Henry Abbott

On Tuesday, February 11, Ronan Farrow spoke in Kresge Auditorium to a crowd of students, professors and community members alike about the responsibility and challenges of the next generation. Early on in the talk, he and moderator Theo Greene discussed how academics and journalists currently find themselves under fire for their roles as truth-seekers. For a non-partisan journalist, Farrow was shockingly adamant that our current situation should raise alarm. He implored students to recognize the Trump administration’s assault on democracy and free speech.

One piece of advice Farrow stressed was that individuals should vigilantly and stringently seek the truth—through research, dialogue and, of course, healthy skepticism.

We saw Safa Zaki and Jim Hoppe near the front applauding Farrow. We’re very glad they enjoyed the talk. Ironic though, given that the very same week, College administration and security locked student protesters in Smith Union, a 24/7 building for … having political opinions?

On Monday, one day before the talk, all of Smith Union was closed. This is despite the fact that the protesters were unobstructive—there were no protesters in the game room, the Café, the C-Store, the Pub or the Bookstore. Instead, they were chilling in Morrell Lounge—a God-forsaken space that we’ve never seen more than fifteen people in—but a student space nonetheless. In an effort to silence protesters from voicing their beliefs, Bowdoin closed a space that’s always been used for all-nighters and pretending to do work but really hanging out.

In recent emails, the College claimed that it was students who had forced their hand in shutting down the building, but the reality of the situation was that security had blockaded people out. Bowdoin—a school that has made its employees work through blizzards and active shooters—was now suddenly willing to shut down student spaces over free speech.

Since Covid-19, we’ve seen a tightening of freedoms within the student experience—from a reduction in off-campus housing to registered parties having to end at 1 a.m. While it sucks to have your banger shut down and to see everyone stream off to Supers like the sheep they are, recent events are an escalation of this concerning trend. Most of the College population are legal adults. Why are our hands being held—and choices being made in our name—so often?

In an email one day before she applauded Farrow, Safa said that “the students involved in this demonstration have strongly held convictions, and activism has a long history at Bowdoin and at colleges across the country.”

Given the administration’s reaction to the protest in Smith, and its refusal to honor the student referendum passed by a supermajority last year, it would seem that they have no interest in engaging with that long history of student activism. But, in a time where free speech and the future of academia are under attack, can Bowdoin afford to shut our free-speech party down?

Benny Adler and Michael Gordon are members of the Class of 2025.