Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met on Wednesday in Mills Hall with a special guest: Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Jim Hoppe. BSG President Eisa Rafat ’25 stated that the meeting would serve as both a question-and-answer session with Hoppe and a brief overview of what BSG members are working on.

Hoppe believes he has a unique perspective in his role, as he lives between the two college  houses Boody-Johnson and Reed. He says his proximity to campus and students allows him to be involved in student life in a special way. Throughout the meeting, Hoppe related the numerous topics on the agenda to his work at other institutions, such as Emerson College, and discussed how he brings those experiences to his work at Bowdoin.

Following the bias-related security advisory sent by Associate Vice President of Safety and Security Randy Nichols on Tuesday, such incidents were at the forefront of discussions with Hoppe. As new information comes out relating to the incident, the College’s administration is staying alert to this issue. Hoppe expressed how frightening the incident was and explained how the College is working to handle bias incidents.

“I think we can try to make a difference in terms of the sense of connection people have on the campus,” Hoppe said. “To me, it’s really important that people feel comfortable reporting things when they happen.”

Rafat related the conversation to the College’s response to the events of October 7. While he said the events themselves are not related, the way the College reacted—or didn’t react—was important to him.

“There was just a big void of nothingness and silence from the administration,” Rafat said. “I’m not comparing these [bias incidents] events to those events, but I’m just saying I think sometimes an administration-wide message saying, ‘Here are your support options, and here’s what we’re planning to do,’ is a great first step to know that it’s on people’s minds.”

Vice President Elliott Ewell ’27 added on by questioning the role of administrators as facilitators  or leaders in difficult conversations. Hoppe responded by giving insight to how administrators have to respond differently to local versus national events and explained that multiple factors affect how institutions respond. Hoppe also assured BSG members that the College is working to improve communication about inclusive spaces, such as Ladd House—which holds the Center for Multicultural Life; THRIVE; Sexuality, Women and Gender Center; the Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and the Student Accessibility Office where students can go to find community.

The meeting concluded with a brief committee overview on plans to add water fountains to the first-year bricks, continuing to expand the number of free Headspace subscriptions available for students and installing more LED and lamp lighting around campus.