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Editorial: Modeling discourse

Wednesday night, an overflowing audience watched as five professors on stage in Kresge talked about their views on freedom of expression—how it comes into play nationally, on campus and in the classroom at Bowdoin. The conversation consisted of nuanced ideas from professors speaking clearly and argumentatively about the types of discourse allowed on campus and various forms of marginalization—here and in America overall. After each professor spoke, snaps and claps echoed from different parts of the audience.
It was a diverse crowd of attendees and a diverse group of faculty modeling a conversation for them. The conversation was heated—it got tense and even angry at points. Ultimately, it was messy and left the audience with many more questions than it answered. But, as challenging and inconclusive as it was, it was a space on campus for a public conversation about restrictions to expression.
Self-censorship happens in the world and on this campus in particular, not that it is a good or a bad thing. And, especially this year, absent or silent voices have even further impacted the course of dialogue. Claims have become defensive and the campus is more divided than we have seen it in our time at Bowdoin. Letting down our guard and allowing for some messy interpersonal engagement is not easy to do, but taking the risk of being imperfect and wrong is exactly what members of the Bowdoin community need to do more.
Classes end on Wednesday, and a week and a half after that we will leave Bowdoin, the majority of us coming back, at the soonest, three months later. We’ll say goodbye for now, and many of us will have the luxury of stepping away from the debates that have occupied Bowdoin this year. A controversial Facebook post will pop up here and there, but, otherwise, most of our communications will stop.
For all of us, including seniors preparing for their journey into the so-called ‘real world,’ we are presented with a challenge and an opportunity in each moment we confront the world: how do we defend our beliefs while being open to the fact that others think differently? It’s not easy to critically examine personal beliefs, but it is only through being challenged and pushing others that we grow as thinkers, as learners and as generous enthusiasts. Wednesday’s talk was beautifully chaotic. Each person was respected but their views were nevertheless debated unforgivingly. Let’s do more of that.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Julian Andrews, Jono Gruber, Meg Robbins and Emily Weyrauch.

Editorial: Off-campus, out of mind

The number of students living off campus has increased over the past few years and is currently at its highest in recent memory. On one hand, students living off campus engage with the town in new ways both personally and economically. On the other hand, incidents of disorderly conduct and noise late at night place stress on a historically civil relationship.
On Wednesday, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols sent an email to the student body regarding complaints received from Brunswick residents over the past two weeks. This email reflects tensions between the town and Bowdoin that exist in part as a result of Bowdoin students living off campus.
For upperclassmen living off campus, the relationship with the town of Brunswick is not the only one that changes. As students gain more independence and autonomy, a rift grows between students living off campus and those who remain in college housing.
Students who live off campus often downgrade their meal plans, and thus eat fewer meals in the dining hall with their peers, spending more time in their houses rather than in campus spaces. On the weekends, social gatherings and parties drift away from College Houses and college-owned apartments to the off-campus houses. There is no denying the divide between students who live on and off campus.
Structural changes need to be put in place to maintain our campus community. This is an opportunity for a mutual effort between the Bowdoin administration and those students living off campus to build a formalized structure with the goal of improving relations in our community.
As the market for renting to Bowdoin students grows, the number of interactions with BPD will inevitably increase. In the past, Nichols has met with off-campus houses informally and on a case-by-case basis. It is important to have these conversations in a more official capacity to clarify expectations for students, the College and the town. Creating a mandatory orientation program for students living off campus facilitated by the Office of Safety and Security, the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) and other relevant administrators would achieve this goal.
Additionally, providing formal resources for navigating what happens when things go wrong ensures that all parties involved—Security, BPD, students and/or landlords—engage with incidents in a fair and consistent manner.
Implementing these changes would not be difficult and would help shape a relationship of mutual respect amongst our community as a whole.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Marina Affo, Julian Andrews, Steff Chavez, Grace Handler, Nickie Mitch, Meg Robbins and Joe Seibert.

Editorial

This piece represents the opinion of The Bowdoin Orient editorial board.

September 9, 2016

On Tuesday, the College announced that Bowdoin will eliminate its application fee for first generation applicants and applicants seeking financial aid. This step will have a significant impact in increasing the accessibility of Bowdoin’s application process. Bowdoin has taken a clear stance asserting that ensuring inclusivity in our campus community is at the core of the College’s mission.

This systematic change will positively impact the lives of prospective and current students. As one of the nation’s most elite institutions, Bowdoin is in a position to lead the community of higher education towards a future of deliberate and active institutional change. We challenge Bowdoin to continue to be a leader among its peers in addressing national concerns, as it did by becoming SAT-optional, removing loans from financial aid packages and now waiving the application fee for the aforementioned groups of applicants.

In deciding to waive the application fee for students for whom it would pose a financial barrier, Bowdoin has recognized that the student body’s composition must change from what it is today in order to fulfill the Offer of the College. This is an acknowledgment of the College’s obligation to the Common Good, decisively affirming the view that a diverse student body is necessary in order to maintain the College’s educational excellence. Most importantly, waiving the fee expands our notions of ‘diversity,’ demonstrating that creating a well-rounded student body is not only about considering gender and race—socioeconomic status is of equal importance.

The progress, however, should not stop here. Eliminating the application fee will bring students from new and different backgrounds to campus. Bowdoin has brought these students to the campus but now it needs to make the campus resources equally available to everyone or the cause will be lost. There are explicit institutional changes that should be made to make that possible. To ensure true accessibility, it is Bowdoin’s responsibility to thoughtfully engage with this diversity in background and experience.

This involves reflecting upon the different organizations and resources on campus. Do those organizations and resources provide the necessary support such that every student can partake in or utilize them? Additionally, reflection on what the network of Bowdoin students, professors, and alumni means is also important. Is the Bowdoin network the same for every student? Asking questions and having conversations like these is at the core of productive change. Waiving fees is a good start, but let’s continue these conversations on every level. And most importantly, let’s make sure that our campus community adapts with them.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Marina Affo, Julian Andrews, Steff Chavez, Grace Handler, Nickie Mitch, Meg Robbins and Joe Seibert.

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