Pegasus. Tools. The scales of justice. Recently tenured faculty members talk about what inspires them.

We made a list of things we think are ripe for improvement--from politics to space travel to our national pastime--and we found Carls who were willing to take a stab at suggesting improvments for some sacred (and not so sacred) cows.

Too many U.S. high schools are failing to prepare our young people for college, work, and citizenship. Educators, legislators, and communities are looking for ways to help our students succeed.

Brave Carls scaled the slopes of Mount Olympus on a Carleton Alumni Adventures trip to northern Greece—and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Will this be the year of the YouTube president? Some politically astute Carls weigh in on how influential the Internet will be in this election.

For students at a residential liberal arts college like Carleton, there’s no place like home—be it a dorm room, town house, or off-campus apartment.

No glass-and-steel skyscrapers for these Carls. They prefer to work in or with natural elements: earth, wind, fire, or water.

Glimpse the world through the eyes of Carleton students who entered the 2008 off-campus-studies photo contest.

From the gas station to the grocery store, we’re paying more—lots more—for almost everything these days. We asked Carls for practical strategies to survive the economic slowdown.

A staple of a Carleton education since the 1970s, off-campus studies programs give students a global perspective.

Nobody in this group is painting by number. We present an array of visual creations by some of Carleton’s senior studio art majors.

Speech excerpts and photographs from Carleton’s 134th commencement.

Top-notch teaching is the heart and soul of a Carleton education. Teachers who connect with their subject and their students—both inside and outside the classroom—are memorable and often life changing...

Wisconsin state senator Fred Risser ’50 has been a legislator for more than 50 years, longer than any current lawmaker in the nation...

Long before iTunes and MP3s, popular songs played a key role in rallying American troops and the home front during World War I...

As the saying goes, you are what you eat. These days, though, making good food choices can be complicated and confusing. Carls weigh in on the ethical aspects of feeding ourselves and others.

Three Carleton-educated scientists aboard the Laurence M. Gould research vessel chronicle their Antarctic adventure with stunning photographs—and talk about the project that brought them to the end of the world.

Find out why some Carleton alumni face hazards—like surviving fire and ice, and the occasional encounter with a grizzly bear—to do their jobs.

College administrators speak candidly about the economic downturn's current and potential impact on Carleton.

More people are using libraries today than ever before. Yet advancing technolgies and declining budgets challenge libraries to keep current. Carleton librarians—on campus and across the country —tell us how they're prepraing for an unpredictable future while still providing access to the recorded past.

Rumor has it that the old Northfield Midde School is haunted. Two students document some of the supernatural stories swirling around the building - future home of Carleton's Arts Union.

They say curiosity killed the cat, but we like to live dangerously. So even though we’ve never butchered a chicken, jumped into a raging forest fire, or won an Emmy, we have always wondered what those things would feel like. We asked these Carls to give us the (sometimes gory) details.

An assortment of photographs shot by students during off-campus studies programs reveals that sometimes the best lessons are learned outside of the classroom.

Those four years flew by! We say farewell to the Class of 2009.

Rebecca Ansari '97 and her husband, Omar Ansari, are brewing up a storm in the Twin Cities.

The Cowling Arboretum and McKnight Prairie are among the glories of Carleton—any time of the year. Photographer Tom Roster and Arb director Nancy Braker '81 document the College's beloved green space.

Carleton alumnus and handyman Steve Elliott '88 insists that even the most mechanically disinclined among us can keep our houses, cars, and computers running smoothly.

The Class of 2013 brought 49 additional international students to campus, for a record-breaking total of 149. These students represent 32 countries—and the future of the liberal arts at Carleton. We discuss why their presence here is a growing priority for the College and a gift for us all.

For months now, construction workers have been dangling off ropes and clambering on scaffolding, drilling and sandblasting and tuck-pointing and tarring and reroofing right outside our windows—and taking up our precious parking spaces. This photo essay shows why it’s worth the hassle.

Carleton alumni are redefining their journalism careers as traditional media companies undergo a transformation brought on by changes in the economy, technology, and how we access information. It’s sink or swim in publishing and broadcasting these days, but the good news is that these Carls are finding ways to stay afloat.

At Carleton, research and scholarship are often part of the same conversation when it comes to deciding what it means to be a great liberal arts college.

A longtime resident of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Peter Hill ’00 spent years becoming fluent in Lakota—one of several native North American languages facing extinction. Last fall he became the first non-native speaker entrusted with teaching Lakota to high school students in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Deborah Appleman, Carleton’s Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies, took a sabbatical during the 2008–09 academic year to teach inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater.

The weather may not have cooperated—forecasts of rain moved the ceremonies indoors for only the fifth time since 1950, when Carleton started scheduling Commencement outdoors—but that didn’t discourage the 493 seniors and their friends and family members who gathered at the Rec Center to celebrate. Before they scattered with diplomas in hand, we asked members of the Class of 2010 to write six-word memoirs about their college years and tell us about a course that changed their lives.

As President Robert A. Oden Jr. has so famously and frequently said of Carleton, “We are all in this together.” So together we wish him well as he embarks on a retirement that sounds anything but retiring. In his last interview with the Voice, President Oden reflects on his eight years at Carleton and highlights the advances the College has made during his tenure. Also, students, faculty, staff, and alumni recall their memories of President Oden.

As part of a nationwide documentary project to explore the meaning of peace, frequent Voice contributor and Minneapolis photographer John Noltner interviewed and photographed members of the Carleton community. We present their varied perspectives on what peace means to them—and why it remains so elusive.

Position: Goaltender. Team: Carleton College. Uniform: Navy-blue suit, white shirt, maize-and-blue-striped tie. Honors: MVP, Carleton presidential search committee. Meet newly inaugurated president Steven Poskanzer.

Cultural and technological forces are reshaping our world in ways we may not have predicted or even considered. Carleton faculty members and alumni discuss the effects of globalization.

Each year at Reunion, Carleton provides opportunities for alumni to reconnect with former classmates, participate in family-friendly events, and engage in important conversations. Here’s a sample of this year’s celebration of community.

Carleton alumni and staff members respond to trends in higher education and tell us what they think lies ahead for colleges and universities and their students.

Carleton hosts a winter-term multidisciplinary festival of Japanese theater and dance that features events, lectures, and performances with internationally acclaimed artists and collaborations with Twin Cities arts organizations.

There’s a rumor going around that 40 percent of Carls marry Carls. Can that possibly be true? Nah. Here’s the real state of our College unions.

Mischievous Carls have been playing tricks on administrators and on each other for almost 150 years. We recount some memorable stunts.

Photojournalist Sebastian Meyer ’02 spent six weeks in northern Iraq documenting the daily life of Kurdish villagers who are determined to survive in a homeland haunted by ghosts of a violent past.

From a yurt in Alaska to a chicken coop in Missouri, Carls are embracing lifestyles that challenge the myth that more is better.

It happens every year, but each time is special for the class members who leave the Carleton bubble and join the far-flung community of Carleton alumni. Congratulations! And don’t forget to write.

In recognition of the Peace Corps’s 50th anniversary, we asked Carls who have served in the organization over the past five decades to tell us how their experiences have challenged and shaped them.

David Letterman and Time magazine have Top 10 lists, so why not us? We asked Carls to count to 10 on a variety of topics from best gadgets to favorite blogs. 

Students submitted more than 200 photos for this year’s 25th annual off-campus studies photo contest. Here are some of our favorites.

The digital age brings new challenges for preserving our personal and public histories. Plus tips for determining what to save and how.

With our increasing longevity—and declining economy—traditional retirement has become a thing of the past. We talk to Carls who are finding new careers, opportunities, and meaning in the second half of life.

A visual tour of the recently opened Weitz Center for Creativity shows how the Carleton community is using the repurposed building’s teaching, performance, and exhibition spaces.

Is contemporary fiction for teens skewed to the dark, disturbed, and dangerous? We ask two experts if there’s cause for worry. Plus, tips on how to raise a reader.

Born in a Vietnamese refugee camp, Hai Ngo ’12 relocated to Minnesota at age 1 with his parents. Last summer he returned to Vietnam on a Larson International Fellowship. Through his photography, Ngo came to a deeper understanding of his parents, his relatives, and himself. Here are some photos from his trip.

In 2011 Japan bore the brunt of a devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. Carls who were there—or who helped with relief efforts—give us a report on how Japan is doing a year later.

The thrills and spills of skateboarders captured the attention of Linnea Bullion ’13 while she was on an off-campus studies program in Europe last year. She shares some photographs from her trip with Voice readers.

Despite all the negative predictions from naysayers, our world really isn’t going to hell in a handbasket. We have some good news for you to ponder instead.

Visiting speakers and performers have expanded Carls’ horizons and enriched their education ever since the College was founded, but especially after attendance was no longer required!

Student photographer Niko Duffy ’13 has taken photos of fast-moving athletes for three years. He says it requires skill, awareness, timing—and a lot of luck. Here are some of his best serendipitous shots from Carleton sports contests.

Politicians often make claims that make us wonder, “How do they get away with such big fibs?” Carleton experts share their take on how the average citizen can uncover the truth in the midst of so much mudslinging. Plus, we compile a list of fact-checking websites you should bookmark.

Can the U.S. Postal Service survive crippling Congressional mandates and massive changes in the way we communicate? Experts consider ways the post office can stay relevant and solvent in the 21st century. Plus, a look at the grassroots fight in some communities—including Northfield—to save historic post office buildings.

Dennis Rentsch ’02 first fell in love with Tanzania on a study-abroad program. Today, he works and lives in the Serengeti, where he helps the expanding human population learn how to coexist with endangered wildlife.

As director of editorial development and operations, Christiane Mack ’87 protects and promotes Vogue’s global brand in a digital age.

If the head of the CIA can’t keep his e-mails private, what hope do you have? As tracking technology improves, your online activity and personal data are increasingly at risk. Learn what you can do to protect your privacy.

An obsidian orb in the Arb, a president’s pet penguin, and dorms that double as nuclear shelters are just a few of the tall tales that have been handed down from one generation of Carls to the next. We put them to the truth test.

Following 20 months of fact-finding and future thinking by 14 working groups, Carleton president Steven Poskanzer has completed a strategic plan for the College. Here’s a summary of what we’ll see implemented in the years ahead.

Although Carleton staff and faculty members have long served as advisers and mentors to their students, the college is expanding and formalizing ways for them to help students connect the dots between classes and careers.

Our favorites from a weekly Facebook contest, in which Carls write captions for historic photos from the Carleton Archives.

Carleton astronomy professor Joel Weisberg worked with a New York artist and MIT scientists to create a disk that will orbit Earth for billions of years—and provide a snapshot of life on Earth in the early 21st century for any future space travelers who might discover it.

History is filled with examples of mistakes that led to great discoveries. Pharmacist John Pemberton was trying to cure headaches when he stumbled on the recipe for Coca-Cola. A messy workspace resulted in Alexander Fleming discovering penicillin. Carls tell us how to turn a fear of failure into a recipe for success.

Carleton’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement offers students real-world experience through partnerships with individuals, schools, and corporations. Often tied to the curriculum, these opportunities both enhance students’ classroom experience and build their résumés.

Martha Wohlfeil ’13 and a team of student research assistants are working with biology professor Matt Rand to identify the genes that affect snake pigmentation.

At Community of Peace Academy charter school in St. Paul, four Carls are using the national PeaceBuilders curriculum to help students succeed academically and personally.

This spring five Carleton professors debated one another in an effort to win the last seat on a spaceship fleeing postapocalyptic Earth. Carleton students voted on which discipline was most essential. What would you decide?

Midwestern modesty has kept us from blowing our own horn for too long. Here’s what makes Carleton one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country—and we’re not afraid to brag. A little.

Three alumni journalists tell Alaska’s unique stories through print, radio, and photography.

The benefits of spending time outdoors are legion, yet fewer of us are realizing them—at a huge cost to us and our natural landscape.

As NASCAR’s vice president for strategic development, Eric Nyquist ’94 is driving the company’s efforts to build its audience through new media and environmental initiatives.

Following a tragic car accident that claimed the lives of three students and seriously injured two others, the Carleton community comes together to grieve our loss and to celebrate the lives of three extraordinary young men: James Adams ’15, Michael Goodgame ’15, and Paxton Harvieux ’15.

Inspired by the popular blog Humans of New York, first-year student Thomas Hiura launches Humans of Carleton on Facebook and reminds us that what we love most about this place is the people who live, work, and study here.

It’s not as trivial as you think. The issues surrounding beauty—how we define it, how we react to it, and the lengths to which we’ll go to achieve it—are very serious indeed.

They come. They charm us for four years with their wit and intellect. And then they leave. It’s a four-year cycle we celebrate, but never quite get used to. This year 484 seniors joined the ranks of esteemed Carleton alumni.

Throughout the college’s history, advancements in technology have influenced the way faculty members teach. Here is a look at some historical objects and images professors have used in their labs and classrooms. You may be surprised to learn which ones are still in use—and which have been shelved permanently.

They may be microscopic, but bacteria wield tremendous power over our health and well-being. Meet the Carls who seek to uncover the mysteries of bacteria and determine how we can make them our friends.

You’ve heard the old saying: Put a retired Carleton professor in a room with a newly tenured professor and turn on a tape recorder. We hadn’t heard that either, but we did it anyway and the results were fascinating.

Genealogy is hot, hot, hot. These Carls show us how and tell us why we should uncover and preserve our family history before it’s too late.

Every summer more than 2,000 Carls return to catch up with old friends and faculty members, visit their favorite campus haunts and discover new ones, and remember all the reasons they’ll always love this place. And we couldn’t be happier they’re here.

“Like many second-generation Japanese, he felt enormous pressure to succeed. He would wake up in the middle of the night and begin drawing because he’d just had a dream about how a building should look.”

“It wasn’t something we wanted to do. It was just that nobody in Washington was willing to do what they were supposed to do.”

“You’ll have a computer that will be able to understand you. The better you concentrate, the faster the computer will know what you want.”

“It was hard at first to convince corporate bigwigs that there was value in developing games for personal use. The idea that these devices would become things people wanted in their homes was a surprise.”

“As a photographer, I am sometimes given a glimpse into a world I would ordinarily not be privy to.”

“We will never be smart enough to not have biases. We’re never going to be educated enough that we don’t need to have diversity training or conversations about privilege anymore.”

“The north wind is blowing my destiny forward. I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I know it’s time to move on, and I’m ready.”

“It is not enough to celebrate the national holidays of various groups and recognize their different traditions. Will this help bring about mutual understanding? I seriously doubt it.”

“It takes a lot of coffee to keep professors and students on their toes.”

"Curiosity wound its way over to Yellowknife Bay and then to Mount Sharp, and both were stunning. I wish I were there to see it with my own eyes, but this is pretty good."

"I was teaching, the door opened, and somebody in a chicken suit came in and dropped off a bag of cookies and left. I have no idea who it was."

"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras."

The final telescope, a 16.2-inch Brashear refractor purchased for $15,000 (more than $390,000 in today’s dollars), was made by Pittsburgh’s famed John Brashear Company, arrived in 1890, and was placed beneath the larger dome.

“The scope took everyone by surprise. Very few people expected there to be a total change in the United States’ relationship with Cuba.”

“There was always danger lurking in the background, and you never knew what could happen. But I was having a good time.”

“The boundaries between art and teaching and communication are becoming increasingly porous. We are broadening the ways we prepare students to communicate.”

“I would rather buy better food locally, and if I only get asparagus for three weeks in June, that’s okay because that’s when it tastes wonderful. Then I wait for it again.”

“We can’t be the great equalizers, but we can close some of the gaps. Above all, we have to talk about the implications of socioeconomic diversity at Carleton.”

With a record turnout, great weather, and a kickoff celebration for Carleton’s sesquicentennial (1866–2016), Reunion 2016 was packed full of nostalgia and fun.

“If Carls’ curiosity and imagination were unfettered by the constraints of physical reality, where would they go and what would they see?”

“We need people who encompass multiple perspectives to tackle things like cancer, global climate change, and artificial intelligence—and we want to foster our students’ ability to do that kind of work.”

A lot changes in 150 years. This commemorative issue looks back at where we’ve been and suggests where we might go from here.

“College is just the beginning of a joyful mission. One can always go on learning. And it seems to me that Carleton faculty members have kept that joy present at Carleton.”

“Did I mention that the tunnels are still featured in Carleton’s recruiting brochure? They sold me on tunnels, and now there are no tunnels. Just saying.”

“Goodsell is round; and Legos, of course, are not.”

Over the years, Carleton has commissioned architectural plans for buildings that were never realized. Fortunately, the plans remain.

150 years at a glance.

Members of the Classes of 1966 and 2016 compare notes about their college experiences.

150 years of great Carleton teachers.

“Providence has worked all things for good. We are here to toast the enduring success of my exceedingly fine college, after all!”

“Carleton’s first offspring of the sea is a well built, fast ship manned by a competent, far above average captain and crew.”

In the days before Facebook and Instagram, Carleton students preserved and shared their memories in scrapbooks.

“We look forward to a student body that changes every day.”

“I found out that Neko Case got the same request. That’s when I seriously thought, ‘Wait, are you sure you want us to do this?’ ”

“The idea of crossing a cultural border—going home to St. Paul and being one person, and coming back to Carleton and being someone different—is something I don’t share with a lot of people.”

“It’s not ‘us versus them’ or ‘liberal versus conservative,’ as people try to make it. We all have different experiences, and that makes us interpret the world through different truths.”

“Consent is a major part of the discussion, but where do healthy relationships fit in? What are the different scenarios for sex that students don’t actively think about? How do we talk about the role that alcohol and drugs play? We have to build the complete picture.”

“If you’re worried about our energy future, remember that Americans have made significant and abrupt energy changes before—from wood to coal, from coal to petroleum and then to natural gas. Lessons from the past [can] give us hope for the future.”

“We use female rats in our research because much of the existing data in biomedical research is derived from male subjects, leaving large gaps.” —Sarah Meerts, assistant professor of psychology

“She had a wide smile that was almost always present. Her teeth were a faint gray and capped in gold; one even had a gold star in the middle that would shine as she spoke.”

“The assumption that all Islamic people are susceptible to radical views is the same as the idea that Japanese Americans were all susceptible to [what was] going on in Japan in the 1940s.”

“It built up so quickly that we had to make a choice. And we couldn’t justify abandoning this call to action—this responsibility—that we helped create.”

“Girls being deprived of athletic experiences because of an issue like clothing didn’t seem right to me.”

“I’ve never gotten so many angry calls as I did covering a small community. People screamed at me all the time, which was excellent preparation for my job today.”

“When we arrived, an Irish player told us that if you play with heart and spirit, you’ll have the crowd behind you, and it was true.”

“We knew this project was going to be really visible, fairly disruptive, and also transformative in a positive way.”

“Ideas that are controversial or politically unpopular are fundamentally different from speech that is discriminatory or hateful and incites violence and harm.”

“In general, I prefer subjects and scenes that are untouched by humankind.”

“Rural kids inherently understand how communities should work. They already know what it means to have your neighbors know your business, to greet people when you see them, to not have 100 different grocery stores to go to.”

“Waiting for a bus in Ankara, I heard two people behind me conversing in fluent English. I was desperate for human connection. And they were kind to me.”

“I’ve seen a lot of paralysis on the part of big oil companies because they face so many existential questions that don’t have easy answers. Companies are dipping a toe into a variety of different technologies, making very small investments. But I haven’t seen any bold moves to position themselves ahead of the energy transition.”

“People make assumptions about the slow pace of the West. Maybe they see this part of the country as lacking sophistication. No. What we do here is incredibly sophisticated.”

“If everybody is saying the same thing, you might believe it even if it’s wrong. A diverse work environment helps bring in different points of view, which leads to a better decision-making process.”

“Innovation is synonymous with fear, lack of expertise, and the unknown. Professors are used to displaying mastery, but to do things in a new way, you have to become a novice again.”

“They were staring at all this devastation, and they were saying, ‘We’re still here. We still have our family. We will find a way to continue.’ ”

“A lot of my high school friends were forced to choose between football and academics. I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

“For millennia, human beings have selected plants for various traits. We’ve just introduced a more purposeful—and faster—way of doing the same thing.”

“I was horse-crazy from the very beginning and my parents have no clue why. It’s a disease that some girls are just born with, I guess.”

“Because of language barriers and unfamiliarity, and probably a little bit of racism, Hmong farmers haven’t had access to land, larger markets, or the capital and credit that’s prevalent in agriculture.”

“He looked me in the eye and he gave me a hug. He was like, ‘I’m sorry. I hear you. We won’t make that mistake again.’”

We discovered that the people who work so hard to pull off Reunion have almost as much fun as the Carls who attend.

“Early on in our relationship, Kamaran had explained to me that in his world, photography was just about blood, death, and body counts. Where was the beauty? he wondered. Where was the curiosity? The desire to see the world in a different way?”

“The more diverse a student body, the more energetic and engaging that student body will be. To me, that involves defining diversity in the broadest of ways, which includes sociocultural, geographic, and even political difference.”

“A course in biography would be laughed at in most of our departmentalized universities. Yet I think it deserves no laughter.”

“It is not about my ego or my perception of the world. It’s about how the audience connects, understands, and feels the artwork.”

“All that glass not only reveals the soul of the building, it also speaks to the soul of the school, where teaching comes first and interactions between students and the faculty are prized.”

“At Carleton, study abroad is not the cherry on the top. It’s integral to academic learning and personal growth.”

Two families on two continents search for meaning in the wreckage of a heart-wrenching homicide.

Film scholar Darcy Paquet ’95 played a central role in Parasite’s award-winning year.

By encouraging students to pursue PhDs in the humanities and social sciences, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship aims to diversify institutions of higher learning.

Members of Carleton’s Black Student Alliance talk with philosophy fellow Eddie O’Byrn about racism and a vision for justice.

Designers have moved from the studio to the lab to create materials for clothing and construction that take a lighter toll on our planet.

Carleton’s philosophy class “Death, Dinner, and Discussion” offers students a chance to consider the unthinkable.

From academics to activities, students document life on campus during the pandemic.

Over the next year a steering committee will determine what steps the college takes to positively alter the on-campus experience for the BIPOC community.

The field of musicology is changing with the times, and Carleton professors are leading the way.

Sara Cluggish, the Perlman Teaching Museum’s new director, talks about mission, visual learning, and acquiring work for the permanent collection.

As he prepares to step down this summer, President Steven Poskanzer reflects on the past 11 years—and reveals a long-standing desire to join Lenny D and play lacrosse.

Many people experience significant mental health challenges in college, Carleton programming is designed to help students avoid unhealthy coping habits and ensure that they feel a sense of connections, belonging, and self-efficacy.

Writing features prominently in nearly every class at Carleton. This special issue featuring poetry and fiction celebrates that tradition and the creativity it continues to inspire.

This Fiction and Poetry Issue features visuals from art exhibits Chronologia and Alumni Showcase, which ran from March 1 to April 25 at the Perlman Teaching Museum.

Influences and inspirations from this issue’s contributors.

As the pandemic plays out and liberal arts colleges look to the future, President Alison Byerly aims to fortify Carleton’s collective sense of purpose.

Carls from the early ’70s reckon with the past, and look to assist their alma mater as it works to address issues of inclusion, equity, and diversity.

All commencement ceremonies at Carleton are special in their own right, though some — including the celebration of the Class of 2021 — surely stand out more than others.

Carleton Professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder are challenging seemingly progressive academic orthodoxies — from the left.

During an inspiring inaugural weekend, Carleton's first female president celebrated community and called for transformative change.

Indigenous students — in collaboration with select faculty members, staff representatives, and leaders of the Prairie Island Indian Community — are working to help the college address their collective strengths, traditions, and needs.