By Adrianna Jereb and Juliette Verlaque According to the “Student Management” tab on MCSG’s page of Macalester’s website, the Income Ineqaulity Commission (IIC) meets weekly. Except, as the commission’s sole three student representatives explain it, after a mere two years in existence, the group has lost traction. It hasn’t met for the entire 2016-17 school…
Opinion
Re-centering the conversation on rock bottom wages at Macalester
We interact every day with people who do not earn a living wage. Moreover, many of the workers on campus are trying to support a family or are working part time, which puts some at or below the poverty line. These insufficient wages occur despite Macalester’s minimum wage policy that mandates employees on campus receive…
Features
Revisiting Income Inequality Commission with PBR
Last spring, Old Main lawn hosted public discussions of income inequality at Macalester. Some students expressed concerns about the 42:1 wage ratio, which means that the highest salary at Macalester is forty-two times greater than the lowest. People from both sides of the issue took the microphone and in the end, MCSG passed legislation to…
Opinion
18-to-1 and a living wage: the Student Assembly and looking forward
The student assembly on income inequality held last Tuesday was a milestone for the power of concerted student action as well as a success for progressive ideas in general. With 80 votes yes, only 11 votes no and 2 abstentions, our resolution passed by a landslide. The resolution included proposals for a maximum pay-ratio of…
News
Student assembly passes resolution on staff income inequality
Last Tuesday afternoon, a student assembly called by Macalester Students Against Income Inequality met on the lawn of Old Main to discuss and pass a resolution proposed to MCSG on income inequality at Macalester. The assembly began with Sam Doten ’16 and Nick Michalesko ’17 introducing the issue at the heart of the resolution and…
News
Student Assembly planned on income inequality
A Student Assembly to discuss income inequality at Macalester, specifically the gap between the highest-paid and lowest-paid employees, will be held the second week after Spring Break. On Wednesday night, organizers received the number of signatures necessary to call a Student Assembly. The Student Assembly’s creation is dependent on the Registrar’s Office verifying the petition…
Opinion
On the Student Assembly
This Tuesday March 10th, I submitted a motion to MCSG to form a Student Assembly to discuss or take action on income inequality among Macalester’s staff. It was defeated. While this does not mean there cannot be any form of Student Assembly regarding this issue (if organizers receive the signatures they need MCSG can’t stop…
Opinion
Income inequality at Mac: the corporatization of higher education
Last year Raymond Burse, the president of Kentucky State University, took a stand against income inequality and voluntarily asked for a $90,125 pay cut. The amount he gave back to the school equaled a quarter of his $349,869 salary. Burse took this step with the intention of making sure that 24 minimum wage workers on…