February 22. 2002 .C: 4.; page 8 Back against the boys in black A split with the Tommies enables a rematch with the Gusties Paul Putt Sports Editor If you missed the past weekend of Augsburg men's hockey, you missed the most important, dra- matic, and exciting two games that MIAC hockey has to... Show moreFebruary 22. 2002 .C: 4.; page 8 Back against the boys in black A split with the Tommies enables a rematch with the Gusties Paul Putt Sports Editor If you missed the past weekend of Augsburg men's hockey, you missed the most important, dra- matic, and exciting two games that MIAC hockey has to offer. The Auggies needed to score two points on the weekend in order to guarantee avoiding a āplay-inā game. St. Thomas, ranked number one, came into Augsā burg Ice Arena against the Auggies and faced a team that was equally matched for them, if not better in some respects. The Tommies put the ļ¬rst points on the board after scoring on a Shorthanded attempt when the shot was riļ¬ed top shelf to give St. Thomas the lead. A minute and 17 seconds later Jake Wegscheider converted on a rebound. with Brad Schwartzbauer and Brad Holzinger picking up assists on the Power Play goal. Wegscheider closed out the scoring when Jaro Cesky picked a St. Thomas defenseman setting up the Power Play and fed Wegscheider near the red line for a breakaway. Wegs put the puck past the goalieās blocker for the lead. The second period saw St. Thomas pull even when a rebound was put in on the Power Play. With the score 2-2. the emotion of the fans picked up and reached a fever pitch when Joe Pontrelli broke the deadlock with a tip of a David May pass to the top of the net giving the Auggies the lead. With ā:37 left to play, the crowd watched the seconds tick away. The Tommies started to press the Auggies from the eight-minute mark on, constantly trying to generā ate offense, as the Auggies went into a defensive shell. Finally with 2:32 left to play, the Tommies got a break as a centering feed found it's way the back of the net after a rebound. With the outlook appearing like overtime, the Tommies kept pressing and the Tommiesā star player, Tony Lawrence, got the game-winner with only 22.5 seconds remaining. Pete Samargia made 33 saves in the losing effort. After learning that the Concordia Cobber had won the early game on Saturday, the Auggies knew that if they lost the second game they would be going on the road to Moorhead. With this knowledge, they headed into the Coliā seum and played their best game of the season. Photo by: Paul Putt Goalie Pete Samargia desperately tries to cover the net after Tony Lawrence's centering pass. Pete had 53 saves on the weekend. Wegscheider continued his brilliant weekend in picking up the ļ¬rst Auggie goal, his third goal on the weekend, on the ļ¬rst shot of the game. Nick Murray scored the Auggiesā second short- handed goal of the weekend, putting the Auggies up 2-1 and in control for the rest of the game. Unlike the previous game where Augsburg had only a one-goal lead, the Auggies bought some insur- ance as Brad Holzinger ļ¬red a laser from the blue line, giving the Auggies a two-goal lead. Unfortunately, the Tommies immediately coun- tered with a goal of their own on the Power Play a minute-plus later. Yet, unlike the last game, the Auggies did not go i into a defensive shell, but kept the pressure on the Tommie defense, led by the gritty performance of the black line, Jan Lasek, Shawn Carney, and Pat Hook. The Auggies bottled the Tommies up and claimed an impressive 3-2 win over the sixth ranked team in the country. Augsburg ļ¬nished the regular season at 14-8-3 overall and 10-5-1 in MIAC play, and has won eight 3 of its last nine games. Augsburg is 11ā3-2 in the last ļ¬fteen games. The Auggies now will face Gustavus, the only 1 team that swept the Auggies in the regular season 3-0 . and 2-1, in the semiļ¬nals with the winner in the MIAC championship game. The Gusties are led by goalie Dan Melde, who leads every statistic in the MIAC with a .947 save percentage and a 1.64 G.A.A. The game will take place at Schwainās Super Rink in Blaine on Friday, March I. The Tommies will await the winners of the Con- cordia vs. St. Johnās āplayāin" game on Sunday in the other semiļ¬nal. Gustavus all that stands in the way of play-offs Paul Putt Sports Editor The Augsburg womenās hockey team is in a ļ¬ght that models like a boxing match. They had the wind knocked out of them early in season with a nine-game winless streak for a near fall. bounced back with three strong wins over St. Olaf and Bethe], were knocked down for a second time versus Concordia for two losses. yet got back up punch- ing with four MIAC wins over Hamline and St. Catherineās. The problem for the Auggies is that if they stumble again versus Gustavus. it will be a technical knockout. as the Auggies would be eliminated from play-off con- tention. The Auggies did well to make the MIAC race a battle after St. Benedictās all but assumed the ļ¬fth seed in the play-offs. but they fell twice to second-place St. Mary's. The Auggiesā sweep of St. Catherineās means that they will get in the playoffs with one point. Easy enough. right? Well, Gustavus is currently undefeated; so. expecting a win would be rather over zealous. But a tie is possible as Gusā tavus, previously on pace for a perfect season, tied lowly St. Olaf 1-1 at St. Olaf. This game gives hope to the ladies, who need to tie to secure a trip to lovely Moorhead for the āplay-inā game between the Cob- bers and Auggies. It has been a focus for how to attack the MIAC juggernaut. Katie Deschneau. Kenzie Stensland. and Sarah Moe are ranked seventh. fourth. and ļ¬rst in scoring in the MIAC. with a com- bined 96 points. In comparison. the Auggie team has ll-t points total in MIAC games, with Lauren C hezick lead- ing with 20 points. The person whom the Auggies will rely on and who will have to be the workhorse again is Katie Fedoryk. who is sitting with a 2.53 G.A.A. and .916 save percentage. Fedoryk is second in the league in the number of saves and third in minutes played, whereas Gusā tavus' goaltenders have split the playing time almost exactly 50-50. Upfront, the Auggies must be disciplined, as they have collected the second most penalty minutes in the league. If the Auggies get in penalty trouble, the Gusties will eat them alive, as their Power Play is click- ing above 35 percent. Even if the Auggies go on the Power Play. it may not be a huge advantage, as the Gusties have let in only four goals when down a skater and have scored seven goals Shorthanded. What is the approach to take against the Goliath? Like David, hopefully Coach Jill Pohtilla has found a weakness and will get the team in the play- offs. The games are Friday at 7:35 pm. at Augsburg Ice Arena and Saturday at 2:05 pm. at Gustavus. {A lg ā Brandi Bennett ā Staff WriterAļ¬u 1, .,,,,,, ._. .. ___ ___ā The Augsburg Menās and Womenās Basketball teams ended their seasons last Saturday with a pair of losses to Gustavus. The men ļ¬nished with a record of 10ā 15, while the women ļ¬nished 8- 17. It was a disappointing season for both the Auggie teams that said goodbye to six seniors who played their ļ¬nal game in Augs- burg uniforms. It was a bittersweet moment for the women, who held Senior Day before their last game of the sea- son. Allison Illa, Carrie Schwartz, Rowena Sizer, Jennie LaManna, and Betsy Gessell were honored for their contributions to the pro- gram before an exuberant home crowd consisting mostly of friends and family. The most poignant moment of the afternoon came not at the end of the game--the Auggies lost 67- 52-ābut at the beginning. Senior , Carrie Schwartz, who had a sea- i son-ending knee injury in January, ā won an honorary tipāoff. She i limped off court to a standing ova- i tion to cheer her team on from the bench. Weād like to say goodbye and l thank you to the seniors who gave four great years to Augsburg in the pursuit of athletic excellence. 1 Allison Illa leaves Augsburg with three double-doubles her senior year. A communications major, she will graduate in May with a 3.9 GPA. In her four years, , Illa was named to the Verizon Academic AllāDistrict Team twice. She is a four-year starter in the post who averaged 5.2 points and 4.5 rebounds over her career. l She placed third in blocked shots in our schoolās history, with a total of 48 blocks. l Jennie LaManna has been a solid contributor for the Auggies, coming off the bench to play three positions this year. LaManna, a health and physical education \ Betsy Gessel, Rowena Sizer, Allison Illa, Carrie Schwartz, and Jennie LaManna celebrate their last game together as Auggies. ies say 00 bye to seniors major, played in 52 games for the Auggies, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.7 RPG. Betsy Gessel retumed to the team this year after a severe knee injury that required surgery. Ges- sell averaged 3.2 points and 1.94 rebounds over her career. She is also a communications major, and maintains a 3.0 GPA. Carrie Schwartz ended a two- year career for the Auggies. She transferred to Augsburg last year to become a cornerstone on the defensive end. In two years she totaled 98 steals for the Auggies and averaged 4.8 RPG. She will graduate in May with a health and physical education degree. Rowena Sizer joined the team last year as well, joining Schwartz as the second Auggie to transfer from Rochester Community Col- lege. She became a consistent con- tributor for the team, averaging 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. Sizer graduates in May with sociology and secondary education degrees. Sizer and Schwartz were highly respected on the team, both elected by their teammates as co- captains along with Illa. Senior Night for the Auggie men was held last Wednesday. The team honored their sole senior, Josh Natzel for his outstanding contribution to the team. Natzel was named team captain this year. His playing time was limited throughout the year due to several injuries. Natzel ļ¬nished up his career with 322 points, 176 rebounds, 133 assists, and 63 steals. He played in 96 games for the Auggies. Both teams will surely miss the leadership abilities of these departed players. The womenās team returns to action next year with only one senior, who joined the team this year after transfer- ring from Anoka-Ramsey Com- munity College. The men will have a few more seniors on the squad, most of whom will be transfers. It ts Show less
February 22, 2002 Values page 6 New Exodus newsletter Tometria Bean Contributor The Exodus is the ofļ¬cial newsletter for the PanāAfrikan Student Union (PASU). The name āexodusā was chosen to represent the movement from the bondage of no education toward the promised land of intellectual freedom.... Show moreFebruary 22, 2002 Values page 6 New Exodus newsletter Tometria Bean Contributor The Exodus is the ofļ¬cial newsletter for the PanāAfrikan Student Union (PASU). The name āexodusā was chosen to represent the movement from the bondage of no education toward the promised land of intellectual freedom. One of PASUās major objec- tives in issuing an ofļ¬cial newsletter is to inform the student body of various events. both on and around Augsburg's campus. We include information from other college campuses and the Twin Cities community at large that we believe would be educa- tionally enriching to Pan-African and multicultural students. The Exodus is a monthly publi- cation. It was ļ¬rst released in early February and has been receiving fabulous reviews. Cheryl Chatman. the Dean of Diversity at Concordia Univer- sity, commented, āThis is quite a model newsletter that others can work towards. Thanks for sharing it and for providing a wonderful example of what you can get when you set high goals, have aspirations, and add diligence and hard work to it The newsletter, staffed by Brook-lyne Mayne and Tometria Bean. contains several sections, including entertainment. scholar- ship information. a comic strip. and a community calendar Look for a copy in early March. 5s Writing Club. \Vriize rs \Va nted! Send your creative writing to the Augsburg Creative publish your poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction! bennettb@augsburg.edu #5 We'd love to or Any story ideas? Email us at: ecļ¬o@augsburg.edu The questionable comedy of Dustin āScreechā Jeff Moores CQatViLWQV ,, On Monday, February 18, I sat next to my good friend from the ninth ļ¬oor and eagerly awaited Screechās appearance. Over the next few minutes, his manager appeared numerous times, setting up the stage for this child-starās routine. Thomas Howard, ASACās major events chair, took the stage to welcome the actor, and the audience erupted in applause as the entertainment unfolded before us. As a lover of stand up comedy, I was looking forward to an hour of laughter. Unfortunately, the laughs of the hour were edged with offending jokes and inappro- priate comments. I'm sure I wasnāt the only one who noticed Mr. Diamondās con- tinually slanderous cements on a womanās genitalia? Who else felt uncomfortable when the comedian made fun of the handi- capped? While he continued on with jokes that were often offen- sive, the people around me. as well as myself, began to scoff and glance at each other uneasily instead of joining in on the dying laughter. As Screechās routine contin- ued, he brought six students on stage for a skit. The four-page prose featured our beloved characters of Saved By The Bell, with the exception that Screech was now the āwell endowedā hunk of the school, and Zach (the former pretty- boy, popular stud) was now a gay weakā ling. The skit showed Screech tak- ing the three girls back to his place for an orgy, while the characters called Zach names like āqueerā and āfruit- cake.ā This drew the line between humor and offensive behavior for many others throughout the audience. Sorry, Screech, but claiming any sexual orientation other than heterosexual does not make someone less of a person. or give them reason to be torn apart. It's also sad, Augsburg. that his humor prompted the shouting of āqueerā by an audience member toward the end of the show. Monday night turned out to be Macalester College. 651-696ā6203. Affirmative action debate Syndicated columnist and author Linda Chavez and former NAACP leader Benjamin Hooks will debate afļ¬rrnative action at The debate will take place in the Alexander G. Hill Ballroom of Kagin Commons (located on the northwest comer of Grand and Snelling) at 7pm on February 25, 2002. The event is free and presented as part of the Macalester lecture series āDemocracy, Activism and Our Multicultural World." For more information contact Donna Nicholson 0r Doug Stone at Hennepin county releases stats on African-Americans Nicki Ziegler Comm.Nalues Editor During this yearās Afrikana History Month. it is important to understand the climate in our own communities. The African Ameriā can Men Project. formed in 1999 by the Hennepin County Board. investigates issues surrounding African American men from the ages of 18ā30. Mark Stenglein. Hennepin County Commissioner. observed that even though there was a labor shortage and boosting economy. many African American men were still unemployed. This past January statistics were released after three years of researching the forces of poverty and their effects on this particular population. They found that only 28 percent of African American men enrolled in Minneapolis Pubā lic Schools graduated in four years. Younger African American men were 27 times more liker to go to jail than younger white men and were also twice as likely to die before the age of 24. The research also found that half of Minneapolis' African American men ages 18-30 live in the cityās ļ¬ve poorest communiā ties. They are then more likely to live in poverty and have health problems. Research shows that if you change any basic demo- graphic factor--age. race, gender or location--your chances for a healthy and successful life improve dramatically. The purpose of this research was to see how Hennepin County and African American men could work together to improve their economic status. Instead of rely- ing āon social service agencies and incarceration" to ļ¬x these problems. as Commissioner Peter McLaughlin says. they are looking for new approaches, which will them on community building efforts and the strengths of African American men. Throughout the years. many social service agencies and non- profit organizations have concenā trated on women and children. leaving younger men sometimes more vulnerable to economic situ- ations. Some of the recommenda- tions include creating the African American Men Commission (AAMCl to help coordinate adult and community education proā grams. etftins focused on reducing the number of minorities within the criminal justice system. efforts focused on affordable housing, and assistance for younger men with enrolling and completing higher education levels. To view the entire report, log onto www.co.hennepin.mn.us and scroll down. Information for this article was taken from HC News, February 2002 edition. Upcoming events for Afrikana History Month: February 25, Monday: āThe Psy- chological Case for Residuals of Slavery" presented by Dr. Nicholas Cooper-Lewter, Chair of the Social Work Department of Benedict College. This event will be held in the Marshall Room. It is cosponsored with the Minnesota Reparations Campaign and is open to the public. March 1. Friday: PASU hosting ļ¬rst Annual Soul Food Dinner. In the East Commons will feature SNCC founder Charles McDew as the Keynote speaker. The theme will be āCollege Student Activism and Service in the let Century." This event is free and open to the public. RSVP required. Writing Lab Hours The Augsburg College Writ- ing Lab, located in Old Main 26, started on Monday, Feb. 4. for spring semester Writing Lab hours are: Monday 6:30ā9:00 am, Tuesday 3:00-5:3 pm. and 8230-1 1 :00 pm. Wednesda 6:30-9:00 pm, Thursday :00ā5:30 pm. and, after midterm, Sunday 5:30-8:00 pm. ā r island, St. Paul MN 55107. 1.2214100 or W543-3908~ at 4ā. a disappointing evening. I hope that more community members feel the way I do when I criticize Dustin Diamond for his offensive and distasteful humor. Many other comedians include topics such as sexuality, race, and dis- ability in their acts, but they have the common sense to use tact and sensibility with these controver- sial subjects. Echo Managing Editor David Rettenmaier Kellen Bredesen Copy Editor Kayla Scrivner Qumuļ¬mg Greg Solheid mmaļ¬mm Kellen Bredesen David Rettenmaler Opinion Editor Scott Bibus A&E Editor Joel Wolf 99mmunityļ¬alues Editor Nicki Ziegler ļ¬amgsļ¬mg Angel Overgaard gamuumg Paul Putt Photo Edit r Aaron Vogel inine Editor Kari Lucin cmmmggmļ¬ Joe Huffer Facu A vi r Boyd Koehler The Augsburg Echo is published each Friday āā except during interim, vacation periods, and holidays -- by students of Augsburg College, 731 2lst Avenue South. Minneapolis. Minnesota 55454. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and donāt reļ¬ect those of the supporting staff. administration. faculty. or the remainder of the students. The Echo does not necessarily promote the products or services it advertises. rrg the Augsb Show less
February 22. 2002 The Oscars as weāre concerned Joel Wolf, Jay Wahi A&E Editor/Contributor The nominations for this year's Oscars were announced Tuesday. February 12. Leading the pack was āThe Lord of the Rings" with thirteen nominations. In the weeks to come. we will break down the four... Show moreFebruary 22. 2002 The Oscars as weāre concerned Joel Wolf, Jay Wahi A&E Editor/Contributor The nominations for this year's Oscars were announced Tuesday. February 12. Leading the pack was āThe Lord of the Rings" with thirteen nominations. In the weeks to come. we will break down the four categoriesāBest Actress. Best Actor. Best Director. and Best Picture-~and give our own predictions for who we hope to see go home with Oscar. And the nominees for Best Actress are: 1. Halley Berry, āMonsterās Ballā Joel: Her performance was outstanding, compared to her roles in "Swordļ¬sh" and āPassenger 57,ā but it wasnāt any- thing we wouldnāt expect from a capable actress. In her favor she has a nude scene, which the Academy loves (see Gwyneth Paltrow's award for āShakespeare in Loveā). Jay: Really. you think so? I thought she gave a ļ¬ne perfor- mance. and even out-acted Heath Ledger. Iām not sure if it is Oscar worthy, but her performance does deserve the nomination. 2. Judi Dench, āIrisā Joel: Her performance pushed the emotional buttons of the audience without an ounce of subtlety, which left a sour taste in my mouth for the film as a whole. Jay: Iām sick of āDameā Judi Dench, and Iām still bitter from her win for āShakespeare in Love.ā 3. Nicole Kidman, āMoulin Rougeā Jay: I thought it was a good movie, but she just wasnāt that good in it. Plus. it's a musical, and you donāt associate musicals with acting. Joel: I beg to differ, Jay. I think it is much harder to stay in character while singing than while just delivering dialogue. Nicole Kidman not only gave the best performance of her career, but she proved she has a set of pipes to boot. 4. Sissy Spacek, āIn the Bedroomā Jay: This is a great movie. and Sissy Spacek gives a great performance. However. her part was too small a role to deserve a lead actress nomination, and maybe belongs in the supporting category instead. Joel: You are absolutely right. Her performance as a mother trying to put her sonās murder behind her is wonder- ful, but it was overshadowed by Tom Wilkenson's role as her grieving husband. 5. Renee Zellweger, āBridget Jonesās Diaryā Jay: Renee Zellweger gave the best performance I saw this year. She carried the ļ¬lm and shined in every scene. Zell- weger does this all while staying in character and never slipping out of her British accent. Joel: She was tremendously funny and showed a marvelous sense of comedic tinting. but you and I both know that comedies donāt win Oscars--just ask Gene Hackman about āThe Royal Tannenbaums.ā And the winner is... Joel: Nicole Kidman is going to win the award. I believe. She brought the doomed Bohemian siren to life onāscreen. and she showed everyone she is much more than ex-Mrs. Tom Cruise off.screen. Jay: Iāve got to go with Renee Zellweger. I loved her per- formance in this ļ¬lm. and I believe that it can't be over- K. Lucin Staff Writer/Online Editor Terry Pratchett is always disā mayed when reviewers feel that they have to explain who he is. After all. heās a bestāseller now. Somebody must be buying all those books. But for those of you who havenāt picked up a Pratchett novel yet. get with the program. His Discworld series. featuring a world shaped like a CD that sits on top of four really large ele- phants that in their turn stand on a very large turtle indeed (the āstar turtle"). is not only funny. but it is also fast-paced and well-plotted. The latest book to be re-released in paperback to the United States is Moving Pictures. a hilarious examination of what would hap- pen if Hollywood ever came to a fantasy world. Primarily a comedy. like all of the Discworld books. Moving Picā !un's features a thousand eleā phants. a talking dog that isnāt sappy. a handsome leading man adept at almost passing his wiz- arding tests. and a gorgeous lead- ing lady with a mind of her own. The premise is simple: alchemists have found a way to make moving pictures. and the snavely entrepre- neur CM.O.T. Dibbler has found a way to market them. L'nfortu- nately. the "clicks" have opened a doorway to the Dungeon Dimenā sions. where all sorts of indescribā any horrible things with far too litany tentacles are just waiting for their chalice to slither. crawl. and glop into the Discworld. and take over the world. Pratchettās footnotes and desā perately clever asides make for a . funny book. but Moving Pictures has much more than just humor. The characters are delightful, and often present new spins on Holly- wood stars. Take the dog Laddie. for example. a beautiful. well- bred creature who has. however, the brains of a stunned herring. Somehow itās no surprise when Laddie saves the day despite all that. As usual in a Pratchett epic. there are plenty of cultural refer- ences. I wonāt spoil them, but some of the funniest punchlines involve a line from H. P. Love- craft taken wildly out of context, and several other lines from Hol- lywood classics. Of course. dwarfs and trolls begin to complain about being typecast into stereotypical ethnic roles. Talking dogs. cats. and mice appear out of nowhere. and the talking rabbit would very much like not to be called Mr. Thumpy. thank you very much. If you ever hear a dog say "Woof." instead of barking. you may be on the Discworld by misā take. Don't panic. Just make sure not to buy any sausages from anyā body. donāt offend any wizards (unless you think you'd enjoy being a toad for a while). and donāt open any doors to the Dunā geon Dimensions. And if somebody puts in an order for a thousand elephants. make sure you get paid in advance. looked by the Academy for simply being a comedy. Next week weāll look at the nominees for Best Acton Mayhem Magic and the lāwovies ā A Drama In the bedroom Joel Wolf AĀ§tE Editor āIn the Bedroom" is an inādepth character study about loss and grieving. The story unfolds slowly, relying on the incredible perfor- mances of the actors involved to create the dramatic tension of the film. As the film begins. the audience is introduced to the Fowler family. Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl) is a recent college graduate preparing to enter graduate school in the fall. What he didnāt expect was to fall in love with Natalie (Marisa Tomei). Natalie is an older woman and is separated from her abusive husband Richard (William Mapother) while trying to raise their two children on her own. Frank's mother, Ruth (Sissy Spacek). is worried that things are growing more serious between Frank and Natalie than he is letting on. On the other hand. his father, Matt (Tom Wilkenson), is enjoying his chance to play grandfather to Natalieās oldest son. buying swing sets for his birthday and teaching him about lobster trapping. Things arenāt all well in the Fowler household. though. There is an overall sense that the family stopped communicating with one another a long time ago. The story drastically changes directions as a vio- lent tragedy occurs that will change the lives of all of those involved forever. The focus of the film shifts from the summertime romance between Frank and Natalie to how the characters deal with a horrible act of violence. In the end. the film is about how quickly grief and sadness can turn into anger and blame. Ruth and Matt have different ways of coping with the tragedy that mark the end of the ļ¬rst act of the film. Ruth shuts herself off from everyone around her. resigning herself to a place on her couch in front of the television. She has trouble moving on with her life. and blames her husband Matt for the tragic event. Matt seems to go on with his life as usual. He returns to work quickly. but has trouble returning to the normal pattern of life he once led. Neither of them can find any closure. though. and even one last act of revenge cannot truly mend what has been bro- ken in their relationship. āIn the Bedroom" is successful in a large part due to the tremendous performances of the entire cast. All the characters are fully developed and played to perfection. Marisa Tomei's Natalie is vulnerable and obviously in love with Frank. but trapped by her past with Richard. Mapother is chilling as the abusive husband who is willing to do anything to get Natalie back. As Frank Fowler. Nick Stahl gives a wonder- fully na'i've performance. When he looks on Natalie with his wide eyes and tells her of his plan to quit school and take a job as a lobster trapper, we feel his love for her. All three nail their New England accents perfectly. It is the performances of Tom Wilkenson and Sissy Spacek that really carry this film though. Both actors deliver subdued performances and understand their characters insideāout. Spacek avoids the pitfall of overacting that usually bogs down films of this In the Bedroom continued on page 7 Show less
Page 5 aA&E February 22, 2002 Monsterās Ball: Stark and disturbing Joel Wolf A&E Editor The new ļ¬lm Monster's Ball is powerful. Well written āand marā ~ -- velously acted, the ļ¬lm is a dis- turbing portrait of two people coming to terms with their pasts together. It is the story of oneās... Show morePage 5 aA&E February 22, 2002 Monsterās Ball: Stark and disturbing Joel Wolf A&E Editor The new ļ¬lm Monster's Ball is powerful. Well written āand marā ~ -- velously acted, the ļ¬lm is a dis- turbing portrait of two people coming to terms with their pasts together. It is the story of oneās redemption and the otherās accepā tance. The story is centered on an interracial couple, but this is not a movie about interracial relation- ships. Rather, it is about a black woman and a white man who ļ¬nd in each other a way to cope with their pain. It is not a love story. Billy Bob Thorton stars as Hank, a prison guard working on death row. He works at the insti- tution where his father worked before him and where his son currently works. His father (Peter Boyle) taught him from a young age to hate, and he learned it well. Hank is now an abusive, racist man who loves no one, including his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger). Halle Berry plays Leticia. Her husband is a day away from execution, leaving her son and herself on the verge of eviction from their home. A pair of family tragedies occur, thrusting Hank and Leticia together against their wills. Hank is uneasy at ļ¬rst about this new relationship, but ļ¬nds comfort in Leticiaās company. Eventually, though, he begins to truly love her. As the story progresses, Hank overcomes the hatred he was brought up with. When Hank is forced to choose between Leticia and his father, he puts his father in a home and breaks the cycle of abuse. Leticiaās story, on the other hand, is not as happy. Her relationship with Hank is never more than a necessity. She is an emotional wreck and needs someone to take care of her. She knows this, though, and isnāt looking for anything more from Hank. When ļ¬nally confronted with the role Hank played in her husbandās execution, she gives in to her helpless- ness. The performances in āMonsterās Ballā are amaz- ing. Both Billy Bob Thorton and Halle Berry are wonderftu understated in their respective roles, cre- ating instant empathy in the viewer. Emotions donāt often overļ¬ow in either performance, but when they do, they explode. Thorton portrays his metamorpho- sis from the hate-ļ¬lled bigot entirely with his body language and eyes. The change is visible when hate turns to remorse and ļ¬nally love. Berry gives a volatile performance as Leticia, showing a versatility that is unexpected, based on her previous work in more lighthearted fare. Even the supporting performances are noteworthy in this ļ¬lm. Sean āP. Diddyā Combs stars as Leti- ciaās condemned husband. He is completely trans- formed from the rapper/producer image with which he is normally associated. Peter Boyle is equally good as Hankās father, Buck. The best supporting performance is that of Heath Ledgerās. His Sonny is a tragic ļ¬gure desperately seeking affection from anyone around him. The scriptwriting is just as amazing as the perforā mances. The screenplay by Milo Addica and Will Rokos is as subtle as the performances themselves, leaving the ļ¬nal resolution up to the viewer, instead of coping out with a typical schmaltzyāending. The questions that remain with the characters are the questions we are left with as the audience. Director Marc Forster does a terriļ¬c job of develĀ» oping both characters separately, even while their lives are intersecting without their knowing it. By the time Hank and Leticia meet, they are both fully developed individuals. The pacing of the ļ¬lm is also perfect. It stirs the emotions of the audience without pushing their buttons too hard. āMonsterās ball," we ļ¬nd out in the ļ¬lm, is old English for a stay of execution. Itās a second chance at life, but at a life that will be lived out in a prison. This is exactly what the characters of Hank and Leti- cia are given: a second chance with a bittersweet edge. California Dreamāin'? :1 Saw! m 7km Ema! The Kern High School District Bakersļ¬eld, California is recruiting NEW TEACHERS lwww.khsd.k l 2.ca.usl for the 2002-2003 school year Send your resume to: Personnel Dept Kern H91 School District 5801 SunddeAve. Bakersļ¬eld. Caā. 93309 Kevin Smith continued from page 1 ajerk and ruined everything I grew up on.ā I went into that movie not expecting to feel the same way I did about those movies as I did when l was a kid. I went into that movie thinking this is going to be a kid movie because thatās what the original of the Star Wars trilogy was when I was a kid and I enjoyed it. and you know some of that still lingers. Empire is still a really thrilling movie. Generally, I went in there thinking it was a kidās movie, and judging on that basis I loved it, I mean, if you see that movie with an audience full of kids itās a great expenence. JW: Finally, Jay and Silent Bob are obviously fans of pot, but what about Kevin Smith? KS: I'm not really a big weed guy. Iām not a big drug guy at all. nor am I a big booze guy. I can count maybe on like two hands the number of times Iāve smoked pot. and that's the harshest drug Iāve ever) done. Iāve never gone beyond pot. I donāt drink at all. and it's not a matter of religion or like I canāt drink because I'm an alcoholic. [just never liked the taste of booze. Iād much rather diink a Yooāhoo or a chocolate milk than a beer or a glass of wine or God forbid hard liquor. Iām all for legalizing pot, I say legalize all the drugs because anybody who wants to throw their life away on them is doing it already. The government might as well make a proļ¬t off of it. I mean they do that with booze and cigarettes, why not do that with drugs? It's kind of silly; the govemā ment sits back and says. āWell, booze and cigarettes are okay, but drugs. we canāt have people killing themselves on that stuffā when people are killing themselves daily with booze and cigarettes. Iām all for legalizā ing all the drugs, and it will cut down substantially on the crime. And once something is legal the luster isnāt there anymore. I think it would be great if you could walk into the Rite-Aid and pick up heroin. Snow Emergencyll What do I do? Call 348āSNOW (Minneapolis) log onto: www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us Know where to park! ARGUSY KNOWS THE FUTURE or: PSYCHOLOGY WHEN WE SEE HER. Professional Counseling Marriage Er Fanmāy Therapy W1 A l Cās/near mythology m A i Doctorate m Clinical Psychm'ngy rim 1ā) r FOCUS that few can match. You ll isl'ld it 2n our students, and in our programs. We re Argosy Unwersny Former/y Amer/can Schools of Prolessrona/ Psychology, we offer unique psychology I and counseling degree programs that comblne small class size and professors with realāworld experience argosyuadu Argosy Unwersuy/Twnri Cmeā; 5503 Green Valley DING Sorta 150 . Bloommgton M1155437 Show less
February 22, 2002 Ā«EEOQinion page 2 Guide to the presidential candidates Mall and Bredesen: campaign platform The Martin/Grand platform Dear fellow Augsburg College students: I am proud to announce that I (Bradley Motl) am running for student body presi- dent along with my vice presidential run-... Show moreFebruary 22, 2002 Ā«EEOQinion page 2 Guide to the presidential candidates Mall and Bredesen: campaign platform The Martin/Grand platform Dear fellow Augsburg College students: I am proud to announce that I (Bradley Motl) am running for student body presi- dent along with my vice presidential run- ning mate, Kellen Bredesen. I am a junior physics and mathematics major. I am currently the student body vice president. Before becoming vice president, I was a senator for one and a half years. I have been a member of the Augsburg Col- lege football team for three years. In addiā tion to senate and football experience. I have also been involved with band, Society of Physics Students, and Unbounded. I am involved with the General Education and Space Advisory committees, which are fac- ulty/staff committees. I currently work as a student researcher for the physics depart- ment. Kellen Bredesen is a junior political sci- ence major. She served on the ļ¬nance comā mittee this year, and had a major part in organizing Augsburgās Scholastic Connec- tions Diversity Day on October 8. She is a member of the faculty/student convocation committee, an honors student, and a vocal- ist in the Augsburg Choir. Kellen works in the writing lab, the admissions ofļ¬ce, and the Echo ofļ¬ce, and she leads supplemental instruction groups for two classes. Kellen has experience chairing meetings and doing committee work, which are duties that would fall to her as student body vice presi- denL Kellen and I have a platform that involves three major components: 1) Cooperās Attic Revitalization and Reno- vation. The majority of this project would be accomplished by purchasing new furniā ture and new games, reāpainting the entire On Senate Nicki Ziegler Comm.Nalues Editor 7 Change. This word has been difļ¬cult for me this year. but when it comes to next yearās Senate elections I have no hesitaā tions. Change is something we need to see. My vote will be for the new dynamic duo of Brad Motl as President and Kellen Bre- desen as Vice President. They both have experience with Senate procedures and enough knowledge to know Jodi Dybsetter. senior Religion John Pohl. sophomore area, and making the area more suitable for informal, social meetings. The funding for this project would come from the Executive Board Budget. 2) Communication/Networking. This would include bettering communication between a) Students and Student Senate: accom- plished by expanding the āSenate Speakā program where senators talk to at least ten students per week about a speciļ¬ed topic and then report back to Senate. b) Student Senate and student organiza- tions: accomplished by initiating an ambas- sador program where senators attend student organization meetings. c) Student Senate and faculty/staff/adminis- tration: accomplished by the student body president meeting with a different adminisā trator every week. This would allow me to take studentsā concerns about all aspects of Augsburg College to members of the fac- ulty/staff/administration who can do some- thing positive with the concerns. 3) Financial Accountability. First, we would like to completely overhaul the ļ¬nance policy. This will allow for fair, unbiased distribution of student activity fee money. Secondly, we will disclose all ļ¬nan- cial matters to the student body in a timely fashion. This will allow students to have a better understanding of how their activity fee money is being spent. Disclosure will be accomplished with biweekly Echo articles and web page postings. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you will strongly consider voting for me (Bradley Motl) and Kellen Bredesen for student body president and vice-president on March 1 and 2. elections what needs improvement. I have been involved with student organizations and Senate for the last three years and I know that these two candidates can produce the change that is desperately needed. They are willing to listen to students. Not only will they listen, but they will turn your words into action. On March lst and 2nd, cast your vote and make sure to mark Brad and Kellen! The MARTIN/GRAND PLATFORM is an expression of our commitment to the quality of life of students of Augsburg Colā lege. Our ļ¬rst priority is sustainable, moral decisions, not rapid, irrational reso- lutions. We believe in the improvement of rela- tions between individual members of the Augsburg Student Body and their represen- tation in the student senate. We believe in empowering the members of the Augsburg Student Body through a willing and active student senate. We offer new strengths and perspecā tives. Platform Preamble We, Jim Martin and Nathan Grand, know we are able to respectably represent the Augsburg Student Body. We believe that all students should beneļ¬t from actions taken by their government. We also believe that we can smoothly adminis- trate and sustain the Augsburg Student Government in order to better the lives our fellow colleagues. The students of Augsburg College have organized and instituted a separate and independent association from this college, based on a fee: the student activity fee, which is currently $75 per semester for day students and $9.50 per trimester for week- end college students. Students formed this association to manage these funds, and voice their opinions. The Augsburg Stu- dent Body created a constitution in which this governing body operates. This docuā ment has not been utilized to the greatest extent of its ability. We must realize that this isnāt a conļ¬ning document. It is sup- posed to work for us. Currently, the Augsburg Student Gov- ernment is playing a passive roll. I propose that the Augsburg Student Government begin to take an active roll within Augs- burg College, and in the lives of Augsburg students. We propose to accomplish this by realizing that the Augsburg Student Government has the ability and need to remain in continuous contact with their constituencies. Taking an active roll in the student government should establish a sus- tainable system of communication and would create a welcoming environment. Currently, the meeting room is set up in a truly intimidating fashion. You, as an active member of the Augs- burg Student Body, are entitled to a repre- sentative government, which is capable of amplifying your voice to authorities and diplomatic bodies of Augsburg College. Currently, the student voice is relatively passive, acting as a facilitator. This can be changed and we are able to supply the acti- vation energy for this change. Martin/Grand continued on page 7 K. Lucin Sļ¬fļ¬/Vriter i if Somewhere on this campus, there is a stack of paper clips that is ten feet high. I donāt know where it is, and I don't know whoās in charge of keeping it tidy. I donāt know who sorts out all the colored paper clips and all the superāsized paper clips, and all those weird triangular paper clips that look like medieval torture devices. Somebody has to be doing it. Somebody also has to be picking the darn things up, whether itās from the ļ¬oor or from other peopleās desks. Somebody is ļ¬lching all the paper clips and ferreting them away to a big storage room, because Mock-Ademia Augsburg conspiracy whenever youāre looking for a paper clip, and especially if you desperately need one for a ļ¬nicky paper-clip-requiring teacher, you canāt ļ¬nd one. The dam things are easier to lose than buttons. You have one on your desk for months, getting all dusty and gunky, and then all of a sudden, when you need to hold two crucial pieces of paper together, itās gone. Poof. Like it was never even there in the ļ¬rst place, only you can see the imprint of the paper clip on the desk. Only one on-campus group is preva- lent and powerful enough to be taking all these paper clips from everybodyās desks. Mock-Ademia continued on page 7 If you could add an Olympic sport, winter or summer, what wouldā it be? Why? Iād take away snowboarding. A Golf, cause I'm a fricken pro. Just look at my swing! bunch of stoners on snowboards are not Olympians. Skateboarding Sarah Murphy, junior Psychology and Philosophy or hackeysack because they simply kick ass. Marissa Mapes, junior Mass Communications gold medal for it. Air hockey because theyād have to hold it in a bar and you could get a Jian Waering, senior Elementary Education, Studio Art Bowling because everybody I know likes it, and itās cheap. Itās easy and an all-weather game. "PaQOm inmvnmuw:sa.: a,er are rs v .4 -v '-'-w Ā«r soā. ā.9,ā "I". m...,,,.,,. Show less
March 1 5, 2002 Eat.) r page 8 I would like to thank the Academy... Auggies win awards as MIAC announces winter All-Conference Selections Paul Putt Sports Editor The MIAC released the winners of the All-conference team for menās and womenās hockey, menās and womenās bas- ketball, and the menās... Show moreMarch 1 5, 2002 Eat.) r page 8 I would like to thank the Academy... Auggies win awards as MIAC announces winter All-Conference Selections Paul Putt Sports Editor The MIAC released the winners of the All-conference team for menās and womenās hockey, menās and womenās bas- ketball, and the menās and womenās track teams. The Auggies menās hockey team led the winter sports teams with three being selected to the AllāConference team along with three honorable mention athletes. Womenās hockey followed, with two All-Conference selections and three honor- able mentions. Womenās basketball had one All-Conferā ence selection, while the menās basketball team had two All-Conference honorable mentions. The track teams each had one athlete cited, as well. Menās hockey Jaro Cesky worked his way to a third straight AllāConference selection as he again led the Auggies in points with his offensive magic. Cesky was fourth in the MIAC with 20 points scored and contributed another 14 points in nonāconference games. In his junior year, Cesky has led the team in scoring with 98 points and looks to return and top the century mark during his senior year. Jake Wegscheider has moved onto the AllāConference team for the ļ¬rst time, as he increased his production dramatically each season for the past three years. While wearing the "C" on his jersey, Wegscheider tallied 31 points, with 18 points in the conference putting him at ninth in the conference. Wegscheider ended his career with 56 NCAA controversy points, as he hung up his sweater. Brad Holzinger again earned All-Confer- ence honors, as he was sixth in the MIAC for defensemen in scoring. The former pioneer found his way less into the penalty box this season and was a large reason why the Auggies rang up seven straight wins, as he contributed seven of his ten conference points in those seven wins. Nick Murray, Pete Samargia and Chad Moore were named to the MIAC honorable mention team for the Auggie menās team, as Murray was fourth on the team in scoring overall, while Moore contributed 13 points in 25 games with a plus-13 plus-minus rat- ing, tops among Auggie blueliners. Samargia came from the University of Minnesota and held a 2.98 goals-against- average and a .902 save percentage. Womenās Hockey Forward Lauren Chezick came from Hastings this season as a freshman and picked up the scoring slack for the Auggies as she put in 22 points this season. The youngster held her own against the top teams in the league, as she was fourth among freshmen in scoring. Chezick will look to improve on those numbers to help lead the relatively young Auggies next year. Annie Mattison proved her versatility, as she was able to move between forward and defense and still be named to the Allāconferā ence team. Mattison retires the blades as the Aug- giesā ļ¬fth all-time scorer, with 44 points. She was third in scoring and was a tan- dem with Chezick, as the two ranked ļ¬fth and third in points on the power play. Goalie Katie Fedoryk earned AllāCon- ference honorable mention in probably the deepest position in the conference, as she ļ¬nished with the most saves in the conferā ence while earning a 2.70 GAA and a 91.5 % save percentage in league play. Defender Kristi Brusletto was the cor- nerstone of the Auggie defense and had 11 points in earning All-conference honorable mention. Forward Melynda Kleewein was second on the team in scoring, with 18 points, including 15 points in league play, as she played with Chezick on the top line. Womenās Basketball Shooting guard Kelly Chapman earned Allāconference honors, after missing last year 's squad as an honorable mention. Chapman was a large part of the Aug- giesā offense, as she scored an average of 11.5 points per game and led in rebounds, assists, and steals. Chapman will look to bring the Auggies into the postseason next year for the ļ¬rst time in school history. Menās Basketball Though not on the Allāconference team, Jay Howard and Adam Kotewa both earned honorable men- tion for the past year. Howard, who suffered through an ankle injury, led the team in rebounds and blocks. Kotewa, who transferred to Augsburg from Bethany Lutheran College, had a team best 13.2 points-per-game average with 53 three- pointers, 40 of them in league play, for sixth-best. Mon'leomon's Indoor Track and Field Chrissy Baune placed second in the women's 1,000āmeter run in a time of 3:01.91, then broke her old school record in the 1,500-meter run, ļ¬nishing third in 4:46.68. Her old school record of 4:46.68 was set in 2000. She was named to the All-Confernce teaminthe 1000and 1,500m.runsandhas helped lead a resurgence in the women's track and cross country programs. Andy Lindekugel ļ¬nished ļ¬fth in the shot put with a 14.56-meter (47-925) effort to earn All-MIAC honorable-mention hon- ors while Chris Ohnstad also earned All- MIAC honorable-mention in ļ¬nishing sixth in the 600āmeter dash in 1:15.40. NCAA excludes St. Thomas from national tournament despite legitimate bid Paul Putt Sports Editor "Automatic" is deļ¬ned by Websterās dictionary as āacting or done spontaneously or uncon- sciously.ā The NCAA should pick up a new dictionary because they obvi- ously did not have a clue what automatic meant when they seeded the teams in the NCAA tournament for men's hockey. St. Thomas (please refrain from booing) won both the MIAC regular season and play-off titles this past season. According to how the selection for the tournament happens. the winner is given an automatic bid to the tournament (a pool C selec~ tion). There used to be six automatic qualiļ¬ers for the teams that win their conference tournament and two at-large teams. However. thrown into the mix as the NCAA added another team to the mix to make the tournament a nineāteam dance. The ninth place team was to play the eighth place team in a one-game play-oļ¬' to see who would go to the NCAA quarterļ¬- nals. The NCAA selected its ļ¬eld of nine teams with three teams from a curveball was ' the western region (MIAC and NCHA teams) and six teams from the east (NESCAC, SUNYAC, ECAC West, ECAC East, ECAC NE). The ratio of teams is not at issue. What is at issue is that two of the three teams from the west were deemed to be the playāin teams and the winner of that game would go to the number one seed. St. Thomas, in winning their conference and play-offs, traveled as the #9 seed to UW-Superior to play the play-in game. Superior had won their play- offs as well and earned an auto- matic bid also. Had St. Thomas lost to Gus- tavus in the conference play-off, then Gustavus would have received the automatic bid and St. Thomas, an at-large bid, and avoided the playāin game alto- gether as a higher seed. As we know, St. Thomas lost to Superior in the play-in game. Superior then advanced to play at the number one seed. However. the number one seed in the west was St. Norberts, a team that did not even win their playāoff tournament and lost to Superior in the playoff ļ¬nale. The six eastern teams squared off with the 1 seed vs. 6, 2 seed vs. 5. and 3 vs. 4. But with three winners in the cast, it guaranteed the Western teams only one team could advance into the single elimina- tion Final Four. The NCAA "rigged" the Final Four so only one western team could be there. Many people have their own opinion, but I feel the correct option would have been to bring the lowest seed from the east over to the westās top team, and then the westās second seed play the third seed. With the east still guaranteed at least two teams in the Final Four, it gives the west a chance to advance two teams to the dance. And St. Thomas would not have to play in a one game play-in when they automatically qualiļ¬ed. Seems logical, but to the NCAA it seems that they were concerned with only the almighty dollar, as they do not want to ļ¬y one team from the east to the west, then ļ¬y two west teams east for the title games. By the way, the lowest East seedlosttothetopEastseedbya two-game score of 16ā1. Obviously a lot better then hav- ing a tougher Stevenās Point team or Gustavus in the play-offs (notice sarcastic tone please). Treated like dirt Auggies swept twice in two doubleheaders Paul Putt Sports Editor The Auggies were beaten four times last week in two double- headers against Division II Con- cordiaĀ«St. Paul and Upper Iowa. In the series versus Concordia- St. Paul, the Auggies found them- selves down quickly, as they were down 12-2 by the ļ¬fth inning. But the Auggies stormed back and made the game interesting, as Jon Kozitn and Sammy Gross started the Auggies on the come- back trail, as they each drove in a run. Dave Sherry and Nick Rath- mann kept the rally going, along with Kozitza, in putting the Aug- gies within two. Concordia pulled away for a 15-10 win. In the second game, the Aug- gies started out with a lead, only to see Concordia come back and tie the game by the fourth inning, 4-4. In the sixth inning, Concor- dia started rolling, and three hits later they got the insurance they needed for a 5-4 win. In the series versus Upper Iowa, the Auggies were beaten 5-4intheļ¬rstgameand 10-4in the second. Jeremy Nelson made the startintheļ¬rstgameandsmrck out three through ļ¬ve innings. The Auggies fell despite the efforts of Pat Marsh and Dave Sherry in the fifth. The second game saw Upper Iowa shell the Auggies with 10 runs and 13 hits. Show less
March 1 5, 2002 Joel Wolf, Jay Wahi A&E Editor/Contributor This is it. The big one. Best Picture. Here we go... āA Beautiful Mindā Joel: Iām really surprised by this nomina- tion. Aside from two good performances by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, this is a mediocre ļ¬lm. Jay: I would not... Show moreMarch 1 5, 2002 Joel Wolf, Jay Wahi A&E Editor/Contributor This is it. The big one. Best Picture. Here we go... āA Beautiful Mindā Joel: Iām really surprised by this nomina- tion. Aside from two good performances by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, this is a mediocre ļ¬lm. Jay: I would not call this ļ¬lm mediocre. and it totally deserved the nomination. The only problem with this ļ¬lm is Ron Howardās direction. Joel: I just do not think that it was one of the five best ļ¬lms of the year. The acting is terriļ¬c. but it gets lost in a predictable and sappy ļ¬lm. Jay: I agree that the ļ¬lm is predictable and sappy, but that is the kind of material the Academy eats up. āGosford Parkā Jay: I cannot understand why the Academy nominated this ļ¬lm for best picture. It is a bad movie. Robert Altmanās direction of this ļ¬lm is poor at best. He lets the movie drag on and on till ļ¬nally someone dies. Joel: I disagree, Jay. I thought that Altman was at the top of his game here, employing all the trademark techniques his earlier work has been marked with. Jay: Did you watch the same picture I did? The story was muddled and sloppy. Even the all-star cast couldnāt save this crappy ļ¬lm. Joel: The story did branch off a bit too much, but Altman does a terriļ¬c job telling his story from an outsiderās perā spective in each scene. I thought it was a good ļ¬lm, but I donāt see it winning this award. āIn The Bedroomā Joel: This ļ¬lm boasts some of the best performances of the year. All the charac- ters were fully developed, vivid charan ters. Jay: āIn the Bedroom" is ļ¬at out a great ļ¬lm. The combination of Sissy Spacekās and Tom Wilkinsonās outstanding perfor- the year. Joel: That is true Jay, and the director was completely snubbed in the directing category. He doesnāt let ļ¬ash get in the way of the characters. Instead. he prefers to sit back and watch them subtly change. Jay: Iām not sure if this is the best ļ¬lm of the year, but it sure deserves the nomination. āLord of the Ringsā Joel: This ļ¬lm was one of the most enjoy- able experiences I've had all year at the movies. It truly was an epic ļ¬lm. Jay: I completely agree with you Joel. This adaptation of Tolkien's masterpiece brings Middle Earth alive. Joel: This transfer from book to screen is marvelous. It delights both newcomers and avid readers alike. Jay: The superb directing of Peter Jackson and the outstanding acting of the cast make this ļ¬lm one of the ļ¬ve best of the year. Those characteristics will make this a strong contender for this award. āMoulin Rougeā Jay: This ļ¬lm was by far the most creative and original of the ļ¬ve ļ¬lms nominated. The ļ¬lm is beautifully shot and directed. but I donāt think that it is going to win in āGosford Parkā Joel: Youāre right, Jay. Itāll get snubbed here, but that has occurred in two other cat- egories. Ewen McGregor and Baz Luhrmann have both been overlooked by the Academy for their work on this incrediā bly entertaining ļ¬lm. Jay: The picture is very entertaining, but I think that the nomination was recognition enough for this ļ¬lm. I agree that Baz Luhrmann was overlooked, but not with McGregor. He gave a better performance in āThe Phantom Menace." And the winner is... Joel: My pick has to be āThe Lord of the Rings." This series is going to be the āStar Wars" of our generation. I left the theater not even excited about Episode H. Jay: For me it comes down between āLord of the Rings" and āIn the Bedroom." They are both excellent ļ¬lms, but I think that āLord of the Rings" is just a bit better. And s: mances and Todd Fieldās superb directing makes this one of the ļ¬ve best ļ¬lms of this category. Schizophrenia and genre bending in āDonnie Darkoā Joel Wolf A&E Editor Blending genres is extremely difficult. but when merged propā erly the combination can be terā rific. āDonnie Darkoā is one such example. Firstātime writerādirecā tor Richard Kelly is able to do what Wes Craven attempted in his silly āScreamā series: combine the humor and feeling of a teen angst movie with the tension of a scary movie. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllen- haal. āOctober Sky") is a teenage boy like all the rest. Heās smart with "intimidating" test scores, he debates over the sex lives of the smurfs while drinking with his buddies. and he has a girlfriend; but he also has a problem. Heās a schizophrenic. but he doesn't like to take his medication. At night. Donnie has visions of a six-foot tall demonic rabbit named Frank proclaiming the end of the world on Halloween as Donnie sleep- walks after him. One night the visions begin to carry weight with Donnie. A jet engine crashes into his bedroom while Donnie is left on the green of a golf course after one of his late night walks. Donnie, realiz- ing he should be dead. begins to think his visitor might be telling the truth. Also. no one can explain where the jet engine came from In the mean time. Donnie has to get to school. Once at school, we are introduced to a whole band of characters from a page out of a John Hughes script. His principal is disconnected, as is the majority of the staff, having bought into the local self-help guruās Fear and Love ālifeline.ā His classmates are meanāspirited and even vicious at times to Donnie and his friends. However. there are two new teachā ers in school who havenāt been burned out yet. His English teacher (Drew Barrymore) is eager to challenge and his physics teacher (Noah Wyle) is always happy to discuss things like time travel after class. Donnieās home life seems ideal too. His mother and father arenāt ashamed of Donnie's condition and some of the destructive things he has done. Instead, they are lov- ing and supportive. After Donnie is suspended for telling his gym teacher where she could put her lifeline. his parents are amused and almost proud of their free- thinking son. As the month of October draws to a close. Donnie's visions get stranger. He is now able to see liquid time lines coming out of his friendsā and family membersā chests. leading them around every comer into the future. Frank starts to become more insistent. control- ling Donnie by night to perform acts of major vandalism. The whole time. Donnie is try- ing to ļ¬nd a way to prevent the inevitable apocalypse. He becomes obsessed with a book that seems to be describing his hallucinations. He discovers that his crazy neighbor Roberta Spar- row. or Grandma Death as the kids at school call her, wrote the book. All this set-up is entertaining. The mixture of comedy and susā pense is perfect. It is when the comedic tones are ļ¬nally dropped that the scales become unbalanced and the movie crashes. The payoff is just disappointing. We are left with a number of possible soluā tions and no arrow pointing the way. Any of them could be right. and any of them could be wrong. This ambiguity hurts the ļ¬lm. It almost feels like a cop~out. The thing is. though. that the set-up is really terriļ¬c. Gyllenā haal gives an incredible perfor- mance as Donnie. Donnie is charming while heās causing prob- lems. At times he seems precoā cious and in the next instant menacing. His is as balanced as everything else in this ļ¬lm is until the end. Kelly also shows tremendous talent. He artfully blends the gen- res so convincingly that neither of the elements seems out of place. His styles start separately. but slowly begin to merge until ļ¬nally they crash into each other. It isn't until he ļ¬nally gives up the humor that his two worlds explode. Joel, you're full of crap with the āStar Warsā comparison. PROFESSIONAL acron "mum a W In Hollywood or NowY I; Auditi _ in Minneapolis, April l 1.800.222.2867 ca New York āA91; cc 1 āW 0 MYā / Do You Have Story Ideas? \ Then call the Echo News Tipline at 330-1102 \ f ,;.v-.ā- c... t A. Show less
Augsburg the March 15, 2002 Volume 108 Issue 15 In this issue: Professor Joan Grifļ¬n goes medieval, page 2 Who was Bernhard M. Christensen?, page 3 An Oscar Dialogue: and the winner for Best Picture is..., page 4 Interview with Augsburg singer /songwriter Michelle Morse, page 6 MIAC All... Show moreAugsburg the March 15, 2002 Volume 108 Issue 15 In this issue: Professor Joan Grifļ¬n goes medieval, page 2 Who was Bernhard M. Christensen?, page 3 An Oscar Dialogue: and the winner for Best Picture is..., page 4 Interview with Augsburg singer /songwriter Michelle Morse, page 6 MIAC All-Conference winners, page 8 Students attend Peace Prize Forum K. Lucln Staff Writer Tired from the long bus ride back from Augustana College, 34 Augsburg College and Luther Seminary Students returned from the Fourteenth Annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum late Saturday night. This yearās theme was āStriving for Peace: Who Is Responsible?ā and speakers included Sung Chul Yang, the Republic of Koreaās ambassador to the United States, and Craig Kielburger, founder of humanitarian organi- zation Free the Children. High winds and severe cold precluded the presence of David Halberstam, whose ļ¬ight was cancelled, leaving him unable to attend the gathering. The distinguished social and political commentator was unable to reach Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and left forum coordinators scrambling for alternatives. Instead of Halberstamās address, forumgoers heard a roundtable dis- cussion between various seminar leaders about the peace process. The Peace Prize Forum was conceived in 1986, when Jacob Sverdrup, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and Mike Roan, director of an organization whose work supā ported the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, had a discussion about how to give the Nobel Peace Prize a higher proļ¬le in the United States. Roan suggested Norwegian- American colleges as an ideal locus for such a project, and soon Augsburg, Augustana, Concordia, Luther, and St. Olaf agreed to host the Nobel Peace Prize Forums on a ļ¬ve-year rotating schedule. The presidents of these colleges serve on the Executive Board for the forum, along with former diplomats and senators. Debo- rah Hutterer, Communications Specialist in the Alumni-Parent Relations department, was the Coordinator for Augsburg this year, and with the help of Christa Hassman, Receptionist for the Academic and Leaming Services office, kept the Augsburg students organized. Augsburg day students stayed overnight in the Augustana dorms as guests of Augusā tana students. Augsburg faculty, staff and weekend college students, along with those attempts by the opposition party to assassi- nate him, the exile attempts and kidnap- pings, and Jungās fortitude, strongly rooted in his Catholic faith. At the age of twelve, Craig Kielburger, who gave the second plenary address, read about the murder of a Pakistani child-rights spokesman and was spurred to action. He and some of his young friends organized Free the Children, a child-rights group with over one hundred thousand youth involved in twentyāseven countries. Kielburger, a Canadian, has traveled to more than thirty countries in his advocacy for children, and his organization has built over 100 schools worldwide. During his address, he reminded the audience that change can begin locally, with regular people leading it, rather than with presidents and senators. The Peace Prize Forum also included two seminar sessions, with 37 seminars to choose from. Augsburg faculty and staff members Emiliano Chagil, Tom Morgan, Joe UnderhillāCady, Barbara Lehmann, Marilyn Sharpe, Joe Young, Adrienne Kauf- man, Rosemary Link, and Cathy Peters hosted seminars this year. Next yearās Peace Prize Forum will be held at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. from Luther Seminary, stayed in the local Holi- day Inn. Ambassador Sung Chul Yang attended the Forum, representing President of South Korea and winner of the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize Kim Dae Jung. Jungās āSun- shine Policyā of diplo- matic discussion and dialogue with North Korea received great acclaim worldwide and contributed to the increase of trade and tourism between the two nations. Yang gave the ļ¬rst plenary address, nar- rating the biography of Kim Dae Jung: the Time runs out on Blues Traveler bid ASAC fails to bring big band to campus Kellen Bredesen Co-Managing Editor Noon on Tuesday was the deadline for Blues Traveler to accept a bid to play at Augsburg this May. According to Augsburg Student Activities Council (ASAC) ofļ¬cials, time ran out Howard set the Blues Traveler deadline for March 12 so that ASAC ofļ¬cials would have enough time to organize publicity and logistics. Some ASAC members say the bidās failure was Blues Travelerās fault because the band did not get back to them in a timely manner. before their āTheir travā agent could ā , eling agent W... āas We re all āas: m disappomted. We ļ¬xing- Just need! ed] way 2232ās, 3:: fail," said Ā° ā respond to Annie DeY- ASACās bid oung, ASAC intime. Issues and Stu- Ideas Co-chair. āThere was no in- between.ā āWeāre all disappointed," said ASAC President Emily Gerard. āWe just need[ed] way more time. Thatās what weāve learned. Itās a process that takes a long time." The bid was put together by Major Events Chair Thomas Howard Jr. late last year. An ear- lier bid for the MTV College Inva- sion Tour, which would have included performances by three major bands, including Nickel- back, and several minor acts, was rejected. dent Body President Brendan Anderson reported that the Sen- ateās role was to commit Student ā Activity Fee money to the project. āIt is certainly disappointing that a band could not be secured for this spring, but thatās how the industry works sometimes," said Anderson. ASAC worked on bid negotia- tion process with agent Rose Pre- sents at no cost. organization will return $55,000 to Student Senate, as per the Stu- dent Body Finance Policy. The student 3 Augsburg students mix work and pleasure at the student computing desk. Let them eat cake . executive board position. Senate approves new executive IT position Representatives discuss status of oversight committee Krista Young Staff Writer Student Senate convened in the Century Room Thursday night. The were two major issues on the table: the addition of a paid execu- tive board position and the forma- tion of a new Senate committee. The ļ¬rst major issue of the evening was the addition of I an Cur- rently, there are ļ¬ve Senate execu- tive board members: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and ļ¬nance secretary. Senate unanimously passed the motion to add an Information Technology (IT) Specialist position to the existing executive board. Duties of this paid member of the execu- tive board will include attending weekly Senate meetings, main- taining the āSenate web page, relaying ofļ¬cial Senate correspon- ā dence via campus e-mail, making weekly reports on the condition of ā Senateās electronic communica- tion, and performing other IT- associated tasks. An amendment to the motion was also unani- mously approved to make knowl- edge of HTML and Javascript speciļ¬c qualiļ¬cations of the new position. Senator Woodroffe brought the second major topic of the night to the floor. Woodroffe suggested that Senate form an āoversight committeeā in order to get more student-senator contact and incorā porate student feedback into Sen- ateās decisions. Responsibilities of the proposed committee would entail meeting upon the receipt of a grant request that exceeds $10,000 by any student organizaā tion. In event of such a request, the oversight committee would notify the Augsburg student body of the request via eāmail, explain- ing it and asking for feedback, opinions, and concerns regarding the request. In their report to Senā ate the following week, the overĀ» sight committee would give a summary of the student response, and the grant decision will be largely based on the recommendaā tion of the oversight committee. Woodroffe expected the idea for an oversight committee to be warmly received, but it met some opposition concerning the comā mittee. President Anderson did not think the committee was necĀ» essary because it is the responsi- bility of all Senators to seek student opinion and give feedback on the results. Anderson also sugā gested that the new IT position could handle frequent eāmails to students that would obtain student feedback. An intense discussion of the issue followed President AndcrĀ» sonās point. Senator Howard pointed out that students or orga- nizations requesting large grants should bear the burden of seeking the opinion of the student body and reporting their ļ¬ndings to Senate. Sonata continued on page 7 Show less
March 1 5, 2002 EEOQinion page 2 Marketing the Middle Ages Joan Griffin Professor of English W If Socrates could bring philosophy to the marketā place, I guess itās okay for Augsburg to bring corpo- ration to the academy. Admittedly talking about education as entrepreneurial enterprise, the... Show moreMarch 1 5, 2002 EEOQinion page 2 Marketing the Middle Ages Joan Griffin Professor of English W If Socrates could bring philosophy to the marketā place, I guess itās okay for Augsburg to bring corpo- ration to the academy. Admittedly talking about education as entrepreneurial enterprise, the curricu- lum as consumer product, and the student as cus- tomer makes me queasy. But in all fairness, I must confess that once I thought about marketing the Mid- dle Ages. . I was a college junior at the time and had just decided that I wanted to be a medievalist. My subse- quent explorations of the library stacks led to the dis- covery of John Scottus Eriugenaās seven varieties of Nothing, the iconography of mermaids in Irish Chris~ tianity, the reason why the bee symbolizes the Incar- nation: all manner of wonderful, magicalāand utterly uselessāknowledge. Useless, that is, until the evening when my brother and I invented the Useless Facts of the Month Club. This commercial venture, as I recall, began in a family dinner table discussion about miniskirtsā my motherās view that mine were obscenely short, my younger sisterās arguments that she should be allowed to buy some miniskirts too, my older sisterās outspoken indifference to such a trivial topic, and my fatherās increasing absorption with his spaghetti. As the conversation declined further and further into controversy and sarcasm, I wondered how medieval men managed to keep their tights tight. It was not a non sequitur. My Chaucer class had just ļ¬nished discussing the portrait of the yong Squier in Canterbury Tales, and the professor had pointed out that the Squier wears the epitome of 14th . century fashion: an extremely short āgowneā that Chaucer disapproved of almost as much as my mother disapproved of my miniskirts. This, of course, made me want to see exactly what Chaucer was talking aboutāand thus a trip to the art library, where medieval manuscript illuminations made Chaucerās point quite clear. Young menās tunics indeed were short, but what made them obscene were the tightsāwhich were very tight and, I must say, revealing. But how did they do it? They didnāt have elastic. They didnāt have synthetic ļ¬bers. It sounded like a research project to me. At this point in the conversation, my brother got interested. Perhaps he didnāt want to let a satiric moment go by without him, or maybe he was cultiā vating that sense of the absurd that would sustain him should his education lead only to the draft and service in Viet Nam. Or maybe he just saw a way to stir up the conversation a little more. Marketing the Middle Ages continued on page 1 6 Editors From Augsburg alumnus Neil Paulson in Florida Dear Students, You are probably wondering why an alumnus would write a column. I saw the Echo online and offered to write a column. I think it may also be good for you. You see, I was a psychology major, not that it mattered a lot. I also wrote a lot for the Echo between 1973 and 1977. At Augsburg, I was very concerned about āmaking my life count,ā setting goals for the rest of my life, worrying about who I dated or if I got a date, and worrying about my Chris- tian life and what others thought about it. College time was a time to be serious. Sentences were to start out with āI think..." rather than āI feel...ā We were to be concerned with learning, not being. To a certain extent, the 1970s were rebellious times following the Viet Nam war: ļ¬ower power, long hair for men, smoking marijuana and drinking beer. Pucca shell necklaces were also in style around 1975. I have noticed a few similar necklaces now. Is there anything to rebel against now? I see more tatā toos and wild hairstyles. Fortunately, I had a good career, to which I owe a lot of thanks to the ļ¬nancial aid department at Augs- burg and the army for the money for law school. A few years ago, at age 45, I retired. I had 10 good years ļ¬nancially as a trial attorney and now the lure of money does not outweigh the hostility of the adversary sys- tem. The scales of working vs. not working very much weigh more heavily on not working too much. I set up a small endow- ment in my par- entsā name in the psychology department, Neil Paulson The last two years have again been ļ¬lled with Mock-Ademia . 50 things you might overhear in the cafeteria Karl Lucln Staff Writer 1. āSquirrel: the other other white meat.ā 2. āAre potatoes supposed to be green?ā 3. āGood God, itās eating my foot!!! GET IT OFF OF ME GET IT OFF OF ME!!!ā 4. āWhat is this? Never mind, I donāt want to know...ā 5. āIāll have the chicken, 3 roll, the fruit, and a stomach pump. To go, please.ā 6. āHey, Iāve seen these meatballs somewhere before...ā 7. āI guess Iām not hungry after all.ā 8. āAre hamburgers supposed to have fur?ā 9. āMaybe, but not blue fur.ā 10. āWhat I donāt understand is how they can have leftovers ļ¬ve days in a row.ā 11. āIsnāt ice cream supposed to be, like, solid?ā 12. āMy date walked out on me...and Iām referring to the fruit kind.ā 13. āIf thatās the cured ham, Iād hate to see the one that didnāt make it.ā ā 14. āShould that be moving?" ...when itās not Jello. 15. āShouldnāt that be moving?" ...when it is Jello 16. āThe nice thing about tofu is... um... gimme a minute, Iām think- ing...ā 17. āWith a tail?!?ā 18. āI spent all of lunch playing ā with my food. It had evolved sen- tience, you see, and challenged me to a game of chess.ā 19. āIs that cheese or last weekās milk?ā ā 20. āSometimes, I like to close my searching and trying to ļ¬nd fulļ¬llment doing other , ā~ the Donner Party Special?" things, because we only have one life to live. I make market. I travel every third week of the month, usu- , ally to another country. I recall a commencement address where we were told to ļ¬nd something we enjoyed for work and become the very best we could at it. Very simple advice. Its probably true and correct. I have always felt that if we donāt like something we will probably change our environment. Alum letter continued on page 7 How valuable have eyes and pretend itās oatmeal." 21. āWhere is the beef?" 22. āWhy was this advertised as my money on investments in mortgages and the stock 23. āDid anybody else hear that āMoo...ā?" 24. āOf course all the food we serve here is sterile! Not even the mold will touch it!ā 25. āIs bread supposed to have bones?ā 26. āDear Lord, please help us be thankful for the food which we are about to receive. No, really..." 27. āSo thatās what happens to freshmen who donāt pass the entrance exams..." 28. āHey, for once, they got the chicken to taste like chicken!ā āWait--isnāt that cottage cheese?ā 29. āOn the plus side, this place looks downright festive on St. Patrickās Day.ā 30. āQuiet, Phil, itās trying to communicate!" 31. āFunny thing is, everybody's praying before dinner a lot more often now...ā 32. āHey, wasnāt that in our petri dish last year?" 33. āAwww, how cute. They arranged the meat in a biohazard symbol pattern." 34. āTell me this is Please?ā 35. āI swear the potato salad is watching me!ā 36. āAre you sure Tang counts as a vegetable?" 37. āI just heard one of the cooks screaming, āLIFE! GIVE MY CREATION LIIIIIIIIFE!ā Is that bad?ā 38. āWhy is this carton of milk asking if Iāve seen Jimmy Hoffa?ā 39. āIf you'll go get me the burn ointment and some gauze pads, I believe we can have this chicken back on its feet in ten minutes." 40. āWhat kind of beer goes with gray glop?ā I 41. āThis is the first time Iāve heard milk snap, crackle, and pop without cereal in it." 42. āJust eat it, itās extra protein." 43. āThis isnāt an orange. Itās a green.ā 44. āThis is the only cafeteria Iāve been to where the food serves spam. itself.ā 45. āAIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! IT BURNS!!!!!!!!!" 46. āRelax! With the lighting turned down so dim, the inspec- torās never gonna see the cock- roaches!ā 47. āI didnāt know it was still legal to sell this.ā 48. āI can't eat this, it keeps screaming when I try to cut it.ā 49. āItās great! You know, ever since they started putting novoā caine in the food here, I canāt taste it!" 50. āHave you noticed the decrease in the squirrel population lately? By the way, what's for dinner?ā Lifetime Sports been to your educational experience? They keep you active and busy during all the chaos of school. --Grady Heelan. Freshman Exercise reduces stress and makes you feel better. so you might perform better in your classes! Ā«Kelly Neidenfuer. Senior I think theyāre kind of ajoke. I took a whole semester with Mr. Badminton-J left with so many new moves that I went pro. -āEmily Gerard. Junior --Clarke Athman, Freshman I think the concept of lifetime sports is stupid in a collegiate atmosphere. --James Shropshire, Senior Ā« āv āswatches-I. (āup ,-; ,p m. r. N... Show less