An introduction to The Living Newspaper Project: Everyone has Something by Elle Thoni, Augsburg senior and the production’s assistant director
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Have you been looking for the article about The Living Newspaper Project: Everyone Has Something, the theatre arts department’s upcoming main stage production? There isn’t one. Instead, we invite you to watch a student-made documentary about the original play, which was written and developed by Augsburg students. Why the departure from a traditional article? In many ways, The Living Newspaper Project is a departure from Augsburg’s typical approach to main stage productions. Not only was the play created by Auggies for Auggies; it was created using a wide variety of performance modes from live music to puppetry to video projections. There are plenty of surprises in store for audience members. Continue reading “Theatre arts production explores stigma attached to mental illness”
Minneapolis-St. Paul enjoys the highest civic health of any metropolitan area in the country, according to a report released on Monday by Augsburg’s Center for Democracy and Citizenship (CDC). People in the Twin Cities are the most engaged in their communities—they are more likely to volunteer, to participate in community activities, to vote, and to engage with their neighbors. This healthy civic behavior correlates with greater economic well-being and individual health and happiness. 
During the January “winterim” break, several Augsburg students traveled with Religion professor Bev Stratton to Central America for REL 480: Vocation and the Christian Faith: El Salvador. First-year Katelyn Danelski reflects below on the group’s experiences. 
This week the Augsburg College Department of Communication Studies and the Augsburg forensics team installed a commemorative plaque to highlight the achievements of students who have participated on the team. The new “Forensics Honor Roll” is next to the speech team trophy case in the Foss Atrium.
The Augsburg College wrestling program will celebrate the history of three championship teams with a reunion celebration on Friday, Feb. 4 as a part of the team’s dual with Wartburg College, a highly anticipated meeting also known as the “Battle of the ‘Burgs.”
Even if you are a theatre major, there aren’t many college courses where the semester ends with a theatrical performance. One exception is The Scholar Citizen, the introductory Honors program class at Augsburg. In this course, students read and discuss a text and then create a play, or in this year’s case four plays, as part of a theatre lab attached to the class.
Recently students from the Spring 2010 Environmental Connections class, which was taught by Michael Lansing and Joe Underhill, received $500 from the Nash Foundation to fund a student-designed campus greening project. Their project deserves an A+ for creativity and could result not only in energy savings but also in improved student fitness.
How would you express your core beliefs in a creative way? Students in Mary Lowe’s Honors section of Christian Vocation and the Search for Meaning recently showed the campus community how they responded to this challenge.
Last weekend the Augsburg campus was host to students, staff, and faculty from area colleges and universities attending the Minnesota OUT! Campus Conference (MOCC). The conference, “A deeper look at race, economics, and immigration in GLBTQ communities,” is a project of the Minnesota Campus Alliance, a statewide coalition of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members uniting for change on college and university campuses. 
Just what does “meaningful work” mean to you? During the week of Nov. 15-19, Augsburg students are invited to explore this idea through a series of events. Strommen Meaningful Work Week will include the annual etiquette dinner and daily open-house opportunities for students to talk with employers from a variety of disciplines.