January 22, 2026 Message to the Community

Dear Bowdoin Community,

Last spring, President Zaki shared that the College would review our policies on the use of campus space and related issues. This review was undertaken in response to requests to clarify policy statements and how they applied across campus. To create the committee, we consulted with the Bowdoin Student Government, the Governance and Faculty Affairs Committee, and the Staff Advisory Committee, and convened a group of faculty, staff, and students. The committee was tasked with reviewing our existing policies – some of which applied only to specific campus locations – and providing recommendations for comprehensive, campus-wide policies that would apply to all community members.

This committee met numerous times during Spring 2025 and Fall 2025 semesters, and we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the committee members for their comprehensive and diligent work. Their dedication was extraordinary: they conducted extensive community outreach last spring, gathering feedback from many individual campus stakeholders, and worked tirelessly on complex and sometimes contentious issues.

As a result of their hard work, the committee put forward a report containing policy recommendations for consideration by Bowdoin’s senior officers. You can read the report in its entirety here, and it will be evident how deeply the committee’s work informed the policies. While there are differences between the policies and the recommendations in the report, the senior officers worked to represent the underlying principles at every turn. Informed by the report’s recommendations, Bowdoin has moved forward with issuing new and revised policies on the use of campus space and related issues, effective starting today.

A strong recommendation from the committee was that we create a mechanism for ongoing community feedback and continue to assess the policies' effectiveness. In support of this recommendation, we are offering members of the community an opportunity to provide comments. Please send feedback on the new policies to workingtogether@bowdoin.edu. We greatly value your input and look forward to hearing from you.

A key priority for this process was to have policies in place that support our goal to foster a positive and welcoming campus for all Bowdoin community members. We recognize that community members will express diverse views and offer dissent, and that disagreements about which perspectives to support or challenge are inevitable. An important recommendation of the committee was to develop policies that are content neutral, and applicable to a variety of situations and circumstances. Clear policies help our community members understand what is and is not permitted with respect to the use of Bowdoin College space and associated activities. They are designed to preserve what makes Bowdoin special – access to great resources on our campus and the ability for our students to engage in academic expression – while institutionalizing clear guidelines around conduct and use of College property.  

Below, we wanted to provide a high-level overview of the key updates to existing policies and changes we are making:

• An updated Use of College Property policy (including building use) that clarifies facility use must be consistent with the College’s educational mission and that all campus events and speakers must be sponsored by a College department or office, a registered student group, or a registered faculty and staff group. The Building Use Policy now also clarifies that all use of College grounds and facilities must not disrupt normal College operations or otherwise interfere with the security and safety of the members of our community. The Building Use Policy is available here for employees and here for students.
  
  
• An updated Postering Policy that establishes guidelines for posters in all campus buildings, not just Smith Union. Posters must include the identity of the sponsor, be hung in designated areas, and may not monopolize any designated area. The revised Postering Policy is available here for employees and here for students. 
  
  
• A new Freedom of Expression and On-Campus Protests and Demonstrations Policy that clarifies and puts in one place the College’s rules applying to events and activities, including protests, including that they may not block access; prevent, obstruct, or disrupt operations; violate law or College policies; interfere with the rights of others; harass or discriminate; or damage property. The Freedom of Expression and On-Campus Protests and Demonstrations Policy is available here for employees and here for students.
  
  
• A new Registered Faculty and Staff Groups Policy that establishes a registration process for faculty and staff groups, requires registration for the ability to use College facilities to sponsor events or host meetings, and requires compliance with College policies. The new Registered Faculty and Staff Groups Policy is available here.  

The policies will be applied in alignment with our existing Code of Community Standards and Faculty and Employee handbooks.

Community feedback over the course of spring 2026 is encouraged, we have created an FAQ about these policies on this page and will update it over time. The new policies will be reviewed, taking into account community feedback, after the 2025-2026 academic year.

 

Sincerely,

Jen Scanlon, Senior Vice President & Dean for Academic Affairs
Jim Hoppe, Senior Vice President & Dean for Student Affairs

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