February 24, 2026 Message to the Community

Dear Bowdoin Community,

At the beginning of the semester, we wrote to you to share new and revised campus policies about the use of campus space and related issues and to invite your feedback.

Our aim from the outset was to provide clear and consistent guidelines Over the past few weeks, through conversations with members of the original committee, listening sessions, breakfast meetings, and individual conversations and emails, we have heard a variety of feedback from members of our community. We deeply appreciate the questions and feedback raised during these conversations. While often varied and sometimes conflicting, this feedback has reiterated the importance of clarity. We are writing today to share the clarified and refined policies, which have been informed by what we have heard. As we wrote in our last message, we will continue to collect feedback over the course of the spring semester, and the policies will be reviewed after the 2025-2026 academic year.

With gratitude,

Jim & Jen

Overview of Policy Refinements

The policies are posted on the College’s website. The Freedom of Expression and On-Campus Protests and Demonstrations, Publicity, Outside Organizations and Solicitation on Campus, and Use of College Property policies are each posted in two different places on the website. They are posted in the student Code of Community Standards (https://www.bowdoin.edu/dean-of-students/ccs/campus-life/index.html) and on the employee policies site (https://www.bowdoin.edu/hr/employee-handbook/general-policies/index.html). The content of the policies is the same in both places. The Registered Faculty and Staff Groups policy is posted on the employee policies website (https://www.bowdoin.edu/hr/employee-handbook/general-policies/index.html).

We provide an overview of the clarifications to the policies below.

Freedom of Expression and On-Campus Protests and Demonstrations Policy

This policy outlines the College’s guidelines applying to protests and demonstrations. Our clarifications include the following: 

• We clarified that this policy is intended to apply to protests and demonstrations. Other policies, including the Use of College Property policy, govern events and activities more broadly.

• We received feedback that the initial language in this policy implied that organizers of all events and activities may be held accountable for actions by non-College community members who have been invited or encouraged to attend those events or activities. To address this, we clarified that organizers and participants in protests and demonstrations must take special care when inviting external guests to our campus because while outside voices may amplify messaging, they can also shift the focus of a protest and/or create safety risks.
• We made explicit in the policy that in the event concerns about a protest or demonstration are raised, the College will, when possible, make efforts to work with the organizers to address and remedy those concerns.
• We made refining edits to the advance consultation section of the policy to make clear the section is focused on students, who are particularly encouraged to consult with the College in advance.
• We moved the restrictions on projecting messages from this policy to the Publicity, Outside Organizations and Solicitation on Campus, which addresses other restrictions on messaging in and on buildings. 

Registered Faculty and Staff Groups Policy

This policy establishes a registration process for faculty and staff groups. Today’s clarifications include the following:

• We’ve clarified that not all faculty and staff groups must complete the registration process. Faculty and staff groups that form through academic or administrative departments, programs, or offices, or that are academic in nature (for example, reading groups, writing groups, professional development cohorts, or research collectives), may reserve rooms through their department and put up posters in the individuals’ own name or the name of their department and do not need to register. Groups of faculty and staff that wish to access certain College benefits, including the ability to reserve space, use equipment, post notices, use the College’s name in a group name or on social media, and host meetings or events that are open to the public must register with the College.
• We made refining edits to clarify the registration process and detail the circumstances in which registration is required.

Publicity, Outside Organizations and Solicitation on Campus

Today’s clarifications include the following:

• As noted above, we moved the restrictions on projecting messages on or in campus buildings from the Freedom of Expression and On-Campus Protests and Demonstrations policy to this policy. 

Other Overall Changes

• We made minor edits in various sections of the policies to ensure consistency across policies.
• We made edits to streamline the policies, including eliminating duplicative language.
• For each of these policies, we also refined the language to clarify community and accountability expectations, including that where applicable, students, faculty, and staff are accountable consistent with how they are to all other College policies.

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