{"id":5960,"date":"2015-07-28T15:40:52","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T15:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/?p=5960"},"modified":"2015-07-28T15:40:52","modified_gmt":"2015-07-28T15:40:52","slug":"river-semester-kickoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/2015\/07\/28\/river-semester-kickoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-to-school for Augsburg students means spending a semester canoeing from St. Paul to New Orleans"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>In nation\u2019s first-ever River Semester, students starting\u00a0Sept. 1 will paddle, study, research, and live on the Mississippi River<\/h3>\n<p><strong><u>WHAT<\/u><\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/river\/\" target=\"_blank\">Augsburg College River Semester<\/a>: Augsburg College on Sept. 1 will launch the nation\u2019s first-ever River Semester. Students, who will earn as many as 16 credits, will travel the length of the Mississippi River from St. Paul to New Orleans in 24-foot voyageur canoes.<\/p>\n<p>This hands-on, interdisciplinary learning experience begins in St. Paul on Sept. 1 and concludes Dec. 17 when students will arrive back home at the St. Paul Union Depot.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>In addition to doing\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/river\/program-details\/\" target=\"_blank\">River Semester Coursework,<\/a>\u00a0the group of 16 students will conduct hands-on research and projects during the semester. During the semester, students will:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conduct\u00a0a\u00a0field research project on a topic such as water pollution, the Clean Water\u00a0Act, agriculture in the watershed, political organizing\u00a0around environmental issues, race relations and social justice, or\u00a0urban riverfront revitalization.<\/li>\n<li>Explore the history, literature, food, music, and culture of the\u00a0Mississippi River.<\/li>\n<li>Gain skills tailored to fit the needs of partner\u00a0businesses and institutions including graduate schools, nonprofits, and\u00a0government agencies.<\/li>\n<li>Attend town hall meetings and meet with environmental organizations\u00a0along the river.<\/li>\n<li>Hear from\u00a0guest lecturers on Twain and Faulkner, ancient river civilizations, American Indian communities and their fight for justice,\u00a0and the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>An <a href=\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/river\/river\/river-semester-itinerary\/\" target=\"_blank\">overview of the trip<\/a> can be found on the River Semester website.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Members of the public and attendees of the event are invited to join the Sept. 1 send-off by paddling from Harriet Island to the South St. Paul boat launch at 494<\/strong>. This paddling experience lasts about two hours and is free of charge. Transportation back to Harriet Island will be provided. Register onsite beginning at 7 a.m. Additional boats provided by River Semester outfitter Wilderness Inquiry.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>WHEN<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sept. 1, 2015<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>5:30-8 a.m.:\u00a0Students available for live interviews as they pack and ready for launch<\/li>\n<li>7 a.m.:\u00a0Onsite registration for public to paddle from Harriet Island to South St. Paul<\/li>\n<li>8 a.m.:\u00a0Formal Program<\/li>\n<li>8:45 a.m.:\u00a0Launch and Send-Off<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>WHERE<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stpaul.gov\/index.aspx?NID=3639\">Kelley\u2019s Landing<\/a> (located at western end of park), Harriet Island, St. Paul<\/p>\n<p>Directions: City of St. Paul <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stpaul.gov\/index.aspx?NID=2499\">website<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>CONTACTS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stephanie Weiss, Augsburg College Director of News and Media Services, 612.330.1476<\/li>\n<li>Jeffrey Kemnitz, Wilderness Inquiry\u00a0Outreach Director,\u00a0612.676.9427<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In nation\u2019s first-ever River Semester, students starting\u00a0Sept. 1 will paddle, study, research, and live on the Mississippi River WHAT Augsburg College River Semester: Augsburg College on Sept. 1 will launch the nation\u2019s first-ever River Semester. Students, who will earn as many as 16 credits, will travel the length of the Mississippi River from St. Paul &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3231],"tags":[2462],"class_list":["post-5960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-advisories","tag-river-semester"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5960"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5979,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5960\/revisions\/5979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}