The first student encampment of the new year (and new administration in the White House) is at my alma mater here in Maine. Who doesn't love a polar bear in a keffiyeh? Go, you bears!
The seal of Bowdoin College makes visual reference to the fact that, when founded, it was the first campus in the U.S. to see the sun. Bowdoin's long stated commitment "the Common Good" is at odds with its investments in Israel's genocide in Gaza and violent occupation throughout Palestine.
Source for all photos: Bowdoin SJP Instagram
Students have done a fine job of organizing -- including for community support -- and have gotten quite a bit of press coverage for their indoor encampment. (Why indoor? It's February and 7 degrees where I sit typing these words.) Here's their current press release, with links to coverage.
BOWDOIN STUDENTS DEFY LOCKDOWN, EXPAND ENCAMPMENT
DESPITE THREATS FROM ADMINISTRATION
BRUNSWICK, MAINE, FEBRUARY 9TH, 2025: Amid intensifying repression from the Bowdoin College administration, students remained resolute in their commitment to the Shaban Al-Dalou Union Encampment, demanding the immediate implementation of the Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum that passed by a supermajority in May of 2024. Despite the administration imposing a lockdown on the building, issuing repeated threats of disciplinary action, and creating physical barriers with campus security, the encampment continues to grow as students and community members rally in support. Today, the encampment enters its fourth day. Read our original press release here.
WHAT’S HAPPENED SO FAR:
DAY ONE (FEBRUARY 6TH, 2025): At 6:30PM, Bowdoin students set up an encampment in Smith Union, the student center on Bowdoin’s campus. They renamed the building ‘Shaban al-Dalou Union’, after a 19 year old software student in Gaza who was displaced repeatedly and burned alive by an Israeli airstrike on his hospital tent. Students were immediately warned by administrators to remove the encampment or risk disciplinary action. In response to this threat, more students rushed to join their peers, and over 50 students voluntarily identified themselves to members of College security in order to continue encamping the building.
DAY TWO (FEBRUARY 7TH, 2025): In the early hours of the second day of the encampment, Bowdoin College escalated its response by locking down Shaban Al-Dalou Union, disabling key card access, and stationing officers to prevent entrance into the encampment. A campus-wide email from Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Jim Hoppe at 8:16 AM announced the indefinite closure of the Union and threatened vague disciplinary consequences for participants. Hoppe, known for overseeing the mass arrests of 118 students during a similar encampment at Emerson College, has continued his pattern of repression at Bowdoin.
Despite these efforts to quash student activism, support
from students, faculty, and community members has sustained and helped grow the
encampment in Shaban al-Dalou Union. At 1:10 PM on February 7th, a group of
students rallying outside the building broke through the security perimeter,
allowing over 20 students to join those already within the building.
DAY THREE (FEBRUARY 8TH, 2025): On February 8th, at
11:00AM, over 100 students, faculty, and supporters rallied outside the Union,
amplifying calls for the college to uphold its responsibility to honoring the
demands of the referendum and the Common Good. Watch this video for a closer look at
the community rally. Throughout the day, Bowdoin students and members of the
broader Maine community rallied outside Smith Union and provided supplies and
support to those encamping the building.
DAY FOUR (FEBRUARY 9TH, 2025): As of 2PM on February 9th, students continue to remain within the Shaban Al-Dalou Union despite continued threats of escalating disciplinary action against student protesters. They have remained resolute in their commitment to Palestinian liberation and have reiterated their commitment to the encampment until the College meets the demands of the Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum.
This encampment, the first of its kind since the start Trump administration, is a direct response to the genocide in Gaza and the Bowdoin’s complicity in funding Israeli aggression. President Trump’s recent calls for the United States to “take over” Gaza stress the urgency of student action against systemic injustice.
We are not afraid. We are not in a hurry.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
The Bowdoin Orient:
- Students
for Justice in Palestine form encampment in Smith Union
- Bowdoin
Safety and Security lock down Smith Union, SJP encampment continues
- SJP
encampment enters night two, College security presence remains
- On third day of SJP encampment, protests continue, College administers disciplinary process
Common Dreams:
Maine Public:
WGME:
Portland Press Herald:
- Bowdoin
College protesters barred from campus building push past to join
encampment
- Bowdoin College students face discipline for pro-Palestine encampment
Bangor Daily News:
Drop Site News:
- Drop Site on
X: "Bowdoin Students Establish First Palestine Solidarity Encampment
of the Trump Era”
- Drop Site on X: "It’s Day 3 of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment at Bowdoin College"
###
How you can support student demands right now from wherever you may be:
Contact college administrators to say:
- Stop threatening students for peacefully protesting in their own student union building
- Honor the demands of the student body as laid out in the Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum
- In keeping with the Common Good, Bowdoin must act against genocide and should not punish students for peacefully saying so
(If applicable, join me in signing a letter of support from alumni.)
If you're able, head to campus with signs of support. How to find the Shaban Al-Dalou Union?
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