Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Minutes 10/28/08

Absent: Jill Ackerman
Excused Absence: Aaron Brown, Rudy Herrera-Marmol, Jeff Yamashita, Henry Coshnear, Molly Griffard

7:10 - Meeting called to order
  • Roll Call and Approval of Minutes

Q&A with Provost Kathleen Murray
  • priority to get to know the Mac community - going around individually, getting feedback on hopes and dreams for Mac
  • design development for Janet Wallace:
    • 70 mil project (most expensive)
    • each department will end up with more functional space
    • improving the art building, as of Jan 1st; hope to start Spring 2010;
    • fundraising at least 2/3 of the 55 mil (total 39 mil - 26 will be raised, take rest out in debt- Capital Campaign)
    • student involvement in the process (from the Theater department)
  • sabbatical policy proposal issues
    • difference in cost
    • difference in national economic context
    • contact Resource and Planning student reps to find out more about the progress
  • role of the Provost
    • collaborate with the faculty: work with them on curricular hiring
    • member of the President's senior staff
    • Senior administrator on campus
    • would like to get to know a wider range of students: students are encouraged to stop by
  • long-term vision for the college: reducing the tension between internationalism and multiculturalism at Macalester
Open Forum: MPIRG
  • Volunteer activities on Election Day

FAC

  • Art Alliance Drawing Co-op $295 motion to approve - passed
  • Mac Dems Campus-Wide Election Night Party $125 motion to approve - passed
  • MPJC-SDS Halloween No-Fear Dance $125 motion to approve - passed
  • BODACIOUS Break Battle and Halloween Dance $750 motion to approve - passed
  • Mac Christin Fellowship Christians and Pancakes $40 motion to approve - passed
  • Mac Catholics Advent Dinner $552.25 motion to approve - passed
  • Motion to approve bylaw changes - motion passed
  • budget processing will be from nov 17th - 26th

SSC
  • Macalester Australia New Zealand Adoration Club (Mac ANZAC) motion to approve - passed
  • Black History Month Committee charter request distributed

AAC
  • EPAG Update:
    • Discussion on whether to approve a course addressing material that would allow students taking it to choose whether to use it to satisfy the internationalism or the multiculturalism requirement (potential interconnectedness of the two realms in academia)
    • Amending the Faculty Addendum: to provide additional incentive for professors to register their courses towards the fulfillment of Gen. Ed. requirements
  • IGC:
    • furniture for the IGC
    • creating a word press blog on global views (Blogal)

PB
  • PB's Halloween movie: The Exorcist remastered (Oct 29)
  • Bodacious Halloween Bash (Oct 31)
  • Shelter Speak: Showing of the movie "Land of 10,000 homeless" at Simpson Housing Services Men's Shelter (Nov 1st)
  • Planet B-Boy: in conjunction with Bodacious week (Nov 6)
  • Vikings vs. Packers game (Nov 9th): tickets will be given away via raffle
  • Showing of the movies "Under the Same Moon" and the "Lost Boys of Sudan" in JBD (Nov 13): part of Immigrant & Refugees Awareness Week
  • A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie (Nov 19)

ERC
  • Birthday celebration: Birthday Babka to celebrate October birthdays (Owen, Stephanie, Karen)
  • Senior election
  • Win a lunch date with an exec: every exec member has a lunch date

Pres Commission
  • Busy with collecting and analyzing the campus survey results
  • Faculty letter sent out encouraging classes to be canceled on election day

Meeting adjourned at 8:30

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Minutes 10/21/08

Excused Absence: Dimitri Da Gama Rose, Adam-Maliq Muro, Samuel Solomon

7:10 - Meeting called to order
  • Roll call and approval of minutes

Student Liaison to the Board of Trustees: Franz Meyer
  • Update on the topics discussed in the last Board of Trustees meetings
    • the alcohol policy
    • student involvement in planning
    • infrastructure - building, grounds, technology: IT and how that affects Mac; new Gmail
    • Leonard Center now finished;, IGC finished by May
    • Academic Affairs - student assessment: ways the administration can assess whether we learn anything at Mac; sabbatical policy - budgetary side, impact on student life
    • Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center
    • Admissions Committee- slightly fewer first years this year: fewer people accepted their admission decision; college remains committed to access: $42 mil for scholarships via Capital Campaign
    • our endowment has dropped about 20%: focus resources on maintaining academic quality, faculty and staff compensation, maintain access
  • next Board of Trustees meeting in March - coinciding with Founder's Day

SERF and Sustainability: Justin Lee
  • MCSG donated 20,000 to SERF
  • 45,000 cash balance: 20,000 invested
  • Meetings: 4th Tuesday every month - email Justin for more info
  • students come up with projects; 10 sustainability work-study positions across campus
  • people need to start talking about sustainability in a serious way
  • trying to get as many people who were not previously involved to become included in this process: the issue extends beyond environmentalism to include community engagement and academic integration
  • 10 scheduled sustainability days between now and the end of the semester

FAC
  • Art Alliance request for $295 - motion to table passed
  • distributed proposed changes to bylaws

AAC
  • open-access textbook day: advocating that all the electronic journals should be free
  • we need to sit down and have some serious conversations about textbook related issues
  • EPAG update:
    • handbook revision
    • academic emphasis versus a tract
    • student involvement in department reviews: may be some institutional opposition
  • IGC Update:
    • internet dialogue space: inviting everyone to talk about different issues of global concern
    • Event: debating for democracy

ERC
  • win a lunch date with an Exec: working on publicity
  • new tradition of birthdays: celebrate the birthdays at the end of the month
  • senior election coming up very soon:
    • publicity starting tomorrow
    • filing period ends Oct 31st
    • election is on Nov 11th
    • new senior will be on the ERC
  • the MCSG website - please submit anything you would like to be on the website to Owen

PB
  • Surround Sound is on Saturday - a couple spaces left for volunteers

Pres Commission
  • Resolution 001 on student involvement in college decision making - made a minor amendment and motion to approve was passed
  • Campus survey - impressive response so far; analyze these results on friday
  • working to facilitate communication across campus via Campus Committee Reps
  • Mac voter coalition - encouraging students to volunteer on election day
  • working with BLAC et al: how race and gender affected the election (will be held on election day)


Meeting adjourned at 8:07

Monday, October 20, 2008

Minutes 10/14/08

Absent: Henry Coshnear,Joe Schubert, Oriel Fernandes
Excused Absence: Terence Steinberg, Sarah Dicks, Krista Yank

7:05 - Meeting called to order
  • Roll Call and Approval of Minutes
Open Forum: Q&A with President Brian Rosenberg
  • Discussed the effects of the current economic crisis on the school:
    • Tuition increase will be significantly smaller than most years in the recent past. Financial aid budget will go up.
    • Endowment lost $125 million dollars in one year.
    • Fundraising-obviously a difficult climate in which to raise funds. Annual fund will feel the effects immediately.
  • Capital campaign: $24 million for financial aid.
  • Three main budget priorities: maintain strength of academic program, taking care of faculty and staff (pay and benefits), maintaining college affordability and increasing financial aid budget.
  • Liquidity of the college is not a problem.
  • Janet Wallace total project cost approx. 39-40 million: $26 million raised
  • Tuition increase of approx 5% is considered reasonable.
  • Sabbatical policy change on hold for two reasons: financial interests and impact on students.
  • Fine Arts Center- most donations will come from alumni, some from foundations and non-alum donors. Now we have a concept for the building that is in line with the budget for the building. Typically academic departments are in charge of getting student input. Schematic design phase should begin in spring 2009.
  • Potential idea for more housing would be to take down the cottages and building a bookstore with apartments above.

FAC

Old Business:
  • Afrika! Fall dance $363- motion to approve passed
  • Mac Media Collective Publication $180-motion to approve passed
New Business:
  • Art history club: Movie event. $50 - motion to approve passed
  • Mac Martial arts club: Equipment $674.00 (capital) - motion to approve passed
  • Ua Ke: Children’s Museum Trip $71.55 - motion to approve passed
  • Geology Club: Science Museum Trip $212.00 - motion to approve passed
  • Introduced motion to change by-laws to allow the FAC to approve any additional allocation request under $1000 without bringing it before the LB for approval: motion failed

SSC
  • Active Minds student org charter passed
AAC
  • No new business
ERC
  • MCSG Birthday list
PB
  • Bodacious concert movie event.
  • Volunteers needed for Surround Sound (battle of the bands)
Presidential Commission
  • Resolution for increasing student involvement in college decision-making was distributed
Meeting Adjourned at 8:58

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Minutes 10/07/08

Excused Absence: Adam-Maliq Muro, Sarah Dicks

7:08 - Meeting called to order
  • Roll Call and Approval of minutes
Open Forum
  • MacCARES Sustainability plan for the school - mid October (direct participatory facilitation exercises): how to be a sustainability Scot
  • They are opposing the administration's $7 1/2 million decision to expand campus cooling facilities via 3 new chillers:
    • environmental issue - run off fossil fuels constitutes 50% or more of the carbon emissions on campus
    • issue with the long-term cost (up front cost + continuous energy costs)
    • possible alternative: geo-thermal
  • welcoming MCSG support: decision to introduce a resolution for this cause at next week's LB meeting
FAC
  • MPJC-SDS (Halloween No Fear Dance) $335 - motion to approve passed
  • MASECA (Diwali Dance) $650 - motion to approve passed
  • Queer Union (Gay Student Athlete Summit) $1450 - motion to approve passed
  • BODACIOUS (Bodacious Showcase and Week) $2210 - motion to approve passed
  • Afrika (Fall dance) $463 -motion to table passed
  • Mac Media Collective (Zine Publication) $180 - motion to table passed
  • Art History Club (Walker Museum Trip) $50 - motion to reject passed
  • MACYarn (trip to sheep farm) - motion to re-allocate budget passed
  • MacVeggies (honorarium) - motion to re-allocate budget passed

SSC

  • Students for a Free Tibet - motion to table charter for one month passed

AAC

  • EPAG Update:
    • culminating course (INTD 411) in the Community and Global Health concentration was approved
    • ways to increase the number of courses that satisfy the Gen Ed requirements (particularly Multiculturalism) were discussed
    • EPAG strongly advises against the Russian Studies Department's request to create two tracks (Language and Area Studies) within the major at this time
  • IGC Update:
    • 100 projects for peace - $1 mil in donations for student projects (10,000 per project)
    • Civic Forum happening next year March 24th-25th: Religion and Public Life in America
    • the IGC building will be finished next semester (formal opening will be in the Fall)

ERC
  • publicity for VP elections

PB
  • the planning of Surround Sound is coming along successfully

Presidential Commission
  • can work on the sustainability initiative
  • Brian Rosenberg will be coming in to the next LB meeting

Meeting Adjourned at 8:55