Author: Alicia Needham

Since Tina Power’s departure to Disney World in May, Sodexo-run facilities on campus, such as the dining hall, Big Al’s, and Sandella’s have undergone various changes. Kathie Guyler, the new general manager, has been working in the college dining business for thirty-three years, with Houghton College being the sixth college she has worked at. Guyler said, “Honestly why I do what I do” is because “I really enjoy working with students.” Benjamin Hardy, a Houghton College ‘14 alumni and supervisor of student workers, said, “She has brought a few new perspectives on things, mostly on food safety”

The dining hall now has a self-service omelet bar where students can control ingredients being put into their eggs, portion size of ingredients, and how they want their eggs cooked. In addition, Sodexo has brought back the stir fry station. The revival of the station is already a “big hit” among students because of their increased participation in the creation of their meals. Guyler said, “Feedback they got [from surveys] was that students prefer to make it themselves.”

Big Al’s and Sandella’s also now have new hours. Big Al’s is only open at night for dinner while Sandella’s is open during lunchtime. Smoothies, however,  can be purchased at any time.

Big Al’s has its first event on September 14, “Wings with the Dean.” During this event students will have the opportunity to watch the Monday night NFL opening game for the Philadelphia Eagles with Dean Jordan. Wings will be sold for only twenty-five cents. Near the end of the September, the dining hall will have a fall event, “Apple Week.” This will use apples from a local vendor will food items such as apple pancakes, apple cakes, and caramel apples. Students will have the opportunity to bob for apples and make their own candy apples. As done in the past, there will be Wing Night every Friday at Big Al’s and events such as Barbeque Blues and Bodacious Burgers. There will also be a raffle for the Superbowl which will feature prizes donated by Pepsi such as a Mini Jambox, small wifi speaker, and an iFit.

James Ward, operations manager who oversees all retail operations in Java, Big Al’s, Sandella’s, and all catering events, said this year that they are focused on “enhancing their current program.” This year, Sodexo offered four marketing internships where students gain experience in sustainability, marketing, and wellness. “They help get messages out to students and connect with students on a more personal level,” said Ward. “I encourage students to start a conversation with me in the dining hall.”

Guyler encourages students to fill out comment cards and to send her emails. Her goal to get more feedback from students is to have open dinners where everyone is invited to come, have dinner in the dining hall, and ask questions about the health, safety, and choice of food being served. Sodexo also  issues a survey every year where students can voice their opinions and have the chance to win something through the giveaways.

Hardy said, “I enjoy working with the students, training the students, and providing quality food service for the students” and as a past student of Houghton College, he “tries to do for the students what he would’ve wanted done as a student.” In the past, student supervisors have recruited students from the previous year so that they would have plenty of workers in the fall. However, some workers graduated, moved, and got promoted so there are several spaces open for students interested in a job. The success of Sodexo depends on the student body so as it decreases or increases, so does their revenue.

Recently, interest in having a real mascot, complete with a full costume, has peaked among staff members and the athletic department. Currently Houghton has mascot garb including a plaid kilt and bagpipes for the Scottish highlander, but not a full costume and it has not been worn consistently in the past. The new mascot, according to Jeff Babbitt, director of marketing and communications, would be, “a real-feeling mascot, like an animal costume” and would similar to “one that you would recognize when you think of mascots like the Syracuse Orange or the Texas Longhorns.”

According to Babbitt, this past semester two focus groups were held. Twelve students were brought in and asked questions in regards to the idea of having a mascot, what a mascot could do, and the qualities a mascot should possess. From the students, they received quality feedback on the characteristics the mascot should have. First, students felt that the mascot should be gender neutral. The school thought about getting a mascot that looked like a Scottish man with the highlander garb for the sake of consistency, but it would be an accurate representation of the student body and the athletics program because most of Houghton’s students are women.

Also, the students mentioned the mascot needed to connect with the athletics branding Houghton already has in place. It became apparent a lion would perhaps work with that. Additionally, the idea of the lion would be unique because it would be different from other schools Houghton’s athletics teams often play against in the Empire 8 Conference. Lastly, students wanted the mascot to look professional and to be kid-friendly.

Houghton has never had an official mascot, but became the Highlanders in 1967 through a student vote due to the additions of intercollegiate sports the same year. According to Babbitt, in 2004 the athletics department undertook a rebranding project in which they brought in a company from the outside that specialized in logo design. Babbitt added, “It was a time where we needed a fresh look.” Ultimately the company produced the lion, Houghton’s current purple and gold colors, and the “HC” that appears in athletics and on Campus Store merchandise. Originally the lion was just meant to be a secondary logo, but it gained traction and began appearing on everything associated with Houghton. The rampant lion does tie into the Scottish heritage however, since it is the unofficial Scottish flag. It symbolizes bravery and courage and comes from a seal of Scottish nobility.

According to Babbitt, there will be tryouts for the mascot in the fall. The mascot will then be launched at an event like Homecoming. The student chosen to portray the mascot would be compensated through a work study job, or a similar form of compensation. Babbitt said, “[We] want someone who is energetic, has athletic ability to jump around and dance, could help develop the personality of the mascot, would pump the crowd up, and would mingle with people at events.” The mascot would be present at sports games, events such as Homecoming, Purple and Gold Week, Help day, campus visit days, and Kingdom Bound. According to Babbitt, the true test of success of the mascot will be if people try to take selfies with their mascot because that means they are excited to see it.

Houghton College’s English, Writing, and Communications departments are conducting a search for a Theater Workshop Director who would produce a spring 2016 theater production. Communication Professor, Douglass Gaerte said, “This new initiative is intended to bring a bit more continuity as well as professionalism to the drama offerings on campus.”

Although there has never been a stand-alone theater department at Houghton, there are two theater related classes, Introduction to Theater and Oral Performance of Literature, which students can be involved with. Students interested in being in the college play can sign up for the one credit class, Comm 236: Theater Workshop, and try out for the play in the fall. According to Gaerte, in the fall of 2015, the director will have auditions for actors, assign the parts, and interview others interested in being crew members for the production. This will allow students to begin working on their lines in preparation for the spring semester.

In the spring of 2016, the director would then teach a theater workshop where they would work with the cast and crew for about a month, running through rehearsals and preparing for the public performance of the play that would happen at the end of the month. English Professor, James Wardwell said, “[We are] inviting a different voice into our community…This person will be really in touch with outside experiences and [will] bring that voice in and give that voice a means to communicate with the entire community.”

Over the years, Houghton has had various student theater groups who performed some original productions of dramatic pieces they wrote. This has allowed students to have more opportunities to direct and perform. According to Gaerte, in the past, there were around eight or nine drama productions on campus consisting of School of Music productions, college plays, series of one-acts directed by students, and a Broadway musical revue directed by students. According to Kaitlyn McKinney ‘17, there was a collection of skits put on by a drama club last year that lasted for about thirty minutes in the recital hall. However, not many people attended. McKinney, who starred in the “Odd Couple” at the Fire Hall last year said one of the reasons she loves theater is, “You build a family in theater and become really close to the people in the production.”

According to Gaerte, a student Shakespeare club was formed from a Shakespeare class that Wardwell taught. Wardwell believes theater is a “potentially marvelous community building activity where people interact with one another in significant ways about significant ideas” and then “invite a larger community [an audience] to come in and interact with those relationships through a performance.”

The English, Writing, and Communication departments hope that bringing a guest director to campus each spring to direct a play will help get more students interested in theater here at Houghton.  Wardwell hopes, “this can stimulate a growth path that can lead to something legitimate academically in theater.” Gaerte said, “We will be advertising for this position, as well as reaching out to our alumni who work in theater as we try to identify good candidates for this position.” According to McKinney, an individual who knows how to advertise and get people interested in theater will help develop the theater program.