November 10, 2016
Bowdoin College affected by mumps virus
As of Nov. 4, two Bowdoin students had been diagnosed with mumps and a third was suspected to have also contracted the virus according to local news. Health services at the College communicated to the campus community in an email that week that the less than 10 Bowdoin students who were not vaccinated for mumps before are being “self-isolated” under the recommendation of the Maine Center for Disease Control. Nearby Bates College has experienced around eight cases of mumps this semester, though all have been treated.
Tufts University sorority chapter protests organization’s treatment of transgender student
This semester during their fall recruitment period, Tufts University’s chapter of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority was told by their national headquarters that they could not allow a transgender student to join their sorority. They asserted that initiating the student, who identifies as a transgender woman, would possibly risk the organization’s Title IX status as a single sex society. In response, 47 members of the chapter deactivated their membership of the organization. National headquarters eventually gave permission for the transgender student to join, but the girls who left the Tufts chapter do not believe that they can forgive the headquarters’ initial stance easily.
Fliers distributed at Bates College in attempt to suppress student voting
On Saturday Nov. 4 fliers claiming to advise students on voting regulations in the Lewiston, M.E. area mysteriously appeared throughout the college’s dormitories and dining hall. They claimed that students were required to pay to change their driving licenses to Lewiston ones as well as pay to re-register their vehicles in Lewiston. However, Maine does not require a driver’s license to vote, and students are allowed to vote as Lewiston residents if they so choose. Bates administration and leaders of the Democratic Party in Maine identified the fliers as attempts at voter suppression. It is still unclear who created or distributed the fliers.