There were two main orders of business at Wednesday night's Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting. The first topic, which took up the majority of the meeting, was a proposal to amend the BSG bylaws in order to create "a liaison position between...BSG and the Brunswick Town Council." The second issue was a discussion of a BSG resolution regarding the College's Credit/D/Fail policy—a resolution dating back to March 31, 2009.
The liaison proposal would require BSG to send a representative to biweekly town council meetings, with the goal of developing better communication between Bowdoin students and the residents of Brunswick.
A number of representatives criticized the haste to pass the proposal without doing preliminary research; no member of the assembly had previously attended a town council meeting, leaving the value of such a position open to speculation.
At-Large Representative Jack Hilzinger '12 was among those skeptical of the proposal.
"We are debating something we don't even know is worth pursuing," he said. "Somebody should at least go. Can anyone even name someone who is on the town council? What do they even do?"
Class of 2010 Representative Rutledge Long also spoke out against the proposal.
"I think that we are getting ahead of ourselves on the town council liaison position," Long said. "This reflects in a real way how focused BSG members are on positions, résumé building, and words over actions, rather than meaningful, thoughtful resolutions reflecting the campus attitude."
"However, I think that BSG has a lot of good voices...and the town council liaison position reflects a willingness and a desire to branch out," he added.
Vice President for Student Organizations Branden Asemah '12 disagreed with Long.
"Being that I proposed the [liaison] resolution, I would like to personally say this has nothing to do with résumé building or the need to have another position," he wrote in an e-mail to the Orient. "Town and gown relationships are great right now, but I think if we pass this resolution, communication amongst the student body and Brunswick community could only become more cohesive."
"This resolution's purpose is to foster a community between Bowdoin students and Brunswick," Asemah added. "Most of us will spend four years of our lives here; we should know what's going on."
The Credit/D/Fail policy discussion was initiated by Vice President for Academic Affairs Bryce Spalding '10, in the interest of gathering the opinions of this year's assembly.
The conversation was for the most part a reiteration of a BSG debate that the Orient covered in the February 20 issue of this year.