Last Thursday Sept. 12, the Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) held their inaugural meeting of the 2024-25 school year, discussing topics ranging from new member introductions to navigating budgets and better supporting the student body. Vice President Ryan Connor ’25 acted as interim speaker of the Legislative Body (LB) for the meeting and will continue in this role until a formal speaker is elected.
President Joel Sadofsky ’25 began the meeting by inviting the LB to introduce themselves to the group and share their goals for the upcoming school year.
Multiple MCSG members highlighted support for Mac for Palestine as a primary goal for their time in office.
Junior class representative Marina Moberg ’26 mentioned the importance of keeping the junior class connected as they move off campus for the first time and many study away. Communications and Engagement (CEC) Chair Mena Feleke ’25 and Connor both highlighted their initiative to bridge the gap between MCSG and the student body by encouraging more members of the community to speak with MCSG and apply for positions.
Some MCSG members offered more lighthearted goals.
“My biggest priority this year is getting chicken tenders back on meal swipes,” sophomore representative David Christenfeld ’27 said.
Connor went over some basic expectations for MCSG meetings, emphasizing that representatives should “focus on respect for each other [and] keep in mind that we all have [the] best intent.”
He explained the usual process of meetings — speakers facilitate discussion and voting, and members participate in meetings by raising their placards — and clarified that any voting member can make a motion and work on any bill.
The meeting then shifted towards a review of the MCSG bylaws, the “Constitution of MCSG,” as Sadofsky described. These bylaws are amended and revoted on each year during the fourth MCSG meeting.
The election code is also up for review, and Sadofsky thinks some changes are overdue to streamline the system. In previous years, only three to four of the over 22 LB members provided input, despite presidents’ reminders that any member of the LB can suggest revisions. Sadosfky encouraged every member of the LB to put some time into revising the code.
Student Organizations Committee (SOC) Chair Sean Maxfield ’26 then presented a new initiative for MCSG to support clubs: an SOC “Library” (a finalized name is still under development). Orgs have limited budget space but many of them often purchase the same, reusable, materials. This “library” would allow orgs to rent out certain limited-use items that can be shared, like speakers, and allow MCSG to fully purchase items to be rented out multiple times a semester. Bouncy houses, for example, are typically rented about three times a year — buying one for all orgs to use could save money.
A more formalized list of items to be housed in the “library” is still being created, as MCSG looks through the past few years of budgets to see what items are bought repeatedly. Wagons, water jugs, coolers, cooking gear and a mobile sauna were all suggested purchases.
“Storage is pending,” Maxfield concluded.
Committee chairs proceeded to add updates from initial meetings, although the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) had been waiting to meet until first-year representatives were elected.
Niedzielski, one of two student representatives serving on the Education Policy and Governance Committee (EPAG), shared that a lot of departmental reviews are coming up this year. Its biggest focus, however, will be reviewing Mac for Palestine’s study away proposal. After formal deliberation, EPAG will make a recommendation to the faculty, who will make the final vote for or against the proposal.
The Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) met on Sept. 10 and “allocated a bunch of money to a bunch of orgs requesting interesting things,” FAC Chair Luke Evans ’25 reported.
FAC will be meeting again next week to discuss two requests from Mac Climbing Club — these requests exceed the $4,000 cap for budget requests, which means the LB will have to vote on the requests.
Maxfield added that SOC spoke to three prospective orgs: Neurobiology Club, Scots in the Cities Volunteering Club and Macalester Urbanists Club. After the orgs edit their charters based on SOC recommendations, the LB will hear from the leaders and vote for or against chartering them.
The meeting concluded with final announcements. Niedzielski requested any student feedback on the MacBooks program, which they described as generating “mixed reactions and mixed results.”
With a final encouragement to vote in the MCSG elections — in which 10 first-years ran for representative positions (double the number of 2027 first-year candidates last year, and a 66% increase from when the current junior and senior classes were first-years) — the meeting adjourned.
