Echo, V 115, I 05, October 31, 2008

              Augsburg College
Get out and vote!
Happy Halloween!
The College's Student-Produced Newspapei
Friday, October 31, 2008
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Volume CXV, Issue 5
McNeff Royalty to Augsburg:    Beyo n d Pa rty Lines
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Kristin Daniels
Staff Writer
The McNeff name is known
and respected on the Augsburg
campus, and for good reason.
Marie McNeff, Professor
Emeritus and retired Dean of
Augsburg College, her husband
Larry, and son Clayton McNeff
Ph.D. (Augsburg class of'91) are
known not only for their strong
ties to Augsburg, but for their
exceedingly generous gifts to the
campus.
Larry McNeff is the founder
and president of SarTec Corporation which manufactures specialty
agriculture products.
With the help of Augsburg
student. Brian Krohn, an algae-
based formula was produced into
a type of biodiesel and deemed the
Mcgyan Biodiesel Process (named
alter McNeff, Gyberg and Yan who
discovered the method). Following
the discovery, EverCat Fuels was
born and is now located in Isanti.
Minn.
The McNeff family has made
a commitment to give $.05 for
every gallon of biodiesel produced
at the EverCat Fuels plant to the
construction of the Center for Science, Business and Religion for the
next ten years.
Jeremy Wells, Vice President
for Institutional Advancement,
gave three solid reasons why their
gift, in particular is noteworthy.
"I think there are many reasons this gift is significant," Wells
said. "It is the first 7-figure gift of
the campaign, which is always an
important milestone. This type of
a gift, early in a campaign such
as this, provides momentum both
internally and externally, and we
have already begun talking about
this gift with others and encouraging them to do likewise."
"This gift is also significant
because of the family who gave
it," Wells said. "When those who
are the closest to an organization
choose to support its efforts and
support them generously, this
makes a powerful statement for
others who are contemplating their
own philanthropy. A third reason
that this gift is so significant is
because there is a gTeat possibility that the gift will grow from the
initial commitment of $ 1.5 million
as the production of bio-diesel
from the EverCat Fuels plant increases."
The donation will begin just
after the New Year and will continue until 2019. Due to the current
fuel crisis, the McNeff family
hopes that the new biodiesel fuel
will be in high demand as it is
revolutionary and cost effective.
Initially they hope to produce
3 million gallons per year. This
would give the college roughly
$ 150,000 annually. As the capacity
and production increase, the yearly
gift will grow.
Not only is it important to note
the impact, but it is also necessary
for students to realize the magni-
See MCNEFF, page 2
Phillip Kaup
Staff Writer
What is the function of a legislator? Represent the majority of its
constituents? Serve as a proxy for
a party's agenda? Or is it to work
towards a vision of the common
good?
This past Wednesday. Oct.
29, Minnesota State Representatives Steve Simon (DFL) and Pat
Garofalo (R) held a bi-partisan
discussion on the recent transportation legislation in Minnesota's
Congress.
The scheduled topic of the
evening was transportation and gas
taxes. After giving one another a
friendly introduction, they presented their conception of the proper
role of a legislative body, and the
proceeded with an extended question and answer session.
"Conflict is not the problem,"
Simon said. "We're going to
disagree a lot, that's what we do.
The problem is not conflict, but
distrust. Distrust is more corrosive
than any disagreement."
The representatives professed
a message of party based politics
as only one dimension of a legislative body, seeing the primary goal
of individual legislators and the
assembly as working towards an
end of common good or common
benefit.
"The problem does not lie in
having partisan opinions, but in
letting these take over and losing
sight of the common good," Garofalo said.
The candidates did not talk in
great depth about what this common view might be, but it was
obvious that they both suggested
a unifying goal of legislators that
lay outside of current ideological
boundaries.
The introduction was followed with commentary from both
representatives on the opposing
party's presidential candidate.
Both men agreed before-hand to
speak on the positive qualities of
the opposition's candidates. They
both felt fortunate that there were
positive qualities to identify, and
mentioned that this suggested
that there was good reason to feel
See BEYOND, page 2
Author Sue Silverman Mentors Augsburg Writers
Dave Mott
Staff Writer
Augsburg's aspiring writers
were allowed a unique opportunity
this week.
For the week of October 26
author Sue William Silverman
was on campus working one on
iinc with students, offering a rare
chance for undergraduate writers
to have their pieces appraised by
a professional in the field.
In an interv lew in the Chns-
tensen coffee lounge, Silverman
glowed w ith excitement about her
time with our community.
"1 just have to say that 1 love
Augsburg College," Silverman
said "It's really friendly, every-
Kk1> 's been incredibly welcoming.
The students I've met are amazing
writers. l'\e rally enjoyed being
able tO read then work 1 think
thev're bra\e to show their work
to a total stranger."
Though writing may not be a
profession you see in your future,
take note. Silverman's first career
path led her to our nation's capital
before she found her true calling.
"My parents were involved
in politics, and so that was sort of
their vision of my life," Silvennan
said. "Because 1 did not have any
idea who I really was or what 1
really wanted to do, 1 really sort
of became what they wanted me
to. Which isn't to say it was bad. 1
do enjoy politics and I worked on
Capitol Hill for a while.. .1 will say
though that 1 always had the sense
that it wasn't quite me, that there
was something else that I really
needed and wanted to do. And one
day 1 just started writing."
With the phenomenal writers
of past and present, it can be challenging to see oneself as a writer of
the future, but not for Silverman.
'1 think the most important
thing is to know that you have
important stories tell, and to know
that they are important," Silverman said. "Believe in your story,
believe in your voice, and write
it."
Silverman's writing is heavily
influenced by her experiences as a
recovering sex addict.
After a dark childhood in
which she was the victim of re
peated sexual abuse, Silverman
grew to become a young adult in
a world of hopelessness and pain.
She struggled to maintain real
relationships and find meaning
in her life, ultimately entering an
inpatient treatment center for her
addiction.
"1 grew up feeling like a
failure," Silverman said. "I never
thought about being a writer or
doing much of anything. I'm a
real late bloomer. Anybody who's
reading this thinking 'oh it's too
late for me to become a writer
and do something', no it's never
too late. We all sort of come into
ourselves and find our paths at
different times."
In her recovery she discovered
that she needed to write to exercise
the demons of her past, and provide hope to others struggling with
dark secrets. Admitting her past to
the whole world, she explained,
was no easy task.
"I started as a fiction writer
because I was way too scared to
write my truth," she said. "When
I switched to creative nonfiction, 1
literally wrote my first memoir in
three months. It just fell out of me.
Love Sick, my second memoir,
actually took five years to write.
That's closer to the facts of what
it's like to be a real writer."
Silvennan delivered a workshop open to all students on
Wednesday afternoon and a public
reading Thursday evening. Though
she leaves today, her impact is sure
to be memorable for a generation
of Augsburg writers.
She offers these words of hope
to all who may need them
"If you are struggling with
something that's dark or scary,
there's help out there and there's
hope out there. Don't give up; find
safe people who can help you."
Augsburg Grads receive Milken Awards
Michelle Richter
News Co-1.
KelK W oods and Tracy (.
. more m common than just .1
passion for education Both are
teachers m the 1\\ in Cities, both
won the Milken Familv Foundation Award on Oct 14. and both
duated from Augsburg Col-
W inners are not only gn en the
award, but also recei\ e $25,000 in
pn/e faoney Approximately 80
awards are gi\en out each
Recipients are chosen based on
their educational talents, accomplishments and leadership
K.ell> Woods is a teacher at
Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary
in Minneapolis. Co-workers credit
her with improving the performance of students who ha\ e typi-
calK been below average grade
le\el Woods teaches in the third
grade. Woods finished her schooling at Augsburg in 1998. and
e\ en then she "saw herself as an
urban teacher" Augsburg Professor
Gretchen Irvine said.
Tracy Cross graduated in
2001 and works as a math coach at
Galtier Science and Mathematics
magnet school in St. Paul.
"She has the ability to make
her curriculum come alive." Principal Adrian Pendelton to Tim
Nelson of Minnesota Public Radio
I.MPR I said "She makes it real for
the students, where the students
can relate to it and take it back to
their world and integrate it."
"When you walk into her
classroom, the kids are attending to
what she's doing, and her passion
just comes out," Pendelton said.
"You can feel it when you walk
into the room."
"Total shock." Woods said
after winning the award. "I was
an unsuspecting victim. I had no
idea I was going to be one of the
winners."
""I believe knowing the kids,
what their background is. what
their interests are. I think that's important to knowing how to teach."'
Woods told an MPR radio host.
Woods and Cross joined fellow former Auggies Jaquylynn
Bnckman and Maggie Knutson in
winning this award Bnckman won
in 2006 while working at Llizabclh
Hall International Lleincntary
School in Minneapolis. Knutson
teaches at the Orono Intermediate
School in Long Lake, Minn.
The Milken Awards, also
known as the "Oscars of leaching"
ha\e been given out to outstanding education professionals since
1987.