Bowdoin in the News: November in Review

Story posted November 24, 2009

Willy Oppenheim '09 is named a Rhodes Scholar, Emma Verrill '10 talks travel in Turkey and Professor Chris Potholm remains the go-to guy for political insight — all putting Bowdoin in the news in November.

Boston Globe Sunday Magazine (November 29, 2009)


Interim Director of Admissions Scott Meiklejohn is quoted in the article, "Essay Test," regarding college applications and so-called personal statements. Read the article.

Willy Oppenheim '09 Awarded Rhodes Scholarship

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Willy Oppenheim '09

Associated Press (November 23, 2009)

Media outlets around the country carried the news that William J. "Willy" Oppenheim '09 was among 32 American men and women chosen as Rhodes Scholars representing the U.S.

Prof. Potholm: On TV, Radio, Web

November saw the media's continued interest in DeAlva Stanwood Alexander Professor of Government Christian Potholm's political insights on topics ranging from Maine's controversial same-sex referendum that went before voters Nov. 3, to the role of Sen. Olympia Snowe in the ongoing national healthcare debate.

NPR (November 24, 2009)

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Chris Potholm

"I think the White House is really playing for five or six senators to get a minimum of three," says Potholm in the segment.

The piece, titled "To Pass, Health Bill May Have To Ditch Public Option," also noted his prediction that if Democratic leaders can fashion a bill that could gain Sen. Olympia Snowe's support, Sen. Susan Collins would "grit her teeth and go along as well." Read the text of the segment.

The Huffington Post (November 1, 2009)

Maine was in the national spotlight as voters decided whether to repeal a law allowing same-sex marriage. The popular news and opinion Web site carried the Maine Associated Press article, "Maine Voters to Decide Future of Gay Marriage Law Tuesday," featuring commentary from Potholm. Read the article.

ABC World News Sunday (November 1, 2009)

Days before the majority of voters would support that repeal, Poholm appeared in a segment that, in addition to airing on ABC World News Sunday, was included in the network's World News Webcast, a 15-minute afternoon broadcast tailored for the Web; the video was also posted on the news network's Facebook page and appeared as a podcast on iTunes. Watch the segment.

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ABC News field producer Ali Sozio '07 interviews Professor Chris Potholm in the Shannon Room, Hubbard Hall.

Maine Sunday Telegram (November 15, 2009)

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Romare Bearden, American, 1911-1988, Falling Star, 1980, lithograph, Art © Romare Bearden Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden, the impressive exhibition that has practically overtaken the Museum of Art (its 75 works take visitors through the Bernard and Barbro Osher, Halford and Center galleries), has dazzled audiences and reviewers alike.

"For Bearden, what people see is mediated by what they already know: A cop. A black man. Jesus. Matisse. Urban America. Art history," writes art historian Daniel Kany in his review of the traveling exhibition focusing on the artist's innovative printmaking techniques.

"Bearden is saying our vision of any event is guided by the way memories are torn from various sources — education, pop culture, history and so on." Read the review.

Daily Planet/Discovery Channel Canada (November 13, 2009)


Bowdoin's RoboCup team, the Northern Bites, is highlighted in a segment that examines the humanoid teams competing during the 2009 World Championship competition held in July in Graz, Austria. Watch the segment.

207/WCSH (November 10, 2009)

Emma Verrill '10, who uses a wheelchair, studied in France last semester and was invited to sit on the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) panel, "Local Strategies for Including Students with Disabilities on Study Abroad Programs," at the organization's annual conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 10-12, 2009.


In a wide-ranging interview, Verrill discusses how she has adjusted to college life over the past four years and how she has helped the college adjust to its first wheelchair-bound student. She also spoke about what brought her to Istanbul and what she hoped to accomplish.

Verrill has used a wheelchair since her sophomore year of high school, when unsuccessful surgery to treat kyphosis, a curvature of the upper spine, left her paralyzed from the waist down.

The Washington Post (November 9, 2009)

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Gerald Chertavian '87

Year Up, a national non-profit organization founded by Bowdoin College Trustee Gerald Chertavian '87, is receiving a $4.5 million grant for its Washington, D.C., chapter from Venture Philanthropy Partners.

Year Up is a national one-year training program that prepares young urban adults for life and work in the technology-driven society of the 21st century. Read the article.

Maine Public Broadcasting Network (November 3, 2009)

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Josephine Cameron '98 and Patrick Rael

A talk and musical performance by Josephine Cameron '98 titled "Songs of the Civil War Era" became the subject of a news segment that also featured Associate Professor of History Patrick Rael. Listen to the segment.



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