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A College employee who works in Thorne Hall and a first-year student living on campus tested positive for COVID-19 today, wrote Mike Ranen, COVID-19 resource coordinator, in an email sent to the community at noon. The employee and student are both asymptomatic and are both isolating.
On Tuesday, the Office of Alumni Relations hosted an hour-long talk with Alvin Hall ’74 discussing his new podcast, “Driving the Green Book,” which documents a road trip he took from Detroit to New Orleans. The talk, moderated by President Clayton Rose, delved into the origins and purpose of this project.
On Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the results of the U.S. presidential election were announced by major news outlets , four history professors—Geoffrey Canada Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History Brian Purnell, Professor of History Dallas Denery, Associate Professor of History Meghan Roberts and Associate Professor of History and Environmental Studies Matthew Klingle—gathered for the fourth panel in the department’s fall semester programming on the New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project, titled “The 1619 Project and Making Sense of the 2020 Election.” The panel began with a discussion about the legacy of Black women in American politics, with Roberts quoting from Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University Martha Jones’s 2020 book, “Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.” Roberts noted that Stacey Abrams has devoted herself to political organizing in Georgia since her loss in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race.
On Monday night, Representative Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) spoke to members of the Bowdoin community over Zoom on a range of issues, including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the recent presidential election and climate change. Haaland was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, and, as a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, was one of the first two Native American women to serve in Congress.
In an email sent to students on Thursday morning, Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi shared an update on the College’s spring residential plan for on-campus students. Odejimi laid out the various options, or “tracks,” available to students this spring.
Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases throughout Maine, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced on Friday, November 6 that students would no longer be permitted to leave campus for any reason, effective Saturday, November 7. While many on-campus students said they understood the reasons for this decision, the change was still met with disappointment.
In a few months, some students will be getting on planes and heading across the Atlantic, foregoing the snowy quad for a spring semester abroad like no other. These students will face the challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outside of the Bowdoin bubble.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) has hosted events for No Hate November every year since 2012, ranging from discussion groups and panels to keynote speeches delivered by public figures such as civil rights activist DeRay McKesson ’07 and actor Patrick Dempsey H’13.
Students taking personal leaves of absence (PLOA) for the 2020-2021 academic year may have to contend with a variety of policies regarding which College resources are available to them during their leave, according to the College’s Spring 2021 FAQ page updated Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Committee of Governance and Faculty Affairs (GFA) met to continue their discussion about inclusive excellence. Emma Maggie Solberg, associate professor of English, Jennifer Scanlon, senior vice president and dean for academic affairs, and Jeanne Bamforth, assistant to the dean of academic affairs, led this week’s faculty meeting.
Among honks and cheers temporarily heard on Maine Street, Brooke Vahos ’21, who is living off campus, stood at the edge of the Brunswick Mall with a “Honk for Biden” sign in celebration of President-elect Joseph R.
A College employee tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, according to an email sent to all staff and students from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen on Tuesday evening. The employee has not been on campus since October 28 and received their positive result from outside the College’s testing program.
Effective tomorrow at 8 a.m., on-campus students are not permitted to leave campus for any reason, including to conduct personal or essential business, wrote Mike Ranen, COVID-19 resource coordinator, in an email to all students and employees sent today at noon.
With the results of the presidential election still unclear three days after Election Day, Bowdoin students, along with the rest of the county, are stuck in a state of limbo. Emotions run high, off and on campus.
In an email sent on Wednesday evening, the Office of Off-Campus Study (OCS) announced that it would allow students to study abroad during the spring semester, with limitations. This decision came after all off-campus study was suspended for the fall semester.
Over 90 percent of students expressed their support for Former Vice President Joe Biden in yesterday’s presidential election, while just five percent expressed their intention to vote for President Donald Trump, according to the Orient’s election survey.
According to a survey conducted by the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) sent out on October 28, 83 percent of upper-class students report that they have either more work than usual or substantially more work than usual during this online semester than in a typical, in-person semester.
On November 3, professors across all departments were faced with a challenge: how to address the election. From canceling class to walking to the polls, professors had a variety of plans for students on Tuesday and throughout the week.
In their third year co-running the Native American Student Association (NASA), Amanda Cassano ’22 and Sunshine Eaton ’22 are taking the lead in organizing events to celebrate Native American Heritage Month this November. The first event, on November 9, will feature Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) in a virtual conversation with the Bowdoin community.
A faculty member who is infrequently on campus and teaching completely remotely tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to an email sent Thursday morning to the Bowdoin community from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen. The individual is the first faculty member and the second College employee to test positive since the beginning of the semester.
On Wednesday, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened its weekly Zoom meeting to discuss preliminary recommendations for the Spring Residential Agreement. BSG divided its approach into four categories: community norms, COVID-19 intimacy, how to gather safely and safe illicit behavior.
Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann shared the College’s 2020 Election Week events page in an email to all students on Tuesday. The programming, which includes professor-led conversations, yoga and meditation sessions, shuttles to the polls and watch parties on Election Day, post-election drop-in hours and the final installment of the history department’s “1619 Project,” includes 14 events—some in-person and some virtual—between October 27 and November 6.
Last weekend, the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC), alongside the Bowdoin Sustainability Office and Bowdoin Wellness Services, hosted a sustainability and wellness overnight trip at the Schiller Coastal Studies Center, the second trip to the Center this semester.
On Tuesday evening, in collaboration with the government department and Bowdoin Votes, the McKeen Center for the Common Good hosted a panel titled “Anticipating the Unanticipated: Puzzling Through What Might Happen Post-Election.” Moderated by Sarah Chingos, director of the Bowdoin public service initiative, the panel featured Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government Andrew Rudalevige, Professor of Government Michael Franz and Assistant Professor of Government Maron Sorenson.
Three alumni gathered on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the life and legacy of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as the role of the Supreme Court following her death. Moderated by Katie Benner ’99, a journalist covering the Justice Department for the New York Times, the panel consisted of Nancy Bellhouse May ’78, a longtime Court observer and editor of The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, and Dennis Hutchinson ’69, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, legal scholar and former federal clerk.
Five days before what is likely to be the most contentious national election in recent history and as more than 345,000 Mainers have already cast their ballots, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and Democratic candidate for U.S.
More than 75 students have signed Sunrise Bowdoin’s post-election statement, committing to a one-day strike from classes if President Donald “Trump and his allies completely and permanently stop votes from being counted” or “state legislatures attempt to dismiss and overwrite the vote of the people.” The statement is a contingency plan, and action will be dependent on the events following the election on November 3.
On Tuesday, Lisa Rendall, director of residential and housing operations, sent an email to students with information about the Spring Housing Lottery, which, for the first time in Bowdoin’s history, will be conducted entirely online. The College had been planning to conduct the housing lottery online in April, before it was announced that most upperclass students would reside off-campus for the fall 2020 semester.
In a reversal of the College’s previous policy, which imposed a strict November 21 deadline for all on-campus students to move out, a select group of students were informed last week that they have been approved to stay on campus beyond that date.
At this week’s faculty meeting on Wednesday, Roland Mendiola, interim director of counseling and wellness services, presented a nationwide survey that showed two-thirds of college students nationwide reported feeling “overwhelming anxiety” as part of their normal college experience.
With the student body scattered across the globe, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) class councils are working hard to prioritize connecting students and providing them with helpful resources. Each class council has slightly different goals. While first years are focusing on facilitating meetings and building community, upperclassmen are striving to make their final semesters special and enjoy more time together.
Despite challenges presented by COVID-19 and a remote semester, Career Exploration and Development (CXD) is finding ways to support Bowdoin students from a distance as they explore different career paths. The CXD eXplore Series, which began last weekend and continues this Saturday, brings together students and alumni to discuss possible career paths.
Ranked-Choice Voting Explained: Maine voters will use ranked-choice voting for the Presidential, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives elections. Maine absentee ballots must be returned to your municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.
Family Weekend, a long-time Bowdoin tradition, has gone fully virtual for the fall 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The celebration, which started yesterday and will end on Saturday, features a mix of synchronous and asynchronous online events intended to recreate some of the essence of the traditionally in-person occasion.
A student living off campus in Brunswick tested positive for COVID-19 last Friday, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann said during a town hall with off-campus students on Sunday. “We became aware of this on Friday because the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] (CDC) contacted us,” said Lohmann.
All Bowdoin students, faculty and staff now have institutional access to the Portland Press Herald through the Bowdoin library website. Marjorie Hassen, director of the College library, explained that there have been several requests in recent years from students and faculty for Bowdoin to establish institutional access to the Press Herald, but the paper has not had a model that would allow for institutional access until this fall.
Adapting to COVID-19 restrictions, the Bowdoin Public Service in Washington program is still moving forward this year. Instead of the program’s normal culminating trip to Washington, D.C., during the first week of spring break, the trip has been modified into a virtual program called Deep Dive D.C.
Last Friday, local candidates for the Maine State Senate, Maine State House and Brunswick Town Council congregated on a Zoom screen to share their campaign platforms and address questions posed by Bowdoin students. The forum, sponsored by Bowdoin Votes, Bowdoin Democrats, Bowdoin Republicans and the Government and Legal Studies Department, was moderated by McKeen Center Associate Director for Service and Leadership Andrew Lardie and Bowdoin Votes fellow Wilder Short ’22.
On Saturday, the Student Center for Multicultural Life hosted a retreat for first-generation (first-gen) first-year students living on campus. The event, which lasted the better part of the day, took place in Farley Field House, where the 26 first-year participants, six first-generation upperclassmen discussion leaders and staff and faculty who participated in a panel and delivered presentations were able to safely gather while maintaining social distance.
Explore Bowdoin, the annual Admissions event, has transitioned to a remote model this fall, providing Zoom activities and online information sessions to low-income and first-generation high school seniors. The program, typically stretched over two fall weekends, is instead occurring over two six-day periods: Explore Bowdoin 1, from September 13 to 19, and Explore Bowdoin 2, from October 18 to 24.
The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) conducted its first meeting of the 2020-21 academic year over Zoom last Wednesday. Kicking off the meeting, Marcus Williams ’21, BSG president, welcomed new members and introduced an overview of BSG in the era of COVID-19.
The Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) continues to provide trip opportunities for students living on campus despite the limitations on student activities due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). While the trips do look different, the BOC’s goal to provide outdoor experiences driven by student interests while cultivating a sense of community remains the same.
Despite a remote semester, Bowdoin’s Dance Marathon Team has maintained their passion for pediatrics and their desire to brighten the lives of children struggling with life-threatening medical conditions at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. The club is hoping to preserve its relationship with the hospital and its patients that began when Audrey Aitelli ’20 founded the club in the spring of 2017.
As students tune into Zoom lectures from across the globe, the Division of Student Affairs is launching an initiative to connect with students who are studying remotely. The Remote Connections Team, consisting of five staff members from the Division, is planning to reach out individually to every off-campus student this semester.
Cara Drinan ’96, a professor of law at the Catholic University of America, joined Bowdoin students and faculty on October 7 for a virtual discussion titled “Race, Crime and COVID-19.” Drinan has become a prominent figure in the battle for criminal justice reform, specializing in the right to counsel and juvenile sentencing.
Despite the challenges of a remote semester, the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) has been planning programs to engage and include the Latinx community during Latinx Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.
Effective Wednesday, October 7, students living on campus who miss a total of three COVID-19 tests will be asked to leave campus, according to an email from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen sent to on-campus students today.
President Rose announced that the College will allow all seniors, juniors and sophomores to return to campus in the spring in an email to the campus community on Monday afternoon. First-year international students and students for whom home is not a conducive learning environment will also be able to apply to live on campus.
On Thursday night, former Attorney General Eric Holder participated in a Zoom conversation with members of the Bowdoin community. Holder is best known for his service during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2015 as the first African American Attorney General in United States history, but he has also served in previous presidential administrations, including as Deputy Attorney General during the Clinton administration and as Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration.
As the end of September concludes students’ first month back in school, Bowdoin Queer Straight Alliance (BQSA) looks forward to its fourth annual OUTtober. OUTtober is a month of programming open to both LGBTQIA+ students and allies.
The Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) launched its first virtual speaker series on Thursday with a talk by Len Necefer co-hosted by the Native American Students Association (NASA). Each event in the semester-long series is accessible on CampusGroups and open to all students, regardless of their membership status with the BOC.
Over the summer, as part of its adjustment to remote learning, the College launched CampusGroups, a campus community platform that replaced Blink. Although originally intended to help manage clubs, CampusGroups has seen much wider usage, such as scheduling for events and making College-wide announcements.
The College is adding a seventh designation to the Alumni Fund called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). In conjunction with this expansion, an anonymous alumni donor will donate an additional $100 to the DEI designation for every donation given to the Alumni Fund between October 5 and 11.
In lieu of speaking about Joshua Chamberlain at the annual convening dinner, Senator Angus King (I-ME) took part in a Zoom conversation with the Bowdoin and Brunswick communities on Thursday night, addressing a variety of pertinent political issues, such as the upcoming election, the nomination of a new Supreme Court Justice, the growing partisanship in Congress and the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the first few weeks of a typical school year, first years would sign candidacy forms for their new classmates, pass out campaign literature and hang dozens of campaign posters around their dorms. However, like most traditions, campaigning for class council looked a little different this year.
This fall, a group of students is engaging in a six-week workshop series called “Race, Power, Oppression, and Liberation.” Responding to students’ interest in engaging in racial justice work at Bowdoin and beyond, the workshop will meet weekly to discuss personal identity and power, institutional and social systems of oppression, anti-racist work and liberation.
On Monday night, in the first Santagata Lecture ever to be held virtually, Thomas Bracket Reed Professor of Government Andrew Rudalevige moderated a political debate between political journalists Jonah Goldberg and Mara Liasson. Goldberg is a conservative columnist and a former editor of “National Review,” a right-leaning magazine.
BC-3 is a 144 acre plot of land that occupies the southwestern zone of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. Once used for base operations and military training, the land now serves as a monument to Brunswick’s rich history and biodiversity.
COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced that a member of the Bowdoin staff has tested positive for COVID-19 in an email sent to the College community on Thursday night,. The staff member is the first employee to test positive since the beginning of the fall semester.
Editor’s note 10/04/2020 at 7:56 p.m. EDT: This article has been modified to reflect an update from Dean of Student Affairs Janet Lohmann. Students currently taking a personal leave of absence (PLOA) must submit their request for re-enrollment by 5 p.m.
Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Friday, the Bowdoin community is mourning her passing this week. A virtual celebration of her life as an icon and trailblazer for gender equality under the law, hosted by the Sexuality, Women and Gender Center (SWAG) and the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies (GSWS) Department, will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m.
With the 2020 election steadily approaching, groups across campus are kicking voter outreach into high gear. Andrew Lardie, associate director for service and leadership at the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good, has taken a central role in promoting voter engagement through Bowdoin Votes, a nonpartisan voting initiative run through the McKeen Center.
The Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good is hiring a student antiracism fellow for the first time this year and re-evaluating their programming and leadership structures to incorporate more voices of people of color. Over the summer, McKeen Center staff created an antiracism subcommittee, composed of Sarah Seames, director of the McKeen Center, Andrew Lairde, associate director of service and leadership and Avery Friend, administrative coordinator, to reassess the Center as a whole.
The Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) recently announced it will have a $165,000 budget for the fall semester. This total includes approximately $65,000 for operating budget clubs such as Bowdoin Student Government (BSG), The Bowdoin Orient and College Houses.
All students living on campus are required to disclose their departure plans to the administration by October 2, Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi announced in an email to these students on September 17. The announcement has heightened feelings of anxiety and uncertainty among students for whom returning home is not a possibility and who are still unsure whether they will have an opportunity to apply to stay on campus during the winter holidays or the spring semester.
Bowdoin Dining Service, usually one of the leading employers for on-campus students, has had to make changes to its hiring practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these difference are reductions in hour availability, modified positions and new training procedures.
In separate emails to the classes of 2021 and 2024, Vice President of the Bowdoin Student Government Harry Sherman ’21 announced the results of the respective class council elections Monday morning. Voting in both elections opened on Friday and closed Sunday at midnight.
President Clayton Rose laid out the College’s updated spring semester schedule in an email sent to the campus community on Wednesday. Classes are expected to start on February 8—two weeks later than originally planned—and most will continue to be taught online.
With the semester well underway, the looming possibility of the College experiencing an emergency closure and sending all residents home is a persistent threat. For international students living on campus, this threat raises a number of questions regarding embassy closures, time differences and access to technology in their home countries.
The College is offering weekly COVID-19 testing to all students living off campus in Brunswick for the fall 2020 semester. The plan was announced in an August 26 email from Student Health Insurance Coordinator Cathy Hayes.
The High Holidays are considered a time of reflection for the Jewish community, but this year they fall during a time of reflection for the whole College community. When Hillel received requests from 29 on-campus students to attend the organization’s Friday Rosh Hashanah dinner—nine students more than the maximum capacity for campus gatherings—the College had to make a decision.
Over the past few months, the College has implemented various measures to safely bring some students back to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. From altering dining halls to cleaning common areas more often, many departments on campus have been hard at work.
On Sunday, students were notified that the College’s status had been moved from “orange” to “yellow,” allowing students living on campus to leave for essential needs, visit the College’s libraries, study in certain academic buildings and gather in common areas in both their own and other residence halls.
Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi reminded students about the College’s supplemental and emergency funding program in an email sent on Monday. The funding, which is available to students through the Office of the Dean of Students and does not have to be repaid, comes from donations from alumni, parents and friends of the College.
Previously scheduled to reopen to on-campus students on September 7, the doors to Hawthorne-Longfellow Library remain temporarily closed as campus status remains in orange. However, that does not mean library staff have not been busy behind the scenes—they have been doing everything from revamping the online delivery system to wrapping up dozens of books in brown paper bags for on-campus pick-up.
President Clayton Rose went before the Brunswick Town Council via Zoom on Tuesday to express concern about racism in the Brunswick area, sharing news of two separate racist incidents that occurred in Brunswick during the last month.
This afternoon, Professor of History Patrick Rael and Geoffrey Canada Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History Brian Purnell will kick off a four part discussion series inspired by the New York Times Magazine’s “The 1619 Project.” The series, sponsored by the history department, was inspired by the social and political movements that swept across the United States after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers in May.
During their first full weekend on campus, many first years and their Residential Life (ResLife) advisors found ways to connect and build community that complied with the College’s Residential Community Agreement. However, in an email to the campus community on Sunday, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann explained that some students had engaged in behavior that violated current College protocols.
According to an email from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen sent to the Bowdoin community on Saturday, a third student on campus has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now in isolation. Three additional students, identified through contact tracing, will be placed in quarantine for 14 days because they were in close contact with the student.
Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann announced several staffing changes to the Division of Student Affairs in an email to campus on August 3. These changes follow departures from Counseling and Wellness Services, the Center for Multicultural Life, the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) and the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good.
The first week of the semester saw the rollout of the College’s ambitious testing program for the fall. The plan dictates that students must be tested three times a week—Monday, Wednesday and Friday—for the first two weeks of the semester, and then twice a week—with one group tested on Mondays and Thursdays and the other tested on Tuesdays and Fridays—until campus closes before Thanksgiving break.
Students living on campus have agreed to follow the rules outlined in the seven-page Residential Community Agreement, a guide for student life, quarantine protocols and overall health policies. Rules outlined in the Residential Community Agreement governing the conduct of students living on campus are stringent.
In an email to the campus community on Wednesday, President Clayton Rose provided an update on the College’s plan for anti-racist work in the upcoming months. “I am writing to follow up on my message of June 11 about our work ahead on race and racism,” Rose wrote.
In an email to all students on July 24, Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon laid out the College’s plan to provide an Apple iPad Pro with available Wi-Fi and cellular data connectivity, an Apple Pencil 2 and the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad to every enrolled Bowdoin student and interested professor.
One student has tested positive for COVID-19 after results from tests administered on Wednesday were released to students and the College community early Thursday morning. According to an email sent to the Bowdoin community from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen, this is the first positive case identified through the College’s testing program in partnership with the Broad Institute.
As first years, student staff at the Office of Residential Life and approved upperclassmen moved onto campus in late August, they said goodbye to a number of things. Some of the 653 students residing on campus said goodbye to their hometowns, while some said goodbye to their home states or home countries.
Editor’s note 09/07/2020 at 2:28 p.m.: A previous version of this article mistakenly reported that, under the formal resolution process, the determination of responsibility is done internally (within the Bowdoin community) and the decision about sanctions is done externally (outside Bowdoin).
A survey conducted by the Orient and sent to all Bowdoin faculty members shows that most approve of the College’s plan to bring some, but not all, students back to campus. Of the 65 faculty members who participated in the survey, 86 percent approved or strongly approved of the plan, three percent disapproved or strongly disapproved and another 11 percent neither approved nor disapproved.
The College announced July 27 that it is now able to host international first years on campus due to a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directive. The news walks back President Clayton Rose’s announcement on July 23 that first-year international students would be barred from campus in the fall.
The College announced it will send all students an 11-inch Apple iPad Pro with available Wi-Fi and cellular data connectivity, an Apple Pencil 2 and the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad in an email on July 24.
The College has confirmed that 164 returning students, or approximately eight percent of the student body, will take personal leaves of absence for the fall 2020 semester. Another 37 students from the class of 2024 will defer enrollment to the fall of 2021.
Despite concerns from some students about equity and remote learning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Clayton Rose announced that the College would return to a letter grade model in a campus-wide email on Thursday, July 2.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is rescinding its July 6 directive which would have barred international students taking entirely online classes from remaining in the United States, a measure embroiled in controversy since its announcement a week ago.
In the midst of Bowdoin’s preparation for the fall 2020 semester, Jennifer Scanlon, dean for academic affairs, hosted a Zoom Town Hall for students and their families on Thursday. Michael Cato, chief information officer, along with the members of the Continuity in Teaching and Learning Group, joined Scanlon in answering student questions and discussing how Bowdoin will execute its first-ever entirely remote semester.
In a Zoom Town Hall for international students hosted Thursday morning, College administrators answered questions from international students adversely impacted by the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) guidance which would deny current student visa holders legal presence in the United States if their classes are held entirely online.
Citing in-country restrictions and State Department travel advisories associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Off-Campus Study (OCS) announced in an email Monday morning that it planned to suspend off-campus programs for the fall semester.
In an email sent to the community yesterday, President Clayton Rose wrote that Bowdoin will submit an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit that Harvard University, the University of Southern California and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) submitted on Wednesday.
Benje Douglas, director of Title IX and compliance, took on an expanded role on July 1 as the associate vice president for inclusion and diversity as well as the director of Title IX. Michael Reed, senior vice president for inclusion and diversity, and Janet Lohmann, dean of student affairs, announced Douglas’ new role in an email to the College community on June 26.
A new directive announced by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) on Monday that strips international students studying remotely of their legal immigration status prompted panic and feelings of uncertainty amongst Bowdoin’s international student community.
Since the College announced that nearly all courses will be online for the Fall 2020 semester, faculty and students have been approaching academics at Bowdoin in new ways. As students anticipate browsing course offerings, which will be released on Classfinder today, professors have been preparing for the fall by rethinking course material and modes of teaching.
