The Carletonian

After the Newtown school massacre, people all over the country -- including many Carleton students – grieved for those who were gunned down and the young lives tragically cut short.  And many of us experienced, yet again, anger and frustration that our country leads the developed world in lives lost to gun violence.

Once again, Valentine’s Day has come and gone, leaving everyone with sugar crashes and visions of idyllic amour. While I’m personally against the consumerist culture surrounding this fairly trivial holiday, it is admittedly good at re-enforcing relationships of all kind, whether it’s connecting with your friends, telling your family how much you love them, or finally asking out your long-term crush with chocolate and roses.

I would like to congratulate Carleton College for being ranked eighth nationally among small colleges in the number of graduates serving in the Peace Corps. The latest rankings clearly reflect the high caliber of alumni from Carleton as well as St. Olaf, which was ranked second.

By now, you’re probably sick (pun intended) of hearing about how to avoid catching whatever bug is currently infecting every student on campus. If you’re not licking the ground or blowing your nose with your flu-infected roommate’s used tissues that you picked out of his trash can, you’re probably just as likely as the next fellow to catch whatever is being passed around the student body.

“Drew, this a huge bummer,” read a text I received during Helene York’s Friday Convocation. It was from a friend I’d convinced earlier in the day to come to the speech. Despite my previous enthusiasm, however, I was now inclined to agree with her: this was depressing.

Room draw numbers came out this week. I was sitting in the Libe, studying for an exam (number two of the week!), when suddenly the library broke into a furor. I’d completely forgotten (somehow...), but it was the night that room draw numbers had been released. It was 12:01 AM.

“If you do need one, you should be able to express clear reasons why you need it, and should be willing to have regulations.” Shanna Yang ‘14

Fourth week tends to be when everything suddenly picks up: midterms begin, papers are due, readings intensify.

Earlier this month, Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst proposed to use state funding to provide public school teachers and administration with firearm training to protect students in case of a school shooting.

According to the Cleveland Clinic’s website, about 10-20% of Americans suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and people in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s are most likely to be affected, especially those who live at higher latitudes (i.e. Minnesota).

Unsurprisingly, we love election season here at The Carletonian. It provides us with a lot of material to cover, and more importantly, it’s exciting.

After widespread speculation, Carleton has officially decided to pilot DoorCut. DoorCut, the new initiative spreading to college campuses across the country, is a system designed to limit entry through doors that require a valid OneCard swipe.