Articles by Yoni Conn
That's How the Jets Lag
Yonatan (“Yoni”) Conn ’28 (He/Him) is one of the Features Editors. Yoni is a Media and Cultural Studies Major with a Political Science minor. He was born in Los Angeles, California but raised on Long Island, New York. His ultimate life goal is to end up as a contestant on The Amazing Race or Jet Lag: The Game.
Impact of Mac’s “bubble” on the Hmong community
Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Hmong people in the United States (U.S.). According to the American Community Survey, over 100,000 Hmong individuals reside within Minnesota, encompassing 1.8 percent of the state’s population, with the Twin Cities being a center of Hmong culture in the U.S. Though the culture is prevalent in the greater Twin Cities, many Hmong students do not feel the same sense of Hmong belonging at Macalester.
Lady Gaga’s emotional “The Mayhem Ball” wows St. Paul
Since I was little, Lady Gaga’s music has been a constant in my life. Some of my earliest memories of her music include running laps in kindergarten to “Just Dance,” thinking her song “The Edge of Glory” was called “The Edge of Chlorine” and being fascinated by her awe-inspiring persona. As I grew up, her art has stayed alongside me.
English Department? More like The Tortured Poets Department
Are you ready for it? Students in a brand-new English class certainly are. Taught by DeWitt Wallace Professor of English and Creative Writing James Dawes, “Emily Dickinson and Taylor Swift” provides students with an opportunity to discuss the works of the two titular women. In this English topics course, students learn, analyze and engage with the works of Taylor Swift, ranging from her songs to her music videos, alongside Emily Dickinson’s poetry.
Resistance through art: Mac during Metro Surge
Categories: February 19, 2026 On Feb. 12, White House border czar Tom Homan announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be significantly reducing the number of agents deployed in Minnesota. This announcement came after weeks of relentless protest and organizing by activist coalitions and community members across the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.
Geology students rock Argentina over J-Term
Categories: January 29, 2026 Over J-Term, a group of 16 Macalester students and five geology department faculty traveled to Argentina in a new short-term study away program. The two-credit course “GEOL 201: Geological Excursions in Argentina,” enabled geology students to have hands-on experience with rock formations that they have studied in previous courses.
Scot-ify Wrapped 2025
Categories: December 4, 2025 This Wednesday morning, many Macalester students woke up and checked Instagram to see that their friends had already posted their Spotify Wrapped — a yearly compilation of Spotify’s users’ listening habits. It takes their listening analytics and turns them into an interactive experience — which people usually skip to see their most listened to songs and artists of the year.
Bon Appétit hour cuts impact employees, staffing
Categories: November 20, 2025 Returning to school this fall, many Macalester students have likely noticed changes at the college’s dining locations. When Bon Appétit workers received their schedule for this school year, they noticed significant alterations to their hours and work processes, causing loss in pay and benefits, and adding to stress, which has led some workers to look elsewhere for work.
State Rep. Her defeats incumbent Carter in mayoral election
This Tuesday, St. Paul held elections for city mayor. At 12:07 a.m. on Wednesday morning, State Rep. Kaohly Vang Her was declared the winner by the Ramsey County Election Office after second-round vote reallocations were determined. Her narrowly-defeated two-term incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter. Her currently represents Macalester-Groveland among other neighborhoods in district 64A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
How to vote against someone you know
Can you vote against someone you have known for many years? Next week, I will be making this awkward decision. It might seem like my answer was hard to come by, but it came as a no brainer to me. Because of the candidate’s political platform being in stark contrast to my own, the candidate does not have my vote.
Grand Avenue construction affects businesses, varied impacts
Categories: October 9, 2025 Since the beginning of construction in the spring, the stretch of Grand Avenue between Snelling and Fairview Avenues, a normally bustling business district, has undergone a major facelift by the City of Saint Paul. The construction shut down the road, rerouted the 63 bus line and closed the surrounding streets and sidewalks, affecting the business along the normally lively avenue.
Can Ticketmaster’s woes be fixed?
Over the past week and a half, much of my emotional investment has been dedicated towards a single entity: Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster’s system of ticket distribution is unfair towards fans and instead encourages scalpers and bots to snatch up tickets before most concert goers get to them. The process prioritizes sheer luck over a stress-free environment. Two of my favorite artists announced new concert dates, and of course, I was eager to get tickets.
Macalester welcomes Class of 2029
On Monday, Aug. 25, the Macalester community officially welcomed most of the Class of 2029. Throughout the day, incoming students were welcomed by Orientation Leaders (OLs), Residential Assistants, faculty, staff and other community members as they moved into their dorms, began to settle onto campus and said their goodbyes to their loved ones. The Class of 2029 consists of 536 students, a drop from 560 students in the Class of 2028.
Pi Sigma Alpha hosts 19th annual political science conference
On Wednesday, April 2, Pi Sigma Alpha, Macalester’s chapter of the National Political Science Honor Society, held its 19th annual political science conference in the Weyerhaeuser Boardroom.
St. Paul sunrises Green New Deal resolution
On March 12, the St. Paul City Council unanimously voted to pass the “Advocating for a Green New Deal” Resolution. This resolution was created by Sunrise Twin Cities, the Macalester-based chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led political action organization advocating for legislation to combat the ongoing climate crisis. St. Paul joins a list of cities including Seattle, Boston and Ithaca, N.Y. that have adopted a new climate framework based off of the Green New Deal.
Macalester aims for Brighter future with new campaign
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Macalester community was invited to an event on Shaw Field to celebrate the launch of “Brighter: The Macalester College Campaign.” The free event featured food trucks, an ice skating rink and a Highland Coo mittens giveaway. While President Suzanne Rivera spoke briefly about the campaign, and the Brighter campaign logo illuminated the sides of the Leonard Center and the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, very few specifics were shared.
Macalester hosts “50 Years After Vietnam” counter-commemoration
Throughout the 2024-25 academic year, Macalester will be hosting a series of events to counter-commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the United States’ war in Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, the United States fully withdrew from Vietnam. This date is contemporarily considered the end of the Vietnam War among those living in Vietnam and the diaspora.
Mac students drums with The Killers at Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza: one of the United States’ biggest musical festivals. Hundreds of thousands of people descend onto Chicago’s Grant Park every August to see their favorite artists perform at a four-day-long music extravaganza. For most fans, Lollapalooza is a chance to see their favorite music icons rock out on stage. However, one Mac student didn’t just watch: he performed front and center. Oscar Reza Bautista ’27 was invited by the band The Killers to play the drums with them during their set.
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