Did you know that 120 Carleton students each receive an average of $3,442 towards their tuition from the Minnesota State Grant Program? On Thursday, April 17, five Carleton students and a staff member went to the Minnesota State Capitol to lobby in support of the Minnesota State Grant Program.

When Carleton students declare war, they mean it. Across Minnesota, college students engaged in a friendly rivalry this past February, hoping for a victory that would benefit them all: saving energy. Carleton students, for the second year in a row, unplugged their mini-fridges, turned off their lights, and even camped on the Bald Spot, to prove they could reduce their energy usage in a radical way. Last year, Carleton’s dorms challenged each other, and Carleton competed against St. Olaf. This year, the Energy War went state-wide and sparked a lot more attention.

Every Sunday at the Carleton dining halls, students can find one dinner dish recommended by a fellow student, faculty member or staff person. Displayed next to the dish are the recipe and a Carletonian article telling the story behind the dish and its author. So far this year, Carleton students have tasted dishes like Indian chicken curry, homemade lasagna and fluffy scones. This Friday—the last day of winter term classes—President Oden’s pheasant dish will be on the menu.

At noon on Saturdays, many Carleton College students would rather still be sleeping. But every week, 13 students make their way over to the Cowling Gymnasium for a three-hour long practice.

Over winter break, Carleton students, faculty and staff traveled to New Orleans, La., and Biloxi, Miss. to help residents rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Art gallery assistant Wendy Nordquist and studio art technician Gerald Krause joined economics professor Mike Hemesath and 13 students in rebuilding a home in Biloxi; Assistant professor of philosophy Angela Curran and 29 students traveled to New Orleans to help Common Ground gut houses in the lower Ninth Ward.

Carleton students set new records at the Volunteer for Carleton phone-a-thon and letter writing campaign this January. Some 419 student volunteers—nearly a quarter of the students on campus—raised a record $121,079 for the Alumni Annual Fund.

Knightingales, the second oldest a cappella group at Carleton, celebrated its 25th anniversary January 26 to 28. The highlight was a joint concert of former and current Knightingales.

What do you do with some not-so-old computers? Carleton College’s Information Technology Services (ITS) office recently answered that question by donating 62 Macintosh dual-processor G4 computers to Northfield schools and organizations.

In 2005, junior English and American studies major Elizabeth Gray (Atlanta) decided to stay in Northfield for the summer. “I had free time and I thought to myself, ‘I should really volunteer,’” she says. That impulse ultimately led to her recently receiving a Minnesota disability organization award for her volunteer work with the Laura Baker Services Association.

Three Minnesota photographers will attempt to capture the essence of Carleton students and student life in a project taking place over the next four months. Angela Strassheim, Wing Young Huie, and a third photographer will immerse themselves in campus life from January to mid-April for the Vantage Points II project.

Maija Sipola, a sophomore from Embarrass, Minnesota, wants to major in geology, but wasn’t sure her small-town high school had prepared her for Carleton’s intense science curriculum.

More than half of Carleton’s junior class studied abroad over the fall term, engaging in education experiences ranging from studying Spanish in Madrid to exploring mountaintops in Patagonia. Ali Reingold, a junior from Huntingdon, Penn., spent her fall term in Peru. Based in the School for International Training, Reingold’s program focused on Peru’s rich literature, arts, and cultural traditions.