On Thursday, Jan. 18, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) reconvened for their first meeting of the spring semester, welcoming new members and taking time to get ready for the upcoming term.
Much of the Legislative Body (LB) consisted of new members or those returning from study abroad, so MCSG allotted considerable time to introductions and reintroductions. President Mariah Loeffler-Kemp ’24 had news for the LB: she and Vice President Emma Kopplin ’24 are currently piloting a program that allows them to earn academic credit for their work in MCSG.
“Hopefully, this is a program that can be expanded next year, so more people can get academic credit for all of our work that we do here,” Loeffler-Kemp said.
After introductions, the LB split into their class years to discuss their planned class nights, which took place on Friday, Jan. 19.
MCSG devoted the rest of the meeting to committee updates, from their five student-led committees.
Joel Sadofsky ’25, Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) chair, announced that the AAC would be adding an at-large member, Tristan Niedzielski ’25, who has previously served as AAC Chair.
The Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) is planning to recruit new members and make edits to the financial code before their largest event of the year:, Budget Bonanza. Budget Bonanza is a campus-wide event that takes place in March where each student organization can request a budget for the upcoming school year.
The Student Organizations Committee (SOC) announced that they are working on updating the student org charter template, and SOC Chair Mikayla Giehler ’24 also mentioned a possible “mega-chartering” event that could take place later this year.
The Cabinet, a new addition to MCSG, is composed of issue-based officers who act as student liaisons. International Student Liaison Yosephine Manihuruk ’26 is planning on working with Residential Life this semester to allow international students on-campus housing during winter break.
Health and Wellness Liaison Emma Rohrs ’26 is continuing her work in providing access to harm reduction resources, as well as compiling a list of resources that the campus offers.
Residential Life and Dining Liaison Philomena Shuffleton-Sobe ’26 mentioned that she would like to reopen the discussion around RA pay rates. She is also working with Manihuruk on international student housing topics.
Athletics and Recreation Liaison Jordan Galloway ’26 is working with identity-based weight-lifting groups to make sure each student feels comfortable in athletic spaces, and Belonging and Accessibility Liaison Elizabeth Ekstrand ’25 will be working with the Lealtad-Suzuki Center for Social Justice, the Center for Disability Resources and identity and belonging-based groups on campus. Part of Ekstrand’s work also involves continuing to find a plan for the Cultural House programming, which will be demolished next year.
The meeting ended with general updates. Loeffler-Kemp announced that Macalester is looking for a new mascot and encouraged students to submit their feedback and ideas to the college. AAC Chair Joel Sadofsky ’25 told the LB that textbook reserves for this semester were now available through the library. Kopplin also announced that MCSG will also be holding elections. Three spots are open: one first-year class representative, one junior class representative and one senior class representative spot. Kopplin asked members to encourage their friends and peers to run for the open positions.
