Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) approved three funding allocations during its Wednesday night meeting, including a $3,500 "Block Party" on May 2.
The group also approved a $100 allocation supporting the upcoming "Exposure" art show and a Facilities Committee request for $600 to bring new television stations to campus.
BSG discussed the Block Party at the previous Wednesday's meeting but did not vote on its funding. The proposal discussed this week reflected additional details provided by the bill's presenters, Samantha Scully '09 and Isa Abney '11.
According to the proposal, the Block Party is a "historic and time-honored community tradition" that can help address Bowdoin's alcohol divide. It noted that the party will consist of three portions, including a potluck dinner prepared by multicultural groups on campus, a live performance by the Eclectic College and Gretchen Witt, and an after-party featuring DJ Daryl.
Dan Levis '10 and others stressed that this event could be a prime programming opportunity for BSG.
"This is a great concept," Levis said during the meeting. "This is going to be our big BSG event."
William Donahoe '08 said BSG could comfortably fund the $3,500 request and that the "weeks and weeks and weeks" between the proposed allocation and the actual event would enable organizers to finalize details.
"This is more fleshed out than requests we fund with similar events two days in advance," Donahoe said.
Despite the encouragement of Levis and Donahoe, the assembly struggled over the specifics of the events and many members expressed interest in tabling the proposal. A motion to table the proposal fell only one vote shy of approval.
"Isa and Sam have already fleshed out everything," Levis said. "I think this one's a no-brainer. I don't know why we are still debating this."
The discussion, which lasted approximately 25-30 minutes, ended with unanimous approval of the proposal.
"Clearly nobody looks at anything before they show up here," Mike Dooley '10 said at the end of the proposal's vote. "It's fascinating to me that we come here and debate things that people should already have read about."
The assembly unanimously approved the $100 "Exposure" funding request with far less debate. According to the request, the Exposure show will feature "nude photographs and self-portraits of people of varying body types to show that there is, in fact, no 'normal' body."
The Facilities Committee's request notes that a survey and ongoing student body discussions "yielded a consensus as to which television stations Bowdoin students overwhelmingly support bringing to campus," with BBC America, NFL Network, LOGO, College Sports TV, and Versus leading in approval.
To bring these channels, the proposal continues, those channels the survey indicated as the least popular, including Court TV, SoapNet, Nickelodeon, Women's Entertainment, and SciFi, would need to be eliminated.
A 19-2-1 vote, with Dooley abstaining due to "conflict of interest," approved the $600 allocation.