Augustana College South Dakota - Edda Yearbook (Sioux Falls, SD)

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AUGUSTANA A PUZZLE? I think not. I believe it should provide some partial answers to the puzzle of life, but should never become a puzzle itself. If Augustana dow become puzzling to students, faculty, alumni, parents, friends--then it is because we have lost sight of its pur- pose and meaning and its role. This past year my adminis- trative ' team and I worked out the following MISSION STATEMENT which I feel provides a suitable guide for all future actions of the college community--a benchmark by which we can test altematives in our continuing search for better ways to educate people. The mission of Augustana College is to serve as a Christian educational community for the exploration and generation of ideas, for the transmission and extension of the intellectual and cultural heritage of mankind, for the comprehension and manifestation of a value system in accordance with the teachings and life of Jesus Christ, and as a research and service center for the Northem Plains region. Augusta- na College- is a resource of the American Lutheran Church for the support of those in pursuit of the highest scholarly, aesthetic, spiritual, and humane goals to which mankind can aspire. ,1 n , me 1. ' WW , 3 rl I I . I 2 -. , ' -. 'T f fs is ' . I , Q , . .,i' , ., ff V ,Al . 1 If li: F A Q -. X . KX ' . .,.,, V M f f fffi - 'X qv ' M 'f i 1 'H'f'ff '. - Mr. and Mrs. Balcer engage Ruth Leslie and Al Smit in a little friendly conversation. 21

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7 w 1 'puz-zle - something puz- zling, a puzzling question, matter, or person, puzzled or perplexed condition. Syn. Puzzle, riddle, enigma refer to some- thing baffling or confusing which is to be solved. A puzzle is a question or a problem intricate enough to be perplexing to the mind, it is sometimes a contrivance made purposely perplexing to test one's ingenuity. Puzzle, bewil- der, perplex imply mental confu- sion and consequent inability to decide or to act. Puzzle sug- gests mental embarrassment amid a complexity of possible deci- sions, bewilder suggests com- plete bafflement, the mind being lost in a multiplicity of con- siderations and alternatives, Perplex suggests such an entan- glement of one's judgment that he is uncertain as to what to think or how to act. it . .E H-fsvlfki These dictionary terms help one focus on the many facets of the meaning of puzzle or what is puzzling. LIFE IS A PUZZLE? Yes, I agree. From the very beginning of mankindis ven- tures on the planet Earth, man has continually searched for the meaning of life, what is the good life, what makes life mean- ingful. Philosophers over the centuries have wrestled with these basic questions, and they are still being pondered today. How- ever, God never intended for man, with his earthly wisdom, to learn all the answers. This is part of th t life and what keeps LIFEA PUZZLE. e gm mysmy of President Halcer duties mcludv helping ou g20 'Wai ,f-rs, r I at freshman nn ts tgrr I Q A wi! alum

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Dr. Balcer congratulates his wife on becoming an Augustana Fellow. AUGUSTANA COLLEGE should provide each student with the opportunity to find himself and thus minimize the puzzling aspects of living and learning. We must pr0- vide the opportunity for all students to know themselves as individuals--their Own strengths and weaknesses of body, mind, and spirit. We also must make provision f0f students to know other people and from this knowledge learn to work with others. And we mu-Sf above all make provision for students to better understand their God and Creator, for here is the ultimate key to all puzzles. 22 4 'T 0 -I 1 i 0 I I 1 I 'U ...K