Following Monday's faculty vote on Credit/D/Fail, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) spent part of its Wednesday meeting discussing the group's effort voicing its opinion on the motion (see story, page 1).
Despite the faculty's decision, BSG President Dustin Brooks '08 said that BSG's presence at Monday's vote represents "the biggest student activism to surround a policy issue since 1993," when the faculty decided to abolish fraternities.
"It wasn't necessarily an entirely successful week," Brooks said of the faculty's decision to get rid of Credit/D/Fail for courses that fulfill distribution requirements, "but there were many good things that happened."
"The fact that we got up to 70 people there does a lot to legitimize our role in the faculty's eyes," Vice President of Academic Affairs Sam Dinning '09 said. "They were really impressed."
While the group congratulated itself for its efforts, students discussed how BSG can more effectively voice its ideas to campus in the future.
"We as a group will have to work dedicatedly and pointedly to get our voice out," Brooks said.
Dinning promoted the idea of BSG members discussing policy issues such as Credit/D/Fail with peers, while Brooks asked that each BSG member try to meet with a professor at lunch over the next week in order to discuss academic life on campus.
"That's a conversation that needs to start happening," Brooks said.
"I'm excited and proud to see our student community overcome periodic accusations of apathy," Brooks wrote in an e-mail. "It has been many years since students demonstrated to show their interest in a particular policy, but more of this is likely to happen this year as other issues arise."
BSG also unanimously approved an impromptu bill funding transportation to a Thursday rally for Hillary Clinton.
Rob Parrish '08 attended the meeting to represent Bowdoin Students for Hillary Clinton and request money to fund van transportation to and from Thursday's Clinton rally in Portland, an event at which former president Bill Clinton spoke.
Vice President of BSG Affairs John Connolly '11 improvised a bill for this request during the meeting as Parrish had learned of the need for transportation late Wednesday. BSG Treasurer Nicole Willey '08 calculated the funds needed as $60, which Connolly's verbal bill reflected.
Late Thursday evening, Students for Barack Obama also contacted BSG with a similar proposal to fund vans to an event in Bangor where Obama is scheduled to speak on Saturday. Two vans were allocated to the group, and the rentals are estimated to cost $97, according to Connolly.
Some students wondered whether funding the events would express an endorsement of Clinton, Obama, or a generally partisan view towards politics.
In response, Dinning proposed an amendment clarifying that BSG would provide similar support for other groups in future cases. BSG passed this amendment unanimously.
"I had concerns about the way the proposal was initially presented because I wanted it to be made clear the BSG does not support any political party or candidate," Connolly wrote in an e-mail. "The amended proposal, however, makes clear that BSG would make similar funding available to any political group which faced similar circumstances."
"BSG did not support the Clinton campaign or the Democratic Party tonight," Connolly continued. "It did provide a way for students of all political affiliations to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the President of the United States speak."
Wednesday's meeting also included a Judicial Board discussion with Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Laura Lee and J-Board Chair Katie Hyman '08. BSG voted to enter executive session for this discussion.
At the meeting's conclusion, Dinning updated students regarding the purchase of Arabic instruction tapes. According to Dinning, the Language Media Center is in the process of buying two different types of tapes to provide both an intensive course of study for students looking to master Arabic and a less intensive track for students wishing to gain exposure to the language.
"It's great to see that our short-term concerns regarding Arabic at Bowdoin are being answered so quickly and effectively," Dinning wrote in an e-mail. "I'm sure all of the students interested in Arabic instruction appreciate these efforts."