College Profile: Bowdoin College
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 06:39
Derek Ha
If you think that living in Maine means being located hours from all major urban areas, enduring long and miserable winters, and wearing uncomfortably thick coats for the majority of the year, then you are entirely correct. For students at Bowdoin College, however, living in Maine also means receiving a top-notch education at a school known for academic excellence, happy students, and delicious cafeteria food.
Located three hours away from Boston in Brunswick, ME, Bowdoin is a private liberal arts college founded in 1794. Among its graduates are two of the most famous writers in American history: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Today, Bowdoin remains one of the most prestigious (albeit underrated) institutions of higher learning in America. It was the first college to be dubbed “School of the Year” by College Prowler, and it is currently ranked sixth among liberal arts colleges by the U.S. News and World Report. Although it is traditionally known for humanities and social sciences, Bowdoin’s strengths are remarkably diverse. Its strongest programs include natural sciences, classics, German, anthropology, English, government, environmental studies, and art history.
The student-teacher ratio stands at 9 to 1, and professors are forced to teach every class personally because there are no graduate students. Bowdoin’s students have direct access to the brilliance and experience of their instructors, resulting in the intense and intimate academic environment which students expect when they come to a liberal arts college.
Besides academics, Bowdoin’s students find ways to occupy themselves, even in cold, isolated Maine. Staying true to their reputation of being the outdoorsy type, three quarters of students at Bowdoin take part in field trips which include canoeing, kayaking, and hiking. On those really cold days, however, students can head over to the dining hall and enjoy what Princeton Review has deemed the second best campus food in America.
Unfortunately, Bowdoin is extremely selective in its admissions process, accepting fewer than 20% of applicants. The most important factors considered by the admissions office include difficulty of high school classes, application essays, quality of recommendations, and extracurricular activities.
Bowdoin’s tuition fee is high, but almost half of its students receive need-based financial aid as well as merit-based scholarships each worth an average of $1,000 dollars.
SAT Scores
Critical Reading: 650-760
Math: 650-750
Writing: 660-750
Acceptance rate: 18.6%
In-state tuition: $40,020
Out-of-state tuition: $40,020
5 Words from the Academic Claus
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 06:37
Christopher Chen
Everyone knows of and appreciates the holiday season and their traditions of foods and gifts. Here are some holiday words to facilitate your winter festivities.
Sufganiyot
A deep fried jelly doughnut that is eaten during the celebration of Hanukkah.
“Though I love sufganiyot, its 300 calories make me hesitate to gorge myself with them.”
Odin
The Norse god of Death that supposedly rode an eight-legged horse through the air- a reminiscence of Santa Claus- many portraits of Odin have a striking resemblance to Santa.
“The Norse worshiped Odin as the chief god of the hunt, warfare, and death.”
Ho-Ho-Phobia
The fear of a portly, bearded man with a red coat and black boots.
“My ho-ho-phobia makes me scared of the Santa Claus in the mall.”
Epiphany
A Christian holiday on Jan. 6, technically the official day you’re supposed to take down your Christmas decorations.
“On Epiphany, our family argued over who was to take down the Christmas lights.”
Wassailing
The root of caroling, going door-to-door wishing neighbors a long and prosperous life.
“My friends and I went wassailing on Christmas.”
Shunt
The “safety net” that connects the electric wire under the filament, completing the circuit even when the light bulb burns out.
“Our father’s Christmas lights didn’t have shunts and the entire strand went out, forcing us to search for the bad bulb for hours.”
Kallikantzari
A gremlin-like spirit that priests would try to drive away at Christmas time by throwing a cross into a lake, sprinkling a house with holy water, etc.
“The kallikantzari is a mischievous goblin that would try to cut down the trees that hold up the Earth.”
Kiritimati
An island in the Pacific Ocean that was later dubbed Christmas Island when Europeans discovered it on Christmas day.
“Kiritimati is the capital of Kiribati and has been the site for tourists everywhere.”
La Befana
A witch who, according to Italian tradition, would travel by broom, drop through people’s chimneys, and leave gifts on Jan. 6.
“According to legend, La Befana had refused the Three Wise Men shelter, which she later regretted, prompting her later generosity to others.”
Krampus
Santa’s assistant in European tradition who punished bad children as far to kidnap them or just a beating or lashing.
“The legend of the Krampus has long scared children into behaving during the holiday season.”
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Talking Up Storms At Fall Varsity
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 06:35
Oishee Shemontee
For many people, the idea of talking in front of a whole classroom is terrifying. For others – such as the members of Speech and Debate – performing all day long is exactly their idea of a perfect Saturday. At Fall Varsity, on Dec. 12 at Arroyo High School, these talkative teens were able to not only chatter the day away but gain honor and distinction by doing so.
Fall Varsity is perhaps the tournament of the semester. No previous competition can even come close to matching the importance of Fall Varsity. With the exceptions of next semester’s State Quals and Spring Varsity, this could very well be the defining tournament of the year. The reason: this is the tournament when the training wheels finally come off. No longer will novices and varsity be separated from each other – at Fall Varsity, all levels of speakers go head to head against each other, categorized only by their events. This means that AHS rhetoricians are competing not only against talented speakers from other schools, but also against each other.
To make matters more interesting, the stakes have also been raised. The first and second place winners of every event receive not only a trophy, but also a ‘leg’. If, at Spring Varsity next semester, this person manages to gain another ‘leg’, the speaker is automatically eligible for State Champs, without having to first qualify at State Quals. However, there’s a catch – if the speaker won second place at Fall Varsity, they must show improvement and win first place at Spring Varsity to gain the second ‘leg’. Only by winning first place at Fall Varsity can the speaker secure relative immunity – he or she can gain a ‘leg’ with both a second or first place win at Spring Varsity.
The big day dawned dark and gloomy, while a steady downpour lasted throughout the whole day. While many of us were nestled in safely at home, our dedicated orators grit their teeth, clutched their team jackets tighter and raised their voices loud over the roaring waterfall of rain. The weather was enough to dampen anyone’s mood, but the speakers persevered through. “Although it was raining, it was a great experience and I learned a lot from watching the varsity members compete,” said novice member sophomore Farihah Chowdhury.
With AHS’s reputation of high-scoring orators, the first place position was coveted like sharks after a school of fish. However, there was fierce competition from other schools, particularly Gabrielino High School, whose speakers have been doing notably well this season. Although nobody from AHS was able to gain a ‘leg’, the variety of our team was well-showcased as people placed within the top seven in events, with several people breaking finals in multiple events.
Congratulations to all the stunningly talented members of Speech and Debate, and best of luck for next year!
Duo Interpretation:
Amit Akula (10) and Amy Wen (10) – 5th
Ray Chao (11) and Jason Ouyang (10) – 4th
Original Advocacy:
Nancy Xiao (10) – 4th
Ray Chao (11) – 1st Oratorical Interpretation:
Mabel Lee - 1st
Virginia Ma - 2nd
Michelle Zhu - 3rd
Leah Wong - 4th
Alex Ethridge - 7th Humorous Interpretation:
Chris McKinley - 7th Dramatic Interpretation:
Janna Singer-Baefsky - 5th
Olivia Sui - 6th Original Prose and Poetry:
Krystal Valladares - 2nd
Carl Trigilio - 3rd
Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 January 2010 00:58 )
A Comfortable Victory at Home for QB
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 06:30
Sally Chung
“Quiz Bowl is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get!” The majority of you probably can’t recognize what movie that quote is from, but in about half the amount of time it took you to read that quote, the Arcadia Quiz Bowl would have buzzed in with the answer. However, Forrest Gump is only a fraction of what Quiz Bowlers are experts on. Along with pop culture, they sink their teeth into a wide variety of “sweets” including literature, science, linguistics, and sports-just to name a few. With all of these subjects to master in a matter of months, Quiz Bowl has got to be overwhelming at first! Luckily, ASCII came in just in time to help!
The ASCII was a novice level competition structured so that new Quiz Bowl members could adapt to the quick-paced round-robin format (each team competes against every other school at least once). AHS hosted the competition on Dec. 12 with one novice team consisting of members Andrew Wang, Jason Wang, Carl Tjo, Connor Lee, and Andrew Sun. Veteran members acted as mentors by keeping novice members focused and giving them valuable advice for the competition. On the day of ASCII, veteran members helped with the tournament by keeping score or reading questions; although they didn’t compete, their presence gave novice members confidence to perform their best. With the guidance from the veteran members, AHS took 7th place with a record of 4 wins to 6 losses. In addition, sophomore Andrew Wang took 9th place in individual scoring and received a top scorer award. You’d think loading up on all of those “sweets” would have caused Quiz Bowl to crash of exhaustion eventually, but no, Arcadia members only experienced a sugar rush throughout the day. Even with the dreary weather and a few losses, the novice members “seemed to be, most importantly, having a lot of fun” according to Quiz Bowl Co-Captain, Stanley Yuan. Stanley is impressed that “even though [they] were all new members, there was definitely teamwork and collaboration.”
Just like a good box of chocolates doesn’t come cheap, neither does Quiz Bowl. It’s bittersweet that the A Team qualified for nationals considering “it costs nearly $600 just for registering, not including airfare, hotel costs, and food” according to Stanley. Fortunately, by hosting ASCII this year, schools from across Southern California (including Diamond Bar HS, La Jolla Hs, San Dieguito Academy, and Tustin HS) all paid an entry fee to compete. Senior Alex Wang expresses his optimism by claiming, “This is the first time we’ve ever hosted ASCII, and it was a success.”
Quiz Bowl was able to start off this year with a high advantage. The novice members got a chance to adapt to Quiz Bowl while having a successful fundraiser. This win-win situation left a sweet aftertaste and left them craving for the next competition.
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