Macalester College student gov approves ‘care packages' with 'priority' for Black students
Citing George Floyd’s death, Macalester College’s student government voted to give care packages to students with a "priority given to students identifying as Black."
The "care package[s]" would cost $15 each.
The student government legislative body at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota approved a measure to send $15 “care package[s]” to students, with a “priority given to students identifying as black.”
An application for funding from the school’s Black Lives Matter chapter obtained by Campus Reform notes that “black students have disproportionately been deeply affected by the trauma” that followed the death of George Floyd.
The application suggested the creation of a fund to “provide care packages for Black-identifying students at the university.”
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The total cost would amount to $4,500 for up to 150 packages, which would not include $300 of shipping expenses. Each Macalester student would therefore cover $15 of the bill — which, in the words of the application, is “not very much,” but “symbolic for us to show how much we see and care deeply for our Black students during this dramatic time.”
The application for funding states that “we think it would be best if we had 300 packages created for any student that needs them to be able to request (thru first come, first serve structure), with priority given to students identifying as black.”
On February 23, 20 members of the student government passed the resolution unanimously, with no representatives abstaining or voting against, a member of the student government told Campus Reform.
Black Liberation Affairs Committee Vice President Gabby Whitehurst told The Mac Weekly that the care packages are meant to be a “gesture of goodwill.”
“[Black students are] facing a lot of food and housing insecurity, and this is not meant to carry any of that burden,” Whitehurst said. “It’s more of a gesture of goodwill coming from the school that I think a lot of people could appreciate right now.”
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Campus Reform reached out to Macalester College and the Macalester College student government for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft
