Author: Carina Martin

Step Up 4: Houghton

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date April 20, 2018

You know the old cubicle adage: ten percent of the people do ninety percent of the work.

Low involvement certainly isn’t just a Houghton problem, although it’s tempting to think of it as one. Colleges and universities across the country are scrambling to crack the student engagement code. Translation: they can’t figure out why students struggle to care about the things they apparently claim to be passionate about. A survey released by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research paints a grim picture of student engagement in the United States. Although the vast majority of incoming first-year students expect to be “highly engaged” inside and outside of the classroom, about 32% of them spend no time at all participating in extracurricular events. Only one fourth of all students had “frequently” or “very often” attended art exhibitions, musical performances, or film showings within the school year.

a photo of the author One might assume that a preoccupation with homework and other scholastic responsibilities dampens the desire to participate outside the classroom. Over and over again, however, these studies reveal a surprising theme: those who participate in dynamic classroom discussions and robust academic responsibilities are more likely, not less, to get involved in extracurriculars.

This all adds up. Everyone has, at one time, sat in a classroom that resonated with empty silences and awkward eye contact. I’ve participated in class discussions where a professor sat in the front of the room, desperate for anyone to offer even a faltering opinion on the book assigned. I’ve attended purely elective review sessions where students scroll through Instagram under the table, instinctively embarrassed although the only person they’re damaging is themselves. And I’ve read probably five hundred essays that start out “The impact of ____ on _____ simply cannot be denied.” Of course it can’t be denied, because your professor almost certainly drew that conclusion in class the week prior. How exhausting must it be to grade twenty or more papers that read like a bizarrely academic version of Mad Libs, simply because students can’t be bothered to give a damn about originality or creativity.

I don’t care if you abhor mathematics, got an F in 11th grade Western Civ, or don’t give a crap about the nuances of English literature. This kind of apathy should not be happening at a college that bills itself as a liberal arts institution. These environments suffocate their less ambitious students by never pushing them out of the shallows. Treading water ceaselessly, the high achievers have no space to breathe or grow.

During my time at Houghton I’ve held five different jobs, most simultaneously. I’ve sat on the board for several major events each year. I’ve edited both of the school’s print publications and written for them frequently, too. I’ve interviewed honors program prospects and written letters to donors and planned events and designed posters and given speeches and revised papers. Some nights I get back to my house just in time to stare vacantly at the wall before I collapse into my bed.

This isn’t meant to underline how tirelessly I personally work to support the college, but to draw attention to how unwilling many others are to take on their fair share of responsibilities. I took on many of those tasks not because I felt a need to prove myself or feel superior to others, but because I was assured that no one else was available or willing to fulfill them. This is the message that talented, engaged students receive over and over: “Don’t feel pressure to run this event or organize this club…just be prepared for no one else to step up to the plate if you don’t.” So be sure to give your next project to a person who’s already ripping their hair out! Be on the lookout for ragged nail beds and spotty eyebrows! Those are the people who will get the job done.

Everyone has different abilities, skills, and competencies. But carrying a few 200-level classes doesn’t make you too busy to attend a meeting, write an article, or volunteer your time. So stop making excuses about how busy you are or how much work you have to do. Just admit that you’d rather spend your time muching on French fries or hanging out with your friends. Just admit that you want your evenings free to mess around on Pinterest and binge Legend of Korra. (What do you think I did with my weekend?) Once we own up to that, we can start thinking about why we value our time and talent so little.

It’s the difference between corn chips and kale, between Netflix and libraries, between pornography and sex. If the bare minimum offers satisfaction, why put in the extra effort? If you can squeak by while skipping class and cramming all your studies into the hour before the exam, why try to broaden your experience or gain intellectual depth? In short: why bother at all? Sometimes I worry that if we don’t answer that question soon, we’ll stop asking it altogether.

Carina is a senior majoring in communication and writing. She is the outgoing STAR editor-in-chief.

Campus News

One Day Giving Challenge

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date April 20, 2018

It’s that time of year again. Until midnight this evening, students and supporters alike will have the opportunity to participate in Houghton’s largest capital campaign of the year, the One Day Giving Challenge.

In past years, successful One Day Giving Challenges have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars for student scholarships, building projects, and other important initiatives. What’s different about this year? “The stakes have been raised,” said Karl Sisson, Houghton’s Vice President for Advancement and External Relations. That means there are more money and prizes in the mix—and more chances to make a difference in the lives of fellow students.

“Last year we had a dollar-for-dollar matching challenge for the Student Scholarship Fund that went up to $185,000,” Sisson said,” and we ended up raising over $500,000 for the Scholarship Fund.” At the time of writing, the 2018 dollar-for-dollar matching challenge sat at $245,000, edging out last year’s challenge by $60,000. All gifts made to the Scholarship Fund go directly into student financial awards.

Don’t think you’ll be able to manage more than a dollar? According to Sisson, even the smallest gifts are still quite valuable. “We have another $200,000 in gifts that will be made to something other to the Student Scholarship Fund” if 1883 donors make a gift during the 24-hour period, Sisson explained. If successfully raised, most of those additional funds will be dedicated to IMPACT campaign projects like the Paine Science Center capital fund and various endowments. “In addition,” Sisson added, “a new $25,000 endowed scholarship will be created in the name of the alumni class with the greatest number of donors on Friday.”

This year, however, current students and parents will have an exciting extra incentive to donate to the scholarship fund. “President Mullen and her husband, Dr. Mills, are issuing a challenge to current students and parents,” Sisson said. “For any amount that is donated by a current student or parent, they’re going to make a $15 gift to the Student Scholarship Fund. There is no ceiling to that commitment. We’re hoping to raise several thousand dollars just because students are actively participating in the challenge,” Sisson added.

The Student Government Association, together with a variety of student leaders from across campus, will be turning the main floor of the Campus Center into a One Day Giving Challenge headquarters—or, as Sisson said, “basically a party.” According to Sisson, the event will feature “a ton of giveaways and gifts.” He specified that “students will be able to get everything from Mountain Dew to gift cards to Poblano’s cash” for making a donation of any amount. “It’s going to be a really fun atmosphere.”

“It starts midnight on Friday morning and goes until midnight on Saturday morning,” Sisson said. “Last year we raised over $800,000 total over 24 hours. We definitely have the ability to eclipse that this year.”

The event offers a valuable opportunity for students to support their classmates and friends, even if they only have a few dollars to spare. “The Student Scholarship Fund goes right back into students, so that is our priority,” Sisson shared. “What we need students to do is to advocate and encourage others,” Sisson urged. “We’d like them to encourage their friends, parents, and grandparents to help reach these pretty lofty goals we have set this year.” Students who wish to donate can navigate to www.houghton.edu/makeagift.

Campus Stories In Focus

An Issue of Discipleship

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date April 20, 2018

“How do we have grace with one another in the midst of working toward creating—in the words of Dr. King—that beloved community where people respect one another?” That was the question posed by Rev. Harold Spooner, who, alongside Debbie Blue, has been conducting focus groups with international students and students of color throughout the past year.

Spooner, a Chicago native who graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary after attending Houghton, has served as Director of Diversity at the Stony Brook School on Long Island and as Vice President of Community Impact at Covenant Retirement Communities. He has helped a variety of churches and organizations develop policies and programs that are more ethnically diverse.

“As the college is attracting more students of color,” Spooner said, “the desire is to create an environment where all of the students will feel comfortable and safe, and will be able to benefit as much as possible from the Houghton experience. That being said,” he continued, “the reality is that institutions, across the board in the United States, aren’t always sensitive to the needs of people that don’t necessarily fit into the context of the majority culture.”

These talk-back sessions, according to Spooner, are born out of “the desire to both hear from the students of color, in terms of what their needs are as they relate to the Houghton: where they’ve had great experiences and where they’ve had frustrating experiences.

“What Debbie and I were asked to do was to come in, listen to these students of color (both international and domestic), and make recommendations to the institution in regards to how they can do a better job of creating an open and welcoming environment for all students. In moving both individually and collectively, the goal…is to create an environment where all of the students at Houghton College can get as much as possible out of the Houghton experience.”

“Majority culture, in general, looks at the world through their lens and says the world is supposed to work the way they see it,” he continued. “There’s no sensitivity to the possibility that there may be other views out there that don’t coincide with yours, and that certainly there are systems that do indeed work against people. They might work for you, but they don’t work for everybody else.”

While Spooner acknowledged that “there are issues of insensitivity, from both the institution and fellow students, which play into some frustrations from students of color,” he also seemed confident in the guiding ethos of a Christian liberal arts education. “When you come to a liberal arts campus, the idea is to be open to broader ideas,” he said. “You don’t have to agree with everything. That’s not the point. The point is actively listening, discussing, talking, hearing, empathy. Not discounting someone else’s experience because it’s not yours. Part of education is to hear and see what the world has to offer, engage with it, and then make your decisions based on engagement—not based on opinion without ever engaging. Our hope is that folks will be open to being educated.”

After consulting with students, Spooner and Blue submitted an action report to the Houghton administration. For the last few years, many students of color have asked administration to consider hiring a full-time Diversity Coordinator. Spooner and Blue came to the same conclusion during their conversations with students. “One of the things that we recommended was that the school look to hire a person whose specific function would be to zero in on the needs of international students and students of color,” Spooner said. “They would do that in conjunction with the Dean of Spiritual Life, because as we look at it, this is a fundamental issue of discipleship.

“To be more Biblical than that, to go to Genesis, we need to understand that all human beings are created in God’s image. You’ve got to think of all people as equal, created in God’s image, loved by God, and treated in the same way you would want to be treated,” Spooner continued. “So it is discipleship.”

Although both administration and students hope to make progress on these initiatives, Spooner expected roadblocks and obstacles in years to come. “This is a process,” he emphasized. “There will not be any point where we say ‘Oh, we’ve nailed it.’ We’ll do some things positively and make some mistakes. Students don’t have to agree on everything, but they respect each other and affirm the dignity we all have as children of God.”

He also explained how students can adopt a more nuanced perspective on complex issues: “You should critically look at the values that you’ve been taught. Don’t accept them as truth just because someone told them to you, or because you were raised like that.”

Campus Stories In Focus

Student Research: Back To Roots

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date April 13, 2018

Yesterday, a group of English and writing students embarked on a trip to Butler University’s Undergraduate Research Conference. The group will spend Friday at the conference before visiting the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing on their way back to Houghton.

“I’m writing a paper centered around environmentalism in fiction,” said Sarah Vande Brake ’19, one of the presenting students. “I chose to focus on the writers Wendell Berry and Barbara Kingsolver, who both address serious environmental issues in their fiction. It’s also worth mentioning that they are both writing about the same geographical area—rural Appalachia—and how this landscape is changing as farming practices change. Berry and Kingsolver come to different conclusions about what it means to practice environmental responsibility, but they agree that radically inclusive communities are the place to start…their characters evaluate their actions differently than someone who only thinks about human communities.”

Rachel Zimmerman ‘18, Sarah Madden ‘19, Sarah Vande Brake ‘19, and Olivia Richardson ‘19 will present reseach at Butler University today.

Membership does mean slightly different things to these writers because of the way they imagine ideal community structure. To Berry, it’s a rural farming community that uses traditional practices. To Kingsolver, it’s more flexible. Stewardship evolves depending on current scientific understanding and practical/local needs.

Berry defines membership in terms of tradition and experience because this gives his communities security. His characters can know that generations down the line will share the same purpose of promoting health for land and people.

“Berry might be more realistic about human nature, but he’s a lot less accessible in many ways,” Vande Brake continued. “Kingsolver’s membership is flexible and people can change the structure itself for the better. Her novel Prodigal Summer is interesting because of the ways it shows communities experiencing change. It’s a hopeful picture, if a little didactic.”

Rachel Zimmerman ’18 will present a paper on four of novels of Edith Wharton’s novels: The House of Mirth, Summer, Ethan Frome, and The Age of Innocence. “I’m looking at flawed and broken romantic relationships, particularly marriage,” Zimmerman said. “[Wharton] tends to portray them all as pretty hopeless, but with glimpses of stability and hope that are achievable.”

Zimmerman hopes to focus on the “way that novels and [Wharton’s] life interweave to reveal her vision of the potential for stability and hope in relationships.”

Colleagues Sarah Madden and Olivia Richardson will present, respectively, “The Dystopian Novel and Human Nature” and “Characterizing Evil Through Transformation in Milton’s and Lewis’s Fiction.”

Laurie Dashnau, professor of writing, has supervised the Undergraduate Research Conference groups for the past three years. “The greatest challenge for me has been to shift my thinking from that of a subject matter expert to serving as a mentor and professor and overseer, branching out into areas considerably beyond my expertise,” she shared. Dashnau has enjoyed “responding as a near novice reader and listener” to foundational academic texts, which she believes helps students “think about the intersection between graduate level work and audiences that have little to no familiarity with the material.”

Dashnau continued, saying that it was “extremely rewarding to see students devise their own syllabus and see how syllabus is constantly being shaped and reshaped.

Although textual analysis in the humanities is sometimes viewed as subordinate to scientific research, Dashnau lamented the “erosion of primary text research” in universities across the nation. “I’m particularly grateful that we’ve had these three years,” she added, “to think about undergraduate research on an even wider scale with students from across the country. The number of majors in English and writing is rapidly declining, and very few students outside emerging educators are making a commitment to these majors. It’s very easy to think about undergraduate research in the sciences, but research in writing and literature takes us back to the root of the word. As Zora Neale Hurston said, research is ‘poking and praying with purpose.’ It requires having an eye out for details that have been overlooked, or for an argumentative edge that hasn’t been fully explored.”

Opinions

Crippled By Complacency

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date March 23, 2018

Last Wednesday morning, it seemed as if notifications were clambering over each other to reach the screen of my phone. “Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, dead at 76.” Each obituary covered the same ground: “rare science celebrity,” “cultural icon,” “Star Trek Meets The Simpsons.” Then “severe physical impairment” and “debilitating disease.” In them Hawking is lauded, over and over, as an iconic thinker who spent his life “slumped in a wheelchair” but is blessedly now “free” from his suffering. Here’s a headline from The Washington Post that caught my eye as I scrolled: “Stephen Hawking was the ultimate image of mind over matter.”

a photo of the author How Stephen Hawking himself would laugh to hear such saccharine, clueless descriptions! His disabilities were neither an insurmountable barrier nor a mystical gateway to enlightenment. They were simply physical conditions. Dr. Hawking was not “confined” or “chained” to his wheelchair, nor was he “muzzled” by his augmented speech device, as various articles I have read described him. He was just a man who could not speak or move his legs.

Stephen Hawking did not “overcome” a disability to become a world-class physicist and beloved public figure. His trademark acerbic wit, his wildly innovative way of thinking about the universe, and his skill for swiftly transitioning between deep scientific analysis and a chaotic popular culture often undecided on its view toward hard data—all depended upon the freedom to see the world in a different manner from his peers. “My disabilities have not been a significant handicap in my field,” he said in 1984 (long enough ago that one might be tempted to think we would have learned better by now.) “Indeed,” he continued, “they have helped me in a way by shielding me from the lecturing and administrative work that I would otherwise have been involved in.” In his 2013 memoir, Hawking wrote: “I felt [my disease] was very unfair–why should this happen to me…now 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life.” A few years ago, Intel offered to give Hawking a new communication software, a less robotic voice. He turned them down. That was his voice.

How wholly unsettling—yet also entirely unsurprising—that most scientists and writers who composed obituaries are blind to the significance of stories like these. Mere sentences after describing Hawking as a “crumpled figure of a man,” the author of the aforementioned Washington Post article admits: “Partly because of his physical difficulty in working with equations as most theoretical physicists do, Hawking developed new graphical methods that allowed him to visualize….the convulsions of the universe as a whole.”

What, then, sets Dr. Hawking apart from the average person with disabilities? The fact that, unlike so many others, the world chose to accommodate his needs. Where Hawking succeeded, millions of others are left to fail. Hawking understood all too well that, apart from his disability, he was perfectly situated for success in the world of physics. He was painfully aware of his own privilege as a white English man with access to a whole range of support and assistance.

In a letter to the World Health Organization in 2011, Hawking explicitly called for the United Nations to fund health, rehabilitation, educational, and employment opportunities for disabled people. “We have a moral duty to remove the barriers to participation,” he wrote, “and to invest sufficient finding and expertise to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities.” And while genius in the hard sciences does not necessarily guarantee political or sociological aptitude, this sensitivity to his own luck is one of the reasons why Hawking maintained a fierce advocate for the rights of people across the world, arguing to maintain comprehensive NHS services in his native U.K. and pushing back against U.S. politicians’ attempts to impoverish the Affordable Care Act and neuter the Americans With Disabilities Act.

We take comfort in believing that disabled people struggle because their canes and hearing aids “hold them back,” perhaps because it is too painful to acknowledge that our own communities have failed to accommodate their needs. If we continue to insist that physical and mental disabilities are the problem—rather than our own lethargic, stubborn refusal to create a more accessible world—then we’re just trying to let ourselves off the hook. Disabilities don’t let people down. We do.

Stephen Hawking wasn’t a “mind over matter” superhero. He showed us just how much our matter can, well, matter. If you truly want to honor Hawking’s legacy, value people for what they can do, rather than pitying them for what they cannot. Stop being amazed that people with disabilities can make amazing discoveries. Start asking why more of them don’t.

Carina is a senior majoring in writing and communication.

Campus Stories In Focus

Do You Have A Minute?

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date March 23, 2018

“Hi, I’m a student at Houghton College. I’m calling on behalf of our Student Scholarship Fund. Do you have a couple minutes?” For five weeks out of every semester, from Monday through Thursday, a dedicated group of students gathers on the top floor of the Luckey Building to raise funds for their classmates. Affectionately known as the “Phonathon Loft,” the spacious room is home to two rows of desks—and a lot of phones.

Elizabeth Salzman ‘19 is one of many Houghton students who spends her evenings contacting alumni and friends to raise student scholarship funds.

During Phonathon, student callers use brightly colored “calling cards” to learn more about the people they contact. To spark a conversation, many use questions about classic Houghton activities like SPOT, chapel, and cafeteria tray sledding. They share fond memories from their time at Houghton and stories of how generous student scholarships have positively impacted their lives.

The current caller script prominently focuses on the “Access and Affordability” element of Houghton’s Impact Campaign, which the college describes as “a multi-year campaign celebrating the many ways Houghton College and its students have a kingdom impact on the world.” Every donation made to these students goes directly into the Student Scholarship Fund, rather than to other building initiatives or academic funding—which is one of the reasons why having student representatives is such a crucial component of the program.

Some reliable yearly donors graduated as far back as the 1950s, while others left Houghton less than a decade ago. Many graduated with majors that are no longer offered the school. Almost all are delighted to speak with current students, swap stories about their favorite Houghton memories, and learn more about the institution’s plans for the future.

Jessica Jennings, who served as administrative supervisor of the Phonathon initiative, recently vacated the position to pursue overseas missions opportunities with YWAM. She handed management of the fund drive to Bec Cronk, whose work in alumni engagement and advancement dovetails naturally with the Phonathon mission.

“Although it makes for a long day,” Cronk said of her job, “I love listening to students make calls to alumni and friends of Houghton! It’s rewarding to hear so many stories and experiences from a spectrum of different people. The common thread in conversation is always a love for the Houghton experience.”

When asked about the challenges of her new role, Cronk said, “The hardest thing about managing so many students has got to be the scheduling! A college schedule is not one I envy. The part I am so excited about is the relationship building. I love the students and can’t wait to get to know them better. And of course it’s difficult to know that so many will leaving after this semester. Jessica has left me an exceptional group of students who are making positive connections on Houghton’s behalf.”

Casey Greene ’18, who began working as a Phonathon caller during her sophomore year and now works as a student supervisor, fondly recalled hundreds of conversations through the years. “I just love being able to form relationships with alumni and being able to hear their crazy stories,” she said, “as well as seeing the ways that Houghton has changed…and the ways that Houghton never changes.” While she recalled some bizarre discussions (and outlandish answering machines) Greene’s most enduring memory stems from a single conversation. “I called a woman this year who I had called my sophomore year,” she shared. “She could tell me my name, my major, and where I was from. She’d been praying for me for two years.”

International News

International // Farming Protests Rock India

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date March 16, 2018

This Monday, March 12, thousands of farmers from India’s western Maharashtra region walked over one hundred miles to the state capital in Mumbai. Their aim, laid out by an agricultural association closely allied with the Communist Party of India (CPI), was to demand government support for the farmers who comprise the country’s largest labor force.

Waving communist party flags and donning red berets, marchers arrived in the capital near midnight in an attempt to minimize traffic disruption. The location of the march was strategically chosen, however, since many multinational companies and India’s central bank are headquartered in the Mumbai city center. According to the CPI estimates, the protest swelled from 35,000 to 50,000 participants throughout the day. Waving communist party flags and donning red berets,

a photo of the author Tens of thousands of protesters, many of them elderly, were spurred to action by the state government’s failure to implement a comprehensive loan-waiver initiative. Indian farmers rely on interest-heavy “crop loans” to buy essential materials like seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides. Last year, the Indian government announced a plan to buy out debt and waive existing loans. Despite claiming to have submitted the proper paperwork, many marchers reported that they had not received a waiver. The program initially promised 340 billion rupees ($5.23 billion) in relief funds.

Also their list of demands was a commitment on the government’s part to purchase staple crops like grain cotton for one-and-a-half times their production cost. The Indian government sets food prices to stabilize incomes and incentivize production.

The farmers’ association also demanded that tribal farmers, who mainly cultivate ancestral forest plots, be granted full land rights.“For three generations my family has cultivated crops on a two acre-plot, but we still don’t own it,” a 74 year-old woman named Murabhai Bhavar told Reuters.“The land we till should be registered in our name.”

According to the BBC, the march was the second major agricultural protest in less than a year. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s ruling Bhartiya Janata party has pushed a globally expansionist, neoliberal economic platform and rejected the country’s former policy of state-incentivized industrialization. Although the approach has dramatically bolstered India’s global economic standing, it has been accused of ambivalence toward the struggles of the working poor.

Lack of modern equipment, labor depletion, and severe drought have crippled Indian agriculture over the past several decades. Although agriculture is India’s largest industry, employing nearly 50% of its labor force, it supplies only 15% of the country’s GDP. Farmer suicides also account for nearly twelve percent of the country’s overall suicide rate, a statistic that many attribute to factors such as monsoon damage, high debt, and and exploitative governmental policies. In 2014, the Indian National Crime Records Bureau reported 5,650 farmer suicides.

The protesters met with state representatives, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who assured them that 138 billion rupees of the promised amount have already been transferred to needy farmers and that all forest land disputes will be resolved within six months. “We are sad that farmers have come all the way to protest,” Fadnavis told NDTV. He said that the new wishlist would be reviewed. The state government also arranged for the farmers to travel home by train once talks were complete.

Carina is a senior double majoring in writing and communiation.

Campus News

President Addresses Questions

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date March 13, 2018

Last Tuesday evening, President Mullen hosted a meeting with prominent student leaders to address the college budget and other related concerns.

Mullen opened the meeting with a bold, yet contradictory, statement about the state of the school. “This is an amazing time to be at Houghton College,” she said. “But it’s also a very difficult time to be involved in higher education.” While Mullen emphasized that liberal arts colleges are the “kind of institution that both our church and our society need more than ever,” several challenges threaten the stability of universities across the nation—and Houghton is no exception.

The first of these challenges is financial. Mounting skepticism about the viability and worth of college degrees, along with alternatives to traditional undergraduate educations,

Last week, President Mullen shed some clarity on next year’s budget deficit, enrollment number goals, revenue targets, and challenges to higher education in the United States.

“Most private colleges actually do not charge students what the education costs,” Mullen explained. “That is especially acute at a place like Houghton,” she said, adding that 40% of Houghton students are eligible for federal Pell grants. “There is a $10,000 gap between what the average student pays to come here and what it actually costs to educate them.” During 2017, the college’s cost per student came to $32,865 while its net student revenue lagged at only $22,324.

In addition, Mullen pointed out that several of the college’s core academic programs—such as equestrian studies, music, education, and STEM—are “all or nothing” programs that require a certain minimum investment to receive approval from the state. Houghton remains equally committed to affordability and academic quality. The college’s challenge, according to Mullen, lies in “deal[ing] with that budget reality without harming student experience.”

Mullen identified several distinctive qualities that “make [Houghton’s] issues a little more difficult than others.” The first of these is the highly polarizing “rural factor.” Incoming students often place Houghton’s rural environment in the top three factors for attending, while students who choose not to come to the college often cite its remote location as one of their top three reasons.

Ideological issues also complicate matters. “Houghton is in a very fascinating place on the political-theological spectrum,” Mullen added. “A lot of Christians to the right think we’re too liberal, and a lot of people who are a part of mainline Christianity see Houghton as too conservative. There’s a whole part of the Christian word that doesn’t want to be in a ‘liberal arts college,’ so we don’t necessarily fit the mold of the Christian colleges that are marketing themselves as the ‘true’ Christian colleges.”

Another challenge lies in swiftly changing demographics. “The traditional population that has come to Houghton is changing,” Mullen said. “A lot of colleges are feeling that change.” She added that the four biggest growing populations in higher education are international students, ethnic and racial minorities (particularly Hispanic and Latino), adult students, and part-time students.

Mullen confirmed that the working budget for the 2018-2019 year has a deficit of approximately $3 million. She specified that roughly $900,000 of that number consists of “wish list items” for the next academic term, that $500,000 was added to fortify Houghton’s financial aid program against the termination of federal Perkins loans, and $1.7 million is due to a large enrollment shortfall in previous years. “There’s been several years where the board has let us run a deficit budget,” Mullen explained. “It’s easy for me to look back and wish they hadn’t. You have to balance it at some point.

“We’re at a point right now where, to take Houghton forward, we need to come to terms with what seems to be the reality which we’re dealing with, and which has probably been here for several years,” she continued. “It’s not like suddenly something has gone horribly wrong. For a long time, people in higher education thought ‘next year is going to be different.’ The overwhelming majority of public and private colleges are dealing with this.”

Mullen added that, from the administration’s perspective, revenue diversification will be crucial over the next few years. She confirmed that Houghton will “continue having a strong residential undergraduate program,” but that the college is committed to expanding online course offerings and offsite degree programs like its current satellite campuses in Buffalo and Utica. These programs, according to Mullen, are well suited for “urban areas where there are students that want a Christian education, but don’t want to come to a rural area.”

This diversification of revenue streams is integral to the administration’s commitment to retaining core academic programs. “We are being careful not to fix our budget problems by cutting faculty and staff,” Mullen said, before reiterating the importance of extracurricular activities. “Every athletic team, music ensemble, and major is a revenue generator.”

Responding to Mullen’s comments, student body president Sergio Mata ‘19 expressed concern about whether the budget will still balance if next year’s enrollment numbers are not met. According to the annual Survey of Admissions Directors, only 34% of all colleges met their admissions goals in 2017. That number was down from 42% just two years prior. Mata also expressed a hope that the administration will hold to their promise of maintaining strong student experiences rather than cutting programs.

Responding to a student question about the resignation of Vincent Morris, Vice President of Finance, the President expressed regret for not being able to address the situation more fully.

“I can’t say a lot about any personnel decisions,” she said, referring to legal precedent that prevents academic institutions from making public statements that may damage a former employee’s prospects at another educational institution. “It’s a legal issue. People have the right to tell their own story, so the person can say whatever they want to say, but the college can’t. I feel like it’s better that way and fairer to the person.”

I have great appreciation for Vince and what he brought to the college,” she continued. “This is the hardest kind of thing because I can’t give my reasons for it. I do not make these decisions willingly…and the hardest thing is knowing the impact on students.”

Another student question focused on whether smaller programs, such as recreation and philosophy, will be rolled back to make room in the budget. “One of the biggest heartbreaks I have about liberal arts education is that we don’t have enough people going into those areas,” Mullen said. “We are committed to the humanities. I’ve had multiple discussions with the Academic Dean. We’ve got to find some way to think about the humanities that doesn’t just involve majors…A lot of colleges are just axing these programs because of numbers.

“We’re looking for people in English and history who can help to reenergize and rethink what we’re doing in these areas,” she continued. “The bar is higher now. What I’m trying desperately right now to do is to maintain a core. It’s foundational to education in general, whether or not people major in it.”

Near the end of her address, President Mullen urged students to speak boldly and bluntly with the administration about any concerns they may have. “We try very hard in the presidential staff to make decisions that will protect the student experience,” she said. “But I don’t know if the things we think are important about the student experience are the ones that students think are important.”

Campus News

Staff Attend CCCU Forum

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date February 23, 2018

On Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, President Shirley Mullen, along with several other Houghton faculty and administrative staff, attended the quadrennial Council for Christian Colleges & Universities International Forum in Dallas, Texas. The event united representatives from CCCU member institutions across the globe, including board members and ministry directors to participate in “purposeful reflection on the past and collaborative engagement for the future,” according to the Forum website.

President Mullen participated in two panels: “Faith In Action: Politics and Policy In Changing Times” and “Preparing CCCU Graduates For The Pluralistic World of the 21st Century.” During the first panel, which also featured the presidents of Roberts Wesleyan College, Biola University, Azusa Pacific University, and Point Loma Nazarene University, she discussed practical ways of approaching issues like LGBTQ inclusion, financial aid, and governmental regulations. The second panel, which included Houghton alum and commencement speaker Richard Mouw, as well as Eboo Patel of InterFaith Youth Core, addressed cross-cultural and inter-faith dialogues at Christian universities.

President Shirley Mullen, along with multiple Houghton staff, gathered at the Gaylord Texan Resort for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities’ 2018 International Forum in Dallas, Texas on Jan. 31 through Feb. 2

According to Mullen, “The most valuable thing [about these conferences] is the encouragement that comes from seeing the global scope of Christian higher education, interacting with fellow colleagues who are dealing with the same challenges, and hearing from speakers that none of us would have access to on our own.” According to Mullen, the conference also bestowed on university administrators “a deepened sense of the importance of Christian colleges like Houghton in preparing graduates who are competent to be problem solvers, confident enough to be agents of civility and community, and creative and surprising witnesses to Christian hope in our increasingly pluralistic and divided world.”

Vincent Morris, Vice President for Finance, co-led a session titled “Strategies for Implementing Enterprise Risk Management,” which explained how college administrators can better identify risks, take advantage of opportunities, and prepare for the tumultuous financial future of higher education. According to Morris, these strategies are more necessary now that 2.7 million fewer U.S. high school students have chosen to attend Christian colleges in the last few years, putting pressure on enrollment numbers and financial assets.

“Some of the sessions I attended at the CCCU conference that were most beneficial,” Morris said, “included presentations on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for Christian colleges (both possibly challenged by societal trends), an instructive but rather depressing session on demographic, enrollment and financial trends for Christian colleges and universities…and the session on cyber security co-led by Houghton’s own Don Haingray of IT. Some nasty people out there trying to break into college systems!”

Kim Pool, Director of VOCA, presented at a breakout session entitled “Faith-Informed Approaches to Vocation: Four Institutional Strategies.” At the session, she shared information about Houghton’s

vocational programs, paying particular attention to the yearly Sophomore Leadership Conference and to the college’s “goal of providing intentional time and space for vocational reflection and discussion about God’s callings in our lives.” She enjoyed swapping ideas on best practices and learning from other career services professionals. “It was refreshing to be reminded of the importance of our work and the mission of Christian institutions in Higher Education,” she said. “I was grateful to see Houghton well represented and contributing to impactful conversations.

H. “Skip” Lord, Houghton’s Executive Director of Athletics, also attended the event to present in a panel titled “Inclusive Intercollegiate Athletics in Christian Higher Education” alongside the Executive Director of the National Christian College Athletic Association, among others. “Our presentation grew out of our involvement with the NCAA’s ‘Common Ground’ program,” he said, “with which I’ve been involved for a little more than 3 years.” According to the NCAA website, the “Common Ground” initiative was formed to establish “inclusive and respectful” athletic communities for all sexual orientations, gender identities, and religious beliefs. Along this theme, Lord also attended sessions titled “Cultivating Capacity for Inclusive Excellence through an Active Bystander Strategy in Christian Higher Education” and “Caring for LGBTQ students at CCCU Institutions.”

When asked about highlights of the event, Lord mentioned worship sessions led by musician Matt Maher and devotionals delivered by speaker Andy Crouch. Mullen also highlighted Crouch’s devotionals as highlight, reflecting that “God’s work has always gone on in the midst of stressful conflict, opposition from the larger world, and divisions within the community of God’s people. The deep sense of God’s Sovereignty and his faithfulness in accomplishing his purposes was overwhelming.”

Speaking about the continuing impact of the event, Lord said, “I came home even more motivated to be part of what God is doing in our ever-changing world and privileged to play even a small part.”

Campus News

Counseling Through Community

Post author By Carina Martin
Post date February 16, 2018

This semester, Houghton’s Counseling Center will hold regular group activities to encourage community connection, reduce stress, and teach useful handicraft skills.

The new events, snappily named “Wellness Wednesdays,” were the brainchild of Dr. Bill Burrichter, Houghton’s Director of Counseling Services. “A few years ago,” said Burrichter, “when I first came into Houghton, I was tasked with thinking about comprehensive wellness program. I had designed a wellness wheel with 7 dimensions, including spiritual, physical, nutritional, and emotional. Within each of those dimensions, we started to think through current things we do here at Houghton.”

Wellness Wednesdays seek to support students by connecting them with community members and teaching them valuable hands-on skills.

Although development of the program stalled due to slim financial and personnel resources, the Counseling Center staff continued to brainstorm new ways of connecting with students. “We kept circling back around to it,” Burrichter continued. “We kept asking about what kinds of things we could do to instill wellness among students here at Houghton, in areas that logically connect with social and emotional wellness and would still be beneficial to them.” The program was also designed to provide an enriching alternative to individualized spaces like dorm rooms and library carrels, allowing students to interact with each other and fellowship with members of the broader Houghton community.

Intergenerational connections are, according to Burrichter, an emotional and spiritual blessing that modern college students sorely lack. “One of the greatest tragedies of the current generation is that the blind are leading the blind,” he said. “Emerging adults are leading emerging adults, and there’s a great sense of disconnect between older generations and the emerging adults. One of the intents behind the knitting night was to bring some cross generational interaction.”

During the next Wellness Wednesday, which will be held on Feb. 21 between 6-9 p.m., Prof. Alicia Taylor-Austin will show participants how to create durable, elegant handmade journals. After the instructional session, Burrichter added, “several women from the community will talk about what journaling has done for their spiritual and emotional wellness,” adding another dimension of wellness to the program.

In a later workshop, he said, retired Houghton psychology professor and “phenomenal woodworker” Daryl Stevenson will guide participants through a simple project. According to Burrichter, this low-key session will give students a chance to “do a project together and glean some wisdom from Dr. Stevenson, who’s been here for almost 40 years. And he can benefit from youthfulness and enthusiasm of the current students.” Another planned activity, an evening of sushi-rolling with licensed nutritionist Rebecca Harter, was designed to “bring people together around an engaging activity and create a sense of wellness” while teaching a valuable skill.

“We needed to think more creatively about how we deliver service,” Burrichter said, summing up his motivation behind designing such interactive events. “We’ve been sitting in our office and waiting for students to come to us. That has worked for many years, but we can’t possibly serve all students in that capacity.” He described the traditional mental and emotional intervention process as “a funnel going upward,” which most students enter at the bottom through individual counselling sessions.

“This is an attempt to flip the funnel upside down,” he said, “and get as many students as possible into the big part of the funnel through programs and services, so that they can access the benefits of this programming.” While some students immediately feel comfortable in one-on-one conversations with a counselor, others connect more naturally to hands-on activities. “Maybe these wellness activities will give some students what they need,” Burrichter said, expressing a hope that students who attend the sessions will join one of the many support groups available or visit the Counseling Center on their own time.

“We’re trying to think differently and find a more efficient way of delivering services to an ever-expanding need,” Burrichter said. At the most recent knitting circle event, 20 current Houghton students and eight community members came together to share technique tips and encouraging words. “Those kinds of relationships are really valuable,” he added. “They reinforce what makes Houghton a valuable place.”