The Mac Weekly - Student News from Macalester College

Environmental Studies Program Director Aldemaro hard at work in the lab. (photo by Sarah Fazio)

by Jane Yager

Residents of Dupre five were surprised and saddened when they learned at the end of October that Alesha Ostrow, the custodian who cleaned their floor, had been fired. Some floor residents circulated a petition protesting Ostrow's firing. It wasn't just that the students thought Ostrow was doing a good job; many also considered her a friend. Among both students and custodians, Ostrow's firing has raised questions about Macalester's treatment of its custodial staff....

Macalester makes big steps environmentally

by Danielle Langone

In the past several months, the Environmental Studies Department has been making big changes around Macalester. The biggest change was the signing of the Talloires Declaration in May. "Mac made a commitment to 'green' the campus," said Aldemaro Romero, Environmental Studies Program Director and Co-Chair of Campus Environmental Issues Committee. "It should change a lot of things around campus." ...

Opinion

Condorcet voting preferable to Electoral College

Chris Oien '03

In last week's Mac Weekly, my proposed voting reform was criticized as being "ludicrous." However, the reason that this article gave for keeping the Electoral College is actually a strong reason to abolish it. A New York Times analysis has shown that a vote in Wyoming is 3 1/2 times more influential than a vote in California. The very idea that some votes for President are more influential than others is what I mean by violating basic democratic principles....

Macalester black belts compete nationally

by Loren Smith

Allen Wong '02, Martin Chang '02 and Ramaldo Martin '03 , members of the Macalester Asian Martial Arts Association, took on teams from all over the U.S. at the 23rd annual Diamond National Karate Championship, held in St. Paul. The team was disqualified from the first night's competition because their fighting pads left their heels exposed. That setback did not stop Wong, a five-time international black belt titleist, and Chang, a former Olympian selection, from individually proving their talent by placing third and eight respectively in the traditional forms competition the next day at the RiverCentre....