Last Friday, faculty members gathered in Mills Hall for their first meetings of the semester. They discussed, among other topics, what the recent policy changes outlined by Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe in his email to campus last month entail for faculty, staff and students at the College.

President Safa Zaki provided ways in which faculty members can better support students on campus with the presence of federal law enforcement officers in Maine. She went on to emphasize the College’s support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, joining 47 other higher education institutions in the country in support of the rights of international faculty and students.

Zaki discussed a then-upcoming “Know Your Rights” session on Monday that the College held in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. She stressed this session as a resource for faculty and students seeking more information on important topics in light of recent events.

Zaki wrapped up her remarks by welcoming Professor of Natural Sciences and Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment and Student Advising Rachel Beane as the next senior vice president and dean for academic affairs. Beane will replace Jennifer Scanlon, starting at the beginning of the next academic year.

Following Zaki’s initial address, several faculty members raised the topic of student speech and expression on various social media platforms, questioning whether the new policies put into place by the College should more specifically articulate rules and regulations regarding speech on social media.

Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon then took the podium to provide updates from the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee on artificial intelligence’s (AI) trajectory for students regarding ethics, as well as what this change might look like for library liaisons at the College in the future.

Scanlon went on to elaborate on the purpose behind the new policies regarding postering, building use and demonstrations, emphasizing the safety of the campus community as the priority.

Several faculty members posed the question of how these new policies might affect their teaching processes in the future. Others emphasized their qualms and disillusionment with the decision making process, saying how faculty voices are not being heard enough.

Following this discussion, a motion to suspend the policies was proposed.

Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs Chair and Professor of English Aaron Kitch discussed the disruptive nature of AI on student learning. Kitch discussed how students seeking jobs must balance education and their prospects of joining the workforce, noting that student learning, motivation and evaluation needs to be rethought.

Lastly, Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Keona Ervin made an announcement on behalf of the Bowdoin chapter of the American Association of University Professors calling to strengthen and implement the core principles of academic freedom. Ervin discussed how this is especially important in times of increasing threats to such freedoms, as she sees the current handbook providing insufficient protection from outside political interference.

The next faculty meeting will take place on February 27 in Mills Hall.