As Bowdoin welcomes newly admitted students to campus for Bearings in Brunswick, it is showing off its best. The sunny quad is filled with endless tour groups passing through, and potential new students see banners left and right offering warm welcomes. Smith Union is packed with families checking in, decorations are hung all over campus and the dining halls are providing some of their most beloved meals for visitors.

We know it’s been said before, but Bowdoin is a special place. It’s a place where it’s easy to wave to peers, professors and staff members on the quad. It’s a place where you can strike up a conversation with just about anyone at the Café or in the Coles Tower elevator. It’s a place where people hold doors for one another, look out for each other and are always willing to lend a helping hand.

We believe that some of the most fundamental aspects of college campuses like Bowdoin are the various departments—outside of just academics—that work to sustain the College. At Bowdoin, these departments include Dining Services, Health Services, Housekeeping, Facilities Management, the College Library and many more.

College employees work mostly behind the scenes to sustain the Bowdoin community—they do the heavy lifting to make sure we are able to live our everyday lives on campus. Dining Services listens to student feedback and works hard to make us good meals that we love (and makes the best chocolate chip pancakes and gives us waffle makers). Student recipes are often incorporated into menu rotations. And Dining Services staff get particularly excited at the opportunity to prepare and serve the occasional Bowdoin log! Housekeeping staff members keep our spaces clean, chat with us in elevators and lobbies and tell the best stories. Facilities workers respond quickly to student requests to make sure our spaces are cozy and safe, whether that means fixing a faulty shower head or removing a fallen tree branch from campus.

They help us cultivate a sense of friendliness. They set the precedent: This is what we do for each other here. We should be sure to show our gratitude to the staff members who make the College the welcoming, neighborly environment it is. While we are only here for four years as students, the people who keep our campus running are often here for decades, welcoming students and working to make Brunswick feel like home.

To Bowdoin’s newly admitted students: We hope you are excited to potentially join our community. Know that these are the people who help make it so special.

This editorial represents the view of the Editorial Board, which is comprised of Miles Berry, Abdullah Hashimi, Kristen Kinzler, Talia Traskos-Hart, Sam Pausman and Juliana Vandermark.