About Us
Quicklinks: BSG Assembly, Class Councils, What's the difference?
What is the BSG Assembly?
- The BSG Assembly is the democratically-elected, autonomous body of students that advocate for the student body through issue engagement, programming, and services.
Who is on the BSG Assembly?
- The BSG Assembly consists of 28 people:
- 7 Executive Committee Members (President, 5 Functional Area Vice Presidents, and Treasurer)
- 8 Class Representatives (2 per class)
- 8 At-Large Representatives (6 appointed, 2 elected)
- The President and Vice President of the Inter-House Council
- Representative from the Captain’s Council
- Representative from the Activities Board
- Programming Director
How does the BSG Assembly work?
- The BSG has 6 functional areas, each with a committee chaired by a member of the Executive Committee (hover over each committee name below to see a description of it is responsible for):
- BSG AffairsDeals with all issues relating to the BSG itself including elections and constitutional oversight. Also oversees students on college committees, drafts all legislation for Assembly meetings, and oversees the budget.
- Student AffairsDeals with all issues relating to living at Bowdoin. Interacts with Res-Life, the Health Center, Athletics, the College Houses, Counseling, and the rest of the College's Student Affairs Division. Also helps oversee BSG programming initiatives.
- Academic AffairsDeals with all issues relating to the academic nature of Bowdoin including grading policies, majors, student-faculty relations, and advising.
- Student OrganizationsOversees all the student organizations on campus, charters them for funding, provides them with the support they need, and ensures their sustainability from year to year.
- FacilitiesDeals with all issues relating to the Facilities, Dining, and Security Divisions of the College. Helps students with everyday problems they are having with their dorms and assists in planning future improvements to College facilities.
- Student Activities FundingAllocates about $600,000 worth of funding to the student organizations over the course of they year. Note: besides the BSG Treasurer and VP for Student Organizations, members of this committee do not serve on the BSG Assembly.
Members of the BSG Assembly serve on one of the first five committees above in addition to serving on the assembly. The committees allow members to have an area of expertise within the BSG.
What is the SAFC
- The Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) allocates funds to student organizations on campus. It consists of the 4 class Treasurers, 2 appointed members, VP for Student Organizations, and the BSG Treasurer. Besides the BSG Treasurer and VP for Student Organizations, SAFC members do not sit on the BSG Assembly.
Who is the Programming Director? What is the Special Programming Committee?
- The Special Programming Committee manages and oversees all the programming needs of the BSG. The Programming Director presides over this group. All Bowdoin students are eligible to join the Programming Committee, and there is no applicaiton process or election. Programming Committee members do not sit on the BSG Assembly. The Programming Director is appointed through an interview process by the Executive Committee.
What is the time commitment like?
- It’s pretty big. Members of the BSG Assembly are involved with other activites all over campus including sports, theater, community service, and jobs in addition to their studies, but joining the BSG Assembly is an important time commitment. The Assembly meets every Wednesday night for about 2 hours. During these meetings, representatives update the Assembly on developments in their area and the Assembly discusses issues affecting Bowdoin students. Members are also responsible for weekly committee meetings (roughly an hour) and other time for committee initiatives. BSG Representatives are also responsible for attending class council meetings.
How do I join the BSG Assembly?
- You can run in your class election to become a BSG Representative, run in a campus-wide election for an At-Large position, or apply for an At-Large position. Watch your inbox and this website throughout the year to find out when elections/appointments will happen.
What is a Class Council?
- Class Councils organize programming to help promote the social and structural unity of each class. There are 6 members of each Class Council (hover over each position below to :
- President
- Vice President
- Treasurer
- 2 BSG Representatives
- Community Outreach Officer (COO)
How do I join my Class Council?
- You run in your class election for President, Vice President, BSG Representative or Treasurer. The elected Class Council appoints the COO. Elections for the new first-year class are held in October. The elections for seniors are also held in fall of their senior year. Rising Sophomores and Juniors run in the spring of their first and sophomore years respectively.
What's the difference between the BSG Assembly and the Class Councils?
- The main difference is that the entire Student Body elects the BSG Assembly to advocate on its behalf while each class elects its own Class Council to promote class unity through programming and other initiatives. Those interested in working for their class, planning events, and promoting class unity should consider a position on their Class Council while those looking to engage with issues that affect the entire student body should consider a position on the BSG Assembly.
