By The Mac Weekly

The Educational and Policy Governance (EPAG) committee voted to change their policies this week. Currently, in order to eliminate an academic department, a motion must be introduced to and voted on by the body of the faculty. Now, the seven faculty member and two student body EPAG can vote to eliminate a department. Without a faculty-introduced motion, the department will be eliminated. Now, obviously this is not to say that EPAG will go around cutting departments on a whim-a lengthy review process will certainly be in order. This procedural change was voted in by a majority of the faculty, and with all the new departments constantly introduced to the Mac curriculum, some departments must go. Under the current system, few departments are cut and presumably personal biases play into what departments do and do not get cut. The new system is less democratic and it appears that the majority of the faculty is in favor of it. The Mac Weekly pauses to wonder why. If the purpose is to put a check on personal biases and friendships, what is to say that the even smaller number of faculty members and students on EPAG will be swayed by similar biases? These are elected positions, but often very few faculty members run. Additionally, the current system would need a super majority (two-thirds) of the faculty to stop the elimination of the department. That could mean, hypothetically, that a minority of the faculty on EPAG (with both student votes) could eliminate a department even if a larger number of the faculty want to save it. This concern was brought up at the meeting, and EPAG assures us that only with a near consensus. But this is not in the bylaws and while this may be true for the current EPAG committee, it may not be true for all future committees. The curriculum at Macalester is arguably the most important aspect of the institution, so should we really leave it the hands of so few? The opinions expressed above are those of The Mac Weekly, as determined by the staff. The perspectives are not representative of Macalester College. Letter to the Editor This Monday, MCSG will be holding Executive elections. I encourage all students to vote for the candidate they think will best fill the 6 positions: President, Vice-President, Financial Affairs committee Chair, Student Organizations committee Chair, Academic Affairs Committee Chair, and Program Board Chair. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the role of MCSG on the campus at large, as a result, I would suggest that all people consider the candidates and how their views of MCSG match their own. Each student has the ability to determine who will win these elections, so ensure that your voice will be heard by casting a ballot. As an MCSG representative, I think it is of the utmost importance to include every student in the process of determining what direction MCSG will move forward in and the first step is through elections. By determining who the new MCSG executives are going to be, you have played a role in changing MCSG. Let yourself be heard, vote in the MCSG executive election this Monday. Check your inbox. Matthew Butler is a contributing wruter for The Mac Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].