Introduction

In this edition of the biannual Bowdoin Orient Student Survey (BOSS), 378 students shared their opinions on the Bowdoin Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment, the transition to Workday, AI usage, favorite dining hall ice cream flavors and more.

Current Events

On a scale from zero to ten, the average approval rating for the encampment sat in the middle at 5.68. However, the average approval rating for the College’s response to the encampment was lower, sitting at 3.95.

Students shared a wide range of opinions on the encampment, with 79 respondents commenting about the situation. Many were in strong support, others in sharp disagreement and a range of views fell in between.

“The College’s goal is to defend the institution of the College, but it also has a responsibility to protect students, and this is especially difficult to balance during the Trump administration,” a student from the Class of 2027 wrote.

“Although I understand why the College had to make the tough calls in regard to locking Smith [Union], I think that what happened afterward was murky, unclear and very unlike Bowdoin. The lack of communication from the administration made me feel confused [on] where Bowdoin stood, especially when news of the suspensions broke,” a student from the Class of 2026 wrote.

Some students also expressed concerns about the Orient’s coverage of the encampment and Bowdoin Student Government’s (BSG) response to the encampment.

“The Bowdoin Orient and BSG no longer support the entire Bowdoin College community…. I have no faith in the Orient or BSG. These two groups are both echo chambers where no other diverse opinion can be voiced,” a student from the Class of 2027 wrote.

When asked if their stance on the encampment changed as the encampment progressed, 29 percent of respondents reported their opinion on the encampment improved, 31 percent reported that their opinion worsened and 40 percent had no change in stance over time.

Regarding the letter the College received from the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce, students responded with an average concern level of 6.98 on a scale from zero to ten.

Students reported a 4.96 level of satisfaction on a scale of zero to ten with the Ad Hoc Committee on Investments and Responsibility report released in March, which, in part, discussed the College’s response to the Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum passed last May.

Respondents also shared opinions after the College transitioned to using Workday, replacing Polaris. Fifty-seven percent of respondents either strongly or slightly preferred Polaris.

On a scale of zero to ten, respondents reported an average confidence rating of 4.83 going into registration on Workday. Thirty-seven percent of respondents reported that the source from which they learned the most about using Workday was their friends. Students shared in the comments section a general level of dissatisfaction with the transition.

“The Workday transition was messy, and I think that the College should’ve waited another semester to work out the kinks and held onto Polaris for a bit [longer]. I was personally lucky as a rising senior, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for the other years…. Even though Workday may logistically be easier from the inside, I can’t help but be hugely disappointed,” a student from the Class of 2026 wrote.

When asked if their career plans had been disrupted by the federal hiring freezes, 22 percent of students reported that they were impacted.

Academics & AI 

The BOSS also investigated academics and AI at the College, which have become increasingly intertwined, especially since Reed Hastings ’83 donated $50 million to launch the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity at Bowdoin.

Overall, the approval rating of Hastings’ gift fell at 5.64 on a scale of zero to ten, demonstrating neutral attitudes toward the donation from respondents. With the influx of money, the College plans to hire ten more faculty members in the next several years and train current faculty on AI usage in their respective departments. Furthermore, the College hopes to establish a committee headed by faculty members and students to implement AI in different aspects of the College.

At 46 percent, slightly less than half of respondents believe that the College should implement a school-wide AI usage policy and 87 percent of respondents have used AI in general. However, only ten percent of respondents have used Amplify, the AI platform provided by the College, in classes. Of those who use Amplify, the majority do so in economics courses. Sixty-five percent of respondents say AI usage is allowed in some capacity in their classes.

The majority of respondents, 65 percent, think academic rigor has increased since last year. This number is an eight percent increase from the previous BOSS, when 57 percent of students believed rigor had increased from the prior year. Additionally, 58 percent of respondents believe that their majors or prospective majors need more faculty members to support their departments.

Approval Ratings

To determine student opinion of different entities within the Bowdoin and Brunswick communities, the Orient asked students to rate their approval.

Starting last semester, department ratings are converted into scores and ranked accordingly to better reflect student opinion. Points are awarded by assigning weights to responses and then calculating the total sum for each department. “Strongly approved” responses received two points and “approved” responses were awarded one point. Departments that received a “neutral” response counted as a half-point, while “disapproved” and “strongly disapproved” responses negatively impacted the total sum awarded by -1 and -2 points, respectively.

Dining Services continues to be the most popular entity on campus, a pattern that has existed for the last five semesters. This semester, Dining Services had a 610.5 net approval, a 20 percent increase from last semester.

The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) remains the most unpopular entity among students, with a net approval of -66 points, a 281 percent decrease from 41 points last semester. This semester, BPD is the only group with a negative net approval among students surveyed.

The faculty, a student’s academic advisor, Brunswick, Maine, and the Bowdoin library system rounded out the top five most approved entities, with net approval scores of 504.5 points, 468.5 points, 467.5 points and 425 points, respectively. All four of these institutions also saw increased approval from last semester.

The Bowdoin Orient ranked sixth, increasing from tenth place last semester. The Orient received a net approval score of 381.5 points, a 23 percent increase from last semester.

President Safa Zaki dropped from 11th place in the rankings last semester to 15th place this semester, clocking in at a net approval of 235.5, a slight decrease from the previous semester.

Five entities saw dramatic drops in approval from last semester: BPD, BSG, the Office of the Dean of Students, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe and the recently renamed Treasury Funding Commission (TFC).

Hoppe fell from ninth place in the rankings last semester to 27th this semester, a 72 percent decrease. In the wake of disciplinary action against SJP protestors during February’s encampment, the Office of the Dean of Students also saw a large decrease, dropping from 17th to 26th place.

“My overall disapproval of Bowdoin is more my disappointment with the way administration handles and has handled events pertinent to or of interest to our student body. In my mind, this handling has been quite ad-hoc instead of embodying the common good. I feel a little duped by the marketing, to be perfectly frank,” a student in the Class of 2027 said.

Amid recent budgetary issues, TFC dropped 57 percent compared to last semester but remained at a similar ranking, from 27th place to 28th place.

Fun Questions

Additionally, the BOSS explored student characteristics. Students stay aware of what is happening on campus, with 74 percent of respondents reading the student digest. Although a controversial flavor, mint chocolate chip was the favorite dining hall ice cream, with campfire s’mores and cookie dough as close runner-ups.

First years learned of their sophomore college house decisions on March 3. Despite a lower approval rating for the college houses, this was the highest application year in recent history. While 27 percent of respondents had no opinion regarding sophomore houses, Boody-Johnson House and Reed House tied for the best College House, with Baxter House following behind by three percent.

Students who selected Reed as their favorite house were overwhelmingly associated with the humanities or social sciences, while fans of other houses were more spread in majors across the sample.

During a time of volatility in the stock market, only 44 percent of respondents are invested in the stock market. Ninety-six percent of students have found belonging at Bowdoin, an increase of two percent from last semester.

Last year, 87 percent of respondents gave a damn. Although only 80 percent of respondents give a damn this semester, it is an increase from 77 percent last semester and breaks the trend of decreasing giving a damn levels at the College.

Ava Arepally, Janet Briggs, Julia Dickinson, Eve Foley, Shihab Moral, Kaya Patel and Campbell Treschuk contributed to this report.