10/11 BSG Meeting Assembly Notes
Orient Writer – Abdullah Hashimi
Roll Call:
Anyi
Brandon LG
PW
E-Man
Abigail Martin
Vincent Chen
Eisa Rafat
Kaya Patel
John Donoghue
Alejandro Ramos
Cash Money Reynolds
Danielle Lancaster
Melissa Su
Ugne Stasiukynaite
Chase Lenk
Edmundo Ortiz the 5th – Mundo – Moon Dog
Ollie Tannahill
Camila Eljuri
Sadie New
Timmy Ignacio
Temi Agunloye
Harper Stevenson
Elliot Ewell
Eva Green
Angelica Gordon
Zahren York
Eva Sola-Solef
Began with Roll call and the introduction of ‘why do you have the name you have?’
Dean Katie Toro-Ferrari in attendance
Asked questions about her vision of BSG and how it has existed on campus
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- Spent time at MIT Sloan and worked with graduates and student governments. Started at Bowdoin in 2020; Started in this role in 2021 and overseas areas of clubs for student leadership and affairs, Mckeen Center, outing club, identity and culture centers, upward bound. She is the formal advisor to BSG alongside Nate.
- Vision for BSG – unrealized potential. Student Governments serve to advocate for the student body and representation for the student body. Representation is listening and making sense of what your hearing and build relationships, to uncomplicate things.
- Office is Ladd 104 (formerly the chapter room for the past fraternity in Ladd house)
- New director of student leadership development (Nov. 3) to help be intentional for developing student leaders. The goal is to engage in extracurriculars. You are contributing to the community and legacy, but also developing yourself as a leader and the way we can scaffold you since it is part of your development. To develop and refine a concept of leadership (potential to bring her to BSG meetings to connect as a Bowdoin Alum)
- Cash asked: One thing BSG admin should know about talking to admin to help get our initiatives to go through
- Katie: Assume that it is more complicated than you think. Know and trust that most of the people that work as administrators at Bowdoin want to help you have a positive educational experience. Administrators want an effective and functional student government. Administrators want to build with you and not have an antagonistic relationship. Covid affected this relationship.
- Take the time to build relationships with administrators and who are you the relationship manager for. Ex: Mckeen Center rep would go to
- Eisa: How to set time to meet with you?
- Katie: Setup a campus group scheduler which she will make available
- Alex: You mentioned you worked with others school student governments what is one thing BSG could implement?
- Katie: Sloan did a good job of inviting people to engage – administrators and other student groups, the meetings were helpful to let you walk away with others.
- Position is difficult because you are here for a short time and the institution is bureaucratic and large so leverage people to get a better understanding of what administrators do?
- Eman: Follow up on Alex on how to represent effectively and get a pulse on student body
- Katie: be a relationship manager for swaths of the student body and you don’t want to speak for every student who interacts with a part of your identity – be strategic for who each person is covering.
- Try to be proactive in discerning what students think
- Kaya: Recommendations for visibility and have students understand the BSG, have tangible impact? (in the sense of getting visibility)
- Katie: Flip the question back to you all the BSG, potentially build relationships with other students at other student governments. I have no idea. You guys need some wins and to demystify who the BSG is. Build a really functional internal group and tell the story of BSG with the populations you are attached to.
- Zahren: Advice for support in gaining support for administrators?
- Katie: Show your seriousness by doing your homework. Bringing a problem to an administrator that may have a clear cut answer. But much of the problems of BSG need shared ownership with administrators so do your homework and be committed to building with. Again it is developing that relationship with administrators and nurturing this relationship.
Paul: maybe there has never been a functional BSG so the idea this year is to co-create a successful BSG and all on the exec team value your feedback and constructive criticism.
Katie: One of the best things you guys can do is create the norm for internal capacity building to create the culture of criticism and feedback since most of the issues we want to tackle are longer than our tenure.
Nate and Katie alternate who covers BSG meetings?
Katie was given a round of applause.
Next Month: Paul – A lunch and learn with the Bates and Colby student governments
Next week will be the first committee meeting, we will send a doodle poll.
SAFC started meetings!!!!!
Updates:
Anyi:
- We are working on re-writing the constitution and bylaws, if you feel passionate about something you want to change and we can do that for you in the coming weeks. We will distribute a virtual copy of the constitution.
Abigail:
- Thanksgiving break, Dean Lohman and others wanted to think about the idea of Thanksgiving break. Dean Lohman gave BSG Exec team some options for two proposals for thanksgiving break and BSG exec team sent in proposals to the committee. Unclear if they have voted.
Brandon:
- Showed and passed around, charging station wooden boxes and got them put together with David in the Maker Space. They can charge two macbooks, usb-c.
- Update on the laundry sheets purchased 5k laundry sheets, ordering distribution totes which will be available in 2-3 weeks and then put them out in laundry rooms.
- Pompadour party, happening later in the semester.
- Sun lamp project should be new additions and rolling out later on.
Cash and Eisa:
- Laundry sheets were given to first years more than anyone else and were given out to proctors. Eisa got the sheets and put them outside his room and most were gone so positive reception.
Edmundo:
- HEADSPACE has LAUNCHED!!!! To the moon
- Working with Reslife to get it out, the counseling center will give out subscriptions, active minds and mind over matter have received the subscription of the sheet. (The ideal objective is to get 500 people subscripted by the end of the semester.
- Cash: all the proctors and reslife staff will advertise and train in the headspace app with QR code outside of doors.
Alex:
- Sent out at large rep applications and now there are 3 applicants
- New club applications are now open on the campusgroups
Paul:
- Legacy initiatives by the BSG
- Freeflow updating (THERE IS AN ERROR IN THE HOWEVER)
- PolarFlix we are paying for $20,000
- Free HBOmax and Xfinity stream on campus available
- Bowdoin Course Reviews – Esteemed Software engineers
- BSG WEBSITE dropping soon —->
Meeting ended at 9:28pm
Paul clapped and everyone knew the meeting was over.
One to go in BCLT, THRIVE space,
Eisa: Study nights in LADD!!!!!
TO DO:
Post meeting email:
- QR Code for headspace
- Constitution and bylaws
- Talk about any initiatives that were missed
- Encourage applications for at large SOOC and SAFC reps
- Club applications are now open
- Free Xfinity, HBO Max, and Polar Flix publicizing
Set up meeting times for committee: Committee Chairs (Doodle Poll)
Exec Team by Tuesday
Work on Fixing charging station – Brandon
Next Meeting! – get feedback on the edge platform – Anyi