This past Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met in Mills Hall to talk to administrators and learn more about the full administrative structure of the College. Three administrators attended this week’s meeting: Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe, Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Katie Toro-Ferrari and Director of Sustainability Keisha Payson.

Toro-Ferrari began by explaining that Bowdoin uses a system of shared governance which includes a joint responsibility between faculty, administration and governing boards. Toro-Ferrari then displayed a visual that showed the levels of the administration, with the trustees on top, followed by President Safa Zaki and then the governing boards.

Toro-Ferrari then acknowledged BSG’s impact on the College. For example, BSG played an important role in Bowdoin adopting a full week of Thanksgiving break. Although the process of making changes can be difficult and requires patience, Toro-Ferrari asserted that results are worth the wait.

“When we commit to something we want to make sure it’s the right choice for the long haul,” Toro-Ferrari said.

The next speaker was Hoppe, who presented a video explaining the role of the deans at Bowdoin. Hoppe heads the department that is responsible for many parts of daily life at Bowdoin, from athletics to student health services to orientation programming.

Finally, Payson, who joined the Sustainability Office in 2001 when it was created, discussed her office’s major projects. These include Freecycle, which collected over 2,500 items for the 550 students who attended this year. The Sustainability Office also recently created the bike share program that is run out of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library. Payson explained the process of a campus becoming sustainable through the metaphor of climbing a mountain.

“You have this image of the mountain and the sustainable campus is up there. We are just constantly taking steps forward to continue climbing,” Payson said.

After these presentations, BSG moved into committee time. The Treasury Funding Commission (TFC) and Treasury Chartering Commission (TCC) will soon review their guidelines, which student organizations are chartered and where funds will be allocated.