By

Student Athlete Perception Focus GroupWhile we appreciate the coverage of the Student Athlete Perception Focus Group in the February 26 issue of The Mac Weekly, we object to the manner in which the writer portrayed the students in attendance at the meeting. The focus group was a meeting intended to open discussion and find solutions to minimize the perceived social gap between students and student-athletes. We feel as if the published article has only caused more problems rather than create positive discourse of change. Of all of the questions and comments made during the hour-long discussion, the writer chose some of the poorest quotations to illustrate the legitimate and personal concerns of the students in attendance. To clarify one of the inaccuracies, Jeff Yamashita ’11 strongly appreciates the hard work of the athletic training staff and feels grateful towards the support of the athletic department. He owes his success in his sports to their fervent encouragement throughout his career at Macalester. We believe his quotes and others were misconstrued and stretched in order to create a more sensational article.

The ground work for this focus group began in Fall of 2009 among members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and other student-athletes following the heated exchange in The Mac Weekly in the Spring of 2009. Marie Godwin ’10, president of SAAC, thoughtfully planned the focus group with other concerned student-athletes; it was not simply “made up.” Ultimately, the purpose of the focus group meeting was to provide an open, informal forum for all students on campus to construct a survey in order to gauge perceptions of student-athletes. The Student-Athlete Perception Focus Group looks forward to addressing and forming solutions to the perceived gap within our community. We invite everyone to participate in this ongoing dialogue. We cannot rely on a few voices to move forward. This dialogue will continue at the next Student-Athlete Perception Focus Group meeting on Tuesday, March 9 in the Leonard Center Classroom at 12:00 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. All are welcome to attend either session.

Sincerely,

Amanda Cagan ’10, [email protected]

Michael Coleman ’11, [email protected]

Chris Fowler ’12, [email protected]

Anna Gajewski ’10, [email protected]

Marie Godwin ’10, [email protected]

Celeste Prince ’10, [email protected]

Jose Rubio ’12, [email protected]

Jeff Yamashita ’11, [email protected]

Earth Hour

As you’ve probably already heard, climate change is happening all around us, and its pace is accelerating. From melting ice caps to increasingly intense weather patterns, climate change is already impacting life on Earth and affecting our generation as well as future generations. Even though the task of reversing climate change can seem daunting, there is a simple way for you to help! In a bold statement of collective concern for our planet, millions of people around the world will unite by turning off their lights for one hour-Earth Hour-on March 27, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. local time. Led by World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is the largest event of its kind in the world. In 2009, nearly one billion people from 4,100 cities in 87 countries participated, as well as international landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramids, and the city skylines of Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv. You can show your support for Earth Hour 2010 by signing up to participate at www.EarthHour.org. Participation is easy: just turn out your lights for an hour and help send a powerful message to the world that we can and will take action to address climate change and save our planet for future generations. Learn more at www.EarthHour.org.

Maggie Hutchison ’12 is an MPIRG Environment/Transportation task force member and can be reached at [email protected]