| Summary: | ews Minnesota Public Radio to broadcast 'Millennial Jitters' Melissa Berg The Concordian Minnesota Public Radio will present a live broadcast address-ing "Millennial Jitters" and what people can expect during this monumental event. The program will air 11 a.m. Tuesday on 90.3 FM. One panelist for the broadcast, Mark Covey, psychology profes-sor, said that amid the hype and concern for technological and reli-gious disaster, we should be aware of the actions of other people. "People will attempt to bring about the apocalypse on their own action," he said. "We probably have more to fear from individuals and technology than religious cri-sis," he said. Covey does not believe there will be any technological prob-lems, although some people may act in the name of religion. "People interpret unusual events in religions and do unusual things," he said. "The big concern I have is that everybody keep their head." Roy Hammerling, religion pro-fessor, said that many people use the approaching millennium as an opportunity for attention. "This is a way to get publicity, but they think they're fulfilling a mission," he said. John Helgeland, religion pro-fessor at North Dakota State University, also expressed con-cern for the actions of other peo-ple at the turn of the millennium. "We do believe there are a cer-tain number of people out there that might want to make a move," he said. Helgeland said that a main tar-get is the government. People on the fringe of society may use this as an opportunity to discredit what they consider to be the evil sys-tems of government and bring them down to their knees, he said. Some people see it as an opportu-nity to punish others for their own misfortunes, such as unemploy-ment and their inability to find a niche in society. "They're attacking the system that most people depend on and relate to," he said. "When they attack it [government] they think they are doing God's will." Most people are not aware that the millennium has already passed us by, however. Roy Hammerling, religion professor, said that because zero does not exist in the Roman numeric system the mil-lennium actually passed us by on Jan. 1, 1997. Scholars also believe that Herod died around 4 B.C., which conflicts the calculations of the monk Dionysius the Minor who fashioned the calendar sys-tem we still use based on Jesus' birth in 1 A.D. Hammerling said that while both Judaism and Christianity have apocalyptic prophesy, the New Testament's book of Revelations is the source for pre-dicting its occurrence in the year 2000. The passage predicts the devil's reign for one thousand years followed by Jesus' rule for one thousand years. The question is whether this is to be taken liter-ally or symbolically, Hammerling said. Hammerling said that apoca-lyptic thinking is not unique to this century, however. He said he cannot remember a time in history when people were not thinking the end of the world was near, citing Charlemagne, Luther and Hitler as leaders with this belief. It seems that every age thinks theirs is the Mark Covey worst time in history, he said. The millennium event will not fulfill the hype surrounding it though, Hammerling said. "It won't be the widespread chaos some have predicted." Binge drinking: New program to reduce alcohol use Sophia Tareen Staff Writer Concordia is developing a new program to reduce the amount of binge drinking on campus. Known as the Social Norms Marketing Technique, it will be implemented next fall. The program uses marketing techniques such as bulletin boards, newspapers and public speaking to give students a message about the effects of binge drinking in an attempt to educate. "Consistently there is a dis-crepancy between people's per-ceptions of their peers and the reality of what their peers are real-ly doing," said Mary Larson, chemical health educator at the Kjos Student Health Center. "We want to make students aware of this discrepancy." Larson hopes that the program will be a part of an entire approach to education in chemical issues which will include a session at ori-entation and segments in wellness classes. "It's safe to say that students will be highly involved," said Larson, but "the specifics will be hard to know until everyone sits down and talks around the round table. "The college is very concerned about the health and well-being of students and is trying to be pro-active and emphasize the posi-tives," she said The technique, developed at the University of Northern Illinois, has shown marked improvement on certain campus-es. According to the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and other Drug Prevention report, the University of Northern Illinois had a 35-percent reduction of college binge drinking within six years. Larson is also playing a key role in the program as a chemical issues health educator. She is available to students from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for one-on-one appointments to work on chemical issues. Honors presentations continue Karin Thompson The Concordian Three of the nine Concordia seniors participating in the English Honors class began presenting their individual projects Thursday, The presentations will conclude Wednesday. The English Honors program, taught by W. Scott Olsen and 'We used our past experiences to make connections through the department." Marty Jacobson Senior Alfhild Ingberg, is a seminar style course for which students apply. The application process includes submitting a portfolio of their writ-ten work. Ingberg believes the course offers a diverse range of subject topics. "The English Honors seminar is a place where students with English education, writing, literature, and journalism backgrounds can all come together and share their expe-riences with one another," Ingberg said. Senior Marty Jacobson, Honors Seminar student, said that the stu-dents led interesting discussions that were more about what the stu-dents wanted to learn. Heidi Marttila, also in the class, believes the class offers an opportu-nity for more involved learning. "This class works as a seminar class because you know what everyone else is doing," Marttila said. "You're keeping up with each other so you can offer suggestions for improvement." According to Olsen, previous classes have centered on the stu-dents' individual projects and their mentors, faculty members who directed the individual projects. The seminar was the added value, not the center of the class. Ingberg said that the mentors are still important resources, but they are not in charge of the individual projects in the same way as before. Olsen said that this year they want-ed to make the seminar experience and the students the focal points of the class. The main focus of this years' seminar was the status of English as a discipline. Because of the change in focus of the class, Olsen said, discussions during the seminar cen-tered around English as a discipline and they did not always relate to the student' individual projects. "This class was to help these. students know how their work fits into the larger work we call English," Olsen said. According to Jacobson, the focus was a success. "We used our past experiences to make connections through the department," Jacobson said. Marttila agrees. "It was surprising sometimes that things did connect," Marttila said. The presentations continue at 2:40-4:20 p.m. Dec. 14 in Grose 333 and 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 15 in Grose 336. The purpose of The Concordian is to affirm the mission of Concordia College by cultivating thoughtful and informed students, faculty and staff through the awareness and discussion of college, local, national and world affairs. Heidi Marttila Amanda Parise Christina Ebert Sophia Tareen Chris Boen Eric Henderson Jessica Zaleski Ryan McCaUum Jennifer Meachen Anne Mortenson Melissa Berg Matt S. Anderson Lisa Kay Driver Chris Boen Amy Nestingen Jesse Cassem Jenna Nargang Elizabeth Timm Rhianna Anderson TVoy Becker Laura Bidgood Jesse Cassem Cathy McMullen Thomas Thomsen Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Staff Writer Opinions Editor A&E Editor Features Editor Sports Editor Graphic Producer Copy Editor Copy Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor Graphic Artist Business Manager Ad Manager Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Advertising Design Advertising Design Circulation Director Online Manager Adviser Publisher The Concordian is the official newspaper of Concordia College. 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