The Carletonian

We would like to think that we left The Carletonian in better shape than we found it. However, undertaking this challenge hasn’t always been easy. Libby has had to endure Nick’s “singing,” and we both suffered the consequences of too much Dominos. (How many years have we taken off our lives by eating CinnaStix every Thursday for the past three terms? We’re guessing it’s not insignificant.)

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful brick building named Evans Hall. The outside architecture was impeccably designed but the columns inside were tragically flawed. It was impossible to traverse the hallways horizontally; students could only move in a vertical direction.

The Carletonian would like to congratulate Griffin Johnson on his 21st column! In celebration of Griffin’s legacy we would like to highlight some memorable Griffinisms of the last year.

In his now-infamous column printed in The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, writer Bret Stephens lambasted this year’s graduating college seniors for their shallow intellects, lack of practical skills and general conformism as a generation of young people.

At Carleton we are often reminded of the various pros and cons that come with going to a small school (both in size of student body and campus size). There is one small-school characteristic that we want to explore in more detail: the speedy dissemination of information, by word of mouth around campus. The high speed at which news travels at Carleton can be simultaneously useful and incredibly inconvenient.

Beyond the obvious credential, how much does a college education actually change a student? That is, how different is the graduating senior from the freshman who entered college four years earlier? Or, more simply, does college make you smarter?

This past week, inboxes campus-wide overflowed with e-mail invitations to senior comps talks. Much like sexier springtime traditions such as Mai Fete, Spring Concert and Rotblatt, comps presentations represent another—perhaps overlooked—feature of spring term.

During the past few years, it has been a great joy of mine to work with a number of students from Carleton and a few other elite colleges.  Like many alumni, I have been emailed and approached by Carleton students looking for career and/or grad school advice.

Last weekend, I received an upsetting email: after considering all the applications for next year’s interest houses, ResLife has decided not to renew CANOE as an interest house. Each year, all existing houses and proposals for houses are required to submit applications to ResLife detailing how they would/how they do add to the Carleton community.

During second week, a group of students chose to organize a party in the Lower Arboretum. In addition to the large amount of debris left behind, party participants also left a fire that was still burning at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, and the remains of fireworks.

The way we interact with college professors and administrators seems pretty standardized. But our relationships with security are a bit trickier. While security ensures the fundamental safety of our campus, they also have a tendency of getting in the way of our fun.

The decision to eliminate bottled water from vending machines was controversial among CSA senators and has sparked some discussion on campus about the necessity for accessibility to this commodity.