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As most people are working indoors in order to survive the freezing cold temperatures in this arctic wasteland, campus life has been relatively uneventful. But like usual, we’ve got a few things to say about the way campus culture has been developing so far this semester.First of all, the Café Mac thievery is becoming a serious issue. We all like to sneak out the occasional apple or sandwich, but if you haven’t noticed, supplies in the cafeteria are running low. Those nice paper cups-which are nice due to their increased liquid holding capacity-aren’t there because Bon Appétit felt generous. They’re there because so many people are stealing the regular cups. Yes, they’re so conveniently displayed, but taking them from Café Mac so you can have that last cup of coffee with a cigarette just isn’t helping anyone. For a student body that is purportedly so concerned about the environment, we are being quite wasteful when we force the cafeteria to use paper cups in lieu of the stolen plastic cups. After all, those paper cups just get thrown away when you’re done with them. We understand that students should be able to take out a cookie or two now and then. After all, we’re paying, right? But if we truly want to be an environmentally conscientious campus that sets an example for other college campuses nationwide, we should look beyond our immediate desires and do what we know is best. Plus, it doesn’t speak well for our ethics if Café Mac is having to replace thousands of dollars of dishes each semester. Is this the start of a slippery slope? A couple missing is one thing, but for things to get this bad is more than a little sobering. In other words, let’s cut down the level of thievery-it’s for the greater good, we promise.

Also, remember how everyone used to fantasize about building an igloo on campus? Remember how awesome it was when we came back to school for spring semester and realized that there was an igloo on campus? (For those of you who haven’t noticed, some students built an igloo on the Bateman lawn over J-term). Well, some folks recently decided that it would be a good idea to take a bunch of baseball bats to the igloo. The reality is that there is just not too much to appreciate outdoors in Minnesota in the winter. It’s cold and desolate, and most of us don’t have the time or means necessary to do something like ice fishing or skiing. Seeing the igloo on campus provided a jolt of livelihood to everyone walking to class in the sub-zero temperatures, and there was simply no good reason to destroy it. If our campus culture has been reduced to nothing but being destructive hooligans looking for something to do-like some of the Saint Paul high school students who have recently decided to invade our campus-then we need to find some way to direct our energies elsewhere.

Speaking of destructiveness, we all felt a little pain in our hearts when the grate was painted over. Luckily, we’ve managed to create some fabulous new additions. Let’s continue to add to our historical hub of artistic expression by seeing something besides quotes about liberal politics or acid trips, and restore the grate to its former beauty.

Still, we’d like to finish on a good note and acknowledge Presiden Rosenberg’s willingness to step up and take part in the Power Beard campaign to help students make it to the Powershift conference in D.C. at the end of the month. Besides the intrinsic fabulousness of Brian Rosenberg growing a beard, it’s heartening to know that he agreed to match up to the first $1000 contributed to the campaign. It’s always good to see college officials willing to go out of their way to help get students where they need to go.