Bowdoin Socialists publishes on Instagram and at this website, covering political economy, labor history, and campus affairs. On February 12, 2026, Bowdoin Socialists published a report on former Bowdoin trustee Jes Staley ‘79 and his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, drawn from documents released by the Department of Justice. The following day, Director of Student Activities Nate Hintze emailed Rhys, ordering Bowdoin Socialists to stop all activity until registered as a student organization. Rhys replied that Bowdoin Socialists was not seeking recognition and had not claimed affiliation with the college.

Hintze insisted Bowdoin Socialists must register or obtain department sponsorship. After Rhys objected, Hintze escalated the matter to Dean of Students Lisa Hardej. On February 27, Hardej ordered Bowdoin Socialists to stop publishing and threatened Rhys personally with sanctions for failing to comply with a college official’s request. Hardej’s email also stated that the college had received reports about the content of the Bowdoin Socialists’ Instagram posts — the specific trigger for the college’s intervention.

On March 12, 2026, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) wrote to President Safa Zaki. FIRE’s letter identified three distinct problems with Bowdoin’s actions. First, the college had no authority to restrict students from associating outside of any formal registration process: it “cannot prohibit students from associating with unregistered student organizations like the Socialists any more than it could prohibit association with a local church, chess club, or theater troupe.” Second, the college’s policy did not actually prohibit unregistered student organizations from publishing — making its enforcement of an unwritten rule arbitrary and a violation of due process. Third, demanding prior registration before any student group could publish constituted a prior restraint, which FIRE identified as “the most serious and least tolerable infringement on freedom of expression.”

FIRE noted that while Bowdoin is a private college not bound by the First Amendment, it has made independent promises of free expression: “students have every reason to believe their rights would be substantially the same as the rights they enjoy off campus under the First Amendment, which protects merely offensive expression.” The letter stated that “any coherent interpretation of freedom of expression necessarily includes the right to express criticism of those in authority without first seeking the approval of that very authority.”

The letter also addressed the college’s stated reason for intervention: the content of Bowdoin Socialists’ posts. Hardej’s email to Rhys acknowledged that the college had received reports about the Socialists’ Instagram posts — posts that included the Epstein report and political commentary the college found controversial. FIRE’s letter made clear that the college cited no legitimate interest that could justify a sweeping restriction on student expression, and that “administrators have unbridled discretion to enforce such unwritten requirements against any organization they dislike.”

FIRE demanded a substantive response by March 26, 2026, confirming that Bowdoin would allow Bowdoin Socialists to continue publishing on its website and social media, and would refrain from sanctioning Rhys or any other student associated with Bowdoin Socialists. FIRE’s public case page noted that the college had “barred” Bowdoin Socialists from social media.

The full FIRE letter is available at fire.org. FIRE is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending free speech at American colleges and universities.