A flurry of resignations late last semester and early this semester has led to a shakeup in the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG). BSG elected John Connolly '11 as vice president of BSG affairs at its Wednesday meeting following the resignation of Kata Solow '10, and four other positions on the assembly remain open.
BSG President Dustin Brooks '08 stated that while the BSG will not be "absolutely settled" until February 13, the group is "workable" now.
Solow resigned earlier this semester in order to assume the new role of BSG policy director. A three-part, run-off vote at Wednesday's meeting elected Connolly, formerly BSG's operations director, as Solow's replacement.
Class of 2011 Representative Justin Foster and Inter-House Council (IHC) Representative Dan Levis '10 were also finalists for the position, with Foster eliminated in the second round of voting and Connolly trumping Levis in the third and final round. Students voted by secret ballot.
Brooks stated that establishing Solow as policy director will give BSG additional support and will help it better coordinate discussions with faculty and administration.
"We're bulking up the team a little bit," he said.
Vice President of Student Affairs Tony Thrower '09 also resigned early this semester, but unlike Solow's immediately effective resignation, Thrower's does not take effect until February 6. This allows BSG more time to transition, according to Brooks.
A vote to replace Thrower, who resigned to pursue activities outside BSG, will take place at next week's meeting.
Dennis Burke '09 and Sam Scully '09, both IHC representatives, also resigned this semester, while Representative-At-Large Clark Gascoigne '08, Community Service Officer Andrew Edwards '09, and Class of 2011 Vice President Isa Abney resigned late last semester.
Burke, Scully, Gascoigne, and Edwards will not take on new roles within BSG. Abney will remain connected to BSG as a non-voting programming director, another new position which will "better organize the work we're doing and provide added support to the officer team," according to Brooks.
BSG will hold an election to fill Abney's vice president vacancy and is also searching for someone to fill the role of communications director, another new position.
"I really don't have a feel for how it's going to be like," said BSG President Dustin Brooks '08 in regard to the BSG's current state.
"I think the fall was a good semester for us, and we rightfully focused on making ourselves more open and accessible," he continued. "Now we'll be reaching out for broader student involvement in the work we do and pushing harder for the policy reforms we've been advocating. Being more transparent and engaging a broader array of opinions will only make us more able to provide student leadership on campus."