By Peter Wright

In a unanimous vote on Oct. 11, the Board of Trustees approved the $7.5 million request to fund a new cooling system at Macalester, which was the only major issue discussed during the public segment of their Fall meeting.The measure was met with a brief discussion by a few members who were concerned about student response to the project, citing concerns expressed by members of the Macalester Conservation and Renewable Energy Society (MacCARES) about the process the college used to settle on a design for the new system.

Vice President for Administration and Finance David Wheaton explained the schools position, saying that they hadn’t realized students would be interested in that type of project, and saying that Geothermal heating and cooling, one of the alternatives that MacCARES had expressed interest in exploring, simply wasn’t feasible.

Since the vote, construction has now started on the north side of the arts building.

In addition to the cooling system request and a related financial proposal, the board spent a big part of the meeting talking about several changes at the school since they last assembled.

President Brian Rosenberg introduced Franz Meyer, the new student liaison to the board, and Macalester’s new provost, Kathy Murray.

Several members also commented on the Leonard Center.This was the first time the board has met since the building was finished.