On Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened for its final meeting of the 2012-2013 academic year.
BSG passed two motions brought by the Student Affairs Committee. The first was a funding proposal of $150 for refreshments for this Friday’s “Uncommon Hour.” The event will feature Stephen Naculich, professor of physics, giving a talk entitled “Finding the God Particle.” Vice President for Student Affairs Allen Wong ’14 was happy to announce that this was the first “hard scientist” to give an Uncommon Hour talk.
The second proposal was the authorization of $750 of BSG funds to sponsor the first “Bowdoin Wellness Day,” on the Friday of reading period. According to the written proposal presented by Wong and BSG Programming Chair Bernie Clevens ’15, the purpose of Wellness Day is to “provide students with an opportunity to release stress” during finals week. The event will feature yoga classes and massages funded by BSG, as well as outdoor activities such as a slip-and-slide on the Quad.
BSG also briefly touched on the issue of hazing. Wong announced that members of the Student Affairs committee had met with the Ashmead White Director of Athletics Tim Ryan to discuss BSG policy responses to hazing incidents on Bowdoin’s athletic teams. Because the discussions with Ryan were still ongoing, Wong declined to share any conclusions with the assembly. Wong warned against a BSG knee-jerk reaction to recent hazing events, and said that reviewing policies on hazing is “something that we will continue to work on, and if, come the fall, we have some sort of written proposal for policy changes or procedure changes, it will show that we have thought this one through, and it’s not just an impulse reaction.”
This meeting was the last for the seven senior BSG members, including BSG President Dani Chediak. Other graduating members include Vice President for Academic Affairs Leah Greenberg, SOOC Chair Brian Kim, Vice President for Facilities Tessa Kramer, SAFC Chair Charlie Cubeta, and Class of 2013 Representatives Madison Whitley and Peggy Zhao.
In her final report, Chediak thanked all of the BSG members for their work this year, and expressed high hopes for the future.
“I’m so excited about the future of this organization,” she said. “I only see us getting more involved on campus in a bunch of different and interesting ways.”
Following her remarks, Chediak symbolically handed the gavel to next year’s president Sarah Nelson ’14, who adjourned the meeting.