The elections were terribly disappointing for most of us at Macalester. I don’t feel powerless because we had some very tangible successes in Minnesota—namely the DFL’s pickups in the Minnesota House of Representatives and Kerry’s relatively easy win—both due to volunteer efforts. To regain some optimism about the country, however, I think it’s important to refocus on accomplishing things on campus. Here, therefore, are some projects that the more progressive-minded at Macalester should think about carrying out.

1. Get rid of the Coke machines. But on health grounds, regardless of what the Coca-Cola’s labor relations are. Macalester’s contract with the company is up for renewal next September. I don’t know whether or not Coke is hiring hitmen to take out Colombian labor activists, but I am sure that students would be much better off without their corporate caffeine. Each cafeteria glass of Coke contains about 10 tablespoons of sugar. Should I have been surprised that I developed three cavities at the end of freshman year? Furthermore, the brightly colored Coke machines in the cafeteria double as advertisements, which is inappropriate in an essentially public space. Macalester and Bon AppÈtit should be fostering healthy eating habits rather than selling us out. Coke doesn’t deserve to have its contract renewed—we should have a healthier alternative.

2. Charge students living on-campus a fee for keeping cars. As it is now, the college provides free parking, thereby encouraging students to bring their cars here. That’s not intrinsically negative, but students should have to pay for this privilege. If the college charged $100 for a parking permit, they could raise a lot of money, and they would be doing it at the expense of those who can best afford it. If some people decide to leave their cars at home, then there will be less congestion about campus—hardly a bad thing.

3. Charge five cents a page for printing papers in the library. At the University of Otago in New Zealand, where I studied last spring, a system of this sort worked beautifully in their computer labs. It encourages paper conservation and would help raise a bit of money for the library. I don’t know how complicated it would be to set up this system, but it has certainly been pioneered elsewhere. No doubt it would help the ever-suffering printers in the basement lab of the library, which seem to be forever choking on a left-behind fifty-page article.

I am encouraged by the progress that the Environmental Studies Department has made since Brett Smith took over last fall. I hope we can apply the same humble determination that has resuscitated ES to other manageable projects at Macalester and gain some much-needed satisfaction from it.