Approximately 20 students and several College officials met Tuesday to discuss safety and inclusiveness on campus in a BSG-sponsored town meeting. For some, however, the meeting raised more questions than it answered.
After opening remarks from the co-moderators, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) President Dustin Brooks '08 and BSG Treasurer and Safe Space Co-Coordinator Nicole Willey '08, students were given note cards and asked to write reflectively about "places you've felt unsafe or places you've felt very safe." The moderators cautioned against using specific names or specific names of groups.
Participants were then split into groups of five, each with a group leader. The note cards were then collected and randomly passed out to be read aloud. The cards reflected a wide variety of opinions about a number of issues.
"It feels unsafe when guys use dancing as an excuse to touch me," one student wrote.
Another wrote, "I think the focus on safe and unsafe places at Bowdoin is misplaced. While this dialogue is important, it is important to remember that a lot of what is 'unsafe' takes place in private spaces on campus."
A third wrote about how he or she "felt unsafe freshman year when I had a roommate conflict," believing the administration did not listen to his or her problems.
The cards sparked conversations about many issues including the role of the administration in dealing with issues of safety, the way people behave at parties, and the effect of alcohol on behavior. Students reconvened after discussing these issues in the small groups.
As the meeting closed, Sara Schlotterbeck '08 asked a question?"the elephant in the room," as she described it?about the alleged incidents that had precipitated the community discussion.
"Can we talk about what happened at Smith House?" Schlotterbeck asked the moderators.
"What would you like to hear about Smith House," asked Brooks, adding, "and how can that help?"
"Something obviously happened and that's why we're having this meeting this week," said Schlotterbeck. "I want to know what we don't know."
Brooks sidestepped the question. "It's hard for us to have a definable truth," he replied.
He offered an opportunity for some of the administrators present?Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, and Director of the Counseling Service Bernie Hershberger, among others?to address the specifics of the alleged incidents.
Silence followed.
Willey then asked, "Was anyone there at Smith House at the time of the incident?" Nobody replied. "Then no one here knows what happened," she continued.
Willey added, "Our position here is not to spread any rumors but to have a conversation about safety."
Darren Fishell '09 was unimpressed with the administration's silence in response to Schlotterbeck's question. "I thought there should have been a little bit better of a response from the administrators and I think they could have anticipated that question about the incident and had some kind of response planned," he said.
In a later interview, Foster addressed the issue of rumors. "When something happens on campus and the Bowdoin rumor mill gets cranked up...there is an interesting question about our responsibility to dispel rumor by giving clear information about what happened," he stated. "That can be very tricky?whether to do that, when to do that and exactly how to do that."
Foster added, "It's tricky to respond to that in a way that can be respectful to everyone involved and can also be accurate, based on what we know and what we believe happened."