This year’s Eco Bash was a success, per usual. Tote bags were painted, an array of rice was cooked, and trees were climbed. Students had a fun day learning about the environment in a well-organized variety of workshops. Before the workshops started, however, climate activist Eben Bein took the stage in the Nicholas Athletic Center. Bein’s speech was the talk of the Upper School (US) for the next three days, unfortunately overshadowing a great day.
Bein began by introducing their philosophy of “connected bodies.” Essentially, Bein believes that each of our bodies are connected to one another, all grounded by the overarching body of the Earth. They chose to explain this with a slide that read, “bodies, bodies, bodies, bodies, bodies.” Students began exchanging concerned looks, wondering how Bein — who seemed somewhat unhinged — had been chosen. Bein eventually spoke about their experience with the Massachusetts Youth Climate Coalition as well as their time spent as a teacher. They explained how they transformed their students into mini activists by involving the students in their own activist affairs and protests.
Bein presented photos of the protests in which they had participated; the demonstrations began as climate protests and then became politically oriented. Bein’s speech did the same. “In order to understand our climate, we must understand all of the issues behind it,” they said.
Bein touched on themes of women’s rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the war in Gaza. They spoke about their hatred of independent schools and how the schools are raising “good little capitalists.” (It’s good to know your audience.) By the end of their speech, Bein had spent only five minutes talking about the environment. Not only were Bein’s philosophies utterly bizarre, but they mentioned problematic opinions that upset students.
Having an outside speaker always comes with some amount of risk. Yet, there are steps that the school takes to evaluate speakers. As stated in the Guest Speaker Vetting Policy Handbook, which was last updated in 2023, the school must do the following prior to welcoming a guest speaker: a) review the speaker’s biography, publications, and past presentations to ensure they align with BB&N’s mission, b) conduct a reference check with another school, c) review all online presences of the speaker, and d) request a summary of the speech before it is given to the school.
Bein had spoken at other Independent School League schools prior to Eco Bash, where they used problematic language when discussing the war in Gaza. Red flag number one. US Director Jessica Keimowitz negotiated with Bein in order to prevent this issue, asking them to use the term “Israel-Hamas War.” Bein agreed.
Red flag number two: Two days before Bein was scheduled to speak, the school reached out for a copy of their speech. Bein did not share the speech, saying they had not written it yet.
It’s unclear whether the school looked at Bein’s social media, but if it had, it would have found inappropriate content — hundreds of mini red flags. It took The Vanguard 10 minutes scrolling through Eben’s Instagram account to find their “horny poems.” Other posts discussed their mental instability and fortified political opinions.
In the future, the school must check speakers’ social media platforms more carefully. Need help? We students are great at stalking on socials. Overall, the school needs to put more care into its vetting processes. We agree that having dialogue is valuable, but extreme positions must be moderated or balanced by another perspective.
