Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held a closed-door meeting with President Barry Mills on Wednesday evening before launching into a discussion with the Bowdoin Evergreens about bottled water on campus.
When Mills arrived, the body quickly voted to go into Executive Session, which lasted for the duration of his hour-long talk with BSG. During Executive Session, non-BSG members must leave the room.
Mills said afterwards he "had a great conversation [with BSG]," adding that the decision to move into Executive Session "wasn't so much about me being afraid of not saying what's on my mind," but rather in deference to "some people who might be afraid of asking questions."
Mills also said after the meeting that with respect to the current financial crisis, BSG "does have a role [in providing advice and input] to the extent that this is a representative organization."
BSG President Sophia Seifert '09 echoed Mills's sentiment, writing in an e-mail to the Orient "We are going to have to establish our priorities and I think it is crucial to include students in this process." She suggested that Bowdoin seek to cut electricity and heating costs by installing motions detectors on lights and insulating windows during the winter.
Seifert added that BSG plans to co-host an economic discussion with Mills on November 17 titled, "Is Bowdoin Broke? A Fireside Chat with Barry Mills."
After the Executive Session, the Bowdoin Evergreens returned to make their final pitch to BSG for a bottled water-free campus.
Evergreen member Emma Cape '09 said, "We want to get some input from [BSG] as to how this can be implemented on the Bowdoin campus."
BSG members themselves voiced many questions about the outright removal of bottled water from campus. Some supported the idea, while others cautioned that education was necessary before changes could take effect.
"We need an education campaign [about bottled water], and a massive one," Vice President for BSG Affairs John Connolly '11 said at the meeting.
"The best way to go along with this would be an incentive program," Class of 2009 Representative Ian Yaffe said. "People need to be able to make a choice?we've got to keep that option open no matter what."
"A lot of people don't understand why we have to get rid of everything," echoed Class of 2012 Representative Branden Asemah.
BSG plans to vote in the near future on officially supporting this initiative.
Discussions surrounding BSG's ongoing investigation of the Health Center concluded Wednesday's meeting.