At the Legislative Body’s (LB) weekly meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, MCSG approved a bill to join the National Coalition of Student Leaders, a collective of student government leaders from across the country formed last spring to advocate for student needs during the pandemic. 

The four authors of the bill to join the National Coalition of Student Leaders first presented the idea at last week’s meeting. On Tuesday, author and Student Organizations Committee (SOC) member Linden Kronberg ’22 presented an updated bill.

The revised bill was similar to the first proposal — Kronberg noted that he edited it to clarify the responsibilities of different MCSG positions. The bill establishes that MCSG will join the Coalition, with the community engagement officer working as the primary liaison between the two organizations. The community engagement officer and the MCSG president can nominate more MCSG members to represent Macalester on the Coalition, as well. 

The bill passed with 14 votes in favor and two abstentions. 

The LB also revisited last week’s conversation about changes to its bylaws. Revisions included establishing a semesterly listening session hosted by class representatives and a few changes to the guidelines for operating remotely. 

The new bylaws passed with 12 votes in favor and one abstention. 

In addition to passing these new measures, the LB also heard from two students pitching new student organization charters. Yosan Worota ’23 presented her proposed charter for a new student org — a Macalester chapter of Compassionate Action for Animals, a non-profit based in Minneapolis that encourages plant-based diets. 

Worota was inspired to get more involved with vegan and animal rights activism during her summer internship with Compassionate Action for Animals. 

“I was not a vegetarian or a vegan before, but upon researching how many animals were getting slaughtered for food, it fueled me to try to see how I could help from Macalester,” Worota said. 

Worota said that the Macalester chapter of Compassionate Action for Animals would focus on giving vegan and vegetarian students a place to gather and advocating for more vegan and vegetarian options in Café Mac. 

Next, Julius Enarsson Enestrom ’24 took the floor to present his proposed charter for the Macalester Nordic Society. 

“I noticed that there was a fairly strong presence of students with Nordic backgrounds attending Macalester, and secondly, that there’s kind of a notable Nordic heritage in the Twin Cities area that I think can be explored,” Enestrom said. 

The Nordic Society would provide a social space for those students with Nordic heritage and anyone else interested in learning more about it. The proposal included a request for funds to host events and to offer students transportation to activities, like visits to the American Swedish Institute. The LB will vote to determine whether to charter these orgs at next week’s meeting.

The LB concluded the meeting with announcements from different committee representatives. Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) chair Hannah Gilbert ’21 announced that student organizations will receive $100 in flexi funds for the spring semester. 

Vice President and Student Services and Relations Committee (SSRC) Chair Shreya Nagdev ’22 said that her committee recently met with Employment Services Director Bob Graf to discuss financial insecurity among students and the Macalester Student Unemployment Insurance Program (MSUIP). 

Looking ahead to the spring, Program Board (PB) member Carter Rutherford ’23 said that PB  is planning several socially-distanced welcome events for the first week of next semester, potentially including a speaker, bingo for books, movement classes and take-home craft kits. 

One big unknown coming in 2021 is Module 5 — the additional opportunity for classes is scheduled for May and June, but the college has yet to announce details. AAC member Austin Wu ’23 asked if anyone had heard news on when the college might publish more details, including the class schedule. 

Nagdev said she believes the schedule will be posted in January. 

Before signing off, Nagdev asked members to find a time to meet with other representatives from their classes to check in and recap the work they have done this semester. With only one formal meeting left before finals, this marks the start of a wrap-up to the semester. 

Note: Julius Enarsson Enestrom is a staff writer for The Mac Weekly. 

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