Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed an array of topics pertaining to Ivies weekend and internal matters at its two first meetings of the month.

BSG’s April 6 meeting began with a discussion of the changes made to Quad Day, a celebration traditionally held on the Brunswick Apartments Quad on the Friday of Ivies weekend. Quad Day will be relocated to the Harpswell Apartments Quad and the adjacent parking lot it shares with  Farley Field House. The festivities will commence at 2:30 p.m., and restroom access will be available in Watson Arena. Chair of Student Organizations Elijah Stitson ’22 explained that the process to reform Ivies has been a collaborative one involving students, deans, ResLife, Student Activities and Security.

“No one staff member, student or student group can take credit for the progress we’ve made so far,” Stitson wrote in an email to the Orient. “We’re all truly inspired by the level of student engagement we’ve received … We know [the reformed Ivies will] be a new tradition that makes us proud to be Bowdoin students.”

Training for students who wish to be involved in facilitating the reformed Quad Day will begin in the coming weeks.

“We want to get a representative group of athletes, non-athletes, [across] racial lines, gender lines … to make sure [Friday] looks like something we can all be proud of,” Stitson said.

He also emphasized that the relocation of Quad Day to the Harpswell Apartments Quad was motivated by a desire for the upperclass students who live in Harpswell Apartments to take responsibility for the event.

Regarding the security aspect of Ivies, Chair of Student Affairs Miranda Baker ’24 said that Randy Nichols, director of Safety and Security, contacted her after she discussed the distrust between the sophomore class and Security in the April 1 issue of the Orient, which she believes stems from Security’s role in enforcing Covid-19-related policies during the fall 2020 semester.

She added that she has been working with Nichols to organize events held in the College Houses where House members, affiliates and other students can meet with Security officers to build trust before Ivies.

Adding to the discussion of safety during Ivies, Class of 2023 Vice President and Peer Health member Susu Gharib said that Peer Health would organize “Perfect Pour,” an event in the weeks before Ivies to inform students about safe alcohol consumption. This event is in addition to Peer Health’s “Sex Fest” held last Saturday, which aimed to spread awareness about sexual health and wellness.

On April 13, the topic of constitutional reform dominated discussion. BSG Vice President Andrew Kaleigh ’24 is leading an ad hoc committee in charge of drafting the reformed constitution, which he hopes to present to BSG members and the student body.

He noted that constitutional reforms may include clarified policies on special elections, protocols for BSG’s responses to national tragedies and a proposal to lower the number of signatures required to run for BSG roles other than President.

BSG will also hold its elections for positions for the 2022-23 academic year in the coming weeks.

Campaign week for executive elections will begin this Monday, April 18 at 8:00 a.m. and end on Friday, April 22 at 8:00 a.m., at which point voting will open. The voting period will end on Sunday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m., and candidates will participate in a debate during campaign week.

Campaign week for Class Council elections will begin on Monday, May 2 at 8:00 a.m. and end on Friday, May 6 at 8:00 a.m., at which point students can vote. Voting will close on Sunday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m.

If a single candidate does not win a majority of votes in any election, the BSG will use ranked-choice voting to determine the winner.