Bowdoin College, here in Brunswick, is surely among the wealthiest institutions in Maine. Its capital assets, combined with its endowment, total well over $2 billion, and conversely, its non-profit status subjects it to very little in tax obligations at all levels.
Bowdoin prizes its stature as a paragon of diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism. It seeks to infuse its students with a lifelong commitment to advancing the common good and a devotion to service to others.
Its facilities are expansive and ever-growing. Housing, food services, field houses, gyms, ice rinks, common/social spaces, museums, arts rehearsal spaces (remember Longfellow Elementary?) and others too many to list define the luxurious accommodations on campus. Medical and counseling services are part of the basics on campus, as are focus centers serving various minorities.
Given the above, shouldn’t it be expected that Bowdoin will publicly step up to the challenge of welcoming and providing for the needs of refugees and asylum seekers now arriving in Maine from other U. S. locations? The College has the expressed mission, the financial wherewithal, and the spacious and varied facilities to take this challenge on with grace and aplomb.
In the same vein, Colby and Bates should be stepping up to the pressing needs as well. Perhaps the office of Governor Janet Mills could call upon leaders of all three to inspire them, seek their help, and convince them that others need them like never before. Wouldn’t it be something to see these three historic, mission-oriented colleges practice serving the common good as they have long preached?
Pem Schaeffer,
Brunswick
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