Talk:Macalester College

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Contents

[edit] First questions

Most of this is just a brochure and promotional material that is not qualified by dates (espcially the statistics) and is missleading. The entry should be about what the school is about, its purpose and mission, not how many buildings it has or its diversity, which could easily change from year to year.

The links and some of the special characters went all funky and should probably be fixed; the Bulgarian, Japanese and Korean characters seem to have turned into question marks. User:Cwilli201

For the most part the info is accurate, though I agree it reads a little like a brochure. It might be worth noting the current state of political debate on campus--I've largely severed ties with and disavowed my alma mater due to the radical left's ascendancy on campus, so I'll have to leave that to other hands more up on events.

At some point I need to bone up on the place's history, which isn't deal with for the most part in the article's current form. This would include the DeWitt Wallace funding which has long been at the heart of Mac's financial picture--again, I'll have to call on someone a bit more recently informed here, as I'm nearly 15 years removed (class of '92)... DarthTMN 18:08, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Is Bob Mould worthy of being in the heading?


[edit] Politics on campus

I removed the reference to the "active" conservative faction on campus. The MacGOP exists on paper but, as a current student, I have no knowledge of any meetings, events, or other activities they've engaged in. The vast majority of students are left-leaning, with swatchs of apathy and a small resurgent radical population. -Brendan '10

Just be careful not to turn the article into a posterchild for left-wing politics. -Mike '09

Wouldn't dream of it. But I think I'm being accurate with this description, no? -Brendan '10

I would dream of it. -William '08

Regarding Brendon's post about the MacGOP, they do infact exist, meet, and do things. They are a very small organization, and do not advertise much, however as a member of the MacDems I can assure you that representatives of the MacGOP have come to us to discuss bipartisan matters. They do exist, and should be included in this entry.

Okay, well any conversation about it has been taken out now by somebody else. Fine by me. -Brendan '10 141.140.6.71 13:57, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Excesses

The huge new section of this article says some good things but, if anything, belongs further down the page, and regardless of position needs to have hyperlinks put in and stuff. I think the information is relevant, but I think some of the stuff contained (naming students, for example, or mentioning the "façade" posters) is a little gratuitous for a WIkipedia page. Most college pages feature pictures of campus or something. The rock pic is legit but I think, for as long as this article is, we just need a basic shot of Old Main or something comparable. Maybe I'm being a stickler for protocol but it is an encyclopedia. Cwilli201 21:04, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Also, where the hell is the history section? Cwilli201 21:07, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

History section added, albeit skeletally.

[edit] Lamb Controversy

The lamb tradition is a well-known at mac and if you ask almost any student they will attest to it.

I agree. Whoever tried to edit out the lamb roast post obviously hasn't been to mac in the last several years. or is just laughably out of touch with the student body.

I disagree. I'm a first year, but have never heard of it. There's a difference between something being popular among an inner group and the whole campus.

If you're a first year, it's possible that you haven't experienced every tradition at Macalester. Do you think that "the whole campus" participates in the Christmas Candlelight Service? Wait a few years before commenting on Macalester traditions.


I also agree the lamb is a very well known tradition among Mac students.

I'm another first year student and I'm well aware of the lamb tradition.

I suppose that depending on what kind of student you are, you may or may not have heard about the lamb tradition. It is my opinion that, based on the many people who were at the lamb roast this year, “anyone who is anyone” would have heard of it: if anything, you would have heard of its success! The lamb tradition is one of Mac's most fun and pleasurable events: of course, word of mouth through the social networks of this small college is the most successful form of advertising for any event (as opposed to the fliers at the tables in Café Mac or the online bulletin) and if you haven't heard about the lamb roast, then, well, I'm sorry, but it seems that you could be considered overtly anti-social or snobbishly clinging to a sad, secluded clique.

i totally disagree. i am a senior and i have never heard of any lamb roast. i even talked to some of my fellow students and they also have no idea what the lamb roast is. And i'm sorry, but we are definately not 'out of touch with the student body'. maybe i know of it by a different name...what is it exactly?

How did a snowball fight get on there when the lamb roast is left off? I've never heard of a campus-wide snowball and I am a fifth year senior. The lamb on the other hand, now there is a tradition! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.132.193.221 (talk) 06:49, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] MITY?

MITY redirects here, yet this article doesn't actually mention MITY. Something should probably be done about that. --Zarel 02:01, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Flag at top of page

I didn't put the NPOV flag up but I can see why it's there - there are lots and lots of unresearched statements such as "many people criticize the meal plan, etc." I don't think thart many people criticize it, to begin with, but if they do, provide research or leave out the "weasel word" comments. I'm going to try to clean this up over the next few days. Also, I added a list of Macalester College people article, and any help expanding that would be much appreciated. Cwilli201 16:31, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Major updates

I added a rather large history section, put the college's official seal in, and shuffled some other stuff around as well. It's looking better, so I took down the flag at the top, and I added a section about the controversies on campus that conforms a little better to Wikipedia standards and takes up less space. There are still some missing citations and something needs to be done with the trivia page, but otherwise I think it's improved. Cwilli201 19:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Photo request

Old Main is on the List of Registered Historic Places in Minnesota. It would be nice to have a picture of it.--Appraiser (talk) 19:38, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Student life photo

Zac, your picture had been taken down before. Let's keep it that way. A picture of you in the main quad doesn't add anything to the article other than give you an increased sense of self-importance, and you have enough of that as it is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.140.121.102 (talk) 21:43, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia Section

There seems to be a general lack of citations regarding anything in the trivia section, and given the non-encyclopedic nature of trivia sections, I have removed it. If anyone wants to provide citation, then please feel free to return the section, and a decision can then be met at a later point on how to integrate the section into the rest of the article. Jacotto (talk) 03:15, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Highly selective"

There's an IP user who is on a campaign to insert "highly selective" into the lead section, where this kind of subjective detail does not belong (per WP:Lead section). This detail could be included in the article text, but there should be a citation to the source (who says it's "highly selective"?) and that source's criteria for defining "highly selective." --Orlady (talk) 23:34, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Acceptance Rate

Apparently a certain IP user believes Macalester to have a 35% acceptance rate. I have seen two different sources state that it stands at 41% (collegeboard and macalester itself). If this number is a true value please add a citation to verify it. JKOLO 1:40, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Again... http://www.macalester.edu/admissions/admittedstudents/classprofile.html is not a valid citation for the claim of a 35% acceptance rate. Where does it state this information on this page? Don't just cite a random page on the website. If IP user 24.166.157.96 is not making this number up please cite it. JKOLO 21:48, 8 May 2008 (UTC)