Sills Hall has been a campus staple since the building opened in 1952; in the decades after, it served as a longstanding home to the humanities. It held Smith Auditorium, which served as a cornerstone of the Cinema Studies department, showing a variety of films and other campus programming. Even though the redesign fundamentally alters the interior by removing the auditorium, we appreciate how it preserves the original intent, keeping quiet study spaces and professors’ offices while enhancing these features with modern design elements.

We are also appreciative of the way student and faculty feedback was incorporated into the new building. Creating spaces for the good of the Bowdoin community requires intentionally listening to the wants and needs of those who will actually use those spaces. In particular, opportunities to actively take part in designing spaces, such as the furniture testing feedback sessions that took place last fall, helped keep student and faculty voices centered throughout the renovation process.

Sills is now home to the Romance Languages and Literatures, Russian, German and Classics departments. Although these fields do not attract students in masses like the Biology or Government and Legal Studies departments, the College is underscoring its commitment to the humanities by dedicating a space to majors with smaller enrollments. The space is accommodating to both faculty and students; by investing in the physical spaces where the humanities are studied, the College demonstrates the value it places in these disciplines. Amid the evolving role of technology in education and the incorporation of the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity, Sills stands as a stalwart of the traditional values of a liberal arts education.

Warm lighting fixtures and natural light make even larger common spaces and lecture classrooms feel inviting. The design of the space reflects the nature of the departments the building holds, with its potential to foster class discussions and one-on-one meetings with professors. Simultaneously, the College has preserved many of the hall’s original interior spaces, such as the staircases and the wooden fixtures in the Peucinian Room. The patio space, albeit inaccessible from outside of the building, also provides students with a large outdoor study space.

With broader construction planning underway as the new campus plan develops, many students remain unsure of how they can share their input. According to data from the Spring 2025 Bowdoin Orient Student Survey, 64 percent of respondents were unaware of the ongoing campus planning process, and only eight percent of those who were aware of the plan reported attending a listening session. In order for as many voices to be heard as possible, the College must clearly communicate opportunities for feedback, from informal tabling to hosting listening sessions.

Going forward, we call on the College to continue seeking input from community members on campus spaces, especially as work continues on the campus master plan. If the College continues to listen to voices throughout future renovations and reconstructions, it will create hospitable, welcoming places that inspire collaboration and cultivate an intellectually robust liberal arts education.

This editorial represents the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is composed of Ava Moore, Rin Pastor, Kaya Patel, Andy Robinson, Margaret Unger, Catalina Escobedo and Caitlin Panicker.