Macalester students get their Dog Day Afternoon

Courtesy of Macalester College

College stress relief.

That's nice. But what's wrong with, say, beer?

"Dog Day Afternoon" is scheduled for Saturday at Bateman Plaza on the St. Paul campus. The idea is for faculty, staff and alumni to bring their Fidos to campus so that students wound tighter than a drum over impending finals can hug a pooch and pretend they're a million miles away from their troubles.

That's a more constructive approach to stress relief than beer, college spokeswoman Barbara K. Laskin told us this morning about the twice-yearly event.

"It's just a nice way to break the ice," she said. "Very low key."

Which might be true. But we can still hear the far-off call of "Toga!"

Courtesy of Macalester College

Dog Day Afternoon