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Pay disparities Women’s stories take center stage
reveal the power
of a label
Bowdoin housekeepers earn less than
custodians at local high schools
by Calder McHugh
and Eliana Miller
Orient Staff
As Bowdoin’s housekeep-
ing staff trudges through
the snow to work in the wee
hours of the morning, com-
paring their job title, benefits
package and union represen-
tation to local counterparts is
likely far from front of mind.
However, after an Orient
investigation last spring re-
vealed that many housekeep-
ers struggle to make ends
meet, these distinctions ap-
pear key to their overall com-
pensation and wage increases.
Financial insecurity among
support staff has manifested
itself in multiple ways. Many
of the College’s housekeepers
and groundskeepers regularly
work second jobs to supple-
ment their Bowdoin income.
Others have reported visiting
the local food bank, eating
food left by students in Wat-
son Arena locker rooms or
even contracting the Bowdo-
in men’s hockey team to take
care of young children, as the
local Children’s Center is of-
KEEPER OF THE KEYS: An Orient investigation finds that hourly wages
for Bowdoin housekeepers are lower than those of many janitors and custodi-
ans in Cumberland County.
Annual winter flu outbreak sweeps across Bowdoin’s campus
by Nina McKay
Orient Staff
Over the last few weeks, pro-
viders at Health Services have
treated hundreds of students
with flu-like symptoms. This
noticeable uptick in flu cases
would be unusual at most other
points in the academic year, but
according to Jeffrey Maher, di-
N KEYNOTE ON KING
Taylor Branch recalls Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.’s 1964 visit to Bowdoin. Page 3.
ten unable to accommodate
their unusual hours worked.
Some of these employees, who
work to keep the College run-
ning, have noted that they do
not feel well served by their
institution. The calculation of
their wage and benefits pack-
age is more complex than first
meets the eye.
When it comes to pay equi-
ty between Bowdoin’s support
staff and their peers across
the county, labels are import-
ant. Bowdoin’s housekeeping
staff makes less money than
the average janitor or cleaner
in Cumberland County, but
more than the average maid
or housekeeper.
Bowdoin, which touts what
it calls a county-best benefits
package in order to attract
workers, pays its housekeep-
ers significantly less per hour
than two local high schools.
Several factors distinguish
Bowdoin from other employ-
ers—the absence of unions,
notably, but also how hourly
jobs are classified in the first show, true to its roots, rep-
place.
Please see WAGES, page 5 they may be difficult to hear.
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
rector of health services, an in-
crease in flu cases immediately
after Winter Break is an annual
occurrence.
With the high volume of
requests for appointments,
providers at Health Services
have been seeing more patients
than usual in an attempt to
accommodate everyone. On
some days, Maher has been
A QUAD SQUAD
Chamber ensembles bring musical vitality Marxist thought echoes through campus
to small group settings. Page 8.
Friday, February 15, 2019
RISE UP: This weekend, dozens of women, including Ayana Harscoet ’21 (center), performed in the third annual production of RISE. The show featured nearly
50 original stories submitted by women in the Bowdoin community. Trauma emerged as a prominent theme among this year’s submissions.
by Emily Cohen
Orient Staff
Stories of friendship, trau-
ma and political activism
share the stage this weekend
at the third annual production
of “RISE: Untold Stories of
Bowdoin Women.” This year’s
resents diverse experiences of
Bowdoin women, even when
First-gen alumnus elected trustee chairfuture of higher education in
by Calder McHugh
Orient Staff
Robert F. White ’77 P’15
has been elected unanimously
to serve as the chair of Bow-
doin’s Board of Trustees. His
term will begin on July 1, 2019.
White succeeds Michele G. Cyr
’76 P’12 who served as chair for
three years and will continue to
serve on the Board.
The Board of Trustees,
which consists of 42 members,
held its annual meetings on
campus last weekend. A ma-
jor topic of discussion was the
double-booked, seeing between
18 and 24 students each day
instead of the usual 13 or 14.
Typically, all providers at Health
Services together treat at most
40 students each day; in the past
couple of weeks (on the busiest
day, 57 students were treated).
“The actual flu virus is in the
community year-round, but
it picks up after the holidays,”
F
SOCIALLY SOCIALIST
on Tuesday nights. Page 9.
Volume 148, Number 16
Debuted in 2017, RISE is
based on written submissions
from the Bowdoin communi-
ty, and is organized and pro-
duced by student group fEM-
POWER. After collecting new
submissions last semester, the
group of writers, producers
and directors chose nearly 50
stories to tell this year, only
seven of which have been told
in the past two productions.
Among the new submis-
the face of polling data that
shows that Americans, and
particularly conservatives, see
less value in a college educa-
tion than they used to. White,
though, is optimistic about the
future of the College.
“There are lots of head-
winds that face higher educa-
tion but I have confidence that
we will continue to thrive in
the future,” White said in an
email to the Orient.
White is familiar with over-
coming the odds. A first-gen-
eration college student, White
said Maher. “[This is] primarily
because, once the weather gets
cold and people are spending
more time together in confined
spaces, they’re sharing their
germs in a more concentrated
way.”
Health Services diagnoses
students with a “flu-like illness,”
but this does not mean students
do not have a strain of the ac-
S DON’T SWEEP ON CURLING
The curling team ends its regular season and
turns its attention to nationals. Page 12.
bowdoinorient.com
sions, trauma and sexual as-
sault or abuse emerged as more
prominent themes than in pre-
vious years. The RISE team—
comprised of Montsi Madrigal
’18, Jenna Scott ’19, Aisha
Rickford ’20, Devon Garcia ’21,
Emily King ’21, Renita Shivn-
auth ’21 and Elwaad Werah
’21—chose to include these
stories as an indication of the
evolving experiences and con-
cerns facing Bowdoin women.
was able to attend Bowdoin
because of a generous finan-
cial aid package. While here,
he studied economics and
mathematics and was the
starting goalie on the 1974-
75 men’s ice hockey team
that won the Eastern College
Athletic Conference (ECAC)
Championship.
Since his graduation, White
is likely known best for his
chairmanship of Mitt Rom-
ney’s 2008 and 2012 presiden-
tial bids. Close friends from
when they founded Bain Cap-
ital together, Romney refers to
tual influenza virus. Maher ex-
plained that, since two or three
students went off-campus and
received swab tests for influenza
viruses that came back positive,
there is no longer a need to
conclusively test any individual
patient.
“Once we know influenza has
infiltrated a community, we no
longer need to swab someone
O NO FEAR OF ROCKET MAN
Wilder Short ’22 explains why he isn’t
worried about nuclear warfare. Page 15.
1st CLASS
U.S. MAIL
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
“Given the history of the
show and how delicately
we’ve treated everything in
the past, women feel comfort-
able to express themselves in
every thought that they have,
whether that’s a fully formed
thought about how much they
love their boyfriend … [or]
a question of what counts as
sexual assault,” said Scott.
Please see UNTOLD, page 4
White as “TQ” for “The Quail,”
given that the “bobwhite” is a
type of quail.
White, who joined the
Board in 1993 and has served
under three College presi-
dents—Robert Edwards, Barry
Mills and now Clayton Rose—
is clear-eyed about the priori-
ties of the institution.
“I don’t assume the role until
July. Between now and then, I
plan to do a lot of listening,” he
said. “But our priorities include
maintaining our commitment
Please see TRUSTEE, page 3
for the flu … we diagnose the flu
as ‘flu-like illness,’ but we don’t
necessarily call it ‘influenza A’
or ‘influenza B’ precisely, be-
cause the treatment is the same,”
said Maher.
Students diagnosed with flu-
like illnesses exhibit symptoms
Please see FLU, page 6
2 Friday, February 15, 2019

2 PAGE TWO
SECURITY REPORT 2/8 to 2/13
STUDENT SPEAK:
What is the most romantic thing in the dining halls?

Alex Withers ’21

“Will Bucci.”

Ural Mishra ’20

“Connie.”

KODIE GARZA
Friday, February 8 Sunday, February 10
• A group of students reported being stranded in a • Students at Osher Hall reported the aroma of a
College van with a flat tire in Connecticut. A securi- burning cannabis at 2 a.m. Manlio Calentti ’20
ty officer assisted by procuring roadside assistance.
• A student who reported a pain in the neck was
given an escort to Mid Coast Hospital.
Monday, February 11
• Two students were seen lugging a long prone
“Making eye contact with a
Saturday, February 9
object and disposing it in a dumpster at Moulton
Union loading dock. The object turned out to be an hookup as they walk in.”
• A student fell flat on his face on an icy quad and old rolled up carpet.
received a laceration. An officer escorted the stu- • A student experiencing dizzy spells was transport-
dent to Mid Coast Hospital for treatment. ed to Mid Coast Hospital.
• A student using a curling iron caused a fire alarm Brianna White-Ortiz ’20
at Quinby House. Tuesday, February 12
• A men’s lacrosse athlete practicing his craft inside
the Farley Field House struck a fire sprinkler head,
• A student slipped and fell on snow covered ice
near Russwurm House and injured a wrist. The stu-
“The time you share with Irene
causing a fire alarm and a flood.
• A student exiting Stowe Inn on a dead sprint
dent was treated at Mid Coast Hospital.
when you forget your OneCard
opened the glass door by kicking the crash bar. The Wednesday, February 13
glass smashed. • A student who injured a hip on a skiing trip was
escorted to the Mid Coast Walk-In Clinic.
and you have to sign in.”
COMPILED BY THE OFFICE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY
COMPILED BY HAVANA CASO-DOSEMBET

Word-Up!
CREATED BY AUGUST RICE

Across 40. Cupids

1. Denali, for one (Abbr.) 42. “__ ___ for Noose” (Graf-
4. Modeling substance ton novel)
8. What a student might have *43. Times at which Shake-
to do before the upcoming speare dreamed?
midterms 46. Many a carol
12. Female lamb 47. E.U. member (Abbr.)
13. Ref. work whose 2018 Word 48. Ariel the mermaid’s abode
of the Year is “toxic” 49. Like 11 and 17
14. Uneasiness 51. Enter (2 words)
*15. “___ __ _____ of revenue, *53. What’s hidden in the
how are we doing?” starred clues
17. Painting, for one form (with 56. Atlas _______, a website
an extra “t”) that offers obscure travel desti-
18. Modern way of making the nations
first move? 57. Turkey serving
19. X – VII = ? 58. Tribesman of the Four
21. State university in New Corners
England 59. Mobile phone cards
22. Edgar Allan and his family 60. First-year dorm
*23. Successions of families 61. Plant some seed
26. They’re red and white in the 10. Matthew Whitaker is the setting (Abbr.) 39. IRS info.
MLB
27. Colonial India term of
Down incumbent for this position
(Abbr.)
24. Fort Sill National Bank
(Abbr.)
40. Vienna’s home (Abbr.)
41. Nebraskan city
respect 1. Old boys 11. The Trojan horse and Pan- 25. Ostentatious parade 43. “Stir Fry” artist
28. Decorate the tree 2. Most cars dora’s box, for two 29. Ms. linked to a Mr. 44. Belief in a creator
30. ___ Arbor, MI 3. 47th state 14. They make up a large popu- 30. Lack of balance 45. Track strength
31. “I ___ (So Far Away),” song 4. Another NESCAC (Abbr.) lation of Indiana 31. Single gym crunch 46. Owned by that dude
by A Flock of Seagulls 5. Release 16. “__ ___ for Innocent” (Sue 32. Unknown 50. Extreme anger
*33. Downcast 6. Lemon or lime suffix Grafton novel) 34. Advanced Multiplicity Shift 52. Belonging to the state south
35. Vetoes, e.g. 7. Blandly 20. International Rugby Board Register (Abbr.) of Virginia (Abbr.)
36. ___ Dunne, of Gone Girl 8. Spy org. (Abbr.) 35. Kenyan capital 54. Sneaky
37. Diner in Riverdale 9. Episode’s second airing 22. California winter clock 38. Red sweet pepper 55. Hem or patch up
Friday, February 15, 2019 NEWS 3

NEWS IN BRIEF Keynote speaker Taylor Branch

COMPILED BY JESSICA PIPER

BOWDOIN AMONG TOP

FULBRIGHT PRODUCERS, AGAIN
Bowdoin was again lauded as one of the top Fulbright-pro-
reflects on Dr. King’s legacy
ducing institutions for the 2018-2019 academic year, with 19
by Viv Daniel
students receiving Fulbright Student grants. Among Bachelor’s Orient Staff
institutions, only Williams had more awardees, with 22.
Thirty-seven Bowdoin students had applied for Fulbright During Dr. Martin Luther
awards, yielding a 51 percent success rate. Among all colleges King Jr.’s May 1964 visit to Bow-
and universities, only Smith College—which had 17 grantees out doin, Wayne Burton ’66 asked
of 31 applicants—did better. Overall, 22 percent of Fulbright ap- what the civil rights movement
plicants receive grants according to program data, although the had to do with him, a white
percentage varies widely by country. kid at a white school in a white
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program places recent graduates, state. King answered, “If your
as well as graduate students, in research and teaching positions in conscience stops at the border
more than 140 countries. Bowdoin’s recipients are now working of Maine, you’re less of a person
in Indonesia, Taiwan, Nepal, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Colombia, than you should be.”
Chile and Malaysia. Fifty-five years later, King
Phoebe Thompson ’18 was one of the students who received biographer and Annual Martin
an English teaching assistant grant. An Earth and Oceanographic Luther King Jr. Commemo-
Science and Hispanic Studies double major, she now teaches young rative Lecture speaker Taylor
children in Valle Gran Rey, a small town in the Canary Islands, the Branch posed a question to a
Spanish volcanic archipelago located off the coast of Morocco. crowd of Bowdoin students,
“I have to laugh sometimes because it feels like this experience Brunswick community mem-
was tailor-made for me,” she wrote in a message to the Orient. bers and alumni, including Bur-
Thompson credited the Office of Student Fellowships and ton: “What are race relations in
Research, particularly Assistant Director of Co-Curricular Op- Maine?” ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
portunities Kate Myall and Director of Student Fellowships and Branch is the Pulitzer ANALYZING ACTIVISM: In the keynote address for Black History Month and Beyond, Taylor Branch focuses on the
Research Cindy Stocks, for guiding her through the application Prize-winning author of “Amer- development of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s core values and resistance strategies and how they relate to democracy.
process. ica in the King Years” and a
“We laughed together, we cried together and they were with MacArthur Fellow. On Wednes- called Branch’s talk “reassuring agreed to allow young children King’s radical agenda.
me every step of the way,” Thompson wrote. “They understand day, he gave a lecture titled “The and uniting.” to walk into police dogs and As a historian, Branch con-
the process and the program, and do their jobs with incredible Radical King: His Final Years” “Everyone in the room was firehoses that America could nected the themes and events
efficiency and soul.” in Kresge Auditorium as part nodding and rethinking what conceive of the Civil Rights Act. of King’s era to the present. He
of the programming for Bow- MLK really meant for America,” Protesters were able to “amplify noted how George Wallace,
doin’s Black History Month and she said. their beliefs with suffering.” who served as the governor
TRUSTEE Orient that he is honored to
have the role. For his part, al-
Beyond, which runs throughout
February.
Yoon’s coworker at the Cen-
ter, Ray Tarango ’20, enjoyed
Branch also drew a direct
line between radical nonvio-
of Alabama for four terms be-
tween the 1960s and the 1980s
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
ready mentioned Rose believes Branch’s response to the the focus on King’s more con- lence and democracy, compar- and supported Jim Crow pol-
that students who earn a spot that Romney’s former confi- question of race relations in troversial stances. ing King’s “irrational faith” in icies, created a new political
can come regardless of their dant can serve with a similarly Maine echoed King’s holistic ap- “It reminds us that we sani- the promise of democracy to vocabulary by turning his racial
family’s financial situation and steady hand at Bowdoin. De- proach. Race relations in Maine, tize the history and remove the that of the Founding Fathers. animosity into animosity to-
ensuring that the experience scribing White as “very differ- as in the whole of the United complicated stuff we don’t al- “Nonviolence is a vote,” wards big government. Branch
is transformative while at the ent” from his predecessor, Cyr, States, “are the barometer of the ways agree with,” he said. Branch said. explained that this tactic con-
College and beyond.” Rose also noted that “from a democratic experiment.” However, some students During King’s final years, tinues to be used today. Branch
Now a lecturer at Harvard governance perspective, there In his lecture, Branch laid wished Branch’s talk had gone Branch was a college student. also underlined King’s experi-
Business School, White has are very few people who know out the factors that made King’s further. Kinaya Hassane ’19 His political actions at the ence with backlash against so-
gotten the chance to better the College as well as Bob.” later years so radical: optimism wanted to know even more time landed him at the pivotal cial progress.
understand the difficulties “Bob’s educational back- and a fundamental belief in de- about what made King so rad- 1968 Democratic Convention Branch described King’s life
of teaching in the last half ground, his success story as a mocracy. ical and how his ideas are still in Chicago, where he was part as a “struggle for decency,” a
decade. first-generation financial aid Benjamin Harris, director phrase not out of place in cur-
“My experience at Harvard
has given me much greater
student, his academic and ath-
letic success here and then the
of the Student Center for Mul-
ticultural Life, thought about a
Everyone in the room was nod- rent political discourse.
“We flutter back and forth
insight into what it takes to be work that he did in building variety of factors when inviting ding and rethinking what MLK between taking democracy for
an effective teacher,” he said. one of the great firms in the Branch to campus. really meant for America. granted and saying it’s in crisis
“It’s really challenging, and world and being involved in “I’ve tried to bring people or retreat,” he said and argued
Bowdoin is blessed to have so two presidential campaigns, who are committed to talking –Jay Yoon ’21 that we need to adopt more of
many great teacher-scholars.” very few people have had that about King, but also folks who King’s irrational optimism.
White stressed throughout kind of panoply of experienc- have a message of social justice challenging mainstream ideas of the movement working to “He woke up every morning
his correspondence with the es,” Rose said. and change and the better- today. defeat the party’s pro-Vietnam and nothing would change,”
ment of the human condition During his talk, Branch fo- wing. said Branch, but King main-
and who are doing the work of cused on the development of As Branch tells it, King’s staff tained his “driven audacity.”
King,” he said. King’s core values and resistance begged him not to come out Harris hopes that further
50%

Harris hopes to use quality strategies. After witnessing the against the Vietnam War, but Black History Month and Be-
events to encourage students student sit-ins and Freedom the civil rights leader did any- yond programming, as well

off ads to grapple with social justice in

their own lives.
“Black History Month is, of
course, not just February,” he
said.
for student-led This goal for further reflec-
tion was, on Wednesday at least,
Riders of the early 1960s, King
recognized that there were “in-
justices that words alone cannot
reach” and adopted a new strat-
egy of cultivating what Branch
called “public trust.”
This strategy centered around
way.
“He recognized you can de-
fend democracy with violence,”
Branch said, “but you cannot
as programming celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the
Russwurm African American
Center and Africana Studies
propagate it with violence.” department planned for next
Violence, as King under-
stood it, could be both physical
November, will continue to
make students grapple with

on-campus widely achieved. Jay Yoon ’21,

who works with the Student
nonviolent self-discipline and
self-government. According
and spiritual. Spiritual vio-
lence included poverty, which
the current state of race rela-
tions in Maine and in the Bow-
Center for Multicultural Life, to Branch, it wasn’t until King Branch highlighted as part of doin community.
organizations.
Done reading Yes, Brunswick is lovely, but
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4 NEWS
Inaugural lecture discusses steadying
institutions through times of turmoil
by Emily Staten
Orient Staff
Bowdoin students and com-
munity members gathered in
Kresge on Monday for Profes-
sor Allen Springer’s inaugural
lecture as the William Nelson
Cromwell Professor of Consti-
tutional and International Law
and Government.
Speaking to a rapt audience,
Springer stressed the impor-
tance of valuing international
laws and institutions in his lec-
ture, titled “Institutional Resil-
ience in Turbulent Times.”
“The question of how inter-
national institutions evolve,
even survive in a changing
world seems particularly rele-
vant today,” Springer said in the
opening of his lecture. “Pro-
moting institutional resilience
suggests the need to strike a
balance between a continuing
commitment to existing prac-
tices and making adjustments
that respond to new political
and social forces.”
Springer focused the talk on
UNTOLD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Scott and Madrigal, the
directors of RISE, cited activ-
ism surrounding the Supreme
Court nomination of Brett
Kavanaugh, who was accused
of several instances of sexual
misconduct, as a potential in-
spiration for women to share
their stories. In September
and October of last year, Bow-
doin students participated in
a walkout and in local and
national protests.
“I think having the whole
Kavanaugh [accusations]
come out allowed a lot of
women to feel empowered to
use their voice,” said Madri-
gal. “So we had a lot more sto-
ries about trauma. And that
was—it was some heavy mate-
rial, but it’s so important that
it is told. It is so important.”
“There are parts, if you
go to the play, you can see,
and you’re going to say, wow,
thank you to the woman who
shared this,” she added, “be-
cause somebody needs to hear
it.”
One submission was a
letter to U.S. Senator Susan
Collins (R-Maine) whose
historically moderate posi-
tions made her a deciding
vote in Kavanaugh’s confir-
mation. Bowdoin students
protested outside of Collins’
Portland office two weeks
before she voted to confirm
Kavanaugh.
Scott invited Collins to at-
tend a performance of RISE,
but Collins’ office responded
that she would be unable to
attend.
RISE leaders recognize that
such stories, while important,
are also particularly heavy
and potentially triggering.
For each production, they
have worked with Lisa Pe-
terson, associate director of
gender violence prevention
and education and advisor
to fEMPOWER, who read all
submissions and helped RISE
leaders to present the stories
three areas where those politi-
cal and social forces were plac-
ing institutions under stress:
international security, human-
itarian rights and environmen-
tal protection.
In an interview with the
Orient, Springer explained that
these topics were relevant to
his own work and to the inter-
ests of U.S. citizens.
“I do most of my own work
in an environmental arena,
so I was particularly interest-
ed in the Paris Agreement,”
said Springer. Of his focus
on NATO, he explained that
“there’s been so many … fair-
ly significant attacks by the
Trump administration talking
about whether NATO still [is]
a relevant institution.”
Although the issues Spring-
er brought to light have signif-
icant domestic implications,
they also carry a broader im-
portance for the international
community.
“All of these are areas where
I know that there's been a lot of
political turmoil surrounding
in a productive way.
“A big part of my involve-
ment in RISE from the begin-
ning ... is to make sure that
any discussion of gender vio-
lence is done in a really safe
way and done in a way that
reflects what our sexual mis-
conduct policy is,” Peterson
said.
One member of the RISE
team, Shivnauth, represents
fEMPOWER on the Alliance
for Sexual Assault Prevention
(ASAP), a coalition of stu-
dent groups that meets under
Peterson’s office and the Sex-
uality, Women and Gender
Center (SWAG) to coordi-
nate efforts to prevent gen-
der-based violence. Through
meeting with those groups,
Shivnauth gained tools to
ensure that these difficult
discussions continue, starting
with RISE.
“Often, Bowdoin stu-
dents—all of us in general—
feel like we’re in this bubble,
and we see things going on
in the news, but they don't—
while they hit hard for a short
period of time, they don’t
necessarily translate into ac-
tion or decisions or changes,”
said Shivnauth.
Advocates from Safe Space
and members of Bowdoin’s
Counseling Center, along
with representatives from
Sexual Assault Support Ser-
vices of Midcoast Maine
(SASSMM) and Through
These Doors, a local domes-
tic violence agency, will be
present at every show to offer
support and assistance to au-
dience members.
RISE leaders explained
that the broader goal of the
production is to show the
range of experiences of Bow-
doin women. Other stories
related to family, friendship,
race, religion, romance and
body image are equally vital
to include in order to paint
as comprehensive a portrait
of womanhood as possible,
directors Scott and Madrigal
said.
not just U.S. policy but the pol-
icies of other countries,” said
Springer.
However, he argues that, it’s
not just question of policy.
“Coming up with good,
clear and effective standards
of law is an important part of
this as well, to strengthen the
institutions, and to make it
possible for them to respond
more effectively in the future,”
Springer said. “I think that law
is an important part of making
institutions resilient and effec-
tive when they are being chal-
lenged politically.”
The William Nelson Crom-
well Chair is an honor given to
a professor who specializes in
constitutional or international
law. Springer is only the third
person to hold the professor-
ship since it was established
in 1948. The position has been
open since Richard Morgan
’59, a professor of constitution-
al law and the second person
to hold the William Nelson
Cromwell professorship,
passed away in 2014.
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
STANDING TOGETHER: Dozens
of Bowdoin women shared the stage
at the opening performance of RISE
in Kresge on Thursday. Performers
acted as the mouthpieces for women
who submitted personal stories to be
shared in the annual show.
“Every year we get more
diverse participation, which
we’re always thankful for,” said
Madrigal. “We want to make
RISE more encompassing of
the Bowdoin experience, and
the Bowdoin experience is no
longer homogenous.”
With its debut production
in 2017, RISE replaced the
annual production of Eve
Ensler’s “The Vagina Mono-
logues,” a play written in
the mid-1990s that has since
been criticized for its narrow
representation of woman-
hood.
At its core, leaders said,
RISE celebrates Bowdoin
women and brings them to-
gether.
“I wouldn’t want people to
walk away from the produc-
Friday, February 15, 2019
The William Nelson Crom-
well professorship focuses
largely on these types of in-
ternational issues, making
Springer—in the estimation
of Paul Franco, professor of
government and chair of the
Government and Legal Studies
Department—a good fit for the
position.
“Springer’s lecture on ‘Insti-
tutional Resilience in Turbulent
Times’ was a perfect inaugural
lecture for the chair in that it
highlighted the importance of
international law, even in times
of international institutional
weakness,” said Franco in an
email to the Orient.
“It is a genuine honor to
receive the Cromwell Chair,
in no small part because of the
person who preceded me in it,”
said Springer. “Richard Morgan
held the Cromwell Chair with
such distinction for so many
years. Dick was a good friend
and a wonderful colleague and GWEN DAVIDSON, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
we all miss him very much.” INSIGHT ON INSTITUTIONS: In his talk, Professor of Government Allen
Ellery Harkness contributed Springer discussed ways international institutions could adapt to political and
to this report. social forces in order to remain relevant in the coming years.
tion just focused on experi- positive, uplifting, wonderful are $5 and are available for
ences of trauma and oppres- parts of womanhood on cam- purchase at the Smith Union
sion that women on campus pus, too,” said Peterson. Info Desk. All proceeds from
have faced—which definitely RISE will be performed ticket sales go toward SASS-
have happened—but also Friday and Saturday in Kresge MM and Through These
be thinking about the really Auditorium at 7 p.m. Tickets Doors.
Friday, February 15, 2019
WAGES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Wages and labels
The Maine Department of
Labor codes those with the title
of “housekeeper,” “custodian” or
“janitor” into two categories—ei-
ther “janitors and cleaners” or
“maids and housekeepers.” The
classification corresponds with a
significant pay difference. In 2017,
the most recent year for which
data is available, Cumberland
County (which includes Bruns-
wick) “janitors and cleaners” were
paid on average $14.10 per hour
while “maids and housekeepers”
made only an average of $11.28
per hour.
Merrill Huhtala, the program
manager for Occupational Em-
ployment Statistics at the Maine
Department of Labor, explained
the different duties that distin-
guish the two job categories.
“Janitors and cleaners keep
buildings in clean and orderly
condition; they perform heavy
cleaning duties, such as cleaning
floors, shampooing rugs, washing
walls and glass and removing rub-
bish,” Huhtala said. “The maids and
housekeeping cleaners—and here’s
the distinction—they perform any
combination of light cleaning du-
ties to maintain private households
or commercial establishments such
as hotels and hospitals in a clean
and orderly manner. Duties may
include making beds and replen-
ishing linens, cleaning rooms and
halls and vacuuming.”
Matt Orlando, Bowdoin’s se-
nior vice president for finance and
administration, says that most of
what the housekeeping staff does
on a day-to-day basis falls under
the job description of maids and
housekeepers.
Huhtala said that the maid
and housekeeping label is actually
used quite sparingly at education-
al or residential institutions such
as Bowdoin.
“If [housekeepers are] doing
light cleaning in the dorms and that
sort of thing, they’d be coded as the
maids and housekeeping cleaners,”
he said. “But my experience has
been, most of them get coded into
the janitor and cleaner title. Be-
cause they’re running floor buffers
and that sort of thing. We don’t see
too many maids and housekeeping
cleaners [in the county].”
In Cumberland County in
2017, 3,040 workers were clas-
sified as “janitors and cleaners”
while only 1,070 were classified as
“maids and housekeeping clean-
ers,” suggesting that most custo-
dial staff do the heavier work re-
quired to be labeled as the former.
Bowdoin’s most popular healthcare plan compared to Brunswick High’s
Deductible
Monthly Payment
$86
PAYING FOR PEACE OF MIND: Bowdoin’s most popular health insurance plan requires the payment of a $500 deductible while Brunswick High’s most popular plan
is only $200. However, Brunswick High’s plan includes a monthly payment of $120 while Bowdoin’s is only $86. Bowdoin also offers two higher deductible plans.
While specific data on private in-
stitutions is not available, the ma-
jority of custodial staff at schools,
colleges, hospitals and other resi-
dential facilities are categorized as
janitor and cleaner, according to
the Maine Department of Labor.
Similar to the “heavy cleaning
duties” that Huhtala attributes to
janitors and cleaners, Bowdoin
classifies the job of Housekeeper I,
the entry-level housekeeping posi-
tion, as “heavy work.”
The job description for House-
keeper I at Bowdoin, listed in a
posting this past fall, explains un-
der the section “Machines, Tools,
Equipment & Work Aids Used”
that employees will be asked to
use, at various times during their
job, “General cleaning hand tools,
buffer (side-to-side), burnisher
(straight ahead), walk behind and
ride-on scrubber/sweepers, vacu-
um (including backpack), shower/
foam gun, kai-vac, floor refinisher,
stair walker, carpet extractor; and
two way radio.”
When surveyed by the Orient
last spring, Bowdoin’s housekeep-
ers reported making an average
of $13.09 per hour. This wage is
higher than the 75th percentile of
maids and housekeeping cleaners
in Cumberland County but lower
than the wage earned by the aver-
age janitor or cleaner.
The College has marginally in-
creased pay since last spring. At the
beginning of this academic year,
wages for second-shift hours went
from seven percent more than the
worker’s hourly pay to 10 percent,
while third-shift hours went from
10 percent to 15 percent on top
of normal hourly pay. Weekend
hourly pay also increased by $0.20
for all workers, and the College ad-
opted an already-planned increase
of $0.25 to the minimum starting
wage for all employees.
Mt. Ararat High and Bruns-
wick High, the two nearest pub-
lic high schools, employ only
those classified as janitors and
cleaners, and currently pay start-
ing wages of $17.42 per hour and
$20.75 per hour, respectively.
Bowdoin’s current starting wage
for the entry-level housekeeping
position is $12.35 per hour, with
plans to raise that number to
$12.50 per hour this summer.
The two high schools of-
ten ask their staff to complete
tasks that are not in the job
description of Bowdoin house-
keepers. At Brunswick High,
for example, custodians are
also responsible for tending the
grounds, as there is no separate
groundskeeper role. Represen-
tatives from both high schools
noted that turnover is low.
$200
$120
NEWS
Custodial workers’ salaries at Bowdoin College, local high schools
and Cumberland County averages.
Mt. Ararat High
Starting HourlyWages
Brunswick High
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Average Hourly Wages
Cumberland County (Janitors and Cleaners)
Cumberland County (Maids and Housekeepers)
WAGE GAP: Bowdoin pays its housekeepers a significantly lower starting wage than Brunswick High and Mt. Ararat High, but does include shift differentials through which
housekeepers can make more than the starting wage. The average salary for Bowdoin housekeepers is also lower than the mean janitors and cleaners salary in the County.
Mt. Ararat High School and
Brunswick High School still
represent outliers in the county.
Both local high schools also of-
fer generous benefits packages.
Comparing benefits
President Clayton Rose is
quick to mention that Bowdoin
is near the top in the county
with regards to hourly com-
pensation for housekeepers
and has a benefits package that
he referred to in the fall as “sec-
ond to none.”
In surveying local businesses,
the Orient found that the College
pays its housekeeping employees
an hourly wage that is similar
to many of Cumberland Coun-
ty’s retirement homes, fast food
chains, big box retail stores and
hotels. Its benefits package, which
has three health care options with
premiums that include vision and
dental plans, ranks better than
many custodial jobs.
Mt. Ararat and Brunswick
High employees, though, also
speak highly of their benefits
packages.
“The benefits are fantastic.
The pay is OK,” said Stephen
Reed, the custodial supervisor
for Maine State Administrative
District (MSAD) 75, which in-
cludes Mt. Ararat High. “We pay
very little as far as out of pocket
goes for medical insurance. We
have dental care too. I think [our
MEA Benefits Trust
Bowdoin College PPO
MAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION BENEFITS TRUST AND ANTHEM BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD
benefits package is] what interests
most people when they hire on
with us.”
These comprehensive health
insurance packages are compara-
ble to those offered by the College.
Custodians at local public schools
can choose from four different
packages covered by Anthem
Blue Cross. The Maine Education
Association Benefits Trust Stan-
dard Plan, the most popular plan
amongst employees of the Bruns-
wick School District (which in-
cludes Brunswick High), offers a
low $200 deductible.
Meanwhile the most popular
plan among Bowdoin employees,
the Bowdoin College PPO Health
Plan, offers a higher $500 deduct-
ible as well as higher co-pays.
Although premiums are higher
in the Brunswick School District
($120 per month versus Bowdoin’s
$86), the annual difference of $168
is made up in less than a month’s
work due to higher hourly wages.
Bowdoin also offers two
high-deductible health plans
(HDHP). Monthly premiums
are lower in these plans—$52 per
month for HDHP Option 1 and
$31 for HDHP Option 2. Howev-
er, high deductibles are often less
appealing for workers with great-
er risk of injury, seeing as they
have to pay more out of pocket
before their insurance plan ben-
efits kick in. Housekeeping and
$500
$12.35
$13.09
$14.10
$11.28
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BRUNSWICK SCHOOL BOARD, MAINE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT 75
custodial work is physically tax-
ing, and Bowdoin housekeepers
frequently report injuries, ac-
cording to a survey conducted by
the Orient last spring. According
to Orlando, about 35 percent of
Bowdoin’s employees choose to
be covered by these two HDHPs.
Unlike local public schools,
Bowdoin offers a 401(a) retire-
ment plan, which employees are
eligible for without making their
own financial contributions.
Local high schools only offer a
403(b) retirement plan, which
Bowdoin also offers as a supple-
mental plan.
“For us, our compensation
program is precisely designed so
that our hourly staff are among the
best paid on a total compensation
basis in the region and in the state,”
said Orlando. “They have secure,
year-round jobs, and they have
insurance, retirement and a host
of other benefits that quite often
other employers don’t offer.”
Unions
Aside from hourly pay and
titles, the biggest difference the
Orient found between high
school custodians and College
support staff was union repre-
sentation. Bowdoin’s hourly em-
ployees are not unionized—but
the high school custodians who
receive higher wages are.
“We fight really hard to keep our
health insurance the way it is when
we go into negotiations,” said Mary
Kay Dyer, chair of the grievance
committee for Merrymeeting Em-
ployees Association Union, which
represents support staff in MSAD
75. “When we ask our support staff
what is it that [they] want us to
Job Descriptions
Janitors and
cleaners:
Heavy cleaning including…
• Cleaning floors
• Shampooing rugs
• Washing walls and glass
• Removing rubbish
• Could include tending the
furnace and boiler
• Could include routine
maintenance activities
5
$17.42
$20.75
go in and argue for, the first thing
they’ll tell you is, ‘Don’t change our
health insurance.’”
Membership in unions al-
lows employees to bargain col-
lectively rather than as individ-
uals. Union representatives and
economists alike argue that this
can lead to higher wages.
“Union workers fare far better
than their non-unionized coun-
terparts because of their ability
to bargain collectively. There’s
strength in numbers,” said Jim
Durkin, director of legislation,
communication and political
action for the American Federa-
tion of State, County and Munic-
ipal Employees, Council 93, the
union that represents Brunswick
High’s custodians.
Huhtala noted that unioniza-
tion could “absolutely” lead to
higher wages for the College’s
housekeeping staff, as Bowdoin
currently leans more heavily on
its benefits package in attempts
to attract employees.
Comparisons between jobs
exist with the understanding
that custodial work is grueling.
Local community members,
such as Brigit Cavanagh, the
sales director at Sunnybrook
Senior Living Facility in Bruns-
wick, believe all housekeepers
in the area are underpaid.
“It’s probably the hardest job
in the country, besides maybe
plucking chickens,” she said.
Aura Carlson, Sebastian
de Lasa, Nell Fitzgerald, Kate
Lusignan, Penelope Mack, Reu-
ben Schafir, Emma Sorkin and
Jessica Troubh contributed to
this report.
Housekeepers
and maids:
Light cleaning including…
• Making beds
• Replenishing linens
• Cleaning rooms and halls
• Vacuuming
6 NEWS
Affinity groups band together for Blind Date Dinner
by Anjulee Bhalla
Orient Staff
Last night, African Amer-
ican Society (AfAm), Latin
American Student Organiza-
tion (LASO) and Asian Stu-
dent Alliance (ASA) joined
together to put on the third
annual Valentine’s Day Blind
Date Dinner.
The central goal of the pro-
gram was to bring as many
people together—breaking
outside of their own Bowdo-
in bubbles—as possible, said
Louis Mendez ’19, president
of LASO.
“People are so caught up
into their own little bubble,”
said Mendez. “So the reason
for making it blind—you don’t
get a say in who you’re getting
dinner with and, at least we
hope, that you’re going to meet
someone new and that’s kind of
a way of just breaking that bub-
ble a little bit.”
While the event is a light-
hearted addition to the Val-
entine’s Day festivities, it
stems from a desire to address
shortcomings in campus dat-
ing culture, such as the domi-
nance of hookup culture.
“People think that you just
have to hook up,” said Mama-
dou Diaw ’20. “You have to
maintain hooking up because
if you get too serious and
things don’t work out, then
everything just goes awry be-
cause the school is so small.”
In particular, many feel a
need to address the specific
issues faced by people of col-
or (POC) in regards to dating
and hooking up on campus.
“[When the event started]
there was a lot of talk about
dating culture here and a lot
of people of color felt like the
dating scene wasn’t for them,”
said Mendez. “And so we were
like ‘oh, we can address that
issue while also having fun
about it.’ For us, it was mostly
just a way to connect people
and have people reconsider
what it means to have this
whole dating scene.”
Part of this feeling of not be-
longing lies in a lack of visibil-
ity and inclusivity in the social
spaces on campus for POC.
“The idea of dating is that
... if you don’t see it, it’s not
happening,” said Diaw. “I feel
as though, especially in the
community for students of
FLU
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
such as fever, headache, body
aches, coughing and sore
throat. The symptoms typically
last between three and five days.
Maher said that many students’
symptoms are relatively mild,
particularly if they received a
flu vaccine.
“I think the flu shot is rea-
sonably effective—I think most
of the students that we’re seeing
that have a more severe case of
the flu were not vaccinated for
flu,” said Maher. “We do see
some students that were vacci-
nated that still have symptoms,
but they tend to be milder.”
Health Services has admin-
istered 825 flu vaccines this
flu season—all for free. Maher
explained that this number in-
dicates that Health Services has
color, [dating’s] not as visible
or not as prevalent and there’s
already this idea that dating
doesn’t really happen to the
school.”
“And I feel like [the lack
of couples] sort of stems
from party spaces and where
people hang out,” Diaw con-
tinued. “That’s something
that’s always in the back of
my mind when I’m going out
with friends—I feel like I’m
not necessarily a part of the
space that I’m at, and I’m not
deemed as the ideal person
that someone’s going out to
look for in that space.”
This year, participation
was capped at 60 people—
almost twice the number of
attendees as last year. This in-
crease prompted a change of
venue from 30 College to the
Cram Alumni Barn.
Participants register for the
event by filling out a short
survey that includes typical
questions such as name and
class year, as well as questions
about students’ favorite music
vaccinated around half the stu-
dent population, but he pointed
out that a number of students
receive vaccines off campus as
well. The majority of vaccines
administered by Health Ser-
vices were given to students
during flu clinics in September
and October, but students are
still able to walk into Health
Services and ask for a vaccine
during open hours or receive a
vaccine during an appointment
made for a different purpose,
provided they are not sick at the
time.
In addition, Health Services
cooperates with departments
to vaccinate larger groups of
students at once, with the idea
that those students will then
encourage others to get vacci-
nated. Maher explained that
athletic trainers bring entire
teams in for vaccines, and many
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
LOVE IS IN THE AIR: (ABOVE)
Brooke Berry ’22 (center) and Kaan
Volkan ’20 (right) dig in to good food
and great conversation. (RIGHT)
From left to right, Dani Hove ’20,
Darlene Ineza ’19 and Julio Palencia
’20 let the good times roll as the
night continues.
and “net worth.” Attendees
were also asked to share how
serious they were in meeting
a romantic interest through
the event.
“Some people are definitely
hoping to find someone and,
you know, connect, and I am
looking for new friends,” said
Kevin Chi ’19, treasurer of
ASA. “That’s why I think this
is sort of great, because we
give people the platform to do
all of the above.”
Bringing different affinity
groups together is another
important theme of the pro-
gram, as this year ASA joined
as a sponsor of the event.
“I don’t think there really
is a lot of interaction across
the affinity groups on cam-
Residential Life staff members
come to health services to get
vaccinated and encourage the
other students who live on their
floors or in their houses to do
the same.
Taylor Yoder ’19 was diag-
nosed with the flu last week
and has slowly been recovering
since. She no longer has intense
flu symptoms, but she has expe-
rienced some complications and
still has a cough and laryngitis.
“It’s probably the worst I’d
ever felt,” Yoder said. “I’d nev-
er had the flu. It was the one
year I didn’t get the flu shot …
I was pretty much bedridden
for about three days, and then
I’ve kind of been slowly inching
back into things this week.”
When her symptoms were
more intense, Yoder relied on
friends to bring her food and
medicine. She said the flexibil-
pus,” said Chi. “Other than
events mediated through the
multicultural coalition center,
there are some parties that
happen sometimes, but there
aren’t many chances for the
different affinity groups to
connect.”
ity of her professors kept the
experience from being terribly
stressful in terms of academics.
“I think just because so many
people are sick right now, it’s
easier to be flexible because
you’re just having to be flexible
for the whole class,” Yoder said.
Maher explained that Health
Services works with students
such as Yoder who experience
complications from the flu.
Pneumonia is the most serious
potential complication, but it
is also rare among healthy, col-
lege-aged people. Dehydration
is more common.
“We see students who hav-
en’t eaten well or drank well—
they’ve had fevers and chills for
a couple of nights, and so now
they’ve sweated out more fluid
than they’ve taken in,” Maher
said. “They come in, somewhat
dehydrated, so we have those
The groups hope atten-
dance at the event will con-
tinue to grow to include more
students from across campus,
and to bring even more affin-
ity groups and clubs into the
fold in future years.
“Expanding [the event]
students hang out and drink
some fluids … they perk up just
by drinking.”
Alex Gentle ’19 and Spencer
Towle ’19, who are roommates,
were both sick with the flu
last week as well. Both visited
Health Services and received
self-care packages with ibupro-
fen, Tylenol and cough drops.
Students who are too sick to go
to dining halls are also given
boxes of non-perishable foods
and clear liquids that Dining
Service brings to Health Ser-
vices.
Gentle and Towle also did
not get the flu shot this year,
which they attribute to, as Towle
said, “a series of forgettings.”
“I forgot before break and
over break, and when I came
back from break I was like ‘oh
shoot, I need to get that,’” Gen-
tle explained. He had planned
Friday, February 15, 2019
and seeing how it can grow
and include so many other
organizations and people in
general—that would be so
cool to see,” said Mendez.
Roither Gonzales and Anna
Fauver contributed to this re-
port.
to visit Health Services to get a
vaccine the day he got the flu.
But, he still plans to get a vac-
cine.
“There are still a couple of
other strains of flu that you can
get even if you’ve already gotten
the flu,” Gentle said. “So I’m still
planning on getting it, but I was
just waiting to get better.”
In Maine, flu season lasts
until April, when the weath-
er improves enough to allow
people to spend time outside,
decreasing the ease with which
germs can be exchanged in in-
door spaces. Health Services is
continuing to offer vaccines;
Maher anticipates that 25 more
vaccines will be administered in
the coming week. In addition to
getting a flu vaccine, he advises
students to avoid people who
are visibly ill and to wash their
hands frequently.
Friday, February 15, 2019 ADVERTISEMENT 7
8 Friday, February 15, 2019
AF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Chamber ensembles spark musical collaboration
by Cole van Miltenberg
Orient Staff
The “quad squad” may sound
like an unusual moniker for
a music group, but this is far
from the only surprise offered
by the Bowdoin’s Department
of Music’s chamber ensemble
program.
Each semester, dozens par-
take in a variety of independent,
student-driven chamber groups.
Although participants work
with an instructor, they are re-
sponsible for holding indepen-
dent practices each week and
curating the selection of pieces
they rehearse and ultimately
perform in concerts throughout
the semester.
Students have rare autonomy
even in terms of grades; they can
participate in chamber ensem-
ble for academic credit or as an
extracurricular. This format, not
found elsewhere on Bowdoin’s
campus, has opened the pro-
gram up to an average of rough-
ly 20 to 25 students in a given
semester over recent years.
Another unique aspect of the
program lies in existing combi-
nations of musical interests and
abilities. From brass and wood-
wind to string groups, students
of all backgrounds and academ-
ic interests are brought together
by their love of music.
Robert Beckwith Art-
ist-in-Residence and Director of
the Bowdoin Orchestra George
Lopez is responsible for forming
each group and matching them
Maggie Rogers triumphs on ‘Heard It In A Past Life’
The Aux Cord
by Chris Ritter
I should leave out the story
about Maggie Rogers’ rise to fame
through a viral video with Phar-
rell because it is clear by now that
she deserves it. It is true that the
Maryland singer/songwriter was
a student at NYU just two years
ago, making eclectic songs that
fused her folky roots with Euro-
house influences acquired from a
semester abroad, and that one day
Pharrell showed up to class, in-
stantly raved about Rogers’ work,
and abruptly sent Rogers and her
song “Alaska” into a firestorm of
attention via YouTube. But Rog-
ers’ debut album, “Heard It In A
Past Life” shows how wrong it
would be to hang on this story,
even for a paragraph.
A lot can change in two years,
and a lot has changed since that
moment, both for Rogers and,
more dramatically, how people
see her. On the surface, “Heard
It In A Past Life” is a high stakes
shot at reintroduction, as Rogers
tries to reclaim her image two
years removed from her “Now
That the Light Is Fading EP,”
which contained “Alaska” and
four more woodsy electropop
tracks. But most evidently, Rog-
ers’ full-length debut is a step out
of the woods and into the realm of
floor-smashing pop.
HARMONY & EUPHONY: The chamber ensemble program, offered by the Department of Music, is highly student-driven and sparks creative collaboration in an
intimate setting different from most academic classes. From left to right, Kookie McNerney, Ben Bousquet ’20, David Morrison ’19 and Ethan Hill ’21.
with a coach. He looks carefully
for musical compatibility and
personality.
“During the audition process,
I ask them what they are accus-
tomed to, what they are looking
for in an instructor,” Lopez said.
“All of our coaches are high-
ly experienced, but they have
different personalities, so I try
to match the personality of the
In a sense, that narrative isn’t
new. In the past decade, the
sudden leap into pop has been
made by artists as heat-seeking
as The Head and the Heart and as
well-established as Taylor Swift.
It’s that narrative that critics have
already used to label Rogers’ de-
but as nonessential. But while
albums like Swift’s “1989” seem
suffocated by the whims of indus-
try hitmakers like Max Martin,
“Heard It In a Past Life” sounds
dependent on Rogers as the head
practitioner. “Alchemist” is the
title critics can’t seem to stop us-
ing when referencing Rogers, and
the varied sound of her EP shows
why. It was clear then that the suc-
cess of her debut would hinge on
how good the chemistry is. Now
a record deal, heaps of cash and
glittery pop elements are thrown
into the mix.
All parts of that mix are on
full display in the opener, “Give
A Little.” The track is produced
by Greg Kurstin, who has credits
on countless hit records (Swift’s
“1989” included), but Rogers
feels decidedly in control here.
There are punchy four-on-the-
floor kicks and relentlessly tick-
ing hi-hats, but Rogers’ signature
idiosyncrasies take the front.
Natural-sounding samples shine
through from the song’s begin-
ning, and it doesn’t take long be-
fore a whirlwind of handclaps and
swooping falsetto lines take over.
She sets an assured tone here too:
coach as well as the instrument
type.”
Selection of repertoire also
comes into play in the beginning
stages of each ensemble group.
“I have to know the reper-
toire to some degree or be able
to find access to the information
through coaches who have a
wealth knowledge of [the in-
struments] their students play,”
Rogers sounds like she’s rallying a
crowd into protest in the verses,
but she has that crowd dancing by
the chorus.
“Give a Little” also introduces
Rogers’ ability to mix elements
that seemingly conflict: the
“alchemy” is at work here and
throughout. “Alaska” and “On +
Off ” are stilly sharply eclectic,
tracks first released on “Now That
the Light is Fading,” a project
that landed somewhere between
the sounds of Flume and Fleet
Foxes. “The Knife” doesn’t fit that
description at all, but it’s just as
sharp, pairing a clangy sample
reminiscent of “On + Off ” with
a bass line that would fit on the
Arctic Monkeys’ “AM.” Those
juxtapositions make “Heard It In
a Past Life” a beautifully mixed
bag. If Rogers’ bag of tricks was
deep on her EP, it’s nearly bottom-
less here, and her ability to blend
those tricks together make the de-
but feel separate from other works
of electropop.
As distinct as it is, though,
there’s a familiar, irresistible ener-
gy here. “Heard It In a Past Life”
is full of songs that feel ready to
burst at any moment, and when
Rogers finally lets loose, the result
is often electrifying. “Give A Lit-
tle” turns an anthem for empathy
into a hand clapping dance party
by its chorus. The swirling synths
of “Say It” keep the song’s verses
contained, but its hip-hop tinged
drop blows the song wide open,
said Lopez. “We really work
hard to find a piece that moti-
vates [students] and gets them
excited.”
A crowd of diverse yet pas-
sionate performers comprise the
groups. Jenny Wang ’22 partic-
ipated in chamber ensemble at
her high school and already had
an idea of how each group at
Bowdoin would operate before
lifting Rogers’ voice into a glim-
mering falsetto. And cries of relief
have never sounded so danceable
as in “Retrograde,” where we fi-
nally see Rogers finding answers
among the turbulence, “Here I
am, settled in, crying out / Find-
ing all the things that I can’t do
without.” These songs prove Rog-
ers an expert in making songs
with an energy that bubbles just
below the surface, until sudden-
ly, it’s there and it’s unstoppable.
Songs like these are testaments to
the potential of electropop: when
done tactfully, it feels magical; it
will either give you chills or make
you dance.
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
she arrived.
“I’ve played the piano for
more than 10 years now. So it’s
something that I didn’t want
to just give up in college,” said
Wang.
An experienced soloist, Wang
is surprised by the dynamic mu-
sical experience that chamber
ensemble provides.
“Doing chambers is more like
SHONA ORTIZ
Or it’ll do both, as in the case of
the stunning “Fallingwater.” Even
at nine tracks in, the song feels like
the heart of the album. With pro-
duction help from Vampire Week-
end’s Rostam, Rogers has crafted
a song that’s constantly rebuilding
itself, with booming kicks, the ebb-
ing glow of a guitar and cascading
layers of vocals. It feels thunderous
and sparkling at once, but Rogers
is impossibly steadfast, letting her
voice soar over it all with a new-
found defiance: “Go on and tell me
just what I’m supposed to say / As
if it could be any other way, oh it’s
getting louder.” Of course, Rogers’
life is in constant rebuilding too,
a collaboration—you’re trying
to find a harmony or euphony
between different instruments,”
she said. “There’s definitely more
communication between differ-
ent musicians ... and that’s just
something that you can never
find when you’re playing solo.”
Ethan Hill ’21 likewise not-
ed the sense of community
that comes with the chamber
ensemble program—the origin
behind the group’s intriguing
nomenclature.
“It’s kind of like we’re our
own little sort of Friendship
Circle. You know, through the
process of working together,
there’s definitely a bond that we
kind of get,” he said. “Last year,
we called ourselves the ‘quad
squad.’”
Wang, Hill and others in the
chamber ensemble program
have extensive playing experi-
ence; however, Lopez is hoping
to expand the program to stu-
dents with beginner abilities in
the future. There is also a new
initiative to open up community
spaces in Brunswick for student
performances.
Later this semester, there
will be two major platforms
on which chamber ensembles
will perform. Common Hour
performances are reserved for
more advanced groups, usually
string and woodwind, and take
place once a month in Studz-
inski Recital Hall. The major
performance of the year is the
Chamberfest concert, which
takes place on May 9.
but what remains assured is her
voice, which has never sounded
richer or wiser. It’s the sound of
someone holding fast to their
strengths against a current of un-
stoppable change.
It may have been a viral video
that set that change into motion
and would shape how we were
introduced to Rogers, but “Heard
It In a Past Life” finds Rogers
triumphantly reclaiming that
perception. This is pop music,
but make no mistake: she hasn’t
lost her spark as the woodsy girl
from Maryland who made it big
in New York, still obsessed with
light and dark and how they per-
meate our lives. There are new
influences and old trademarks
here, but Rogers presents a keen
sense of control over both. That
sense of control on her debut al-
bum disproves her as “the meek
deer in the headlights” or “the
girl who got lucky,” as Pitchfork’s
Laura Snapes so lazily reduces
her. That sense of control paints
her less as an industry pawn and
more as the woman who walked
into the biggest record labels in
the country with a 20-page busi-
ness plan and said, “these are the
terms, who wants to do the deal?”
As turbulent as her past two years
have been, “Heard It In a Past
Life” shows the graceful agency
Rogers has maintained through
it all. She’s made something beau-
tiful out of the storm, and she’s
done it on her own terms.
Friday, February 15, 2019
F FEATURES
SEEING SOCIALISM: Leftism is not new to Bowdoin’s campus, although it is seeing a resurgence after years of dormancy. From protesting the Vietnam War (bottom) in 1969 to reading Karl Marx 50 years later in 2019, students
have been reading, writing and speaking leftist thought outside the classroom for decades. A new student-formed group hopes to create a new space at the College for regular meetings, readings and discussion.
In midwinter, leftism blooms at Bowdoin
by Surya Milner
and Nell Fitzgerald
Orient Staff
On Tuesday evenings, the
pink-lit walls of the basement
that houses WBOR hold chat-
ter that will never run on air:
hypotheses on Marx, utopian
visions of a socialist society and
opinions on where Kamala Har-
ris falls on the political spectrum.
If you have OneCard access—or
happen to catch word of the un-
official weekly meetings—you’d
be privy to one of the few places
on campus where leftism blooms.
Those gathered here have
come for the “Reading Group,”
a weekly meeting for both stu-
dents with a background in left-
ist politics as well as those who
are not yet political but desire a
space to discuss their values in
political terms.
What does it mean to be
a leftist at Bowdoin? When it
comes to defining the term, as a
political and ethical orientation,
the group keeps it open; sticking
to definitions, the group’s leaders
say, is not the point.
“We’ve struggled to identify
exactly what [leftism] is because
people have different defini-
tions themselves,” said founding
member Micah Wilson ’22. “We
need a space where we can work
through those ideas, because
there is no answer that we can all
agree on.”
“I’d say I’m very far left on the
American political spectrum,”
said fellow founding member
Livia Kunins-Berkowitz ’22,
when asked her own personal
political beliefs. “My ideology is
strongly rooted in racial econom-
BOWDOIN ORIENT ARCHIVES
ic justice and ideas of feminism.
I would also say [I’m] currently
fairly anti-capitalist as well.”
The participants of the group
fluctuate from week to week—
the group’s Facebook page cur-
rently has 40 members—but this
past Tuesday, there were nine
men and two women, chatting
for over an hour.
The line between leftist
thought and leftist action is a clear
one for the group, which thinks of
itself as decidedly not action-ori-
ented. The Reading Group is a
space to float new ideas, to wres-
tle with socialist thought and to
develop an ethos—around what
it means to recognize the current
economic and political system as
flawed and to articulate a vision
for the future.
Kunins-Berkowitz noted that
many students in the group have
been politically active in some way
over their time on campus—last
fall, two members were arrested
for protesting against Brett Kava-
naugh’s nomination in Washing-
ton, while others spent time can-
vassing for local Maine candidates.
Reading Group was founded to
complement that activity.
“I think we need to fight for
social change, and that goes
beyond the classroom and goes
beyond the books you’re read-
ing,” Kunins-Berkowitz said.
“But I also think that without
theory and history and listening
to each other’s perspectives, the
social change is going to be less
informed and less productive.”
Leftism has long found roots
on college campuses. A few de-
cades ago, Bowdoin students
founded a local chapter of Stu-
dents for a Democratic Society,
tackling a range of social issues,
from protesting the Vietnam
War to calling on the College to
improve labor conditions. But
the group fizzled out after several
years, and leftism has remained
largely absent from Bowdoin’s
mainstream discourse since.
“There’s certainly been a
resurgence which is welcome
from my perspective here,”
said Professor of Economics
Jonathan Goldstein, a self-pro-
fessed socialist who is teaching
a class called Marxian Political
Economy. “I would say there’s a
correlation of sorts with Bernie
Sanders and the impact he had
on this age demographic here at
the College.”
Kunins-Berkowitz points out
that the majority of the founding
members and regular attendees
of the group are first years and
sophomores. She believes that
the resurgence of socialism on
campus this year can be attribut-
ed to national trends that have
shaped her and her peers’ polit-
ical consciousness.
“It’s tied to the legacies of the
economic crisis, legacies of Oc-
cupy Wall Street, maybe even the
legacies of international move-
ments that kind of defined our
growing up,” said Kunins-Ber-
kowitz. “And then obviously, the
Trump election really politicized
people. I think we’re in the era of
re-politicization and discontent
with the Democratic Party in
the way they’ve obviously failed
working class people.”
Wilson says he has almost al-
ways been left-leaning, growing
up in Cambridge and working
on the Democratic Socialists of
America (DSA) housing com-
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
BOWDOIN ORIENT ARCHIVES
mittee in high school. It was at
the Mountain School of Milton
Academy in Vermont where he
met Kunins-Berkowitz, who
grew up in Manhattan and also
worked for the DSA in high-
school. While spending time
on a gap year together, the two
began to talk about what leftism
might look like at Bowdoin.
Upon arriving at Bowdoin,
they met the group’s final found-
ing member, Sarisha Kurup ’21,
by way of an introduction by a
history professor.
Kurup declined interview
requests “in order to do what is
most honest for the group.” Her
comments are reflective of the
group’s discomfort with publicity.
With no school-sanctioned pres-
I think we need to fight for social
change, and that goes beyond
the classroom and goes beyond
the books you’re reading.
–Livia Kunins-Berkowitz ’22
ence and an ambiguous-sound-
ing name—the moniker “Read-
ing Group” connotes neither
political ideology nor specific
purpose—the students operate
within a certain assumption that
those who lean so far left will nat-
urally find one another.
“It’s just very word of mouth,”
said Kunins-Berkowitz. Leaders
maintain that anyone is welcome
to participate, but Kunins-Ber-
kowitz noted that the group is
functional because “there’s an
assumption of some amount of
shared values.”
While chartered clubs send
regular emails to members, the
Reading Group coordinates
logistics through a private Face-
book group.
“There is this kind of roman-
tic idea of this clandestine group
that meets in a radio station with
low lighting,” said Wilson. “But
there is also something nice still
about having a group that you
can have a conversation with. I
think if we broadcasted it a lot
more, we would sacrifice the
quality of the conversation.”
Member Diego Grossmann
’20 expressed frustration at the
leaders’ reluctance to expand.
“I have no idea why we
wouldn’t want to expand it.
I don’t understand why that
wouldn’t just be the goal of start-
ing something like this,” he said.
“To have it be some sort of plat-
form for a broader conversation,
voter participation, becoming a
part of political conversations on
campus, expanding the political
spectrum of that conversation.
But it’s not really up to me.”
Another criticism of the
group that all interviewees ac-
knowledged—and one that is
immediately apparent upon
viewing its membership list or
attending a meeting—is its de-
mographics. The majority of the
group is male, and most mem-
bers are white.
9
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
“We’re self-aware that there
is this ‘Bernie-bro’ association,”
said Wilson.
Such as stereotype occurs
well beyond the confines of
Bowdoin, and it is a difficult
pattern to break.
“Intellectual debate has always,
in my experience, been a really
male-dominated environment,”
Kunins-Berkowitz said. “I think
it’s how we teach young men to be
assertive and to assert their politi-
cal opinions frequently.”
She also acknowledges that
most members of the group are
wealthy—many attended elite
high schools where they were
exposed to leftist ideals early in
their educations.
“I think that this has been an
age old contradiction in Marx-
ism, and leftism is, where does
the revolution come from? The
working class or the intellectual
elites,” said Kunis-Berkowitz.
“And no matter what economic
class you come from, to be at
Bowdoin, you’re now part of this
specific society.”
Balancing the offer of a pri-
vate, elite education and far-left,
anti-capitalist ideals can be a
fine line to toe. But it is a chal-
lenge group members seem to
embrace, banking instead on
the change that is possible when
power is proximate.
“I don’t subscribe to the idea
that you have to work outside of
the system to change it,” said Wil-
son. “There are a lot of things that
appeal to me about a liberal arts
college that maybe is more elite …
there is so much potential to seize
that power that already exists and
ideally cultivate more change, be-
cause we have that power.”
10 FEATURES Friday, February 15, 2019

The numbers don’t lie, but the

humanities still matter
Cyber Chase
by Sasa Jovanovic
There are only two kinds of
people in the world. Are you
left-brained or right-brained?
Type A or Type B? Are you a 1
or a 0? Quantitative or creative?
Creator or builder? Art or al-
gorithms? Numbers or words?
Shakespeare or Einstein?
I recently spoke to a Bow-
doin student who claimed,
“Bowdoin students can’t do
math.” Arguably, their stan-
dards were slightly biased
given an academic schedule
heavy in the quantitative
fields, but it raises the ques-
tion—in today’s data-driven
world, is the ability to code or
perform calculus fundamental
to being a productive member
of society? Are liberal arts
students who focus in the
humanities or social sciences
setting themselves up for fail-
ure in the Digital Age?
To answer these questions, I
spent two hours with Associate
Professor of Digital Human-
ities Crystal Hall and Director
of Quantitative Reasoning Eric
Gaze on the third floor of the
Visual Arts Center, the cozy
home of the Digital and Com-
putational Studies department.
To ground our conver-
sation, I shared two arti-
cles with them beforehand:
“Google and Waze Must Stop
Sharing Drunken-Driving
Checkpoints, New York Police
Demand,” by Michael Gold in
the New York Times and “San
Francisco Wants to Ban Gov-
ernment Face Recognition,”
by Sidney Fussell in The At-
lantic. I encourage you to read
these articles yourself.
During our talk, the two
professors focused on the
competing interests of the
state, the market and the pri-
vate citizen or consumer with
respect to issues concerning
surveillance.
Gaze commented first.
“The Waze app is a great way
to counter the idea that the
consumer is always right. For
example, I want to use an EZ-
Pass. And yet, do we want the
idea that the government can
give us tickets because of their
access to your EZ-Pass? Most
of us would call that invasive,
and I agree. Surveillance is
this issue that, when it ben-
efits the consumer in terms
of convenience, is great, but
when it infringes upon their
liberties, is an issue.”
I asked if there is a way to
define this line. Hall provided
a possible solution to the di-
verging interests.
“Let’s start over with the
data. And let’s get the special-
ists in the room. The people
who are impacted by the data.
The people who create the
data,” he said. “Let’s have an
equal conversation about these
situations, so the data actual-
ly captures the reality on the
ground as opposed to relying
on proxies we assume are go-
ing to accurately capture the
reality. Let’s actually talk to the
people that are living through
these things, then see what we
should be measuring.”
Hall pointed to a grassroots
initiative in Chicago which
uses sentiment analysis (text
analysis tracking) of known
gang members in combination
with machine learning to track
the likelihood of violence using
tweets. The initiative partners
with, and provides protection
to, incarcerated or recently re-
leased gang members to gauge
SHONA ORTIZ
sentiment.
“Computer scientists can
write code that can perform a
task, but without knowing the
meaning behind the data that’s ways of thinking and ana-
going into it,” she said. “We lyzing human experience. to be a perfect “However,” Gaze contin-
need to start having a more I think some of that comes celestial body. No ued, “this isn’t to suggest that
holistic discussion about data to bear now. But I think the one had done that algorithms are entirely use-
management. That’s where silos have been constructed before—he was accused less. They are really great and
I’m increasingly feeling we so strongly that the people of academic trespassing. This help us in so many ways. Take
need to go.” that should be cooperating moment is seen as when the health, for example. Machine
I asked if this necessarily are not.” rational mind comes to bear learning can arguably analyze
means involving more people My repository of Galileo in- on science and knowledge and symptoms and give diagnoses
with a humanities background. formatica is sparse, so I asked the creative or poetic mind is on a much faster pace, and
Hall chuckled. “As a Gali- Hall to expand upon her refer- diminished in terms of what more accurately, than leav-
leo scholar, everything I de- ence to the mathematician. people understand as capacity ing the number crunching to
fault to is in the 16th century. “Galileo was a mathemati- to understand the world.” humans. You still want that
And I mean to point to this cian who strayed into philos- “The quantitative versus doctor! By offloading the
[century] as this watershed ophy, because he was using the qualitative,” Gaze said. “I calculations, it allows doc-
moment when the scienc- the telescope to look at the would say the quantitative is tors to spend more time with
es and the humanities part moon,” she said. “He was try- the low-hanging fruit—it is their patients. Almost become
ways. It is a false divide at ing to bring all of the infor- easy to quantify things. Mark more human, in a way.”
that moment, but it is a belief mation available at the time behavior with a number and I checked my pulse. Yep,
that will persist until the 20th to understand why the surface categorize according to that still human.
century: the perceived ‘two of the moon was rough when parameter. The numbers help, Quantitative or creative? May-
cultures,’ a division between everyone said it was supposed but don’t tell the full story.” be the answer should be both.

Running circles in the sand: on photoshoots and feminism

had dawned bright and clear, exceptional spaces, to anoth- itself in its capacity to loudly inevitably in.” skimmed over hips and thighs
Deep in the the horizon held a different er space of hypervisibility: proclaim a somewhat obvious, As women, we spend a lot and breasts, nervous smiles,
Heart hue than when we were last the “Celebrating Women, tired truth: women’s bodies— of time thinking about how knowing smirks and heads
here. Empty stretches of sand Celebrating Bodies” photo in all their variations—are we look. The photoshoot rev- thrown back in laughter. There
by Surya Milner and yawned on either side of us, exhibits that occur biannual- beautiful, and hung up on a els in this, mattes it on a wall was a sense of familiarity,
Phoebe Zipper and the roar of the A/C was all ly at the Center for Sexuality, wall, they make for beautiful and calls it empowering. It’s a comfort and reflection, seeing
there was to cut through the Women and Gender (formerly images. It speaks to a kind of confusing time to be a young all these bodies so similar to
We were squatting on the silence at the seafood restau- the Women’s Resource Cen- feminism centered on body woman in the United States, our own. But there was also
edge of the waterfront, warm rants in town. Hurricane Har- ter). We were two Bowdoin image, sexuality and the ines- we declared to the gulls ri- a nagging sense that we were
brown waves lapping at our vey had come and gone, leav- 20-somethings, comfortable capable pull those exert on our fling through a nearby clump still viewing women’s bodies as
sand-speckled limbs. Oil rigs ing Port Aransas in the throes in our bodies and down with psyches—with little reach into of seaweed. On the one hand, just that: bodies. We were still
winked in the distance, the of rebuilding and rebranding. the mission to de-stigmatize the ways that women’s bodies we want to be successful, running circles in Butler’s trap.
roar of a Confederate flag- Adjusting the straps of our the female nude. Showcasing are regulated and politicized thoughtful women with ca- We found ourselves de-
adorned pickup truck occa- swimsuits, we took in the vast our nude bodies in the middle in our current day. reers driven by our brains and siring an exhibit that moves
sionally punctuating the lazy expanse and the now-desolate of David Saul Smith Union The exhibition billed itself our ambition. On the other beyond the female body
ocean breeze. We call this: surf. would be, as it were, on brand. as an opportunity for women hand, we exist in a media and as spectacle, one that cele-
paradise. To others, it was Our minds turned, as they But we found ourselves hes- to participate in a liberating pop culture landscape satu- brates the beauty of women
simply spring break in Port so often do in exposed and itant. Like so many displays of form of self-representation. rated by images of Instagram whose spirits find homes in
Aransas, Texas. 2018. feminism at Bow- But in the age of Instagram, models and body positivity wide-ranging bodies, sure, but
But though the day doin, this one we are all experts in the art sirens alike. more so the beauty of women
seemed to vali- of self-representation and When models (who are who are activists, who are
date performance. Hanging up verging on cyborgs) accrue athletes, who are immigrants,
artfully lit photos capital with each heart-shaped who are artists, who are trans.
of women in like, the line between celebrity We want to celebrate a wom-
the nude places and layperson, businesswom- anhood that moves beyond
them in a con- an and wellness guru, begins to our ability to put on or take
text with which blur. Glued to our own social off our clothes—a feminism
we are all too media accounts, we create this that doesn’t leave us glued
familiar: on the landscape as much as we con- to the mirror, contemplating
screen, in the sume it. The photoshoot takes what’s so empowering about
frame, little pixels this dynamic of consumption, gazing at our naked bodies in
arranged for our one we’re used to seeing play the first place.
consumption. out on our screens, and lever- A half hour into our jum-
We are remind- ages the fact that its intimate, bled rant, a mammoth black
ed of Judith Butler’s Bowdoin-specific setting pickup truck angled its way
words on performa- makes it all the more personal across the beach. “Nice ass!” A
tivity. In an inter- and difficult to critique. gaggle of college-aged passen-
view with Liz Kotz in A few weeks after our con- gers shouted from the cargo
PHOEBE ZIPPER Artforum, she writes, versation in Port A, the Texas bed. Thanks, we thought, set-
“This is not freedom, sun fading from our cheeks, tling back into the surf. It felt
but a question of how to we wandered into the exhibi- neither reverential nor reduc-
work the trap that one is tion gallery in Smith. Our eyes tive. It just was.
Friday, February 15, 2019 FEATURES 11

Talk of the Quad

Peep whom I adored. After with my apparent inability different. We went into the colors were natural, deep and knit when I was five. It was
THE JOY OF KNITTING receiving a drop spindle as to finish one project before little shop in the front of the soft. This yarn made me want the 4th of July, and I learned
Recently, I’ve spent a lot a gift in third grade, I went starting the next. For a long building, shelves of yarn cov- to make something. Eventual- with the posts of tiny Ameri-
of my free time knitting around my house and back- time, I couldn’t conceptualize ering the walls. We could hear ly, with a lot of encouragement can flags and leftover balloon
and thinking about mak- yard, collecting any fluffs of knitting without my mom. the noise of machines running from my mom and a very kind ribbon. I soon graduated to
ing. I grew up with craft- hair that my dog had shed She was the one who really in the back of the building. shopkeeper, I decided that actual yarn and needles and
ing, making creative objects to try to spin into yarn. It understood knitting, not me. Peeking through the door- I would buy yarn to knit my produced a most uneven and
as a part of my daily life. worked moderately well but This is starting to change. way, we saw skeins of dyed first sweater. This would be ramshackle scarf fragment. I
I don’t remember a time certainly smelled like dog. I’m realizing that knitting is yarn hanging from the ceiling my first big knitting project. was thrilled with myself. I am
when I didn’t have my own For me, as a kid, knit- something that is mine, too. and the machines that we had I’ve known how to knit for as continually impressed with
fabric basket, craft box and ting and sewing weren’t any More recently, knitting has heard earlier making yarn. long as I can remember but the things that I can create
knitting needles. My mom different from drawing or made me feel simultaneously After exploring the spinnery learning how to read and fol- from strands of wool or cot-
taught me how to knit in painting—they were all ways very independent from and for a while, my mom and I re- low patterns has been a more ton. There is something about
second grade and sent me to I could make, activities that connected to my mom. turned to the yarn store in the recent development. knitting that fills me with
my first of a couple knitting I loved. Everything that I’ve While visiting my grandpa front of the building. The yarn Since coming back to feelings of ingenuity, creativ-
camps. As an eight-year-old, learned about crafting, about in Vermont, my mom and I there was easy to fall in love school this semester, I’ve also ity and excitement.” The way
I learned how to make my making, has been from my took a morning trip to her fa- with. It smelled like real wool been talking a lot with my that Elise talks about learning
own knitting needles and mom. I can’t say that I’ve vorite spinnery. I’d been there in the way that reminded you friend Elise about our ex- to knit really resonates with
to knit a little chick, which always been an avid knitter. with her before when I was of the sheep it came from. The periences with knitting. She me. For both of us, learning
I especially loved, because My excitement about knit- much younger, but I didn’t tells the story of how to knit was incredibly em-
my second grade class had a ting has ebbed and flowed quite have the attention she learned to knit powering and allowed us to be
class chicken named span to appreciate the saying, “it was my independent, to create things
trip. This time was grandmother we’re excited about, but also
who taught allowed us to connect. To
me how to connect with our loved ones
who taught us and also to
connect with one another.
Knitting is slow and not
necessarily economical, but it
is full of love and thought and
care. I think it takes a knit-
ter to really understand what
goes into knitting something
for someone. Elise certainly
does. “Knitting something
for someone is an act of love.
I think that knitting some-
thing for someone is just
about the most loving thing
you can do,” she says. “It
takes time and precision and
commitment. From the mo-
SAB ment I decide to knit some-
RIN
A LI
N
thing for someone, to picking
out the yarn, to finishing the
last stitch, I have the person I
am knitting for in mind.”
Kaya Wurtzel is a member
of the Class of 2021.

FROM THE EPICENTER
“Yes, I was there for the
earthquake … Yes, I felt it …
crazy, humbling.” These words
always seem to shake my lis-
teners more than the earth-
quake shook me. Words have
that effect.
I was in the mountains
of Mardi Himal on April 25,
2015 when a 7.8-magniude
earthquake shook Nepal. In
the three months leading up to
this day, I had been traveling
all around the country, staying
with different homestay fam-
ilies, studying Buddhism and
learning how to wood-carve—a
quintessential gap year experi-
ence. Three days prior to the
quake, my group had decided
to leave Kathmandu to go hik-
ing. At 11:59 a.m. we felt the
first quake. Three hours later,
we arrived at the campsite as
we had planned and proceed-
ed through the day according
to our normal schedule: we
set up the tents, played chess,
listened to our daily lesson, ate
dinner and cleaned the dishes.
Aftershocks intermittently in-
terrupted our daily business.
When our trip guides finally
received news via their radios
about the earthquake, they held
a formal meeting and relayed
the information with equanim-
in Nepal—Is Jon Luke okay?”
Adrenaline jolted through his
body as he seized his laptop
and pounded away at the keys
frantically looking up where
exactly I was hiking, where the
epicenter was, how far from the
epicenter I was, how big the
earthquake was, whether or not
I was OK. Constant news head-
lines about the destruction, up-
dates about my group’s where-
abouts from my trip leaders
and endless phone calls from
concerned friends and relatives
disrupted his day.
Despite my proximity to the
epicenter, that day scared my fa-
ther more than it startled me. It
wasn’t until two days and seven
aftershocks later when I saw the
destruction on TV in a small
restaurant at another campsite
that the earthquake really hit
me. I saw parts of the city I had
been calling home destroyed.
Video footage of Kathmandu
showed the faces of locals that
I had become so accustomed
to seeing. They looked broken.
That night, dinner came late
and few words were spoken. I
worried about the families that
had cared so much for me; not
only could I not help them, but
I couldn’t even contact them to
check if they were alive.
Later that night, I thought
about a village named Baruwa
of the kitchen, and my legs
would go numb from sitting on
the ground during meals. My
body was not fit for this kitch-
en. Yet, I spent hours in that
kitchen—reading, admiring
the view of the valley through
the window and helping my
homestay mother cook. There
was a contagious sense of ease
and serenity with which my
homestay mother could oper-
ate the kitchen, and despite my
physical discomfort, I too felt
relaxed and calm there.
Her pans had holes in them;
often times, we would lose pow-
er, and she would have to cook
with just the aid of moonlight.
The fire over which she cooked
would often go out because we
would run out of dry wood. Not
once did I ever see her com-
plain. Moreover, she treated
me with a genuine kindness. I
associate this place with peace.
This place for me was the heart
of what Nepal had been for me:
a place of physical discomfort
with small doorways and hard
floors, with crowded bus rides
and dusty streets, but nonethe-
less a place where I had never
felt more at peace and at home.
Baruwa was much closer to
the epicenter. Days later, we
were told that the earthquake
was responsible for killing half
of Baruwa’s population. No
the mountains from Kathman- power to shape their reaction. In conversation, my listeners
du, which, because of the road Strangely, I feel obligated to tell want to hear how I watched an
conditions as well as the lack of a more dramatic story than the entire valley tremble in one of
resources, meant that no one story that I have. The traumatic the aftershocks, how it took five
from the cities would be there part of the earthquake for me days to evacuate, how I would
to help for months. People who was realizing how close I was probably be severely injured or
watched the news coverage of to people who needed help and worse if the earthquake had hit
the earthquake from the Unit- then further realizing how safe six weeks earlier when I was in
ed States would never know I was and how powerless I was Baruwa. Perhaps it is for this
about Baruwa. My family and to help anyone. But this expe- reason that I have resisted writ-
friends would watch the de- rience is the story ing about it for so long.
struction and worry about me I rarely get Jon Luke Tittman is
without knowing that I was a chance a member of the
safer than they themselves to tell. Class of 2019.
were when they drove to
work in the morn-
ing during rush
hour. But, at the
same time, they
would know
more about the
earthquake than
me. They would
know the severity
of the earthquake
and for days I would
not—despite the fact
that I was there, that I felt
it. This is the power of news
reporting and
journalism: the
ability to make
information
immediately
accessible, but
also the potential
disconnect that it
creates between
its representation
EK
AS

ity so as not to startle us. Aside that I had stayed in weeks be- one had any details on who of reality and the
UR
LJ

from sporadic tremors, the day fore. I remembered my hosts’ survived and who did not, but reality which it at-
HE
TC
MI

felt numbingly routine. kitchen where I had spent most the kitchen where I had spent tempts to represent.
Seven thousand miles to the of my time while I was there. I so much time was almost cer- Whenever some-
west, my father’s phone vibrat- had to hunch over every time tainly gone. Baruwa is located one asks me about the
ed at 1:14 a.m.: “Earthquake I walked in through the door about a six-hour drive through earthquake, I have the
 SF SPORTS
12
HIGHLIGHT
REEL
OFF THE RIM: The men’s
basketball team (15-9,
NESCAC 4-6) ended
its season last weekend
after losing 65-91 to
Connecticut College.
Tied for eighth in the
conference, the Polar
Bears narrowly missed
out on a bid for the
NESCAC tournament
to Tufts (11-13, NESCAC
4-6) by virtue of a
tiebreaker. Zavier Rucker
’21 and Jack Simonds ’19
led the team’s offense,
scoring 23 and 13 points
respectively. The team
will say goodbye to three
seniors: Simonds, Jack
Bors and Hugh O’Neil.
LEFT OUT IN THE
COLD: Last weekend,
the women’s hockey
team (3-17-2) finished
conference play with
a 2-11-1 NESCAC
record after tying the
Connecticut College
Camels (10-8-3,
NESCAC 6-5-3) in a
scoreless game. It is the
Polar Bears’ first losing
season since 2015-2016.
Goalie Kerri St. Denis
’19 reached a personal
achievement in the last
game, though, earning a
clean slate with 25 stops.
CRUNCH TIME:
Seeded eighth in the
NESCAC, the men’s
hockey team (6-14-2,
NESCAC 3-12-1) is on
the bubble to secure a
spot in the postseason
tournament. The Polar
Bears face Tufts (5-15-
2, NESCAC 2-12-2),
currently ranked ninth,
tonight at 7 p.m. If they
can pull off a victory,
they will guarantee
themselves a playoff
berth.
GPA GRAB:
The football team
released its average team
GPA this week, a yearly
tradition to encourage
recruitment. The Polar
Bears averaged a 3.29
GPA across 75 players,
which translates to
a B+ average. The
team’s Instagram
post announcing the
statistic congratulated
its members for having
“DOMINATED in the
classroom.”
COMPILED BY KATHRYN MCGINNIS
Curling team finishes regular season on top
by Ella Chaffin
Orient Staff
The curling team ended its
regular season in Utica last
weekend, finishing third out of
24 competitors. Now, the top
five members will continue to
the national competition in Wal-
land, Massachusetts over spring
break, where the team is seeded
seventh. The team has doubled in
size since last year, contributing
to its successful season.
After the U.S. men’s curling
team won gold in the 2018 Olym-
pics, the sport became more ap-
pealing to new players, and Bow-
doin’s own team has doubled in
size since last year. This uptick in
members has been seen in both
teams and clubs across the curl-
ing community this year.
“We have had an upward
growth which has been amazing,”
said captain Kylie Best ’19. “All of
our team, except for myself, did
not curl before college, so for us
to be so successful with a bunch
of relatively inexperienced peo-
ple is fantastic.”
At the Student Activities Fair
last fall, the team received over
75 sign-ups. Out of the 75, over
20 students became permanent
members. Uniquely, the team
consists of social members who
go out on the ice to have fun
and those who want to become
more competitive at the sport
and frequently participate in the
tournaments.
“At the beginning of the sea-
son, we ask the entire group
who wants to be considered for
the [national competition],” said
Best. “Some are only interested
in the social aspect, which is to-
tally fine. This way, those who are
more interested in being more
Alpine ski team looks for leadership within its ranks
by Itza Bonilla Hernandez
Orient Staff
Over the course of the alpine
skiing club’s nearly 70-year his-
tory, it has gone from club to
varsity sport and back to club
again. This season, both the
men’s and the women’s teams
are at the top of their leagues,
with the men ranked first and
the women tied for first with
UMaine Farmington. Based on
their standings, the Polar Bears
are likely to qualify for region-
als February 24 and 25.
Since 2012, the Polar Bears
have competed in the USCSA
(United States Collegiate Ski
and Snowboard Association)
Reynolds division alongside
other Maine schools like Bates,
Colby, UMaine-Farmington
and UMaine-Orono. Because
the league is small, the team has
gotten to know its competition
well.
“It is a very fun community,
because you are there every
single weekend with these oth-
er schools and with the same
people,” said captain Kyle Pol-
son ’19. “It is not too big, and
we work very closely with the
people organizing the league.”
The team’s season schedule is
SWEEP ME OFF MY FEET: Claire Pierce ’22 and Maynor Loaisiga ’22 sweep as Ella Crabtree ’22 throws a stone. The team will go to nationals over Spring break.
competitive can express it early
on.”
Looking toward the national
competition, the team expects
to hold its own against north-
eastern competitors. Teams from
the Midwest tend to be stiffer
competition as they have small-
er teams that have been curling
longer.
“The hope is to win,” said cap-
tain Zack Leblanc ’20. “Last year,
I think we had a little bit of a
disappointing finish; we finished
10th or 11th. This year, [we’re
ranked] seventh, [and] I think
we can do a little bit better just
TUCK AND ROLL: A Bowdoin skier sails down the mountain earlier this season. The team is ranked first in its league.
quick and front heavy. The first
race is before the spring semes-
ter begins and its last race is in
the middle of February.
Currently, the team receives
all of its funding from student
activities. According to the
SAFC Digest, the Alpine Ski
Team has an annual budget of
$15,820.55. These funds are
used for races, transportation
playing as well as we can.”
In addition to the increase in
new members, the team also add-
ed a volunteer advisor, Jonathan
St. Mary ’67. He is the first com-
munity member to enter a men-
torship role for the team. With
many years of curling experience,
St. Mary has competed in the
Francis Dykes Memorial Bonspiel
and Men’s Grand Nationals.
“He had some really good
pointers about strategy, which
has been something that has hurt
us in the past,” Best said. “We just
don’t know a lot about strategy,
and it’s very difficult.”
to and from practices and
other financial needs the team
may encounter throughout its
season.
This year, the team’s usu-
al coach is stepping back to
spend time with her new baby.
As a result, more of the coach-
ing responsibilities have fallen
to the teams’ more experi-
enced racers.
St. Mary was especially in-
fluential in teaching the influx
of first years curling technique.
His expert advice is helpful for
newcomers who have no prior
experience with the sport.
“It’s been really helpful to
have someone who knows what
they are talking about give some
pointers,” Best said, “rather than
have people who haven’t been
curling very long teaching peo-
ple who haven’t been curling at
all.”
This weekend, the team will
host a learn to curl event at
Flight Deck Brewing Compa-
COURTESY OF ALDEN GRIMES
“[Coach] comes to some of
our practices, but it is a relaxed
thing,” said captain Emma Lan-
des ’19. “Those who have raced
and have more experience are
also taking on a semi coaching
role as well by teaching the new
folks how to race at practices.”
Captains say that the team
continues to grow.
“There are over 80 people
Friday, February 15, 2019
KAYLA SNYDER, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
ny. No experience is necessary,
and members of the team will
be demonstrating the sport and
putting on a mini bonspiel for
the community.
“There are actually some
people in Brunswick [who] are
looking to bring a new sort of ice
facility to the area that would be
both a hockey rink and a curl-
ing facility,” Leblanc said. “So
they’re putting us on to demon-
strate community interest.”
The team will teach curling
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Satur-
day. The event is free and open
to the public.
on the email list, but in terms
of who comes to practices
and races regularly, it is about
30–35 people registered,” said
Polson. “We are in a very cool
situation, because we are hav-
ing a successful season, and
we have people who have prior
racing experience, but the ma-
jority of our team is still people
who have never raced before
college.”
The team practices twice a
week after classes from 6-8 p.m.
at Lost Valley Resort in Au-
burn, about 45 minutes away
from campus. Captains usually
go to the mountain early to set
up the ski course.
“It is a really fun place to go.
It is a small ski area and has a
good setup for racing,” Polson
said. “It is a good place for peo-
ple who have grown up racing
and [also] for those who have
never done it to try it out for
the first time.”
Skiing also provides a nice
reprieve from typical college
confines.
“It feels like a real breaking
out of the Bowdoin bubble to go
skiing a bunch of times a week
and meet tons of cool people
and Maine students. It’s a really
nice group,” said Landes.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Women’s basketball ends regular season undefeated
More Than
A Game
by Ian Ward
Textbook. Flawless. Ideal.
Unrivaled. Masterly. Exemplary.
Superlative. Pick your adjec-
tive. But one descriptor will
attach itself to Bowdoin wom-
en’s basketball regular season
regardless of what thesaurus
you pick up: perfect.
The final weekend of the
women’s basketball season
was a one-two-punch that
dispelled any doubt—if
there was any still hanging
around—about the Polar
Bears’ on-court dominance.
On Friday, Adrienne Shibles’
squad clinched the top seed
in the NESCAC tournament
following their 69–58 victo-
ry over Connecticut College
(13–10, 4–6 NESCAC), a de-
velopment that, though sur-
prising to just about nobody,
was nevertheless a cause for
celebration. On Saturday, the
Polar Bears capped off their
first undefeated regular sea-
son since 2002-03, trouncing
Wesleyan (14–10, 4–6 NES-
CAC) 92–75. 24–0. There you
have it.
It was a fittingly dominant
end to a positively lights-out
season. On their way to perfec-
tion, the Polar Bears averaged
84.2 points per game against
their opponents’ 52.3 overall,
with the margin standing at
76.1 to 58.8 in conference play.
Their closest margin of victo-
ry—four points—came in a
stunning, come-from-behind
victory against Middlebury
on February 1, while their
largest margin of victory, in
conference, came one day later
when they beat Williams by 37
points. (Out-of-conference,
they beat UMaine-Farming-
ton 96–27 on December 4,
but propriety dictates that we
ignore that one.)
Unless they’re conceited
monsters or members of the
New England Patriots, really
good players on really good
teams rarely take credit for
their individual accolades,
even when that credit is whol-
ly deserved. Take, for exam-
ple, Taylor Choate ’19, who,
after scoring a career-high
27 points against Wesleyan,
deflected praise with charac-
teristic deftness.
“It’s a team thing whenev-
er someone scores this many
points,” said Choate.
Sometimes—most of the
time, even—this is just a lot
of reflexive, polite posturing.
In Bowdoin’s case, however,
it’s just a statistical fact. The
Polar Bears have nine play-
ers who average at least 10
SPORTS 13
minutes per game, which,
in itself, is not particularly
unique in the league. What is
unusual, however, is that only
one player, Samantha Roy
’20, averages above 25 min-
utes per game, and only two
average above 20.
What all this means is that
the Polar Bears substitute a
lot and very quickly. If Shibles
could have her players hop
over the bench directly into
the flow of the game every
other minute, à la hockey, I
suspect that she would.
Shibles’ rapid-fire sub-
stitution, combined with
an unusually deep roster,
proceeds on the expectation
that her players will work
extraordinarily hard for
the short spurts of time for
which they’re on the court.
Where this sets the Polar
Bears apart is in the late
quarters of games, when, as
their opponents are quickly
losing steam, the ferris wheel
of energized substitutes just
keeps spinning, methodically
overwhelming the opponent.
Clearly, this mechanism is
working. There is, however,
one potential kink in the sys-
tem: the Polar Bears get off to
a slow start. In four of their
last five conference games, the
Polar Bears have been tied or
behind through the first quar-
ter. In two of those games,
they trailed until the second
half.
Although this propensity
for slow beginnings makes
for some thrilling comeback
wins, it threatens to gunk up
the fine-tuned machinery of
Shibles’ system. “That’s not
the way we operate,” said
Shibles after the team allowed
26 points in the third quarter
against Wesleyan, noting that
it was lackluster defense rath-
er than a lethargic offense that
was causing her team to fall
behind early in games.
As the team prepares to
host Connecticut College this
Saturday in the quarterfinals
of the NESCAC tournament,
Shibles is stressing a return
to fundamental defense—get-
ting set, closing off passing
lanes—to avoid another early
deficit.
After all, Bowdoin had an
unusually difficult time with JACK BURNETT, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
the Camels in their meeting ALL I DO IS WIN: Samantha Roy ’20 jumps in the air to sink a shot against Wesleyan last Saturday. The Polar Bears defeated the Cardinals 92-75.
last week. The Camels out-
scored the Polar Bears in two “I’m glad that we have a accordingly. weak effort, one sloppy quar- state but rather apart from
quarters, the first and the good challenge in our quar- “[In] the postseason, ev- ter, one lapse of focus and every other state. There is
fourth, even while playing terfinal game. It’ll push us erything’s different,” said whoops—perfection is no perfection and then there is
without star player and lead- forward, it’ll push us to get Choate. “Everyone’s coming more. There is no really solid everything else. A season with
ing scorer, junior guard Sami better defensively, which we at you much harder.” And as antonym to “perfect” in the one loss is not an “imperfect
Ashton, who will be back in need,” she said. “You’ve lost the top Division III seed in English language—I think we season” or even a bad season.
the lineup this Saturday. your out.” the nation, everybody means can all agree that “imperfect” It’s just a season.
Yet the team’s most formi- The players, many of whom quite literally everybody. is pretty lame—because per- And on Saturday at 2 p.m.
dable opponent, Shibles said, are veterans of last year’s post- The problem with perfec- fection, as a condition, stands in Morrell Gymnasium, it’s
is complacency. season heroics, are adjusting tion is that it is fragile. One not in opposition to any other all on the line.
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14 Friday, February 15, 2019

O OPINION
Pack the house To address the Bowdoin-Maine
The Bowdoin women’s basketball team has danced its way to the num-
ber one seed in the NESCAC tournament, and the music doesn’t seem to be
stopping anytime soon—though it may be changing tempo. Taylor Choate
divide, we must go deeper
’19 told Orient columnist Ian Ward this week that “in the postseason, every-
thing’s different. Everyone’s coming at you much harder.” And as Ward notes,
for the Polar Bears, ranked number one in the nation after an undefeated
season, it is truly everyone who wants a chance on the floor with them. That
floor, for as long as the team is in the NESCAC tournament, will be right here
on campus, in Morrell Gymnasium.
An undefeated season in sports is rare, and especially so at Bowdoin. The
women’s basketball team has not had a perfect regular season since 2003,
when it made the National Championship game before ultimately falling to
Wilmington College, 59–53. This year’s Polar Bears have already beaten the
defending national champion Amherst in a game that rocked Morrell, with
attendance numbers so high they threatened the fire code.
Several of us were there that day, holding our breath as the Mammoths
kept up a slight but steady lead through the first half, leaping to our feet at
every three-pointer and roaring our approval as the Polar Bears took the lead.
Even those of us who don’t usually enjoy basketball games were committed to
threatening the structural integrity of the wooden bleachers. It was, without a
doubt, the game of the season and definitely the game of day. In comparison,
PHOEBE ZIPPER
that night’s much-hyped hockey game, despite its similarly close score, was
lackluster.
And while Morrell was packed for the game against the Mammoths and extent of homelessness in the midcoast rately educate and connect us to this place.
attendance has been solid all season long, we continue to hear tired tropes by Annie Rose region. To truly gain familiarity with the The first step is educating yourself on
Op-Ed Contributor
about how the game isn’t as interesting or physical as when the men take the realities and lived experiences faced by challenges facing Brunswick and how the
court. This, we can confidently say, is bullshit. We dare those who disagree to There are two homeless shelters with- our neighbors right here in Brunswick, I community has chosen to address them.
go and watch the women play and not find them awe-inspiring. in walking distance of campus. Many believe that all Bowdoin students should When you head to Hannaford, be aware
The mental fortitude necessary to never have an off day is remarkable. Bowdoin students, maybe even most, find and commit to their own path out of of what surrounds you. Behind it you’ll
It’s one thing to take the title, but it takes another level of skill to be the best don’t know they exist. Tedford Housing the Bowdoin Bubble through consistent find Midcoast Hunger Prevention Pro-
team on the court every single day. So, let’s see if the Polar Bears can finish operates both shelters, one on Federal engagement with the community. gram, a food pantry and kitchen and the
the job. What women’s basketball is giving the Bowdoin community is the Street and the other on Cumberland Bowdoin is known for its commit- Gathering Place, a drop-in day shelter—
single most alluring concept in all of sports: a perfect season. And we have a Street, which together provide safe and ment to the Common Good, and we two vital community resources. Read the
front row seat. temporary housing for six families and pride ourselves on our ability to commu- Times Record’s “Giving Voice” column—
We trust that Bowdoin students are excited for the NESCAC tournament, 16 individuals. There are rarely any va- nicate across difference and are provided featuring stories from the “Core Four”
but we’re sending out a missive to be sure: pack the house this Saturday cant beds. With the capacity to serve with plenty of opportunities to grow organizations of Brunswick: Tedford
against Connecticut College and continue to do so for as long as you can 165 individuals and families each year, our understanding of social inequali- Housing, The Gathering Place, Midcoast
watch this squad play. Morrell Gym seats approximately 2,500 spectators. We Tedford Housing must turn away almost ty in the world beyond Bowdoin. This Hunger Prevention and Oasis Free Clin-
expect every single one of those seats to be filled. 600 more individuals who call asking for may happen through conversation in ics—to stay informed on the issues faced
emergency housing. the classroom or with our friends in the by the local community attend the Town
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, Since my first year at Bowdoin, I’ve dining hall. But usually they’re just that, Hall meetings (with me!) on establishing
which is composed of Anjulee Bhalla, Nell Fitzgerald, Roither Gonzales, Dakota been involved with the Joseph McKeen conversations. Perhaps we’ve gotten too a combined shelter and comprehensive
Griffin, George Grimbilas, Calder McHugh and Jessica Piper. Center for the Common Good. To deepen good, too skilled at intellectualizing rath- resource center in town.
my connection to the Common Good and er than actively engaging with the people The next step is direct engagement
the community, I started working there actually experiencing and addressing and service, through which you will learn
as a McKeen Fellow. I worked at Tedford these issues. even more from people on the ground.
over the summer and learned firsthand For many of us, we keep community Beyond participating in a Community
how Tedford, as the primary agency help- issues at arm’s length, distant from our Orientation Trip, Common Good Day,
ing this area’s homeless and people at risk daily lives. However, many Brunswick res- an Alternative Break Trip or enrolling in
of becoming homeless, comprehensively idents, mere steps from campus, face the a community-engaged course on a tem-
ESTABLISHED 1871 address the growing problem of home- very issues—hunger, homelessness, access porary basis, seek out long-term relation-
lessness and limited affordable housing in to healthcare, just to name a few—that we ships with a cause meaningful to you right
bowdoinorient.com orient@bowdoin.edu 6200 College Station Brunswick, ME 04011 the southern midcoast region. Last week’s so comfortably conceptualize at the intel- here in Brunswick. Tutor in a local school,
column by Lowell Ruck ’21 on the Bow- lectual level. Only until we directly involve volunteer at MCHPP or Oasis Free Clinic,
The Bowdoin Orient is a student-run weekly publication dedicated to providing news and information doin–Maine divide inspired me to voice ourselves and recognize the expertise collaborate with a community partner for
relevant to the Bowdoin community. Editorially independent of the College and its administrators, what I’ve learned and to add to his per- housed in our very community can we call an independent study or honors project or
the Orient pursues such content freely and thoroughly, following professional journalistic standards in spective with my own—not as a Mainer ourselves knowledgeable and consider our intern at a nonprofit. These are just a few
writing and reporting. The Orient is committed to serving as an open forum for thoughtful and diverse but as someone grateful for the opportu- contributions helpful or effective. ways of going about it.
discussion and debate on issues of interest to the College community. nity to engage with Maine. I challenge everyone to do their part: I want to offer myself, Annie (acrose@
As Bowdoin students living in Maine meet Brunswick. Really meet Brunswick. bowdoin.edu), and the McKeen Center
for four years, it’s our privilege and re- Yes, we are all busy. But as students living as a resource for you to help explore
Calder McHugh Jessica Piper sponsibility to understand what’s hap- in Brunswick for four years, claiming a opportunities outside of the Bowdoin
Editor in Chief Editor in Chief pening in our local community. Had I not connection to place and a commitment to Bubble.
directly engaged with Tedford, I would the Common Good, we should prioritize Annie Rose is a member of the Class
have never fully understood the true experiences in the community that accu- of 2020.
Digital Director Managing Editor News Editor
James Little Anjulee Bhalla Nina McKay
Emily Cohen
Nell Fitzgerald Features Editor
Photo Editor
Dakota Griffin QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Ann Basu Mitchel Jurasek
Rohini Kurup
Mindy Leder
Ezra Sunshine Associate Editor
Anna Fauver
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Kathryn McGinnis HAVE YOU BEEN SICK THIS SEMESTER?
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Friday, February 15, 2019 OPINION 15

How I learned to stop worrying and love the Rocket Man

by Wilder Short
Op-Ed Contributor
When President Trump tweet-
ed “Little Rocket Man,” along
with an image of Kim Jong-Un,
the idea of donning a full Elton
John outfit (any of them work)
and bellowing “I’m a rocket man,”
came to mind—not the image
of an existential threat of nuclear
fallout. The “fire and fury” ap-
proach to diplomacy between the
two world leaders applies more
to their war of words than to the
actual war of nations insinuated.
I am not concerned about any
sort of nuclear warfare. There’s no
need to be concerned; I’m positive
about being positive. I have other
things to stress about, like gun
control, health care, rising home-
lessness numbers, climate change
and whether there is a booth free
in Moulton Dark Room. I am not
worried about a nuclear missile
measuring contest. Neither lead-
er wishes to exercise and flex his
finger’s ability to launch rockets ca-
pable of massive damage, instead
choosing to flex his fingers, at least
in Trump’s case, on the iPhone’s
wonky keyboard.
With the “new year, new
me” mentality adopted by every
20-something for 2019, time
should be taken to reflect on the
past year’s historic precedent for
inter-Korean relations. The 2018
Olympics marked a major break-
ing of tensions between the two
Koreas, as both North and South
Korean athletes walked together
under the Korean Unification
flag—last seen during the 2006
Winter Olympics in Italy. The
Koreas even fielded a joint-Ko-
rean women’s hockey team, a
remarkable symbol of progress
towards furthering the agenda of
unity. Both leaders also presented
a pro-unification agenda to work
towards this year; Kim Jong-Un’s
2019 New Year’s Address antici-
pates further summits between the
two leaders and President Moon
Jae-in’s own South Korean pop-
ularity stems from his proactive
approach to breaking their land’s
division with the rebirth of the
“Sunshine Policy,” a South Korean
approach to softening tensions
between the two nations. The third
ever inter-Korean summit held in
Pyongyang also lead to a heavy
demilitarization effort to eliminate
the harsh border lines separating
the two nations—this included
disarmament of mines, destruc-
tion of guard towers and removal
of troop numbers on both borders.
So, any reasonable reader
would say, what’s the deal? Where’s
the unification? Why aren’t they
just Korea? Why is Kim Jong-Un
not in the NBA All-Star Celebrity
game?
Well. As easy as it is for people
to look to this past year as an in-
evitable sign of the possibility of a
unified Korea, there continue to be
a few hitches in their joint progress
towards this goal. Namely, Pres-
ident Trump. While Trump will
likely claim his work with Korea as
a highlight of his time in office, his
continued involvement only fur-
ther aggravates tensions surround-
ing reducing nuclear proliferation.
Interviews with the North Korean
population show that, while they
receive these negotiations and
talks positively, they dislike the
idea of Western influence butting
into Korean affairs—specifically
looking at and seeing President
Moon as a puppet. These senti-
ments may derive from Kim Jong-
Un’s New Year’s address, which
pushes a pro-economic market
plan and states his desire to con-
tinue negotiations with the South
Korean government (while also
stating that they would not be bul-
lied by any bully from the United
States). President Moon himself is
a pro-unity advocate and ran on
that as a campaign for election. His
own future is what slightly deters
me from remaining 100 percent
optimistic.
President Moon’s approval rat-
ings from December showed less
than 50 percent of South Koreans
supporting his administration.
This declining popularity stems
from a lack of substantive plans
from the meetings with Kim Jong- it’s an existential fear for many doesn’t make you cooler; and the
Un, economic downturn in both people in the world—the pros- South Koreans need to focus do-
Koreas and a lack of substantial pect of being nuked—but that will mestically to ensure there will be a
political reform. These issues only become real if things aren’t time to focus internationally.
could all stem from his continued handled correctly in the future. To Wilder Short is a member of the
focus and effort on working with recap: Americans need to push for Class of 2022.
Kim Jong-Un—focusing entirely a competent, non-bullying nego-
on the North Korea question. If tiator who can close a deal; North
one were to be soundly positive, Koreans need to continue to
Moon’s agency over the assurance be pro-unification and
of the Democratic party’s election need to understand
of a candidate willing to continue that hav-
pushing discussions would be ing more
needed. The 2020 National As- nukes
sembly election is crucial for the
Democratic party—it’s necessary
for them to gain seats so that re-
forms could be passed by the next
president elected in 2022. (South
Korean presidents are allowed one
term, five years long.) The impor-
tance of regaining the voter bases
lost by Moon’s two years cannot
be overstated. He needs to focus
on effectively implementing polit-
ical and social reforms as well as
look into overhauling the current
economic system, criticized for its
poor implementation.
As a young, optimistic Ameri-
can voter, I can assuredly say that
any efforts for diplomacy from
the United States’ side can only
improve in the future. As the field
for 2020 presidential candidates
widens, it will be important to LILY ANNA FULLAM
make note—as a voter—of who
stands where on this issue. It’s not
something to be overlooked. Yes,

Let’s celebrate sophomores Put the ‘you’ in ‘Ubear’

declaring their majors
On Second
Thought
by Brooke Vahos
In the weeks leading up to
February 20, the deadline to
declare a major, I’ve been a
listening ear to my indecisive
friends. Art history major or
government and legal studies
and visual arts double major
with a History minor? The con-
versations tend to go in circles
and never end with a definitive
answer. Luckily, despite the un-
ending confusion, my friends
and I have officially decided and
declared our majors. Some of
us went to the events put on by
departments, while others made
appointments with trusted fac-
ulty. Yet, no matter how you de-
clare, or what major you choose,
the consensus always seems to
be the same: de-
claring your major
is over-hyped and
underwhelming.
At Bowdoin, the
process of “official-
ly” declaring your
major takes about
five minutes.
Last week, after
walking out of my professor’s faculty get to know students in
office, I felt a little disappointed less academic settings.
that I didn’t feel more accom- Aside from these tangible
plished. After all, shouldn’t this changes, students could shift
moment feel more monumen- their perspective on the process.
tal? Many of my friends mir- Instead of putting complete em-
rored this sentiment; the pro- phasis on the five-or 10-minute
cess turned out to be relieving, interaction, we could see it as a
yet underwhelming. When all gradual coming of age. Rather
is said and done, declaring your than being a moment in time, it
major feels more like a chore could be viewed as the next step
than an achievement. in creating your future.
All the time and energy that Since arriving at Bowdoin, the
goes into choosing your major time to declare my major has al-
(and minor) deserves to be more ways seemed to be in the distant
celebrated and recognized. I future, a worry for another day.
don’t think the process needs to After going through the process,
become more complicated, but I I wish I had been more optimis-
think there needs to be a change tic and anticipative of making my
in outlook, from both students choice. Declaring your major, ei-
and faculty. ther prospectively or officially, is
Making the act of declaring one of the biggest decisions you
your major a more positive ex- make during your time at Bow-
perience could take many differ- doin. It defines the way you look
ent forms. It could look like an at the world, the job fields for
event for all sophomores after which you are qualified and how
they have declared, a dinner you question the truth.
with your new advisor or even This fall, when I realized I
an upperclassman mentor with- wanted to be an anthropolo-
in the department. These simple gy major, I felt more secure at
gestures would make students Bowdoin. I felt driven and in-
feel more welcomed into spired to explore what
their department academics really have
and would to offer here. De-
help claring your major
can help you find
a purpose in the
classes you choose,
the events you at-
tend or the questions
you ask. It’s an ex-
KO citing journey that
DIE
GA channels your past
RZ
A experiences and fu-
ture passions—which
can’t be quantified by
a single moment.
Say It Like It Is
by Nate DeMoranville
Last year, I turned 20 on
the same day that the football
team won its first game in three
years. I stormed the field with
my friends and, for once, felt
proud of a sports team here.
The moment was surreal, a col-
lege experience that had long
been denied to me. I look back
on that day with great fondness
but also frustration: I question
if we should cut the football
team.
Past investment has not
produced results. A multimil-
lion-dollar new field translat-
ed to a 1-8 record. Head Coach
J.B. Wells was just fired ahead
of his contract but paid in full.
The team’s expiring budget
is reportedly over $700,000,
equivalent to the entire Stu-
dent Activities Funding Com-
mittee, which funds more than
100 student groups. Surely,
there are more efficient ways
to spend this money.
The mission statement
of the Athletic Department
reads, “Contests provide an
opportunity for the entire
community to come together.
As such, student athletes are
expected to be positive rep-
resentatives of the school.”
This is a beautiful ideal, but
it has been mostly untrue in
my personal experience. The
community is no more likely
to come together for a foot-
ball game than it is for an
off-campus party, and student
athletes have largely negative
reputations on campus. There
is work to be done in order
for us to manifest our mission
statement.
I feel a strong sense of sep-
aration from the student ath-
letes in my community. By and
large, they do not look like me,
and self-segregation means
that our paths rarely cross. No
single activity is as time-con-
suming as a varsity sport. They
are practically part time jobs,
where students can expect to
work between 15-20 hours per
a week while in season. By lim-
iting a student’s ability to try
new things and learn from un-
expected experiences, I think
varsity sports short change the
liberal arts experience.
At the same time, I recog-
nize the value that these sports
bring to the individual and
the potential they have for the
community. I myself am a com-
petitive person. In high school,
I relished the opportunity to
challenge my peers to a purely
physical contest. Soccer pro-
vided a chance to engage with
my body after mentally drain-
ing days, and I enjoyed pushing
past limits on the field to then
find new feats in the classroom.
My greatest concern with
athletics is how it divides our
community, and I don’t know
how to fix this problem. In-
creased recruiting from di-
verse communities would be
great, but it can only be so
effective. To compete at the
NESCAC level requires vast
resources, which most fam-
ilies of color do not have. It’s
a national problem to contend
with, one that will take years
to improve considerably. I
speculate that in the mean-
time, we should cut athletics
to create more space for stu-
dents of color, but I also know
that won’t solve our problem
of a segregated campus.
The much more challenging
and time-consuming solution
for the athlete/non-athlete di-
vide is to integrate the student
body. My relationships with
individual athletes infrequent-
ly extend past my first year,
the one class we had together
or any other forced interac-
tion by the College. Perhaps
sustained social engineering
could maintain these relation-
ships. I think improvements
to upperclass housing is an
excellent start. The new apart-
ments on Harpswell and Park
Row will bring more students
of all backgrounds back on
campus, just as Ladd House
has already done. The seniors
in Ladd hosted the football
team’s afterparty, as well as
“Squashmas,” the Squash
teams’ annual winter formal,
and both were open to the
entire community by virtue of
being on campus.
These developments indicate
hope for bridging divides on
campus. At the risk of extend-
ing an olive branch to privileged
people who may have little re-
gard for my well-being, I think
students should work together
to include athletes on campus,
especially in leadership roles.
On Bowdoin Student Govern-
ment, for example, which serves
to represent the student body to
the administration, the number
of student athletes is in the sin-
gle digits. We have more than
30 members on General Assem-
bly. In order to fulfill our own
mission statement, perhaps we
ourselves could do a better job
of recruiting as well.

16
FRIDAY 15
PERFORMANCE
RISE: Untold Stories of Bowdoin
Women
Student group fEMPOWER will perform stories that show-
case the diverse experiences and hardships of women in the
Bowdoin community. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased
at the Smith Union information desk. Sales benefit Sexual
Assault Support Service of Midcoast Maine and Through
These Doors. There will also be a performance at the same
time on Saturday.
Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center. 7 p.m.
PERFORMANCE
ValJam
The Longfellows and Miscellania will join forces to give a
Valentine’s Day-themed a cappella performance.
Chapel. 8 p.m.
SATURDAY 16
EVENT
Bring Your Clothes to Brunch
Avant-Garb Magazine will organize a clothes swap for
students to exchange unwanted clothes, shoes and
accessories with one another. Smoothies and reality TV will
be available for students’ entertainment.
Daggett Lounge, Thorne Dining Hall. 11 a.m.
PERFORMANCE
Black History Month and Beyond:
Concert and Showcase
The Student Center for Multicultural Life, Africa Alliance,
African-American Society and Muslim Student Alliance will
sponsor a showcase of performance acts dedicated to Black
History Month.
Jack Magee’s Pub and Grill. 9 p.m.
SUNDAY 17
FILM SCREENING
“Green Book”
Eveningstar Cinema will screen the Oscar-nominated film
“Green Book,” which captures the journey of black pianist Dr.
Don Shirley as he tours in the Deep South. Shirley develops
a unique relationship with his white bodyguard Tony Lip as
he encounters racism throughout his journey.
Eveningstar Cinema. 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
22 EVENT 23
Masculinities
Summit:
Conference
FEBRUARY
Friday, February 15, 2019
ANN BASU, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT
I’M LOVIN’ IT: Adam Jackson ’21, Elle Brine ’20, Eva Dowd ’22, Rubin Jones ’22 and George Marin ’22 play Madonna impersonators eating
McDonalds in this play directed by Nathan Ashany ’21 and written by K Irving ’21. This was one of three one-act plays selected by the Masque &
Gown board to perform on February 9, and it took home the winning prize at the end of the night.
MONDAY 18 WEDNESDAY 20
LECTURE LECTURE
“Queer Aesthetics, Collective Voice and Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent
Cross Species Dialogues” Transformation of Native America
Printmaking and installation artist Corinne Teed will discuss David J. Silverman, professor of history at George
her work showcasing the intersections between queer theory, Washington University, will discuss eastern Native American
ecology, settler colonialism and critical animal studies. tribes’ first contact with armed European settlers and the
Aresty Digital Media Lab, Edwards Art Center. 4:15 p.m. firearms race between competing tribes which ensued.
Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center. 7:30 p.m.
TUESDAY 19
EVENT
Walker Art Building Anniversary
THURSDAY 21
Student groups including the Longfellows, the Slam Poets DISCUSSION
and the Modern Dance Company will provide entertainment. Sanctuary: Resilience Redefined
The Bowdoin Art Society will organize a craft station to Author Emily Rapp Black will deliver a public reading from
celebrate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Walker her book “Sanctuary,” which focuses on how the concept of
Art Building. resilience informs people’s lives.
Museum of Art. 4 p.m. Daggett Lounge, Thorne Hall. 7 p.m.
LECTURE EVENT
How Consumerist Consensus Led Masculinities Summit Keynote
America Astray and How to Recover Actor and comedian Chris Gethard will be interviewed by
Oren Cass, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Eduardo Pazos and
former domestic policy director for Mitt Romney’s presiden- Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s
tial campaign, will talk about the future of labor. The event is Studies Jay Sosa about the ways in which comedy and
sponsored by the College Republicans. masculinity play into gender expectations and stereotypes.
Main Lounge, Moulton Union. 7:30 p.m. David Saul Smith Union. 7:30 p.m.
24 PERFORMANCE 25 EVENT 26 27 28 LECTURE
Knit and Crochet
Brock Clarke
BernsteinFest! for the Common Inaugural Lecture
Good