Garrison Keillor, the Minnesota writer and humorist whose name is synonymous with public radio and casual Midwestern charm, will address this year’s graduating class at the 113th Commencement, to be held on Sunday, May 19, on the lawn outside Old Main. {more}

The harsh, forbidding winds of Minnesota may soon become a source of clean energy for Macalester if a student-led campaign proves successful.

The local chapter of the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG), a statewide student-run organization that promotes environmental and social causes, is trying to mobilize the campus around the issue of renewable energy. Their aim is to persuade the administration to switch to wind sources for 10 percent of the college’s energy needs. Among the students involved in the campaign are Brendan Bell ’02, Dylan Oakley ’02 and Jacob Chase ’02. {more}

What are you doing after graduation? Macalester seniors face this question more and more frequently as the big day approaches, but economic fears may be preventing them from taking the first steps toward launching a successful job search. {more}

Isra’ Muzaffar ’02 is receiving a lot of attention.

Two weeks ago, The Mac Weekly reported that administrators denied Muzaffar’s request that the Palestinian flag be flown at graduation. {more}

Macalester feminists are getting organized again.

The student organization Feminists In Action (FIA) is waking up from a yearlong dormancy. The group has gathered 45 members since holding its first meeting at the beginning of this semester, and expects to be chartered at the next MCSG meeting, according to Rachel Becker, one of the founding members of FIA. {more}

Multiculturalism at Macalester: Now is our chance

The focus groups on multiculturalism two weeks ago were a lesson in frustration for many participants. Lots of people were talking about many different things-whiteness, international issues, issues that U.S. students of color face on campus. We think this shows that people want to talk about these issues in a formal setting-not just with their friends-but they aren’t given enough of a chance. There were too many issues addressed in too short an amount of time. Everyone wanted to talk about his/her issues, but none of the issues were fully fleshed out. {more}

Part 1: The Party

By BETHUEL MBUGUA

Today the surf looks good for all of you cawabanga dudes out here in south California,” explained the weatherman on Fox channel 11.

“Well, I think I am going to surf today.” I thought to myself. I was lying on my bed still in my shorts, room smelling like shit, and bottles discarded all over the floor from the party I had the night before. “Whatevers man, I will clean this shit hole before my parents come home.” They had explicitly asked me repeatedly that I do not have people over the nights that they were gone, but who cares, all my friends had had their parties. {more}

Sophomore retreat: Students live, learn, find perspective on future

By BIBEK PANDEY and ANDRA TANASE

“What am I going to do with my life? What should I major in? Should I focus on money or meaning-are they mutually exclusive for me? How can I be a “good” Catholic, Hindu, Baptist, Muslim ... and do the kind of work that I want to do without feeling compromised? So many crucial questions in our life, so little time to think about them. {more}

I am not a religious person. My mother had to bribe me to have a Bat Mitzvah. I go to Open Shabbats to feel a sense of community, but I wouldn’t really say I believe in God. And I’m not even one of those people who says, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.” I’d like to be more spiritual, but frankly I just don’t have the time.

But then there are those moments. In the Bolivian rainforest when I was sixteen. In Vermont, watching the light bounce off the frosted branches of the pine trees by my house. {more}

Privileged. That is what Macalester students are, or, I should say, that is what I hear from those people affiliated with Macalester who write for and to The Mac Weekly. But what does that mean, being privileged? {more}

I’m writing to express disagreement with the decision to prevent the Palestinian flag from being displayed during graduation. The justification for denying Isra’s appeal seems entirely based on the argument that “if we have a clear policy, we should follow it” (Provost Dan Hornbach), without any consideration to the ethics or the politics of the issue.

At Macalester, both students and faculty have varying ideas about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Some people argue that the harm inflicted on Palestinians is under-represented in U.S. media. Regardless of one’s political stance on the conflict, however, the fact remains that the issue is controversial. In these highly political times, the act of flying a national flag has incredible political symbolism. {more}

Kajerero Ssebbaale ’02

Kajerero Ssebbaale ’02 (Tutume, Botswana/McConnell College) became a four-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) indoor triple jump champion last weekend when he placed first at the conference championships in Northfield. He won by a comfortable foot-and-a-half margin with an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying mark of 46-6. Ssebbaale also placed third in the long jump with a leap of 21-7.

The baseball team began its 2002 season last Friday by splitting a double header with Central Methodist College (Mo.).

The Scots relied on a strong seven strikeout performance by starting pitcher Marcus Turner ’03 in the opener to win, 3-2. {more}

Men’s tennis hosts local rival St. Thomas tomorrow morning in a match that will determine first place in the MIAC. {more}

The fastpich softball team started the 2002 season with two close losses to Northwestern-Roseville, 8-5 and 6-5, at the Plymouth Dome last Tuesday. {more}

“You having?” Pauline Harris revealed

By PEDER SCHWEIGERT and JOAN BENNETT

“You having?” is a question that Pauline Harris, from the north end of Café Mac, has been asking Macalester students since time many of our first years were still eating pureed produce from a jar. For 18 years Pauline has been helping to satisfy the nutritional requirements of Mac’s budding pseudo (and actual) intellectuals. Pauline has survived the many changes that have come to Macalester food service. “I’ve seen many students and workers come and go. I’ve seen a lot of people get fired, but I always seem to stay around,” she says. The most significant change she has seen has been the gradual evolution of food quality. When she worked at “old Kagin” her job consisted of serving canned food to students skilled in the art of wearing acid-washed jeans. Under Bon Appetit, her job has changed to serving food that is prepared on site by men and women trained in the art of wearing hats that a small child could drown in, as well as an extra set of buttons that could go to actual use in a developing country. {more}

Water of Life

By LENA DETAR

Strange one, traveled, storyteller, Spiderwoman. She sets down her mano stone from grinding, takes a breath for a tale and spins it. Not our own, but something else-foreign. Children skip across hot stone to her shade, gathering to hear. The elders, though busy, seem to inch nearer as her dry voice fills sage and piñon air. {more}

At first, I pretended my interest in romance novels was purely academic. Maybe I’ll do my honors project on historical romance novels, I told my friends. I’m just doing preliminary research. Then I thought maybe I’d do an art project. I’d use the front cover pictures of voluptuous blondes and rugged, tanned white men with unkempt hair to make a statement about gender and race. But I never did. {more}

When the academics of Macalester have you in a headlock and Café Mac seems a little repetitive in their food choice, one may seek out Green Mill.

About a ten-minute walk from the Campus Center, Green Mill is, to say the least, a decent restaurant. {more}

Helen, Hannah, James and I went to the Malt Shop on Concordia courtesy of Dianne at the Post Office. Paul was our server and he was quicker than coffee turns to shit. I think I didn’t get the cheese curds because I knew that I wanted to get dessert and a meal, but the fact that they have cheese curds is very important. {more}

Storytelling is the latest film from Todd Solondz, director of Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness. Like those two films, Storytelling confronts sensitive issues with an almost uncomfortable frankness. Its first section, “Fiction,” deals with a female college student and her relationships with her boyfriend and creative writing professor, both of whom are minorities. Its [non-related] second section, “Nonfiction,” tells the story of a documentarian who strives to create a shocking film about a wealthy suburban Jewish family. Your reviewers, Ben and Daniel, recently saw Storytelling at the Uptown Theater. Here are some of their thoughts: {more}

Aside from my attendance at Theater in the Round last Friday, my only experience with the play “Our Town” was watching the fabulous TV show that defined my eighth grade experience. (I mean, of course, “My So-Called Life.”) Through Rayanne’s portrayal of Emily in “Our Town,” she and Angela were able to reconcile the rift in their friendship that Rayanne had caused by sleeping with Jordan Catalano. The tears I shed while watching that episode sprung from a) my knowledge that I would never sleep with Jordan Catalano, and b) the emotions conjured up by the poignant and angst-ridden story of this play. {more}

With a modern twist and strong acting, Theatre de la Jeune Lune’s production of Euripides’ “Medea” is breathtaking. Often said to be one of the most emotionally intense theatrical experiences, “Medea” is a classic Greek tragedy full of betrayal, misery and wrath. {more}

MacPics is as close as Macalester comes to photography classes. The club offers access to the two darkrooms on campus and provides material for film developing and printing. The organization of the club changes from year to year, leaving few constants in the group other than darkroom management. There has been a large increase in student interest and this year the member list tops 100. However, this growth may lead to darkroom fees for next year. The club also leads trips to photography exhibits in the area and plans to incorporate several workshops into the budget for next semester. {more}

Wherever I go on campus these days it seems I hear the same two things. “Rob, when’s that next rock and roll round up coming?” and “Hey man, you’re really tall!” Well, the next rock ‘n’ roll round up is here, and yes -I am really tall, enjoy.

The Witch Hazel Sound - This World…. Then the Fireworks (Hidden Agenda Records)

Psychedelic pop always seems to come from unlikely areas; Mercury Rev resides in upstate New York and the Flaming Lips are from Oklahoma of all places. The Witch Hazel Sound (hailing from Kent, Ohio) keep the tradition of quality headphone rock bred in odd terrain alive on their latest release.

The synthetic orchestral flourishes found on tracks like “Two or Three Things I Know About Her” boast Phil Spector-esque grandeur and the layers of horns and vocal harmonies in songs like “Fireworks” beg the obvious (and completely overdone) Pet Sounds comparison. That being said, however, The Witch Hazel sound’s brand of retro-prog-pop is far from a boring retread of what’s come before it. It’s clear that this is a band who have mastered their influences rather than been mastered by them. {more}