Echo, V 113, I 04, October 13, 2006

              Volleyball
looks to
finish
strong
likji
Augsburg College
hCHO
All-star cast
proves
Scorsese is
anything but
"Departed
Volume CXIII, Issue 4
Sports, Page 6  Jhe College's Student-Produced Newspaper    A&E, Page 10
Friday, October 13, 2006 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Demographics shape future of Minnesota colleges
 Caleb Williams	
Photo Editor
State employees Tom Gil-
laspy and Tom Stinson discussed
the impact of population trends on
the United States, Minnesota, and
Augsburg in a seminar on Economic and Demographic Change
Oct. 10.
Present at the seminar was
college President Paul Pribbenow,
who introduced the speakers. Pribbenow also said that Augsburg
needs "to take [diversity] seriously."
Also present was a large group
of faculty and staff, filling the
Marshall Room to capacity.
Gillaspy, a Minnesota State
Demographer, focused on the ever-
changing makeup of Minnesota,
both racially and age-wise.
Gillaspy stressed the fact that
Minnesota, as well as the country
in general, is an aging society; that
is to say, the mean age of Minne-
sotans is on the rise.
According to the Minnesota State Demographic Center's
Martha McMurry, Minnesota's
"median age rose from 35.4 years
in 2000 to 36.6 in 2005." The
largest change by percent was the
55-59 age group with a 29 percent
increase. This group denotes the
first five years of the Baby Boom
generation.
As the workforce ages and
more people begin to retire, Minnesota will have to rely on new
out-of-state employees. According
to Gillaspy, one of the many ways
in which a state attracts new workers is through higher education.
In Minnesota, the number of
people age 18-24 will decline 4.8
percent over the next 10 years.
This decrease will force the state
to look outside its borders for students as well.
While the workforce continues to decrease, workers from out
of state and around the world bring
diversity in ever increasing numbers to Minnesota. The Fall 2006
Augsburg enrollment statistics
show 435 of 3,785 total students
were of color (11.5 percent). This
can be compared with 27.9 percent
at the University of Minnesota
Twin-Cities.
An Aging Country
The U.S. has the third highest population in the world and
it's growth rate is average. While
counties such as China grow at an
astronomical rate, countries like
Japan and those in Europe are
slowly declining.
The U.S. lies somewhere
in the middle of this trend. The
number of people entering the
workforce is not large enough to
compensate for the number of
people leaving.
By 2030, the USA will have
1.5 million people over age 65 and
half a million people ages 18-24.
By 2010, in the Midwest, the
number of people aged 16-64 will
begin to decline slightly by an
average of a sixth of a percent.
The major effect of this societal aging will be healthcare
costs. The Congressional Budget
Office estimates that Minnesota
will spend over 200 million dollars
on Medicaid—double the 2006
estimate. State tax revenue will
not be able to sustain this growth
at present tax levels.
The Impact on Augsburg
Diversity at Augsburg is
noticeable in many locations.
Augsburg has had the reputation
of being a predominantly white
Lutheran school. As stated above
88.5 percent of Augsburg students
are white, but only 32 percent of
them are Lutheran.
Augsburg is no longer a young
campus either, besides the typical
undergraduate students whose
average age is 21. Many Augsburg
students are now older. The average Weekend student is 34 while
Graduate students are on average
35.
Nancy Rodenborg of the
Diversity and Global Aweness
Collabrative puts it best when she
says, "historically Augsburg has
been a leader in diversity."
If current trends continue,
Augsburg will remain so.
Macalester prof speaks on modern Chinese women
Emily Jensen
Staff Writer
Wang Ping, born in Shanghai,
spoke at Augsburg on Wednesday
about women in modern China,
examining the history of their
roles and rights in different eras
of Chinese tradition.
Ping, currently an English
professor at Macalester College,
began by speaking about the Iron
Maiden Period, the subject of
her most recent book, Aching for
Beauty: Feet binding in China.
"The ideal woman in traditional China was kind, family
oriented, and obedient," said Ping.
"Over the past decades there has
been a shift from the typical traditional stay at home woman to the
beautiful, brainy, business women
where staying at home and being
married are being looked down
upon."
During the Traditional period,
feet binding, a painful procedure in
which women would tie their feet
Caleb Wiiliamv'CCHO
Professor Wang Ping, English professor at Macalester College, presented her research on the Iron
Maiden Period in china to a group of Augsburg students, faculty and staff.
to appear small and delicate, was
a major practice. Society saw feet
binding as a symbol of a woman's
endurance and toleration of pain,
which indicated that a woman was
ready for marriage.
With the revolutions beginning in the 1920's and leading up
to the 1940's, the roles of women
greatly evolved as women started
breaking out of the traditional image.
During Mao's era, from 1949
to 1970, women advocated for
equal rights, arguing that they are
equally capable as men.
By 1950, a marriage law was
passed allowing women to marry
partners of their choice, as well as
the ability to divorce. Also during
this time, a land reform allowed
women to own their own property.
As women began entering the
work force, the number of employed women rose significantly;
by 1958, 7 million women were
See CHINA, Page 2
QSU drag show provides community for LGBTQA students
 Katie LaGrave	
News Editor
Queer and Straight in Unity
recently hosted a number of events
in correspondence with National
Coming Out Day and Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual. Transgender
Month, including movie nights and
the annual drag show.
These events were put on in
the hopes of raising awareness
about Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual,
Transgender. Questioning, and
Asexual issues.
"[We're doing it] as a way to
make our presence known." said
Kathryn Selin, QSU co-chair.
"The drag show gets people
around Augsburg to see something
they probably wouldn't normally
see," said Selin. "It is a good opportunity to show people we're
here."
With the drag show hosting
performing professionals from
the Gay 90s, Selin emphasized the
overall entertainment value of the
show.
One of the highest attended
student-led events, the drag show
cost QSU approximately $2,000
to sponsor, and was their largest
undertaking of the year.
Following emcee and performer Monica West's announcement that "We are here to give you
a little preview of what we do at
the 90s." drag professionals danced
and lip-synched to featured songs
including Justin Timberlake's
"Sexy Back". Fergie's "London
Bridges", and Beyonce's "Ring
The Alarm."
Reasons for attendance at the
show varied.
"I came because I wanted to
watch Kevin Granzin and Matt
Tonsager in drag," said junior Matt
Dunn.
"Although I really didn't
know what to expect at first, it
ended up being the most interesting and fun night that I have had,"
said Laura Harms, a first-time attendee.
Slightly unwilling to participate in the show. Harms was at one
point being pulled up on stage by
West as a dancing partner. "They
were hilarious," she said.
"The goal of the show is for
the LGBTQA community to come
together as a community," said
Will O'Berry, Assistant Director of
Activities and LGBTQA Advisor.
"The show is a sort of representative mascot that brings a lot of
different people together."
O'Berry notes that part of the
drag show is shock value, as many
straight people don't often think
about issues so often proposed to
them in the form of provocative
comments or questions.
"There are some straight
people who would walk away
from [the drag show] and say, 'Oh,
a transgender person is always a
drag queen,'" said O'Berry.
"1 think there are pros and
cons to the show and the pros far
outweigh the cons in that it gives
the LGBTQA a space to socialize,"
said O'Berry.
However, the cons do exist.
"When misrepresentation occurs, it can misrepresent the entire
culture," said O'Berry.
Because Augsburg is a Lutheran institution, QSU has received complaints regarding the
drag show and its purpose.
"Students and parents of
students called the previous president Frame and wondered why
there was a LGBTQA event at a
Lutheran campus," said Levi Dok-
ken, co-chair of QSU.
According to Dokken, co-
chairs of QSU had to speak with
former President Frame about two
years ago.
"[They] had to clarify the
purpose o]' QSU and the things
we do and why we do them." Mid
Dokken.
QSU considers Coming
Out Month a significant time
for the LGBTQA communities.
and O'Berry hopes that the drug
show, in addition to attracting so
many people, will also challenge
See DRAG, Page 3