Dear reader,

It is Bowdoin Orient policy to not remove any article published on our website except “in extraordinary circumstances.” While we believe in the journalistic principle that underpins this policy—that the public is best served by the uninterrupted and free flow of information—two events in the past two weeks constitute extraordinary circumstances.

First, Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained by federal authorities. Öztürk is an F-1 visa holder whose only known political engagement was an op-ed published in The Tufts Daily last year. Second, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Workforce sent a letter to President Safa Zaki last Thursday demanding documents on the Bowdoin Students for Justice in Palestine Encampment. The detainment of Öztürk demonstrates the current executive administration’s willingness to persecute non-U.S. citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights; the letter tells us that the federal government has turned its attention to our campus.

Given these events, we have decided that—at the request of the author—we are willing to take down op-eds that are written by non-U.S. citizens and that could put the writer’s visa or immigration status at risk. However, we also write this letter to encourage our readership to continue advocating for their beliefs in the pages of our opinion section.

We have published our updated Opinion policy on the Orient website, and we encourage you to read it.

Sincerely,

Kristen Kinzler and Vaughn Vial

Editors-in-Chief