On Wednesday night, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) voted on allocations of the BSG budget and changes to the BSG bylaws, discussed procedures for future meetings and suggested ideas on how to format BSG communications.

The Student Affairs Committee went over two upcoming projects. The first goal is to try to open Thorne Dining Hall to the Brunswick community in an attempt to bridge the gap between the College and the town. The second project is to create a committee that would collaborate with Counseling and Wellness Services to elevate student wants and concerns.

The Facilities and Sustainability Committee discussed the implementation of its plan to provide free laundry detergent sheets, charging stations and therapy lamps. The laundry sheets, committee members said, will be placed into laundry rooms for access next week. The members said the charging stations have been placed in their respective locations, and they are trying to get a unified waiver system to distribute the therapy lamps.

After the various committees gave their updates, the BSG discussed several proposals, including an initiative to hold weekly BSG office hours for students to study and get to know the BSG, the creation of a committee responsible for creating a BSG Board of Directors comprised of BSG alumni and the allocation of $2,000 toward student staff positions for improving the Bowdoin Course Reviews website.

Another proposal was from the Facilities and Sustainability Committee, in which its members asked the BSG to allocate $5,000 of its transportation initiatives budget to “The Yellow Bike Club,” which provides bike rentals to students and free mechanical help for any student who needs it.

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee asked for $5,000 to be given to the English and Asian Studies department for their collaboration with the Nightingale Society to bring Ocean Vuong to campus as a speaker for No Hate November.

There was also discussion regarding whether it is BSG’s place to make a statement about cultural appropriation as Halloween approaches. BSG passed the measure, opting to frame the message so it is educational on cultural appropriation and why it should be avoided.

The BSG will vote next week on the final proposal of the meeting, which proposes making a committee to make the BSG budget more transparent. The Communications Committee also discussed creating a standardized logo and poster format for BSG.