After last weekend's Red Jumpsuit Apparatus concert, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed the Campus Activities Board (CAB) with the group's co-chair Jacqueline Abrams '08 on Wednesday. BSG also addressed two resolutions concerning academic affairs.
The first resolution, presented by Sam Dinning '09, proposed that "academic instruction sought by a large number of students should be provided by the academic affairs division of the College," according to Dinning.
"Due to the academic nature of requests such as additional foreign language instruction or advanced computer science work," Dinning wrote in an e-mail, "these are not 'activities' as covered by SAFC, but more intellectual opportunities."
The second bill addressed the specific issue of possible Arabic instruction at Bowdoin. Many BSG members noted that studying Arabic, and Middle Eastern studies in general, is increasingly important in today's society.
During the meeting, Rutledge Long '10 stated that the College faces a "conflict of interests" by having an International Perspectives requirement in its curriculum without offering Arabic and related courses.
While many criticized the vague language of the resolutions, Alison Spencer '08 noted that "it's necessary to accept [these] as the first step in dealing with the repercussions of...the bill that was passed last week."
The resolutions also sparked discussion with several non-BSG attendees, many of whom were looking to start a Swahili club. Hannah Hughes '09, who plans to be treasurer of the proposed club, was concerned whether it would form in light of recent resolutions.
"The only thing I'm worried about is the lack of precedent," she said at the meeting, asking how many similar groups had secured funding outside the SAFC.
In an e-mail to the Orient, Hughes said, "I left the BSG meeting last night feeling nothing but disheartened."
"It was clear from last night's proceedings that the bill eliminating funding for 'academic' club instruction is here to stay," she added. "Regardless of the BSG's concerns regarding the means for funding academic clubs, their bill has pre-emptively silenced any attempt at these valuable pursuits."
"This resolution is BSG's way of officially initiating discussion with the academic affairs division of the College," Dinning wrote in an e-mail. He clarified that resolutions such as these do not call for specific action but are "an official way of stating the opinion of the BSG."
During the discussion, Abrams highlighted responsibilities of the CAB.
"We have to take care of tons of things that you would never think of," she said. "It takes a lot of man hours."
Abrams, who has been involved with CAB since her first semester at Bowdoin, noted that members are responsible from pitching an event months in advance to cleaning up once the event is over.
Many BSG members raised issues with last weekend's Red Jumpsuit Apparatus concert, which received mixed reviews on campus. (See story, page 1). According to Abrams, however, the event was "one of the best shows" and one of the "best run events" she had seen as a CAB member.
"Sometimes we take risks with our acts, and sometimes they don't go the way we want them to and we have to reassess what we do so we can do it better in the future," she said. She added that the CAB often likes to bring up-and-coming groups like Red Jumpsuit Apparatus to campus before they become famous and prohibitively expensive.
Some BSG members felt that the size of CAB's budget, which generally runs around $160,000, means the group should be especially judicious with major decisions.
Abrams replied that "it's impossible to find one band that 1,600 students will show up to."
Interhouse Council Representative Dennis Burke '09 added that being "a bit more transparent" as a group could aid CAB's decision process.
While many students criticized CAB, Class of 2008 Representative Ben LeHay, who works with Abrams on the CAB, encouraged critics to put their comments in perspective.
Abrams said that many CAB members work as if it were a "full-time job," though they are not paid for their work.
"It's just a little frustrating when you've been on A-board for four years and everyone's really quick to [complain] for whatever reason," LeHay said. "It's a thankless job, frankly. It's hard to see such criticism without seeing people be more proactive."