The Carletonian

David Garneau, renowned visual artist and associate professor at University of Regina in Canada, will speak at Carleton College on Tuesday, April 12 at 4 p.m. in the Gould Library Athenaeum. Garneau’s appearance is in conjunction with an exhibit of his work currently on display through June 5, 2011.  The lecture and admission to the exhibit are free and open to the public.

Neil Lutsky, Professor of Psychology at Carleton College, was the 2011 recipient and first Minnesota recipient of the American Psychological Foundation’s Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award.  Lutsky has been teaching at Carleton since 1974.

Three Carleton seniors have been granted the prestigious Watson Fellowship for the 2011-2012 year. Adam Karas ‘11, Matthew Fink ‘11, and Kai Knutson  ‘11 will each receive $25,000 for 12 months of international travel to explore a self-proposed topic of interest.

For high school seniors, March can be the most stressful month for one reason: college admissions. With the arrival of college acceptance and rejection letters in mid-March, college-bound seniors across the country face some tough decisions. And for current Carleton students, this means the upcoming arrival of about 300 prospective students.

Dennis Meadows ’64 opened the term’s first convocation with a talk titled “Preparing for Life with MUCH Less Energy.” Drawing from his extensive background as a scientist observing climate change, Meadows suggested ways that we can begin adjusting to climate change, peak oil, less water, and other scarcities that are the realities of our finite world.

Disability at Carleton was the focus of “The Elephant in the Room,” an event, sponsored by the Wellness Center and the SWAs on Monday evening.  Andy Christensen, Carleton College’s disability coordinator, organized the event to get people to start thinking about disabilities

Fifteen students and staff “plunged” their way into nearly-frozen water in this year’s Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge in Rochester, Minnesota. The event, which occurred Feb 12, is one of the major fundraisers for Special Olympics Minnesota.

On March 24, Anna Fure-Slocum ’12 and Nick Welna ’12 traveled to Pace University in New York City, taking home top honors and receiving a $3000 grant at the Debating for Democracy (D4D) competition for their presentation on proposed education reforms.

Over spring break, sixty Carleton students participated in three Habitat for Humanity programs and a new Environmental and Social Justice Program. The three Habitat programs went to Waterloo, IA, Oklahoma City, OK, and Lexington, KY. Students spent a week building, caulking, landscaping, and painting houses.

Over spring break, the Cannon River overflowed due to warmer temperatures rapidly melting snow, but the flood was less damaging than Carleton and the city of Northfield feared.

The Carls for Choice club headed into Minneapolis on March 31 to participate in the “Bowling for Choice” tournament to fund local reproductive justice organization Pro-Choice Resources.

After two weeks of sunshine, softball, and cheap Mexican burritos, the Knights left Arizona with sweet tan lines, ready to meet the MIAC challenges lying ahead. In their past eight games, the Carleton College Softball team has gone 6-2, winning six games in a row. The Knights are now 4-2 in MIAC play and 9-13 on the season. The Knights will host Augsburg this Saturday, 1 p.m.

The Knight's have already experienced its share of ups and downs in 2011. Though the BCS computer won’t be too forgiving when it comes to the Knight's 5-11 overall record (2-2 MIAC), fans have to be encouraged by flashes of promise throughout the club’s first week of MIAC action. The Knights’ next test is Saturday, when the squad goes up against Hamline.

CUT traveled to North Carolina over spring break and ended up going 7-1 on the weekend and coming in third place. GoP walked away in 7th place with an 8-8 record. Eclipse traveled to Georgia over spring break, taking 13th place overall in Southerns. Syzygy headed down to Texas as usual for a week of training followed by a 14th overall finish in the tournament.

After a week of sun, seafood, and Southern accents, coming back from spring break in South Carolina to snow-covered courts did not discourage the Knights women’s tennis team. The Knights have already shown their fierce competition as the No. 29 team in the nation, boasting a 9-3 record (7-0 MIAC). The team plays St. Olaf at home on Wed., April 13.

Last Saturday Ty Martin '11 finished the 110 meter hurdles at the Hamline Invitational in 15.00 seconds, good enough to break 2009 graduate Tom Ballinger’s school record by 0.01 seconds and handily win the event. Carleton's relay teams were also successful. This weekend the Knights travel to scenic Decorah, Iowa, home of Michael Knudson ’11, to compete at the Luther Relays.

Simone Childs-Walker managed to win the 3k, becoming the first woman in conference history to win all three races at the MIAC Indoor Championships. A complete team will be competing for the Knights this weekend, with most going to River Falls, Wis. The ones who like to throw things will be following the men’s team down to Luther College. They’re just too strong for the women’s meet.

What does it mean to develop as a human being? Halfway through last term, what was then a few friends and I started a student organization - Dialogue on Education at Carleton - to start a discussion surrounding this issue. As our first project, we undertook a survey in which we’ve so far spoken with fourteen professors and thirteen students about this very question.

Where does our water come from?  What watershed are we in?  Where does our wastewater go?  What companies are we supporting with our purchasing power?  We need to start asking questions, and acknowledging the impact of our choices.  We need to take back the tap at Carleton, and ban bottled water from our campus.

Pan Pan, the pan-Asian restaurant that has opened in the old Sweet Lou’s storefront, is Northfield’s premier Asian cuisine. Or is it?      

Hey seniors, as graduates of the 2010 class, we remember being in your shoes this time last year. One of us had gotten a job offer and was looking forward to spending her last term surrounded by friends. The other one was applying for any and every position that interested her. However, neither one of us thought about what actually happens once “real life” begins.

Anthropologists posit that the reason humankind created religion is to gain control over certain aspects of our lives and world over which we do not have agency. This idea refers not just to the organized religions of today, but also to any ritual aimed at affecting an event’s outcome through the help of a supernatural power.

The pundits and critics have had a field day with the recent actions of Charlie Sheen. While I do wish the best for Charlie and his future endeavors, there is a specific demographic to whom I would like to extend my deepest condolences: Parents, you’re going to have to find another television show.

Question: I’m thinking about finding a new student job for next fall. What do you recommend?

Answer: What job you seek depends on your goals. Let’s break it down.

As you may have noticed by the confused looking slightly younger people wandering around campus today its Accepted Students Weekend! We opinionated editors of the Carletonian want to give accepted students our reasons for why you should come here.

Security Blotter for March 26-April 6, 2011

Highlight: On March 30, at 7:48 pm, security responded to Hill House for a fire alarm. Something resembling a meat product was the cause of this alarm.

A look at this year's April Fool's pranks.

News from Gustavus Adolphus College, Reed College, Yale University, Arizona, and Rutgers University. Photos

During a time of nationwide debate over the state of education in America, the Minnesota State Legislature took decisive action last week by passing two education bills that will affect students from kindergarten to college. The Republican-backed bills are components of a larger fiscal agenda to combat a projected $5 billion budget deficit in the upcoming years.