MPIRG FB rant take II (worth reading if youre voting no or still on the fence): Okay, so apparently some random student got ahold of everyones email address & just sent an email to the entire student body asking them to vote no on the continuation of MPIRGs contract with MCSG. Heres my problem with that email: The MPIRG camp has argued several times that a vote no means the end of their existence on campus. However, MPIRG and MPIRG alone has made this choice. There is no rule at Macalester that says that MPIRG has to leave without their exclusive contract. If student advocacy is truly their primary concern, why would they feel compelled to leave when asked to budget in a fair and accountable manner, just like every other student org on campus? This information is just wrong. They cannot budget like a regular org because theyre considered a charity, and MCSG CANNOT give money to charities. Miranda Adams wrote a really great post explaining how this works a couple days ago: The referendum language is confusing, as it asks if MPIRG and MCSG should negotiate a new contract. But the wording isnt what matters - thats just semantics - what matters is the result. And the result is that the MPIRG chapter at Macalester would no longer be able to receive funding from MCSG without that contract. Why? A couple reasons. Most importantly, MCSG bylaws, section 4.1e, stipulate that they cannot fund charities (of which MPIRG is considered one). We can only do this now because of our contract, which was created when MCSG formed (MPIRG already existed). We can receive flexi funds and additional allocations, such as for our Consent, Coloring, and Cookies event, but those are short term funding sources for specific on-campus events. We would not be able to fund our campus organizer and support the statewide organization through the yearly budgeting process due to that bylaw. And without those things, MPIRG wouldnt be MPIRG. So thats that guys. This is important. Please take the time to consider your vote carefully. It does matter. And it will result in either the continued existence of MPIRG on campus, or it having to close the chapter its held here for decades. One last thing Id like to say. I havent been involved with MPIRG over the course of my time at Macalester, but Ive been working on the Fossil Free Macalester divestment campaign since my sophomore year. Campaigning is hard, especially while being a student; its difficult to keep student involvement going, especially at a school like Mac. Although Im not personally involved in MPIRG, I appreciate incredibly that busy students commit their time to it to do awesome work on campus. I hate to play this card--but guys, social justice/activism is kind of what Mac is known for, being a liberal arts college thats supposed to be globally and politically engaged. Personally, if we get rid of MPIRG, thats telling me in a whole lot of ways that were no longer politically engaged and that people dont care about this shit anymore. I know Ive seen Mac change some already over the course of my time here, and Im worried that our schools becoming more passive to social justice issues, and losing the core values that its student body is known for. There are other orgs that do great social justice work on campus, and I totally and completely appreciate and recognize those as well. They get funded differently, because theyre not a part of this larger statewide organization that MPIRG is, and they arent considered a charity so they can get funding from MCSG (as stated above). I think the continued student support and advocacy for more funds for these orgs is important as well. Anyway, I cant tell you how to vote. But please try and be correctly informed, instead of taking this frustrating bullshit email and other propaganda word for word. See Rant #1™ for more of my issues with school spending and for my reasons you should vote YES. Cool ✓
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 19:18:32 +0000
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