By Jenny Pinther ’15 with Wendi Wheeler ’06

The spring 2012 Sabo Center Symposium featured two Minnesota task force members in a discussion about how to spend $100 million on racial integration programs in the metro area public schools. Peter A. Swenson and Scott Thomas were the co-chairs of the task force who spoke at Augsburg’s Sabo Symposium.

Their discussion was moderated by educational leaders Bill Green, Augsburg professor of history who also served on the task force, and Nan Skelton, director emerita of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship.

The panel discussed the trails of serving on a task force with very divided viewpoints. Swanson and Thomas said that while the task force worked together as a team, the sides were not without disagreement. Thomas, a man who identifies as mied race, explained that he is a “product of integration.” His belief was that the $100 million should contribute to transportation in the form of voluntary bussing between school districts to encourage integration.

Swanson, however, had other concerns. “Are we using the money that is making the problem [of segregation] worse?” he said. “If people should want to be involved with people like them, how much should the government be involved with that?”

Martin Sabo ’38 thanked the panelists and commended the co-chairs for their patience with opposing points of view: “The difference is that this task force started with a question, not an answer. Too many people believe they have all the answers,” he said.

The Sabo Symposium is co-sponsored by: the Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning, Communication Studies, Education, Honors program, Political Science, Bonner Leaders, and the Minnesota Urban Debate League.

The post Sabo Symposium: Funding for Minnesota education appeared first on News and Media.

“Native youth will have the chance to step foot on a college campus, something that many of these students have never done before,” said Jennifer Simon, event organizer and director of Augsburg’s American Indian Student Services.

“Students will get a feel for what college is like, and interact with current Native college students with the hope that they will see college is an option for them. We want to implant the idea in their minds that they, too, can and should be college students in the future.”

Students are confirmed from a number of metropolitan school districts, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Robbinsdale, Anoka, Centennial, Osseo and others.

Billy Mills, also known as Makata Taka Hela, is the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. He accomplished this feat in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest of Olympic upsets. A former United States Marine, Billy Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.

Schedule of Events (Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center)

9 a.m. Welcome

9:15 a.m. Admissions presentation

9:30 a.m. Campus Tour & Connect with Native American College Students

11:30 a.m. Lunch (Christensen Center)

12 p.m. “Wings of an Eagle,” Native American Olympian Billy Mills, who was born and raised on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, presents a motivational presentation on living a drug-free, alcohol-free life, attending college, and more.

1:15 p.m.  “What is a College Class Like,” Eric Buffalohead, professor and chair of the American Indian Studies Department, talks about what students can expect when they get to college.

6 p.m. Community reception (Foss atrium)

7 p.m. “Unity Through Diversity,” Native American Olympian Billy Mills (Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center) This event is free and open to the public.

The post Olympian Billy Mills comes to Augsburg for Native Youth Visit Day appeared first on News and Media.