Amira Oguntoyinbo

Following a year of virtual programming and intense on-campus restrictions, the class of 2024 was limited in their opportunities to get to know each other, the school and the surrounding area. Now, the College and the BOC are aiming to help the sophomore class make up for lost time.

On Sunday, Sept. 26th, the Student Activities Office hosted Sophomore Sunday, a sophomore-only event on Coe Quad. There was a live performance from Mistaken For Strangers, a student band made up of five sophomores and one first year, free gelato and official class shirts distributed.

“It was really just an opportunity for students to connect with each other. That’s why we had the bands and the gelato to hope that people didn’t just come pick up their t-shirts but got to know each other a bit more,” Associate Director of Residential Life and Residential Education Celeste Hynes said.

“In the first few weeks, not really having a lot of events and going back to Yellow, having this event, I felt like it was a sign of good faith from Bowdoin,” attendee Philip al Mutawaly ’24 said.

The BOC is also hosting fourteen sophomore-only trips this weekend to try and help the grade connect as well.

“Our motivation surrounding Sophomore Weekend was to give them an introduction. It seems like they missed out on a lot of introductory avenues into becoming involved with things on campus, like the Outing Club,” BOC leader Jessica Bae ’22 said.

The trips range from surfing at Popham Beach to jumping off bridges at Wolfe’s Neck State Park to swimming in the bioluminescence, giving the sophomores priority to experience traditional BOC offerings for all experience levels.

“A lot of our trip leaders are also really enthusiastic about doing that because they want to give as much exposure to the Outing Club to students as possible, and we really emphasize giving those experiences to people that might not have a natural in,” Bae said.

The College has planned more sophomore specific events throughout the upcoming year as well. The Student Activities Office is planning the rescheduled sophomore brunch and class photo and hopes to work with college houses for more events.

Additionally, the McKeen Center Common Good projects will begin running shortly and are particularly looking for sophomores to participate and take on leadership roles in a variety of projects. “We’re so ready to get back into it and get back into college life,” al Mutawaly said. “It is really amazing to see the amount of positive energy that our class had coming in from the summer and the amount that we’ll have now coming out of Yellow.”