On Thursday, Jan. 30, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) met in the Weyerhaeuser Boardroom to hear a presentation from Associate Director of Health Promotion Rachel Banen ’16. Their agenda also featured multiple items relating to the Financial Affairs Committee (FAC), and remarks from International Student Liaison Laurice Jimu ’27 on recent executive orders from the Trump administration that threaten the status of international and undocumented students in the United States.
Banen began her presentation by defining the meaning and purpose of health promotion as a series of measures intended to prevent injury or illness, saying: “We absolutely need healthcare… But we also need to be asking, ‘What if people didn’t experience [illness] in the first place?’”
Banen explained that she requested to address the Legislative Body (LB) because its members “are people who are contributing to creating a healthy and supportive environment on this campus.”
Banen then summarized various actions taken by Macalester’s Health Promotion program, including partnerships with the Program Board and Residential Life — the latter of which resulted in the designation of ‘emergency’ on-campus lodging for survivors of sexual violence. According to Banen, any questions about this program should be directed to Macalester’s Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women (DoJ OVW) Grant Project Director Paige Olowu.
Finally, Banen introduced a new “Application to Partner with Health Promotion,” which will allow student organizations to directly partner with the Health Promotion program. Approved partner organizations will be granted up to $500 in additional funding. Banen said that the form will be published soon through various outlets, including the Mac Daily.
Sophomore class representative David Christenfeld ’27 then gave a mid-year health check of MCSG’s finances. The travel fund has about 43 percent remaining, its capital budget has about 23 percent left and its operating budget contains just under 9 percent of its budget at the start of the academic year. Christenfeld told MCSG members not to be concerned about the percentages as most of the operating budget gets used during the first semester.
Next, the LB deliberated on a travel request from Macalester’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) to attend the National Wintercon Conference in Chicago. YDSA initially asked for $8,029 total, divided into $617 per person, for the conference. However, the FAC negotiated a new request of $4,400, with $338 allocated per person, by changing transportation expenses from flights to Macalester-owned vans as well as decreasing the amount of hotel rooms from six to four.
Vi Danahy ’27*, Treasurer of YDSA, spoke briefly about the “meaningful” impact on YDSA members attending the conference last year.
The LB voted on the YDSA request and it passed with 23 members in favor and one member opposed.
Afterwards, former FAC Chair Luke Evans ’26 presented a draft of the new proposed FAC Financial Code. Evans updated the code section-by-section and created new sections and regulations inspired by problems he had encountered while serving on the FAC.
“Along with [FAC Advisor] Garrett Meier, and [Center for Student Leadership & Engagement Executive Director] Laurie Adamson, we had a number of discussions about this throughout the year … particularly [about] what was lacking in the committee,” Evans said.
President Joel Sadofsky ’25 urged all LB Members to look over the new proposed FAC Financial Code and asked LB members to leave feedback on the shared Google Doc.
Evans reiterated that the new proposed FAC Financial Code was still a work in progress and that while new regulations were proposed, nothing created would alter the balance of power between FAC and other student organizations.
The first cabinet update was delivered by Belonging and Accessibility Liaison Willow Albano ’26. Albano informed the LB that the Cultural House (C-House) will be moved to the Summit House, following the C-House demolition this summer. They also mentioned that Kagin Commons will be renovated in the summer to create more “cultural space for cooking and living.”
Dining and Residential Life Liaison Galjer Yangwaue ’27 announced that Cafe Mac workers can now schedule their hours through an app.
Health and Wellness Liaison Emma Rohrs ’26 told the LB that plans to introduce virtual scheduling of appointments with the Laurie Hamre Center for Health and Wellness were still underway.
International Student Liaison Laurice Jimu ’27 then made a statement regarding the Trump administration’s hostility towards non-citizens. Jimu urged international students to be cautious and avoid activities which could land them in trouble with legal authorities, such as underage drinking.
Jimu also asked international students to be cautious if participating in any protests, citing a “The New York Times” article, which claims that a recent executive order could allow the Trump administration to deport international students accused of “antisemitic harassment and violence.” Jimu pointed out that this phrase “could be interpreted” as the Trump administration targeting students who participate in Pro-Palestine protests.
Additionally, Jimu reminded international students to be conscious of how they use social media and the data they store on their smartphones; he had heard reports of phones being confiscated by law enforcement agents at border checkpoints and visa renewal appointments.
Sadofsky announced an MCSG special election candidates forum that happened in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall that night from 7-9 p.m. and reminded LB Members to vote in the special election. Sadofsky also reminded LB members about the MCSG retreat which happened on Saturday, Feb. 1.
In addition, Sadofsky, on behalf of Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) Chair Tristan Niedzielski ’25, announced that the Educational Policy and Governance (EPAG) Committee had decided to move the proposal to end approved Study Away programs in Israel to a full faculty vote. The faculty will introduce and discuss the proposal at the faculty meeting on Feb. 11 with the current intent on voting at the March 11 meeting.
*Vi Danahy is a staff writer of The Mac Weekly
