“Whatever Bowdoin wants, Bowdoin gets” — or some variation thereof — is a refrain at times overheard and tinged with frustration whenever a matter of contention between the college and town residents goes Bowdoin’s way. Whether or not that refrain is earned is subject to debate. The fact remains that the perception is there.

Case in point is a lawsuit filed by Bowdoin against 87-year-old Arline Lay over her attempts to sell her house at 28 College St. — the last bit of property in that area not owned by Bowdoin. Last week, a judge ruled that Lay was barred from selling her home per a 1996 agreement. The college sued Lay and and the potential buyer of the home, Louise Jonaitis, arguing it had already exercised its option to purchase the property.

As a consequence of the ruling, if Lay is to sell the home to a third party, she needs a legally binding release from Bowdoin to do so.

Lay and Jonaitis argued, unsuccessfully, that the 20-year-old agreement only granted Bowdoin College first refusal on the property, not to purchase it.

Lay’s son, James, was incensed by the ruling, contending that Bowdoin plans to demolish the historic house. A spokesman for Bowdoin said as the college does not yet own the house, “it is premature to speculate on how it may be used in the future.”

The home has been priced as high as $3 million in the last few years and advertised as the home where Harriet Beecher Stowe penned most of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” — a claim flatly denied by the college, which owns the Stowe House on Federal Street.

It could be easy to cast Bowdoin as a bully in this matter — the college with a $1.3 billion endowment putting the screws to an elderly woman. But, it should be noted that the house’s value is $285,000, not $3 million, according to a 2016 appraisal document listed in the court file, and that the Lays have never offered concrete evidence to support their claim regarding Stowe.

The fact that Bowdoin has sued and won against a Brunswick taxpayer does little to help the town’s perception of Bowdoin College.

It’s not unusual for there to be friction between town and gown in college communities. We would be remiss not to note how important Bowdoin is as an economic force. According to figures released by the college, updated October 2016, Bowdoin is the ninth-largest employer in Cumberland County and 25th largest in Maine.

Although the school does benefit from some exemptions, Bowdoin paid nearly $227,000 in property taxes in 2016 and contributed a little more than $132,000 to Brunswick as its annual “unrestricted contribution” to the town.

The vibrancy of Maine Street, and its eclectic collection of eateries and shops rather than dive bars and empty storefronts, is due in very large part to the presence of that small, liberal arts college. Bowdoin estimates its students spent $2.7 million locally in 2016.

Bowdoin does have wonderful museums, and the college is kind enough to rent out its facilities to Maine State Music Theatre and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (not aligned with the college). And every year the college does host a Martin Luther King Jr. children’s celebration.

So why is it one can’t help but feel a wall between the college and the community surrounding it — that the college, well, doesn’t care what the town’s perception of it is?

The Bowdoin Bubble will persist as long as that perception remains.

Bowdoin has an opportunity to shake its perception a little as it plans to renovate its historic athletic facility at Whittier Field. Brunswick residents living on Bowker, Pine and Mclellan streets say they’re concerned over light pollution, noise and traffic that will come with a revamped field. These are not products of a NIMBY mentality, but legitimate concerns.

The college must be an active listener, further it must act as good neighbors in response to those concerns. To do otherwise only reinforces the Bowdoin Bubble.