Are your experiences represented in the Archives?

The Macalester College Archives collects and makes materials available about the college and the people who are part of its community. While it’s easier to acquire committee meeting minutes and administrative reports, those only tell a part of Mac’s many stories. Our hope is that everyone is able to find themselves and their experiences reflected in the Archives, and that our collections can connect past, current, and future students. In order to do that, we need materials from you!

What to donate? The Archives is always looking for materials about everyday student life, including:

  • photos, video, and audio (with people and dates identified), whether of events and programs, or just friends and social life
  • student organization meeting notes, minutes, rosters, charters
  • zines, newsletters, and other student publications
  • student band materials such as demos or flyers
  • activism, protest, and organizing materials
  • event posters, flyers, brochures, and planning materials
  • social media posts (images or text/discussion) and emails
  • scrapbooks or journals

Our collections representing individual student experiences are particularly lacking from the 1970s through the 2000s. Do you have materials from your student days? Areas of particular interest are:

  • BIPOC student experiences
  • EEO (Expanded Educational Opportunities) program
  • Black House, Hispanic House, American Indian Center, and Cultural House
  • LGBTQ+ student experiences
  • activism around the aforementioned or other issues (whether international, national, or institutional), such as apartheid, sweatshop labor, need-blind policies, political organizing, etc.
  • WMCN and Springfest; other long-standing Mac events, traditions, and groups

How to donate? Email archives@macalester.edu to connect with us about what you have and how to get it to us! We collect physical print and photographic materials as well as digital files. We prefer original items, but are happy to chat about scanning possibilities and reproductions.

What not to donate? Unfortunately, space is a concern so we can’t take mass-produced items like mugs or t-shirts—but we’d love photos of the artwork or designs on them. And we already have plenty of copies of the following:

  • The Mac Weekly
  • Spotlight (remember the photo directory?) although we lack copies of these specific years: 1952/1953, 1970/1971, 1972/1973, and 1974/1975
  • The Mac yearbook