On March 6, the Macalester College Student Government’s (MCSG) Legislative Body (LB) convened in Weyerhaeuser Boardroom to hear an update from the Student Liaison to the Board of Trustees (BoT), review their 2025-2026 budget request and discuss a fundraising initiative in collaboration with Mac For Palestine.
Gabe Karsh ’25, Student Liaison to the BoT, spoke first to update the LB on the board’s recent meeting on Feb 28, 2025.
Among the topics discussed at the BoT’s meeting, Karsh brought news of plans to renovate all the dorms on campus besides George Dayton Draper Hall (GDD). These renovations would include potentially adding air conditioning and updating bathrooms.
The BoT also reviewed the budget for the upcoming year. According to Karsh, they are taking the recent “Dear Colleague” letter into serious consideration and looking at the financial risks to the college should there be a cut to federal or state funding. In a follow-up question, First-Year Class Representative Chloe Xu ’28 asked Karsh for further insight into how budget cuts would directly affect Macaleser students.
“A significant amount of our federal funding is for financial aid,” Karsh said. “The college does not have a concrete plan about what would happen if that money were to go away, and it is possible that ultimately there would be cuts to financial aid as a result of that. I do know that they are pursuing backup funding options if that were to happen, and that’s also not on the table right now, right? So this ‘Dear Colleague’ letter that was sent out by the Department of Education does not have the force of law … If those changes were being made, then there are options on the table.”
Closing their updates, Karsh covered a recent meeting between them, MCSG President Joel Sadofsky ’25 and Vice President for Student Affairs Kathryn Kay Coquemont, on initiating the process for selecting next year’s BoT Liaison. Karsh encouraged members of the Macalester student body to apply. Selections will be made later in the spring after elections for the MCSG Executive Board are held.
MCSG Vice President Ryan Connor ’25 informed the LB that General Manager of Bon Appetit at Macalester College Amy Tomes offered to join one of the upcoming weekly LB meetings for a Q&A session. The Executive Board decided that this was not possible with the time left in the semester, but Connor gave the attendees an opportunity to submit questions for Tomes, which he would deliver and get answers to before the end of the semester.
Junior Class Representative Corinne Byus ’26 asked if there was a regular rotation schedule for meals. Connor confirmed that meals followed a weekly rotation schedule. He also said that, due to a company policy change, chefs are now only allowed to prepare recipes submitted and approved by Bon Appetit corporate.
Sadofsky asked if there was data supporting the “efficacy of [Bon Appetit’s] cross contamination training.” International Student Liaison Laurice Jimu ’27 inquired about “the status with the employee training,” saying that he had heard complaints about student training being inadequate. Residential Life and Dining Liaison Galjer Yangwaue ’27 said a follow-up training session had been held earlier in the semester, but no one showed up. Yangwaue added that there may be additional training sessions held in the near future.
Junior Class Representative Marina Moberg ’26 expressed demand for healthier and lower sugar food options. In a similar vein, First-Year Class Representative Lina Solh ’28 asked for an increase in options for students with dietary restrictions. Belonging and Accessibility Liaison Willow Albano ’26 requested more thorough allergen labels on all foods. Moberg added that she would like to see labels on food containing gelatin.
Following this, Sadofsky introduced a draft of the MCSG budget request for the upcoming academic year. This request follows the updated rules for MCSG’s funding within the recently adopted Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) financial code. In previous years, MCSG received funding through a process colloquially referred to as “Budget Bonanza,” wherein FAC vetted and approved cuts for MCSG’s budget alongside other student orgs. Sadofsky claimed this gave the FAC “disproportionate” control over MCSG’s operating budget, “with limited LB influence.”
Under the new financial code, MCSG will receive an “off-the-top” budget of $15,000 for the 2025-26 academic year, adopting a funding model similar to The Mac Weekly and WMCN. Sadofsky said that MCSG will receive less in funding than the aforementioned organizations. He also noted that this change will create parity between MCSG and other student government organizations.
“[This change] takes the burden of financial oversight of MCSG off the FAC,” Sadofsky said. “We should be running efficiently. We should have the budget to operate into outreach, into strategic planning and development in our retreat.”
Sadofsky then introduced a summary of the new working budget. Under this budget, $13,876.98 has been allocated to support MCSG committees and Cabinet. This figure also includes funding for class nights, LB meetings and retreats. The remaining $1,123.02 has not been allocated and, according to Sadofsky, will likely be put towards events held by the Communications and Engagement Committee (CEC).
Sadofsky’s presentation was met with questions from LB members about funding for internal MCSG team-building activities. Sadofsky clarified that these were part of the aforementioned funding allocation for retreats, which also accounted for meal and travel costs.
Sadofsky then updated the LB on the status of the Matched Fundraising Working Group. According to the “Board Decision on Student Divestment Proposal” announcement sent out by President Suzanne Rivera on Nov. 21, 2024, the working group will help decide how to allocate “a fund with Board contributions of up to $50,000 that would match student fundraising in support of non-profit organizations providing relief in areas of violent conflict.”
The working group meeting was composed of Sadofsky, Senior Class Representative Sylvia Cole ’25, two members of Mac For Palestine and two students not affiliated with MCSG or Mac For Palestine. Their tentative funding distribution will allocate 50 percent of funds raised to ground aid in Palestine and the rest to either other conflict zones or humanitarian organizations working with refugee resettlement. A more exact split will be reached shortly and announced to the student body through the Mac Daily or through a student announcement email.
MCSG Cabinet members then gave updates on their work. Health and Wellness Liaison Emma Rohrs ’26 said that she met with Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women Project Director Paige Olowu to talk about how grant funding is being used, and she is planning a meeting with the Title IX Office to discuss increasing transparency.
Athletics and Recreation Liaison Ash Granda-Bondurant ’27 said he spoke with Associate Director of Athletics Steve Murray about Macalester’s policy on transgender student athletes.
Jimu announced that, due to time constraints, the World Fest Planning Committee had decided to postpone World Fest to next spring. He reiterated that work on the event has not stopped, and the committee will still meet biweekly.
