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Staying healthy during finals

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finalsAs finals week draws near, students everywhere are frantically preparing for the last big push of the semester. There are papers to write, research to be done, and endless amounts of studying to prepare for final exams. This workload often drives students to skimp on sleep and eat not the most nutritious or regular meals (e.g., pizza and caffeinated soda at 2 a.m.). Add deadline-induced stress to this mix, and it is easy to see how student health can deteriorate.

Getting a lot of sleep and eating well would be the best solutions, but they’re unrealistic for many. However, there are other steps that students can take to try to stay healthy during finals. Continue reading “Staying healthy during finals” →

New student lounge under construction

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cctfThe long-awaited student lounge is now under construction. The student lounge will be located in the Christensen Center, in the space where the bookstore used to be before it moved to the new Oren Gateway Center. The new lounge is being built to create a student space that supports student, faculty, and staff interaction, provides a sense of welcome, and serves as “home” for commuter students. The Christensen Center will be undergoing other exciting new changes within the near future.

In December 2006, the Christensen Center Task Force (CCTF) posted an online survey designed to gather the input of the Augsburg community on how to remodel the Christensen Center. Survey questions were developed by the task force with the assistance of Sociology Professor Diane Pike and Liaison-for-Computing Scott Krajewski. Continue reading “New student lounge under construction” →

Holiday shopping around Augsburg

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shops2Looking for a unique holiday gift without having to deal with the long lines and crowded parking lots of a mall? Do you want your dollar to support locally owned, small businesses? Have you considered hand-made or organic gifts that not only “wow” your loved one but also help Third World artists make a living?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, have you shopped in the neighborhood recently? Within blocks of Augsburg’s campus you can find several stores filled with unique and affordable gifts, perfect for family or friends. Continue reading “Holiday shopping around Augsburg” →

Honors program performance Dec. 8

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honorsOn Dec. 8, the first-year honors program students will perform a series of vignettes, entitled “Freudian Fairy Tales…and Other Stories.”

The series begins at 7 p.m. in the Sateren Auditorium, which is in the Music Hall. Admission to this production is free, and Augsburg students, faculty, and staff are welcome.

“Freudian Fairy Tales… and Other Stories” features four 15-minute vignettes, each written, performed and produced by the first-year honors program students. The vignettes feature themes such as love, God, and the meaning of life. They also feature flamenco dancing, modern twists on fairy tales, and a relation of the work of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud to modern-day life.

Is etiquette still important in business?

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etiquetteThe Center for Service, Work & learning (CSWL) and Augsburg’s Student Business Organization (ABO) sponsored a Business Etiquette dinner on Tuesday, Nov. 20.  The event was held to educate Augsburg students about the do’s and don’ts of certain business etiquette rules needed for any business lunch or dinner.

This was the first year that this event was held on the Augsburg campus.  The event was held in the Marshall Room on the main level of the Christensen Center. Some 23 students with business backgrounds gained knowledge in appropriate business etiquette.  Darcy Matz, a business etiquette teacher for 17 years, led the event in a 2-hour discussion and dinner dealing with proper dinner etiquette.  Matz stressed the importance of how essential proper etiquette is and how improper business etiquette can be costly to your image.  Continue reading “Is etiquette still important in business?” →

From the South Pole to Augsburg

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jansen_vocatioNovember and December in Minnesota bring with them cold, short days. However, they are tropical in comparison to the days at the Amundsen-Scott South

Pole Station in Antarctica. Katy Jensen, who now lives in St. Paul, was the Station Manager there from 1992 – 2002. She will be sharing her polar experience on Dec. 5 at 10:20 a.m. in the Hoversten Chapel as part of Augsburg’s Vocatio Series.

Jensen earned her degree from Colorado College and later joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Commissioned Officer’s Corps. After serving 2 years aboard research vessels conducting oceanographic mapping and surveying missions, she was assigned to the U.S. Antarctic Program. That turned into a 10-year-long adventure of days with endless sun and others of perpetual night. Continue reading “From the South Pole to Augsburg” →

"10.10.10" exhibit in student gallery

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101010The newest addition to the student gallery in Christensen Center is Phase 1 of the nonprofit organization OverExposure’s newest initiative, entitled What’s New? OverExposure creates partnerships between photographers and tax-exempt nonprofits.

The exhibit, featuring 10 Photographers, 10 Neighborhoods and 10 perspectives, will be in the Christensen Center from Nov. 7 – Dec. 2.

What’s New? is a 2-year project that will document the changing demographics of Twin Cities neighborhoods. OverExposure will partner photographers with Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhood and community organizations to document the diversity and changing population of the Twin Cities. Organizations will help photographers identify neighborhood characteristics, places of interaction, and events and activities that signify changes and challenges created by growing diversity. Photographers will document and artistically interpret these changes.  Continue reading “"10.10.10" exhibit in student gallery” →

Vocatio chapel series continues Nov. 28

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vocatioDr. Deon Stuthman will speak in Hoversten Chapel on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 10:20 a.m. as part of the Vocatio Chapel Series on Science as Vocation.

Stuthman is a plant geneticist at the University of Minnesota with special interest areas of oat genetics and breeding; durable pest resistance and sustainable agricultural systems. He has a special interest in communicating with the agricultural and the general public about the urgency of reducing the environmental damage, such as soil erosion, generated while producing field crops. His research seeks to help answer questions surrounding world hunger and nutrition.

Following chapel, Stuthman will join interested community members for lunch in East Commons at 11:00. People interested in joining the group for lunch should contact Ross Murray at murray@augsburg.edu.

This chapel talk is supported by Exploring Our Gifts: The Lilly Grant at Augsburg.

Ngugi speaks at Augsburg

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ngugiNgugi wa Thiong’o, the renowned Kenyan novelist, playwright, and essayist, and author of Augsburg’s Many Voices text, The River Between, will speak at Augsburg on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. in Hoversten Chapel.

He will be on campus to give a public lecture and do a reading from his sprawling latest novel, The Wizard of the Crow.

Ngugi has sustained prolific productivity for decades with some 25 books to his name, and at least six distinguished literary awards for his work. In his essays, Ngugi has confronted with remarkable stamina, persistence, and consistency the somewhat intractable question of the role of language in cultural imperialism. He continues efforts to empower the languages of formerly colonized nations in his important role as director of the International Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California, Irvine. Continue reading “Ngugi speaks at Augsburg” →

Velkommen Jul: escorting in the season

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jul06Augsburg’s strong Norwegian heritage shows, especially during the holiday season. Once again, it is almost time for the traditional Scandinavian Velkommen Jul celebration hosted by the Augsburg Associates on Nov. 30, starting with Chapel service at 10:20 a.m. and moving to the Christensen Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Velkommen Jul is translated as “Escorting in the Season,” and it is an annual Christmas celebration you don’t want to miss. The event will feature Scandinavian Yuletide music, many tasty treats, handcrafted items, Norwegian bunads, and a visit from St. Nicholas during chapel.

The Augsburg College Associates, who number around 100, are a service auxiliary of volunteers whose mission includes fundraising for special projects and scholarships in support of Augsburg college. In the nearly 20 years since their founding, the Associates have given to Augsburg more than a half million dollars from their fundraising. They host Velkommen Jul as a service to the Augsburg community and as a way to celebrate its Norwegian heritage.

Silje Bjelland, a current Augsburg student from Norway, remembers all the different preparations they make back home that lead up to Christmas Eve. “We have an Advent calendar to mark the days,” she recalls. “For each day, you open another door in the calendar and some like to have little present or a chocolate there.”

“We also start baking cakes and cookies, which should be seven different types,” Silje explains. “They are cookies such as ‘kvite kakemenn,’ ‘pepperkaker,’ and ‘lussekatter’ to share with friends and neighbors. ‘Julekake,’ a popular Christmas bread filled with raisins and candied fruit, is also baked at Christmas.”

Despite starting their Christmas preparations with Advent, Silje says that some of the fun is saved for the very end. “Many families, as a tradition, decorate their Christmas tree on Dec. 23, which is the ‘little Christmas Eve,'” she says.  “Christmas Eve is the big day, where the families gather for Christmas dinner in the evening, and after the dinner, we open presents.”