2008 Spring Saint Benedict's Saint John's Magazine

              GLOBAL
SPRING 2008
LONDON
HONG KONG
UGANDA
LOS ANGELES
AUSTRALIA
MINNESOTA
IRAQ
inspiration
8
MAGAZINE
in this issue S P R I N G 2 0 0 8
Saint Benedict’s/Saint John’s Magazine is published in the spring by CSB/SJU Communication & Marketing Services
EDITOR: Glenda Burgeson DESIGN: Greg Becker, Karen Hoffbeck
2 Student Snapshots
From Around the World
4 Students Find Their
Way to CSB/SJU
6 A Minnesota Puzzler:
Professor Pieces Stories
Together in New State
History Book
11 Teaching in China
Turns 10: The
Maryknoll Connection
14 Video: A New Pillar
of the Liberal Arts
18 Mediawise:
Faculty Share Their Expertise
Rarely do Westerners associate Africa with images
of vibrant fl owers or joyous young children. Megan
Peterson ’07 has captured such imagery as a Peace
Corps volunteer in southwestern Uganda. As a peace studies
major, she visited Africa twice, on a CSB/SJU May term
to East Africa and on a CSB/SJU semester abroad in South
Africa. Now she works on development projects in
economic and women’s empowerment, and she fi nds
inspiration in the beauty she encounters. Her host
mother honored her with an African name, Kobusingye
(koh-bu-sin-jay), which means “peacemaker.” Visit her
blog at http://megan-in-africa.blogspot.com/.
U G A N D A
Finding Inspiration
student
Piccadilly Circus, London
Fall 2007
Photo Name: Don’t Blink
This was taken my fi rst week in London while I was
exploring around Piccadilly Circus. I wanted to illustrate
the fast pace of this city, while at the same time retaining
the classic feeling one gets while in London.
Students in Photo: Danny Hansen, Mike Busse, Jake
Hvidston
Photo by Alexander Johnson
SNAPSHOTS
Nambung National Park, Western Australia
Spring 2007
Photo Name: Pinnacles
Playing around at “The Pinnacles,” some amazing
limestone formations north of Perth by a few hours.
Student in Photo: Mike Busse
Photo by Nate Ptacek
2
Intercultural learning and international study are top priorities at CSB/SJU, which
ranks No. 1 nationally among baccalaureate institutions in the number of students
who take part in semester-long study abroad programs. The ranking is compiled in
the annual report, Open Doors 2007, published by the Institute of International Edu-cation.
The colleges’ 16 study abroad programs are led by their faculty, very unusual
among baccalaureate colleges. For the past four years, Saint Benedict and Saint
John’s have been among the top four undergraduate liberal arts colleges nationally
in the number of students participating in international study programs.
CSB and SJU students capture their study
abroad experiences in imaginative ways.
from around theW
3
Students Put Benedictine
Value of Community to Work
By Emily Bina ’11
Last fall, students from the College of Saint
Benedict and Saint John’s University put a new spin
on the Benedictine value of community. They volun-teered
to help build a Habitat for Humanity house in
St. Joseph, Minn.
For SJU senior Skylar Hammel, who volunteered
more times than any other student, it was about
more than just the construction.
“I kept going back, because it was something
that I enjoyed doing. I got to know many of the
people, and they started to depend on me,” Hammel
said. “It was active, enjoyable and very rewarding.”
The students of Organizational Communication
367 — a class which focuses on organization and
service learning — also worked on the promotion
and building of the house.
The class, taught by assistant professor of com-munication
Karyl Daughters, was subdivided into
three groups: one focused on construction; one fo-cused
on volunteer recognition; and one promoted
events and attended city board meetings. For CSB
junior Maria Melcher — part of the promotional
group — the class was life-changing.
“Service learning is such a good experience, and
it is so applicable.” Melcher said. “You learn it, then
you go do it.”
And the students of CSB and SJU defi nitely went
out and did it.
The ground-breaking ceremony took place on
Oct. 26, 2007. By the fi rst snowfall, the house was
roofed and covered. On some days, nearly 100 CSB
and SJU students volunteered to help build.
Dianne Johnstone, CSB/SJU service learning/so-cial
work offi ce coordinator, believes the Benedic-tine
values that are instilled in the students inspire
them to serve.
“I think both campuses foster an attitude that
relates to helping others,” Johnstone said. “We do a
good job of showing our students how important it
is to think about others through service.”
It started as a pile of lumber and a few volun-teers,
but soon this house will be a home to a single
mother and her two children, thanks in large part
to the hardworking and passionate students of CSB
and SJU.
“CSB and SJU helped me volunteer, because
they brought the opportunity to me,” Hammel said.
“They sent me an e-mail, and all I had to do was
say yes.”
Swaziland, South Africa
Spring 2007
Photo Name: Gone Rural
Over the spring holiday I traveled to Swaziland and we happened upon a
group of Swazi women hand weaving baskets as part of “Gone Rural,” a
woman-initiated and run economic empowerment project. We stopped
and spoke with the women as they taught us how to weave baskets.
Student in Photo: Catherine Cuddy
Photo by Erik Gamradt
4
Iraqi Student Leaves Violence Behind
By Katherine Harlander-Locke ’08
Before coming to SJU last fall, fi rst-year student Nibras Putres
was a walking target in Baghdad, Iraq.
As an interpreter for L-3 Communications, an American com-pany
that contracts interpreters for the U.S. Army, Putres was at a
higher risk than most Iraqi citizens.
“If they (insurgents) knew I was an interpreter, they would have
killed me,” he said.
Putres, which is Arabic for Peter, also is an Arab Christian – a
dangerous identity in Iraq.
“You learned to avoid crowded places areas such as marketplaces,
or taking public buses, because they are an easy target,” Putres said.
“Death in Iraq has become a very normal thing.”
By chance, his job as an interpreter eventually led him to SJU.
Sgt. Nathan Green of the U.S. Army recommended the school to
him. He applied, and Roger Young, long-time CSB/SJU director
of international admission, began the process of helping him leave
Iraq to study at SJU.
Students
From Iraqi Battleground
And Southern California
Find Their Way to CSB/SJU
“I almost dismissed his interest in the very beginning because I
did not think he had a chance,” Young said.
After hearing of his acceptance to SJU, Putres left Iraq to live
with his brother in Damascus, Syria, while awaiting a U.S. student
visa. Th ere, he was interviewed by members of the U.S. Embassy.
Th en, he waited for three months.
“It was hard having to wait to fi nd out if I would get my visa,”
he said.
On July 24, Putres left Syria and arrived in Michigan, where
he spent a month visiting a brother before starting at SJU in late
August.
“We are all so pleased that Nibras is a student at CSB and SJU,”
Young said. “It is certainly one of the most interesting applications
I have worked on all these years.”
Putres is a computer science major and hopes to continue his
education at the University of Minnesota to pursue a graduate
degree in computer engineering. He vows not to return home until
the violence has stopped.
B A G H D A D
I R A Q
5
L O S A N G E L E S
Campus Visits Make the Difference
By Eric Mosley ’10
Th e average college student in the U.S. attends school within
500 miles of home. At CSB and SJU, 11 students from Bell High
School in Los Angeles are not your average college students. More
like them may be on the way, thanks to Tony Reveles.
Reveles, director of college and fi nancial aid counseling at Bell
High School, became an advocate of CSB/SJU after meeting and
befriending CSB/SJU director of admission Matt Beirne four years
ago at a national conference. Since then, he has encouraged col-lege-
bound students to consider the two institutions.
Reveles believes students can be more engaged in learning at
CSB/SJU because of the smaller class sizes. He also believes that
CSB/SJU prepares students for life in a more diverse world, telling
his students, “A year from now, you will see the world in a diff er-ent
way.”
SJU junior Antonio Nava Jr. was one of the fi rst two students to
arrive in Minnesota from Bell. Initially, he was uncomfortable with
the idea of going to school half a continent away from home. A
visit to the campuses changed that.
“When I fi rst came to SJU, I noticed a diff erence from other
schools in the area where I am from. I noticed that there is a
peculiar bond and kindness between the people here at CSB/SJU,”
he said.
CSB sophomore Tiff any DeLeon also was unsure about coming
to Minnesota.
“I’ll apply, but there’s no way I’m going to Minnesota,��� DeLeon
recalled telling Reveles. She, too, enjoyed the feeling she got when
she fi rst visited the campuses.
Despite the inevitable homesickness, DeLeon and the rest of the
Bell graduates have been generally happy with their stay.
Reveles and Beirne hope to continue their work with other
high school counselors in the Los Angeles Unifi ed School District
(LAUSD) to attract more students to CSB and SJU.
“It has taken me almost fi ve years to develop this relationship
with Tony and Bell High School, but it has been one of the most
gratifying experiences in my career,” Beirne said.
C A L I F O R N I A
(Back, left to right) Tiffany DeLeon, Antonio Nava Jr., Mayra Aguilera. (Front, left to right) Daisy Nevarez, Ashley Zartner, Yesenia Murillo, Ana Nunez, Tony Reveles,
Jacqueline Murillo, Yasmary Hernandez, Diana Blanco.
6
A Minnesota Puzzler
Professor Pieces Stories Together
in New State History Book
7
Twenty-seven years ago, a rookie professor fresh from gradu-ate
school walked into her fi rst CSB/SJU classroom and read from
her notes, “Hello. My name is Annette Atkins.” Among the 105
students that day was another rookie, Jon McGee ’84, attending his
fi rst college class, U.S. history to 1865. He later took two additional
classes with Atkins. Now a distinguished professor of history and
division head of humanities at CSB/SJU, Atkins no longer needs
notes to remember her name. Recently, she sat down with McGee,
now CSB/SJU vice president for enrollment, institutional planning
and public aff airs, for a wide-ranging conversation about her pro-fession
and her newest book, Creating Minnesota: A History from
the Inside Out (Minnesota Historical Society Press).
Archival photos courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Press
Interview photos: Cory Ryan
McGee: What is diff erent today about
students than in 1980?
Atkins: Students are the same. We have
nice, considerate students. I’m not sure
how much they have changed and how
much I have changed. I was timid then
about what I knew.
McGee: In some ways you were like the
students.
Atkins: Yes. I didn’t know what they
needed to know. Now, I am a lot more
confi dent. Also, students then didn’t know
so much what they thought they should
know. It’s diff erent now because of the
History Channel, and our oddly increased
attention to history.
McGee: Th at is sort of the Ken Burns
eff ect?
Atkins: Exactly. Th ey have a much
clearer sense of what history is before they
come to me.
McGee: Do you think they’re being
taught better?
Atkins: Yes, of course. Students are be-ing
taught better by a whole diff erent gen-eration
of teachers, many of whom we have
taught. Part of what we try to teach in our
department is history as a way of thinking
rather than as a body of information.
McGee: What I love about your book
is that it is constructed history rather than
reported history. Th e stories are all told
through the lenses of ordinary people
rather than through the prism of events. Is
this our approach to history in the depart-ment?
Atkins: History is taught as a way of
knowing. It’s not about received knowl-edge.
It’s about taking information and
giving it meaning and making sense out
of it.
McGee: Do you fi nd that students then
resonate with that more fully and refl ect
on their own sense of and place in history?
Any of these chapters could be about them.
Atkins: Th at does not come naturally
for them. Th is semester I am teaching
Minnesota history. For some students
it is hard because I do not teach events
chronologically. Many would like to have
a clearer set of notes and information for
when they teach.
McGee: Aside from the chronology of
facts, there also are the judgments that
you apply to history, yet you are not overly
judgmental. Are the students here casting
judgment about history as well as learning
what happened?
Atkins: Th ey are casting judgments be-fore
they get to the what happened, as they
have learned a set of values — and it is a
set of values that I believe in, care about
and uphold and teach: people need to be
treated better; we need to be more aware
of people’s rights and more respectful.
Th ere is a temptation, however, to judge
the past with the benefi t of hindsight.
For a long time, I have been interested
in Mary Carpenter. In 1873, she lived
outside Marshall, Minn., on contested
territory — land that was taken from the
Indians. Mary did not take the land from
the Indians. She and her husband George
bought the land fair and square, accord-ing
to the rules as they knew them. Th ey
almost couldn’t have known that they
shouldn’t have done that. Th at is not to say
that these whites were entitled to the land,
but that it is complicated. What were the
options?
McGee: In the beginning of the book,
you said that people often misjudge their
time as the most important, as if nothing
else of signifi cance preceded it. When we
look back, the temptation is to say that
it was all inevitable and OK; whereas,
people of the time, like Mary Carpenter,
had choices to make, hard choices, but
didn’t know or understand what the
consequences would be.
Th at’s an accusatory line of history and
historians. How do you respond to that?
Atkins: Any time historians make things
look simple we have done an injustice both
to them and to us. Essentially my task is
to go back and wrinkle the past — it’s like
taking a piece of paper and crumpling it
up rather than smoothing it out. People
do not like to have it crumpled up. Th ey
want us to serve up a nice smooth linear
line. Too often we teach history as if we
8
are facing forward in time; when, in fact,
people live in their time/space backwards.
I know what is going to happen. I can see
the straight line from there to here. Th ey
do not know what is going to happen.
Students can fi nd it frustrating because
I don’t give them answers. Th eir current
assignment, for example, is to pick a topic
and fi nd fi ve documents. Th ey can’t fi nd
what fi ve people have written about the
topic; they have to fi nd fi ve primary docu-ments.
It is like trying to do a research
paper backwards. Th ey have to start with
those fi ve things. Based only on those fi ve
things, they have to discern how to tell the
story. Th en they compare or contrast their
views with what other people have said
about the topic.
So, for example, one student is doing
F. Scott Fitzgerald. He used a photograph
of Fitzgerald, another photograph of
Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, a short story
of Fitzgerald, a short story from Th e New
York Times about Fitzgerald and a letter
that Fitzgerald wrote to his publisher.
Th ese fi ve things alone were able to
ruffl e his notion of Fitzgerald as a kind of
mythic 1920s person. Fitzgerald was a de-pressed
guy who was anxious about status
and very concerned about public appear-ances.
Th ese various items gave the student
a diff erent entry point for understanding
Fitzgerald.
McGee: Isn’t that de-mythologizing his-tory,
in the sense that you have the myth
of Fitzgerald versus the reality of Fitzger-ald?
Th e personal stories in your book were
not all epic or heroic; a lot of it was sad,
pathetic, horrible. In two of your stories,
you enter the family at one point and you
leave at another point. Neither is a com-plete
story, and yet you learn a lot about
them. How do students deal with this? It’s
discomforting because it’s incomplete.
Atkins: You don’t know all of it; but you
never know all of it, which is the lesson.
All of the stories are incomplete. Even after
you tell the whole story, there are still more
stories of that story to tell.
Filmmakers use a technique called
synecdoche, where you use a detail to
represent the whole. In fi lm, you might
see just the cracked headlight, instead of a
car rolling down the hill, blowing up and
bodies strewn everywhere. I am trying to
do a cracked headlight version of history.
I am trying to take the detail that isn’t just
about the cracked headlight to reveal the
larger story.
McGee: You have to use your imagina-tion.
As I read your book, it was easy to
imagine what life was like, because the
characters are regular, normal people. It’s
one thing to know a fact, to recite some-thing,
but another to be imaginative.
Atkins: Imagination is the most impor-tant
skill for an historian to have. If there
is a door between the present and the past,
it’s a door that can only be opened through
imagination. You need documents and
information, but information keeps you
on this side of the door. Imagination is
what turns the handle and invites you to
the other part to make sense.
McGee: How did you fi nd these stories?
Atkins: I was in the British Library in
London reading the Minnesota historical
collections published by the Minnesota
Historical Society for about 20 years
beginning in the 20th century. Most are
autobiographical pieces or minutes of the
territorial pioneers and are mostly primary
documents and personal remembrances.
Th is guy, Scott Campbell, kept walking
across the landscape. I didn’t pay much
attention for a long time, because I didn’t
know who he was or anything about him.
He didn’t write anything or leave records,
but he started showing up everyplace. He
is a fi gure in the missionaries’ biographies.
When the Army men at Fort Snelling
wanted to fl irt with the Indian women,
and needed some Dakota language, Scott
Campbell shows up as one of their teach-ers,
drinking and hanging out with them,
teaching them the words that they needed
to use. Henry Sibley mentions him; and
Lawrence Taliaferro, who is the Indian
agent, mentions him; and his name shows
up at the bottom of some of the treaties.
He ended up being a central fi gure in my
book.
Fiction writers talk about characters tak-
9
10
ing on a life of their own. Th is guy wants his
story told and I felt like he was asking, “Are
you going to pay attention to me or not?”
Th e only way to do it is let the docu-ments
speak to me. I have to be ready to
hear them and pay attention. What is he
doing? What does he know? What is he
trying to tell me?
He was trying to tell me the story of
mixed bloods in Minnesota, which no
one has told. In terms of original research,
the pieces on the Campbells are the most
dramatically important and historical.
McGee: Are there any descendants of
this family? Have you heard from anyone?
Atkins: I gave a talk at the Minnesota
Historical Society and two women showed
up who are the great-granddaughters of Joe
Campbell, who was in one of the pictures.
Th ey had a read a piece in the Pioneer Press
and saw the picture of their ancestor and
it indicated that the Campbells showed up
in the book. So these two women showed
up. Now, we’re going to have a party and
invite all of the Campbell descendants, all
from that generation of grandchildren.
McGee: Did you write each chapter in
a serial way?
Atkins: I wrote them as a teaching
book. I do not want the audience to be
only students. I was thinking about the
kinds of things I want students to know.
Th is goes back to your fi rst question,
“What do you want students to know?”
What I want students to know now is
very diff erent from what I wanted them
to know then. I wanted in each chapter
for them to use a diff erent kind of source
— primarily newspapers, maps, photo-graphs
and plays — so that people see that
diff erent kinds of stories come from diff er-ent
kinds of documents.
McGee: What is the worst review you
have received?
Atkins: Th ere is a public review on
Amazon. It is a good review, but the guy
thinks this isn’t history. I expect to get
other reviews like that.
History increasingly serves two func-tions.
Prior to the middle of the 1960s,
the main function that history served as
a subject in high school and especially
grade school was to teach patriotism and
celebrate the past. Who were the heroic
fi gures and what were their heroic acts? In-creasingly,
professional historians want to
teach questions, and those lead us in diff er-ent
directions. Is the function of history to
celebrate, or is it to critique or analyze?
I don’t even think of it as de-mytholo-gizing
so much as widening the range of
people whose stories are worth telling.
It’s not just telling my story and “Isn’t my
story interesting, charming or cute?” How
does my story illuminate synecdoche?
What is my story the broken headlight of?
What does my story mean?
McGee: Th at’s what you show in this
book, through the lives of ordinary people.
All times are extraordinary in their own
way, and ordinary people lived through
them.
Atkins: And ordinary people are all
extraordinary — not extraordinary as
in diff erent but as in “telling my life is
complicated, interesting.”
We all think that we are just like
everyone else. We are in some ways and
we’re also not. It’s fi nding that illuminat-ing
piece, that synecdoche. I want my
students to fi nd how their voice fi ts in the
story. Ask yourself, “How does my voice
sound in the chorus?” Is it discordant? Is it
harmonious?
One of my struggles in life is that I am
always singing in a diff erent key. I also
think, if I can sing in my voice, then oth-ers
can sing in their voices.
(Reading from her book) “As another
poet, Mary Oliver, reminds us, ‘All narra-tive
is metaphor,’ so … the other individu-als
who inhabit this book are metaphors.
My job as author is to off er the images
and suggest the connections. At the end
of this book, the baton of story-making
power is passed to you, the reader. What is
this place to you? What is your story here?
Where do you get silenced and where do
you have voice? Where are you an actor
and where are you an observer? What’s the
sense, fi nally, that you make out of this
place …?”
Th at is how we give people permission,
not just to tell their expected story, but to
pursue their story to a meaningful place.
When I started teaching, I thought of
myself as a teacher. Now I think of myself
as a person whose job it is to witness for
the vitality of the intellectual life. To defi ne
the intellectual life in this meaningful,
rich kind of big way, that it is not about
memorizing information; it’s about mak-ing
connections.
Together they made the state —
a state of immigrants and Yankees, of Germans and Irish
Catholics, of Protestants and Jews, of millers and farm-ers,
of the hopeful and the despairing, of the generous
and the greedy, of the conventional and unconventional.
— Creating Minnesota
11
Ten years and 56 volunteers later, the College of
Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and the
Maryknoll China Teachers Program (MCTP) salute
a fruitful partnership — one that has given our
graduates unequalled opportunities for cultural
immersion in China, while providing China with a
steady stream of dedicated young English teachers.
Founded and directed by Maryknoll Fr. Scott Harris, the
MCTP was established in 1998 to respond to China’s request for
help in teaching English to its youth. It has grown dramatically
and now sponsors more than 40 volunteer teachers a year in vari-ous
regions of China.
Although MCTP recruits at eight U.S. Catholic colleges, vol-unteers
from CSB and SJU have predominated since its founding.
“My experience has been that CSB and SJU students and grads are
about as comfortable, adaptable and nonjudgmental as you could
want in challenging, intercultural settings. Moreover, they are free
of pretense, which makes them really fun to work with,” said Scott.
Th e fi rst two MCTP volunteers were Bennies Eleise Jones ’98
and Angela Anderson ’98, who went to China to teach under its
auspices in 1998. David Harrison ’99, who volunteered in 1999,
served as MCTP’s fi rst coordinator of education programs from
2000-04. Today, Kevin Clancy ’00 fi lls that position.
Since 1998, 56 graduates of CSB and SJU have spent at least a
year and sometimes more as volunteer teachers with MCTP.
Teaching in
China
Turns 10
The Maryknoll Connection
By Jean Scoon
12
Plunging In
Eleise Jones ’98 was one of the fi rst two
Maryknoll China teaching volunteers. An
English major and Asian studies minor
from St. Paul, Minn., she spent a semester
abroad at Southwest University in Beibei,
China, as an undergraduate. Her Mary-knoll
assignment took her to Zhanjiang
Normal College in Zhanjiang, Guangdong
Province, from 1998-99.
On returning to the U.S., she worked
in various publishing and bookselling
positions. She followed this with a master’s
degree in Chinese studies at the School of
Oriental and African Studies at the Uni-versity
of London, where she graduated
with the honor of distinction in 2006.
She is now on the editorial staff of
Cheng & Tsui, a Boston-based publisher
of Asian-oriented materials, and lives in
Boston.
Why did you volunteer to teach in
China?
I wanted to do volunteer work after
graduation, and, having spent a semester
studying in China, I was keen to go back.
I had no idea what I was getting into, but I
jumped at the chance for a new adventure.
What was it like to be a trailblazer?
Th ere was no orientation back then.
We just plunged right in. We were the
only foreigners in Zhanjiang, which is a
fi shing town on the Leizhou Peninsula. It
felt very foreign — alternately exciting and
isolated.
Can you summarize your experience?
It was a fantastic year.
We had a good deal of freedom in our
classrooms, though we were expected to be
part of campus life in almost every way.
Th e fi rst months were exhausting, but I
came to appreciate the pace and energy on
campus. I’m sure I learned more from my
students and colleagues than they learned
from me! Many of them invited us into
their homes, and I traveled with a few. Ten
years later, I still keep in touch with one
good friend in particular.
How did your Maryknoll year aff ect
subsequent experiences?
It gave me personal insight into the
people and current aff airs of China. It
shifted my interest in China from observer
to participant. Living in China — not just
visiting — certainly fomented my later
academic interests.
You were in China when NATO
bombed the Chinese embassy in Kosovo.
How did that aff ect you?
Chinese students were allowed to orga-nize
in protest, and they took to the streets
all over the country, including Zhanjiang.
We were requested to stay on campus for
a few days for our safety. For the fi rst time,
we experienced some hostility. At the same
time, it was an opportunity for many stu-dents
to express their strong feelings about
China’s perceived place in the world.
Why Maryknoll?
Being curious will sometimes take us
far from home, and living abroad can be
lonely. Maryknoll welcomed and support-ed
us in many ways. Th eir generosity and
commitment has made a deep impression
on me.
Advice for those considering teach-ing
in China?
It’s a unique opportunity, especially
with the support of the Maryknoll com-munity.
It can be a source of confi dence
and resourcefulness, not to mention great
A Perfect Fit
“Th ere are many programs that recruit
English teachers to Asia,” said Richard
Bohr, CSB/SJU director of Asian studies.
“But Maryknoll is unique in emphasizing
the vocational dimension of volunteering
— the Christian call to serve others.
“Th ey love the Bennies and Johnnies we
send them. Th ey know they’ll be prepared
both academically and spiritually. Our
Benedictine emphasis on community
values and on identifying with those you
serve matches Maryknoll’s approach,”
Bohr said.
Johnnie and Bennie MCTP volunteers
often remain in China or the region after
their service, and several have gone into
masters’ programs and careers connected
with Asian studies.
“Maryknoll has a tremendous legacy
of service in China and has been building
bridges between our cultures since 1918,”
said SJU President Br. Dietrich Reinhart.
“Fr. Scott’s success with MCTP is inspira-tional
and fully in keeping with this legacy.
We are fortunate to be so closely associ-ated
with the Maryknoll China Teachers
Program and Fr. Scott.”
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Eleise Jones ’98
Maryknoll House in Hong Kong
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“Are You Paul?”
A political science major and communi-cation
minor from Shoreview, Minn., Paul
Wegerson ’04 taught at Zhongshan Col-lege
in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Prov-ince,
southern China, from 2004-06. Th e
college has 7,000 students and a campus
about the size of Saint John’s. In addition
to his English teaching duties, Wegerson
launched a bilingual radio program on
campus and wrote a bimonthly column for
the Zhonghsan Daily, a local newspaper.
Upon fi nishing his Maryknoll assign-ment,
Wegerson moved to Beijing. After
additional Chinese language studies and
Asian travel, he took a position with the
Beijing offi ce of Burson-Marsteller, a
global government and public relations
fi rm. Current clients include major spon-sors
of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
Why China after graduation?
Its rapid economic development and
the social challenges that accompanied it
really fascinated me. Th is gave me a great
opportunity to experience China’s develop-ment
while giving back to the community
as a volunteer English teacher.
Why Maryknoll?
Maryknoll’s mission in China and
deep roots within the Saint John’s com-munity
made me feel that I was beginning
something bigger than myself. And from
day one of Maryknoll’s extensive orienta-tion
program, I knew they would help and
support me if any problems came about
during my teaching assignment.
What was it like to teach in China?
Th ey were two of the best years of my
life! Th e relationships I formed will always
be with me.
Since all students, regardless of major,
needed to learn English to graduate, they
were very outgoing and happy to speak
with me. Often conversations would start
with “Are you Paul?” because it was impos-sible
to keep a low profi le in such a school
with only three foreign teachers. I’d join
students for soccer games, and we shared
lots of meals. Our colleagues in the English
department were also very nice, and we
would join them for lunch almost daily.
Another benefi t was the almost two
months of paid vacation each winter. I was
able to travel all over China and extensively
around Southeast Asia. I also had plenty of
opportunities to visit with SJU and CSB
alumni in Hong Kong, who have a wealth
of knowledge and experience in both Asia
and the U.S.
Do you see a relationship between
your Maryknoll experience and your
current position at Burson-Marstellar?
I work with major sponsors of the
Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic
Games to help them manage their image
in international and domestic media and
with consumers. It’s a really exciting job
and a great way to use what my Chinese
students and friends taught me to help
companies better understand China and
its people.
Can you summarize what you
learned from teaching with MCTP?
It educated me about China and
taught me more about myself. Maryknoll
instilled in me the value of community
and service to others — a lesson that will
follow me through any career on any
continent.
Your plans for the future?
I defi nitely plan to pursue an interna-tional
career with a strong emphasis on
China.
I’d like to work with the Minnesota
Trade Center to help Minnesota compa-nies
expand internationally, specifi cally in
China.
Eventually, I plan to return to the U.S.
to be closer to family and friends. It’s not
that easy to travel from Beijing back to
the Pine Curtain for the Homecoming
football game.
Advice for those considering MCTP?
Just go! You will have the life-shaping
experience you’ve always wanted.
friendships and memories.
Other thoughts on China?
Th ere’s a strong need on both sides
of the Pacifi c for professional liaisons of
culture and commerce. Yet China doesn’t
exist in a vacuum. Although Chinese — as
a language and an area of general study
— continues to grow in popularity, it will
be to our advantage to develop language
skills and cultural knowledge on an even
wider global scale.
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Paul Wegerson ’04
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A New Pillar of the
arts education, the fi ne arts.
For senior Jeff rey Schwinghammer, the video program helped
him expand his imagination to create what he never thought pos-sible
when he wrote and directed “Deimos,” an apocalyptic thriller
shot around the Saint John’s campus.
“I think big. When I came up with the narrative the idea just ex-ploded,”
he said. Th ose ideas connected with the audience last year
at the student fi lm festival. Th e ominous score, fast-paced editing
and special eff ects had audience members leaning forward in their
chairs in Pellegrene Auditorium.
His creativity didn’t stop there. Schwinghammer went above and
beyond what students typically learn through their coursework; he
taught himself how to construct special eff ects. Th rough the magic
of computer graphics, he created a massive earthquake in the Saint
John’s Abbey.
Picture this: a man is kneeling to pray in the side chapel of the
Abbey Church. As he gets up to leave, he is knocked off his feet
as the camera begins shaking violently. Soon, a low rumbling is
“I need to speak with the abbot,” the man in the trench coat said to
Br. Izador.
“You can’t. He’s sleeping,” Izador replied.
“I think he might want to hear what I have to say,” the man in-sisted
with a growing sense of urgency in his voice.
“Adam, he’s …” the monk began, but was cut off by the man yelling.
“SOMEBODY IS GOING TO MURDER THE ABBOT!”
“Cut!” yelled the director.
No, it’s not a scene from the abbey, nor is it a Hollywood movie.
It’s just another one of the student fi lms the Sommers Digital
Video Studio helped create. In fi ve years, the studio has inspired
the imagination of Bennies and Johnnies from a variety of disci-plines
and added a new dimension to the liberal arts in the 21st
century. Some take the courses because they want to be fi lmmak-ers,
while others take one to satisfy their required fi ne arts credit.
Regardless of their motivations for enrolling, the studio serves as
a point of entry for students who initially aren’t interested in the
arts. In doing so, it promotes one of the hallmarks of the liberal
By John F. O’Sullivan ’08
Photos: Cory Ryan
To view videos go to: www.csbsju.edu/art/studentresources/student_videos.htm
15
e Liberal Arts
accompanied by a creaking as the white baldachin
above the altar sways back and forth. Fierce vibra-tions
rock the balcony. Th e massive stained glass
window begins to crack as some source of light
becomes brighter and brighter. Just as the win-dows
are going to shatter, everything stops
at once. Th e church is calm again, and the
only noise is the creaking of the white
baldachin as it comes to a stop. Th is is
what is possible with digital video.
Students coming into the
program have a variety of
ideas about the art of video.
During her junior year, art
major Oanh Vu ’08 used
her experience as an artist to
create a fi ve-minute, untitled
piece that displays a man, fully
Oanh Vu ’08
art major
16
clothed, sitting in the shower. She manipulated the color controls
and speed of the video to establish a mood.
Vu explained that video broadened her artistic horizons: “I
think with video you naturally tell a story or a narrative so it’s
more expressive or has more depth. I started making my art about
something, which isn’t something I did before.”
Five years into the program, Professor Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB
is seeing the quality of work skyrocket. “I see more attention to
detail, more attention to the storytelling, more emphasis on the art
of acting, of directing,” he said during an interview in the video
studio. As Phan spoke, a student stepped in from the adjacent
video editing lab. “It’s saying it won’t accept the time code,” he
said. Phan excused himself and ducked into the editing lab, where
four students worked at their respective workstations, their faces
fi xed with concentration.
Th is is a peculiar quality of fi lmmaking. It is at once solitary and
collaborative. During production, dozens of people are involved:
aiming lights, holding microphones, pushing dollies and managing
a production schedule. In the end, just one person sits in the edit-ing
lab and compiles the piece.
Senior Peter Mullin knows a bit about the collaborative process.
He estimates that his thriller, “Save Benedict,” has been handled at
Andrew Madson ’08
English major
17
some level or another by at least 100 people. Th e fi lm incorporated
theater performance majors in front of the camera and theater tech
students behind. A student stage manager served as production
coordinator, while an art major directed the photography. A com-munication
major with documentary fi lm experience jumped on
board as editor, while a music major scored and performed for the
video’s original composition. Th ese liberal arts students enjoyed the
payoff of their collaborative eff orts last November when the fi lm
premiered in the Stephen B. Humphrey Auditorium, with more
than 800 people attending. Th e energy in the room was palpable
as the lights dimmed, the music faded in and the opening credits
played over shots of a man driving down County Road 159, the
Abbey Bell Banner poking above the Pine Curtain in the back-ground.
In a digital world, the essence of the liberal arts education can
be found in video courses. Not only do they attract students who
have studied a variety of subjects, they also encourage personal
growth by nurturing new ideas. Video challenges students to think
big while also teaching them to work with others. A program that
teaches curiosity, imagination, ambition and teamwork is not just
a good example of the liberal arts, it is the very embodiment of the
liberal arts at work in students’ lives.
18
CSB/SJU faculty members frequently
appear in the media speaking on a variety
of issues. Th ey do for readers and viewers
what they do naturally in the classroom:
make sense of the world in their areas of
expertise.
We asked four faculty members who
appear frequently in the media to talk
about what they know best — their spe-cialty
areas.
As the political campaign season heats
up, reporters keep Kay Wolsborn’s phone
number on speed dial. Th e professor of
political science has expertise in voting
behavior and in political parties.
To Wolsborn, Minnesota isn’t currently
a “blue” or a “red” state politically.
“Briefl y put, I would describe Minneso-ta
as neither ‘blue’ nor ‘red’ … nor purple,
for that matter,” she said. “ ‘Plaid’ might
be the best visual.”
Wolsborn was asked about the Republi-can
National Convention Sept. 1-4 in St.
Paul.
With the Republican National Conven-tion
coming to St. Paul, does that signal
a potential shift in Minnesota’s political
fortunes going from a “blue state” to a
“red state?”
“Although Minnesota has a history of
giving its Electoral College votes to the
Democratic presidential candidate, the
state is better characterized as highly com-petitive
between the two major parties.
In spite of a shift toward the Democratic
Party as a result of the 2006 elections,
Minnesota’s Congressional delegation
has been consistently divided between
Democrats and Republicans. Similarly,
in statewide elections, the legislative and
executive branch candidates for offi ce
have demonstrated successes by both of
the major parties — even though in some
regions of the state one party or the other
consistently dominates over time.”
Are the Republicans using the con-vention
to create a more even political
battlefi eld in the state, or do they see Min-nesota
playing a key role in electing a new
president in 2008?
“Th ere are several Electoral College sce-narios
by which the next president might
be selected; the state’s electors are key in
only some of those numeric confi gura-tions.
Nevertheless, there are other reasons
for the Republican selection of the Twin
Cities for its 2008 National Convention.
Among the most important is to strength-en
and mobilize resources for Congres-sional
races in the Midwest. In particular,
heightened visibility for Republican
candidates will give them an advantage in
the closely competitive races for Minneso-ta’s
Senate seat and those House seats that
are open or currently held by fi rst-term
representatives. Control of both branches
— the presidency and the Congress — is
at stake in 2008!”
Do you plan to have any role at the
convention?
“My own interest in the Republican and
Democratic conventions (the Democrats
will convene in Denver just before the
Republicans come to St. Paul) is that of a
careful observer — comparing platforms
and presentation styles and listening close-ly
to the comments of party leadership, of
candidates and their respective supporters.
I will also be watching for appearances by
candidate wannabees from the next gen-eration
as well as messages from protestors
and other observers.”
Richard Bohr, professor of history and
director of Asian studies, has appeared
on Twin Cities Public Television’s (TPT)
Almanac, WCCO Radio and Minnesota
Public Radio (MPR) to discuss China’s
economic transformation and growing
global market infl uence, issues of U.S.
trade with China and other timely topics
that aff ect relations between Asia and
Western nations.
In 1979, China normalized diplomatic
relations with the United States after three
decades of Cold War isolation.
Minnesota soon found itself ahead of
the curve when dealing with China. Part
of that may be due to the long historical
relationship Minnesota has enjoyed with
China, according to Bohr.
KAY WOLSBORN
RICHARD BOHR
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“Minnesota missionaries were at the
forefront of America’s humanitarian as-sistance
to China suff ering from famine
and dislocation,” Bohr said. “In the 1880s,
railroad builder James J. Hill believed that
export-dependent Minnesota and China
were united by similar agrarian values,
educational goals and entrepreneurial drive
and enjoyed a convergence of economic
interest. Th e University of Minnesota
educated more Chinese than did any
other American university. And, in the
1920s, CSB/SJU helped build one of three
Catholic colleges in China.”
Bohr was asked about Chinese-Minne-sota
trade relations.
Minnesota seems to be ahead of the
curve when dealing with trade issues with
China. Why is that?
“China is the world’s third-largest mar-ket
for Minnesota agricultural and high
tech products and services and a major in-vestor
in Minnesota’s Iron Range. Minne-sota
is one of the few U.S. states enjoying
a trade surplus with China. Th is statistic
is not surprising, because Minnesota has
always been ahead of the curve in dealing
with China. In 1979, a coalition of Min-nesota
business, government, educational,
civic, church and other leaders coordinated
eff orts with such organizations as the
Midwest China Center and the Minnesota
Trade Offi ce to align the destinies of 4 mil-lion
Minnesotans with those of 1.2 billion
Chinese now seeking a place in the global
economy.
“To expand trade and investment with
a rapidly industrializing post-Mao China,
Minnesota leaders promoted public educa-tion
on the myriad opportunities for Sino-
Minnesota relationships, brought Chinese
decision-makers to our state and organized
America’s fi rst teleconference with China.
Multinationals like 3M, Honeywell and
Medtronic mentored hundreds of smaller
companies, whose exports to China
soared.”
Have study abroad programs at
Minnesota’s colleges and universities and
other educational programs fueled our
interest in China?
“Today, Minnesota teaches one-fi fth
of America’s high school-level Chinese.
Liberal arts colleges like CSB and SJU are
building on this foundation to prepare
the next generation of globally-compe-tent
‘China hands’ to build trans-Pacifi c
partnerships by linking their Asian studies
curricula with ever-increasing opportuni-ties
for study, internships, service learning,
teaching and other experiential opportuni-ties
in China.
“But China expertise alone is not suf-fi
cient to keep America globally com-petitive,
because China is already merging
with other economic giants like India
to make Asia the center of the world
economy. Accordingly, our ultimate goal is
to produce ‘Asia hands,’ for this newly-dawned
‘Asian Century’ so that both sides
of the Pacifi c community may prosper.”
Nick Hayes has appeared on both sides
of the camera and the microphone.
A professor of history at CSB and
SJU and University Chair in Critical
Th inking at SJU, he has been a frequent
commentator for the print and broadcast
media on Russia and Eastern Europe for
over 20 years. As an expert on the Soviet
Union and its communist ideology, he
produced two commentaries for PBS and
has appeared as a frequent guest on TPT’s
Almanac and MPR’s Midday. Th ough the
communist regime fell, Hayes fi nds the
��new” Russia not unlike the “old” Russia.
Here is his take on his makeover in be-ing
a “Sovietologist,” and a quick look at
the “new” Russia:
Please comment on your “makeover”
from an expert on communist Russia to an
expert on democratic Russia.
“In 2001, the 10th anniversary of the
end of the Soviet Union and the commu-nist
era, I wrote an essay — ‘Refl ections of
a Recovering Sovietologist’ — that poked
fun at myself and so many pundits like me
in the U.S. who had made ‘Sovietology’
into a career and had never contemplated
a world in which the Soviet Union and its
communist ideology did not exist. Yet, the
historian in me was not surprised to see
that there was more of the “old” than the
“new” in today’s Russia. Vladimir Putin,
NICHOLAS HAYES
By Mike Killeen
HISTORICAL
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in particular, strikes me as not merely a
man who knows the past but one who is
absolutely determined to repeat it.”
What, in your opinion, does the “new”
Russia mean for the United States in terms
of politics, trade, military might, etc?
“My comments on Russia today repre-sent
a mirror image of my comments 20
years ago. Back then, I conveyed that the
Soviet Union was a better place than we
understood. Its era of totalitarian horror
was past. Russia was reforming itself for
the better.
“Today, I argue that under Putin Russia
is a far worse, more criminal state than we
appreciate and the regime has undergone
a counter reform away from democracy
toward a corrupt authoritarian regime.
Today, the U.S. faces in Moscow a regime
emboldened by the wealth and arrogance
of oil. It thrives on anti-American senti-ment,
re-asserts its infl uence in the world,
and acts with impunity whenever it feels
a need to suppress the opposition or even
to assassinate dissident voices at home and
abroad.
“During the 1990s, like many Kremlin
watchers, I was waiting for something
— to steal a line from William Butler Yeats
— ‘slouching toward the Kremlin.’ Still
in awe of the Soviet past, I assumed that
the next chapter in Russian history would
have to produce a political monster on the
scale of a Stalin or a Hitler. As a result, I
missed Putin, who had come to occupy
the Kremlin.”
Louis Johnston, associate professor of
economics, makes frequent guest appear-ances
on MPR to explain the big picture
— or, in more scholarly jargon, macro-economics.
His recent research has focused
on Minnesota’s economic history, explor-ing
why the state’s economy has performed
above average for decades. He was featured
on MPR’s Midday in December to discuss
his fi ndings.
Here’s some breaking news on the eco-nomic
state of Minnesota from Johnston.
Th at news, however, comes with a caveat.
“First, this is research in progress. Th e
conclusions are preliminary and are subject
to change,” Johnston said. “Second, this
is a project in which student research has
played an important role. For example,
Jennifer Busse did her honors thesis in
2006-07 on the relationship between eco-nomic
growth and educational attainment
across states with a focus on Minnesota.
Tena Rytel is currently writing her honors
thesis on the rise and decline of fl our mill-ing
in Minnesota and its relationship to the
state’s decline in the fi rst part of the 20th
century. Th is is a real credit to what we are
able to do here at CSB and SJU.”
How does Minnesota, an economic
leader among the states in the later half of
the 20th century, maintain its competitive
edge?
“Like the children of Lake Wobegon,
Minnesota’s economy has been ‘above
average’ since the early 1970s. Specifi cally,
Minnesota’s per capita income went from
85 percent of the national average in 1930
to about 10 percent above the national
average in 2004.”
How did this happen? What lessons are
there for the future?
“Minnesota is ‘above average’ because
the state economy shifted from a reliance
on agriculture and mining to a balance
among agriculture, mining, manufactur-ing
and services. Th is shift, in turn, had
two deeper sources. First, Minnesotans
invested in education and health care. Lo-cal
governments built high-quality primary
and secondary education systems while
the state government put resources into
post-secondary education. State and local
governments along with the University of
Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic created
health care organizations that were eff ec-tive
at treating chronic illnesses (kidney
failure, diabetes) along with prompt care
for emergency conditions such as heart
attacks and strokes.
“Th ese investments created a workforce
that was healthier and better skilled than in
other states, which in turn both retained ex-isting
businesses and attracted new ventures
such as the mainframe computer industry.
“Second, state and local governments
levied taxes on vehicles and fuel in order to
build a network of highways that connect-ed
major urban centers with smaller com-munities.
Th is meant that businesses could
locate throughout the state, and not just in
the Twin Cities. For example, companies
such as Arctic Cat and Polaris could build
factories in Th ief River Falls and Roseau
and know that they could ship fi nished
snowmobiles reliably on well-maintained
roads. Further, this improved the trans-portation
services available to agriculture
and mining, making those industries more
productive.
“Education, health and transportation:
these are still important for the future,
but to maintain its edge Minnesota must
invest in these areas in new ways. First,
new education investments must focus on
early-childhood education and lifelong
learning. Second, we need to move from
treating illnesses to preventing them.
Th ese are both critically important given
the aging of our population and the large
number of immigrants coming to our
state. Th ird, we need to change our focus
from building new roads to maintaining
and improving our existing network.��
LOUIS JOHNSTON
21
SJU physics student PX Yeap levitated this drop of
water using high-frequency sound waves, as part
of an experiment with his adviser, Dean Langley,
CSB/SJU professor and chair of physics.
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