Echo December 13, 2002

              Echo
i
Aup-sbun? College
December 13, 2002
Volume 109
Issue 10
INDEX
OPINIONS page 2
A&E Page 3
FEATURE page 4-5
COMMUNITY/VALUES page 6
NEWS page 7
SPORTS page 8
Grade reports
now online
Measure saves college $600 in postage
Brandi Bennett
News Editor
Starting this semester, printed grade reports will no longer be mailed
to students' home addresses. Instead, Augsburg will be going electronic
and posting them solely on AugNet, where students will be able to
access them using their ID and PIN numbers.
"Putting the grade reports online will result in significant cost savings," said registrar Wayne Kallestad. "We should save about $600 in
postage alone this semester alone."
According to Kallestad, putting grade reports online is becoming
standard practice at larger institutions because of aging technology and
cost efficiency. The paper printouts of grade reports were printed on an
archaic printer system that was fast becoming unrealistic to repair
because of higher costs. Also, technicians for the printer were increasingly hard to locate.
There was also a significant delay printing grade reports under the
old system because none of the reports could be printed until all of the
professors had submitted grades.
"We were looking at ten days after classes got done just to get
grades, another two or three for late professors, then three days for printing, and maybe five more for shipping. Now, students should be able to
access their grades a lot sooner," said Kallstad.
see REPORTS on page 7
photo courtesy of Emilano Chagil
Robert Amaya, Lauren and baby Wrightsman dressed as Joseph, Mary,
and baby Jesus in Augsburg's 2001 Las Posadas Hispanic Christmas
celebration.  Every year Augsburg puts on Las Posadas.
See LAS POSADAS on page 5
English department        wec students
j..    .. j. ..    no longer get
audits its own diversity <students> email
K. Lucin
Opinions Editor
Augsburg junior Tracey Lange, on behalf of the
English department, will be conducting a survey
regarding diversity in the English curriculum. She
will also explore ways diversity could be incorporated into syllabi in the future.
English 111, Effective Writing, has taken on a new
importance under the revamped general education
requirements,   as   both   a	
course typically taken by
first-year students and as a
course that highlights and
develops Augsburg's commitment to diversity in and
out of the classroom.
However, because of this
radical shift in the class's
focus, department members are struggling to find
viable alternatives to older
material   that   incorporate
diversity in a meaningful   	
and positive way.
Central to the issue is the problem of definition.
Both students and professors are hard-pressed to find
a good definition of the word "diversity." Amid fears
of being merely politically correct and concerns
about mishandling unfamiliar material, the English
department will need to stand together with a single
definition in order to make progress with the Effective Writing redesign.
"It just seems to be this huge politically correct
topic that everyone feels but no one can articulate.
Because a problem in definition certainly precedes a
problem in implementation. I thought a survey about
diversity would be a good idea," said Lange.
"I was also just a little curious to see how students
felt about the English department's current course
material in regard to variety and selection," she said.
Lange participates in department meetings as a
student representative.
The results of her survey will be formative as the
English department redesigns ENG 111. Students in
English classes will be offered the survey form by
their professors. Surveys will be kept anonymous
and confidential, and will be tallied and synthesized
by Lange, with the assistance of a professor.
Before going ahead with her survey, Lange must
contact the Augsburg
College Institutional
Review Board, an on-
campus group dedicated
to promoting "ethical
and responsible treatment of human subjects/participants in
research," currently
chaired by professor of
political science Norma
C. Noonan.
"The start of the
  process is actually quite
simple-just fill out an
application form that states the nature of the study,
reasons why it's being conducted, any and all threats
of harm, etc. The sticky part is classifying the study
according to whether or not it will need full Board
review, which is the most time-consuming, or if it
may be exempted from full Board review based on its
nature and purpose," explained Lange.
The survey will probably be distributed next
semester, rather than during finals week.
Lange said it might be a good idea for other
departments to conduct similar surveys.
"Diversity is highly touted as a big deal on this
campus. A survey might just produce some good
food for thought as well as action," she said.
Allie Gulbrandson
Staff Writer
Diversity is highly
touted as a big deal on
this campus. A survey
might just produce some
good food for thought as
well as action.
Recently, the Weekend College students of Augsburg were taken off
the campus-wide <students> email list. Another step "out of the loop?"
Maybe. But this time, say many WEC students, the administration did
something right.
Many of the campus-wide student emails pertain mostly or only to
the day student population, or are about events happening during the day
on campus. The weekend students generally work all week or are otherwise busy and have no way of coming to, seeing or participating in any
of the events.
Why then should their email boxes be littered with email upon email
notifying them of things they can't do anyway? Another argument is that
although students here, most WEC students have never even touched
their WebMail account. Instead, they stay Internet active through private
accounts at home, utilized by families, and at work.
"I never even touched my AugNet account until I had to because
they changed registration," said one WEC student.
Some WEC students say there are some things they can and would
like to take advantage of, if they are informed.
"I would've appreciated advance notice of the immunizations when
they were offered on campus," said WEC student Cathryn Miller, "Usually, I'm not aware of Augsburg special events until I am already on
campus."
"A-mail can be informative," said Miller, "but it isn't published often
enough."
Some students have suggested more family-orientated events on
campus, to which WEC students (and Day students as well) could bring
spouses and children, in hopes of getting families more familiar with
and connected to Augsburg.
On the flip side, many WEC students aren't even aware of the many
opportunities available to them as Augsburg students. These students
can play on sports teams, act in the musicals and plays and sing or play
in band, orchestra and choir right along with Day students on campus.
WEC and graduate students make up 43 percent of the Augsburg student population.