Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met in Mills Hall this past Wednesday to elect a new Vice President, discuss a proposal for extended Thursday hours in the Pub, provide an update on Headspace subscriptions and gauge opinions on Bowdoin students attending Colby’s fall concert. There was no general assembly meeting the week prior. Instead, the executive team met to discuss who would fill the recently opened vice president vacancy.

Andy Mugisha ’28 opened the meeting by announcing he would be stepping down as vice president after receiving a study abroad opportunity.

“I really enjoyed serving alongside everyone and getting to know each of you,” Mugisha said.

After Mugisha’s resignation, President Aidan Aybar ’28 shared that the executive board had chosen Ellie Denney ’29 as the vice presidential nominee. After a unanimous vote by the general assembly, Denney was confirmed as vice president. Denney has been a member of BSG since her first year and served as a general representative before joining the Academic Affairs Committee. She then served as chair of academic affairs until becoming vice president this week.

“My main goal [as vice president] is to make BSG more accessible. Most students don’t know what we do or how we can help them, and that’s a shortcoming we can fix,” Denney wrote in an email to the Orient. “I’m excited to serve as vice president and get a lot done this year.”

Brandon Ma ’29 will be transitioning to Denney’s former role as academic affairs chair.

During public comment, Luke Purinton ’28 shared a proposal for keeping Jack Magee’s pub open until midnight on Thursday nights to revitalize Thursday-night social life following the closing of Bolo’s.

Questions followed Purinton’s proposal. In response to concerns that noise levels could disturb students studying in Smith in the evening, the group agreed Smith Union serves as a unique social space. BSG also considered the logistics of events held at the pub, such as E-hosts, security, bar staff and occupancy limits. Early ideas included having students as E-hosts, noting that the pub has security cameras and not running the dining portion of Jack Magee’s in its entirety. The assembly also considered expanding event spaces to the exterior of the pub, if capacity limits are reached.

Students agreed that if hours expanded, the use of this space would be a privilege, not a right. Purinton expressed faith in the student body to treat it properly. Aybar said that BSG would continue the conversation with Purinton to clarify the specifics.

Afterwards, the group touched on the status of Headspace memberships, continuing the conversation from a prior meeting, where the committee discussed the 200 Headspace subscriptions set aside on a first-come, first-served basis for Bowdoin students.

After further discussion within the Executive Board considering positive feedback on Headspace subscriptions, BSG intends to continue providing the 200 subscriptions. However, they talked about creating a barrier before access, such as a form or informational video, to ensure those signing up are genuinely interested in the app. To address equity concerns about the college providing only 200 subscriptions, they identified comparable services to Headspace where they could direct students if the demand exceeds supply.

Following the Headspace discussion, Aybar consulted the group regarding the best way to share information about an opportunity for Bowdoin students to attend Colby College’s fall concert featuring Alessia Cara. Colby’s Student Government recently reached out to BSG to offer Bowdoin students the chance to buy $30 tickets to attend their fall concert tomorrow at 8:00 pm.

Concerning transportation to the concert, Aybar explained that BSG would consider facilitating ride-sharing by creating a sheet where students who planned to attend could sign up and indicate if they had extra room in their car. Due to the quick turnaround, Bowdoin was unable to provide official transportation. General assembly members suggested that BSG acknowledge the short notice, resulting in an email to the campus community Thursday evening.