While the legislative body as a whole has determined goals for the semester, much of MCSG’s work this year will be a product of its five committees: the Student Organization Committee (SOC), the Financial Affairs Committee (FAC), the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC), the Student Services and Resources Committee (SSRC) and Program Board (PB). The following is the breakdown of the latter two committees’ goals for the semester and year.

Student Services & Resources Committee

Recently elected SSRC chair and MCSG vice president Jolena Zabel ’16 is optimistic about what the year holds.

“I think we have a really enthusiastic committee and I think we are going to address student feedback in a way that will be pretty powerful,” Zabel said.

The SSRC first hopes to write a mission statement and strategic plan outlining their vision for the committee. Zabel hopes that a more structured definition of the role of the SSRC will help establish stronger institutional memory, allowing goals to carry on across leadership transitions.

The SSRC is also hoping to continue the work they began last year, including working on the campus dialogue on sexual assault, improving mental health resources, and increasing resources for students who come from low-income households.

“We’re hoping to continue old initiatives from last year, including mental health resources, working on the campus dialogue on sexual assault, increasing resources for students who come from low income households—and that’s something we’re going to try to really boost this year in terms of what we do. Last year there was an internship initiative—this year, we’re also thinking about basic necessities.”

Program Board

Program Board chair Blaise Yokoyama ’17 said PB is hoping to be more receptive to student feedback. They are hoping to open up their meetings to the student body, perhaps setting aside the first 15 minutes to give students an informal opportunity to address the committee.

“We really want people to get more involved with our programming and we want student feedback,” Yokoyama said. “We want to know about the different ideas people have. We want them to tell us what they want.”

They are also hoping to make changes to Winter Ball and Springfest. Winter Ball will be taking place in a very different location, and PB hopes it will feel less like a “fancy Kagin” and more like a Winter Ball. There will be a mix of different activities, as well as dancing and games, like in past years.

PB is hoping Springfest will have a different feel this year as well. In past years they’ve mostly brought rappers to campus. This year they are hoping to have a greater diversity of genres represented in the artists they bring to campus. They are also hoping to bring in more bands featuring Mac alums.