This week’s meeting of MCSG began with a presentation by Mara Steinitz ’18 and Malik Earle ’18, who proposed a new initiative to connect Macalester students to the College’s administration in response to November’s Walk-In.

Steinitz said that the Walk-In seemed like the first space created for students to speak openly regarding frustrations that they have with the administration. She recognized the need for more spaces for administration members to hear from and be held accountable by students.

Academic Affairs Committee Chair Saakshi Daswani ’18 said that it is important that administration members interact with students in accessible spaces like the Campus Center or Idea Lab, instead of only during formal MCSG meetings.

The Legislative Body (LB) is prepared to move forward with further proposals to facilitate more conversation between members of the administration and students. Earle stated that he and Steinitz are interested in setting up an event once every two weeks featuring an administrator who could provide information and answer questions about their role. The sessions would also consist of Q&A for students to ask the administrator questions and address concerns about problems on campus.

The proposal prompted a negative reaction from some representatives.

“This sounds like a way for MCSG and other leaders to give themselves a pat on the back,” Kendra Roedl ’20 said.

Earle and Steinitz were receptive to this critique, resolving to ensure meetings would be as accessible as possible to students.

Other members of the LB praised these suggestions and plan to move forward with hosting an event in the near future.

Next, the LB heard from WMCN student managers William McDonagh ’19, Daniel Shinbaum ’18 and Elizabeth Goldstein ’19 regarding their request for $2,995 to replace half of their soundboard, which suffered damaged channels several weeks ago. The body voted to grant WMCN the money in advance of the beginning of spring semester programming.

Co-President of the Macalester Climbing Club Mikayla Brunner ’21 presented the Climbing Club’s request of $3,120 to fund Wednesday and Thursday climbing events for the spring semester. Another installment of $3,120 will be granted after six or seven weeks if there is still strong interest for Climbing Club. The body unanimously voted to grant the request.

MCSG’s new Media and Outreach Coordinator Isaysha McCaleb ’19 then discussed her role for the upcoming semester, including how she plans to brand MCSG on their website and flyers in the upcoming semester.

The meeting concluded with MCSG President Suveer Daswani ’18 and Academic Affairs Committee member Andy Han ’19 emphasizing that MCSG must collaborate with other campus organizations such as the DML.