Framed by the sidewalks between Olin-Rice and the Macalester Stadium, just a couple meters northeast of the baseball stadium is a drainage ditch, the bottom of which is filled with sand; busy with pawprints, this depression looks very much like a giant litterbox. With a little help from mother nature, the Program Board will soon have the City of St. Paul flood the site, turning the sandy bottom into the foundation of a new ice-skating rink. The effort to build the rink, spear-headed by Miguel Nieto '04, Chair of the Program Board and Nate Abbott '05, Chair of the Program Board Special Events Committee, began to evolve earlier this fall.

Though not the first ice rink to be built on the campus, the planned rink will likely be the first to be seen to fruition by a student group. Physical Plant Director and Macalester alumnus Mark Dickinson recalled that there had been ice rinks on Shaw Field in the past. According to Dickinson, the field was flooded during the 1970's and 80's by the Athletic Department with garden hoses; Sandy Hill, Assistant to the President and Macalester alumna, has heard that Shaw Field was used as a rink during the 1920's. However, when Shaw was renovated and turned into the softball field, its days as an ice rink were over.

"Our goal is to do campus-wide programming and [the rink] fits our goal," Abbott said. He explained that the idea for the rink came through the Program Board; Abbott immediately thought it was a "cool" idea and, with Nieto, set about planning the project. Nieto and Abbott researched the feasibility of the project, looking into costs versus benefits, how long the rink could be expected to stay frozen, liability issues and possible locations.

After this initial research, the first proposal suggested that rink should be put in the quad between Old Main and Weyerhaeuser Chapel. The proposal was deemed inappropriate, however, because of the damage that it would inflict on the grass in this area, which is the site of commencement ceremonies. They then proposed that Shaw again be used but that proposal was also rejected because of the unavoidable damage to the grass.

The current plan has the City of St. Paul flooding the site in early December. The initial date was set for the first of the month but Abbott said that an unseasonably warm November has likely pushed the date back to Dec. 9. The ice will lie on the sand and a layer of plastic that will keep the water from seeping into the soil. The rink will be open to students and the public. Ice skates will be available at the Info Desk in the Campus Center. The cost of ice upkeep will depend largely on the volume of use; Abbott explains that a high volume of skaters will require more frequent resurfacing and would result in a higher final cost.

Though Dickinson met the proposal with some initial skepticism, he believes Abbott and Nieto have covered all their bases. "It's hard to maintain an ice rink in Minnesota," Dickinson said, pointing out that even though the average mean temperature is below freezing throughout February, the angle of the sun may begin to melt the ice around the middle of the month. Despite the initial concerns, Dickinson is enthusiastic, and hopes that the weather soon turns cold, pointing out that "we're weather dependent."