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McIntosh Activities Council (McAC) Records

 Collection
Identifier: BC37-13

Collection Scope and Content Summary

Most of the materials represented in these records are event planning materials from the late 1990s to early 2000s. This collection also contains mostly committee materials from the current committees as of Spring 2023: Action, Community, Mosaic, Network, and Wellness. Within these current committees, are earlier iterations of the committees with alternate names. The McAC Leadership Committee (MLI) no longer exists. The record types included are meeting minutes, agendas, event budgets, event planning, photography, programming notes, rosters, and event ephemera.

Series 1, Committees, 1999-2023 contains materials related to McAC committees. McAC’s programming stems from five distinct, student-led and student-run committees: Action, Spirit, Mosaic, Network and Wellness. There are also subcommittees formed to address specific events or special projects. The Committee materials contain event planning, budgets, committee chair training, correspondence, event fliers, and committee rosters.

Series 2, Publicity, 1970-2023, undated contains photographs, both analog and digital, of McAC events, event programs, event fliers, event invitations, and event ephemera like t-shirts and tote bags.

Series 3, McAC Administrative Materials, 1986-2023 contains administrative materials that are not easily identifiable with any specific committee. This series also includes the materials related to the Executive board, which consists of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Publicity Officer. The executive board creates correspondence, meeting minutes, meeting agendas, McAC rosters, and spending reports.

Dates

  • Creation: 1970 - 2023

Creator

Access

This collection has no restrictions.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard College Archives. The Barnard College Archives approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Reproduction Restrictions

Photocopies or scans may be made for research purposes.

Historical Background

The McIntosh Activities Council (McAC) was established in 1969 with the goal of enhancing student experience on campus. McAC naturally formed off the dedication of the Millicent McIntosh Student Center which was a campus hub of student activity. The first iteration of McAC had only two committees: A social committee and a special events committee. By 1971, McAC had seven committees: social events, special events, films, speakers, student-faculty, Monday evening speaker dinner program, and recreation committees. In 1981, the committees changed again: commuter action, cultural events, ski and recreation, social committee, Student/Faculty, theater goers guild, and Zooprax Film Organization. In 1990, the committees were as follows: coffeehouse, mincourse, social, special events, lecture, and Emily Gregory. In 2005, the committees were as follows: performance events, special events, multicultural, community service, social study breaks, and student faculty alumnae interaction. As of Spring 2023, the committees are as follows: Action Committee, Community Committee, Mosaic Committee, Network Committee, the Spirit Week subcommittee, and the Wellness Committee.

Earlier versions of student committees with the goal of creating campus-wide events existed in the form of general student activities council. During the mid 1950s, there was a student-run Club Council where all Barnard activities would be submitted to. In 1962, following student desires for change, there was an Activities Council proposed which replaced the Club Council. Its purpose was to “provide a coordinating body for all extracurricular and co-curricular activities at Barnard” however, in its earlier years, it was hardly effective.

Goals of the council included creating consistent programming focused on community service, networking, diversity, and community building. Several of the events created by McAC became Barnard traditions. While McAC’s current goals (as of the writing of this finding aid in 2023) are to maintain these traditional events, they continue to create innovative and new programming based on the needs of the student body.

McAC plans and supports the following Barnard traditions: Midnight Breakfast, Big Sub, Spirit Week, Founder’s Day, and Emily Gregory. McAC has also revitalized the Greek Games in a different format than the original Games which were held in the early 20th century.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (2 document boxes, 1 record carton)

16.8 Gigabytes (2,612 files, PDFs, docx, MP4, xlxs)

Language

English

Abstract

This collection consists of materials from the Barnard College McIntosh Activities Council.

Collection Arrangement

Series 1, Committees, 1999-2023, undated, is further arranged into subseries that reflect the five McAC committees and one subcommittee.This series contains born digital materials. It is organized chronologically by folder for both analog and digital files. Series 1.1: Action Committee, 2008-2023 Series 1.2: Community Committee, 1999-2023, undated Series 1.3: Mosaic Committee, 2000-2016, undated Series 1.4: Network Committee, 1985-2023, undated Series 1.5: Wellness Committee, 2016-2023 Series 1.6: McAC Leadership Committee (MLI), 2015-2017, undated

Series 2, Publicity, 1970-2023, undated, is further arranged into three subseries. This series contains born digital materials. The subseries are grouped generally by genre and format. Within each subseries, it is organized chronologically by folder for both analog and digital files. Series 2.1: Photography, 2014-2023, undated Series 2.2: Event Programs, Invitations, and Fliers, 1970-2023, undated Series 2.3: T-Shirts, Tote-Bags, and Event Ephemera, 2012-2021

Series 3, McAC Administrative Materials, 1986-2023 is arranged at the file level and grouped by record type and genre.

Physical Location

This collection is located in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library. To use this collection, please contact the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at 212.854.4079 or archives@barnard.edu.

Acquisition Information

The majority of the collection was transferred to the Barnard Archives by a SEE staff member in 2023.

Appraisal Note

A number of duplicate programs and fliers, McAC event ephemera, photographs of faculty award winners, additional shirts, mugs, and tote bags, student McAC committees applications, invoices, routine correspondence with vendors, budget drafts, and duplicate chair guidelines were removed because they contain no historical value, documentary value, or are represented elsewhere in a final form within the collection.

As part of the processing, an archives staff member moved a CD of a Town Hall recording to the IMATS collection. A staff member also moved a CD recording of a SGA sponsored town hall to IMATS collection (05.13) and 4 DV cassettes of Greek Games events videos to the Greek Games collection (BC38).

Accruals

Additions are expected.

Related Collections

Related materials can be found in BC 12.3, the Barnard Bulletin, and BC 12.1, Mortarboard, both of which are available online through our Digital Collections, digitalcollections.barnard.edu.

Related materials can be found in BC38, Greek Games to see the original Greek Games.https://collections.barnard.edu/public/repositories/2/resources/330

Processing History

The original order of the digital files as received by the Archives has not been retained as the arrangement of the material does not reflect the office’s current working practice and some intellectual reorganization was undertaken to allow the digital materials to be easily integrated into a single system of arrangement.

This collection was processed and the finding aid written by Charlotte Kostelic in November 2015. The finding aid was heavily revised due to a large accural by Olivia Newsome from November-December 2023.

  • removed duplicate programs and fliers, McAC event ephemera, photographs of faculty award winners, additional shirts, mugs, and tote bags, student McAC committees applications, invoices, routine correspondence with vendors, budget drafts, and duplicate chair guidelines.
Title
Guide to the McIntosh Activities Council (McAC) Records
Status
Completed
Author
Charlotte Kostelic and Olivia Newsome
Date
© 2015 and 2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Barnard Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
3009 Broadway
New York NY 10027 United States