Update on Bowdoin College crackdown on student Gaza supporters

 

The Bowdoin Orient was established in 1871 and is considered the oldest continuously-published college weekly in the U.S.

 

 Disciplinary process continues as hearings for temporarily suspended students begin

By Kaya Patel

Orient Staff

February 21, 2025

Formal hearings for the eight students temporarily suspended for participating in the Bowdoin Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment began yesterday and will continue today. These hearings will decide the final verdict for the students’ disciplinary status.

Following the voluntary end of the encampment, student protesters remaining inside were informed that they would have a few hours to gather their belongings from their dorms before they would be asked to leave campus. Professors of the suspended students were notified that the students would not be allowed to attend their classes until given permission by the College. In preparation for the hearings over the last week, students had the opportunity to prepare materials and elect people to speak to their character.

“The last week has been rapidly navigating this process that I’m hoping ultimately works out in a way that allows me to return to campus,” encampment organizer Olivia Kenney ’25 said.

Instead of receiving a traditional formal hearing process under the jurisdiction of the Conduct Review Board, the hearings are taking place in front of a presiding dean, which is permissible under specific circumstances, according to Associate Dean for Community Standards Jimmy Riley. 

“In rare or exceptional circumstances, a Formal Hearing may be conducted administratively before a single presiding dean who will act as both a finder of fact and the adjudicator of a sanction, if any,” the Code of Community Standards reads.

While some suspended students questioned the decision to undergo the hearings without the Conduct Review Board involved, they are hopeful that this process will result in a faster decision and a swift return to campus if the presiding dean decides in their favor.

“While it feels a little less democratic because we don’t have a jury of our peers, it does kind of give us a chance at a slightly faster process,” encampment protester Asher Feiles ’27 said. “It’s already been a long time. I don’t know how much longer it would be if we had a Conduct Review Board [hearing], but I’m sure it would probably be longer.”

Encampment protester Finn Torres ’25 hopes that the presiding dean will consider the intentions of the students when making a verdict on their punishment. According to Torres, the administration claimed that the goal of the hearings was to arrange an educational but not punitive outcome for the suspended students, and he hopes this holds true.

“I guess my hope is that it’ll end up turning out that we’ve got someone who will understand where we’re coming from, what we’re going through, what our intentions were and find an outcome for us that makes sense,” Torres said.

Students who were told that they would receive formal disciplinary hearings but were not suspended following the encampment will now have informal hearings with a dean instead.

In addition to the student disciplinary processes, the encampment resulted in the punishment of a Brunswick resident. Bruce Gagnon, who entered Smith Union during the encampment, received a criminal trespass warning from the Brunswick Police Department on Wednesday, banning him from stepping foot on Bowdoin’s campus for the next year. If he violates this order, he will be arrested for criminal trespassing. Gagnon wrote in his blog that his intention for entering the building was to “take a look at the scene and [give] a cheer to the occupiers.”

Gagnon’s connections with the Justice for Palestine movement extends beyond the College. Gagnon hosts monthly rallies for Palestine across Maine with former independent U.S. Senate candidate Lisa Savage [Bowdoin class of] 1977. They also regularly travel to Saco, where they protest at the General Dynamics factory, a bomb manufacturing facility alleged to produce weapons [targeting devices] used by Israel against Palestine.

“I’ve been protesting most of my life. I’m 72 years old…. I don’t know what I’m going to do now if protests continue,” Gagnon said in an interview with the Orient. “Because I can’t not find a way to support the people.”

Kenney expressed gratitude for the ongoing support of their peers and campus despite their physical isolation from the community.

“So many people have stepped up to let me know that they’re supporting me personally, but also to advocate on our behalf—for us to receive amnesty in this disciplinary process—from faculty, alumni, students and people across the whole community,” Kenney said. “That’s been really inspiring and strengthening, and I really hope that I am allowed to physically rejoin the Bowdoin community.”

Over 550 alumni have signed a petition that calls for Bowdoin to exercise amnesty for all students involved in the encampment. Additionally, more than 50 Jewish alumni have signed a similar petition calling on the administration to stand with students rather than punish them.

Torres echoed how impactful this support has been for the suspended students during this process.

“The visual presence, the physical presence, of people standing with us, supporting us and reminding us that we’re not alone,… I think is really reassuring,” Torres said. “It feels like Bowdoin is waking up.”

The disciplinary process will continue for the students impacted in the upcoming weeks.