By Haley Costen
Staff Writer

Students acted quickly on Sept. 10 when a hawk swooped down to the academic quad and disturbed a nest of rabbits.

Diane Hammer, director of the Simmons Institute for Leadership and Change (SILC), noticed the hawk outside of her office window and went down to the quad, camera in hand.

The hawk proceeded to dig around a patch of grass until it unearthed a nest of rabbits. It carried one rabbit away while the other three bunnies in the nest scattered across the quad.

Students quickly scooped up the rabbits and placed them back in their nest after posing for a few photos.

The photos were posted on the Simmons College Facebook page and were met with some criticism.

One Simmons alum voiced displeasure that the students physically handled the bunnies.

The bunnies were placed back in the nest at the advice of the Animal Rescue League, according to Hammer.

“They suggested we put them back in the hole in case the mother rabbit were to come back,” Hammer said in an email interview. “When I left, the three were back in their hole and our students had covered them up again, hoping that the mother will move them to a safer place.”