The Macalester College Student Government will hold elections for next year's executive board on Thursday, April 18. Students will also be able to vote on the future of MPIRG.

The executive board is composed of president, vice president, financial advisory committee chair, academic affairs committee chair and the student services committee chair. A sixth position has been added this year: a chair for the newly-formed programming board.

Elections for the legislative body will be held in the fall.

The ballot will also include a referendum on the future of the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group. MPIRG is a state-wide, non-partisan grassroots student organization that lobbies for issues ranging from environmental protection to consumer rights. Unlike other student groups on campus, MPIRG has a contract with the college that allows it to collect $6 from every student each year. Students who do not wish to give money may apply for a refund. The current six year contract between MPIRG and the college expires in July.

On April 18, students will vote on whether the college should maintain its affiliation with MPIRG. Any changes to the current funding scheme will be worked out at a later date, according to MCSG President Nick Berning '02.

“Because MPIRG maintains a paid staff, it needs to be assured of relatively consistent funding in order to provide job security to its employees,” Berning said. “A multi-year contract between MCSG and MPIRG ensures a more stable cash flow for MPIRG.”

For their own part, MPIRG members have been working to ensure that students vote to keep the organization on campus.

“Basically we are a socially conscious organization,” said Lauren Flanagan '04, a member of MPIRG and a representative on the legislative body. “If students feel they're supporting our causes, I think that's why they would vote to keep the chapter on campus.”

This year MPIRG sponsored a debate on campus between St. Paul mayoral candidates Jay Benanav and Randy Kelly. The group brought “The Vagina Monologues” to campus, raised over $4,000 for battered women's shelters and took part in Take Back the Night, a city-wide march against sexual violence.