The 2024 General Election is only 38 days away. As you walk around campus, the approaching election may appear obvious, with Bowdoin Votes regularly tabling and partisan student organizations hosting community events. Though these signs suggest a politically active community, we believe that there is a missing piece to student political engagement— conversation.

As the Bowdoin community prepares to navigate a tumultuous time in the upcoming weeks, students should see healthy discourse as a tool for processing changes to the political landscape. Engaging with peers on difficult topics, rather than ignoring them, will bring the community together and help students become better civic leaders.

Healthy discourse involves not only welcoming difficult dialogue and being open to ideas that contradict one’s own, but also ensuring the conversation does not undermine someone’s lived experience or identity. Discussions should be focused on policies, systems and ideologies rather than on personal attacks or questioning someone’s dignity. We recognize the difficulty of engaging in such conversations. They can be hard to navigate and ignite an emotional response, but we urge you to not turn away from the discomfort.

The recent activity of Bowdoin Votes as well as specific political party student groups is no doubt commendable and bodes well for the political engagement we have created on campus. Nonetheless, the absence of interpersonal political conversations lingers.

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity has begun holding weekly talks covering the country’s current political climate and, notably, is hosting dinners after the lectures to further facilitate political discourse within the community. These dinners serve as an opportunity to digest complex content and help faculty, staff, students and Brunswick community members engage in political conversation through the help of a facilitator and discussion prompts. We applaud the College for providing the opportunity to have difficult conversations in safe spaces and for supplementing students with these resources in a contentious political climate.

However, it is important to remember that Bowdoin—whether we like it or not—is an echo chamber. Outside of our enclosed campus, the country is engaging in often uncomfortable political dialogues. While approaching difficult topics at Bowdoin is socially challenging, it is important to recognize the value that comes from seeking these conversations out.

The Offer of the College implores students “to gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work / And the criticism of your own.” We must break these stagnant practices of comfort, preparing ourselves for future unpleasant conversations in less forgiving environments. Creating change requires individuals and communities to embrace challenges head-on. As changemakers, it is impossible to tackle world issues while shying away from reality.

We encourage you to keep this notion of healthy discourse in mind as the election approaches. Difficult conversations will begin to occur more throughout your day-to-day life—especially after November 5—among friends over dinner, in dorms with ResLife facilitation and between members of athletic teams. While these conversations may include disagreement, they should always hold respect and appreciation for your peers in our Bowdoin community.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Editorial Board, which is comprised of Caroline Adams, Catalina Escobedo, Ella Ferrucci,  Shawn Jiminez, Maile Winterbottom, Kristen Kinzler and Vaughn Vial.