings issued
to Bowdoin students this academic year.
Nichols said that, although Security did not respond to the event
directly, it dealt with several issues
related to the party, including performing a health and wellness check
on an intoxicated student who
had attended.
He added that the Carlisle Avenue
apartment complex has generated
multiple complaints since the start
of the semester.
There was also an informal complaint regarding noise at an offcampus house on Bowker Street.
According to Nichols, the Office
of Safety and Security, the Office
of the Dean of Student Affairs and
BPD have all received complaints

from town residents in the last two

weeks regarding excessive noise,
students urinating in public and intoxicated students shouting profanities on the street.
Most years I put out a reminder
about this time of year to the student body because we usually have
this little uptick in these types of
complaints, said Nichols.
One of the letters thats sitting
on my desk right now is from a
father who has two young daughters and they heard some pretty
spicy language on the part of our
students and children are also seeing [students] urinating in public,
said Nichols.
Waltz and Nichols said that the
number of complaints received regarding Bowdoin students activity
is not out of the ordinary for this
time of year.

Percent of students living o campus by year

14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
16
-20

15

15

-20

20

14

14

-20

20

13

13

-20

20

12

12

-20

20

11

11

-20

20

10

10
20

09

-20
09

-20

20

08

08

-20

20

07

07

-20

20

06

06

-20

20

05

05
20

-20

04

04

-20

20

03

03

-20

20

02
20

20

01

-20

02

0%

BY DAKOTA GRIFFIN
ORIENT STAFF

Bowdoins campus has some international visitors. Chukar partridges,

commonly referred to as chukars, are
native to Eurasia, but were sighted on
campus and around Brunswick by local bird watchers over the summer.
Near the end of July, Isaac Merson
17 and Liam Taylor 17 spotted two
chukars in the Harpswell Apartments
parking lot. They took pictures and
looked the birds up, trying to determine what these Eurasian birds were
doing in coastal Maine.
Though there are some small wild
populations in North America, most chukars live in central and western Canada.
Most likely, they escaped from
some sort of farm, said Merson.
There are several game preserves in
the Bangor area that claim to have chukar populations. It is possible the local
chukars escaped from one of those preserves and made their way south.
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences Nathaniel
Wheelwright describes chukars as elusive, difficult bird[s] for sportsmen to
hunt. North American chukar populations are typically imported by game
preserves catering to these sportsmen.
While it is uncommon to see chukars in the Northeast, this is not the
first time theyve been spotted at Bowdoin or in the surrounding area.
According to Wheelwright, people
have reported seeing them near Simpsons Point, roughly four miles from
campus. Additionally, several College
faculty have reported seeing the birds
regularly in their backyards.
Chukars are closely related to the
ruffed grouse, which in Maine is commonly called a partridge. They are also
related to chickens and, more distantly,
turkeys. Though they resemble the
North American quail, they are not
closely related. The birds have red legs
and a striped pattern along their sides.

COMPILED BY GIDEON MOORE AND LEXI GRAY, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

HOUSING
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

There is something that feels so intimate but also very maturing about living in an off campus house, said Hailey
Beaman 18, who signed the lease for her
house during the spring of her sophomore year. The bills are under my name,
the lease falls under my name, so a lot of
the responsibilities in terms of finances
fall under my concern. In a way, I feel
more like an adult, since Ive learned all
these things that I wont have to learn [after] college.
Several students expressed that living
off campus provided them with valuable
separation between the College and their
non-academic lives.
Its nice for us to have a space for us
thats removed, said Bo Bleckel 18, who

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rents a house on Garrison Street from

Professor of Economics Guillermo Herrera. You can definitely go home and feel
like youre going home and thats separate
from school.
Jesse Chung 18, who lives with Bleckel, notes that while they do achieve a psychological distance between school and
home being situated far from campus,
they notice the physical distance as well.
It definitely does make me value being much more centrally located like in
the freshman bricks, said Chung.
Beaman expressed that despite the
physical distance, she still feels connected
to campus.
I still feel very connected to the social
pulse of campus, she said. I do sometimes miss living in a College House with
other people on the floor and having that
dialogue in the bathroom, hallway or
in the house, like a first-year dorm. It is

coming at a good time because over the

years Ive sort of learned to recognize the
value for myself in being alone and having a separation between living space and
school.
For some students, living off campus
comes with financial benefits.
[My apartment] is cheaper than campus housing. If youre thinking about
value in terms of the quality of the apartment then for the most part its greater
than the value of a campus dorm in that
the furniture is nicer and there was more
space, said Sun.
At the same time, some students were
surprised by other costs that popped up.
The cooking was mostly a financial
adjustment ... I never realized how expensive it was, said Beaman. I had a lot of
conversations on food security and access
in the U.S. It was a thought provoking adjustment.

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160 Centre Street
Bath, ME 04530
207.442.8577
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FORMATION
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

the current narrative involving

issues of race and social justice
movements.
Theoharis and Scanlon said that
both Parks and Hedgeman showed
an incredible amount of perseverance that can also be seen in modern movements. Randolph said that
Kennedy was able to seize media attention and direct the narrative in a
manner similar to the current strategies of Black Lives Matter activists.
The panel was organized by Associate Professor of Africana Studies
and History and Director of the Africana Studies Program Brian Purnell, following a panel last year that
celebrated the launch of Scanlons

biography of Hedgeman.
Purnell shared his though process
in an email to the Orient.
Wouldnt it be exciting, I said, to
bring together two other historians who,
along with Dean Scanlon, have contributed noteworthy biographies to this dynamic field of history? he wrote.
During the question and answer
portion, Justin Pearson 17 asked
the panelists how individuals can
deal with the erasure of these black
womens stories, which led Scanlon
to encourage the audience to become historians.
Scanlon said that the questions
that students ask today differ from
those that others have asked before,
which creates a fuller picture of important movements.
Its about the questions you ask,
Scanlon said. Keep asking.

111 Maine Street

Brunswick, ME
04011
207-844-8053
Open Monday-Saturday
11-9
Sundays 12-8
1.oo off Mondays with
student ID!!

the bowdoin orient

FEATURES

friday, september 16, 2016

Kopp 17 spends summer in suspended treehouse

BY AMANDA NEWMAN
ORIENT STAFF

If you drive an hour and a half

north of Brunswick and into the
woods of Camden, Maine, you may
find a homemade treehouse suspended above the ground. Eben Kopp 17
built the treehouse at the beginning
of this summer and lived in it for
three months before returning to
Bowdoin for his senior year.
While Kopp was abroad in Tanzania spring semester, he learned
that his mom had sold his childhood home in Camden and bought
a different property in the woods
where she would eventually build a
house. Upon hearing that the property would be vacant for the summer,
Kopp decided to make use of the land
as an alternative living situation.
His original plan was to build
a yurta large tepee-like structurebut after extensive planning
and research during his semester in
Tanzania, Kopp thought of something better.
I was thinking a lot about moisture and if it was going to get wet
and I just couldnt figure [out how to
make it work]. One dayI honestly
dont know how it came to meI
was like, lets just hang [the house],
he said.
Despite having almost no experience in construction, Kopp and
his girlfriend, Kenya Perry, began
building the tree house when he returned from Tanzania at the end of
May. They moved in by the middle
of June.
While in the woods, the couple
focused on adventure, sustainability
and what Kopp described as type
two fun, which is the fun one has
when looking back on an experience,
rather than fun in the moment.
Having to carry our own water
in, being super aware of energy consumptionjust all sorts of things
that we would take for granted otherwisewe had to really work for and
were super aware of, which was really
cool, he said.

COURTESY OF EBEN KOPP

HANGING OUT: Eben Kopp 17 and his girlfriend, Kenya Perry, spent their summer in a suspended treehouse they built themselves. More photos can be found on their Instagram, @the.lifted.loft.
Kopps favorite thing about the
summer, aside from the fact that he
was living in a hanging treehouse,
was his increased awareness of his
environmental footprint. After a full
day of work, doing laundry, cooking
and showering, the most water Kopp
and Perry used was about 10 gallons.
By the end of the summer, they only
had about two bins full of waste.
More so than I would have anticipated, it made me want to live more
sustainably in my future, said Kopp.

After graduation, he plans to take

time off and go on more adventures
that incorporate sustainable living.
Id like to spend time, maybe not
necessarily in the tree house in the
woods, but [doing] something thats
a little [less] conventional for some
period of my life, he said.
After completing a sea semester
last fall and living in Tanzania in the
spring, returning to Bowdoin this fall
has been the first time in a year that
Kopp has lived conventionally.

Its really weird living back where

the toilet flushes, he said.
The fact that Kopp spent his summer in a tree house was no surprise
to Yasmin Hayre 17, who lived on his
first year floor.
I dont know how long we were in
school when he started talking about
how he wanted to build a house out
in the woods, she said.
If you think of Eben, you just think
of his explorative ideas, said Hayne.
Hes definitely into doing things that

only certain people are [into].

She added that she was glad he
had found somebody, Perry, with
whom he could adventure.
I called [Kenya] up from Tanzania and I was like, Babe, were going
to live in a hanging tree house and
she was very much like, Alright Im
for it, which was super good to have
that support, said Kopp.
It takes a certain type of person
to be on board for pooping in a
bucket for three months, he added.

New brewery to take flight in Brunswick Landing

BY JESSICA PIPER
ORIENT STAFF

Nate Wildes and Jared Entwistle are two twenty-somethings from

Midcoast Maine who met earlier this
year. They share a vision of building
communityand hope to do so over
glasses of beer.
Next year, they will open Flight
Deck Brewing on the grounds of the
old naval base at Brunswick Landing, approximately twelve minutes
by car from Bowdoin College.
While craft breweries have been
gaining prevalence both in Maine
and throughout the United States,
Flight Deck will be the first of its
kind in Brunswick. Wildes and
Entwistle see the brewery not only
as a place to taste beer, but as a good
space for social gatherings.
Brunswick Landing is really in
the midst of evolving from a former
naval base to really a community,
Wildes said.

Since the Navy left Brunswick

Landing in 2011, the space has been
primarily occupied by industrial and
office units, although other businesses have slowly crept in. One of
these venturesNew Beet Market,
which opened last Marchbelongs
to Wildes and his spouse.
Flight Deck, Wildes and Entwis-

Using local products

also means that the
pair can experiment
with Maine-centric
flavors. Entwistle
noted that he hopes to
produce a number of
fruit beers and utilize
Maine herbs to create
one-of-a-kind blends.

tle emphasize, will be about more

than just beer. In addition to an
indoor tasting room, the brewery
will include an outdoor patio complete with couches and fire pits that
overlook the grounds of the old naval base.
The pair believes the brewery can
help make Brunswick a more attractive community for people in their
twenties.
When youre a young person
growing up in Maine, theres a lot
of pressure to go elsewhere, Wildes said.
Both Wildes and Entwistle are
natives to Maine, and their commitment to the state is reflected in their
desire to keep their business as local
as possible.
If it can be bought locally, we will
buy it locally, Wildes said.
He added that the growth of craft
breweries over the past five years
makes it easier to obtain materials
from local sources. Five years ago

it would have been difficult to find

fermented grain suppliers in Maine.
Using local products also means
that the pair can experiment with
Maine-centric flavors. Entwistle
noted that he hopes to produce a
number of fruit beers and utilize
Maine herbs to create one-of-akind blends.
Mugwort,
sumac,
different
herbs, he said. Were probably going to start off a little more traditional but experiment more as we
expand.
As part of the brewerys commitment to community engagement,
Entwistle and Wildes plan to utilize
customer feedback to develop a robust array of beer options.
The brewery will also minimize
its environmental impact by getting its electricity from renewable sources.
Every ounce of beer we produce
will be produced with 100 percent
renewable energy, Wildes said.

The use of renewable energy is

made easier by Brunswick Landings anaerobic biodigester, which
will supply about one-third of the
brewerys electricity. The remaining
power will come from other renewable energy sources.
Wildes emphasized that these environmentally friendly choices also
make practical business sense.
Using renewable energy means
fewer price fluctuations long-term,
he said.
Wildes and Entwistle hope their
brewery can become a staple of a
growing community in Brunswick
Landing. In the meantime, they
want to brew beers people like and
create an atmosphere where customers feel at home.
Were focusing on drinkable,
approachable beer, Wildes said.
Whoever you are, when you walk
into Flight Deck Brewery, we want
to be able to offer you a beer you
like.

friday, september 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

features

Exploring
Maine: Find
your space
BY PENELOPE LUSK
COLUMNIST

When we applied to Bowdoin, about

a third of us wrote about intellectual
engagement. Another third, our commitment to the common good. The last
group, myself included, wrote about
connection to place.
This past Saturday, I woke up at
4:30 in the morning, stumbled out
of bed into fleece-lined leggings and
fleece-lined flannel and drove with
three friends out to Morse Mountain.
As we walked down the dirt path and
the darkness thinned to a grey morning light filtering through the leaves,
it didnt feel like 6 a.m., but like a
moment out of time. Over the white
spread of sandy beach, the unpredicted heavy clouds parted right as the
sun floated to fullness. We watched
tiny birds scampering in the waves,
looking for nibbles of food. I swam,
and the water was warmer than the
air. As we walked back with salted
skin, the mosquitoes bit us to distraction and connection to place was palpable. It itched and it tingled, it was
tired eyes and exhilaration.
A Morse Mountain sunrise is only
one way to understand place (though
a way I definitely recommend). Place
is an undeniable and essentially

unavoidable commonality. All Bowdoin students

share the four corners
of the quad, the walk to
Hannaford and the 4 p.m.
winter sunsets. But what
makes all Bowdoin students different is the ways
they explore, experience,
relate and connect to their
physical location
Places absorb negative
and positive attributes and
hold the collective experiences of all people who
have passed through them
and taken photos or just
taken in the view. Some
students avoid Hatch because they find the atmosphere depressingly dreary.
Others linger, walking past
the Edwards playground,
remembering a first kiss. Some students will never step into Baxter
Basement, or the Womens Resource
Center; for others, those spaces will
become emblematic of their college
experience. Some students will return to Bowdoin for every reunion,
others will graduate and never look
back to Maine.
We talk about safe spaces and unsafe
spaces; quiet spaces and party spaces;

PHOEBE ZIPPER

private spaces and public spaces; spaces that we feel belong to us and spaces
that we feel excluded from. Place usually stands for physical location, while
space implies our inhabitation or reaction to that place. I want to write about
connections to the places we share as
Bowdoin students, on campus and in
the surrounding Maine area, and how
our common places can become very
different spaces.

I feel a physical love for Maines

natural beauty, for the seashore, for
the pines and the patterns of birds
flying overhead. But that beauty, like
Bowdoin and Brunswick, does not exist in a vacuum. Beyond Bowdoin experiences, I want to take the time to
learn the story of the places I inhabit
as a four-year resident in Maine. History informs the present and places
hold history beyond any time limit I

could impose as a student or writer.

Bowdoin promises a deep connection to placewhere does that promise
take us? From Smith Union to Morse
Mountain, the places around me have
been engaging students and locals
alike for years. Now is the time to look
around a little more closely, to think
twice about the past and to continue
exploring what no one can walk away
from: the place in which they live.

Beer Musings from Moscow: Smithwicks makes a pleasant introduction

BY JAEYEON YOO
COLUMNIST

Hello hello, dear reader, welcome

to the Orients beer column. Let me
introduce myselfalthough, to be
realistic, I think youre probably
reading this because youre one of
my supportive friends and thus you
already know me. Who knows? Ideal-case scenario youre looking for
some crafty beer inspiration (#beerspiration?). Im a beer lover currently studying abroad in Moscow,
Russia. Ill admit straight up that I
have never studied brewing or beer
seriously; I will probably mess up
my alcohol terminology at times
please forgive me. I do it with the
best intentions and a serious
appreciation for a good beer.
Since Im in another
country, its tricky to give
helpful beer recommendations for Bowdoin
students. I think

Im going to try to find American

equivalents to what Im drinking
here, look for Russian beers available in Maine or go off of memory
concerning what I like to drink. By
the way, it is 100% false that Russians only love vodka. In fact, theres
quite a nice craft beer scene, which
is good news for me.

Okay, beer talk now: if you happen to be in Moscow, I recommend

checking out the bars in the renovated chocolate factory region, Red
October. In Brunswick, Id probably just have purchased a pack
of Smithwicks for the first week
backits cheap and bars in Brunswick dont carry it. Smithwicks is
not well-known but its definitely
my all-time favorite red ale. The
best metaphor I can think of is that
its basically the LBD* of beers, allowing it to pair well with almost
any food or mood. Ill rhapsodize
brief ly: Smithwicks is the ultimate
balancing act. Its malty, but not
overwhelmingly sweet; f lavorful and earthy, but not bitter; smooth

SOPHIE WASHINGTON

and very easy to drink, but not

bland. Its a great beer to start with,
no matter what you choose to drink
afterwards, so maybe Smithwicks
is a particularly fitting drink now,
as this time of year marks the beginning of seemingly everything
(and speaking from experience,
orientations never end). Because it
is a subtler drink, Smithwicks enhances the f lavors of other stronger
or heavier tasting beers that follow,
like stouts or IPAs. At the same
time, its still f lavorful enough
that you wont be boredand this
aftertaste somewhat covers up the
taste of less mouthwatering beers
if needed.
Quick facts: Smithwicks originated in Kilkenny, Ireland, is classified as an Irish red ale and has an
alcohol percentage of 4.5%. Most
people think only of Guinness when
they think of Irish beer, but the
truth is there is so much more variety. Uncoincidentally, Guinness
now also owns Smithwicks.
Its a smart company.
A 12-pack of Smithwicks costs approximately $15, exactly
the same price as
Sam Adams or Blue
Moonso money is no
excuse for not giving it
a try.
Smithwicks company also brews Smithwicks Pale Ale, but I
prefer the fuller taste
of the red. Its naturally better on tapless
carbonated, so you can
appreciate the malty
taste betterbut the

bottled version is still pretty decent.

A friend told me theres a place in
Bath that does have Smithwicks on
tap. I plan to check it out when Im
back, but if you take the initiative
to explore Baths bar scene before
I doplease go grab a Smithwicks
for me.
Next, if youre going to drink a
beer properly, I think you need to
do some toasting. If you only want
to know about the beer, you can
stop reading here, but Im personally fascinated by toasting culture.
For example, did you know that in
Germany, its essential to maintain
eye contact when toasting? If you
dont meet the other persons eyes
when you clink your glasses, youll
have seven years of bad sex. Seven.
I dont know if this rule applies in
America, but perhaps its better to
be safe than sorry.
You can also practice vocabulary
while drinking. From my experience, knowing cheers in multiple
languages is often more useful
for socializing and traveling than
knowing other phrases (I love you,
for examplewhen are you really
going to need to say that in multiple
languages?). Since were drinking
beer from Kilkenny, slinte! seems
appropriatecheers in Irish Gaelic, pronounced slahn-che.
Go forth and impress your friends
with your choice of perfect beer,
intense eye contact and cool new
words. Thank you for reading; do
email me if you have suggestions
until next time.
*LBD = Little Black Dress, or a
wardrobe staple that goes with anything and is always useful.

features

the bowdoin orient

friday, september 16, 2016

TALK OF THE QUAD

SMALL AND BEAUTIFUL
THINGS
I would love to go birding with all
of you. Ive developed this obsession,
and Im finding that I now need some
friends to enable me. I can promise,
first, that it really wont take much
work to start. Even binoculars, although helpful, are not required. All
through the year we can find birds on
campus or a short walk away, or take
an easy drive to the coast for more
excitement. When we arrive to school
late in the summer, the marshes are
full of herons and travelling hawks.
Tiny shorebirds crowd beach edges,
nervously out-stepping waves and
falcons. As the heat fades, puffins
and razorbills dissolve into the deeper Atlantic. Soon after, boldly colored
winter ducks gather their breeding
forces in the snowa casual and apathetic audience to our holiday travel.
As the inland lakes freeze and
the non-coastal ducks scatter south,
remnant bands of black-capped
chickadees (singing cheese-bur-ger,
my cellphone text alert) and nuthatches (which I call meeps) supply more consistent comfort. Lonely
brown creepers offer the occasional
errant song (trees, beautiful trees!).

After several weeks of frozen breath,

its a relief when early spring birds
trickle back towards our campus.
Vireos and black-throated green
warblers (zee-zee-zee-zoo-zee) begin
their hopping in the Commons. By
May, the Pines are heavy with singing
warblers. Some ovenbirds (teacherTeacher-TEAcher) and black-throated blue warblers (I am laz-ee-eey)
stick around to commiserate with
students during finals. The summer
begins again.
Its now been a yearperhaps a
little lesssince I really started birding. Ive forgotten about twice as
many songs as I remember and misidentified more shorebirds than Im
willing to count. Each time I go looking, Im accompanied by a fear born
of 20plus years slogging through
precisely marketed hobbies, each of
which promised about 10 minutes
of entertainment and supplied five.
I mean to say that I have a millennial nervousness that the whole thing
(the activity? The birds? The soil and
the trees?) will sort of deconstruct
like all my other products. About
ten minutes ago I saw a fish crow
(UH-uh, like an American crow with
a cold and some sass). It remained

of those who resort to them. Today, this commitment is restated in

the Offer of the College, and understood as Bowdoins guiding philosophy. It can be easy to overlook,
then, Bowdoins status in the world
and the ways that, as an elite institution, it furthers private interests and
privileges of those already likely to
succeed in a capitalist society.
As the 2013 National Association of Scholars report reminds us,
Bowdoin is overwhelmingly liberal. Thats true. The problem with
this liberalism, though, is that it is
often surface-level, and focuses on
doing small good deeds as opposed
to transforming a system that roots
itself in injustices and reproduces
inequalities. Edward Abbey, the
American essayist, wrote: The conservatives love their cheap labor; the
liberals love their cheap cause.
Common Good Day is a great example of this cheap cause. It is the
supposedly selfless donation of time
to support organizations in need of
help: a small, musty historical society, a farm with immigrant workers
an hour away, a food bank. We dip
our toes into service, shake a hand
or two, snap some photos and accept
gratitude. But, are the organizations
benefitting as much as Bowdoin is?
Without the surrounding rhetoric, Common Good Day is simply
a safe group-bonding activity. Its
good for the College and its good
for the students who walk away feel-

ing as if theyve done something

meaningful. At best, it provides organizations with one afternoon of
extra help that they wouldnt have
had otherwise. At worst, it burdens
the organization and leaves students
with a savior complex. Either way, it
doesnt create a meaningful impact
unless its surrounded by comprehensive education and critical reflection, and followed up with continued service. In fact, the McKeen
Centers Alternative Break programs
do this by holding weekly seminar
discussions leading up to a sevenday service immersion program, and
following the trip there is a debriefing conversation.
Although its easy to slip on an
ethically-produced polar bear Tshirt once in a while, promoting the
common good as a brand is hollow.
While weve written common
good seven times in this article
(now eight), the words themselves
mean little. They can be used to
justify almost any action. (See
Bowdoins promotion of military
service during WWII.) Go beyond
the rhetoric and consider what the
common good means at Bowdoin,
as its imagined from the Ivory
Tower. Consider, too, what it might
mean after youve left Bowdoin.
Interrogate whether it means anything to you at all.
Emily Weyrauch and Eliza Graumlich are both members of the Class
of 2017.

PHOEBE ZIPPER
solid and almost inexplicably realized.
And so theres this other part to
the whole birding thing. The objects
of birds develop a form in and of
themselves. We can step away from
two nearequal transgressions.
In the first crime, we capture an
avian aesthetic as lifeless color and
shape. They cover our hats, decorate our hair, fill our coats. We allow

IF YOU GIVE A POLAR

BEAR A RAKE

PHOEBE ZIPPER

them status only as an image. In the

other, more well-meaning offense,
we regard them as patterned objects
worth conserving.
The role of avian fauna cannot be overstated in regards to seed
dispersal, pest control and ecosys-

tem management, spoke one beleaguered scientist. But to gaze at them

shifts something in the head. Their
eyes become really like eyes. Beyond
aesthetic, we allow them substance
and sentience and willas though
they ever needed our permission.
Conservation takes its rightful place
as the protection of existence, of feeling, rather than the maintenance
of equilibria.
How nice, Liam, how quaint. But
the craziest part of all of this affection
is how naturally it arrives. It takes
the smallest gap and the whole thing
breaks wide open. In some ways, Im
asking you to trust me. To trust that
a glance away from the five-minute
lights and noises that attend our lives
will not fundamentally shatter our
millennial philosophies. To trust that
it really, really wont feel silly to stand
there and stare at a robin. It will be
such an easy love. So come birding!
Liam Taylor is a member of the
Class of 2017.
If youre interested in joining the
Huntington Bird Club or are interested in birds/birding in general, please
contact Liam at ltaylor2@bowdoin.
edu or Isaac Merson at imerson@bowdoin.edu.

Another start to a fall semester

is marked by another free T-shirt:
grinning polar bears wearing overalls and wielding instruments of
manual labor.
Common Good Day gets groups
of students (teams, first-year floors
and the rogue individual volunteers)
together with faculty and staff for
an afternoon of volunteer-based
service in the greater Brunswick
community. After a morning of
pump-up talks and student musical
performances in Farley Field House,
participants lend about three hours
of labor to local nonprofits and municipal organizations. The hope of
the event is presumably to promote
student engagement with the McKeen Center for the Common Good
and long-term service.
It is a noble pursuit to strive for
community engagement and service
in the student body of a college. At
Bowdoin, time is a scarce resource and
service is not work that can be done in
a day; it requires time and planning
and critical thinking and reflection.
A major part of Bowdoins brand
is its public commitment to the
common good. As Joseph McKeen,
Bowdoins first president, stated in
his 1802 inaugural address: Literary institutions are founded and
endowed for the common good,
and not for the private advantage

friday, september 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Leventhal 17
revamps
Bowdoin
Music
Collective
BY SURYA MILNER
ORIENT STAFF

of structured and set in stoneso its

good to bring that new vibe into it, Etzel said.
Noah Dubay 19, a member of the
Longfellows who also uses they/them/
theirs pronouns, was excited to hear
of Etzels founding of the gender-inclusive group.
Theres this whole idea of vocal cohesion and the idea that the voices have
to mesh, and so you have to wonder,
even if someone who identifies as a man
and wasnt assigned male at birthcan
the Longfellows, say, like, Well, your
voice type isnt exactly what were looking for? Dubay said.
And then that raises the question
of, Is that considered discriminatory,
or not? considering they could say
the same thing to someone who is cis-

Last night, the Bowdoin Music

Collective (BMC) hosted its annual
open mic night at Ladd House, which
featured the usual slam poetry, singing and instrumentation. But according to BMC co-president Matt Leventhal 17, this year is different as its
the kick-off event for what the BMC
hopes to be a year of revival of the
music scene on campus.
According to Leventhal, the studentdirected club will focus specifically on
cultivating an inclusive and diverse
platform for musicians and music enthusiasts alike, partnering with various
student organizations in an effort to appeal to a wide range of the student body.
Our club has been white male
dominated for the last year or so and
were trying to break that stereotype,
said Leventhal. Anyone with even an
interest in music, or if they want to
form a band, or if they just want to be
involved in event planningeveryone
is welcome.
This inclusive energy was clear in
the living room of Ladd, where a variety of singers, slam poets, bands and
walk-ons took stage to a chorus of
whoops and claps from the audience.
Tobi Omola 19, programming director and BMC representative for
Ladd, said he was eager to host the
event and show the campus community another dimension of the house.
As Ladd programming director, I
also hope that it shows that Ladd isnt

Please see TONES, page 10

Please see BMC, page 10

ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

SOUND IT OUT: Rose Etzel 19 (right) poses with fellow Bear Tones members Victoria Wu 19 (left) and Evelyn Beliveau 19 (center). The three, who met in Chamber Choir during their first year at Bowdoin, will serve
as the founding members of Bear Tones, Bowdoins newest a cappella group for female and treble voices.

New a cappella group Bear Tones promotes gender inclusivity

BY LIZA TARBELL
ORIENT STAFF

This week, Bowdoin a cappella groups

have been busy with auditions, call-backs
and inducting new members into the six
organizations on campusincluding
the most recent addition to the a cappella community: Bear Tones, a group
for female and treble voices. The group
was founded to fill the void left by Bella
Mafia, an all-female group which was
founded in 2006 and dissolved last fall.
Anna Schwartzberg 17, a member
of Ursus Verses and president of the
A Cappella Council, as well as Max
Middleton 16, of the Meddiebempsters
and former president of the A Cappella
Council, sought to balance out the a
cappella groups on campus. The call
was answered when Professor of Music
Robert Greenlee recommended Rose

Etzel 19 for their strong skills in leadership, conducting and music theory.
On the sign-up sheet for the group,
Etzel, who uses they/them/theirs pronouns, listed Bear Tones as a female/
treble a cappella group, noting that female/treble means anyone with female
or non-binary gender identities, inclusive of all trans people. Two people had
already committed to the group before
auditions began on Monday; 23 people
auditioned this week, and eight were accepted, according to Etzel.
Seeking to provide a space for greater
inclusivity on campus, Etzel founded
Bear Tones to counter what they believe
is a gendered space in a cappella.
I never like the idea of how binary
the whole gender situation is, especially
with a capella groups. It always feels kind
of exclusive and restricting, they said. If
theyre musically qualified, who cares?

Etzel hopes to form another community for trans people on campus.

Its always been kind of a weird situation for people if theres someone whos
gender nonconforming and wants to be
in an a cappella group, they said. Its
been like, Will I belong in this group
thats all-male or all-female? Will it be
comfortable?
Etzel intends to prepare the group for
a Family Weekend concert, which has
typically been the first concert of the
year for all a cappella groups. Beyond
creating a new sound and offering another option for female/treble voices at
Bowdoin, they have goals beyond simply performing.
My goalsnot necessarily musical
goalsare just kind of to put it out there
that its possible to be more inclusive in
that kind of stereotypical a cappella environment, which has always been kind

Practice for Life: Bowdoin professors co-write book analyzing student decision-making
ELIZABETH FOSLERJONES
STAFF WRITER

It was their fascination with the student mind that led Associate Professor of Education Nancy Jennings and
Suzanne Lovett, associate professor
of psychology, to co-write Practice
for Life: Making Decisions in College, a book highlighting the everyday
decision-making processes of liberal
arts students.
Co-written alongside professors
from Wellesley, the book describes
the collective findings from research
on over 200 college students at Bates,
Bowdoin, Colby, Smith, Middlebury,
Trinity and Wellesley colleges. It serves
as a guidebook, showcase and tool for
high school and college students, parents and academics alike.
The book has its roots in the New
England Consortium on Assessment
and Student Learning (NECASL),
which brought together a group of researchers, faculty and professors from
seven New England colleges from
2006 through 2011. The consortium
met to talk and share data about student learning, with the goal of exploring the intersection between students
decision-making and their evolution

throughout college.
In particular, NECASL collected
data based on interviews between
trained students and their peers, allowing for an honest, open dynamic. The
interviewees were selected via random
sampling, and include a wide range of
genders, ethnicities and backgrounds.
Practice of Life is the culmination of
these findings. Although the book exclusively showcases experiences drawn
from students that attended elite liberal
arts colleges, the authors think that the
behaviors and sentiments echoed in
the book are common to college students around the country.
We think the book applies to everyone because its all about decisionmaking and everyone has to make
these decisions, said Lovett. What
courses am I going to take? How am I
going to get myself engaged? Who am I
going to have as friends?
According to Jennings, the authors
were most surprised to discover that
seemingly small or trivial interactions,
such as talking to a professor outside
of class or saying hello to a floormate
proved to be the most essential to students experiences.
In all arenas, small decisions students made ended up having huge im-

pact on how their college experience

went, said Jennings.
The authors collected the data from
the NECASL project and examined
the research in the context of five key
areas: connection, time management,
academic engagement, advice and
sense of belonging. The data was then
illuminated by anecdotal accounts of
decisions students make every day.
Said Jennings, The more students
that were using these decisions as
opportunities to learn about themselves, the better their college experience was.
After collecting and examining the
data collected over five years, the authors wrote the book over the course
of two years. They wrote the beginning
and the end together, but divided up
the writing of the chapters while receiving feedback from each other.
Lovett said that the books reception has been overwhelmingly positive,
although certain critics have argued
that the book fails to give a how-to
guide on navigating campus life. She
maintained, however, that it was not
their mission to curate an instructional
handbook on the exact ways to make
decisions in college.
We consciously decided when

COURTESY OF DENNIS GRIGGS TANNERY HILL STUDIOS

PRACTICE FOR LIFE: Co-authors Nancy Jennings (left), associate professor of education emerita,
and Suzanne Lovett (right), associate professor of psychology.
writing the book that we werent
going to do that, Lovett said. We
cant say what the steps [of decisionmaking] are.
Instead, the book urges students
to explore different avenues of problem solving and decision-making as

well as encourages them to think of

college as a continuous process of
starting and restarting.

10

a&e

friday, september 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

SymmetryWorks! guest lecturer transforms math into art

BY RACHAEL ALLEN
ORIENT STAFF

Dr. Frank Farris, a professor of mathematics at Santa Clara University, is creating mathematical artand he is doing
it with the help of Bowdoin students.
Using his original software, SymmetryWorks!, which was worked on by Bridget Went 17 and Son Ngo 17 this summer, Farris transforms his photographs
into vivid wallpapers, illustrating both
the principles of visual beauty and symmetry. Through lectures, a workshop and
an exhibit, Farris shared his work with
the Bowdoin community this past week.
These started as mathematical diagrams to explain something about geometry, Farris said. In the 90s, I realized the method had artistic potential,
but it wasnt until 2011 that I really got
the software to put photographs with the
pattern-making mathematics.
Irritated by the narrow definition of
a pattern in a geometry textbook, Farris set out to correct it, keeping in mind
a patterns visual and emotional effect.
This idea led to the original code for
SymmetryWorks! As Farris explains in
his 2015 book, Creating Symmetry:
The Artful Mathematics of Wallpaper
Patterns, there are 17 different wallpaper types which are described as a
pattern that repeats perfectly in two
independent directions. Using these
wallpaper types, SymmetryWorks!
transforms colors or even photographs
into various designs.
Farris has come a long way from his
first wallpapers, which he created with
Microsoft Excel. His images (both wallpapers and variations of symmetry) are
fantastical and kaleidoscope-like, and
now hang in the gallery of the Edwards
Center for Art and Dance. A few of his
designs are printed on fabrics; Farris
sells these fabrics on spoonflower.com,
an online fabric store. One can hardly
tell that each of these patterns comes
from photographs of things like flowers
or chopped up red peppers.
I think I conform to traditional values
of [art], Farris said. Sometimes I engage
in humor, like the [photo of] fish turning
into [the wallpaper with a repeating shape
of a] fish...I have a little bit of a zany side,
but theres also this quasi-sacred side of
meditative and mysterious beauty.

COURTESY OF PROFESSOR MARK WETHIL

SYMMETRY WORKS: Santa Clara University Professor of Mathematics Frank Farris discusses his art with students in Professor of Art Mark Wethilsclass calledAbstraction. The workshop was a segment in a threeday event showcasing Farriswork, which uses mathematical approaches to transform numbers and patterns into abstract art.
Farris points to his three works that
venture into the three-dimensional realm.
Using Adobe Photoshop, Farris was able
to impose his original two-dimensional
pattern around a three-dimensional
shape. In one image, termed a variation
of symmetry, patterned spheres float over
a lake at night with a mountain in the
background. This scene was created with
the same kind of software and mathematics that the film industry uses for graphics.
[I tell my students] mathematics
is beautiful, mathematics is useful and
mathematics is developmental, Farris
said. Sometimes I will bring in a PowerPoint to say, Well let me tell you a little
more [about] what I meant by mathematics is beautiful, and then I show them
some of this stuff. [Mathematics is] this
abstract realm where theres all this beau-

tiful stuff, but then [these pieces channel]

that into the realm where others can see.
With the help of Went and Ngo, Farris is now able to share this beauty more
easily. Invited by Assistant Professor of
Computer Science Sean Barker, Went
and Ngo worked with Farris this summer, communicating via Skype, to make
the software more user-friendly, fast and
aesthetically pleasing.
[Farris is] not a programmer himself,
so the software was really raw, Went said.
Our job over the summer was to make
it more useable, especially for artists who
may not necessarily understand the mathematical underpinnings.
Meeting with Barker about the mathematics of symmetry and using their
knowledge of the programming language C++, the two students added func-

tions such as sliders to make the software

more usable and to make the interface
guide artists towards more aesthetically
pleasing patterns.
Its really cool, this idea that you can
create a pattern real time and have complete control over how it turns out, Went
said. But also theres this component of
unpredictability. You dont know what
youre going to end up creating.
The software is open-source, intended
for the use of certain specialist artists according to Farris, though he plans to one
day make an Adobe Photoshop plug-in.
Farris hopes this project will extend past
just himself and artists. My hope is this
will successfully engage the Bowdoin
community and beyond in this kind of
joyful playing with patterns, he said.
Students have already begun using

the software. This week, Farris critiqued

students designs made with SymmetryWorks! in A. LeRoy Greason Professor
of Art Mark Wethlis 3000-level visual
art class, Abstraction. Farris hopes more
Bowdoin students will be interested in the
project and help take it to its next level,
perhaps in relation to harnessing the softwares three-dimensional potential.
I think some of [my ideas for the softwares expansion] realistically might happen on campus this year, Farris said. I
think towards the end of the week there
will be some meetings about what the
Bowdoin community wants to do, what
has been the perceived interest, is there
energy for people to pick this up.
SymmetryWorks!: The Mathematical
Art of Frank Farris, will be displayed in
Edwards until September 23.

BMC
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

TONES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

only a party space, he said. This is a

nice event where people can feel comfortable coming in and outand its not
the pub, its a homely environment.
This concept of home is not unfamiliar to Leventhal, as he aims to
instill a similar sense of belonging
among what he hopes will become
a burgeoning campus community of
active musicians.
Theres so much that can be done to
make people feel welcome and at home,
he said. [Music] unites people. Its another form of school spirit, in a way.
For him, its all about putting in what
he calls the leg work: coordinating
events, connecting artists and making
things happen behind-the-scenes.
We have so much power here to
make the music scene what we want,
that I think the only limiting factor
is peoples ability to commit time, he
said. So Im trying to take the load
off of a lot of people who may or may
not have free time to put into this, and
sort of put in that time myself so all
they have to do is show up and play.
Leventhal has collaborated on
planning a multitude of events with
the Bowdoin Organic Garden, the
Outing Club, Bowdoin Art Society

gender and identifies as male, Dubay

continued, speaking to the need for vocal cohesion.
With the growing inclusion of gender nonconforming voices, Dubay
hopes that Bear Tones has set a precedent for more innovative types of a
capella.
I think [that] moving beyond gender and specific vocal parts can musically diversify an a cappella group. We
have a cappella groups that are more
interested in specific types of music
and specific types of composition, as
opposed to, Well, were all here because were men and we sing like this,
you know? Its an invitation for more
creative musical thought and I think its
a challenge, but its an optimistic challenge, Dubay said.
They see Bear Tones as an opportunity to create additional spaces for
trans people on campus and greater inclusivity.
I think its exciting that its not going to be a duplicate copy of Bella Mafia, said Dubay. And I think that this
new and different stance that theyre
taking on it is just opening a door to all
sorts of other opportunities.
Schwartzberg sees the group as an

opportunity to draw upperclassmen

to a cappella. Involving upperclassmen may also promote the longevity
of the group. Cole Burkhardt 18, vice
president of the A Cappella Council,
said that without upperclassmen, Bear
Tones has the potential to fall apart.
Schwartzberg suggested that the group
may also have spring auditions.
Obviously theyre filling the same
niche of a treble-voice, all-female
group on campus and filling out that
missing piece. But I think they will
develop their own unique identity,
Middleton said.
Thats the amazing thing about
Bowdoin a cappella, that we have
six groups on a pretty small campus, which is already absurd, and the
fact that all six groups are good, and
that each one is able to have their
own identity, visually and musically. I have no doubt that the Bear
Tones will be able to find their own,
he continued.
In carving out its own niche on
campus, Bear Tones joins a conversation with implications beyond Brunswick.
These days, you hear more and
more about organizations, companies branching out in different ways.
Its coming on the national scene,
too. College campuses are definitely
the fore-front of that, Etzel said.

EZRA SUNSHINE, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE: Matt Leventhal 17 performs at Ladd House on Thursday night.
and Peer Health in order to broaden
the reach of the club.
Bowdoin can do so much better
with making its music scene a social
scene, he said. If we can make things
happen, week after week, that are really student-oriented, my hope is that

it will bring people together. The ideal

is that suddenly [events] are popping
up everywhere and we have a very vibrant social music scene.
The BMC has plans to host a Jazz
Night on Thursday, September 29 at
Jack Magees Pub and Grill.

friday, september 16, 2016

SPORTS

the bowdoin orient

11

Run of a lifetime: cross

country coach reflects
BY ANJULEE BHALLA
ORIENT STAFF

TESSA EPSTEIN, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

SET UP FOR SUCCESS: Captain Quincy Leech17 continues to be a major force in providing oensive opportunities and orchestrating the Polar Bear attack as a veteran setter for the team.

Volleyball secures
early victories coming off NESCAC title
BY JONO GRUBER
ORIENT STAFF

After ending last season in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA DIII tournamentthe programs best-ever finish
the womens volleyball team opened this
season 3-1 at the MIT Invitational. With
a straight-set win over Colby (0-5 overall)
on Tuesday the team stands at 4-1 heading into matchups with Amherst and Williams this weekend.
Although competitors at the MIT Invitational had an extra week to practice
as they do not have to comply with NESCAC practice regulations, the Polar Bears
still impressed. The team beat Babson (5-2
overall) and Brandeis (3-5 overall) on Friday before taking down Roger Williams
(5-4 overall) in a five set nail-biter the next
day. Bowdoin, however, fell to tournament
champs MIT (8-2 overall) hours later.
The team faired much better at the
event than it did last year when it lost
three of its four matches, two of them
without winning a set. One of last years
straight-set losses came against MIT, who
the Polar Bears later beat in the Sweet 16
to secure their spot in the Elite Eight.
We were mentally prepared and physically prepared for the weekend, said Head
Coach Erin Cady. Unfortunately we ran
out of gas against MIT, but I definitely
think talent-wise we match up against
them nicely, and if we see them again it
will be a different story.
Going into MIT, who you know are
competitive, it was exhausting, said captain Quincy Leech 17. But, Im looking
forward to seeing them in the postseason.
Part of the teams confidence stems
from Cadys dedication and mentality.
Last years historic season was Cadys first
with the team and despite only recently
arriving in Brunswick, Cady found her
bearings at Bowdoin fairly quickly.
She is the kind of person I feel like

was always meant to be at Bowdoin. [The

transition] was very seamless, said Leech.
[Former Head Coach Karen] Corey did
amazing things building up the program
and that is obviously evident looking at
our banners. But its just really cool that
Coach Cady so effortlessly took that and
made it into exactly, I think, what Bowdoin volleyball can become.
In order to make this season as successful as last, the team will have to overcome
the loss of last seasons captains, Christy
Jewett 16 and Hailey Wahl 16. Not only
were Jewett and Wahl instrumental in the
teams on-court successJewett had nearly 200 more career kills than any other
Polar Bearbut also in their dynamic off
the court as well. Since the 2014 team had
no seniors, last season was their second
as captains and that stability in personnel
may have helped the team through the
coaching transition.
Despite the losses of Jewett and Wahl,
the team is confident and views the roster
changes as an opportunity to confuse opponents rather than stifle its own offense.
[Jewett] was obviously an amazing
player for us and an offensive threat, said
Cady. Looking this year at what we have,
spreading our offense will be key for us.
Other coaches look at our stats and they
dont know who were going to set. I think
thats something we really want to push,
having that offensive diversity.
The Polar Bears will put this new offensive strategy to the test tonight when they
face Amherst, the only NESCAC team to
defeat them last season, at 8 p.m. in Morrell Gymnasium. The team hopes to fix
some of the problems it had against MIT,
yet still knows all too well Cady wont be
content with victories this weekend.
One of Cadys biggest strengths is that
shes always thinking 10 steps ahead, said
Leech. Once we think weve mastered
something...shes always trying to improve
and I think thats going to carry us far.

Jerry LeVasseur is one of the toughest guys on campus, according to Cross

Country Head Coach Peter Slovenski.
At 78 years old, LeVasseur is a volunteer coach with the cross country and
track and field teams and still competes
frequently in road races and senior
games at regional, national and international levels.
[LeVasseur] would run a road race
on a Saturday, then drive somewhere
else and be in another road race on a
Saturday afternoon and then wake up
and be in a road race on Sunday, said
Slovenski. Hes just such an enthusiastic competitor and the students
have been both impressed by what he
does and theyve learned from what
he does.
Often seen taking pictures of the team
at practices and meets, LeVasseur is an
integral member of the coaching staff
and an unfailing source of positivity and
inspiration for the teamfor his present
accomplishments and past struggles.
When LeVasseur was six years old,
he and his mother were caught in the
Barney and Bailey Circus Fire, one
of the worst fire disasters in United
States history.
The circus tent had been waterproofed with a highly flammable mixture of paraffin and gasoline and the
whole tent burned to the ground in
ten minutes. One-hundred-sixty-eight
people perished, including LeVasseurs mother, and more than 700
were injured.
LeVasseur came out of the fire alive
but in critical condition with severe
burns on his upper body, head and arms.
He lost half of his right index finger and

the rest of his fingertips.

While in the hospital,
LeVasseur recalled hearing someone say, I dont
think hes going to make
it, and he thought to
himself, Yes, I am.
From that moment on,
LeVasseur has continued
to demonstrate immense
resilience and determination, not allowing
physical and emotional
trauma to deter him from
his passions.
According to the National Senior Games Association, the doctors
who treated his burns
said he wouldnt be able
to do anything with his
hands, as many of his fingers were fused together.
After three years of plastic surgery procedures
followed by extensive
physical therapy, LeVasseur proved his doctors wrong and regained almost complete ability.
As a high school student, LeVasseur
played softball, basketball and football,
and was captain of his basketball and
football teams his senior year.
Nothing stopped me, said LeVasseur. My upper body was badly burned
and maybe it drove me a little bit more.
I played softball for years and Id put a
glove on my right hand and take it off
to throw.
LeVasseur continued with these
sports until he was 30 and looked to
running to stay fit when he stopped
playing football and basketball. At 35,
LeVasseur and his family began train-

EZRA SUNSHINE, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

ing huskies and competing in dog sled

races, winning 11 championships in his
29-year career. It wasnt until he was 41
that he began competing in running
and other track and field events, including the triple jump and his favorite,
steeplechase. According to LeVasseur,
having a variety of interests helps him
be comfortable with change, especially
as he gets older.
Ive seen people driven by running,
but thats all they did and when they
started getting slower, they couldnt
handle it. You have to accept that. You
have to do other things. You have to

Please see COACH, page 12

Football develops strong

roster despite key losses
BY COLIN TIERNAN
ORIENT STAFF

The Bowdoin Football Team is

looking to rebound from last years
2-6 record. Last season, the first under Head Coach JB Wells, the team
struggled to run the football, finishing last in rushing yards, rushing
attempts, rushing touchdowns and
yards per carry.
The Polar Bear defense has a
tough season as well, giving up the
most points and rushing yards in the
NESCAC.
However, there were some bright
spots for the team. The Polar Bears
were far better through the air, with
quarterbacks Noah Nelson 19 and
Tim Drakeley 17 throwing for a
combined 1945 yards, the second
highest in the league. They also finished second in passing touchdown
with 13.

Perhaps the teams greatest skill

last season was converting in the red
zone. Bowdoin led the league in red
zone conversion percentage, converting at an 80 percent clip. In other
words, Bowdoin rarely wasted scoring opportunities within the opposing teams 20-yard line.
Despite last years struggles and
a difficult offseason, the Bowdoin
football team enters the 2016 season
with high energy and optimism.
According to captain Nadim Elhage 17, the first-year class has
looked particularly promising in the
preseason, and Nate Richam-Odoi
20 could be the answer to last seasons running game difficulties.
Hes an absolute beast, Elhage
said. Hes a strong kid, works really
hard and hes just an unbelievable
runner. Hes extremely quick; in one
play [in our scrimmage] against Tufts
he made three or four kids miss.

First-year slot receiver Chandler

Gee 20 also had a strong preseason.
Hes really tiny, but hes one of the
fastest guys Ive thrown to in a while,
Drakeley said.
On the defensive side of the football, a trio of linebackers, Joe Gowetski 20, Christian Pridgen 20 and Sydney Guerrier 20, have stood out.
This years freshmen came battle
ready, linebacker Latif Armiyaw 18 said.
Outside of this promising freshmen class, the offseason was difficult for the football team. Even
though the team lost less senior talent than in past years, several impact
players quit or will miss the year due
to injury.
Arguably the teams best defensive
player in 2015, Philippe Archambault, then a first year French-Canadian linebacker, left Bowdoin and

Please see FOOTBALL, page 13

12

sports

COACH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

have a well-rounded life, said LeVasseur. You accept that you age. We all
have that disease and you arent going to
be able to do the things that you used to
at one time although youd like to. But if
you stay fit, youre going to be able to do
them longer and be happier.
LeVasseur has also dedicated his
time to inspiring people to stay fit by
serving on the Maine, Connecticut and
National Senior Games boards, as well
as serving as president of a number of
running clubs.
I got involved because I wanted to
make sure the right thing is done for
the athlete, said LeVasseur. Its all
about what the organization is for, and
sometimes people lose sight of that,
whether its egos or power or whatever.
Youve got to maintain why youre here:
its the athlete.
Although LeVasseur describes himself as competitive, he is also deeply
committed to furthering the sport
and encouraging other athletes. He is
known to help and coach other competitors even during competitions.
Its more satisfying to help someone
do their best than ones own accomplishments, said LeVasseur. There was
a fellow I met from Czech Republic who
didnt speak English and he was going to
do the steeplechase for the first time. So
before we started, I showed him how to
go over the barriers safely, stepping on
them and so forth, and he ended up getting third place. I was fifth and he came
over, gave me a big hug and what that
results in is a friendship.
A passion to help and share his
wealth of knowledge brought LeVasseur
to Slovenskis office in 2004.
[LeVasseur] understands how to
have a great attitude in the face of adversity, and that came through very much
in our first conversation and in his first
assignments, said Slovenski. From his
work ethic, his intelligence, his attitude,

the bowdoin orient

the way he hustles in any assignment,
the way hes positive about every situation, he has an amazing can-do attitude
and he can do it all.
Yet, as a volunteer coach, LeVasseur
feels he has also benefited from and
learned a lot through his time here.
From coaching, Ive gotten the satisfaction of helping people do better,
but also maintaining my fitness, said
LeVasseur. When Im working with
them, I dont feel 78 years old; I feel like
one of them.
Fitness is an integral part of LeVasseurs life and he encourages others to
focus on incorporating exercise into
their lives as well.
Since I was 71 or 72 Ive gone
through four cancers and the reason
Im still alive today, I believe, is because
Im fit, said LeVasseur. I try to get that
across to the athletes here because you
dont have to do the intensity youre
doing, but continue doing something.
Youll feel so much better about your
life, your work and everything will be so
much easier because youre fit.
LeVasseurs accomplishments have
earned him many honors and awards in
addition to World Masters Champion
titles. LeVasseur ran with the Salt Lake
City Olympic torch and the National
Senior Games torch, and was inducted
into the Maine Running Hall of Fame
and the New England 65+ Running Hall
of Fame.
My wife and I were both put into
the Maine Senior Games Hall of Fame,
which was special, said LeVasseur.
Shes a swimmer and she took up the
triple jump maybe five or six years
ago. Shes reigning champion from the
Games in Sydney seven years ago and
Italy three years ago, so hopefully she
can do it again next year.
In addition to continuing to work
with the Bowdoin teams, LeVasseur
looks forward to competing in the National Senior Games in Birmingham,
Alabama and the World Masters Games
in Auckland, New Zealand next year.

friday, september 16, 2016

New first years boost golf

teams expectations with
strong opening tournaments
BY ANNA FAUVER
STAFF WRITER

Both the mens and womens golf

teams improved on last years performances at this weekends Bowdoin Invitational, with the mens team coming in sixth out of twelve teams and
the womens team coming in first out
of two teams.
Part of the reason for the womens
teams success, according to captain
Meredith Sullivan 17, was the contributions of two new team members,
Caroline Farber 20 and Emme McCabe 20.
They are both incredible golfers,
Sullivan said. Adjusting to college
competition is obviously tough coming out of high school, but they are
doing a great job with it, for sure.
Two of the first years on the mens
team, Jackson Harrower 20 and Tom
Dunleavy 20, are also having an immediate impact as two of the top four
Bowdoin scorers this weekend.
The two freshmen are strong competitors, said captain Thomas Spagnola 17. They have tournament experience from when they were in high
school and are really passionate about
golf, which is the most important
thing. I am really optimistic about their
desire to improve and they really want
to qualify for NESCAC [playoffs].
After beating both Colby and Bates
this weekend, captain Martin Bernard 17 believes that Bowdoin has a

chance to be one of the top four teams

at the NESCAC Qualifier and playing
in the championships in the spring.
Its hard to say [if we will qualify]
based on how other teams will play,
he said. But I think we have a better
chance this year of qualifying than we
have since Ive been here.
Mens Head Coach Tomas Fortson
urges the team to focus on the weekly
tournaments right now.
I cant think that far [ahead to the
NESCAC Qualifier] he said. It is not
healthy for any of us to be putting a
lot of extra pressure on that. If we continue to improve and people continue
to figure out how to compete at their
best, we should have a good chance.
Sullivan is more doubtful of the
womens chances of qualifying for the
spring championships.
Its very tough competition in the
NESCAC, she said. Williams won
NCAA two years ago and Amherst
and Middlebury are very strong. I
honestly am not sure. It all depends on
how we can perform this year. Obviously last year we couldnt really come
close to those teams, but this year
I think we can definitely gain some
ground on them.
Although they appear to be stronger than last season, the womens team
still has room to improve their technical skills, according to Sullivan.
I would say our weaknesses are
probably around short game so like
chipping and putting, she said.

Thats all technical stuff that comes

with literally just playing more, so as
the season goes on that will definitely
be a lot better.
According to Spagnola, the main
weakness of the mens team is their
lack of depth.
The top programs have depth,
from number one to basically their
whole team, Spagnola said. Unfortunately, we dont have that luxury. But
this year, we have some depth. Its really encouraging.
As both teams look forward to the
Maine State Tournament this weekend,
their main goal is to keep improving.
I dont know if Id put [my expectations] in terms of how I expect to
finish in the tournament because its a
similar field to what we just played in,
Bernard said. More importantly its
an opportunity to build on what was
a reasonably good weekend, to build
confidence and prepare further for the
NESCAC.
Fortson agrees that improvement
is the most important goal for the
team and believes that the team realizes this.
These are absolutely excellent people, excellent kids who get it, he said.
Get it in terms of what theyre here to
do at Bowdoin...they understand our
priorities within the program which
is to commit to the process of getting
better, of figuring out how to improve.
Theyre committed to that. They work
hard and they are honest about it.

ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

FIGHT TO THE FINISH: Julia Patterson19 outruns an Amherst defender during the teams 1-2 overtime loss last Saturday. After Amherst took the lead in the first ten minutes, Emma Beane 20 came back soon after with the equalizer, the first goal of her Bowdoin career.
The Polar Bears outshot the Purple and White 15-5, yet were ultimately unable to fend o the Amherst attack long enough, letting in the final goal in the 98th minute of play. Although their defeat didnt start o the programs NESCAC campaign on the right foot, the Polar Bears were
able to rally with a decisive 3-0 victory over Bates on Tuesday. The shutout featured goals from Sophia Lemmer20, Evan Fencik 17, and Anna Mellman 17 and assists from Morgan Gallagher20 and Lauren McLaughlin19. Rachel Stout18 kept the Bobcats scoreless with 3 saves on
the day. The team travels down to Wesleyan on Saturday for their third consecutive in-conference game, followed by a home match against Husson on Sunday.

friday, september 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

sports

13

FOOTBALL
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

returned to Canada. Furthermore, a

handful of valuable contributors will
miss the season while on academic
probation.
Even though the team is smaller
than in previous years, the players
still like their chances for the season.
Were thinner than weve been in a
long time, but I think the guys weve
got right now are all-in guystheyre
all about winning Elhage said.
On offense, two returning bright
spots include wide receiver Nick Vailas
18 and tight end Bryan Porter 18, who
received a second-team all-NESCAC
honor last season.
Vailas was fourth in the NESCAC
with 583 receiving yards in 2015, and
Porter was 11th in the league with 425.
They hauled in six and five touchdowns
respectively.
When asked about offensive standouts, Elhage brought up two offensive linemen: Kyle Losardo 17 and
Brian Mullin 17. Longtime starters,
the duo will play an important role in
the Polar Bears success this year.
Wide receivers Liam Blair-Ford
17 and Ejaaz Jiu 19 have also drawn
praise during the preseason. BlairFord 17 has come back in great
shape, after ups and downs his previous three seasons and looks to play a
prominent role this fall.
Jiu 19, a member of the baseball
team, is new to the football team
this season.
[Jiu] was a huge surprise. Hes a really big body to throw to, Drakeley said.
With a lot of potential on the team,
Elhage likes the programs prospects this
year in spite of offseason obstacles.
I think we just need to believe,
said Elhage. I know a lot of teams
say that, but I think we have the right
guys this year. Even if we dont have
the numbers, we have guys who truly
believe and are truly hungry to get on
the field.
The team will open its season next
Saturday at 1 p.m. at Middlebury. The
home opener will be against Amherst
at 1 p.m. on October 1.

BO BLECKEL, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

COMEBACK KIDS: Bowdoin Football looks to experienced returners and first-year talent in preparation for their opening match. (Clockwise from top) Grin Ross19 enters his second season as a wide receiver, Tim
Drakeley17 leads the oense as a captain and quarterback for the team and defensive lineman Isaiah Williams18 and linebacker Latif Armiyaw18 return to help strengthen and improve the Polar Bear defense.

Sailing has scattered start to season

BY ELI LUSTBADER
ORIENT STAFF

The Bowdoin sailing team opened

its season with five regattas in one
weekend and finished with mixed results. The team placed as high as first
of eight teams at the Phil Harman Cup
hosted by Maine Maritime Academy,
and as low as 12th of 13 teams at the
Toni Deutsch Regatta hosted by MIT.
However, since nationals are not until
the spring season, the team does not
place high priority on races at this
point in the season.
Were pretty heavily in the development stage right now, Head Coach
Frank Pizzo said. But thats no different
from the team at this point in past years.
Right now were focused on the
process of getting better, Captain
Hunter Moeller 17 said. Were really trying to focus on working hard
at lifts, working hard at practice and
working on communication on the
water. Its all process-oriented at this
point in the season.
Many of the early season regattas
are a big part of that process, as they
provide the new members of the team a
chance to gain valuable experience out
on the water.
Each year we have an influx of peo-

ple who dont know how to sail, so these

first few weeks become a time of learning for them, Captain Dana Bloch 17
said. Were all trying to teach them and
help integrate them onto the team and
create an environment where everyone
feels motivated to work really hard.
Despite participating in five regattas
in a single weekend, the team was able
to stay organized and remain a cohesive unit. Two of the events this weekend were at Maine Maritime, another
two were in Bostonat MIT and Harvardand the fifth took place at Yale.
We target these specific events because they are in close proximity to
each other, Pizzo said. We know we
can get a lot of people sailing and our
coaches can see a lot of races, so its
great experience and helps the team
stay together.
Pizzo chooses who races at each regatta, and there are a number of factors
that are behind each decision.
We know that certain hosts are really good at running events, so sometimes we want to expose somebody to
a specific venue, he said. Other times,
its about getting people experience.
Its also about rewarding whos sailing
well and having them sail at the best
eventsand I would say this changes
on a weekly basis.

Although seven team members graduated last spring, the team has an experienced senior class poised to fill those roles.
One of the strengths of the team is
that we have a really deep senior class
that has done a ton of sailing for Bowdoin, Pizzo said. We have a lot of really
great, supportive senior leaders so thats
huge for us because they are able to help
us build the culture that we need to build
for our team.
However, Pizzo also noted several areas where the team needs improvement.
I would say boat speed and starting
are big focuses for us. Well chip away
at those areas for now and get to where
we need to be, said Pizzo. We have a
full year to develop, which is a huge advantage as compared to a lot of other
sports.
The team hopes that making these
improvements over the course of
this year will yield the desired results
come spring.
Our ultimate goal is to place well at nationals at the end of the season, Moeller
said. In order for us to be successful we
just need to keep working hard.
The team will travel across New
England this weekend for three more
regattas taking place at Connecticut
College, MIT/Boston University and
the University of Vermont.

EZRA SUNSHINE, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

SETTING SAIL: The sailing team faced a full lineup this past weekend, travelling to Penobscot Bay, the
Charles River and New Haven for five regattas in their seasonal debut.

14

the bowdoin orient

OPINION

friday, sptember 16, 2016

Off-campus, out of mind

he number of students living off campus has increased over the

past few years and is currently at its highest in recent memory.
On one hand, students living off campus engage with the town
in new ways both personally and economically. On the other
hand, incidents of disorderly conduct and noise late at night place stress on
a historically civil relationship.
On Wednesday, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols sent an
email to the student body regarding complaints received from Brunswick
residents over the past two weeks. This email reflects tensions between the
town and Bowdoin that exist in part as a result of Bowdoin students living
off campus.
For upperclassmen living off campus, the relationship with the town of
Brunswick is not the only one that changes. As students gain more independence and autonomy, a rift grows between students living off campus and
those who remain in college housing.
Students who live off campus often downgrade their meal plans, and thus
eat fewer meals in the dining hall with their peers, spending more time in
their houses rather than in campus spaces. On the weekends, social gatherings and parties drift away from College Houses and college-owned apartments to the off-campus houses. There is no denying the divide between
students who live on and off campus.
Structural changes need to be put in place to maintain our campus community. This is an opportunity for a mutual effort between the Bowdoin
administration and those students living off campus to build a formalized
structure with the goal of improving relations in our community.
As the market for renting to Bowdoin students grows, the number of interactions with BPD will inevitably increase. In the past, Nichols has met
with off-campus houses informally and on a case-by-case basis. It is important to have these conversations in a more official capacity to clarify expectations for students, the College and the town. Creating a mandatory
orientation program for students living off campus facilitated by the Office
of Safety and Security, the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) and other
relevant administrators would achieve this goal.
Additionally, providing formal resources for navigating what happens when
things go wrong ensures that all parties involvedSecurity, BPD, students
and/or landlordsengage with incidents in a fair and consistent manner.
Implementing these changes would not be difficult and would help shape
a relationship of mutual respect amongst our community as a whole.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orients editorial board,
which is comprised of Marina Affo, Julian Andrews, Steff Chavez, Grace Handler,
Nickie Mitch, Meg Robbins and Joe Seibert.

GOT SOMETHING
TO SAY?

1
2

SUBMIT AN OP-ED
500-700 words

SUBMIT A LETTER TO
THE EDITOR
200 words or fewer

Send all submissions to orientopinion@

bowdoin.edu by 7pm on the Tuesday of
the week of publication. Include your full
name and phone number.

ALEX WESTFALL

On the drowning of finches

A call for more intellectual diversity on campus through
considering opposing views.
BY JAMES BOUCHER

OPED CONTRIBUTOR

Ideas are like finches. When there

is not enough food for all finches in
a given population to survive, natural
selection will favor those most adapted to the situation at hand. From a
range of options presented by genetic
diversity, pressure placed on a group
of finches will lead to the survival of
the finches in possession of the right
beak. Diversity and pressure will, in
the absence of any conscious agent,
find the right answer to the beak
problem. The same idea that works
on birds works on companies, technologies and ideas. There are today
very few dodos, Blockbuster franchises, phonographs or teleologists.
If you accept that college is a place
to learn to thinkand that thinking
is something you do to get the right
answer to a questionthen this is an
exciting prospect. The same system
that produced the eyes youre using
can tell you what sort of tax policy is
most just, or how to save the environment or what to do about ISIS. Pressure on an idea is what we are trained
for here at college: it is the critical
mindset, the demand that an idea
must prove itself and not be accepted
straight out of the gate.
Intellectual diversity is vigorous on
a global scale but not a local one. A
survey conducted last spring by Associate Professor of Government Michael Franzs Quantitative Analysis in
Political Science class quantitatively
confirmed what is probably obvious: Bowdoin skews heavily liberal.
There are more surprising findings,
too. First, we rate the typical student
more liberal than they really are.
Second, those who are more conservative are more likely to feel uncomfortable sharing their political views.
This boils down to a demonstrable
lack of full and effective intellectual
diversity. This is a big problem. Our

system only works when we have a

diversity of opinions that pressure us
to act. Without choices, we can only
hope that the idea were left with really is the best one.
The idea Im arguing for is often
called the Marketplace of Ideas. Its
not new. It was put forward by John
Stuart Mill in his book, On Liberty.
He writes, First, if any opinion is
compelled to silence, that opinion
may, for aught we can certainly know,
be true. To deny this is to assume our
own infallibility.
The competition is the whole point;
just like a boxer, an idea can only become so strong on its own. To realize
its full potential, an idea has to enter
the ring and fight. We owe it to the
ideas we hold most dear to make them
fight, to expose them to criticism and
contestation so they can become their

sure Im not alone. That is precisely

why we should welcome them: so we
can prove them wrong. The idea is
not just to say theyre wrong, but to
prove it, and to demonstrate that our
ideas are better.
Dont forget; people have been
sure in the past. They have been
sure that women shouldnt vote, that
gay people shouldnt get married,
that the sun went around the Earth,
that purple jolly ranchers would be
a good idea. They were sure, and
they silenced anyone who disagreed.
People who thought otherwise were
disruptive, blasphemous or offensive.
Its time we learned that this way of
finding the truth doesnt work.
To compel an opinion to silence is to
pick one competitor in the game and
remove it from competition. Its cheating; its breaking the rules of the game

First, if any opinion is compelled to

silence, that opinion may, for aught
we can certainly know, be true.
To deny this is to assume our own
infallibility. J.S. Mill, On Liberty
best. It can be tempting to shirk this
responsibility; it can be very comfortable inside an echo chamber. But there
is a school somewhere that has an opposite ideological skew than Bowdoin,
and both schools empty into the same
World Outside. If we want our ideas to
put their feet on the ground and create
positive change in the world, they will
need to compete with everyone elses,
and they will need to be strong.
All this is to say: if we are not made
uncomfortableif we are not angry
or offendedwe are doing ourselves
a disservice. What if Rick Perry
wanted to speak on campus? Marine
Le Pen? Donald Trump? I disagree
vehemently with all of them, and Im

and it will screw up the outcome. When

we lack intellectual competition, its
bad for the ideas in which we believe.
Its as if you had a dozen finches with
differently shaped beaks on an island
and you picked six to drown. Are you
sure the ones you picked were wrong?
How sure? How did you decide? Every
idea that is dismissed without due process is a drowned finch. We dont say
that at Bowdoin? Drowned finch. I
dont want her to come here, I disagree
with her? Drowned finch. If you dont
think so, you must be stupid/overly
sensitive/bigoted? Drowned finch.
Please Bowdoin. Do not drown finches.
James Boucher is a member of the
Class of 2019.

friday, september 16, 2016

the bowdoin orient

opinion

15

Insufficient funds: tips and tricks

BY SAVANNAH HORTON

OPED CONTRIBUTOR

I dont know how to say this without sounding obnoxious, but last fall
I studied abroad. Ive always disliked
the word abroad. It seems simultaneously antiquated and condescending,
probably because it is often uttered
by those with shrill voices citing life
changing experiences. I hate to refer to the dictionary this early in my
column, but definitions describe the
term as dated or humorous. And
dictionaries tend to know what theyre
talking about.
I spent three months in Scotland. I
flew Aer Lingus and gnawed prepackaged Danishes while watching The
DUFF. Then I took two courses in
English and flew home. I wasnt sailing the Atlantic in a petticoat. I was
simply Elsewhere.
While abroad, I made the mistake
of starting a blog, a WordPress praised
by boyfriends and grandparents alike.
I also made the mistake of spending
all of my hard-earned funds within
the first six weeks. By November, my
bank account had dwindled to $5.60. I
know this sounds ambitious, but I assure you, it is more than possible.
The discovery of my bankruptcy
was both surprising and inevitable.
After I logged onto my Bank of Amer-

ica account, I sobbed for three and

a half hours. I may have screamed; I
dont remember. I do remember that
my flatmate took the time to write a
personalized complaint on our refrigerator to prevent future outbursts.
Upon further calculation, I realized
I could spend seven pence a day. That
is not very many pence. I dont mean
to depress you with my lack of financial competence. Many of you are currently studying in another country, or
will do so soon. If you find yourself in
similar circumstances, do not panic.
I have accumulated a fail-proof catalog of tested suggestions for staying
afloat. Grab a pencil or a tattoo pen
and carve this into your hand:
1. Now that you have no money,
you cannot buy groceries. You cannot
get into dance clubs with sticky floors
or order gyros from a chip shop.
2. If necessary, steal toilet paper
from Starbucks. Steal toilet paper
from the English department. Walk
around town with a backpack full of
toilet paper.
3. Call home and say things like
fine, and huh and its probably not
infected. Dont mention the money.
Wash your laundry in the shower.
4. Visit Sainsburys with a friend
named Liam and buy a loaf of cheese
bread for 50 p. Yes, you are eating
bread again. Feel bad for a second and

then remember that you are hungry.

Wonder if you are being dramatic.
Say, This is sort of funny, sort of sad.
Yes, Liam will say. But mostly sad.
Chew slowly.
5. Cashless Saturdays will be lonely.
Think, what should I do? Decide to go
to the gym. At the gym think, what
should I do? Walk back to your dorm.
In your dorm, take off your shirt and
watch Hells Kitchen.
6. Take two online surveys and earn
30 cents. Apply to be a Research Subject Volunteer by feigning the identity
of a diabetic man. Apply for a job. Apply for another job. Talk to a cashier
with long painted nails and mimic
her mannerisms.
7. Reflect on silly purchases. You
paid to go to a sex museum. You paid
to go to a sex museum. The internet
will tell you to set short-term financial goals.
8. Host a Me-Party. Me-Parties are
inexpensive and spontaneously fun.
All you have to do is show up. Post
a half-ironic selfie on Twitter even
though you still dont really understand Twitter. Try not to cry. Crying
ruins parties.
9. Floss. Flossing is free, flossing is
fun. You should floss more. Clean the
blood from the sink before you wash
your socks.
10. Your father will give you a bit of

ALEX WESTFALL

money because he is kind and because

your blog posts have transitioned
from embarrassing to tragic. Take a
train going south and stay in a cheap
hostel above a medieval bar. Fall
asleep to the song from the Swoops
commercial. Drink hot chocolate and
eat vegan dinners alone even though
you love meat. Buy Christmas presents for your parents with the cash
they sent you.
11. At the end of the semester, con
a ride to the airport. Buy black coffee with your final pence. Sweat a lot.
Board the plane and drink free wine
until you feel like youre lying in a
sponge cake. Wonder how you will
make money next semester. Wonder

how you will make money for the

rest of your life. Wonder how you will
make money if you have six kids or
fall down a well. Ask the flight attendant for peanuts and pretzels.
Obviously, these tips may not work
for everyone. Just know that if you
find yourself in the rain with an empty wallet and the ache of regret, you
are not alone. Someone somewhere
has just spent her last 40 dollars on
pre-workout because she thought it
sounded necessary.

Savannah Horton is a member of the

Class of 2017.

A hello from Harriet: BSG is here for you

BY HARRIET FISHER

OPED CONTRIBUTOR

ALEX WESTFALL

Hello Bowdoinians,
This is an open letter to you. It is an ode
to student government, a request that you
will challenge me to serve you and meet your
needs, an invitation for you to come to me in
the Moulton light room and ask me to do difficult things, a deep hope that you will see Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) as a mechanism through which you can effect change.
I am Harriet, your president, and I think
BSG is dope. I am also fully aware that for
many of you, BSG is an amorphous arm of
the administration, an overly political and
self-important coterie or a party-planning
committee. So, I am writing to articulate our
vision for this year and to explain the ways in
which you can use BSG to get things done.
This year we, the executive team, want to
make our individual roles and realms clearer to
the student body. I oversee six Vice Presidents
who chair committees on particular aspects of
Bowdoin: VP for BSG Affairs (Reed Fernandez
17), VP for Student Affairs (Ben Painter 19),
VP for Academic Affairs (Evelyn Sanchez 17),
VP for Student Organizations (Kelsey Scarlett
17), VP for the Treasury (Irfan Alam 18) and
VP for Facilities and Sustainability (Carlie Rutan 19). Each of these people has a specific
realm of work and is so, so eager to work with

Bowdoin Orient
The

ESTABLISHED 1871

The Bowdoin Orient is a student-run weekly publication dedicated to providing news and
information relevant to the Bowdoin community. Editorially independent of the College and
its administrators, the Orient pursues such content freely and thoroughly, following professional journalistic standards in writing and reporting. The Orient is committed to serving
as an open forum for thoughtful and diverse discussion and debate on issues of interest to the
College community.

Julian Andrews
Editor in Chief
bowdoinorient.com

orient@bowdoin.edu

Meg Robbins
Editor in Chief
6200 College Station

Brunswick, ME 04011

you. We are already working on initiatives

ranging from increasing culturally-cognizant
curriculum to picnic tables by Moulton to
reviving Uncommon Hour. Help us to know
what our next steps should be.
Every Wednesday our 8:30 p.m. meetings in
Daggett Lounge begin with public comment
time. Come and be the public. Bring forward
questions and demands about how Bowdoin
can and should operate. Create petitions
through the online portal we built and demand that BSG open a forum for debate and
release a press statement. Apply for funding
through the Good Ideas Fund to bring a good
idea you have for our campus to fruition. Ask
us to publicize your event. Let us know what
you want us to convey in our meetings with
deans, staff and administrators. Interview
through BSG to serve on one of the faculty
or trustee committees and offer your input
on major college decisions. Make BSG work
for you.
I was asked to speak to the Class of 2020
on the topic of making an impact at their
Convening Dinner. While this was a rather
daunting task, I want to share with you some
of what I said.
I asked our first years to remember [that]
Bowdoin was chartered in 1794 and in 1802
graduated eight students from Massachusetts
Hallwhen Bowdoin College was, in its entirety, that one building and this state was

Rachael Allen
Managing Editor
Managing Editor Cameron de Wet
Sarah Drumm
Managing Editor
Jono Gruber
Managing Editor
Managing Editor Emily Weyrauch
Eli Lustbader
Associate Editor
Nickie Mitch
Associate Editor
Louisa Moore
Associate Editor
Joe Seibert
Associate Editor
Allison Wei
Associate Editor
Grace Handler
Web Editor
Alex Mayer
Creative Director

called Massachusetts. We graduated our first

black man in 1826 and not again until 1910;
we graduated our first woman in 1971. These
markers of Bowdoins evolution do not begin
to encapsulate the diversity Bowdoin represents and strives to represent today, but it is
abundantly clear that Bowdoin was founded
as a very different college, and certainly not
a place for most of us. Students, faculty and
staff long before usbut still grounded in
our very offer of the collegepushed, challenged and demanded that Bowdoin evolve.
And so it did. Each of us lives very much in
that legacy. Indeed, the Bowdoin you are now
a part of is different from Bowdoin when I sat
at this very dinner just three years ago. It is a
fluid place and a constant place.
BSG is a mechanism for you to fix the
things that frustrate you. We are so ready to
support you in changing Bowdoin policies
and practices.
I hope sincerely that you will see BSG as
a way to make change, build community and
ensure that our college reflects our students.
We, the executive team, are here for you.
Come to our meetings, get coffee with us
andin the springrun for office!

Harriet Fisher is a member of the Class of 2017

You can reach Harriet at hcfisher@bowdoin.edu.

James Little
Layout Editor
Jessica Piper
News Editor
Anjulee Bhalla
Sports Editor
Features Editor Amanda Newman
Surya Milner
A&E Editor
Julia ORourke
Opinion Editor
Eleanor Paasche
Page 2 Editor
Rohini Kurup
Calendar Editor
Eliza Graumlich
Sr. Photo Editor
Hannah Rafkin
Photo Editor
Ezra Sunshine
Photo Editor
Marina Ao
Copy Editor

Copy Editor
Sarah Bonanno
Copy Editor
Calder McHugh
Copy Editor
Liza Tarbell
Sr. News Reporter James Callahan
Sr. News Reporter
Ste Chavez
Sr. News Reporter Daniel Viellieu
Sta Coordinator
Olivia Atwood
Data Desk
Lexi Gray
Data Desk
Gideon Moore
Data Desk
Eva Sibinga
Business Manager Maggie Coster
Business Manager
Vivien Lee

The material contained herein is the property of The Bowdoin Orient and appears at the sole discretion of the editors. The editors reserve the right to edit all material. Other than in regard to the above editorial, the opinions expressed in the Orient do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors.

16

SEPTEMBER

the bowdoin orient

friday, september 16, 2016

FRIDAY 16
EVENT

"The Strange Career of Jim Crow, North

and West"

In an all-day symposium, 18 historians will present their

research on modern racial discrimination outside of the
American South and the movements that have emerged to
challenge these practices.
Daggett Lounge, Thorne Hall. 8:30 a.m.
EVENT

Reaccreditation Open Forum

The Reaccreditation Committee will invite members of the

Bowdoin community to reflect on the College's achievements and areas of improvement. The feedback will help
the committee on its upcoming self-study report to be
published.
Shannon Room, Hubbard Hall. 12:30 p.m.
EVENT

Latinx Heritage Month Kicko

To celebrate the start of Latinx Heritage Month, the Latin

American Student Organization and the Student Center for
Multicultural Life will host a cookout.
30 College Street. 3:30 p.m.

LIAM FINNERTY, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

GREEN PROMISES: Natalie Kiley-Bergen '17, Annie Glenn '17 and Sophie Binenfeld '17 write pledges for environmental sustainability on a
banner at Greenstock on Saturday, September 10. Greenstock, an annual event, promotes eco-friendly behavior with activities, performances by
student bands and a compostable BBQ dinner.

EVENT

EVENT

Common Good Day

At Bowdoins 18th Annual Common Good Day, students,

faculty, staff and alumni will serve local communities by
partnering with organizations to work on a wide variety
of projects. Projects include trail maintenance, yard work,
painting, office support and much more.
ORIENT
Farley Field House. 11:30 a.m.
PICK OF THE WEEK

"John Copley's Portrait of Elizabeth

Bowdoin: Art, Enlightenment and Patronage in New England"

Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) Curator Joachim

Homann and Consulting Curator of Decorative Arts Laura
Fecych Sprague will lead a discussion on the 18th century
artist John Copleys drawing of James Bowdoin IIIs older
sister Elizabeth currently on display at the BCMA.
Bowdoin College Museum of Art. 12 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 21
EVENT

"Statesman: George Mitchell and the Art

of the Possible"

MONDAY 19
EVENT

Employer Info Session: Liberty Mutual

23

EVENT

Student Night at
the Art Museum

24

EVENT

American
Mathematical
Society Conference

Maine journalist Douglas Rooks will speak about his new

biography of Bowdoin alum Senator George J. Mitchell.
Nixon Lounge, Hawthorne Longfellow Library. 4 p.m.
FILM SCREENING

"14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark & Vanessa

Lopez"

The Student Center for Multicultural Life will screen the

documentary, which explores questions of American citizenship and the 14th amendment.
Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center. 7 p.m.

Liberty Mutual Insurance will hold an information session

and conduct a business case interview workshop.
Lancaster Lounge, Moulton Union. 7 p.m.

25

Dr. David Van Vactor, professor of cell biology at Harvard

Medical School, will speak about his research which
revealed that conserved microRNA genes control synapse
formation and growth through distinct sets of target
genes.
020 Druckenmiller Hall. 4 p.m.

"Johnny Physical Lives"

FILM

There will be a screening of Louise Osmona's film "Dark

Horse," the true story of a group of friends in Wales who
decide to breed a racehorse to compete in an elite show.
Frontier. 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

LECTURE

"Regulation of Synapse Development in

Drosophila"

FILM SCREENING

SUNDAY 18
"Dark Horse"

THURSDAY 22

TUESDAY 20

SATURDAY 17

EVENT

American
Mathematical
Society Conference

26

27

The Department of Cinema Studies will screen Joshua

Neuman's short film, which pays tribute to Neuman's late
younger brothers courage in his battle with leukemia
through the perspective of his brothers alter ego: a rock
star named Johnny Physical. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Neuman.
Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center. 4:30 p.m.
EVENT

"Robert Frank: Sideways"

Mike Kolster, associate professor of art, and Russ Rymer,

visiting writer-in-residence, will discuss the work of acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank. Frank
is known for his photographs portraying an outsider's
view on American society. They will also speak about their
students' help in the organizing of the exhibition, "Robert
Frank: Sideways" at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Bowdoin College Museum of Art. 7 p.m.

28

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