By Daniel Kerwin

With new buildings set to rise all over campus in the next few years, forever changing the face of the Macalester campus, one particular student org is planning to inspire similarly vast changes in the makeup of the student body. That org is called the Kilt Krew. Their mission: to unite students of all interests on campus in universal Macalester Scots spirit.The idea was spawned by Nash Traylor ’10, who brought up the issue of an apparent division on campus between athletes and non-athletes during a meeting of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. Traylor proposed that there needed to be some way to bridge this divide.

“When I first got to Mac, the football team was not very good and there was not a lot of Mac spirit or support in all extra-curricular activities,” Traylor said. “I came from a school with a lot of traditions, where all the kids were supportive with activities.”

With the help of members of the SAAC, Traylor was able to recruit enough people to channel his idea into a new student organization, the beginnings of the Kilt Krew. So far the org has shown its presence mainly at athletic events, but the Kilt Krew is aiming to branch out to all activities on campus.

“We really want to get out there and let people know we’re not just a group for athletes, but a group for the school,” Traylor said. “What I really wanted was mostly non-athlete students making up this Kilt Krew.”

The way that the org works is that an event is pitched at one of the meetings, which are held at 10:15 p.m. Mondays on the upper level of the campus center, and then the Kilt Krew will promote the event and try to get a strong turnout. Any event can be pitched, ranging from sporting events to theatre performances, art showings, recitals – basically any event that is looking for a strong student turnout.

Among its accomplishments has been the return of a homecoming football game for the first time since the 1970s. Also, the Krew has organized senior games with “super fans” for the football and volleyball teams, and also brought large crowds to basketball games at St. Catherine’s at the end of last semester, games that turned into close victories.

“The games that we really promoted, there were kids that I never usually see at games doing the cheers,” Traylor said. “The fan base really helps, especially with the close come-back wins.”

The success of the Kilt Krew has been seen in more unexpected ways as well.

“At a swim meet, we met a guy from Concordia,” Amanda Cagan ’10 said. “He asked who we were, and then he bought a t-shirt and said that he wants to transfer to Mac.”

Now that the group has its feet in the water, members are looking to build on its foundation this semester. One of the things that the group is looking at is expanding homecoming next year, perhaps incorporating it as part of a spirit week.

One of the biggest challenges is to advertise its services on campus in order to attract a wider range of members and activities to support. To help with this, the Kilt Krew is hosting a Super Bowl party this Sunday in the Dupre formal lounge.

“We’re really open and welcoming,” Cagan said. “We want to get the entire student body involved.