Bruce Dalgaard, the Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics, was interviewed by bankrate.com about the bleak future of the old-fashioned checkbook in the United States. "Recent visits to Germany and Norway revealed how most Europeans have a point-of-sale card. Some are the equivalent of our debit cards, and some are loaded with cash," he said. "Merchants like these because the transaction fee is lower. I get funny looks when I use a credit card." The piece was also picked up by Yahoo! Finance.

Brent Nystrom '92, interim director of the career center, is quoted in the Sept. 21 edition of the Chicago Tribune on a story on how college students need to learn better networking skills to find employment. He tells the Tribune about Carleton's "Engagement Wanted" program and how it helps Carls, since college students in general aren't the best at networking."It just multiplied the number of people who would see a little bit about (the students) quickly," Nystrom said. In addition, "it's on the alum to make the very first contact," which takes the pressure off students to start the conversation.

Steven Schier, the Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor of Political Science, was quoted in the Sept. 12 edition of the Christian Science Monitor about how California's ultra-competitive political landscape may be a national trend. “Competitiveness gives voters a real choice in elections," says Schier. "It is an essential element for popular control of government.”

David Liben-Nowell, associate professor of computer science at Carleton, was interviewed on "Facebook Stories," a podcast produced by Facebook about the social media platform's impact on our lives.The podcast explores the history and science behind the "six degrees of separation" theory and asks "Who came up with the idea? Is six even the right number?" The show is hosted by Nicholas Arioli.

KSTP-TV, the ABC affliate in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, ran a short piece on its morning news show regarding Carleton's inclusion on a new college and university ranking, Alumni Factor. Minnesota schools making the list include Carleton,  St. Olaf College, Macalester College, and the University of Minnesota.

Carleton's green initiatives are highlighted in a recent public radio broadcast of the series "Humankind." Documentary producer David Freudberg's edition of "Humankind: The Diet-Climate Connection" features the College's efforts to introduce and support 'sustainable food' choices to the campus community. The two half-hour audio segments focus on "how the foods we eat affect the planet we inhabit" and can be heard in their entirety here.

Today's edition of the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune features one of Carleton's many cherished annual traditions, the New Student Week Frisbee Toss. Higher education reporter Jenna Ross notes, "Carleton students excel at the art of Ultimate Frisbee. The small liberal-arts college claims more than two Frisbees on campus for every student." The column features a photo of Carleton President Steven Poskanzer and Dean of Students Hudlin Wagner, as they kick-off the new academic year with a celebratory frisbee toss -- "Mostly, we do this because it's fun," says President Poskanzer. And, as he readied his backhand he announced to the incoming Class of 2016, "We wish for you all that your dreams and your opportunities at Carleton may soar as high as these Frisbees." A link to the complete article can be found here.

Today's mass AED/CPR training for over 650 Carleton students was featured on KARE-11, the Twin Cities' (Minneapolis/St. Paul) NBC television broadcast affiliate. The campus was pleased to welcome reporter Allen Constantini to the College's Recreation Center as he covered today's event -- an important new initiative designed to train the entire Carleton community in the use of AED/CPR in the event of a heart-related medical emergency. The segment features incoming freshman John Blake (Minneapolis) and senior Tyler Schuetz (Tustin, Calif.). To view the story online, click here.

Bloomberg Businessweek covered the topic of student coaching to help with first-year retention rate and student achievement in an April 19 article, talking about Carleton's efforts in the area. Kathy Evertz, director of Carleton’s Academic Support Center, noted that 30 of Carleton’s 500 or so first-year students take advantage of the service each year.  “We’ll get students who finally admit they have a problem and realize they are not getting the grades they should be getting,” Evertz said. “They come to the coach because they just want to get more out of school and out of their college life.”

Carleton professor of French Cherif Keita appeared on Al Jazeera English's "The Stream" on April 11, speaking about the coup in his native Mali and the uprising in the northern part of the country. Keita has led Carleton's Francophone Studies off-campus program to Mali since 2000, leading seven total sessions for 144 students in that time. The most recent session occurred in the fall of 2011. On March 21, disgruntled army soldiers overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré and dissolved the constitution. A rebellion in northern Mali is led by the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad). MNLA members are from various ethnic groups but are primarily Tuareg or Kel Tamasheq, meaning speakers of the Tamasheq language.

The March 22nd edition of Yahoo! News told the inspiring story of Watson Fellowship winner, Matthew Fink ’11. Fink, a passionate Starcraft II gamer, is traveling around the world to investigate the disabled gaming community and encourage children to find hobbies they are passionate about despite their disabilities. As an infant, Fink required all four of his limbs to be amputated after a severe spleen infection. Fink’s Watson Fellowship grant is worth $25,000. In an outpouring of support, the Starcraft II community has banded together to host a global fundraising tournament to aid in Fink’s efforts. The tournament will include 16 separate events worldwide and feature world-class players from the U.S., U.K., Germany, Spain, France, Korea, and Japan.

Carleton graduate Sara Lopez '09 is featured in a Southwest Minneapolis Patch article about her work to help the Latino community connect more comfortably with technology, primarily through the use of personal computers. She is a teacher with the Latino Economic Development Center and heads a class that helps members of the Latino community understand the basics of personal computing, which aids them in finding jobs, working in their current jobs or understand their children's schoolwork.