A group of students, faculty and staff have begun a plan to help student groups collaborate when planning events. The goal is to avoid the scheduling conflicts among organizations.

This effort, according to Tara Stormoen, Assistant Director of Campus Programming and an advisor to the Program Board, has been necessary for some time. Stormoen works with the student organizations to plan events.

“We’ve had multiple events planned on the same evening,” Stormoen said. “Sometimes they are complementary or so distinctly different that it’s okay, but soon we’ll begin having four or five lectures on one evening that may appeal to the same general groups.”

This may also help organizations plan out budgets and pool their resources. “If we were thinking about planning earlier, we may not spend so much time on the money issue. It may be helpful for people to work together from the start,” Stormoen said.

Students also recognize the need for coordinated planning. “I think the reason people don’t go [to events] is because they don’t know [about them],” Zach Teicher ’07 said. “I think this is a pretty involved campus; we just don’t know everything that’s going on.”

The diversity in Macalester’s programming is also being evaluated. There will undoubtedly be more paperwork for organizations to schedule events, and collaboration will require an effort on the part of students. Student organizations will going to be forced to stay on top of events, and have speakers planned out well in advance. This may prove to be a challenge for some. And while it may be too soon to tell what the effects of collaboration may be on events, all involved in the planning process remain positive. If everything comes together, Program Board Student Director of Programming Erla Petursdottir ’04 believes the school will ultimately benefit from consolidated programming. “More quality events—that’s pretty much what we’re looking for,” she said.