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As I muster a deep breath in, sniffles ensue. I look around, thinking insistently about zipping up my coat and trudging back to Coles Tower. But instead of making the first motion towards my tan puffer, I stop myself.
I grew up in a working-class neighborhood a few minutes away from the Newark Airport. My father, a limousine driver, purchased the house right before the 2008 recession. As the mortgage payments rose and the foreclosure letters hit the mail, my father worked longer hours behind the wheel.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, students hurry across the quad to class, passing by a comparatively less stressful scene—a group of community members practicing Tai Chi. The classes are taught by Bowdoin alumnus Ken Ryan ’71. Ryan started these classes 20 years ago, and since then they have grown every year.
Many traditions have come and gone at the College. From Ivies and Supers to pub trivia and Dinner with Six Strangers, the common thread is clear: an emphasis on social connection. Many students apply to Bowdoin with hopes of belonging in a small, tight-knit community.
Editor’s Note October 30, 2022: In a previous version of this article, the “Real Talk on Class” series was mistakenly called the “Real Talks on Class” series. This has been fixed in the headline and throughout the text.
The structure of Peer Health at the College looks different this year than in years past. The change comes as the volunteer student group attempts to shift from its historic independence from the College and internal approach to programming to a more intentional partnership with Residential Life in order to cultivate a unified front to support students.
Upon entering the barn behind 52 Harpswell, warmth radiates from a small gas stove on the ground, complemented by the nostalgic scent of Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. This scent is the fragrance of elderberry permeating the crisp fall air.
I didn’t start talking until I was three years old. One of my first conversations was with four walls in my grandmother’s home in Morocco. My mom tells me that I would “faire la bise’’ each wall, enthusiastically (and in Moroccan fashion) talking a mile a minute: “How are you!” “Oh, it’s so great to see you.” “How are the kids?” I nodded along to imaginary responses, carving out equal pockets of ‘eye contact’ to ensure each wall got its share of my attention.
Although sophomore and junior class elections typically occur in the spring, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) made the decision to hold elections for all four classes this fall. With results finalized as of Sunday, all four classes will be under new leadership this year.
During the first few weeks of a typical school year, first years would sign candidacy forms for their new classmates, pass out campaign literature and hang dozens of campaign posters around their dorms. However, like most traditions, campaigning for class council looked a little different this year.
An amendment to the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) election bylaws to remove Judicial Board (J-Board) oversight from the assembly’s elections passed by a unanimous vote at the BSG meeting on Wednesday. The Vice President or another non-candidate member of the assembly will now oversee each election.
President Clayton Rose attended a meeting of the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on Wednesday to field questions from student activists and members of the student government. During the public comment session of the meeting, Rose responded to questions about the College’s relationship with James “Jes” Staley ’79, a member of the Board of Trustees and a known associate of the late discredited financier Jeffrey Epstein, Rose’s role as a member of the Board of Directors of Bank of America and the College’s choice of Arthur Brooks as the inaugural Joseph McKeen Fellow.
Keisha Payson from the Office of Sustainability joined the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting Wednesday night to hear feedback and suggestions for what BSG and other students would like to see included in the College’s next climate action plan.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) passed a resolution Wednesday supporting the College’s wage increase for housekeepers. The resolution was unanimously approved after BSG debated the terms of the resolution, adding an amendment supporting continuing engagement with this issue and removing language about specific wages.
Following a contentious debate, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) decided to delay a vote to ratify a statement supporting housekeepers until the upcoming Wednesday meeting on October 23. The meeting began with public comment time, which led to a wide-ranging discussion of the proposal and labor issues at the College that lasted the duration of the meeting.
Only 17 percent of the senior class participated in its class council election this past weekend, and two of the four available positions, vice president and treasurer, went unfilled because no candidates registered to run. The other two races, for president and programming director, were uncontested.
The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its first meeting of the year this Wednesday, October 2, and discussed a host of new initiatives, including providing more services to students from low-income backgrounds and creating an ad hoc committee to handle complaints about WiFi problems.
In an email to the Orient on Sunday evening, Vice President of Bowdoin Student Government Arein Nguyen ’21 announced the results of the class council elections for the classes of 2020 and 2023. Eighty-six votes were cast in the senior class council election, representing approximately 17 percent of the class.
Ryan Britt ’22 was elected Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) chair of student affairs Friday night, beating River Fenton ’22 and Lucas Johnson ’22 in a special election governed by ranked-choice voting. Only 373 students voted in the election, approximately one-fifth of the student body.
Voting in the special election for Bowdoin Student Government’s (BSG) vacant chair of student affairs opened Wednesday morning and will remain open until 8 p.m. tonight. The special election follows the resignation of the Chair of Student Affairs, Anibal Husted ’22 on May 13—four weeks after he was elected in an uncontested race.
Lucas Johnson ’22 Hey everyone! My name is Lucas, and I hope the beginning of the year is going well for you all. This year, we have the opportunity to make progress on the numerous issues our campus is facing, from increasing the mental health resources available to students, to strengthening our relations with the Town of Brunswick, to decreasing our carbon footprint by expanding our renewable energy portfolio.
Ural Mishra ’20 was elected Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) president Sunday night after prevailing in a three-way race in BSG’s first elections governed by ranked-choice voting. Just 926 students voted in this year’s elections, down from 1,075 last year and 1,234 in 2017.
In an attempt to increase transparency, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) has released its operating budget for the first time. Spring Gala, PolarFlix and Ivies come in as the biggest-ticket items, and students can now examine every line of the budget for themselves.
On Wednesday at Bowdoin Student Government’s (BSG) weekly meeting, the majority of students voted to adopt ranked choice voting in future elections. The proposal was brought forward by Vice President of Student Government Affairs Amber Rock ’19.
In an email to the Orient Saturday night, Vice President for Bowdoin Student Government Affairs Amber Rock ’19 announced the results of the class council elections for the senior and first-year classes. In total, 260 seniors voted—approximately 53 percent of the class, although not all voters voted in all of the contests.
After an election marred with misunderstandings and an inconsistent enforcement of rules, Aneka Kazlyna ’20, multicultural representative to Bowdoin Student Government (BSG), introduced articles of impeachment against two members of BSG on Wednesday night for actions that occurred during the BSG chairs election.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) canceled and then re-held its election for six Executive Team positions this week after concerns about possible violations of election rules. After a meeting of the Election Commission, Nora Cullen ’18 and Justin Weathers ’18, chair and vice chair of the Judicial Board, respectively, presided over the new election independently of the BSG Executive Team.
Elections for the six chairs of BSG executive committee open today and will remain open until Sunday at 8 p.m. In addition to serving on the executive committee next to the president and vice president, each chair will head up their own committee, which oversee specific parts of campus life.
Mohamed Nur ’19 will be the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) president during the 2018-2019 academic year and Amber Rock ’19 will be BSG vice president for student government affairs. The results of this weekend’s election were announced in an email to the Orient Sunday night from BSG President, Irfan Alam ’18.
Candidates for the 2018-19 president and vice president of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) faced off at a debate on Tuesday night in preparation for this weekend’s election. Mohamed Nur ’19 and Ben Painter ’19 are running for president, while Amber Rock ’19 and Nate DeMoranville ’20 are running for vice president.
The student body approved changes to the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) constitution on March 5, although low turnout in the vote prompted some concerns about the validity of the voting procedure. A total of 461 students, roughly 25 percent of the student body, participated in the vote.
Students have until Sunday to vote on a string of amendments to the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) constitution. For the constitution to pass, at least one-third of the student body must vote in the election, and at least two-thirds of those students must vote in favor of the changes.
With an email on Thursday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) opened voting on a new constitution, which BSG voted to pass at its weekly meeting this past Wednesday. Should this constitution pass, it will be the first major BSG constitutional change in a decade.
At Wednesday’s Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting, Amber Rock ’19 was elected Vice President for Sustainability and Facilities by the assembly, replacing Ana Timoney-Gomez ’18, who resigned from her position last week saying she had too many other commitments.
On Wednesday, President Clayton Rose attended the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting to solicit student opinions on future use of the College’s funding. This funding comes primarily from donors and investments. According to Rose, Bowdoin has the second highest alumni donation participation rate in the nation.
At its first meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed revising its constitution and improving student counseling resources. BSG hopes to pass a new constitution before spring break, which would require one third of the student body to vote on the constitution and two thirds of those votes to be in favor.
Last week, the Career Planning Center (CPC) and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) announced a new initiative called “Just the Facts,” an attempt by both groups to better inform students of the career resources and opportunities available to them on campus, while also demystifying and debunking common misconceptions about the role of the CPC and its priorities.
For the first time in over a decade, major changes have been made to the structure of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG). Nineteen liaison positions were created to work with various administrative departments and offices including Safety and Security, Dining Service and Religious and Spiritual Life in addition.
In an email to the Orient Sunday night, Vice President for Bowdoin Student Government Affairs, Ben Painter ’19 announced the results of the class council elections for the first year class. Three hundred and eighteen first years participated in the vote—approximately 63 percent of the class.
The Bowdoin Orient Editors-in-Chief, Sarah Drumm ’18 and Harry DiPrinzio ’18, spoke with Bowdoin Student Government President Irfan Alam ’18 and Vice President for Student Government Affairs Ben Painter ’19 about plans for the upcoming year, off-campus housing, the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and more.
In its last meeting of the year, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) failed a bill that would have banned publicly releasing vote tallies from first-year elections, but passed several other bills that had been proposed earlier in the semester.
After being announced as winners in the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) elections on Sunday, BSG President-elect Irfan Alam ’18 and Vice President-elect (VP) for BSG Affairs Ben Painter ’19 are looking forward to enacting their vision for a better Bowdoin.
In an email to the Orient Sunday night, Vice President for Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) Affairs, Reed Fernandez ’17 announced the results of the BSG Executive Committee elections. A total of 1,234 students voted, about 69 percent of the student body.
Irfan Alam – President Candidate Hi! My name is Irfan Alam and I am running for BSG President alongside Ben Painter as my VP. I currently serve as the Chair of the Treasury on the executive committee, and have previously served as an At-Large Representative to the SAFC and a member of the SOOC.
At its Wednesday meeting, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed a revision to its bylaws that would allow any student to introduce legislation for discussion by BSG. The change would make BSG more accessible to students, according to BSG President Harriet Fisher ’17.
On Wednesday evening, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) voted on two proposals and discussed three others. At-Large Representative Jacob Russell ’17 introduced two proposals. Proposal 141544 suggested amendments to BSG bylaws. The proposal gave greater flexibility to the structure of general assembly meetings, which had often ignored BSG bylaws.
After tampons and pads were thrown away and feces was found in a menstrual product receptacle in the men’s bathroom on the first floor of David Saul Smith Union last week, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) altered the placards placed next to the dispensers to clarify their purpose.
