On Thursday, Feb. 19, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) held its weekly Legislative Body (LB) meeting in the Harmon Room of the DeWitt Wallace Library. The LB first met with the Macalester Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Group, and then heard a speech from a member of the Macalester Undergraduate Workers Union – United Auto Workers (MUWU-UAW).
Senior Class Representative Catherine Kane ’26 started the meeting with a Land Acknowledgement before the LB met with three members of Macalester’s AI Advisory Group: Executive Director of Technology Experience and Customer Relationship Management Lloyd Lentz, Director of Sustainability Megan Butler and Associate Director of Access and Research Resources Mozdeh Khodarahmi.
The AI Advisory Group was founded in November 2025, after different committees had worked on AI workshops and sessions since 2023. Its goal is to provide guidance for staff and students, not set policy.
“Depending on the learning outcomes of each course, faculty will choose how to engage with gen[erative] AI,” Khodarahmi said. “These are national, even international recommendations. … We’ve had several sessions for the faculty, so they know about the resources that we have, and then each one of them chooses how to engage with those.”
Macalester has chosen to pay for Gemini, among other Google brand resources. The AI Advisory Group faced questions from MCSG regarding Macalester’s decision to pay for those AI products over other, less environmentally-impactful models like Claude.
“It’s been really fascinating to watch over the last year as to what’s the leading model and what would best serve our campus,” Lentz said. “If we’re looking at something like Claude at $20 per seat with 3000 licenses, it is a significant $20 a month [and] a significant investment that would be a dedication of resources on the campus.”
The AI Advisory Group emphasized the importance of considering environmental impacts when using AI technology. Particularly at the state level, where Minnesota is considering how to develop data centers, Butler highlighted the importance of doing so while continuing to decarbonize.
“There’s 20 data center proposals right now for the state of Minnesota; there’s not enough energy in the state of Minnesota to actually create that much energy for the same center,” Butler said. “So the question is, who’s going to put that infrastructure in place, and who’s going to make sure it’s done sustainably, and who’s going to pay for it?”
Butler also stressed the importance of Macalester prioritizing sustainability, as generative artificial intelligence requires increased energy consumption broadly.
“I’m thinking about how we make sure that we’re working towards … decarbonizing our operations,” Butler said. “If we’re using more AI on campus, we’re using more energy; that energy should be coming from renewable sources.”
Due to AI’s constantly changing nature, the AI Advisory Group sees its work as a collaboration with staff and students and wants input from students.
“We are here to hear from you and see what are your concerns,” Khodarahmi said. “We offered several workshops and sessions on AI for students, the participation hasn’t been strong, and we want to figure out why. What should we consider for our next series of workshops, what do you really want?”
After meeting with the AI Advisory Group, Sophomore Class Representative and MUWU-UAW bargaining committee member Xavier Honer ’28 gave a speech on behalf of MUWU-UAW, which held a protest shortly thereafter in favor of open bargaining with Macalester. The protest was part of an ongoing conflict between the student union and Macalester after the school’s administration refused to allow members of MUWU-UAW to sit in on bargaining sessions on Friday, Feb. 13.
“40 members, give or take, showed up to this room to partake in negotiations with our college,” Honer said. “And our college refused to negotiate.”
Honer urged members of MCSG to join members of MUWU-UAW in protesting Macalester’s policy.
“I encourage you to come with me at 12:50 today to the flagpole and do something, represent your constituents,” Honer said. “We need to reclaim our power, because this college is us. It’s not some people in a building. It’s the students, it’s the workers, it’s the people that make this place a community.”
After Honer’s speech, the meeting proceeded into cabinet and committee updates.
Cabinet Chair Ainsley Meyer ’26 detailed funds approved last week when the LB did not meet, including $150 for the “Christian panel session,” and $243.98 for AI magic night.
The Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) approved three requests for funding before the meeting: Voices in STEM’s spring kickoff event, Habitat for Humanity and its April builds, and the Filipino Association at Mac for snacks.
Dining and Sustainability Liaison Jj Cueno ’28 outlined the three new parts of Macalester’s sustainability goals. Macalester was aiming for a 75 percent reduction in emissions from heating and cooling by 2025 in comparison to 2007, and currently aims to have a 100 percent reduction in electricity emissions by 2050, in line with Minnesota’s statewide electric sustainability objectives. Macalester also wants to develop metrics to track additional emissions through things like study abroad programs.
Following cabinet, committee and class updates, Kane announced the geography department’s bowling at the Ran-Ham event before adjourning the meeting.
