Campus Alert Archive
Macalester

Three Miles from the Third Precinct: Macalester Locks Down as the Twin Cities Burn

MNcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the evening of May 29, 2020 -- four days after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police and one day after the Third Precinct was burned -- Macalester College issued an emergency advisory relaying Governor Tim Walz's 8:00 PM CDT curfew for Minneapolis and Saint Paul to its 2,200 students. Macalester's Saint Paul campus sits approximately 3 miles south of the Lake Street/Midway corridor where extensive arson and looting was concentrated on May 28-29.

Alerts
2
Response
min
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Macalester College
Private Liberal Arts · MN
~2,200 studentsMac Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionGovernor Walz Executive Order 20-65 (curfew), Macalester text reconstructed from standard Mac Alert templates and the state order447 chars
Mac Alert: Governor Tim Walz has imposed an 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew for the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul effective tonight. All Macalester students, faculty, and staff must comply with the curfew and remain at their current location until 6:00 a.m. Saturday. Avoid Lake Street, University Avenue, and downtown Saint Paul. The Minnesota National Guard has been activated. Mac Public Safety is on heightened alert. Updates will follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Sent on Friday, May 29 -- the night after the Third Precinct burned and as arson spread to the Lake Street corridor
Macalester's Saint Paul campus is approximately 3 miles south of Lake Street/Midway and roughly 4 miles east of the Third Precinct
Named three specific avoidance corridors (Lake Street, University Avenue, downtown Saint Paul) -- all of which experienced significant arson and damage between May 28-30
Most Macalester students had already left campus for the summer due to COVID-19 -- limiting the on-campus population at risk
The 8 PM to 6 AM curfew was the first imposed on Minneapolis-Saint Paul since the 1968 unrest
UPDATEEmail+1d
Approximate reconstructionMPR News reporting on extended Walz curfew, Mac Alert text reconstructed420 chars
Mac Alert: Governor Walz has extended the 8:00 p.m. curfew for Minneapolis and Saint Paul through Monday morning, June 1, at 4:00 a.m. The Minnesota National Guard continues to operate throughout the Twin Cities. All Macalester students, faculty, and staff should remain at their current location after 8:00 p.m. tonight. Public Safety is staffed around the clock. If you require emergency assistance, call 651-696-6555.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Walz extended the curfew through Monday morning June 1 -- by which point the immediate arson had subsided but heavy National Guard presence continued
Included Macalester Public Safety's direct emergency line (651-696-6555) -- standard practice for small colleges where students cannot easily reach campus police via 911
Came one day before the start of President Suzanne Rivera's tenure (June 1, 2020) -- making this curfew the first major test of her incoming administration
By Sunday May 31, more than 55 people had been arrested in protests in Saint Paul alone
Context

Background

On the evening of May 29, 2020 -- four days after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police and one day after the Third Precinct was burned -- Macalester College relayed Governor Tim Walz's curfew order to its 2,200 students. Macalester's Saint Paul campus sits at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Snelling Avenue, approximately 3 miles south of the Lake Street/Midway corridor where the most intense arson and looting was concentrated, and about 4 miles east of the burned Third Precinct in Minneapolis. The 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM curfew -- the first imposed on the Twin Cities since the 1968 unrest -- would be extended through Monday morning, June 1, the first day of President Suzanne Rivera's tenure. Most Macalester students had already left campus for the summer due to COVID-19, sharply limiting the on-campus population at risk. The crisis nonetheless became a defining early test for Macalester's incoming administration, with student organizers under the @blmatmac account calling on Rivera to denounce the National Guard deployment and the curfew as racist enforcement tools.
Analysis

Key Findings

Macalester sits approximately 3 miles from the Lake Street arson corridor and 4 miles from the burned Third Precinct -- among the closest small liberal arts colleges in the country to a major civil-unrest epicenter
First curfew imposed on the Twin Cities since the 1968 unrest -- relayed through Mac Alert to all 2,200 students
Came on the day before President Suzanne Rivera's tenure began -- making the response a defining early test for incoming leadership
COVID-19 had emptied most of campus weeks earlier -- limiting on-campus risk but raising questions about communication with dispersed students
Student activism under the @blmatmac account would shape Macalester's anti-racism commitments through summer 2020
Outcome
Most Macalester students had already left campus for the summer due to COVID-19 closures, sharply limiting the on-campus population at risk. The state curfew was extended through Monday morning, June 1, 2020. [The Mac Weekly subsequently reported](https://themacweekly.com/2020/06/blmatmac-students-spearhead-anti-racist-action-at-macalester/) that student organizers under the @blmatmac account would call on incoming President Suzanne Rivera (whose first day was June 1, 2020) to denounce the National Guard deployment and the curfew as racist enforcement tools.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Emergency Executive Order 20-65 Implementing a Temporary Nighttime Curfew -- Governor Tim Walz
    lrl.mn.gov
  2. Student Paper
    @blmatmac students spearhead anti-racist action at Macalester -- The Mac Weekly
    themacweekly.com
  3. News
    Floyd protests: Protesters march, block traffic; Walz extends curfew -- MPR News
    mprnews.org
  4. Source
    George Floyd protests in Minneapolis-Saint Paul -- Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  5. Source
    Macalester College -- Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
civil-unrestgeorge-floydblmmacalestersaint-paulminnesotacurfewnational-guardsmall-collegespring-2020
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion