Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Stunned: a rare occurrence (updated)

This will not be the first time we report on the zeitgeist on the Bowdoin campus here in town; we’ve taken plenty of flak for doing so in the past, and it bothers us not.  Much of it has been in response to comments we posted on the Bowdoin Orient web site.

 

            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We realized we had not found a copy of the weekly paper in town for a week or two, so we went to their web site for our dose of intellectual inquiry and enlightenment within the context of the ‘liberal arts ethos.’

We came upon several items that we think will give you a better appreciation of what makes the news in an elite institution of higher learning.  As part of gaining a Bachelor’s degree at the advertised cost of a cool quarter million or so.  (Admittedly, that isn’t much in a town that gives away the same amount to a local well connected Taxi company.)

We’ll just list the items for you, and warn you that some of the content is juvenile beyond belief, but with appropriate neurotic overtones that raise the subject to an issue of high intellectual pursuit.  This  item, simply enough, is titled “Poop Culture:” http://bowdoinorient.com/article/9601  It includes this passage, reminiscent of “The Anal Retentive Chef” skit on SNL many years ago:

One hypothesis is that many Bowdoin students seek to project an image of perfection, even at the cost of their own well-being. The counseling staff at Bowdoin is acutely aware of this—Director of Counseling Services, Bernie Hershberger, says he especially enjoys aiding students with perfectionism anxiety.

Moving back to the highest plane of academia, we find this editorial on the subject of a proposed “financial accounting class:”  http://bowdoinorient.com/article/9626

We believe that the Curriculum Implementation Committee is working diligently to create an appropriate course, but want more than Judd’s assurances—we want a full explanation of how the proposed course will promote critical inquiry and honor the tradition of the liberal arts.

We wonder if the same high thresholds are imposed for Calculus, Chemistry, etc.  And we despair that any suggestion that the college might make a good collaborator in an economic study of Downeaster benefits could not take place without ‘the tradition of the liberal arts’ inserting itself.

Moving on, we know our readers are verklempt over the concept of “gender binary.”  How could you not be?  So read up here: http://bowdoinorient.com/article/9591

There seems to be a growing dialogue at Bowdoin about how our social codes of masculinity and femininity limit our range of self-expression and use of space.

If nothing else, these articles should provide an unwelcomed distraction from the fire-hosing of political commercials currently assaulting us.

Enjoy…and remember, “what would Brunswick be without Bowdoin?  Nothing!”

Which makes about as much sense as “what would Bowdoin be without the Downeaster?  Imprisoned.”

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