Students inside encampment suspended as President Zaki aims to bring demonstration to a close
February 10, 2025
Miles BerryStudents still inside of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment in Smith Union after the 8:30 a.m. deadline received physical letters from Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe informing them that they had been placed on “immediate temporary suspension.” According to a photo of one of these notices posted on SJP’s Instagram story, the letters extensively cited language from Section 1.D. of the College’s Code of Community Standards explaining and justifying the suspension.
The letters also informed students inside the encampment that they must vacate campus by 5:00 p.m. today, are prohibited from attending classes and that they may not return until receiving permission from the Dean’s office.
According to protestors gathered outside of the south entrance to Smith Union, around 15 students remained in the encampment after the 8:30 a.m. deadline for suspension set by the administration at 11:00 p.m. on February 9. Immediately preceding and following this deadline, no protestors were observed leaving the building.
At 10:00 a.m., President Safa Zaki sent a campus-wide email regarding the College’s handling of the encampment and the extended closure of Smith Union.
“As of this morning, a number of students remain inside the Smith Union despite repeated efforts over the weekend by staff and members of the faculty to convince them to end the encampment. Some students did decide to end their participation and have departed but those who remain require us to keep the building closed today,” Zaki wrote.
In the message, Zaki acknowledged the history of activism at Bowdoin, but also stated that the encampment violated multiple College policies, had disrupted regular operations in Smith Union and had resulted in multiple community members feeling “unwelcome, intimidated and unsafe.”
“As a result of their actions and their disregard for clearly stated college policies, we have informed all the students involved that they will face our student disciplinary process,” Zaki continued.
At the end of her statement, Zaki definitively stated that the protest would be coming to a close imminently.
“The encampment will end, and we will reopen Smith Union as soon as possible,” Zaki wrote. “The last three days have been difficult for the Bowdoin community, and I appreciate the efforts by so many to resolve this situation.”
At the time of writing, students remained inside the encampment.
Lily Echeverria contributed to this report.
SJP Encampment
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Expel them
Imagine feeling “unwelcome, intimidated, and unsafe”. Then imagine being a Palestinian in Gaza, with bombs and artillery shells provided by the American government destroying your country, killing your civilians, and a US president who wants to remove you to create a “Riviera of the Middle East”. Imagine.
When did the definition of “College” or “University” change? Is a College or University not the place where rigorous inquiry and open discussion are valued and encouraged?
There is a government lockdown on speech which the college has passed on to the student body. There is only one acceptable narrative which is that Israel is not to be criticized. Nor is US support of Israel which has made and continues to make this ghastly Zionist violence possible.
It seems to me that Bowdoin’s SJP has reminded the administration, in a harmless and positive manner, that inquiry and discussion lead to courage, wisdom, humanity. They have my deep admiration for their actions and for the loving attitude they brought to those actions.
Will Bowdoin be the first College to stand up to the shallow reasoning behind this intellectual oppression?
Can we allow Colleges to become echo chambers of cruel policies?