Author: Kasey Cannister

Residence life is expanding housing options for upperclassmen by adding a townhouse floor to the basement of Shenawana (Shen) Hall starting fall 2016. The townhouse floor is a more recent option for living on campus that combines the rules of a townhouse with the setting of a dormitory.

A townhouse floor was added to Gillette in 2014. According to Jason Stephens, the Residence Director (RD) of Shen, a townhouse floor has all the benefits of a townhouse. Such benefits include extended open hours, more options when it comes to meal plans, not quite as much involvement from an RA, and a lower cost than a townhouse.

Last fall Stephens also took on the role as Assistant Director of Student Programs. Through his busy dual role with campus activities and as the RD of Shen, his time has been divided. “We were able to create an assistant residence director position (ARD) for next year to help with some of the tasks it was difficult for me to complete in Shen this year,” said Stephens.

Ian DeHaas ‘17 will take on the role as ARD and live on the townhouse floor.

Instead of putting the ARD on a floor with first-year students–where it would take time and energy to help them through their transition into college–the college decided to put him with the townhouse floor residents where he can be more of a support to students who already know have experience navigating  the Houghton college environment.

The townhouse floor setting is built to support the ARD, so he can still take on the RA role of a floor, but with residents who will not need his support as much. It has seven rooms, one being the ARD room. The basement of Shen also has a full kitchen and large lounge.

“I am really excited for the townhouse floor opportunity,” said DeHaas. “I am working with Jason to develop ways the upperclassman on my floor can pour into the underclassman on other floors in intentional ways. I want them to still be plugged in to Shen and connected with other guys.”

According to DeHaas, because the basement floor in Shen only has seven rooms, compared to the other 13 to 21 room floors, it is hard to get guys to sign up to live down there as people tend to want to be on a bigger floor. “Since the level of interaction is pretty low the basement is a hard floor to start out on because it is kind of isolating,” said DeHaas.

Chris Guntz ‘17, a future resident of the townhouse floor said, “I’ve always loved the

atmosphere of Shenawana Hall and all that it has stood for. I love the people and living in the dorms. I’m excited I get to exercise more freedom by living on the townhouse floor combined with being able to live in the dorms.”

Longtime professor, Gary Baxter, will be retiring from his position as professor of art  as he decreases his teaching load over the next two years.

This decision is part of the new Retirement Incentive Plan now offered by the college. “The plan was offered to tenured teaching faculty meeting a minimum age requirement,” said Dale Wright, Executive Director of Human Resources.

According to Wright, participation in the program is voluntary and candidates have two options. The first option is to retire at the end of this current academic year; while the second is to phase into retirement with reduced teaching loads over the next two years.

The plan was offered with two main goals. The first being to give long-serving faculty members who chose to, an opportunity to retire or to reduce their teaching load earlier than they might have otherwise been able to. The plan also hopes to assist the institution in aligning faculty resources with the current size and distribution across academic programs. Wright confirmed that the plan has been well received by the college and participating faculty.

For Baxter this plan was exactly what he wanted. He said, “The work I’ve been doing for the college and in the ceramics studio is pretty physical, so it would be nice to slow down the pace a little bit.” Baxter currently teaches art classes in ceramics, three-dimensional design, and sculpture. Carrolin Jackson, a senior art major, described Baxter saying, “He has always found a way to see beauty and merit in nearly every one of his students’ endeavors, encouraging and provoking in such a way that always brings their projects and ideas to a great completion

than before.” The plan is for Baxter to only teach ceramics for the next two years and for the college to hire a new professor within that period.  In the meantime, they may have to hire an adjunct professor to teach Three-Dimensional Design and Sculpture.

The transition of older professors into retirement allows for younger professors to transition into the department. Baxter said, “I think for a lot of students there’s a great deal of appeal to having young faculty members.”Baxter continued,, “I think it’s good to have balance, with some older and some younger faculty. But I think it’s good to have some new blood. With new blood comes new energy for the department.”  

After retiring, Baxter will continue making art. At his home he has a studio with both a wood burning and gas kiln. “I am planning to continue to produce ceramic art and continue working for as long as my health allows me to,” he said. Baxter continued, “I have a pile of books to read that I haven’t been able to get around to, and it’d also be nice to travel.” While he has been on several trips to Europe with students, those trips always take place in the summer during high tourist season.  Baxter expressed excitement to be able to travel to places like Greece, Turkey, and Japan during the off-season when it is less touristy. She continued, “While his absence will be sorely felt, his impact and influence in his students’ lives will only continue to bloom and resonate for many years to come.”

The Houghton College women’s soccer team claimed their first ever National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Championship title, defeating Mississippi College, on Saturday, December 5 in Kissimmee, Florida.

In the championship game, Sarah Gabriele ‘16 scored Houghton’s lone goal with only 1.7 seconds left in the standard game, after a free kick. This brought the game to a tie sending the women into overtime.

The Highlanders fought for their title in double overtime and finally claimed it in a penalty shoot-out after a week of competing in the NCCAA National Tournament.

During the shoot-out, team members Gabriele, Meagan Barry ‘19, Torri Sperl ‘18, and Kristi Spotts ‘18 scored penalty kicks leading the team to victory.

Head coach David Lewis noted that the women have played in multiple National Tournaments reaching the Sweet 16, Elite 8, and last year the Final Four. However, this is the first time the women have appeared in the Championship Match.

“Every day we worked hard and were dedicated to achieving this goal. We played a lot of really strong competition all throughout the season that really prepared us for the NCCAA post-season,” said Gabriele.

Lewis commented, “This team has been eager to improve. They have not been content with the status quo, but have committed themselves to improve individually and corporately. Their improvement has been evident throughout the season. Their play and the subsequent results are a testament to their hard work.”

To qualify for this national tournament the women had to meet the standards set by the school to qualify for post-season. According to Harold ‘Skip’ Lord, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, this meant achieving a minimum 0.550 win/loss record and Top 10 in the national NCCAA rankings.

Additionally, they had to win the Midwest Region of the NCCAA. They achieved this by defeating Lancaster Bible College and Ohio Christian University.

“We are very proud of the great season that Coach Lewis and the women’s soccer team have put together. They have succeeded not only on the field, but in the classroom, on campus and most importantly in representing Christ in all they do,” said Lord.

Captain Jenny Zacchigna ‘17 commented, “It was easy to see how God was working within our team and blessing us continually as the week went on. The exciting finish to the final game was not only a product of hard work by the entire team and Coach Lewis, but a reminder that a team who plays to glorify Him can do amazing things.”

With their championship title, the Highlanders finished their season with a final record of 16-6-2. This is the first national title for a Houghton women’s team and the first for any Houghton team since men’s soccer claimed the NCCAA title in 1986.
“This has been my third year competing at nationals and there is really nothing like it. You just get to play soccer with your best friends every day in the warmth of Florida. It’s a great experience and blessing to get to play in the tournament, this year even more so because we accomplished what we set out to do,” said Captain Bailey Shattell ‘17.

Houghton College partnered with local food pantries for a turkey drive, run by the Student Government Association (SGA) that ended on November 21, and raised $662.72.

While the drive fell far behind the goal of $1,750, the donations were still able to ensure many families in Allegany County enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal.

“The turkeys from this drive were distributed to food pantries in Fillmore, Rushford, and at the Houghton Wesleyan Church. A few turkeys were also donated to Wellspring Ministry,” said Ray Parlett, director of campus safety and security.

The Houghton Wesleyan Church food pantry received and distributed 49 turkeys. The church also gave out 50 bags of potatoes, and 60 desserts to go along with donated Thanksgiving meals, confirmed Patty Stalker, Administrative Assistant at the church.

“The families who came to receive turkeys were so appreciative,” commented Cindy Austin, member of the Houghton Wesleyan Church.

The turkey drive consisted of three forms of fundraising including a penny drive, a 5K Turkey Trot, and the purchasing of paper feathers from the dining hall. Of all the money raised, the dining hall fundraiser was the most successful, raising almost $300.

“The turkey drive has gone better in the past. We did not meet our goal, which is disappointing. However, we started what we hope will be a new tradition with the Turkey Trot,” commented Sarah Makosy, Executive Officer of Student Life.

“There were 25 competitors, varying from students, faculty, and community members,” commented Patrick Hager, head coach of the cross-country team. “With it being a small event, it was pretty easy for Sarah and I to coordinate registration and timing.”

He continued, “I would hope that in years to come it could be a much larger event, and we could contribute more turkeys to the community. I think the campus will rally around that.”

During the penny drive containers were labeled with four different costume options. Whichever costume raised the most money would be worn by Dean Jordan during the Turkey Trot. According to Makosy, the Baymax costume, from the movie Big Hero 6, was the winner.
“We definitely could’ve raised more money. But I’m happy that we were able to help out the Houghton community in this way,” commented Makosy.