On Monday, the Bowdoin Outing Club held its annual elections to decide the fate of the organization for the year to come. Accompanying this monumental event were 34 pizzas from the gas station, some delicious desserts baked by Kazia, and a great deal of tension.
Early rumors around the OLC had confirmed that the present officers-Kazia, Jeff, Dan and myself-were ambivalent to relinquish our positions of power. They say that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is true that perhaps we were blinded by our unlimited access to outdoor gear and gorp, our heads swelling as we sent email after email to the BOC mailing list. Perhaps some of it had to do with the growing realization that I might fail "Introduction to World Prehistory," and that without that all-important "B" class that I would be around Bowdoin College for another year.
For whatever reasons, it is true that Kazia, Jeff, Dan, and I did pledge that we would do everything within our power-up to and including military action-to preserve our positions for yet another year.
Certainly, this tension could be felt as the leaders and members of the Outing Club casted their votes for the next crop of officers. All the votes were put into a locked drybox, and, when the final tally was done (by me), it seems that Kazia, Jeff, Dan, and I were somehow re-elected as the officers! I could hardly believe it. We weren't even on the ballot. Amid cries of "One more year!" we marched to the front of the room and accepted our same positions for another year. What did that mean? In our victory speech, we promised to do less, to increase nudity, to pull canoes behind our minivans across campus, and to increase our ridicule of the first-year class.
However, while making our speech, the votes were recounted-somehow I had made a mistake. It seems that we hadn't won at all-four entirely different people were elected this year. No one voted for us at all.
Apparently, the four officers who will be leading the Outing Club next year are Callie Gates and Peter Schoene as co-presidents, Marcus Pearson as treasurer, and Amelia Rutter as secretary. They'll do an excellent job as well. Seriously.
Elections aside, there are also some great trips going out next weekend. On Saturday, there is going to be a rafting trip going to the Dead River. If you have ever rafted the Dead before, you know that the first release on the river is always crazy-huge waves, thrills galore, and binge drinking! Oh wait, that's on campus. Seriously, though, you can take a day out of your Ivies Weekend for one of the most amazing raft trips ever.
Then, on Sunday, there will be a flatwater canoe trip going out. Getting out on Sunday will help ease the pain of Ivies, and what better way to recuperate from a crazy night than floating around in an open boat.
That's all from here-remember to check the BOC website for more information about upcoming events.