By Mac Weekly Staff

The Art Alliance is a
group of artists who come together once or twice a week for the
express purpose of making art. We are interested in putting art
absolutely everywhere! We are hosting a festival this spring in
collaboration with Mac Bike. We meet every Sunday at 4:00pm in the
Drawing Studio of the Art Department. The meetings will be held
after our free figure-drawing co-op which is open to the community
every Sunday from 2:00pm-4:00pm. Contact: [email protected] Asian Student
Alliance (ASA) is all about our 3 C’s: community, civic engagement,
and cultural awareness. This semester, ASA’s executive board plans
to present the greatest APA (Asian Pacific American) Week ever
achieved at Mac. We meet every Monday at 10 pm in the Cultural House
multi-purpose roomƒ?” everyone is invited! Contact kphan@mac if
you’re interested.

B.L.A.C.: This year’s
Black History Month will be exciting and ground-breaking. In
addition to Spike Lee’s address, Saturday, February 10 will be our
“The New Ivies” danceƒ?” we will be inviting two fraternities
from the U of M to hold a step competition during the middle of the
dance. Our next major event will be our Hip-Hop discussion on
February 14 in Old Main. Several African American artists from
around the Twin Cities will be displaying their art in the Campus
Center Atrium on February 16. Our last events will be our Black
History Month Showcase, a representation of the struggles that the
entire black diaspora have had to face throughout history, on
February 22 in Kagin and our annual Night of Blackness dinner and
dance on February 24. Contact lbyrd@mac if you’d like to get
involved.

C.H.E.E.B.A. (Creating
a Harmless Environment to Enjoy Buds Appropriately): This semester
we plan to promote our message of marijuana legalization by hosting a
debate and conducting the first ever C.H.E.E.B.A. poll of the
Macalester student body. Our semester will conclude with the return
of our legendary 4/20 mega-fest, CHEEBAdanza! To join Mother Earth’s
email army, contact lharris@mac.

FACE AIDS is a national
student network dedicated to fighting AIDS in Africa. FACE AIDS works
to raise money and awareness through selling red-ribbon pins made by
HIV/AIDS support groups in Zambia. The profits of these sales go
directly to the most effective organizations and charities, to expand
innovation on the ground. Among other groups, FACE AIDS is partnered
with the ONE campaign, Partners in Health, and the Clinton
Foundation. The Macalester chapter ran its first pin selling campaign
on campus this fall and raised $1150.00 on world AIDS day. With
matching grants the profits came to almost $5000.00, enough money to
provide 83 children in Rwanda with life-saving AIDS treatment for one
year. We hope to achieve further successes within the community
through raising money and awareness. If you would like to get
involved contact: dlawrence@mac.

Flying Fingers is
Macalester’s folk music organization. Our primary goal is the
teaching, learning, and performance of folk music. Styles vary from
year to year. In addition to a concert each semester, we offer
members professional master classes, biweekly tune circles, and (this
semester) educational field trips. We also own a number of standard
folk instruments for those who don’t have their own or want to
learn a new one. Flying Fingers is not an auditioned
ensemble–musicians of all skill levels and backgrounds are welcome!
Contact jclark@mac for more info.

Fresh Concepts: We
specialize in delivering high-quality comedy to the masses, focusing
primarily on improv and sketch comedy. Last semester we brought you
twenty four hours of improv as well as two great improv shows of
shorter length. This coming semester we’ve got two improv shows in
short order, a sketch show in long order, and maybe a little more? If
you want to join Fresh Concepts exclusive mailing list, send an email
to freshconcepts@mac.

The Geology Club: If
you love rocks, we’re the club for you, but if you don’t, we may
still be. Last semester our activities included sponsoring a camping
trip to northern Minnesota, holding a potluck party with our
co-conspirators at the St. Thomas GeoClub, having an outdoor barbeque
at Olin Rice, and a trip to the science museum to see BodyWorlds. If
you feel like you’ve got some good ideas on how to spend our budget
for the semester, to come to our first meeting, (yet to be
announced), and give us your input. Everyone’s welcome, and it’s
a small time commitment. For more information e-mail
akonstantinou@mac.

Habitat for Humanity is
an organization that builds affordable housing for low income
families. We had a rummage sale at the beginning of the semester and
other various fundraisers. We also had three Saturday build days last
semester. This semester we’ll have three more build days to help
finish it. There will be another building opportunity during Spring
Break to go to Birmingham, Alabama and work on a house there. The
Habitat board holds their weekly meetings on Wednesday at 10 o’clock
if anyone is interested in becoming more involved. Feel free to email
nvanwylen@mac if you have any questions.

Health Professions
Student Community is an organization devoted to learning more about
health professions, sharing resources among pre-health students, and
getting support in the often strenuous process of pursuing a medical
career. This semester we are setting up a panel discussion with Mac
Alums who work as health professionals. The panel will take place on
the evening of February 20. In addition, we are planning an
information session on the Taylor Fellowship in the coming weeks, and
are planning to do fundraising for an international health
organization throughout the semester. If you have any interest in a
health career, please consider joining! Contact eleisz@mac to be
added to the e-mail list.

The Macalester Infoshop
is now open! Check out the selection of alternative books, zines and
other media available for checkout. Come by for a moment or stay and
hang out! The Infoshop is located in the Kirk basement (before the
computer lab). Hours: 6:00-midnight, Sunday-Thursday.

Macalester’s Irish
Dance club is back again for an exciting semester of activity! This
semester we’re planning even more appearances, including a
traditional Celtic-style dance near the end of February and a spot in
the Spring Dance Concert at the end of March. We’ll also continue
to hold weekly classes throughout the semester (time and location
TBA). No experience is necessary to join; we’re here to teach! If
you’re interested in learning more, contact Laura Hittle
([email protected]).

KAADATT (Kids All About
Dancing All The Time) was founded as an alternative to organized
campus dance parties. The charter spoke of the social injustices of
modern society, specifically its restrictions on ‘acceptable’
ways to move one’s body. KAADATT offers a revolutionary
opportunity to explore entirely new methods of motion. In this new
era, KAADATT is trying to make its dance parties more organized,
inviting and diverse. To this end we have been expanding and
reorganizing our music collection and inviting you all to bring or
request whatever you want played. The next chapter of our dynamic
experiment in music and movement is Friday the 2nd in 10k, the Dupre
basement. Come at around 11 to dance, or before then to hang out and
help us set up etc. Contact bglickstein@mac for more info.

LevelUp was formed two
years ago as a group in which students could practice speaking
Japanese away from the pressure of the classroom. The goal is to get
native Japanese speakers and students of Japanese together doing fun
thing
s and using the Japanese they know. This semester we’re going
to meet Thursdays at 7 in the campus center. All levels of Japanese
learners are welcome, as long as they focus on using the Japanese
they know. We are also planning another cooking adventure and a trip
to a karaoke place in Minneapolis. For more info contact Maggie at
mfirebaugh@mac.

The Macalester
Conservation and Renewable Energy Society (MacCARES), is an
organization dedicated to bringing advances in conservation practices
and renewable energy to Mac. Focusing on student projects and
practical implementation, we work to bring the way we live into
alignment with the ideals we hold. We have lately been growing both
in student involvement and in its impact on our campus and community.

Currently we’re working on a bunch of projects for the future,
including: An EcoHouse for students who want to learn about and
practice sustainable living, the Biodiesel Project has been working
to build a biodiesel processor that would convert waste vegetable oil
from Café Mac into an eco-friendly fuel, an offsite industrial
scale wind turbine, and much more. Feel free to contact us for more
information at MacCares@mac and check us out at
www.macalester.edu/maccares.

Mac Catholics will be
sponsoring several activities this semester. Once a semester, we
organize a retreat. This semester, the retreat will focus on silence
and prayer. We will also be involved in community service through
the organization Sharing and Caring Hands, which provides housing,
meals, and other services to families in need. We will also host a
dinner on the first Thursday of each month. This monthly dinner
provides an opportunity for fellowship among Catholics in the college
community. Catholic Mass has been moved to a new time and space.

Mass will now take place in the upper level of the Chapel at eleven
o’clock on Sunday mornings.

Mac Clabbers provides a
low-key, fun atmosphere for the playing of Scrabble. We strive to
help you increase your vocabulary, eat unhealthy snacks, and finally
beat that relative who always seems to grab those triple word scores
before you do. We also participate in tournaments regionally and here
at Mac. In 2005 we held a Scrabble for Katrina event to raise money
for the Macalester trip to the New Orleans area. This year we plan to
hold another such tournament. No matter what your Scrabble ability
level, stop by for some Scrabble and snacks in the basement of Kagin
every Wednesday at 10:15 p.m. For more information, contact
csteil@mac.

Mac Jump ‘n Jive is
Macalester’s swing dance club. Our aim is to teach all types of
swing, including East Coast, Lindy Hop, Balboa, Blues, and West Coast
(or anything else you may desire as long as it swings.) We provide
the means to learn and practice dance as well as provide connections
to the larger community of swing dancers. Come join us in the campus
center Monday nights at 10 for informal lessons and dancing or
contact Laura (lspencer@mac) for information about trips to swing
clubs and dancing with in the Twin Cities. Hope to see you Monday!

MacPlayers, is a
student run theatre group designed to give students the opportunity
to direct, act, write, and otherwise get involved in non-main stage
theatre productions. We hope to host for a second time a “24-hour
theatre,” a production, written, directed, and performed all with
in 24 hours. We are also producing a collection of one acts to be
preformed in August, ranging from Mystery to Comedy. MacPlayers Ball
will hopefully be back this semester. We’re always looking for
student submissions, actors, stagehands, directors, audience members,
and new ideas, so send us an e-mail at macplayers@mac. Stay posted
next week for auditions for our collection of one acts!

The Mac Protestants is
a group of Macalester students striving to create a comfortable and
accepting place for Christians to come together and participate in
worship and fellowship. In the coming semester, we are looking
forward to visiting several area churches to experience the Christian
community in the Twin Cities. We also look forward to ice skating,
our Lock-In with homemade lasagna and fun, and interfaith “Peace
and Pancakes,” a great way to get to know more about other
religious and spiritual organizations at Mac. We also plan to
participate in the first Easter Vigil on campus. This will consist of
a 24-hour prayer vigil organized by intern Ned Hayes in the Center
for Religious and Spiritual Life. We will continue to have small
covenant groups and are looking to create a book group as well. Our
meetings are the third Sunday of every month after the 9:00 vespers
service (usually around 9:45) in the CSRL.

MacSoup cooks once a
month in Kagin basement, making and serving soup to give out to the
community from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. on Saturday night. Past foods have
included: Matzoh Ball Soup, White Bean Soup, and Chocolate Zucchini
Bread among others. Our first soup will be February 10. Meetings are
every Tuesday night at 10pm in CC205, all are welcome. Recipes are
available online at www.macalester.edu/macsoup Email mkoch@mac or
come to the Tuesday meetings if you’re interested in helping out.

Maction is Macalester’s
only student-led service organization that organizes one-time
community service events for students to participate in. Last
semester our activities included trick-or-treating in collaboration
with FIA/STARSA for over 900 pounds of canned food items for the
Neighborhood House and Women’s Advocates and baking nine dozen
cookies for families affected by HIV/AIDS. Our Double Deal Auction on
February 21st will raise money for a local charity through silent
auction of goods and services donated by students, staff, and the
community. Also this spring semester, on April 14th, we will host
the International Kidfest to help teach local children about
different countries and cultures. To get involved, or for more
details, please e-mail Maction at maction@mac.

The Macalester Martial
Arts Club is dedicated to teaching, sharing and enjoying martial
arts. We offer classes for all levels at the following times:
Tuesday at 8:00 ƒ?” 9:00PM (10K); Wednesday at 5:00 ƒ?” 6:00PM (10K)
and 10:00 ƒ?” 11:00PM (Undetermined location), and Friday at 3:00 ƒ?”

6:00PM (10K). Tuesdays will be a new class with a yet-unknown theme.

Wednesday’s earlier class is a Shotokan Karate class, and the
later time is our Weapons Wednesday class. Friday is an open mat
time that will include general fitness and basic kickboxing practice.

We also have a small library of books and DVDs pertaining to
different styles and weapons. These are available for learning new
techniques and during open mat classes for experimentation. E-mail
kwhite@mac for more info.

Pro-choice? Want to do
something about it? Macalester’s chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice
America, one of America’s largest reproductive rights
organizations, is here to help. This semester we are bringing in
lecturer Loretta Ross, a pioneer for rights for women of color and
founder of SisterSong, a reproductive health care collective. Members
will also attend a reproductive rights conference in Amherst,
Massachusetts and share their knowledge with an all-campus Pro-Choice
week. Other activities this semester include a movie showing and
candy SPO-ing on Valentine’s Day. We’d love your help! Meetings
are held every Monday night at 10:15 pm in room 204 in the Campus
Center, and anyone interested should email Beth at borlikowski@mac.

The Program Board,
consisting of six different committees, is responsible for concerts,
dances, Springfest, lectures, and other performances. Last semester
we organized the first ever Dancing with the Profs, Photo Scavenger
hunt, many d
ifferent dances and other popular programs. If you wish
to be involved, please contact chair Linea Ericsson at lericsson@mac.

The Queer Union meets
every Wednesday night at 10pm in MCC 207 to discuss issues on campus
and worldwide in a fun and sexy manner. Last semester we put together
sensational events like coming out week and the Cabaret, brought in
exciting performers and speakers, and organized trips to queer
events. We’ve got another Cabaret coming up, as well as titillating
performances and talks by queer activists, drag kings and drag
queens, and maybe even a campout. If you’re interested in any of
these activities and you want to know more about us, feel free to
send us an e-mail at qu@mac!

Most people seem to
think that the Residence Hall Association is the group of RAs or some
regulating organization on campus. While we do work with Residential
Life, our goal is to make life on campus better for students, whether
through hosting events like movies, bowling, and dances, or by
improving the dorms. Last year we put a ping pong table in the
Wallace basement, for those who need a break without trying to get
into the student lounge. RHA also hosts an information session and
dorm tours for the Room Draw process every Spring. We are planning to
fly people over the Macalester neighborhood for an aerial view this
semester. To hear more about our exciting plans for the semester or
to help out, e-mail rha@mac.

SEXY (Students
Educating Xs and Ys) is a student-run peer sexual health education
group through Winton Health Services. SEXY members receive training
and support and lead 30 minute sexual health education sessions in
the dorms. Topics include: sexually transmitted infections, the tools
of safer sex, contraception, and everything else you could imagine
regarding safe, healthy sex. Coming soon we will be having a training
session for all new SEXY trainers on February 6th. Next month from
February 11th ƒ?” 17th is Safer Sex Awareness Week. Some events you
will see around campus are the hunt for the golden condom, Solo Sex
&the Twin Cities, and the Safer Sex Olympics. Interested in competing
in the Safer Sex Olympics? Interested in being a SEXY educator?
Contact sexy@mac!

Are you OK if We’re
UA KE?, UA KE: new student Org!
Who are the Hmong? NOT
Chinese! Nor Laotian! And NOT from Mongolia either! Wanna know who we
are? Where we come from? And why we’re here? That’s what UA KE is
for! Spring 2007 marks the birth of Macalester’s Hmong Student
Organization. The students who initiated UA KE truly believe in
raising awareness about and creating connections with the Hmong
communities. “Ua ke” in Hmong means “together” or “unity.”
This name was chosen to represent the essence of the organization and
to emphasize the organization’s dedication to building
relationships across differences. We hope to promote awareness of
Hmong history, people, culture, and identity in the Macalester
community. We also hope to create civic engagement opportunities for
students interested in learning and working with the local Hmong
communities. We meet Thursdays 9PM in the Cultural House! Contacts:
GaoNue Xiong (gxiong@mac) OR Mai Youa Moua (mmoua@mac)

WISM works to provide
support for women involved in math and science at Macalester. The
group hosts social activities such as lunches, dinners, and study
breaks. WISM also sponsors activities which focus on providing
information for women about graduate school and career opportunities,
and gives students opportunities to talk with women currently working
in science or math.

After an exciting fall
season, the Mac Women’s Rugby Team is looking forward to even
better spring season. We will practice twice a week beginning in
March, with matches most Saturdays. Rugby is for everyone; no rugby
or athletic experience is necessary to join or at the very least,
cheer for us! E-mail us at [email protected] if you’re
interested in playing or would like more information about the team.

The Yearbook is rolling
into full swing and you are a vital part. Without the Spotlight the
Yearbook will be your only lasting (and color-filled!) record of
college. We would love for every student to be pictured and we
encourage creativity. Please send us a high-resolution photo of your
beautiful face! Send submissions to: [email protected] with
your name and year in the heading. Seniors should include their
major and a 120 character quote. The Yearbook isn’t just mugshots,
though; it also includes campus events, organizations, faculty,
sports, general student life and a general record of the year. Order
one now at the Highlander for $42. If you would like to help out
with creating the book, have some photos to share, or any ideas
please contact [email protected]. Thanks!