What Macalester students did during their recent sit-in — and the letter they received

You may have read the Star Tribune's piece on discipline being meted out against some of the students who participated in the sit-in of Macalester College's administration building over the college's ties to Wells Fargo.

I spoke to one of the 17 students who were apparently disciplined -- freshman Alex Bartiromo. He said the students disciplined were indeed the ones who'd blocked the doors to the building, thus keeping administrators from working there.

Although he said he expected some kind of punishment, he considered the measures the college took "disproportionate" to the violation. Among those penalties, students couldn't take internships for credit that next term, nor could they participate in study-abroad programs.

That, Bartiromo told me, hurts students academically:

"Some people can't apply for internships and can't complete their majors. (And) study abroad is part of academics."

The controversy has generated more than a dozen comments on a Facebook page for Mac alumni, which you can see here.

I asked Bartiromo to explain the Facebook comment by Kevin James Williams, who mentioned "certain bodily functions" that took place in President Brian Rosenberg's office:

Bartiromo told me the 10 students couldn't get access to the bathrooms, so urinated into a bucket of kitty litter. He said that lasted only a couple of hours before administrators gave the protesters a pass code to the administrative bathrooms.

Bartiromo told me:

"It didn't smell great."

I was able to get my hands on an email from one of the students. It discusses the discipline to be meted out. I was asked to omit the student's name, so here it is:

I have calls into the Macalester spokeswoman requesting comment.

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