Returning to a topic of concern for many Bowdoin students, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) members discussed fielding a new Health Center survey in conjunction with the College administration on Wednesday. Members were presented with a draft survey compiled by Director of Health Services Sandra Hayes and Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Margaret Hazlett. BSG President Sophia Seifert '09 reported that some questions on the draft survey were taken from the Health Center's existing general satisfaction survey (see related survey, page 1).
BSG Vice President for Student Affairs Carly Berman '11, who is heading BSG's inquiry into student opinion of the Health Center, asked all BSG members for additional questions that should be included in the new survey. Representatives offered a number of questions and opinions.
Vice President for Academic Affairs Sam Dinning '09 said, "Some of these questions are dancing around the issue. My impression is that we were not trying to get average experiences; we were trying to minimize the existence of negative experiences."
Class representative Greg Tabak '11 added, "We're here to make it better, not to compliment them. We should be asking what is needed."
Several members offered additional questions to help achieve this goal. Inter House Council President Lindsey Bruett '09 offered, "Was the care I got at Dudley Coe similar to the care I would get with my own doctor?"
Representative-at-Large Kristen Gunther '09 suggested asking, "Did you feel you were treated in a timely manner?"
In an interview after the meeting, Seifert said, "One of the most important messages I got tonight was that the survey questions need to be straightforward and concise. We will be able to do this by working with Dudley Coe and the Dean's office to come up with clear priorities, which will undoubtedly include student confidence and quality of care."
In her president's report, Seifert announced that Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster met for over an hour with faculty and students involved with the Judicial Board to discuss BSG's recent resolution regarding that body's information sharing methods. The resolution proposed to make information on Judicial Board cases more accessible through a number of avenues, including more specific semi-annual reports as well as publishing the information online and in the Orient. According to Seifert, the committee responded positively to the resolution and will discuss its implementation.
Additionally, according to Dinning, recent resolutions regarding class placement and first-year seminar choice were well received in the Academic Affairs office. Dinning noted that the Academic Affairs Committee discussed issues included in last week's Orient, including lines at Phase II and distribution requirements. With these and other items on its agenda, BSG is planning a busy spring semester during which Seifert believes it is "well positioned" for "a major success in each of [its] divisions."
-Cati Mitchell contributed to this report.