The Yellow Sheet 2001November 8, 2001 | Volume 34, Number 10

News & Announcements

Important Flu Shot Update... Nicollet County Public Health has informed the College that it has not received enough flu vaccine to support the employee flu shots. Therefore, the College will not be able to offer free flu shots to employees and spouses this year. In place of the flu shot clinic on campus, arrangements have been made with the St. Peter Clinic to provide the shot. Their supply of the vaccine is expected to be depleted during a public flu shot clinic on Nov. 13. Those interested in getting the shot should call the clinic after 9 a.m. weekdays before Nov. 13 to arrange a time to receive the shot. Cost of the shot is $16.50, but the College Aware Gold plan and the $250 wellness benefit in the $300 deductible Comprehensive Major Medical (CMM) plan will cover the cost of the shot. Employees enrolled in the $700 CMM will need to pay for the shot. The cost of flu shots are reimbursable through a Medical Reimbursement account. Employees who do not participate in the College health insurance plan should check with their insurer to determine if the cost of the shot will be covered. The clinic will process the necessary insurance paperwork.

Snow Emergency Notice... When College facilities will be closed or classes delayed or canceled during a work day due to inclement weather conditions, announcements will be made by 6:30 a.m. on the following radio stations: KRBI (1310 AM), KEEZ (99.1 FM), KYSM (103.5 FM/1230 AM), and WCCO (830 AM). Announcements will also be made by 6:45 a.m. on campus voice mail and e-mail. If the College makes the decision to close, individuals will be paid for their regularly scheduled hours for that day. If individuals choose to leave early due to inclement weather, the time off should be taken as unpaid leave or vacation, with supervisor approval. Factors that influence the College's decision to delay or cancel classes include the following: expected precipitation, road conditions, visibility, and windchill factor. The College recognizes that its decision to delay/cancel may differ from local area K-12 schools. Gustavus is influenced by the needs of the 2,000 students who live in campus housing, as contrasted to different factors and conditions at K-12 schools (e.g., busing, young children, etc.).

Publication Reminder... Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, The Yellow Sheet will not be published Nov. 22. It will be published Nov. 29, Dec. 6, and Dec. 13, followed by a 3-week hiatus due to Christmas recess. It will resume publication Jan. 10.

Some Christmas Tickets Remain... Tickets are selling fast for the 29th annual Christmas in Christ Chapel celebration on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 and 2. Tickets remain for Friday and Sunday evenings. The theme for this year's service is "A Celtic Pilgrimage." Christmas in Christ Chapel has been a tradition at Gustavus since 1973 and one that is known for its music, scripture, and pageantry. For more information, contact the Office of Public Relations (x7520).

Gustavus Fax Directory to be Published... Due to the large number of fax machines on campus, the telecommunications office is in the process of creating a directory which will list campus fax numbers. This directory will be distributed on a request basis only. For verification that a specific department would like to be included in the directory, or would like to be excluded from the directory, or would like to receive a copy of the directory when complete, e-mail Laura McCabe (lmccabe@gustavus.edu).

Choosing a Book... For the past 2 years, the New Student Orientation Program has utilized a summer common reading program. All first-year students are requested to read the same book and be prepared to discuss their thoughts during a session held during 1 of the 4 days of orientation. The program will continue for next year and the process of selecting a book will begin this month. The committee will again select a book that has many issues and topics relevant to the lives of new students as they face much transition in their lives. The goal is to choose a book that includes characters experiencing transition, culture, and identity development, and to select a book with an author that has the possibility of visiting Gustavus, as experienced 2 years ago with Gail Tsukiyama's lecture. Anyone who has suggestions for a book that addresses the mentioned topics with a living author is asked to forward this information to Patti Kelly (x6282) by Nov. 15.

Thanksgiving Baking Offer... The Dining Service is taking orders for Thanksgiving baking. Order forms can be picked up in the Market Place. Orders and payment must be received at the Dining Service office by noon on Nov. 14.

Cellular Plans for Employees... The telecommunications office has made arrangements with 3 cellular companies to offer discounts and promotions for the purchase of personal cellular phones for employees. The companies are Midwest Wireless, Sprint PCS, and Hickory Tech. Any employee who is currently a customer of Sprint PCS or Hickory Tech may want to change to the employee plan for cost savings. Contact JoEllen Schulz (x6262) for more information.

United Way Update... To date, the campus fund for the 2002 St. Peter United Way campaign has reached $5,000 of the $10,000 goal. Dean Wahlund (United Way fundraising volunteer) extends his congratulations and thanks to all who have participated so far. Gifts and pledges continue to be accepted. See Wahlund in the public relations office or Barb Lundgren in the finance office for a pledge card. Know that direct gifts and payroll deductions are options. The local United Way campaign is slated to close by early December.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Nov. 9 -- Mary Solberg, Exodus 3: 13-20;
• Nov. 11 -- 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Chaplain Brian Johnson;
• Nov. 12 -- Deborah Goodwin, Matthew 13: 10-17;
• Nov. 13 -- Michael Dahl, Director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, Gen. 38: 1-26;
• Nov. 14 -- Morning Praise, Luke 17: 20-37;
• Nov. 15 -- Steve Bennett, Acts 24: 10-23;
• Nov. 16 -- Richard Leitch, Jude 17-25; and
• Nov. 18 -- 24th Sunday after Pentecost, Chaplain Rachel Larson.

International Festival Friday... All are invited to attend the annual International Cultures Club Festival, beginning at 5 p.m. Nov. 9 in the banquet rooms of the Campus Center. The schedule is as follows: At 5 p.m., food and display booths will open, representing countries from around the world. At 6:30 p.m., an entertainment program with international music, dances, and a fashion show will begin. It will include a Cambodian blessing dance, Pakistani songs and dances, a skit, a Chinese dance, an African dance, a live band, and more. At 8:30 p.m., a dance featuring international music will be held in the Dive. The festival is free and sponsored by the Gustavus International Cultures Club, in conjunction with the Crossroads international program and the Office of International Education.

Concerts This Weekend... Five of Gustavus' major instrumental ensembles will present fall concerts this weekend: the Gustavus Band and the Adolphus Band at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in Christ Chapel; the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band and the Adolphus Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 in Bjorling Recital Hall; and the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in Bjorling Recital Hall. These performances are open to the public at no charge.

Hunger and Homelessness Week Events... Gustavus students and faculty will mark national Hunger and Homelessness Week, Nov. 11-17, by participating in a sleep out. Eighteen students in the First Term Seminar “The Politics of Homelessness” and professor Richard Leitch, along with members of Gusties Against Poverty and others, will live and sleep outside Nov. 11-14. They will begin Sunday evening and conclude Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Participants will congregate in front of Christ Chapel. Students will attend their regularly scheduled classes but are asked not to return to their residence halls. They are asked not to shower for those days and to have no steady source of food -- instead relying on the thoughtfulness of others. They are asked to continue working unless they have jobs with sanitary requirements. “We want the students to experience some sense of what it is like to be homeless,” said Leitch, who was instrumental in planning the 3-day sleep out and has participated in it each year. “Homeless people go to school, homeless people have jobs, et cetera.” This will be the fourth 3-day sleepout at Gustavus, but the first 1 that includes an entire class as it is the first time Leitch has taught “The Politics of Homelessness.” In addition to the sleep out, other campus events are planned for the week, including:

• Director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Michael Dahl will be on campus Nov. 12-13. On Nov. 12, he will give a public lecture "Bringing Minnesota Home" at 8 p.m. in Olin Hall 103. On Nov. 13, he will visit the FTS class (beginning at 9 a.m.), which will meet outside and he will give the homily at 10 a.m. in Chapel. The Nov. 12 evening lecture and the Nov. 13 morning Chapel talk are free and open to all.
• A clothing and food drive will be held all week in the Campus Center. A benefit concert is also being planned. Both of these activities are sponsored by Gusties Against Poverty.

Anti-Arab Hostility and Social Justice Discussion... Joanna Kadi, a theorist and activist who has long worked within Arab communities in the U.S. and Canada, will visit campus Nov. 12-14 to discuss anti-Arab hostility and other social justice issues. Kadi will present a public lecture, give workshops for Gustavus community members, visit classes, and participate in informal conversations. The lecture, “Nightmares, Visions, Realities: Thoughts on Peace and Justice,” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in Alumni Hall and will focus on anti-Arab hostility, which has escalated since Sept. 11 but has much older and deeper roots. Kadi has followed the investigations of the FBI and the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim violence that has sprung up outside these investigations and in other venues. A writer, musician, poet, activist, and teacher, Kadi has been a community activist for several years, working on diverse issues, including trying to end violence against women and anti-Arab racism. Kadi has worked for peace and justice at home and in the Two-Thirds World. In the past few years, she has given many workshops focusing on issues of race and class. Kadi's workshops will focus on “Struggling Together: Activist Responses to the Current Crisis” and “Scribbling and Healing: Creative Writing during Troubled Times.” This 3-day visit is in response to the current national crisis, but it is also part of the Gustavus commitment to social justice and diversity. The event is sponsored by the Women's Studies Program with support from and in collaboration with the Diversity Center, Peace Studies Program, Campus Activities Board, Crossroads, Curriculum II, Office of the Dean of Students, Office of International Education, Office of the Chaplains, Department of Philosophy, the Lilly-funded Center for Vocational Reflection, and the Sponberg Chair of Ethics.

Cancer Support Group Nov. 14... The campus Cancer Support Group will meet at noon Nov. 14 in the Leadholm Room. Anyone who has been affected by cancer and has questions or concerns is welcome to bring a lunch and join the conversation.

Satirist Moore Cancels Nov. 14... “An Evening With Michael Moore,” scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in Christ Chapel, has been cancelled due to a change in Moore's schedule. Plans are underway to reschedule the lecture for later this academic year -- perhaps in the spring.

Learning Opportunities Nov. 15... The Asian Cultures Club is sponsoring a poetry reading by and conversation with the distinguished Japanese-American poet, Lawson Inada, at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 in Christ Chapel. Among other things, he will speak about his experiences in the Japanese internment camps during WWII. In a so-called embarrassment of riches, a long-time friend of President Axel Steuer's, distinguished linguist, and specialist on ancient cultures, Elizabeth Barber, will speak at the same time in Wallenberg Auditorium as the annual Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Lecturer. All are encouraged to take advantage of these cultural learning opportunities.

Talk Shop... Gregory Kaster (history) will present the next Faculty Shop Talk of the 2001-02 academic year at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Interpretive Center. His talk is titled "Honorable Workers, Honorable Men: Masculinized Assimilationist Desire in Workingmen's Rhetoric, 1827-1877." Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed on the Gustavus Web under the On-Campus Community/Faculty/Shop Talks link.

KUDOS:

Eric Carlson, history, has published an essay, titled "The Boring of the Ear: Shaping the Pastoral Practice of Preaching in England, 1540-1640," in Preachers and People in the Reformations and Early Modern Period. This essay was edited by Larissa Taylor and published by Brill.

Barbara Fister, library, has published an article, titled "Trade Publishing: A Report from the Front," in Portal: Libraries and the Academy.

Judy Gardner, nursing, narrated "An Epitaph to Margery Stoneman Douglas" with the St. Paul Civic Orchestra's opening concert on Nov. 4 at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. This piece was composed by Steve Heitzeg ('82).

Mark Granquist, religion, received the Award of Commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis, MO. This annual award is given for excellence in American Lutheran historiography. The award was given on the basis of an article, "The Augustana Synod and the Episcopal Church," which appeared in the Lutheran Quarterly, Summer 2000.

Mark Lammers, music, performed a series of concerts this past summer with the Arizona Symphonic Winds, as well as performances this fall with the Civic Orchestra of Tucson, Sinfonia da Chiesa, and the Tucson Skyline Brass Quintet. He has also played a number of solo performances in the last 2 months. Lammers had a music review published in the Fall 2001 issue of The International Trombone Association Journal and has had an article accepted for publication in the WASBE Journal (World Association of Symphonic Band Ensembles).

Moira McDermott, mathematics and computer science, presented an invited special session talk, titled "Computing Test Ideals," at the fall meeting of the Eastern Section of the American Mathematical Society in Williamstown, MA.

John McKay, music, spent a week in Hartsville, SC, where he gave a recital of music for 2 pianos with Stephen Carlson ('92) on Oct. 25 for the Black Creek Fine Arts Council of Darlington County, followed by a master class on Oct. 27 at Coker College.

John Rezmerski, English, presented a lecture and storytelling session for the Mankato Unitarian/Universalist Fellowship and did a benefit reading with Robert Bly for the North Stone Review. Rezmerski was also named to the board of directors of TUMLA, the Upper Midwest Literary Archive, a newly chartered organization with collections to be housed at the University of Minnesota.

POSITION OPENINGS:

• Assistant Director of Stewardship and Donor Recognition
• Campaign Associate, Office of Gift Planning

CONGREGATIONAL OUTREACH:

Retreats... The Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations Retreat Center, coordinated by the Office of Church Relations, will host a retreat for Koinonia Center from Luther Seminary from St. Paul on Nov. 12 and First Lutheran Church from Little Falls on Nov. 13. The Office of Church Relations will host a confirmation retreat for Christ Lutheran Church from Byron on Nov. 9 and Cross of Peace Lutheran Church from Shakopee on Nov. 10.

Music in Worship... Any Gustavus music ensemble or soloist is welcome to perform in congregations. For more information, contact Amy Pehrson (x7001).

GUSTAVUS TIDBITS:

To submit items (questions or answers) for consideration in this section, contact Stacia Senne (x7510 or ssenne@gustavus.edu).

IN THE MEDIA:

• The Nov. 6 Free Press of Mankato did a feature on Steve Titus (executive assistant to the president). The page 1B story, titled "Army liaison role keeps Gustavus official busy," included a photograph of Titus. A teaser to the article appeared on the front page of the newspaper.
• On Nov. 4, The New York Times ran a letter submitted by Greg Kaster (history), titled "The Heroic Men." The letter was a response to an article in the Oct. 28 New York Times, titled "Heavy Lifting Required: The Return of Manly Men."
• On Nov. 2, the Free Press of Mankato featured a story on Afghanistan native Ghafar Lakanwal, who gave a lecture Nov. 1 on campus. The page B1 article, "Afghan expert says solution will take time," also included a photograph of Lakanwal speaking to the audience. On Nov. 1 at 6 p.m., KARE-TV (channel 11, Twin Cities) aired a story in which Lakanwal was interviewed. Students Graziela Tanaka and Joshua Granlund and faculty member Debbie Filler (biology) were also interviewed. Also on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m., KEYC-TV (channel 12, Mankato) ran a story on Lakanwal's visit.
• Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) interviewed Chris Gilbert (political science) at 9 a.m. Nov. 1 on its Daily News Capsule regarding the St. Paul Pioneer Press and MPR poll reports on the Minneapolis mayoral race.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

To add or change items on the calendar, please fill out and submit a College Calendar event form. View the entire College Calendar online.