Dear members of the Bowdoin community,
Every year, Bowdoin increases the diversity of students on campus, but cohabitation does not necessarily mean integration. Over the past year, Bowdoin students have gathered to discuss the ways in which institutionalized racism persists on our own campus.
Many Bowdoin students of color do not feel equally respected and protected within this institution. Many Bowdoin students—not just those of color—are dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the racial climate on campus. Many Bowdoin students are tired and aching for change.
This letter is our assessment of the current state of affairs regarding the inclusion of racial and ethnic diversity in the College, including instances in which unequal treatment has affected students’ interaction with other students, faculty and staff. We aim to open meaningful discussion of real integration at Bowdoin, and to begin to design actions to support a more inclusive campus. We are looking for institutionalized action and the collaborative support of the Bowdoin community. Only together can we realize our vision of a Bowdoin where current and future students of color are heard, supported and valued.
In this letter, we aim to illuminate the difference between political correctness and that which is morally imperative: equality, inclusiveness and authentic mutual respect. We acknowledge that aspects of this letter may seem harsh and that the discussion of race is a difficult one. Our intention is to begin this dialogue with our honest evaluation of current realities, so that we may have genuine engagement that ends with concrete action.
We refer to our campus as the “Bowdoin Bubble,” but it is here at college that we ought to be taught to confront the issues that trouble the world outside. And further, we ought to be taught to identify the ways in which these issues pervade our own campus.
We invite the College to engage in this dialogue with us, so we can support each other in making Bowdoin a genuinely inclusive and egalitarian experience. This issue affects the well-being of the campus as a whole; we aim to open a discussion that will foster positive change for all. Our conscience and our commitment to the common good should know no bounds.
As members of an institution of higher learning, we at Bowdoin are in a privileged position to engage in a dialogue—to share our diverse experiences, listen and learn from each other. Real privilege would be to come out of this College truly understanding one another. With this letter we strive to, as a community, realize the Offer of the College:
“To be at home in all lands and all ages; / To count Nature a familiar acquaintance, / And Art an intimate friend; / To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work / And the criticism of your own; / To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket, / And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake; / To make hosts of friends . . . / Who are to be leaders in all walks of life; / To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms / And cooperate with others for common ends— / This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.”
Signed (not including many members of the community who wish to remain anonymous):
Michelle Kruk ’16
Claudia Villar-Leeman ’15
Emily Jaques ’17
Emily Simon ’17
Elizabeth Gonzalez ’15
Julia Berkman-Hill ’17
Adriane Krul ’15
Violet Ranson ’16
Sophia Rivero ’15
Gabi Serrato Marks ’15
Julia Mead ’16
Allyson Gross ’16
Briana Cardwell ’17
Rickey Larke ’15
Matthew Goodrich ’15
Dillon Sandhu ’16
Maya Reyes ’16
Meredith Outterson ’17
Courtney Payne ’15
Dash X. Lora ’16
Maddie Lemal-Brown ’18
Sergio Gomez ’16
Sam Seda ’15
Angela Stovall ’15
Christine Rheem ’15
Faustino Ajanel ’16
Monique Kelmenson ’15
Anna Reyes ’15
Alexxa Leon ’15
Cailey Oehler ’15