This coming fall, Oles can expect to see more than a few changes around campus, ranging from updates to school policy and administration to changes in buildings.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes will be the expansion of the Cage, which will include 70 new tables, better lighting and more electrical outlets. Renovations for the Cage involve shuffling office spaces in Buntrock, including the already relocated Buntrock information desk. These changes will take place this summer, but students will be able to stay on top of the renovations through the St. Olaf Web page.

Fall semester will also see the near-elimination of bottled water on campus, a move that will be implemented slowly over the summer.

After a referendum brought about by the group Take Back the Tap passed last year with 86 percent of participating students supporting the idea, St. Olaf and Bon Appétit sought to collaborate with the group to find options concerning bottled water that balanced institutional necessities while honoring the student vote.

In an email to students on April 25, Vice President Greg Kneser outlined the changes that will take effect by the fall semester. St. Olaf will eliminate bottled water from vending machines and the bag lunch line and will install water dispensers in bathrooms of residence halls and academic buildings.

After undergoing extensive renovations this fall, the Flaten Art Barn will reopen its doors. The new building, the brainchild of former St. Olaf professor and art department founder Arnold Flaten ’22, has been painstakingly recreated from the dimensions of the original Art Barn over the past five years.

“The timber frame for the building was built five years ago, and we only just now got around to putting it together,” Kneser said. “It will be used for classes, meetings and events and will eventually have an outdoor space as well. It’s going to be really cool – it’s a beautiful space.”

Additionally, Hilleboe Hall will become the first ‘green’ dorm on campus, housing students who will have their rooms Green Room Certified and will participate in environmental sustainability-related learning.

“Jim Farrell, Professor in History and Environmental Studies, approached me five to seven years ago about connecting housing and environmental issues,” said Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Pamela McDowell, adding that recent funding has made the project possible for the 2013-2014 academic year.

McDowell said that there was significant interest in the new green dorm, as 60 percent of the rooms were filled at room draw, and now they are almost 100 percent filled.

Fall will also usher in the class of 2017. Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Jeffrey McLaughlin said that there is no need for current Oles to be concerned that the incoming class will have a record enrollment as in past years.

“We are currently projecting about 750 new first-year students,” McLaughlin said. This number is significantly smaller than the current first-year class of 865 students. The incoming class will only be 42 percent male but boasts record enrollments of both international students and U.S. citizens who define themselves as multicultural.

“Our overall selection process was carefully focused to ensure that we did not enroll a class as big as our current first-year class,” McLaughlin said. “The increase in applicants, combined with our desire to have a smaller class, meant that we were more selective.”

McDowell said that she is not worried about finding housing for the new class, which has been a problem in past years. First years will be housed in Ellingson, Hoyme, Kildahl and Kittelsby, and McDowell does not believe any floors of Mohn will be used for first-years.

Another big change that students perhaps may not be aware of is the retirement of college treasurer Alan Norton.

“He’s the person that has been really consistent in making sure that finances work,” Kneser said. “He’s terrific. It’s a very big deal to the college [that he is retiring], and the search is on to replace him.”

The fall of 2013 will undoubtedly be ushered in with a bang, thanks to all of the exciting changes, both visible and beneath the surface, happening on campus.

This spring, Oles have the opportunity to help out a good cause with just a swipe of their student ID cards.

Starting on Wednesday, May 1 and running through the last day that flex dollars may be spent, students can donate any unused flex dollars toward the Food Shelf in Northfield. Students can donate in increments of $1 and $5, which will then be used by the Food Shelf in Northfield to buy fresh produce from local farmers to give to families in need.

This project is the brainchild of Solvejg Wastvedt ’14 Wastvedt is a member of the editorial staff of the Manitou Messenger. She explained how the idea came to her after seeing Oles trying to get rid of their flex dollars at the end of the year by purchasing cakes, cases of juice or stacks of cookies.

“Students feel pressured to spend all their flex dollars at the end of the year because there is no opportunity to donate them or use them in another way,” Wastvedt said. “I felt the option was needed to do something constructive with that money.”

Wastvedt did research on the possibility and found out that several other schools with Bon Appétit have given students similar options, including Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. With the help of Judy Bickel, program director of the Community Action Center of Northfield CAC, and Hana Ferronato ’14, the idea to donate the money to the Food Shelf to buy local produce was formed.

“That way, the money stays within the community,” Wastvedt said. Wastvedt then approached Peter Abrahamson, general manager at Bon Appétit St. Olaf College, with her idea.

“The Cage has never done anything like this before, simply because no one has ever approached us with an idea like this,” Abrahamson said. “I wasn’t hesitant to try it, I just didn’t have a lot of experience with a project like this. But her project seemed to fit within the Bon Appétit family, so to speak, especially because it keeps things local.”

Wastvedt wants students to be aware that they can donate as much as they wish, but the donations will follow Bon Appétit’s guidelines for food cost. When you buy $10 worth of food at the Cage, the Cage then gives you $4 worth of food. The other $6 goes toward paying wages, running the Cage, machinery and paying the people who produce the yogurt, among other costs. This 40/60 breakdown will be applied to any money donated to the Food Shelf.

Abrahamson wanted to stress that this policy is standard among restaurants and the Cage’s policy is significantly more generous than those of other food service establishments, particularly because the Cage incurs higher costs for local, sustainable food.

“We don’t want this fact discouraging students who may donate in any way,” he said. “The money still goes to a great cause and will be put to good use.” The donations, which will be taken right at the register in the Cage, go directly toward the Food Shelf operated by the CAC.

In the past, St. Olaf students have aided the CAC by volunteering, putting on fundraisers and holding food drives, but there have been fewer of these in recent years. Bickel said she was thrilled to hear of Wastvedt’s project and has very high hopes for it.

“The CAC is committed to ending hunger in Northfield. No one needs to go hungry [here],” Bickel said. “We hope Solvejg’s project is wildly successful, and I personally want students on campus to know that their donations will be spent wisely and entirely on fresh produce purchased directly from local farmers.”

Students can begin making donations next week.