In a move to tackle some of the safety concerns surrounding Macalester’s popular Kagin dances, Campus Activities and Organizations (CAO) and Macalester’s Student Government (MCSG) have enacted a cooperative initiative to change the frequency and hosting dynamics of Kagin dances.

“We want students to be able to have all kinds of events,” CAO director Joan Maze said. “Dances are just one of those events with heightened risk. We want to make sure everybody is safe, and that nothing is putting people in danger.”

Noting that the changes are largely being instituted in response to student concerns on the safety of Kagin dances, Maze said: “We are not going to [control or] program [Kagin dances].” She continued, noting that the CAO staff would not interfere with the actual dance itself.

Jennie Kim ’15, Chair of MCSG’s Financial Affairs Committee (FAC), stated that changes were part of a “readjusting about how we look at Kagins.”

The FAC stopped funding new Kagin requests this Spring semester in accordance with the new safety goals in mind.

Kagin funding will now be obtained by first talking to the CAO to “figure out a schedule,” Kim said.

The decision was carefully discussed by CAO and MCSG.

“It’s something MCSG talked about a lot,” Kim said.

Changes to Kagins will be implemented in the Fall 2015 semester. The new policies will limit Kagins to two per month. Orgs and clubs can request to sponsor a dance by signing up through the CAO, to “let [them] know in advance, for planning purposes,” as well as encourage “cooperation and collaboration” between orgs and clubs seeking to sponsor Kagins, Maze said.

Kagin dances will take place on Friday evenings, along with the advent of a new “standardized security guard procedure,” Maze said. While faculty and CAO staff will act as new levels of security, in addition to the student org hosts added in this past semester, Maze noted that the process emphasizes “flexibility.” Orgs can also “find faculty willing to go through training,” to host Kagins.

Additionally, a residential graduate assistant will also be on hand to help staff Kagin dances.

Large events like Winter Ball or Springfest will count as part of the monthly Kagin cap in the months they occur, due to personnel and staff limitations.

Addressing concerns on Kagins and the order of org sponsors, Maze noted a general first-come first-serve policy, taking into consideration a sponsoring org’s “collaboration [with other orgs/clubs] and how many times the org/club has already hosted a Kagin.”

Additionally, Macalester orgs may seek out peer orgs in surrounding colleges to collaboratively host Kagins, allowing non-Macalester students to RSVP to Kagins.

“We’re always willing to review our process for it,” Maze said. “What we want is a safe environment, that can hold people accountable and only having people we want in [Kagins].”

CAO is taking action strictly on issues regarding the safety and security of the students.

“We’re not there [at Kagins] except to address unwelcome issues,” Maze added.

Maze welcomed any feedback, questions, or suggestions.

“It’s a work in progress,” she said. “My goal is always to say, students want to do something, ‘how can we do it’, not ‘we can’t do it.’”