An incident that took place outside of Smith House has prompted the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) to send out a campus-wide e-mail condemning "exclusionary actions" and inviting the school to an open forum about "safety and inclusiveness" at the College.
BSG President Dustin Brooks '08 said he will release a letter today to the campus emphasizing Bowdoin's core values of diversity and respect and, according to a draft copy of the e-mail made available to the Orient, condemning actions that "have assaulted some students' sense of safety and elements of their identity."
The draft letter cites "a recent event" that "challenged our shared vision of the way Bowdoin students treat one another."
When asked what that event was, Brooks said "whatever happened at Smith House" in the early morning hours of September 1. He declined to cite any specifics.
Smith House is a College-owned residence at the junction of Harpswell Road and Longfellow Avenue.
At 12:52 a.m., a Brunswick Police Department (BPD) officer driving by stopped to question an underage student, a first-year female, who was holding a beer in front of Smith House, according to multiple accounts of the incident and confirmed by police records obtained by the Orient. A second cruiser arrived on the scene a minute later.
Bowdoin Security was called and the BPD left without issuing any citations although Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster said that the police "questioned a student for having an open container of alcohol and being in possession of alcohol as a minor."
The first-year female, who spoke with the Orient on the condition of anonymity, said that the beer can was empty and that she had picked it up from the porch of Smith House. In a telephone interview, the student said she had not been drinking alcohol.
According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, the student "alleged that someone present at a gathering at Smith House referred to her in an insulting way" although "the female student could not determine who made the remarks," Nichols said in an e-mail.
The student explained her version of events. Some men "started talking to me and called me 'hot' and stuff like that," she said.
"Then they became really hostile and started calling me a 'slut' and 'stupid bitch' and all that craziness," she said.
Foster said, "One allegation is that sexist comments were made to a student, not by any of the residents of Smith House, but by another student."
At the time of the incident, almost all of the residents of Smith House were not at their house but were at Harpswell Apartments, according to Foster and Smith House residents.
"It's clear to me that rumors are flying and lots of stories are circulating," Foster said.
"Another allegation is that a scale was on the porch and students needed to weigh themselves to gain entry," Foster said.
An Orient investigation could neither confirm nor refute this allegation.
According to Nichols, in the week following the incident, "security officers interviewed several students about the events of that evening."
"A report detailing the entire incident was provided to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs and the Office of Residential Life," he said.
No disciplinary action has been taken by the College against any students for involvement in the alleged incident of weighing.
The first-year female reported that she weighed herself on the scale, but she did not indicate that it was a requirement for entry.
When asked, she said she had not been sexually harassed and had not witnessed anyone else being sexually harassed at Smith House. However, she said she was "verbally slandered." She could not identify the alleged slanderer.
According to a Smith House resident the scale was brought out to settle a dispute between linebackers on the football team over who weighed more. This could not be independently confirmed.
"Regardless of what actually happened, I'm concerned about how people might be feeling because of what is being alleged to have happened," Foster said.
"In this case, I'm concerned for the individual student who has raised these allegations but also for some of the residents of Smith House who have been linked with this incident as several weren't home at the time or were not involved in any way," he added.
Kiel McQueen '08, who acted as the spokesmen for the residents of Smith House, explained his stance.
"What bothers our house about this situation is we feel that what we've worked for three years to accomplish?whether its the fact that we have captains of three sports in this house, the past two presidents of Baxter house, the leaders of other organizations, service organizations on campus, all these things we've worked so hard for and believe so strongly in ?can be damaged and our reputations tarnished in the matter of one night for something that none of us in this entire house were involved with and most of us weren't even here on the [Smith House] property," he said.
"It's really discouraging because we feel so strongly in our reputations and in our characters and in everything we believe in and that can be so easily taken away for something we weren't even here for," McQueen added.
Brooks, the BSG President, defended the email despite the unclear nature of the incident.
"We're not interested in the particulars of this incident," he said. He emphasized that the BSG wanted to look at the larger issues involved.
"I think so long as people are talking about [the alleged incidents] having happened, it provides a moment for us to reassert...our community's principles," Brooks said. "Nothing bad can come of this."
Allegations like the ones that have been raised provide "an opportunity to reinforce our community's values," Foster said.
"I understand that Bowdoin Student Government is planning an event to this effect, not focused on this incident in particular but designed to promote dialogue generally around issues of this type?mutual respect, civility of discourse, concern for others and shared responsibility for the community. I hope people will join in this discussion," he concluded.