the bowdoin orient - vol. 142, no. 19 - mar. 29, 2013

7/28/2019 The Bowdoin Orient - Vol. 142, No. 19 - Mar. 29, 2013

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BOBRUNSWICK, MAINE THE NATIONS OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY PUBLISHED COLLEGE WEEKLY VOLUME 142, NUMBER 19 MARCH 29, 2013

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FEATURES:ALUM REACHES CHINESE STUDENTS

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MORE NEWS: BSG LOOKS TO UPDATE;ADMITTED STUDENTS DAY ALTERED

TODAYS OPINIONEDITORIAL: Telling both sidesPage 14.

SPORTS: MENS AND WOMENS HOCKEY FALL SHORTThe mens and womens hockeyteams both were eliminated from theNCAA Quarterfinals over break, end-ing two of the best seasons ever forBowdoins hockey program.

Page 10.Page 7.

Page 2. THE LORAX: Ben Richmond 13 on the

loopholes in Bowdoins carbon neutrality

plan.

In his second book, YongfangChen 10 aims to describethe liberal arts experience toChinese students and families.

BSG: Members debated changing the constitu-tion to reflect new policies.

Page 14.

ADMITTED STUDENTS: Bowdoin Experience willmerge with admitted studentsopen houses.

Page 4.

COURTESY OF JULIE BENDER

Elizabeth Carew 15, right, expertly catches a frisbee at the Uprising tournament over Spring Break. Chaos Theory went undefeated and ranks No. 1 nationally.

BY ALEX BARKER

ORIENT STAFF

Interim appointees made permanent

Two recent internal Bowdoin hiresprompted a closer investigation intothe Colleges process for lling new po-sitions.e week before Spring Break,Tim Ryan was named the new athleticdirector and Sarah Seames was ap-pointed director of the McKeen Centerfor the Common Good. Both had beenserving as interim directors up to thatpoint.e search committees for both

positions were chaired by Tim Foster,dean of student aairs, and consistedof faculty, sta, students and trustees.e McKeen Center group was alsoco-chaired by Nancy Jennings, chair ofthe education department and senior

faculty fellow for the Center.Bowdoin contracted Alden & As-sociates, a consultancy specializingin athletic directors and had recentlycompleted searches for Williams andColgate, to aid in the search for a new

Hoodie Allen, Guster to

headline Ivies WeekendBY LINDA KINSTLERORIENT STAFF

Please see IVIES, page 3

College sees all-time high for applications

Pingree co-sponsers bill

for marijuana legalization

BY SAM WEYRAUCH

ORIENT STAFF

Last ursday, CongresswomanChellie Pingree pledged her sup-port for H.R. 499, Ending FederalMarijuana Prohibition Act of 2013.Pingree, who represents Maines1st District including the town ofBrunswick, is currently one of thebills thirteen co-sponsors.e bill, which would regulate

marijuana in the same way as to-bacco and liquor, follows past eortsfrom Pingree. In a previous sessionof Congress, Pingree cosponsored

a bill along with Congressmen RonPaul (Republican of Texas) andBarney Frank (Democrat of Massa-chusetts) that would have decrimi-nalized marijuana. Willy Ritch 87,spokesman for Pingrees Portland Please see PINGREE, page 5

oce, explained that Pingree seesthe bill as a reasonable approach tomarijuana regu lation.

News of Pingrees endorsementcame on the same day that a pressconference by the Portland GreenParty, the Marijuana Policy Project(MPP) and the ACLU announced apetition to legalize small amountsof marijuana in Portland. e peti-tion, if passed, would enact a cityordinance permitting the posses-sion of up to 2.5 ounces of mari-

juana. Although 1,500 signaturesare required, the petition committeehopes to receive over 3,000. Expecta-

tions for success are high, said Da-vid Boyer, a political di rector for theMPP, as Portlanders overwhelm-ingly voted for medical marijuana in

is past Friday, the Oce of Admis-sions oered admission to 792 students,or 12.3 percent of regular decision ap-plicants. In total, 1,021 students wereaccepted to the College, resulting in anoverall acceptance rate of 14.5 percent.

Bothgures are records, down from lastyear when 13.8 percent of regular deci-sion and 16.1 percent of total applicantswere accepted.e College received an all-time high

of 7,052 applicants this year, an increasefrom last years 6,716, which was theprevious record.

Dean of Admissions and FinancialAid Scott Meiklejohn attributes theincrease to the fact that Bowdoin is

BY DAVID SPERBER

ORIENT STAFF

becoming more well-known.Each year Ive been asked about why

applications are going up, thats the rstthing I say, he said. I think the Collegeis getting better and better known as areally fantastic place. We play a role inhelping people understand how greatthe College is.e admissions oce is aiming for

500 students to ll the class of 2017,Meiklejohn said.

We have done a lot of calculationsabout class size and used as much in-formation as we have available to us tocalculate how many oers of admissionwe should make to get the class size thatwe want, said Meiklejohn. Its always alittle bit of science and a little bit of art.

Meiklejohn expects to come in slight-ly below the target size and intends to

accept students o the waitlist. atwas also the plan last year, when yieldwas higher than anticipated. Conse-quently, students could not be admittedfrom the waitlist.is year was the rst that admis-

sions decisions were released onlinerather than in letters delivered to ap-plicants homes.

According to Whitney Soule, directorof admissions, the change was imple-mented to increase delivery reliability.All accepted students were also sent aformal admission letter signed by DeanMeiklejohn.

As in recent years, applications thisyear were down in the northeast andup in the west.is year also marked an

athletic director. Members of the rmcame to campus last fall to compile in-

formation about the College in orderto create a prole. In early January, therm posted an announcement of theopen position.

ese organizations are notoriouslygood at having big rolodexes of peoplein the eld, so in the case of Bowdoinwhen opportunity becomes availableword spreads pretty quickly, said Fos-ter. He said the overall applicant poolboth for this search and the McKeenCenters consisted of frightfully talent-ed groups of people, and that part ofthe reason the pools were as strong asthey were was because there was someword on the street that we had a reallystrong person internally.e initial group of applicants was

narrowed down to six semi

naliststhree men and three women, four sit-ting athletic directors and two senioradministrators at Ivy League institu-tionsby the time Alden transferredcontrol of the process to the search

committee.e committee interviewedthe candidates in Portland before invit-

ing two nalists, Ryan and one femalecandidate, to campus for interviews.

On campus it became a drinking-from-the-re-hose sort of experience,said Foster. In a day and a half theymet with 90 people, including studentathletes, senior ocers, coaches, thepresident, and the head of human re-sources, before the committee metwith President Barry Mills and ulti-mately decided on Ryan.

According to committee memberand student-athlete Michael Eng-lish 14, Ryan was judged in a similarmanner to the other candidates, eventhough he was a familiar face.

e other candidates were veryseriously considered, and it was not

a runaway, he said. We kept ourpersonal relationships with himcompletely separate and even triedto keep separate what hes done as

Guster, rapper Hoodie Allen,and 3LAU will headline this yearsIvies weekend, the EntertainmentBoard (E-Board) announced onWednesday.

3LAU, the stage name of DJ andproducer Justin Blau, will performin Morrell Gymnasium on ursday,April 25. Guster and Hoodie Allenwill take the stage on Whittier Fieldthat Saturday. In the case of rain onSaturday aernoon, the concert willbe held in Farley Field House.e E-Board used the results of its

October survey to decide which actsto bring to the College; Guster andHoodie Allen were two of the most-requested groups listed on the sur-

vey, according to E-Board co-chairMichael Hannaman.

Guster won a third of the votes inthe medium act category, Hanna-man said. It felt right to put in a bidfor them.

Hoodie Allen was the secondmost popular hip hop artist on thesurvey, he added. Macklemoregarnered more votes than HoodieAllen, but Hannaman explainedthat the E-Board was unable tobook Macklemore after his askingprice rose quickly following the

release of his debut album, TheHeist, in O ctober.

I know a lot of people are prob-ably thinking about Macklemore...back in October we sent a request outfor him, but we were competing witha lot of festivals and schools withmuch bigger budgets, and his ask-ing price just shot up exponentially,Hannaman said.

Macklemore is scheduled to per-

form at Colby on April 12 and atAmherst on April 27. Colby studentswere asked to pay $15 for admissionto the concert. Amherst students areentitled to one free ticket, but theAmherst Student reported that thecolleges Program BoardAmherstsequivalent of the E-Boardmaxedout its $40,000 budget to secure thebid, and had to ask for an additional$5,000 of funding from Amherstsstudent activities oce.e October E-Board survey asked

students to indicate which genre theywould prefer the Ivies acts to fall un-der, how many acts should ideallyperform, and whether students wouldprefer one large act in the place ofmultiple medium or small acts.

e genre part of the survey wassplit between a rap or hip hop art-ist, an alternative act and a DJ, saidHannaman. We got a lot of positivefeedback from having Milkman lastyear, which was the rst time we hada DJ act...[and] people were prettysplit on whether they wanted two orthree acts.

Milkman, a DJ and mash-up art-ist, played at last years Ivies weekend,along with rapper Childish Gambinoand the indie-pop band Phantogram.e E-Board was working with a

talent budget of $65,000 this year, thesame budget as last year, according to

both Hannaman and Associate Direc-tor of Student Activities Nate Hintze.e artists contracts stipulate thatBowdoin cannot disclose the bookingfee per act.

Its not a huge budget by industrystandards, but weve been success-ful in the past, and we hope that thecampus is really excited about it, said

SNATCHING VICTORY

Please see HIRES, page 3

Please see APPS, page 2


2/16

, , 2SPORTS: Athlete of the WeekFEATURES: Maple Tapping A&E: Caped alumnus pays a visit to Art Museum

Isaac Ardis 11, sporting his artwork as a c ape, turnedsome heads at the Bowdoin Museum of Art.

Page 13.Page 9.Page 7.

I dont know who any of

[the Ivies performers] are.

I think I probably will do

some YouTubing.

QUOTABLE

SECURITYHIGHLIGHTS

A rear hatch window on a stu-dents vehicle was accidentally shat-tered when the hatch was closedonto two beer kegs that didnt quitet into the back (March 8).

At its rst meeting aer break, Bow-doin Student Government (BSG) beganbusiness by discussing proposed chang-es to its constitution. e BSG AairsCommittee had produced several pagesof changes that were described as nec-essary to update the outdated constitu-tion.

Vice President for BSG Aairs ChrisBreen 15 commented on the changes.

Basically the constitution is a littleoutdated right now. It has a lot of termsand responsibilities that dont exist, orhave been changed, said Breen. emotivation for the changes was to eshout all these problems in it, and make iteasier to read, and clarify some of thestuthat wasnt really clear, and elimi-nate the stu that wasnt relevant any-more, he added.e largest structural change made

to the BSG assembly was to replace theseat of the Inter-House Council (IHC)President with a representative of theMcKeen Center. Both IHC presidentand vice president are voting membersof the assembly. e written proposalargued that this change would be ben-ecial to campus as it would formally

Captain Carolyn Gorajek 13, the womens lacrosse teams leadingscorer for the past two seasons, is closing in on Bowdoins careergoals-scored record, which she could topple as early as this weekend.

connect the Center, and the volunteerorganizations that operate within it,with the assembly. Breen argued thatthis would not diminish the voice of theIHC in the assembly, considering thatthe seat of the IHC Vice President wouldstill remain.

IHC President Neli Vazquez 14asked that the when assembly considersthe changes, they remember that IHCis representative of a large portion of the

student body, and that extra vote doescount.e rest of the changes to the consti-

tution are small and largely cosmetic.Most changes involve updating thenames of the various boards and com-mittees that BSG interacts with. Forexample, the Entertainment Board isstill listed under its previous name, theCampus Activities Board, and numer-ous references in the old constitutioncontain committees that no longer exist.

One of the notable changes was to de-lete several clauses that implied that BSGhad to conrm members appointedto the Judicial Board. According to thecurrent BSG constitution, the body alsohas the power to remove members fromthe board.

Addressing this change, PresidentDani Chediak 13 stated, We have nev-er had the power to do that, and that hasnever actually happened. According toChediak, when the constitution was re-written ten years ago, the president hadincluded the clause in the constitutionin the hopes of having the assembly as-sume that power, but the Judicial Boardor Administration has never allowed it.

Chediak said that removing theclause was one of her overall goals asBSG President: to make sure that ev-erything we say we can do, we actuallycan do.

-Compiled by Harry Rube

A party at Colby on the night ofMarch 9 ended in court summonsesfor 81 students, and nine other par-tygoers. Two Colby students werecharged with furnishing a place forminors to consume alcohol.

James Axelrod, 21, and OliverBrown, 20, were arrested aer aparty at their rented o-campushouse was broken up by a dozen lo-cal police ocers around 11:45 p.m.Brown faces additional charges dueto his attempt to ee the scene onfoot.

In September 2011, around fourdozen Colby students received sum-mons and three individuals were ar-rested for furnishing minors.

is is pretty common behav-ior from the Waterville police, said

one Colby student, who spoke to theOrient on the condition of anonym-ity. I didnt think the behavior wasrowdier than usual.

Colby has made eorts to improveits relationship with the city of Wa-terville, but theres denitely sometension between the two, said thestudent.e student added: A lot of peo-

ple speculate that the reason theWaterville police are so tough onstudents are that they see us as somesort of huge cash cow. When theybust a party, the town gets $200 persummons. Times 90 kids, its a lot ofmoney.

According to the Portland Press

Herald, the Waterville Police De-partment has denied that it targetsColby students, as it typically dealsonly with o-campus issues.ose charged will appear before

court May 7.-Compiled by Clare DeSantis

Colby students summonsed for

drinking at off-campus party

NESCACROUNDUP

Bowdoin Organic Garden held maple syrupdemonstrations this week from sap collected oncampus.

Molly MacVeagh 15

Please see Ivies, Page 3.

e National Association of Schol-ars (NAS), a conservative organizationthat aims to foster intellectual freedomand to sustain the tradition of reasonedscholarship in America, will releaseits complete report on the intellectualdiversity of the College next Wednes-day, according to NAS President Peter

Wood.e Bowdoin Project, as the study

is titled, is a critique of Bowdoins liberalarts curriculum, and has been in theworks since fall 2011. Wood explainedthat the report addresses the curricu-lum, core concepts, faculty, and stu-dent life at the College.e reports pref-ace contains its lone recommendationfor future action: that Bowdoin forma commission to examine some of theproblems that we think weve broughtto light.

Funded by investment manageromas Klingenstein, the study hasbeen the subject of much controversyon and ocampus, which began shortlyaer President Barry Mills anecdotallycited Klingensteins dismissal of Bow-doins liberal arts model in his Septem-ber 2010 convocation address. Klingen-stein responded to Mills remarks with aharsh essay in the Claremont Review ofBooks that spring, and announced theNAS studythen titled What DoesBowdoin Teach? the following Octo-ber.

We hypothesize that certain corebeliefs at Bowdoin are rarely challengedbecause there is very little exposure tocompeting beliefs. It is true that thesecore beliefs (for example, diversity andmulticulturalism) are normally charac-terized as liberal, wrote Wood, whodirected the study, in an Orient op-ed in

November 2011.In an interview with the Orient on

Wednesday, Wood said that hypothesiswas conrmed, adding that the full re-port, an in-depth ethnographic study,stands at 380 pages, including a 40-pagepreface. e aim of the report, he said,is to answer the question, What do stu-dents learn at Bowdoin College?

From the NASs point of view, theanswer is clear: not much. While the

contents of the report are not yet avail-able, it is seems that e BowdoinProject will cast the College in a high-ly unfavorable light. e Chronicle ofHigher Education recently reportedthat at the annual NAS conferenceearlier this month, Michael Toscano,the lead researcher on the project, saidthat Bowdoin had replaced general-education requirements with curricu-lar incoherence, setting students looseto nd themselves.

Over the past two months, the NAShas released 13 preliminary reportsas part of e Bowdoin Project. Onepreliminary, titled Gender Decon-structed, discusses the adaptation of theOer of the College removed its originalgendered diction: the willingness toamend historical documents to imprintthem with updated language and ideascuts against the values that Bowdoin isostensibly extolling.ough Wood claims that the docu-

ment is infused with a pretty healthyrespect for the intelligence of Bowdoinstudents and alumni, he explained thatwith the report, the NAS is oeringsomething that will help Bowdoin stu-dents see this really important part oftheir lives more clearly.

Wood and Klingenstein spoke atan event sponsored by the College Re-publicans in May 2011. Asked abouthis impressions of the College from

NAS to release The Bowdoin

Project next Wednesday

that experience, Wood said he believesthat Bowdoin students while clearly

very bright, have a somewhat exagger-ated sense of how well the College haspresented its educational oerings tothemthat students did not essentiallyknow what they didnt know.

Whether the conclusions of eBowdoin Project will in fact be usefulto the Bowdoin community remains tobe seen. e full report will be available

online on Wednesday morning.-Compiled by Linda Kinstler

BSG discusses constitution

changes, McKeen representation

increase in international students ap-plying to the College.

One of Meiklejohns favorite statistics

APPSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Four associate professors havebeen promoted to the rank of fullprofessor, achieved aer holdingassociate positions for at least sixyears while demonstrating contin-ued excellence in their teaching andscholarly endeavors English profes-sor Brock Clarke, art history profes-sor Pamela Fletcher, biology profes-sor John Lichter, and anthropologyprofessor Susan Kaplanwho is alsothe director of the Arctic Museumwere all elevated to the post.

A full article will be published onthe Orient website next week.

Four faculty members promoted

to full professorships

is the number of high schools represent-ed in the applicant pool.is year, appli-

cants came from 3,184 schools, markinga 4 percent increase over last year.e Admissions oce is enthusiastic

about the incoming class.We are really excited about them.

[ere are] lots of great applicants whoare the kind of people we want to have

here, Meiklejohn said.Admissions statistics from Colby

and Bates have not yet been madepublic but are expected to be releasednext week.

Admitted students have the optionof attending an on campus open house

April 18-20 and two online chats, ac-cording to the Admissions website.ey have until May 1 to make theirdecisions.

-Compiled by David Sperber

MATTHEW GUTSCHENRITTER , THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

A six-year look at Bowdoins applicant pool & acceptance rate


3/16

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Hannaman.Sophomore Anna Reyes was far

from excited about the news, but ex-pressed some interest in the lineup.

I wasnt expecting much, so Idont really mind. I know 3LAU, she

said. It seems appropriate for Ivies,but in terms of all the other ones Imkind of ambivalent.

Justin Wong 13 was particularlyexcited about 3LAU, but felt a simi-lar ambivalence about Hoodie Allenand Guster. He said he wished the E-Board did not feel obligated to bring

in artists from several genres.Personally I dont care about the

range, he said. I just want the thingsI want.

I dont know who any of themare, said Molly MacVeagh 15. Ithink I probably will do some You-Tubing.is Ivies is the rst in many years

during which campus-favorite Racer

X, an 80s cover band fronted byprofessors Vineet Shende and AaronKitch, will not perform on ursdaynight. Both Shende and Kitch are onleave this year.

Many spring athletes, who havegames at other schools on the Satur-day of Ivies, will only see the urs-

IVIESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

day night performance. Betsy Sachs14, a lacrosse player, said she willmiss Racer X, but is excited to see annew act.

I always loved Racer X, espe-cially seeing your professors up thereon the stage, but Im very excited. Ithink that 3LAU will be really fun,she said.e E-Board released the news in a

video posted to its Facebook page aspart of an eort to hype up the annualweekend. e lineup did not come asa surprise to many on campus, as ru-mors had been circulating for weeks.But the E-Board could not conrmthe lineup until it had approved thenal contracts from the acts, the last

of which was received over SpringBreak. e E-Board works with thebooking agency Pretty Polly Produc-tions to bid on potential perfomers.

Its a long, drawn-out process,said Hintze. It took longer for the DJchoice to be made. We had all signedcontracts by the middle of the secondweek of break.

In an eort to tighten security at

the concert, Hintze said that Bow-doin students will only be allowed toregister three instead of ve guestsfor Ivies weekend. Last year, 462 reg-istered guests attended the concert,and visitors were accountable for themajority of run-ins with Securityone visiting University of Southern

Maine student vomited in the C-Store, and three incidents involvingBates students were reported.

e incidents that happened lastyear tended to be by the people whodid have ve guests, said Hintze, whoexplained that the change is for secu-rity purposes, and making sure thatpeople are really accountable for theirguests. Its a really great time and the

trouble usually happens with guests.e cost for students to register

one guest is $20.Ivies Weekend kicks oursday,

April 25 with a DJ set by 3LAU inMorrell Gymnasium.

-Garrett Casey contributed to thisreport.

the interim director.For the McKeen Center position, the

College decided not to use a rm, be-cause of the unique nature of the posi-tion and the fact that there werent re-allyrms out there who we felt wouldadd as much value as we would bydoing it ourselves, according to Fos-ter. e McKeen Center search com-mittee independently put together anannouncement of the position beforebringing candidates to Portland forinterviews. ree women were chosenas the nalists, and went through to asimilarly rigorous interview process asthe other search.

Ironically, both national searcheswhich Foster said cost the fee we paidAlden and the hundreds of hours oftime invested by people across thiscampusended with hirees fromwithin the College.

I would not have anticipated this

as an outcome, he added. If you hadasked me back in the fall if I thoughtwe would hire internally, I would nothave anticipated doing so. Foster saidthat if he had that could have been amuch more abbreviated process, andwe could have saved a lot of money.

Searches like these can allow inter-nal candidates the chance to step intotheir own spotlight aer working inlower positions.

What I learned through this pro-cess is, you dont realize how talentedreally talented people are until thingschange and theyre given new opportu-nities, Foster said.

According to the Chronicle ofHigher Education, Some universi-

ties prohibit an administrator whoholds an interim appointment frombeing a candidate for the permanentposition, but others allow the interimleader to be an internal candidate forhis or her job, and that raises somechallenging questions. Bowdoinsadoption of the latter policy has beenseemingly successful.ough relatively recent director

appointments like Scott Meiklejohnto admissions and nancial aid, San-dra Hayes to health services, and KateStern to the Resource Center for Sex-ual and Gender Diversity have beeninterim candidates, there are instancesthis semester that have gone the otherway. Frank and Anne Goodyear werenamed the new directors of the Bow-doin College Museum of Art with noprior aliation with Bowdoin, whilea student digest post last week men-tioned that the three nalists for thepermanent librarian position were allexternal candidates.

Foster acknowledged that somebelieve that interim candidates willalways win the job, but said that thisis untrue.

Seames noted that the College wasnot obligated invest the time and en-ergy it did, and that she and Ryan couldhave been appointed last year withoutsearch committees had they known allalong that it would end up that way.

Going through the full processwith 11 people who spent a lot of time,they were there to really think aboutwhat is best for the Center going for-ward, she said. I denitely did notfeel like this was just perfunctory; itwasnt just for appearances, and wasnot an easy process.

Rather than it being internal orexternal candidates who apply, its re-ally important for the College to takean opportunity like this to look at theMcKeen Center or athletics and reallythink strategically what theyre lookingfor, and then you nd the best personfor the job based on that, she added.

Internal nalists do benet froma familiarity with some of the peoplethey meet with during the interviewprocess, and this allows them to betterprepare for how committee memberswill react. Ryan admitted that this wascertainly helpful for him throughoutthe process.

Seames said being at Bowdoin forseven years prior to the start of thesearch process was helpful for her be-

cause people got to know me, and be-cause I was running some of our morewell known programs like CommonGood Day and Alternative Spring Breakpeople probably associated me with thesuccess of the McKeen Center.

She did acknowledge that there wassome downside to being well-knownfor her performance within the Center.

I think being an internal candidateis a double edged sword, she said.ere is the advantage that if youvedone your job well youre known forbeing skilled at what you do, but peoplesee you in a certain light that may ormay not t with what youre going forin a new position. You have to stretchbeyond what people already know.

e committee is faced with a dif-ferent challenge when evaluating can-didates with whom they already havea relationship.

e fact that you know somebodya lot better means you know theirgis, but you also know their warts,said Foster.

When deciding about instantlyll-ing directorial positions versus makinginterim appointments, Foster said thattiming of the process is very important.

If I [lose] somebody in August Imnot going to run a national search, Imgoing to try to appoint somebody in aninterim role and run the search at thetime of year when I can get the mostqualied people, he said. I wouldnot put someone in an interim posi-tion unless I believed that a person wasavailable who would do the job until asearch is conducted and a permanentperson is appointed.

Foster said that in his seven years ofexperience as dean of student aairs, hehas not hired an abnormal amount ofinterim candidates.

When I look at my own depart-ment heads group and deans team,[searches are] how we hired the vastmajority of stawho ll those roles,Foster said. A few were rst interims, afew were promotions, but the vast ma-

jority were searches where there wasnot an interim.

HIRESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1


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4 , ,,

Bowdoin Experience to coincide

with Admitted Student Open HouseBY KATIE MIKLUS

ORIENT STAFF

The Office of Admissions will

debut a new program for admit-ted students next month, merg-ing Bowdoin Experience withopen houses for admitted stu-dents. Beginning Thursday, April18, prospective students will havethe opportunity to stay overnightwith a host and attend a variety ofprograms offered by student orga-nizations.

Associate Dean of AdmissionsJohn Thurston said that admittedstudents previously had the optionof attending one of three OpenHouses.

The Bowdoin Experience, whichoffered more opportunities for in-teraction with current students,was only open to multiculturalstudents.

Many on the Admissions staffwanted the Bowdoin Experience toserve as a blueprint for all admit-ted student programming.

I think there were a lot of expe-riences people were having in thatprogram that we wanted to makesure others had the chance to do,said Claudia Marroquin, associatedean of admissions and coordina-tor of multicultural recruitment.

The Experience, we feel, doesa much better job of really get-ting the students out to see whatshappening on campus, what stu-dent organizations do, how theycontribute to the life on campus,

Thurston said.Marroquin added that merging

of admitted student open houses

with the Bowdoin Experience waspartially an attempt to address thecriticism that the Experience leftstudents with the impression that

Bowdoin was more culturally di-vers e than it real ly is .

There will be a lot of studentsvisit ing campus, from many dif-ferent backgrounds, allowing pro-spective students to meet as manypotential classmates, as possible,she wrote in an email to the Ori-ent.

Its always the individual stu-dents responsibility during any

visit ation prog ram t o hav e conv er-sations with a broad range of stu-dentsnot just the students theymay have met at the airport, Mar-roquin added.

Sara Driscoll 13 was largelyresponsible for enlisting variousstudent organizations to hold pro-grams during the Admitted Stu-dents Weekend. After 4 p.m., allevents are open to admitted stu-dents only, rather than parents.

According to Marroquin, manycampus organizations rangingfrom the Bowdoin Food Co-opand the Bowdoin Green Alliancewill be hosting events, and an aca-demic fair is also scheduled, whichwill allow admitted students toreally get a sense for academicsbeyond just sitting in on classes,said Marroquin.

Both Thurston and Marroquinsaid that having so many studentson campus at once will be theirbiggest challenge.

Thurston mentioned that hismain worry is making sure therewere enough student hosts for all

students who wanted to stay over-night.

I think its something differ-ent for the campus as well to havethat many admitted students all atthe same time, said Marroquin. I

think our primary thing is to makesure that students have a good ex-perience at Bowdoin.

Student responses to the newAdmitted Students weekend werelargely positive. Serena Taj 16,who attended the Bowdoin Expe-rience as a prospective student lastspring, agreed that implementing

similar programs for all admittedstudents would be beneficial.

I applied to 20 small liberal

arts colleges and didnt seriouslyconsider attending most of thembecause the open houses left mefeeling like too much of a visitorto get distinct impressions, shesaid. Spending a full weekend

here gave me an idea of what be-ing a Bowdoin student was actu-ally l ike.


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, , 5

SECURITY REPORT: 2/28 to 3/27

will send a wrong message if we legal-ize marijuana, expressing concern thatmarijuana is a gateway drug for thosewith substance abuse issues. Such indi-

viduals start using marijuana early, andhad it not been for that, they wouldnt beon the path that they are, said Liberty.

Liberty also addressed the claimthat the law enforcement system isburdened with addressing illegalmarijuana. eres not a whole lot ofresources spent in the correctional fa-cilities or in law enforcement dealingwith marijuana use, he said.

ursday, February 28

A BPD ocer on patrol spotteda suspicious looking man peeringinto a rst oor window at Bruns-wick Apartments. e man ran owhen he saw the police car. e sus-pect was a white male, 6 feet tall, andwearing a dark hooded sweatshirt

and blue jeans.Saturday, March 2

An intoxicated female studentat Hyde Hall was transported toParkview Medical Center by Bruns-wick Rescue.

An unregistered event was reportedin the basement at MacMillan House.

An intoxicated male student be-came sick at Super Snacks. e stu-dent was escorted to his residence andcited for a hard alcohol violation.

Grati was spray painted on theside of Harpswell Apartments.

ree students in Coleman Hallwere cited for alcohol policy violations.

Sunday, March 3

A registered event in Coles Towerwas dispersed aer it exceeded recode capacity limits.

A student was cited for being dis-ruptive at an event in Coles Tower.

An ocer checked on the well-being of an intoxicated student inHyde Hall.

A student was cited for an alcoholpolicy violation at Baxter House.

A window was broken and a toiletvandalized during a registered event atLadd House. ree students took re-sponsibility for the damages.

Monday, March 4

A student placed an electric teakettle on a hot stove burner at 24 Col-lege Street. e kettle melted and acti-

vated the re alarm.Wednesday, March 6

A student reported that his bi-cycle was stolen from the bike rackat the McLellan Building. A securityinvestigation led to an identicationof a suspect and the recovery of thebike. BPD issued a the summons toDerald A. Con, 33, of Brunswick,and he was prohibited from all Bow-doin property.

Friday, March 8

An ocer checked on the well-being of an intoxicated student inReed House.

A rear hatch window on a studentsvehicle was accidentally shattered whenthe hatch was closed onto two beer kegsthat didnt quitet into the back.

Saturday, March 9

An intoxicated male studentcaused a disturbance at Farley FieldHouse by banging on the door of thedeserted building and yelling Letme in! e student was cited for analcohol violation and escorted to hisresidence.

Holes were kicked into a base-ment wall at Quinby House.

A suspicious man, 6 feet tall andwearing a blue hooded sweatshirt andblue jeans, was reported to be displayingodd behavior near the Childrens Centeron South Street.e man ed the area.

Sunday, March 17

A local youth reported thatsomeone stole his wireless head-phones at the mens locker room atFarley Field House.

Monday, March 18

A granite garden statute of anAsian sherman was reported stolenfrom the east lawn of the Develop-ment Building, 85 Federal Street.ursday, March 21

An ocer attempted to assist a lo-cal teen who was seen walking across

campus with fresh facial injuries. eteen refused medical treatment. ematter was referred to BPD.

Friday, March 22

BPD responded to a local residenceaer receiving a report that a personwas in crisis and in need of help. eperson, who turned out to be a Bow-doin student, was transported to MidCoast Hospital for evaluation.

Saturday, March 23

Four students in MacMillan Housewere found to be smoking marijuanaand in possession of hard alcohol.

A student with breathing dicul-ty was transported to Parkview Medi-cal Center by Brunswick Rescue.

A student burning a candle inAppleton Hall set oa smoke detector.

Two intoxicated students set oasmoke alarm in Coles Tower by burn-ing magazine paper with a lighter. estudents were cited an environmentalhealth a safety violation and a hard al-cohol violation.

Sunday, March 24

A student backed his vehicle outof the Baxter House driveway and col-lided with a ashing crosswalk signpost. e post was destroyed.

An intoxicated female student atBrunswick Apartments was transport-ed to Mid Coast Hospital by Bruns-wick Rescue.

An intoxicated male student wascited for an alcohol policy violation atBrunswick Apartments.

A student took responsibility foraccidentally breaking a light with abasketball at Sargent Gymnasium.

Monday, March 25

Marijuana smoke activated aroom smoke alarm in Coles Tower.Two students were cited for posses-sion of marijuana.

A yellow Specialized Rock Hop-per bicycle was stolen from a bike racknear Winthrop Hall.

Tuesday, March 26

Staat the Museum of Art report-ed a book the from the gi shop.

A student reported the the ofa neon green North Face bag fromthe womens locker room at MorrellGymnasium. e bag contained white

spinning shoes, Under Armor span-dex pants, North face shorts, and aBen & Jerrys T-shirt.

Wednesday, March 27

Two students with u symptomswere escorted to Parkview MedicalCenter.

A student with asthma symp-toms was escorted to Parkview Med-ical Center.

A smoke alarm in a third oorstairwell at Osher Hall activated thebuildings re alarm. Brunswick FireDepartment responded.

A student who cut her nger ona door in Reed House was taken toParkview Medical Center.

-Complied by the Oce of Safetyand Security.

2009 and are expected to vote simi-larly this year.e Maine Sheris Association, con-

versely, is not in favor of easing mari-juana restrictions. Kennebec CountySheri Randall Liberty, president ofthe Maine Sheris Association voicedhis disapproval of the bill in an inter-

view on the Maine Public BroadcastingNetwork. Liberty stated that the state

PINGREECONTINUED FROM PAGE 1


6/16

6 , ,

WRITERS NOTE: Greetings fromthe beyond, wherever it is. While deathis lifes only certainty, most dont knowthe when and how. I did, and I decidedit would be fun if mynal writing as-signment were my own obituary. -S.

Sandor M. Polster, who workedclosely with Walter Cronkite, DanRather and Tom Brokaw as writer andnews editor in the 1970s and 1980s,died on March 21 at his apartment inNew York. He was 71. e cause wascomplications from gastric cancer,which he had battled for more thantwo years.

Polsters 20-year career in networktelevision news began somewhat ser-endipitously: the CBS Evening Newswith Walter Cronkite was looking fora foreign news writer, and Polster hadmajored in Journalism and SovietStudies while in college. A graduateschool classmate connected Polsterand the Evening News, and he spentfour days at the broadcast, observingand writing occasional news stories.

When Cronkite hired him on thefourth day, he advised Polster, Justthink of being back on rewrite at anewspaper, except we have only onedeadline, and it cant be slipped.

Polster, whose family and friendscalled him Sandy, began his journal-ism career while a student at OhioState University in Columbus, Ohio,

where he was born on February 27,1942. He originally studied com-merce, planning to go into the familybusiness selling commercial restau-rant equipment.

But an English professor, MiltonKessler, thought that Polster had aknack for writing, and suggested hetry a class. Polster did, and immedi-ately took to reporting.e journalism students rst as-

signment was to conduct simple in-terviews; Polster, however, decided tond basketball star Jerry Lucas, whowas nishing his academic studies butnot giving any interviews.

Polster tracked Lucas down at afreshman team practice, and Lucas

agreed to talk with him. at inter-view became Polsters rst byline inthe Ohio State Lantern, the studentnewspaper; he later would be namededitor of thee Lantern when he wasa junior.

I had wanted to work on my highschool newspaper,e Torch, Polster

recalled recently, but the adviser, SaraAmos, told me I never would possessthe qualities required to be a good

journalist.While at Ohio State, Polster did

freelance work with Billboard Maga-zine, the now-defunct Dow Jonesweekly National Observer, and theCleveland Plain Dealer, where he hadseveral front-page stories during theturbulent free-speech movement inthe mid-1960s. He alsoworked with the Uni-

versitys radio station,WOSU.

From Ohio State,Polster attended gradu-ate school at the Univer-sity of Iowa School ofMass Communications,where he freelancedwith the AssociatedPress. During the sum-mer of 1966, he workedin the APs Columbusbureau, and the wireagency recruited himaer he graduated fromIowa.

While Polster couldhave started in NewYork, he opted for thePortland, Maine, bu-reau. I knew I wasntready for the Big City,he said recently. I

needed to hone myskills.

Aer a year in Port-land, though, he wasready for New York.He was hired by Doro-thy Schis New YorkPost, and worked as arewriteman, but quicklywas assigned beats, rstcommunity services,then labor, then CityHall, where he covered the last twoyears of Mayor John Lindsays tenure.

Myrst love always was rewrite,he said. eres an excitement with abreaking story, gathering facts from alot of street reporters, and putting it all

on paper on deadline.ere were half-a-dozen deadlines throughout the day,and if stress was a problem, it wasnt a

job for you.Polster married Rea Turet in May

1970. She was the love of my life, hesaid. Of all the things I have done inlife, this was the best.e second best

When it came to being a student journalist, Sandy taught me every-thing I knew. He was the beating heart of the Orient, an ever-reliableand sharp editor, and a wonderful friend.

-Gemma Leghorn, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2009-10

SM. P,-

thing I did was fathering Rebekah, hesaid. If there can be a perfect daugh-ter, she is it.

In November 1973, Polster movedto the CBS Evening News with WalterCronkite. I was with Walter sevenyears, and they were the best, mostchallenging, most fun years of my

journalism career, he said.Polster, an avid tennis player,

helped organize an eight-member

gate hearings, the Richard M. Nixonresignation, the Sadat visit to Israel,the peace shuttles of President JimmyCarter and Israeli Prime MinisterMenachim Begin, the Teheran hos-tage crisis, and all the political prima-ries and presidential campaigns andconventions.

Being a part of the so-called roughdra of history is heady stu, he re-called, but aer a while it just became

routine.When Cronkite le the

broadcast in 1981, Polsterworked ve years with DanRather at the Evening News,but their relationship al-ways was rocky. Dan justcouldnt trust anyone whohad worked with Walter,Polster recalled, and in Sep-tember 1985, when the twoof them had a disagreementover a non-show issue, Pol-ster wasred.

Dan told me 20 yearslater that he hadnt wantedme to leave the EveningNews, but that someonehe forgot whominsisted,Polster said.

In January 1986, theNBC Nightly News withTom Brokaw hired Polster,with the intention that hewould become News Edi-

tor of the program.Where CBS was very

West Side and casual, NBCwas very Midtown and suitand tie, but it was a greateight years, he said. epeople at NBC obviouslywere of a dierent person-ality, but no less profession-al. I continued to learn a lot,and to grow as a journalist.

Polster said the favoritestory he helped cover while at Nightlywas President Ronald Reagans unsched-uled trip to Reykjavik, to meet with So-

viet Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev.I clearly did not appreciate how cold

it was at the Arctic Circle, he said. I

grossly under-packed.In 1992, Polster decided that 25 years

of New York journalism were enough,and a year later his wife and theirdaughter sold their house in Chelseaand moved to their country residence inDurham, Maine.

One of my executive producers at

CBS told me, Polster, your birth cer-ticate might say Ohio, but you wereborn in New York. He was right, thecity and I embraced each other, Pol-ster said, but its a young personsbusiness, and it was time to explore allthe things that I had wanted to do, butnever had the time to do.

In Maine, Polster began freelancewriting, for magazines and Internetblogs. He worked for two years as acolumnist with the Bangor Daily News,and for a year as editor of the dailyBrunswick Times Record.

But in 1999, when he was asked tobe unpaid adviser to the Bowdoin Col-lege student newspaper, e Orient,Polster learned his true calling: teach-ing. He mentored Bowdoin studentsfor 12 years, until being diagnosed withcancer. He also was hired as a visitinglecturer at Colby College, to teach po-litical journalism. Inspiring studentsto consider journalism as a career was

very fullling, he recalled. Im pleasedthat a lot of those whom I inuencedare working in the profession now, anddoing well.

In an eort to get some of his expe-riences on paper, Polster began a blog,http://newsmediamaven.blogspot.com.

I wish we had just a few of the digi-tal tools back in the 1970s and 1980sthat we have now, he said. Just thinkof how much more we could have

done.In addition to his widow and daugh-

ter, a son-in-law, Timothy Hansen, andgrandson, Benjamin Miller Hansen, ofBrooklyn, survive Polster.

Ill miss all of them, Polster said justbefore his death, but I will most misswatching Ben grow up. He is the reasonfor being.

A memorial service will be heldin New York later this spring at adate to be announced. Polster will beburied following a graveside serviceat the Beth Israel cemetery in Bath,Maine.

A memorial fund to benet eBowdoin Orient and to bring jour-nalists to the campus has been estab-

lished in Polsters name. Contribu-tions are tax deductible and shouldbe made to Bowdoin College, with anotation that the gi is fore San-dor M. Polster Fund; they may besent to Bowdoin College, Oce ofDevelopment, 4100 College Station,Brunswick, ME 04011-8432.

Longtime Orient adviser Sandy Polster died on Thursday, March 21 at his New York home after battling cancer for m ore than two years. Bill Wheatley, a close friend of Sandys and former executive vice presi-

dent of NBC News, notified friends of Sandys death in an email that evening to which the following obituary was attached. As you know, Sandy loved to write. Accordingly, he composed his own ob ituary,

which he asked be sent to you,Wheatley wrote. Sandy advised The Orient for 12 years, presiding over a marked increase in the professionalism of the paper. Which is not to say that he was satisfied: One

hundred percent of The Orient is 40 percent overwritten,he once said. To a student bod y with a four-year memor y, his perspective was invaluable. He is missed, but his guidance steers us still.

T

BORemembers Sandy

Sandy shaped my development as a journalist more than anyone else at Bowdoin, and I will forever admire the generos-ity with which he mentored me and so many other aspiring writers. -Zo Lescaze, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2011-12

Sandy was a wonderful mentor who pushed and challenged and always wanted more and better... When youre older, you look back, and you re-alize how important that inuence was. I know my life would not have been the same without him. -Belinda Lovett, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2001-02

He told stories aboutying back and forth across the Atlantic in the Con-corde, and playing tennis with Walter Cronkite on a court hidden atopGrand Central Station... in Sandy, we had a reminder of what our profes-sion could be at its romantic best. -Nat Herz, Senior News Sta2007-09

Sandy treated us like grown ups. His critiques could be biting,but in turn we always knew the praise was real. For that reason Isaved the email Sandy sent around aer the last issue my senioryear: Add to the pride that you should feel, the pride that I feel.

-Beth Kowitt, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2006-07

He insisted on the power of journalism at any level to bea force for change and gooda belief he le impressedupon all of us. -Adam Baber, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2004-05

Sandys lessons extend beyond journalism and I will remember

his uncommon generosity and warmth (and homemade pickles)always. -Piper Grosswendt, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2010-11

Its true, his criticism could be harsh. But he made us want to be good.Really good. And if you did get one of his prized compliments, it couldmake your day. -Mary Helen Miller, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2008-09

Sandy will be sorely missed but Ill still hear his voice (andoccasional biting critiques) in my head, no matter the timeor place. -Alison McConnell Pierce, Senior Editor 2003-04

We will always be better reporters, not to mention better people,because we knew him. -James Fisher, Senior Editor 2001-02

Sandy gave me condence when I had next to none that I could pursue a career in journalism...Ill never forget the passion Sandy showed for the Orient, and the drive he had to see all of uswho hungered for journalism nd a strong path. -Mnica Guzmn, Senior Editor 2004-05

I will continue to think of him each and every time I carefullydodge what he considered a great sin of language: the non-verbusage of hopefully. -Seth Walder, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2010-11

His praises and criticisms were always aer the fact, and never before; as such, his approachwas the ultimate expression of a faith in us as people and as publishers. Sandy put his trust in us,and in doing so, became our most trusted man. -Bobby Guerette, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2006-07

When I was a freshman at Bowdoin, I made the rookie mistake of showing up at an Orient function without a pen. Sandy got wind of this and set mestraight. A journalist should always carry a pen, he told me... It has been 12 years since that encounter and I still carry a pen with me every single day.

-Karsten Moran, Photo Editor 2003-05

Sandy taught me something really important. A spirit of irrev-erence and moral vigilantism fuels a lot of good journalism. Butit also fuels a lot of bad journalism. Working for the public goodmeans keeping peoples egos in checkincluding your own.

-Steve Kolowich, Co-Editor-in-Chief 2007-08

PHOTO COURTESY OF REA TURET

Sandy Polster with wife Rea and daughter Rebekah in their New York home in 1981.

lunch-time club twice a week that in-cluded Cronkite, Executive ProducerBurton Benjamin, Senior ProducerJohn Lane, correspondents AndyRooney and Charles Osgood and pro-ducer Howard Stringer. It was my

job to make sure we had four playerseach time, Polster recalled. Id callWalter, Bud, Andy, and theyd say, Letme check my schedule. When I wouldcall Howard, hed ask, Who else isplaying?

Among the stories that Polsterworked on at CBS were the Water-


7/16

FEATURES 7, ,

Second book by Yongfang Chen 10 brings liberal arts to Hong KongBY MARTIN SHOTT

STAFF WRITER

A second book by Yongfang Chen10 will hit shelves in Hong Kongthis spring, and will provide insightabout liberal arts education for aChinese audience. Traverse theIvory Tower: My Academic Journeyat Bowdoin is a selection of Chensundergraduate essays and inter-

views he conducted with Collegeadministrators.

In the most recent decade, theconcept of the liberal arts educa-tion has gained a greater popularityamong Chinas high school studentsand parents, Chen wrote in anemail to the Orient.

While a lot of them struggle togain admission into institutionslike Bowdoin, they oen have noidea what kind of life they will ex-perience in college. is book willanswer this question precisely, hewrote.

Wen Wei Publishing Co., Ltdwill print about 15,000 copies ofthe book sometime between Apriland May, which will be primarily beavailable in Hong Kong with limitedavailability online.

In 2010, Chen graduated fromBowdoin with a double major inEconomics and Psychology. He wasa Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholarand took ve classes each semes-

ter, including independent studies

in economics, history,

lm studies,asian studies, and psychology.One of my history intermediate

independent study essays is aboutthe only Chinese female Emperor.I wrote hundreds of pages in thatyear. Endless research, reading,writing, and re-writing almostdrove me crazy, Chen wrote.

I still remember how painful itwas to look for proper primary re-sources to support my arguments.But I e njoyed it dee ply.

Aer graduating, Chen travelledaround North America.

e initial thought of publish-ing this book emerged during thistravel, he wrote. Eventually, Chenreturned to Shanghai to join one of

Chinas private equity rms as anIPO investor.

While a lot of them struggle to

gain admission into institutions like

Bowdoin, they often have no idea

what kind of life they willexperience in college.

YONGFANG CH EN 10

The three of us elaborated onour academic and social life in ourcorresponding colleges, our think-ing of the system, and our hope forthe development of higher education inChina, Chen wrote.

I particularly described myreading load, course selection,professors, writing intensity andthe opportunities that Bowdoin oered.e book sold out in its rst three

months and was a best seller in Chinathat year.

Chens upcoming book also aimsto show the value of a liberal artseducation, but from a dierent ap-proach. Written in English insteadof Chinese, the book shows numer-ous examples of scholarly writing at

Bowdoin, and will not be as easyof a read as myrst book is for thegeneral Chinese population, ac-cording to Chen. But thats exactlythe point of it.

Aer his rst books success,many Chinese people expressedtheir interest to Chen in the Ameri-can liberal arts educational system.

Aer a long deliberation, Ithought a book of my Bowdoin es-says and some added features of mylife at Bowdoin could realize thisgoal, he wrote.

A preface by President BarryMills will appear in the forthcomingbook along with interviews with ad-ministrators in the appendix, which

Chen conducted in 2009.

I told [Mills] about my plan topublish this book two years ago andit was very kind for him to agree towrite the preface for my book. I reallyappreciated his writing, Chen wrote.

The main message of the bookis to educate the Chinese audienceabout the value of a liberal artseducation.

Writing essays is a signifi-cant part of our academic life at

Bowdoin, Chen wrote. e college

education is about thinking criti-cally and creatively. The skillsyou gained in college should helpyou embark on any journeys aftergraduation, be it work, graduatestudies, or vo lunteering.

Chen says he will continue towork in private equity after thebook is released.

The intellectual curiosity thatI developed at Bowdoin will stay

with for the rest of my life.

Class of 2017: the new 16

Fellow rst years, we have been onthe bottom of the totem pole for quitesome time now. e bottom is what weare used to. It is all we know.

Being there can be somewhat com-

forting. Because hazing at Bowdoinis practically a hate crime, there arentmany drawbacks to rst year living. I,for one, majorly enjoy my central loca-tion on campus in Moore Hall. e factthat food is never more than a couplesteps away is enough to make me sing.

In addition, right now we are still inthe exploratory phase of our liberalarts education. We still have some timeto take as many intro classes as ourhearts desire. Plus, declaring a majorseems far in the distant future. Sure, be-ing at the bottom is not the most glam-orous, but it is free from the pressuresand responsibilities of the top.

However, something has happenedthis weekour place in the Bowdoinhierarchy has slightly shied. We are nolonger the lowest of the low.e class of2017 has been admitted, and that meansthat the pre-frosh are lining up to takeour place.

I was extremely curious to nd outabout these newbies, so I immediatelyturned to social media. Twitter wasabuzz with high school seniors excitedlyposting acceptances or passive aggres-sively tweeting rejections. On Facebook,I found out who from my high schoolhad gotten in. Drew Van Kuiken 17, Inever met you in high school, but I guessIll be seeing more of you next year.

Still, what may have been moststrange to learn was that the Class of

2017 Facebook group has already beencreated. Next years students are alreadygetting acquainted with one another.ey are already embarrassing them-selves by posting overeager commentsonline. Rookie mistake.

Soon enough, these people will bearriving campus and scoping our turfduring accepted students day. ey willcome into our dorms like vultures andsoon claim our spots in the bricks.

In one sense, I might be over exag-gerating. Not that much has changed.Although we are no longer on the bot-tom, we also havent really moved up thetotem pole either. Sure, the class belowus has been accepted, but we are still therst year class.

In another sense, ever since we re-turned from Spring break, I cant helpbut feel that the end is near. I keep get-ting emails that are telling me I mighthave to start preparing for the housinglottery, which sounds really scary and Ireally dont want to think about it.

Whats more, I feel that everyonehas already started counting downthe nal weeks until summer. Newsis abuzz with what internships and

jobs everyone has been receiving,and plans are getting set in stone. We

just got back from two weeks of vaca-tion, yet students are already ready toleave.

Yes, the pre-frosh are on their way,but until they get here I propose a cam-pus-wide carpe diem. Go to a restaurantin town that you havent been to before.Sign up for an outing club trip. Ventureto Crack House and see what its about(then, when you do, tell me what it islike because I never actually want tostep foot in there). Check osomethingfrom your Bowdoin bucket list beforesummer arrives, and most importantly,recognize that the year is not yet over.

JULIA BINSWANGER

FRESHMENFIFTEEN

COURTESY OF YONGFANG CHEN

A JOURNEY ONCE TOLD: Chen collaborates with other liberal ar ts graduates for research.

While at Bowdoin, Chen co-au-thored his rst book, A True LiberalArts Education, in 2009 with Lin Nieof Franklin and Marshall College and

Li Wan of Bucknell University.

Bowdoin Organic Garden taps maple trees

Vegetables arent the only thingssourced from the Bowdoin Or-ganic Garden. This spring, maplesyrup collected from the Collegesmaple trees will also be available.

Yesterday, Cawthon and gar-den members held a demonstra-tion on the Dudley Coe Quad,

offering samples of maple syrupsimilar to that which they willproduce for the dining halls.

The syrup they provided fortasting wasnt from Bowdointrees, but was from local sources.

Students, professors andcommunity members pass-ing by the tent on the CoeQuad enjoyed tasting samplesof the different types of syrup.

The group offered a medium

gradewhich has a darker color,and a lighter medium color, whichis closer to Grade A maple syrup.

In addition to offering samples,the group boiled s ap in a pot to showstudents how it begins to changein color. The process, however,takes several hours to complete.

The Organic Garden has beentapping maple trees for sap oncampus for three years. SaraCawthon, the manager of the Or-ganic Garden, spearheaded thisyears effort. Though she began

the process late in the season, in-stalling the spiles in the last weekof February, Cawthon has nowtapped 16 trees behind QuinbyHouse and in the surrounding area.

To collect sap, Cawthondrills a small hole in each treeinto which she secures a spile.

Buckets hang from the spilesand sap runs out of the tree andinto the bucket. Cawthon emp-

ties the buckets every other day.Some overflow with the sug-ary, transparent sap, while oth-ers only contain a few drops.

Its the easiest thi ng in the world.The only hard part is you reallywant to identify your maple treesin the summer because red mapleand sugar maples look almost iden-tical in the winter, Cawthon said.

The trees can be more eas-ily identified in the winter basedon their differing leaf shapes.

Although both trees pro-duce usable sap, sugar ma-ples are much more pro-lific in their sap production.

Bowdoin has mostly sug-ar maples and only a few redmaples. But Id love to go bythe athletic fields and see ifwe have more, Cawthon said.

Additionally, for every 40 gal-lons of sap collected only onegallon of maple syrup is pro-duced, or about two percent ofthe raw material. The sap mustbe filtered several times and thenboiled to create the final product.

The Organic Garden has sup-plied dining halls with food before.Last year, Cawthon estimated thegroup grew $34,000 in produce.

Most of our food goes to Din-ing, said Peter Rosencrans 14,

who interned at the Organic Gar-den last summer. We tell themwhat we have each harvest and theytell us what they want. Whateverthey dont have a use for on a par-ticular week, we give to the Mid-coast Hunger Prevention Society.

We produce about 30 differ-ent crops, but we try to focus onthings for the salad bar like let-tuce and arugula, said Cawthon.

The organization also re-ceives funding from both Din-ing Services and Student Ac-

Please seeMAPLE, page 8

BY MICHAEL COLBERT

STAFF WRITER

The Organic Garden has supplied

dining halls with food before. Last

year, Cawthon estimated the group

grew $34,000 in produce.

tivities to help it with farming.Dining is super supportive

of the garden, Cawthon said.Both Cawthon and Rosencrans

said they hope to acquire moreland that is accessible to students.

Currently, the Organic Gar-den owns plots at Crystal SpringsFarm on Pleasant Hill Road andtwo smaller plots on the cor-ner of Coffin and South streets.

Our problem is were off cam-pus, said Cawthon. I got emailedby 100 students last year, but may-be ten students make it out regu-larly because of the bike ride orclass schedule. I would love for thegarden to be even closer to campus,because if you could walk therewould be more participation.

Most of the extensive farm workhappens two and a half miles away

For every 40 gallons of sap

collected, only one gallon of maple

syrup is produced.


8/16

8 , ,

Food for Thought provides fresh perspectives on student interests

KATE FEATHERSTON, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR: Peter Rosencrans 14 pours samples of maple syrup to students passing the Dudley Coe Quad.


THE EXAMINED LIFE: Alex Tougas 14 addressed stereotypes o f Greek culture from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding,postulating 95%are true.

e new weekly student lecture seriesFood forought is quickly becomingpopular with students looking for more

lighthearted academic perspectives.Every week, Food for oughtfeatures two students who each speakfor 20 minutes about whatever he orshe would like. e rst six speecheshave focused on a range of topics thatlie outside the Bowdoin academiccurriculum. e rst series on Feb-ruary 8 featured senior Daisy Aliotosdescription of growing up as a Chris-tian Scientist and senior Carl Spielvo-gels musings about President BarryMills plot to create diabetic squirrels.

Forums are organized byBowdoin Student GovernmentsAcademic Aairs Committee andheld in Hawthorne-Longfellow Li-brary. However, it has been so popu-lar that the event has moved from

the rst oor Chandler Room tothe larger third oor Nixon Lounge.

Vice President of the Aca-demic Aairs Committee LeahGreenberg is pleased aboutthe progress of the series.

Weve had incredible atten-dance at every single one, andevery time people keep com-ing up saying they want togive a lecture, said Greenberg.

During the third event on Mon-

day, Alex Tougas 14 gave a lecturetitled Growing up as a Greek-American, and Joe Sise 14 spokeon e Evolution of Comic Books.

Sises lecture covered the progressionof comic books in American history,which he said was mostly othe top ofmy head.e presentation was accom-panied by a slideshow with pictures ofcomic book covers and characters.

Sise explained that there are agesthat comic book acionados and

scholars use to classify the progres-sion of comic booksthe GoldenAge, the Silver Age, the BronzeAge, the Dark Age and the ModernAgethough the exact times thateach age begins and ends are debatedwithin the comic book community.

Alex Tougass lecture on grow-ing up as a Greek American wasboth funny and informative.

I denitely wanted to make ithumorous, you know, because this

BY JOE SHERLOCK

STAFF WRITER

MAPLECONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

is in many ways a study break and afun thing. But I have, I think, somepoints to be made about Greek cul-ture and Greek values and the lastingimportance and inuence of Greeceon America today, said Tougas.

Tougas devoted much of his lecture tothe tightness of the Greek community,explaining that his family includes thenuclear family, the extended family andeveryone whos Greek whos ever existed.

In addition to his speech, Tou-

gas showed pictures of his fam-ily and of Greece, and excerptsfrom My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Tougas explained sever-al Greek customs that mightnot make sense to students,

such as the custom of spitting.When I spit on you, considerit good luck, explained Tougas.

Coincidentally, Monday was GreekIndependence Day. e day, Tougasremarks, when Greeks, in skirts andslippersdont ask me howthrewothe yoke of the Ottoman Empire.

Both Tougas and Sise recom-mended that others should sign upto give a lecture at the student series.

is is awesome. Its accessible,said Sise. Everybody here is re-ally supportive. If you have some-thing that you love, just get upand talk about it. Ive never expe-rienced anything like this before.

Aliotos speech was based on herinvestigation into her Christian

Science faith aer her P.E. teacherinsinuated she was part of a cult.

Alioto found that ere are a lotof aspects of being a Christian Sci-entist that have really benetted meas a person and as an intellectualand as a Bowdoin student, she said.

Alioto said that the low-key en-vironment w as very appropriate forgiving a personal lecture on campus.

is was a really precious,self-contained thing, said Alioto.

at Crystal Springs Farm. Rosen-crans, however, is hopeful thatthe Organic Garden will be ableto acquire more land in the future.

Were in the process of poten-tially getting more space off ofHarpswell Road, said Rosencrans.Theres a bunch of land behind the

future dorms that theyre consid-ering giving to the garden. Weredefinitely looking for more space.

Cawthon said she hopes to re-

organize and re-structure thegarden in addition to expand it.

Students who missed Thursdaysdemonstration and tasting will

have the chance to enjoy maplesyrup produced by the BowdoinOrganic Garden at Thornes localfood dinne r on Wednesday, April 3.

CAMPUS FOOD TRUCK REOPENS


Steve Borukhin 14 prepares an order at the window of Campus Food Truck, whose regular h ours returned this week after being closed since last semester.


9/16

9, ,

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

For independent artist Isaac Ar-dis 11, what started out as a courseassignment evolved into what Ar-dis described as good clean trou-ble at the Bowdoin College Mu-seum of Art.

Soon aer graduating fromBowdoin as a German major, math-ematics minor and art enthusiast,Ardis decided he would pursue artfull time.anks to the support and men-

torship of visual arts professor andSculptor-in-Residence John Bisbee,Ardis has been able to set up shop inBrunswick, where,in addition to mak-ing art in his studio,he is auditing Con-temporary Art withAssociate Professorof Art History Pa-mela Fletcher.

Fletchers assignment to writeabout an object in the museum in-spired Ardis to not only pay a visit,but to bring his own art, in costumeform, with him.

Our assignment for the day wasto not come to class but instead to goto the museum and spend the timethere instead with an object that wewanted toanything in the muse-umand you could write anythingabout it that you wanted, said Ardis.So I gured it would be a great timeto go and I decided to wear a paint-ing of mine.

In cape-like form around hisneck, Ardis artwork-worn-as-cos-tume was meant to raise eyebrowsand add to the intellectual debate re-garding questions of what is art andwhat isnt art.

If I take a painting and I put apainting on the wall, its art, but if Itake a painting and I put it on as a

BY TASHA SANDOVAL

STAFF WRITER

Ardis 11 wears artwork

to museum, turns headscape, is it still art? questioned Ardis.

Ardis fully admits that he didnot put too much deep thought orintellectual intention behind his ac-tionshe simply wanted to chal-lenge the connes of the museuminstitution while challenging the as-signment by rendering himself theart object of study.

People want to say its perfor-mance art, said Ardis in reference tohis experiment. Intellectually, thatground between whats art and whatisnt art is blurry, but practically itsnot. And thats the interesting part.

As predicted, not only did Ardiscause a ruckus, he also garnered at-tention from the museum sta that

he though was ulti-mately positive.

ey want meto come back, hesaid. ey thoughtit was funny.

During his stintin the museum, Ar-

dis also ran into a class session withProfessor Linda Dochertys rst-yearseminar,e Museum World.

ey talked about me, since itsa class on museums, he said. I wascarrying out a little cardboard thing,a little name plate thingand thenI gave it to some kid in the classey mostly talked about me, theywere interested in how much that lit-tle name plate meant to seeing me asart or not seeing me as art or if it was

just a stupid little fashion statement.In addition to his art robe, Ardis

also carried in two pieces of artwork.One he described as a typical paint-ing while the other was a piece ofpaper that said Its just a piece ofpaper.

While Ardis said he did not partic-ularly value these works very much,he carried them into the museum to

roughout her life, author JanisseRay has sought to combine her twopassions, writing and the environment.Author of e Seed Undergound: AGrowing Revolution to Save Food, Raywill speak about her career at todaysCommon Hour. e Seed Under-ground is Rays h nonction book.,and she has also published a collectionof poetry.

Rays interest in writing began at ayoung age. Her deeply religious parentsdid not allow a television in the house,but did permit visits to the library. Raycredits this upbringing with exposingher to a reading culture she would nototherwise have participated in.

Books save your life, and they saveyour spirit, she said last night.

Ray was invited to the College byVisiting Assistant Professor of HistoryTom Okie and Rosemary Armstrongof the Environmental Studies program.She attended Florida State University forher B.A., and later went to the Univer-sity of Montana for her MFA in creativewriting. Today, Rays home in south-ern Georgia, out of reach of the cablecompanies, has aorded a similar up-bringing and way of life for her nine-year-old daughter.

Student discussion groups met ear-lier in the week over meals to discussRays latest book. Andrew Cushing 12,currently a sustainability outreach as-sistant at the College, led Wednesdaysbook discussion. What began as a con-

versation about seeds soon turned intoa lively dialogue about class, public pol-icy, and the local and organically grownfood trend.

[Ray] doesnt write as an academic,said Cushing. She writes to reach abroader audience.

Ray builds her writing out of stories,anecdotes, and personal experiences.At a discussion on writing last night,Ray talked about how she pulled pas-sages from the 35 full journals she haskept throughout her life and used themin e Seed Underground and in herother works.

I oen will go back through jour-nals to try and nd people, anecdotes,dreamsanything that will illuminatethat subject, said Ray.

Ray credits learning this formulafrom her creative writing mentor at theUniversity of Montana, Bill Kittredge.Kittredge stressed the importance ofwriting from life experiences in order tomake an impact and make change.

Facts dont sway people, emotionssway people, said Ray. I try to touchpeople emotionally.

Ray says that throughout the years,her idea of what being a successful writ-er means has changed.

Success for me is just when I have aperson say to me, I read it, it touchedme, it made me grow my own garden,take action, she said. My view of suc-cess has become more personal, andthats making me very happy these days.

Environmental and food sustain-ability are very personal issues forRay. She currently runs a farm withher husband in Georgia, where theyraise a range of livestock from cowsto guinea fowl and have an expansive

vegetable crop.Ray says that she tries to live life as

close to nature as possible, which meanseating a lot of food she grows herself,not owning a cell phone, and avoidingairplanes. However, living sustainably isnot always as simple as one might think.

We try to live as sustainably aspossible, but a sustainable lifestyle isnot necessarily simple, she said. Itsa lot of work.

Cushing cited similar challenges ofgreen living.

Your back hurts, you have no oce,no insurance, he said. Its a lot harderthan people think it would be.

Today, Ray will be speaking aboutthe loss of the worlds seed diversity andthe shrinking number of locally tailoredplant varieties.

Ninety-four percent of seeds havebeen lost, she said. Its a huge loss.

At the turn of the century, there were7,000 types of apples. However, the av-erage consumer only has a few optionsle. Ray says this loss is due to the pat-enting of seeds by large corporationssuch as Monsanto.

Whoever controls seeds controlsfood, she said. I believe that we have toretain some seed sovereignty and rescuelocal seeds that are in danger.

BY BRIANNA BISHOP

STAFF WRITER

Janisse Ray talks sustainable living

Please see ARDIS, page 10

If I take a painting and I put it

on the wall, its art, but if I take a

painting and I put it on as a cape,

is it still art?

COURTESY OF EAST GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE/CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS

A GREEN THUMB AND A MIGHTY PEN: Rays life is split between that of a farmer and a writer.

New museum co-directors outline objectives for future growth

Last night, the new co-directors ofthe Bowdoin Museum of Art, Anneand Frank Goodyear, discussed theirhopes for the future of the museumwith a small group of students and fac-ulty at MacMillan House.e Goodyears each spoke briey

about their education and current oc-cupationsboth are curators at theNational Portrait Gallery in Washing-ton, D.C. and teach at George Wash-ington University (Anne also serves aspresident of the College Art Associa-tion)and then opened up the oorto questions and input from the audi-ence, which was mainly composed ofart history students.

Anne said they were excited to hearthe students insights and ideas regard-ing the role of the museum on campus.

We want to understand what themuseum means to the student body,she said, addressing the group. Weare really excited to hear about yourexperiences with the museum, andyour suggestions.

Anne and Frank see the museum

as a place for intellectual engagementacross all disciplines.

We want it to be more than just alittle treasure box, we want it to be atthe crossroads of conversations acrossthe campus, said Frank. We want it tobe an incubator of ideas and a place ofdialogue.

What is very special about having amuseum of [this] caliber on campus,said Anne, is that it should provideopportunities for student engagement.

Were interested in looking at it as aprofessional training ground.e response from students and

faculty at the new appointment iswidely favorable.

I think they are fabulous, said Pro-fessor of Film Studies Tricia Welsch. Itcouldnt be better, theyre people happyto be here.

Stephen Roth 13, a member of theStudent Museum Advocacy Council(SMAC), asked Frank and Anne how

they intended to improve the museumsnational standing, and both said thatthey are very interested in maintainingits recent upward trajectory.

I cant stress how important nationalvisibility is for the museum, said Anne.Were looking to develop some sort ofstrategic plan...getting a better sense ofthe strengths of the collection that wehave and the areas we might grow.

Frank went on to say that it is impor-tant for the museum to engage with all

of the dierent communities it services.I think it goes back to a museum

wanting to serve many dierent pub-lics, he said. At the core, we have thestudent and faculty on campus, but Ithink its so important to engage withBrunswick and the larger New Englandcommunity.

James Denison 14 and Daisy Ali-oto 13 asked about the role Frank andAnne saw Maine and local artists play-ing in the museum.

To be sensitive to the geography,the history, [and] the politics is incredi-bly important, because I think its an in-credibly rich undertaking, said Anne.

Its about a balance, said Frank.We will be sensitive to this place, forsure, but we will also look far aeld.e Goodyears said that they are

looking to explore the role that tech-nology plays both at the museum andin museums in general.

New media art is a brave new fron-tier, said Frank. Exhibitions pose ques-tions. At the end of an exhibition wewant to encourage people to continuethose conversations...through the web orsocial mediatechnology is opening uppossibilities of what a museum can be.

BY NICOLE WETSMANSTAFF WRITER

JOANNA GROMADZKI, THE BOWDOIN ORIENT

GOODYEARS AHEAD: New museum co-directors Frank and Anne Goodyear addressed a group of students and faculty at MacMillan House last night.


10/16

10 , ,

PORTRAITOF AN ARTIST

Zara Bowden 13

COURTESY OF ZARA BOWDEN

BY CAITLIN WHALEN

STAFF WRITER

For most students, it is enough togo to class, do work, and try to spendtime with clubs and friends. ZaraBowden 13 manages to t a wholelot more into her day-to-day life.Bowden is a biochemistry major andsociology minor who kayaks, hikes,skis, meditates, and devotes time toher artistic passion, photography.

Bowden received her rst digitalcamera in middle school and remem-bers taking it everywhere with her.

It kind of just evolved, saidBowden. I almost didnt realize itwas happening, but suddenly I justrealized how much I enjoy photogra-phy and wanted to pursue it.

Bowdens hobby became anarea of study during her sopho-more year of high school, whenshe began taking photographyelectives. For the next three years,she spent every other day workingin the darkroom with her teacher,Tom Delaney.

He gave us much more creativelicense than I think I even realized,said Bowden. I was developing myown personal style and my ownpersonal interests.

While doing a high school project,Bowden discovered the work of art-ist Gordon Matta-Clark. Aer study-ing and working to emulate Matta-Clarks negative splicing and collagework, Bowden developed an appre-

ciation for nding beauty in destruc-tion and sharing it with others.

Im really interested in takingpictures of dilapidated buildings orgrati, things that might seem like

vandalism or tainting somethingpristine, but do something else en-tirely, she said. It has been my pri-mary inspiration.

Im very into exploring and push-ing the boundaries, Bowden added.

I like seeing how I can push photogra-phy and make it something dierent sothat when people look at it theyre not

just like, Its just a picture, but, Wait,what is that? How did you do that?

While she admits her workload atBowdoin makes it harder to spend asmuch time as she would like with pho-tography, Bowdens experiences in highschool inspired her to continue herwork. During her time here, she hastaken Introduction to Photography withAssistant Professor of Art Megan Gouldand is currently enrolled in Digital inColor with Associate Professor of ArtMichael Kolster.

e photo classes Ive taken herehave denitely pushed me and takenart to a whole new level, said Bowden.[ey] helped me discover a lot ofthings about my self. I have these ideasand its really interesting for me to seehow they manifest themselves and howthey play out.

Photography class is also a place forBowden to escape her busy life and sci-

entically driven academic career.I like the solitary nature of it, she

said. I really enjoy being able to getaway from the business of Bowdoinespecially with dark room photography.

Last summer, aer receiving theMcKee Summer Photography Grant,Bowden was able to pursue one of hergreatest undertakings to date, a projecttitled, Street Art: A Transformative Re-construction of Tagged Space.

She began the project aer study-ing abroad in Vietnam during the

spring of her junior year. Bowdenreturned to her hometown of FortWorth, Texas and began takingphotos. She wanted to use street artto challenge her audience and urgethem to question their surroundings.

I think theres a lot more ingrati beyond just the colors,whether it be social, cultural, orpolitical, she said. I think it justchallenges us to think about thespaces that were in and what tho semean. ey force us to reevaluateour place in the world, what we typ-ically associate with barriers, andwhat they can be transformed into.

While she knew what she was try-ing to express, Bowden was not surehow her photos would convey her so-cial commentary. It was not until the

very end that all of the pieces cametogether.

I was actually worried in Augustbecause I was taking photos butnothing was really materializing,said Bowden. But then suddenly I

just kind of got one piece done, and itall started to come together.

Her photographs were pre-sented in the annual showcase forsummer grant recipients this pastfall, alongside the work of fellowstudent artists Becky Rosen 13and James Boeding 14.

Aer graduation this spring,Zara plans to take a year o andstep away from science to do

something else that she loves, al-though she is not sure yet what itwill be. She then plans to becomea real person by going to medicalschool and doing clinical researchin Boston. Nevertheless, Bowdenhopes that she will always havephotography as a creative outlet.

Everyone needs that space wherethey can retreat and photography isthat for me, she said.

Youth Lagoon back in action

after Year of Hibernation

HIPSTER DRIVEL

MATTGOODRICH

After burning in the sun for morethan an hour, I was about to walkinto Warehouse 1100, where Pitch-fork was hosting its party showcaseof indie rock up-and-comers. Thiswas, of course, at South by South-west, the film/technology/musicshitshow that attracts angel-headedhipsters to Austin, Texas every year.My fellow Polar Bear representa-tives and I hadnt anticipated thelong line (apparently our obscuretastes just werent obscure enough),so we tried to look as nonchalantas possible as Pitchfork-approvedacts like Mac DeMarco and Waxa-hatchee came and went.

We made it in, however, aftermuch kvetching about the VIPs(were they really all that impor-tant?) who sauntered into the at-ca-pacity venue ahead of us, and madeour way to the outdoor stage. Withour fake plastic sunglassesfree aspart of a Nikon ad campaignandan authentic love of music plantedfirmly in our heads and hearts, weambled outside. We were greetedby a head of curls, partially dyedturquoise and lavender, under a

jauntil y perched hat that obsc uredthe big round glasses of Trevor

Powers, alias Youth Lagoon.Powers is no Justin Timberlake,

but I couldnt stop my fanboy fromshowing a little bit. His debut al-bum, The Year of Hibernation,was my favorite record of 2011.The album sounds like it was re-corded in his closet (it was), butfar from seeming claustrophobic,it soars with doe-eyed optimismand resounding crescendos. If itwerent for the cigarette he wastaking drags from, Powers wouldhave looked no older than seven-teen. Thats part of his charm; hesa 24-year-old who dropped out ofcollege to turn his adolescent imag-inings into reality.

Powers only furthered thegrowth of his reputation with theannouncement of his follow-up al-bum, titled Wondrous Bughouse(the dude has a knack for pleasant-sounding assonance). He chose a

tripped-out sketch that looks likeit belongs in a middle schoolers

math notebook for an album cover,and performs songs with titles likeRaspberry Cane and Daisypho-bia. It appears that Powers is re-gressing into the Wiggles.

But then you turn the music on,and the reverb-laden instrumentalopener Through Mind and Backsounds like a descent into, well, themind and back, with ominous blipsand beeps. Given the records cot-ton candy exterior, its rather likethe trip on Willy Wonkas boatsinto the abyss. The song fadesslowly out and Mute blossoms inits place, immediately louder andmore confident than any song onPowers soft-spoken debut.

The lilting melody amplifies thesingers claim that we live in a 3Dworld, but Powers then launchesinto a fable where the clock isin control and the devil tries topluck his mind. As the songs lat-ter half slows down, Powers turnsinwards, singing that hell neversee all the corpses as a horsemandraws him closer to death.

By filtering the themes of mor-tality and decay in Wondrous Bug-housethrough the lens of wonderhe first explored on The Year ofHibernation, Powers adds a poi-gnant perspective to innocence andchildhood. Standout tr ack Droplasounds like a paean to a sick imagi-nary friend who lives in a cave,

one made of drapes. Youll neverdie he pleads on repeat, willing thesupplication to come true.

And remember RaspberryCane? Though the title evokesthe color red, Powers sounds muchmore like Lady Macbeth than theKool-Aid Man when he sings Impolluted by my blood / So helpme cut it out. He never seemsself-loathing, but the Elliot Smith-meets-Animal Collective lyrics areindeed unnerving, especially con-sidering their insidiousness, sugar-coated by the whistles and whirs ofthe music. But thats mortality; itsneaks up on you, whether youresinging about physical bodies lying

in graves or at South by Southwestin a debauched race against thelimits of endurance. If this is hu-man frailtys soundtrack, well, playon, Powers. Heres to death, drinkup.

ARDISCONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

see what would happen. Upon enter-ing the gallery and deciding to leavehis works in the coat check becauseof their obtrusive nature, Ardis wassurprised to nd

the bowdoin orient - vol. 142, no. 19 - mar. 29, 2013

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