On Thursday, Sept. 25, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) met in the library’s Harmon Room to approve nominations for MCSG’s Judicial Council and elect a Speaker of the Legislative Body (LB).
Vice President Philomena Shuffelton-Sobe ’26 began by inviting Associate Dean of Students Angela Walker to the podium to discuss nominations for the Judicial Council. The Judicial Council is composed of eight students unaffiliated with MCSG who respond to complaints about MCSG, according to Walker. Walker gave examples of election code violations or representatives failing to fulfill their responsibilities on MCSG.
“I serve as a sound advisor, so if they come to a situation where they’re just not quite sure [what to do], I’m the person that knows the policy and can talk them through it, but I don’t make decisions or sit in any of those meetings,” Walker said.
Walker then shared her nominations for the Judicial Council—Aidan Gulliksen ’26, who serves as Judicial Chair, Dallas Watson ’26, who serves as Secondary Judicial Chair, Pamela Gilbertson ’27, Sarah Dunn ’26, Ali Brock ’27, Finneas Harmon- Xavier ’28 and Grace Duback ’28. The LB unanimously approved the nominations.
Walker also advertised Scots Care, a system for Macalester community members to refer themselves or other students to a support network. Walker clarified that Scots Care can be used for a variety of concerns, including mental health, finances, academics and general wellbeing.
Following, Student Organizations Committee (SOC) Chair Liv Peterson ’26 introduced the charter for Running Club, which aims to provide a community of students who take part in around three scheduled group runs per week.
Senior Class Representative Marina Moberg ’26 asked how Running Club would use its funding if chartered, and Ethan de Brauw ’29, who represented Running Club, shared that funds would primarily be used for race registration fees. The LB chartered Running Club with 24 votes in favor, one abstention and none opposed.
At the Sept. 18 LB meeting, representatives nominated current class representatives and liaisons to serve as LB Speaker. During this meeting, the LB heard statements from these nominees — Senior Class Representative Catherine Kane ’26, Sophomore Class Representative Silvia Lungu ’28 and Residential Life & Dining Liaison Galjer Yangwaue ’27. Using a Google Form on the meeting agenda, members of the Cabinet and class representatives elected Kane as Speaker, which Shuffelton-Sobe announced later in the meeting.
Kane highlighted her previous work as a class representative and Health and Wellness Liaison and meeting management skills.
“The role of Speaker is also to serve as a liaison between you all and the executive board overlords, and I feel that I’m well suited to build relationships and create channels of communication,” Kane said.
Subsequently, the climbing club proposed a funding request to the Financial Affairs Committee (FAC), seeking the allocation of $8,120.
“We know that climbing club ends up taking a significant portion of Macalester funding, and we ask for this funding because climbing is a really fun sport, but it’s very financially restrictive,” climbing club representative Eleanor Malcolm ’26 said.
Malcolm explained that additional funding can provide free transportation, access to equipment, and entry in local climbing gyms for all climbers.
Moberg posed a question concerning the allotment of $8,120, asking: “How does this request line up with our current budget forecasting, and [what is] FAC’s opinion on if this is a financially sound decision for the future of our semester?”
Malcolm clarified that the money will be used for purchasing climbing passes for the 2025- 26 academic year and will be distributed by semester, with $4,000 used each term. With over 500 people on the email list, the climbing club is one of the biggest clubs at Macalester, according to Malcolm. Malcolm argued that $8,120 is financially sensitive and supports the strong climbing community at Mac.
Ultimately, the LB approved Climbing club’s request, with 23 approval, three abstentions, and one rejection.
Ash Granda Bondurant ’27, Athletics and Recreation Liaison, started off cabinet updates and highlighted the shortened Leonard Center (LC) hours.
“What we’re talking about right now is more pivoting [the conversation] towards the mental health and the benefits of recreation for non athletes, not just the student worker side,” Granda-Boudurant said. Emma Rohrs ’26, Accessibility and Wellness Liaison, announced that Sarab Pournoor, director of counseling, will be joining MCSG in November.
JJ Cuneo ’28, Dining and Sustainability Liaison, reported efforts to work towards Macalester’s sustainability missions with the consulting company Brailsford and Duns (B&D).
Alongside Bon Appetit General Manager Amy Tomes, who acts as a liaison between Macalester and Bon Appetit, Cuneo worked on improving dining for gluten free students, specifically offering gluten free noodles at the pasta station and implementing a personal container system for spreads in the gluten free area to suit the needs of students with dietary restrictions.
Cuneo’s also highlighted the recent price increase for Scotty’s from $8 to $12 for students who are off the meal plan. This marks Scotty’s first price increase in 3 years.
Communications and Engagement Committee (CEC) Chair Sammi Shelton ’29 announced the upcoming ‘Meet the Senior Leadership Team’ event on Oct. 7.
Sophomore Class Representative Xavier Honer ’28 gave an update for the SOC. He shared that the SOC is researching how Macalester’s student organizations compare with 40 peer schools, and has found that Macalester offers more pre-medical student organizations than other liberal arts colleges of a similar student population.
FAC Chair David Christenfeld ’27 shared that of the recent requests FAC received, it accepted two, tabled two and rejected three. Two of the three were travel requests, rejected due to a cost per person that the FAC deemed too high. After being prompted by Peterson, Christenfeld clarified that the FAC hopes to see travel requests come in at around $500 per participant.
To conclude the meeting, AAC Chair Samantha Schafer ’26 asked LB members to consider joining an ad hoc committee that will focus on understanding recent federal statues and developing a community response.
