The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) will open its first round of voting for the presidential and vice presidential elections today and will close voting on Sunday night. Below are the candidate statements for the presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Eisa Rafat ’25, BSG President

Hi Bears! In my three years at Bowdoin, I’ve been an active member of our community. I’ve worked in various spaces on campus including the Center for Multicultural Life, Residential Life (ResLife) and the Bowdoin Outing Club, holding pivotal roles within the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Additionally, I’ve represented ResLife on BSG this year. Through these positions, I’ve learned key skills in working with the administration and understanding the diverse range of student perspectives on our campus.

Here are my goals:

1. Improving the readiness of Bowdoin students to enter the job market

After speaking with alumni, our graduates still find it difficult to land the right job. I’ll work to provide free courses that better prepare students for the workforce like Excel for business, GitHub for computer science, Figma for designers, EMT certifications for Pre Med and much more.

2. New York, Boston, Portland Shuttle Service

Over this past break, the frustration of traveling back to Bowdoin was fresh on my mind as I heard from students about the long and inconvenient hours of Amtrak. Hence, I aim to implement a shuttle service to major cities like Boston, New York and Portland during breaks so that students have affordable and convenient options for travel.

3. Social programming during breaks

This year we were able to advocate for students to have a full week for Thanksgiving break; However, many students are left isolated during the holidays when unable to return home. In addition to more affordable transportation, our BSG will also host more community programming for students still on campus to equally be able to enjoy their holiday breaks.

I humbly ask for your support in this endeavor. Thank you.

Emmanuel Okyere ’25, BSG President 

In a thriving Bowdoin Student Government, you, as a student, should:

1. Know who we are and what we do.

2. Feel empowered to come to BSG with ideas or concerns.

3. Think that BSG is an effective avenue for change.

We have yet to realize these three objectives completely. I want to make us much better at our jobs so that BSG becomes an organized, well-oiled machine for empowering students and implementing change.

With three years of experience, I know BSG like the back of my hand. I have served as class vice president, an executive of student affairs and a special advisor for BSG. I know the organization’s pain points and have the connections to strategize, organize and solve them effectively. I have implemented and achieved a lot already! I have advocated for a written Good Samaritan policy, helped extend Thanksgiving break and created several successful events throughout my tenure.

Apart from these non-trivial tasks, I also have other projects in mind! For example, as the executive of student affairs, I spent much of my time thinking about student mental health, particularly in relation to academic pressure and failure, through “Mental Health Forums.” Some solutions that came out of these were to better set academic and social expectations during first-year orientation, create a platform for professors to share their failures and more. I will also be an active ear for any ideas you have!

For an effective BSG and more,

Vote Eman

Elliot Ewell ’27, BSG Vice President

Hello! My name is Elliott Ewell, and I am a first-year currently on BSG’s Facilities and Sustainability Committee. Outside of student government, I am a member of the men’s club soccer team, play jazz piano and work in the salad room in Moulton Union.

On student government this year, I re-started the Dining Advisory Committee and successfully advocated for vegetarian alternatives to hot dogs and chicken nuggets. I lobbied for a climbing hangboard to (soon) be installed in Buck Fitness Center. Finally, I fully redesigned BSG’s website to be more accessible and useful for the student body. The new website has tutorials to access Bowdoin’s free HBO Max and allows the BSG to publish their meeting minutes publicly for the first time.

I am committed to making Bowdoin Student Government more accessible, dependable and sustainable. If elected Vice President, I hope to:

1. Restore important student government services, like shuttles between the Portland Jetport and Bowdoin to transport students going to and returning from break.

2. Continue this year’s work of bringing BSG closer to the student body through more open meetings and office hours.

3. Advocate for expanded fitness center hours and explore expanded meal times.

4. Oversee continued implementation of the Library of Things initiative at Bowdoin libraries for students to check out noise-canceling headphones, chargers and other useful items.

5. Cultivate community within the student government by holding member training at the beginning of the fall semester.

Thank you for taking the time to read about me and my plans for next year. Feel free to email me at eewell@bowdoin.edu if you have any questions.

Khush B. Patel ’27, BSG Vice President

Hello, Polar Bears! My name is Khush Patel and I am running for the position of Vice-President. I have loved getting to know everyone in the Bowdoin community and witnessing the magic of the Bowdoin Hello. Coming from active participation in local and student government, as well as work I have done with Bowdoin alumni, faculty and school administrators, I am prepared to work with every student to ensure their needs are met during their time at Bowdoin. While serving as your voice in the Bowdoin Student Government, my focuses will include:

1. Providing access to textbooks for all classes and allowing students to reference course syllabi during the registration period.

2. Reforming campus transportation, including expanding the radius of the Bowdoin Shuttle and the creation of an app for ease of use

3. Supporting student and on-campus workers

4. Expanding the career center’s current offerings for real-world shadowing and networking in various industries

5. Increasing the visibility of student government and educating the student body on how it can address their concerns

I understand that an important part of serving you is the consistent communication of Student Government initiatives, as well as how the Student Government’s time and resources will be distributed. When faced with a role that requires me to consider the needs of our campus, I will do everything in my power to make myself available to listen to what you have to say, and I am poised to deliver what is asked of me.

These statements were provided by BSG President Paul Wang ’24 to the Orient for publication. All statements are the intellectual property of the person indicated above.