Vandals strike Dupre Hall, suspects still at large

Unknown vandals struck Dupre Hall late last week, leaving the tags “fist fuck” and “ninja” scrawled on the walls.

The vandalism occurred primarily on the third and fourth floors. The elevator and the west and central stairwells were also hit. A painting that hung in the fourth floor lounge was damaged and removed from the wall. The vandals also tagged a portable basketball hoop belonging to a student on the floor.

According to several resident assistants (RAs), the administration knew exactly when the vandalism took place. “We first noticed it on Friday night when we were doing the 7 o’clock rounds,” fourth floor RA Laura Mills ’06 said.

The responsible parties have not yet been identified. A lot of the vandalism happened on the third and fourth floors, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was people who live on those floors,” Mills said.

Mills and the other fourth floor RA, Emil Staykov ’06, held a floor meeting Tuesday night to discuss the vandalism and general security issues.

Many students are frustrated with the lack of respect shown for their community living spaces. “I would expect more maturity and radicalism from Mac students.” Jessica K. Brown ’07 said. “If you’re going to vandalize, you should at least write something meaningful.”

Other students take a different view. “To the people who wrote ‘ninja’: I want you to come back and write ‘pirates vs.’ above it,” said Jesse DuBois ’07, owner of the vandalized basketball hoop.

“If they hadn’t written something as cool as ‘ninja’ [on the basketball hoop] then I’d be a lot more upset,” said Jena Enger ’07.
 

(Brief by Contributing Writer Shannon Mills)
 

Channel 5 News and the Star-Tribune take a cue from The Mac Weekly

The Star Tribune and KSTP Channel 5 News both recently reported on the issue of gender-blind housing at Macalester. The Mac Weekly reported on the issue in its Nov. 14 edition.

Since The Mac Weekly story hit the presses, the issue has become a hot topic both on and off campus. Overall, according to quotes from both The Mac Weekly and the Star Tribune, Macalester students are in favor of the housing change, citing that it fits with the “progressive nature” of Macalester.

Residents of the Twin Cities do not seem as excited about the move. Quoted in the Star Tribune, President of the Minnesota Family Council Tom Prichard said that he believes that the move will promote “sexual activity, promiscuity…and lead to the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases” along with “creating sexual confusion.”

In a KSTP online poll, 65 percent of respondents disapproved of gender-blind housing.