On June 2, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Workforce sent a second letter to President Safa Zaki and Chair of the Board of Trustees Scott Perper regarding the College’s response to the ongoing congressional investigation into antisemitism and February’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment.

The committee’s investigation into the College began on March 27 with the first letter addressed to Zaki and Perper. In this letter, the committee requested all documents related to disciplinary action taken against students or faculty involved in the encampment, a description of the agreement that led to the disbanding of the encampment and a list of all student disciplinary cases related to antisemitic incidents since October 7, 2023.

In the June 2 letter, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the College’s response to its original demands.

“Despite repeated follow-up requests by Committee staff, Bowdoin has failed to meaningfully comply with these requests,” the letter read.

The letter details that the College provided the committee with a narrative response summarizing the administration’s conversations with students in the encampment on April 10. However, the letter alleges that the College provided no documentation regarding disciplinary action, the understanding reached to disband the encampment or disciplinary cases related to antisemitic incidents.

On April 14, the committee reiterated its requests for the documents via telephone. On April 24, the College’s Office of the General Counsel responded with a summary of Bowdoin’s actions to address the encampment, including the suspension of SJP through the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

On May 2, the College provided a document containing a summary of the overarching disciplinary actions taken against 66 students who participated in the encampment—as well as against SJP as a student organization—and emails sent to the campus community throughout the duration of the encampment.

The College did not comply with the committee’s requests for documents related to specific student disciplinary cases in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act— a federal law that protects certain information about students from disclosure without consent. Referencing this partial compliance, the letter threatens further action.

“Bowdoin’s failure to produce these documents in a timely manner is unacceptable. If Bowdoin should continue to refuse to fully comply with the Committee’s requests, the Committee will proceed with issuing compulsory process,” the letter read.

The committee urges that the College comply with the original letter’s requests for the outlined documentation by June 16.

Senior Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood confirmed that the College is actively reviewing the letter and the committee’s requests.

“There is no place for antisemitism at Bowdoin. The College is committed to an environment where everyone is supported and valued,” Hood wrote in an email to the Orient. “Bowdoin is reviewing the June 2 letter and will continue to engage in good faith with the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.”