One hundred Bowdoin students were randomly selected to complete a health and wellness online survey, distributed for the second time since the formation of the College's Health and Wellness Committee.
"Three or four years ago we realized that we didn't have a way to take the temperature of Bowdoin students," said Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster.
After meeting with Director of Institutional Research Christine Cote, an online survey of 100 students was developed to address a wide variety of issues affecting students' well-being.
Included in the survey are questions on the subjects of sleep, diet and exercise, alcohol and drugs, and sexual health.
According to Foster, the committee hopes to do it every few years "so we can have some longitudinal data in looking at it."
While the bulk of the survey has remained in its original form so as to keep consistency among the data, Gwennan Hollingworth '06 worked with Cote to add some new questions and rework some of the language so as to be more inclusive, particularly toward the Lesbian-Gay-Bi-Transgender-Queer community.
While many of the survey questions deal with sensitive issues, Foster hopes that the anonymity of the survey will encourage a higher response rate from students than in the past.
In its upcoming May meeting, the committee will have the results of both the health and wellness survey and the first-year survey on time management, conducted earlier in the year, on which to base assessments of Bowdoin students' overall well-being.
"The major focus of the first part of the retreat will be looking at the survey," Foster said. "It will be interesting to see whether there are any obvious differences between the two surveys," he added.
The committee, which is chaired by Tim Foster, was formed as an ad-hoc committee with a responsibility for the health and wellness of the Bowdoin student body approximately four years ago, bringing various members of the Bowdoin community together.
Among the committee's current members are Director of Health Services Jeff Benson, Director of Residential Life Kim Pacelli, Head Athletic Trainer Dan Davies, and Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.
According to Foster, the committee was initially formed because "there were all these things going on at Bowdoin related to student health and well-being, but the things didn't seem very related. If we could come together, then we could identify the needs and talk about things to do."
Since its formation, the committee has met every year during exam week for a planning retreat, at which selected key topics are discussed as focuses for the coming year.
Among the topics commonly addressed are alcohol and drugs, eating disorders, and sexual assault.
The committee has targeted issues of both mind and body in approximately equal measure, embracing a view that "if you're going to be successful at Bowdoin and beyond, one of our responsibilities is to play a role in helping you to lead a healthy life," Foster said.