Ask Isra Muzaffar ’02 where she's from, and she'll tell you she's a Palestinian. Ask Macalester officials where's she's from, and you’ll likely get mired in U.N. politics.

Muzaffar holds a Jordanian passport, a Jerusalem identification card and Israeli travel documents. Partly for that reason, Macalester officials have denied her request that the Palestinian flag be flown at graduation, alongside the flags of the 189 U.N. member nations. {more}

Nationally, people know little about Macalester. At least that’s what Mark Edwards, who was hired to do marketing research for the college, discovered after interviewing alumni.

Edwards, of the communications consulting firm Mark Edwards & Company, found that graduates identified with the college’s values, but they were frustrated that the school lacked visibility, especially on the East Coast. {more}

In a year when many Americans are fearful of traveling overseas, a record number of Macalester students are studying abroad.

This spring, 151 students are studying away, a number that Study Abroad Coordinator Katherine Yngve said exceeds the highest she can remember. Although she was hesitant to declare this semester’s total the largest ever, she said that it is the largest group to study away in the last decade. {more}

Two years ago, two Computer Science majors applied to Macalester’s German Study Abroad Program. They had both been studying German-one would later declare a major-and both were enrolled in “Culture Component,” the program’s mandatory two-credit on-campus preparatory course, when they received some startling news: Macalester had rejected their study abroad proposal.

The news was all the more surprising to Ellis Dye, co-chair of German Studies, because in all of the first 25 years of the German program’s existence, not once had the Study Abroad Review Committee rejected one of its participants. {more}

The conference playoffs begin this Tuesday, but the intensity of postseason play has come early for the Scots, who won a 72-70 overtime thriller last Saturday against Concordia-Moorhead before falling last Monday at fifth-ranked St. Thomas in an epic three overtime 86-80 affair.

The Scots (14-10, 12-7 MIAC) have played a total of five overtime periods in their last six games. {more}

Design of classrooms should be improved

In the last decade, Macalester has devoted itself to improving and maintaining academic excellence. The teacher to student ratio has been reduced from 17:1 to 10:1 in 15 years. Many students are attracted to the small liberal arts environment that puts a premium on teaching and ensuring easy access to professors. The college prides itself on its small classes and the individual attention that students receive, but these values have not been translated into classroom settings. {more}

Bon Appétit aims high with accented Grillé

Clearly Bon Appétit loves its accent marks. One need only look to the gusto with which the college's caterer abandoned its old digs and unaccented moniker (Kagin), for the irresistibly Francophone Café Mac just one year ago. But enough is enough. The Bon has taken to peppering the campus with accent marks, and one must draw the line somewhere.

The last straw is the Grillé. Does Bon Appétit really want us to pronounce it GREE-LAY? {more}

Don’t even talk to me right now

I. Am. So. Tired. Of. Hearing. We. Don’t. Have. The. Money.

We don’t need smart classrooms. Our college is not stupid.

Alternative: We banish this idea like the Taliban and instead invest the money in the infrastructure for a multicultural curriculum. What?

We can have all the TV we want when Macalester becomes the Starship Enterprise. There’s no oppression in the future; which do you think we’re gonna get rid of first, racism or gravity?

Please write for Quietly, we need positive messages.

Thanks to Colin Kennedy, definitions and constructions of civil rights have been on my mind lately. I was startled to learn of people’s opinions about depression and its relationship to disability. Most shocking to me is the fact that certain individuals seemed not to understand how and why the civil rights of the disabled were protected under non-discrimination policies. The ignorance makes me wonder about people’s feelings regarding the civil rights of queer people. If people at Macalester can’t see why Colin’s disability should require a more contextual look at his study abroad application, I wonder if people here understand why a person’s sexual orientation should mandate flexible institutional policies. Macalester presents itself to be a place where civil rights are universal, but in my opinion it is instead a place where students and administrators alike are ultimately more concerned with the school’s reputation than they are with fair treatment. {more}

The Lilly Project has got me thinking about capitalism, work and vocation, and hence during January I devoted some of my spare time to reading and research on these subjects. What I learned surprised me and will surprise and even shock many who may read this. I am going to do something I’m sure has never been done at Macalester before, something which will strike many as absolutely outrageous-I’m going to quote the pope. This is because in his 1991 encyclical letter Centesimus Annus John Paul II made the best case for capitalism and gave the best rationale for work that I could find. At the risk of over-simplifying, one could say that this encyclical falls into two parts: a critique of socialism and a recommendation for what he calls “new capitalism.” {more}

Bo Rydze ’05 - Men’s indoor track

The Macalester College Athlete of the Week for February 3-9 is Bo Rydze ’05 (Iowa City, IA/City) from the men's indoor track and field team. Just the second frosh to receive Athlete of the Week honors this sports year, Rydze placed first out of nine runners in the 3000-meter run Saturday (Feb. 9) at the Luther College Open in Decorah, Iowa. Rydze edged Luther's Scott Striegel by just over half-a-second to take top honors with a time of 9:22.91.

Women’s basketball (5-19, 4-17 MIAC) showed what might be a preview to a successful 2002-2003 season with a 63-56 win over MIAC playoff hopefuls St. Mary’s last Wednesday evening.

Macalester successfully avenged a 73-49 loss at St. Mary’s on Jan. 14. {more}

A season that appeared to promise great success for Macalester’s varsity men’s tennis team is now in jeopardy of falling apart as number one singles player Johan Fryklund ’02 and number three singles player Jeff Falk ’02 quit the team this week.

Falk left the team on Monday as a result of irreconciable differences with fourth-year head coach Eric Eberhardt. {more}

Pomelo Poem

By ADAM EWERT

The pomelo, or the “Chinese Grapefruit,” is an uncommon member of the citrus family, distinguished by its sheer size and pale, pear-like appearance, and has the presence of a fat, cross-legged Buddha. Holding it between your palms, it is so large and dense that it seems to have the hermetic complexity of a human head. Your Western mind has met its match; it may take you some time to decide how to enter its thick, rough skin. The most promising way in involves a simple and violent action. {more}

“Love-a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker.” -Unknown

As we come to the official day of love, and witness crazy make-ups, hook-ups and break-ups (okay, not so many break-ups, but it is part of my -ups vocabulary), we must take a glance back to the past in the hopes of discovering how it all came to be. {more}

Those with a jones for some quick and super cheap Middle Eastern fare should head down to Lulu’s Deli at 1626 Selby Ave. With one small table in the back of a mini-mart, it is a bare bones experience. The décor is very Frito Lay, but you are here for cheap falafel ($1.99), crispy fries ($1.49, or $.99 with a meal) and homemade hummus ($2.50 for either an appetizer with pita, or a 10oz deli container). {more}

Take heed-winter is not over. It will not end for another two months. If you’ve been struggling through it and you think this warm spell is the answer to your prayers, you’re wrong. You’d best learn now how to fend off the ramifications of your chosen location.

Here are some winter tips I have learned over the years, mostly from my folks’ immigrant practicality and some from other places. {more}