One year ago, student activists held a demonstration in Smith Union. At its conclusion, they presented an open letter to the Bowdoin community containing a series of 19 “calls to action” for the College’s administration that took a stand on the intersecting issues of climate, sexuality, class, gender and race. This week in the Orient, we took stock of what progress has been made on each of the appeals.

The administration has been taking concrete actions in response to the issues brought up at last year’s meeting. Thanks to campus activists, Bowdoin has made significant strides in grappling with the implications of its historical whiteness, and has started conversations that have led to actual institutional changes. Each move forward is a success when looking at the history of Bowdoin and examining whom the College was originally created to serve. This week, for example, the newly-created BSG position of multicultural representative went into effect. This is a lasting, important action, pursued by student activists, that is a small but significant shift towards making Bowdoin a more inclusive environment moving forward. President Rose’s acknowledgement of racial inequalities on campus was important as well—a naming of a problem that some Bowdoin students have been struggling with, unheard, for years.

But advocacy informed by a desire to make Bowdoin a safe space conscious of the injustices around us needs to continue. Progress made by administrators is not inevitable; it is tied directly to the pressure students are able to exert for change, and their continued and sustained efforts in doing so. Class issues were one of the meeting’s focal points, but were left out of the calls to action, thus taking a backseat in the administration’s agenda.

Each step has been the result of a push from students who want to make Bowdoin a more accessible place for them. Bowdoin cannot rely on the momentum of last semester to keep students working for social justice on this campus. The very structure of a four-year college means that with new students matriculating and young adults graduating annually, we cannot rely on the same faces to be leading the fight each year.

The administrators of Bowdoin have good intentions, but they have certain responsibilities that students do not. Often, their jobs involve upholding the image and reputation of an institution that is most comfortable when progress happens at a slow, gradual pace. Students should not expect administrators alone to lead the charge for institutional advances in regards to race and intersecting issues of identity, especially when many students feel that a movement like this is urgent. Invested underclass students—those directly affected by injustices and their allies—have the responsibility to keep tabs on what has been accomplished and to keep pushing as they progress through their time at Bowdoin. 

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Julian Andrews, John Branch, Jono Gruber, Matthew Gutschenritter, Emma Peters, Meg Robbins, Nicole Wetsman, and Emily Weyrauch.

One year ago, student activists held a demonstration in Smith Union. At its conclusion, they presented an open letter to the Bowdoin community containing a series of 19 “calls to action” for the College’s administration that took a stand on the intersecting issues of climate, sexuality, class, gender and race. This week in the Orient, we took stock of what progress has been made on each of the appeals. 
The administration has been taking concrete actions in response to the issues brought up at last year’s meeting. Thanks to campus activists, Bowdoin has made significant strides in grappling with the implications of its historical whiteness, and has started conversations that have led to actual institutional changes. Each move forward is a success when looking at the history of Bowdoin and examining whom the College was originally created to serve. This week, for example, the newly-created BSG position of multicultural representative went into effect. This is a lasting, important action, pursued by student activists, that is a small but significant shift towards making Bowdoin a more inclusive environment moving forward. President Rose’s acknowledgement of racial inequalities on campus was important as well—a naming of a problem that some Bowdoin students have been struggling with, unheard, for years. 
But advocacy informed by a desire to make Bowdoin a safe space conscious of the injustices around us needs to continue. Progress made by administrators is not inevitable; it is tied directly to the pressure students are able to exert for change, and their continued and sustained efforts in doing so. Class issues were one of the meeting’s focal points, but were left out of the calls to action, thus taking a backseat in the administration’s agenda.
Each step has been the result of a push from students who want to make Bowdoin a more accessible place for them. Bowdoin cannot rely on the momentum of last semester to keep students working for social justice on this campus. The very structure of a four-year college means that with new students matriculating and young adults graduating annually, we cannot rely on the same faces to be leading the fight each year.
The administrators of Bowdoin have good intentions, but they have certain responsibilities that students do not. Often, their jobs involve upholding the image and reputation of an institution that is most comfortable when progress happens at a slow, gradual pace. Students should not expect administrators alone to lead the charge for institutional advances in regards to race and intersecting issues of identity, especially when many students feel that a movement like this is urgent. Invested underclass students—those directly affected by injustices and their allies—have the responsibility to keep tabs on what has been accomplished and to keep pushing as they progress through their time at Bowdoin.