On Thursday, Nov. 14, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) convened in the DeWitt Wallace Library’s Harmon Room to hear a presentation from Vice President for Advancement Joanna Curtis ’97, vote on a travel fund appeal from Mac Pre-Dental Society and discuss a resolution asking for Macalester to financially divest from companies that fund the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
After an overview of Advancement’s responsibilities and organization, Curtis explained the current state of philanthropy at Macalester. Last year, Advancement raised $22.5 million in gifts, and this year, they aspire to earn $28 million. Advancement’s earnings — a combination of endowments, which are continually re-invested and must begin with an initial donation of $100,000, and gifts — make up around 40% of the college’s annual budget. This means that while funds from tuition and room and board payments sustain the college until February of each year, donor gifts sustain the college for the remainder of the year.
Curtis hopes to see the Macalester Fund, a program that provides budget flexibility on an annual basis, raise $5.5 million this year.
Concluding her presentation with an explanation of the “Imagine, Macalester” strategic plan process, Curtis announced that this January, the college will kick off its public-facing phase of the strategic planning process with an outdoor carnival and bonfire in collaboration with Program Board (PB).
Advancement’s current goals for the “Imagine, Macalester” strategic plan include cementing long term funding for the new Flemming Startup Grant — a $1,000 grant not attached to tuition or financial aid given to students of highest financial need. The Flemming Startup Grant comes from a $1 million gift from an unnamed trustee and currently operates without an endowment, but Curtis hopes one will be created so the program can sustain itself in the future. Other goals include increasing stipends to make study away and summer internships more financially accessible.
Sophomore representative David Christenfeld ’27 explained that the Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) had been discussing funding issues with Model United Nations, and asked why the forensics department could only receive funding on Give to Macalester Days.
“That’s not an Advancement-led decision,” Curtis responded. “We are trying to find a balance between the need for what we call — and I hate these terms — ‘budget relieving dollars’ and ‘budget enhancing dollars.’ Budget relieving, meaning those $5 million that we rely on alumni to give to pay for basic college operations. Budget enhancing, being the money we raise for extras — some of those extras with forensics.”
Curtis told the LB that Advancement is actively working with the Finance Office to find this balance.
Following, FAC Chair Luke Evans ’26 presented Pre-Dental Society’s travel fund appeal for $4,516.45 to tour dental schools in California during January 24-26, 2025. Beginning with an endorsement of Pre-Dental Society’s appeal, Evans shared that FAC originally rejected the first appeal for $5,226.40 because they believed that Pre-Dental Society could gain the same information from virtual tours. However, FAC reversed their stance after the organization explained more about how they would bring their knowledge back to campus.
Pre-Dental Society representative Kirstyn Barsola ’25 addressed questions from the LB and explained how the experience couldn’t be replicated virtually. She shared that attendees will add recordings of presentations and travel to a shared Google Drive, and that the trip provides in-person opportunities for networking and improving manual dexterity, an essential skill in dental professions.
The LB voted unanimously to approve Pre-Dental Society’s travel appeal.
President Joel Sadofsky ’25 then introduced Resolution 16 “Resolution Calling for Institutional Divestment Related to the Genocide of Palestinians” for Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) Chair Tristan Niedzielski ’25, who was unable to attend the meeting. The Resolution restates views represented in previous resolutions calling for academic divestment and asks Macalester to financially divest from companies supporting Israel’s ongoing violence towards Palestinians; all companies named in Resolution 16 are also listed on the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) boycott list.
Junior representative Marina Moberg ’26 raised concerns about the magnitude of each company’s impact on the genocide.
“Israel is obviously a very small country, so when I’m thinking about our social responsibility … I think what comes to mind for me is not necessarily how the company is supporting Israel and not supporting Israel, but how much of the company is supporting Israel,” Moberg said.
Christenfeld and Student Organizations Committee (SOC) Chair Sean Maxfield ’26 disagreed, arguing that Macalester should address divestment by investigating whether investments are having a negative impact, instead of trying to quantify the extent of the impact.
Charlie Gee ’26, an author of Mac for Palestine’s financial divestment proposal, explained that divesting sets a standard for other colleges and universities that could push forward divestment proposals at other institutions.
Junior representative Sam Schafer ’26, who shared she had worked on the financial divestment proposal, spoke to institutional issues of transparency. She highlighted that a little more than one seventh — or 132 of Macalaester’s 680 individual investments in the endowment — are public, as cited in Mac for Palestine’s proposal. The last objective of Resolution 16 specifically asks Macalester to publicize all 680 investments.
The meeting concluded with updates from the Cabinet and committees. Health and Wellness Liaison Catherine Kane ’26 shared that she met with the Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Committee to hear about their bi-annual edits to the college’s drug and alcohol policies.
International Student Liaison Laurice Jimu ’27 announced that he had achieved one of his major goals for this academic year: reviving the Friends of Macalester International Students (FOMIS) program. Now known as the Forming Links Across the Globe (FLAG) program, FLAG differs from FOMIS by connecting international students with a Macalester-affiliated “host” who will organize outings, instead of providing them with housing.
Residential Life and Dining liaison Galjer Yangwaue ’27 shared that she has been working with Macalester Dining Advisory Committee (MDAC) to discuss compensation for student workers at Cafe Mac and scheduling conversations with a Bon Appetit dietitian about improving options for students with dietary restrictions. Yangwaue also lauded Vice President Ryan Connor ’25 for his work on MDAC’s survey, which was emailed to the student body on Nov. 14 and is accepting responses until Nov. 24.
During committee updates, senior class representative Elizabeth Ekstrand ’25 announced that AAC is discussing increasing accessibility to the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program and pass/fail policies outlined in the International Student Handbook. Ekstrand also requested that the LB review AAC’s questions for Ebony Aya from the Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching, who will speak with AAC during the committee’s Nov. 25 meeting.
Senior representative Tor Olsson ’25 announced that FAC approved two requests of $230 and $630 from the operating fund, for a BIPOC Athletes at Mac (BIPOCA) ping pong event and a Voices of Mental Health trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota, respectively. They also approved an additional $2,600 for Model United Nations’ (MUN) conference in New York.
Cabinet Chair Philomena Shuffelton-Sobe ’26 shared that the Cabinet approved Mac GPT’s request for $807.56 from the Community Chest Fund.
