Editor’s Note, Saturday, March 28 at 8:02 a.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Mitchell Institute announced a name change. The Mitchell Institute instead wrote that they planned to initiate a process to consider a potential name change for the organization. The article has been updated to reflect this. 

At the most recent faculty meeting, a faculty member asked President Safa Zaki if the College intended to rename the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections and Archives in light of the information made public by the Department of Justice about Mitchell’s ’54 H’83 ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Zaki responded that the College was “actively reviewing” the situation, mirroring comments made by Director of Communications Doug Cook shortly after the release of the latest files. However, other colleges and universities have responded decisively to the information, renaming institutions and programs named after Mitchell or other figures tied to Epstein.

Bowdoin lists ethics as a priority in its mission statement. To maintain its commitment to a “moral environment,” the College must remove Mitchell’s name from its Special Collections and Archives.

The department is a cornerstone of the College’s academic resources. Not only is it a resource frequently accessed by faculty and their classes at Bowdoin, but it also attracts researchers from around the world interested in the College’s collections. This deep history we are all a part of is currently under Mitchell’s name. Surely that is not the inscription we want upon our legacy.

After the release of the files, Queen’s University Belfast, of which Mitchell was a former chancellor, took down a bronze bust in his honor and removed his name from its Mitchell Research Institute. Furthermore, the US-Ireland Alliance announced recipients of the prestigious exchange program will be called US-Ireland Alliance Scholars as the organization selects a new name.

Throughout Maine, institutions are reckoning with their ties to Mitchell by renaming several programs and buildings. The Mitchell Institute, a program that aims to expand access to higher education in Maine, announced that they were initiating a process to consider a potential name change and accepted Mitchell’s resignation as an honorary chair of the organization. At the University of Maine, a task force has been created to accept public commentary and engage with the renaming of the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and the Mitchell Peace Scholarship. In Waterville, where Mitchell was born, parents of students at the George Mitchell Elementary School pushed the district to pursue a name change.

This is also not the first time Bowdoin has contended with the fallout from the Epstein files: Former Bowdoin trustee James “Jes” Staley ’79 P’11 visited Epstein’s private island and engaged in extensive email communications with Epstein, information which was revealed while he was still a trustee. The College did not remove him from this position, inciting numerous protests, teach-ins and op-eds from the campus community—including the Orient’s editorial board—for the College to act. Staley resigned as a trustee in 2021.

As further information on ties to Epstein has been released about Staley and others, including Mitchell, the College’s failure to remove Staley from the Board of Trustees has resurfaced. Former President Clayton Rose’s 2019 comment that Staley represented “all that is great about Bowdoin” still hangs over campus. Many resent the College for not acting or even offering an apology for supporting Staley for so long.

Removing Mitchell’s name gives the College a rare second chance to remedy what angered so many just five years ago.

In solidarity with the victims, we ask the College to remove Mitchell’s name from Special Collections and Archives as soon as possible.

This editorial represents the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is composed of Julia Dickinson, Abdullah Hashimi, Kaya Patel, Margaret Unger, Catalina Escobedo and Caitlin Panicker.