Comments for Bowdoin Daily Sun

Comment on Listen: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Bowdoin, May 6, 1964 by Cynthia DeBerry Flowers P'13

Cynthia DeBerry Flowers P'13 — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:28:35 +0000

Thank you Mr. Stoddard for inviting Rev. King to Bowdoin. Individuals like you and many others from Bowdoin have made decisions regarding race relations, access and inclusion that have paved the way for my son to attend Bowdoin today. For this I am very grateful.

As a Spelman graduate (’83), I am particularly proud to see the reference to my alma mater. However, with this quote, it dawned on me that there is something else that Bowdoin and Spelman have in common; their names are often mispelled (e.g. The correct spelling is Spelman and not Spellman ).

Thank you for your vision and your conscious in a time when many in America had very little of both.

Sincerely,
CD Flowers

Comment on Geoffrey Canada ’74 to Receive Harvard Medal for Education Impact by Bob Delaney '55

Bob Delaney '55 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:42:08 +0000

John is right- a very special man. It’s especially gratifying for me to see a Bowdoin grad being recognized for doing something vitally important in these troubled times

Comment on Photo Album: 1794 Society Reception at the Whitney by Andy White

Andy White — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:06:42 +0000

Well, I at least recognize George Mitchell!! Slide show doesn’t work going to the BDS home page either. But it looks folks enjoyed themselves.

Comment on New Student-to-Student Mentoring Program Kicks Off by Libby Gordon

Libby Gordon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:11:57 +0000

I am very impressed, both with the progressive thinking of Laura Armstrong and Anna Ackerman, and of the Deans Office at Bowdoin to compile and hear student feedback and to create this dynamic program to meet the expressed need. Congratulations!

Comment on Nylea Bivins ’12 on Moving Beyond the Bowdoin Hello by Carole Sargent

Carole Sargent — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:39:59 +0000

Thanks!
I have been fortunate to meet some of you Bowdoinites(two years of hosting the track teams’ mini-suppers) — n’ like what I see. I’ve also attend a few of the wonderful events on campus, want to attend more, would love to audit a class or two, and have more contact. The college offers so much — the community offers so much — I, for one, will do all I can to advance the connections — and thank you for the chance!

Comment on Geoffrey Canada ’74 to Receive Harvard Medal for Education Impact by John Gibbons

John Gibbons — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:22:07 +0000

Congratulations to Geoff…much deserved award for special man.

Comment on Slideshow: C-SPAN on Campus, Videotapes Class for ‘Lectures in History’ by Dick Burns '58

Dick Burns '58 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:19:48 +0000

there was no link to the slide show of C-Span at Sills Hall.

Dick Burns

Comment on Photo Album: 1794 Society Reception at the Whitney by Dick Burns '58

Dick Burns '58 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:14:35 +0000

Nice memo of last night’s very successful gathering of Bowdoin New Yorkers, but there was no slide show link.

Dick Burns

Comment on Renowned Recitalist Christopher O’Riley Master Class to Include Pianist Allen Wong Yu ’14 by NPR Show ‘From the Top’ Comes to Bowdoin Feb. 29 | Allen Yu

NPR Show ‘From the Top’ Comes to Bowdoin Feb. 29 | Allen Yu — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:22:34 +0000

[...] Bowdoin broadcast taping will feature 19-year-old pianist and Bowdoin sophomore Allen Wong Yu from Cohoes, New York. Yu is an alumnus of From the Top, having appeared on the show when he was [...]

Comment on Jack Grinold ’57 Honored as the ‘Soul of the Beanpot’ by Judith Ocker Schulz '83

Judith Ocker Schulz '83 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:39:51 +0000

Hope to see him added to the Bowdoin Hall of Fame!

Comment on Whispering Pines: Transformations and Trajectories by John R. Cross

John R. Cross — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:50:58 +0000

It is especially rewarding to read the comments of alumni, parents, and others, who enrich the The Whispering Pines columns with new information, insights, and personal experiences. Dave Larsson’s post adds important pieces to the story about father-and-son lawyers in the political world of Washington before and during the civil rights movement; Barbara Kaster’s documentary film about Bowdoin’s history underpins so much about what I know of the College’s history; Calanthe Wilson-Pant’s thoughtful commentary broadens, deepens, and personalizes issues of race and difference that we sometimes tuck away in memory or ignore; and David Henshaw highlights the event that brought Bayard Rustin (Deputy Director of the 1963 “March on Washington”) and Martin Luther King, Jr. to the campus for the Spring Issues Conference on May 5 and 6, 1964. The alumni magazine reported that after Rustin’s talk in Pickard Theater, he spoke with students in the Moulton Union from 9 P.M. to 3 A.M. Dr. King spoke the next night to an overflow crowd estimated at 1,100 at First Parish Church, which had a much greater seating capacity than Pickard Theater. The members of my family squeezed into seats scattered around the church, and were spellbound by the power and eloquence of Dr. King’s speech. Dan Levine (Bowdoin’s Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of History and Political Science Emeritus and one of the organizers of the event) has written a wonderful biography of Rustin, “Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement”, that was published by Rutgers University Press in 2000.

Comment on Jack Grinold ’57 Honored as the ‘Soul of the Beanpot’ by Bill Stuart '80

Bill Stuart '80 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:28:04 +0000

Jack Grinold is a good man. As an Orient editor, I remember being under deadline pressure to complete an article about Sid Watson to recognize a milestone in his career (20th year? 200th victory?). I had a picture of Johnny Unitas (Watson’s roommate with the Pittsburgh Steelers during training camp – Watson made the team, while Unitas was cut and later hooked on with the Baltimore Colts) and pictures of him behind the Bowdoin bench and coaching practice on the ice. I didn’t have a picture of him as a Northeastern athlete, though. I contacted Jack on a Tuesday, with a Thursday deadline to receive a picture. He came through for me with a picture of “Century Sid” in his football uniform, in an era before FedEx, .pdf attachments to e-mails and Facebook postings. I was so grateful – we had a big hole in the layout, and no good back-up plan.

Comment on Whispering Pines: Transformations and Trajectories by Dana H. Glazer '92

Dana H. Glazer '92 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:01:09 +0000

John,

So glad to read this history of Bowdoin. Your insights are always refreshing and sharp.
It’s always wonderful reading about Bowdoin alums like these guys who stood up for the common good. Hoping to see you during reunion weekend!

Best,

Dana

Comment on Nylea Bivins ’12 on Moving Beyond the Bowdoin Hello by Chester Franklin '75

Chester Franklin '75 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:17:44 +0000

Nylea,

I believe that others will agree with me that this type of campus engagement will yield positive results.

Chester ’75

Comment on Nylea Bivins ’12 on Moving Beyond the Bowdoin Hello by Chester Franklin '75

Chester Franklin '75 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:54:08 +0000

Nylea, I appreciate your efforts and believe that You have spearheaded a project that will have a great impact on relations at Bowdoin.

Be Blessed,

Chester Franklin ’75

Comment on Barry Mills: Let’s Solve Bowdoin’s Parking Problem by Rupert O. Clark '51

Rupert O. Clark '51 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:10:44 +0000

PARKING

1 Workers need space, ease, and economy of time (and dollars!)
2 Students need study, exercise and collegial group living.
3 Nobody NEEDS cars.

At one end of the scale, in 1947, I could count on two hands
the number of student cars, and by 1951, hands and feet would
suffice. All learned a lot, played plenty, greeted everyone
else eye to eye, and were at least sufficiently fit to walk
down to the Cumberland movie theatre once a month.

Fast forward to 2012. Old folks travel to Mayo Clinic and what
do they see? Massive buildings, tons of workers and NO cars.
The streets are closed protected walks, with gardens in summer.
Parking garages are distant, tastefully designed, expensive
for the users, and a healthy walk away, through tunnels to
protect from Minnesota cold and snow.

Is this important? YES. The institution exists for meeting its
goal – just as do we pursue The Offer of the College. Individual desires
are evanescent and of relatively insignificant weight.

At Mayo again, the professionals and all workers are met by
optional parking space at significant cost, but also by public
transportation at the main campus entrance; all city buses
circle past, and in addition buses or shuttles depart as well
to the Harpswells and Lisbon Fallses and Baths-and-Woolwiches
of southern Minnesota. The return of Amtrak should be
welcomed as an aid to students and to alumni arriving in Brunswick.

FURTHER, as an alumnus I feel greatly concerned by this, to
the point that I feel that alumni contributions or their impact
could be significantly reduced by catering to the ‘cars’ issue.
Actually, Bowdoin has done better than my medical school at avoiding
‘the sillies.’ Yet there I see the addition of amenities that are
actually antithetical to the completion of the academic goal that is
essential to the meaningful completion of the curriculum. Despite my
very strong loyalty to that internationally preeminent school, I have
for now called a hiatus in my donations, while I ponder how best to
focus any gifts that I contribute.
All of us are experiencing a significant and probably extended downturn,
so that Bowdoin too could find a true reduction of donations from the
critical assayers among the 99% of us who were taught, at Bowdoin,
to apply judgment in thinking matters through.