It may seem strange to celebrate trees and the coming of spring during a frigid Minnesota winter week that requires warnings on hypothermia, but this is the focus of Tu B’Shvat, also known as Jewish Arbor Day or the New Year for Trees. All were invited to enjoy a meal with symbolic foods and to share and listen to stories about the environment during a seder led by Carleton College’s associate chaplain Rabbi Shosh Dworsky on Friday, January 25 in the meeting room of the Alumni Guest House.

Nestled in a back corner of the Sayles-Hill campus center, the Carleton College Bookstore has always served as vital resource and a welcome distraction for students and faculty.

Over the years, Carleton College professor of religion Louis Newman has noticed an interesting pattern among his students—they don’t seem to sleep. They also like to eat. So, he began thinking about ways to satisfy the late-night cravings of what he assumed to be an even larger semi-nocturnal community of college students and area residents. Today, Newman’s vision became a reality with the opening of Sweet Lou's Waffle Bar at 303 Division Street in downtown Northfield.

While snow has now blanketed the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum, underneath that coating of snow sits a burgeoning forest and prairie for future Carls and Northfield community members to enjoy––thanks to work done in late November by Carleton’s Arboretum staff and Zumbro Valley Forestry.

Students, faculty, and staff at Carleton College represent a variety of religious backgrounds and faith orientations. The numerous religious groups that exist on campus, including the Carleton Islamic Association, Jewish Students at Carleton, Reformed Druids of North America, and the Carleton Christian Community, are a testament to this diversity.

Dressed in a corduroy blazer and converse sneakers, writer and Carleton alumnus Dennis Cass ’90 personified the topic of his lecture on a recent visit to the College. Speaking about the juxtaposition of new and old cultural models to achieve occupational success, Cass moderated an informal advice session geared toward students considering a career in the arts.

When Carey Tinkelenberg ‘05 decided to attend Carleton College in 2001, she left behind more than her family and high school friends. A nationally competitive figure skater with the Skating Club of Boston, the decision to come to Carleton also meant passing up the opportunity to perform as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" on a European tour of Disney on Ice.

“What a good day for walk, right?” joked one local resident as Northfield’s annual CROP Walk began. In fact the day was a very poor day for walking: rain storms hovered over the area all day, and the entire Carleton contingent was soaked. It was Sunday, September 30, and in cities around Minnesota and all over the nation, communities took part in CROP Hunger Walks.

For most students, the summer months are time to kick back and relax with family and friends. But for the 14 recipients of Carleton’s 2007 Initiative for Service Internships in International Development award, summer break will also bring the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture and lend a much-needed hand to other communities.

Carleton College students Michael McCulloch ’07 (Toronto) and Nazish Zafar ’07 (Singapore) believe that napkins can help prevent malnutrition in children. Next month, they will depart for Fortaleza, Brazil, armed with 10,000 napkins containing printed information aimed at fighting childhood malnutrition.

Tofu was celebrated in all of its various forms earlier this month at Carleton’s 11th annual Tofu Fest, held on the Chapel lawn. The festival featured cooking demonstrations and competitions, along with other more carnivalesque activities including a “Tofu Toss,” a “Tofu Gobble” (in which competitors were challenged to eat a half block of raw tofu without using their hands), and the crowning of the 2007 “Tofu Princess”—basically a performance art contest embodying the “spirit” of tofu.

Move over, Rottblatt; Carleton’s got a new quirky tradition. Since 2002, the Carleton Association of Nature and Outdoor Enthusiasts (CANOE) has offered a day-long, multifaceted obstacle course for teams of three willing adventurers. Demanding quick thinking, teamwork, exuberance, and a love of zany escapades—in short, common characteristics of Carleton students—CANOE has created the perfect adventure course for ambitious and slightly crazy Carls: the annual Eco-Challenge.