Author: Jory Kauffman

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Bible Department Adjusts to Cuts

With recent budget and staff cuts, every academic department essentially feels the weight of such changes and the restrictions that often follow; the Bible department specifically is struggling with current academic burdens.

The aforementioned budget cuts elicited the elimination of the adjunct professor position in the Bible department, a person previously depended upon to take up some of the load of teaching classes. The result, along with a current professor’s absence due to a year of sabbatical, created a deficiency of course offerings within the Bible major this semester.

Sarah Derck, Old Testament, acknowledged the restrictions applied to the department due to the budget cuts. One result is, she said, “for this academic year we had to rearrange the offerings, and not have quite as many upper level Bible courses available.”

From the perspective of a current senior Bible major, such a deficiency comes as a sudden inconvenience. The majority of seniors in the department accepted independent study courses this spring as a means of meeting course requirements in order to complete their degrees.

Billy Marshall, senior Bible major, expressed his frustration in this current lack of course offerings. He said, “The lack of courses being offered for Bible majors is more than a simple inconvenience–it’s frustrating beyond belief…. As a Christian college we shouldn’t just offer Bible courses that cover the fundamentals.”

As Biblical Literature remains a required introductory-level course for all graduates, the remaining Bible professors, namely Sarah Derck and Terrence Paige, now must dedicate more of their time teaching that specific class this semester. The remaining few upper-level classes are currently offered every year, and as a result senior Bible majors find the classes offered those already taken, and therefore must resort to independent study courses.

BibleDept_2Unlike Marshall, other students see an independent study course as an opportunity to study something they find specific interest in.  One such senior, Christine Brienen, spoke of her experience within the Bible major.  While expressing disappointment in the fact that the Bible department withdrew a two credit, upper-level course on the book of Psalms due to lack of staff this spring, Brienen said, regarding her current independent study course, “It’s an opportunity I wouldn’t have had if Psalms would have been offered, and it’s a more focused course in what I want to be doing after school.”

Although the department faces these cuts and lack of course offerings, Derck places emphasis on the future.  Concerning the shortage of upper-level courses, she said, “It’s a temporary thing… and it’s actually a great opportunity to think creatively and strategically.”

Such creative thinking resulted in Derck’s anticipation of a “broader range of Bible courses” in the coming year.  The normally offered courses, such as the Pentateuch, will be offered every other spring, as opposed to every spring, leaving room for new course offerings in the semesters its absence leaves.

The department also plans on offering some future classes as two or three credit courses, in order to create flexibility within the major.

One consolation found amid the current deficiencies and frustrations of the department is the fact that these issues are not unique to the Bible department.  As Derck said, “Going forward we are engaging in what folks all across the college are doing, and that’s trying to figure out how to balance the offerings that our students need, and create a way that allows us to move into the 21st century of higher education, which is, as everybody knows, a totally new ball game.”

 

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Stories In Focus

SPOT Preview: “There’s going to be a lot more laughing.”

As first years, Luke Ogden and John Carpenter dreamed of one day hosting SPOT together.  As seniors, the pair will live out that dream this Saturday. Sitting together on a townhouse couch, Ogden and Carpenter discussed the upcoming show, their role as hosts, and inevitably reminisced about their past as students, friends, and roommates.

With a half-empty gallon of green tea in his lap and his co-host’s inspiring presence nearby,

Ogden explained some anticipated differences in the upcoming SPOT, in contrast to previous shows. “There’s going to be a lot more laughing, ‘cause John and I are awesome,” he said.  “There’s going to be even more jokes, more fun-ness, more ooo’s, more ahh’s, more music.”

Ogden also said that he and Carpenter eagerly await aspects of the show that he describes as “elements of surprise and fun.” They look to CAB for one such element, a series of Vines, to go with this SPOT’s theme of social networking, dubbed #hastagspot by the hosts.

Along with the promised humor, Ogden and Carpenter vowed to stay true to SPOT’s function as a variety show. They assure the appearance of some singing acts, group dancing, and plenty of videos. In addition, Carpenter anticipates “some stuff we’ve never really seen before; people are getting pretty creative with their ideas.”

Ogden himself, a music enthusiast, said, “I will probably make a singing appearance… definitely can’t keep my vocal chords from moving.”

Courtesy of Facebook.com
Courtesy of Facebook.com

Aside from Ogden’s own voice, both he and Carpenter expressed specific excitement regarding their choice of musical interludes between acts. Performing live, pianist Malcolm Bell and drummer Jerbrel Bowens will assume the stage frequently during the night, working together to both entertain and enthrall the audience during set changes and act transitions.

As Carpenter said of the two musicians’ talents, “They’re both good enough that we can tell them what to play an hour before the show and they’ll be able to do it.” Ogden added to his co-host’s statement, describing the pair’s awaited musical appearances as “beautiful.”

Aside from the various acts and the musical performances of Bell and Bowens, yet another aspect of SPOT lies in Ogden and Carpenter’s own performance as hosts. As friends since freshman year, the hosts claim four years worth of ideas related to the enactment of this spring’s SPOT.

As roommates, Ogden and Carpenter indulge in planning the event while the majority of Houghton indulges in sleep. “We do a lot of brainstorming in bed at night,” said Carpenter. “Once we’re talking it doesn’t really stop.”

Ogden said, in explaining his relationship with Carpenter, “We feed one another – literally and figuratively.  There’ll be times I’ll be like, ‘John, you want some eggs?’  He’ll be like, ‘Yea’…  But we feed off of each other as well – not so much literally in that way – more figuratively.”  Such “feeding” often results in a cascade of witty comments, the essence of their pending SPOT appearance.

The hosts display chemistry off the stage that can only be anticipated to make an appearance in the spotlight as well. They profess a successful friendship due in part to making up for each other’s faults. For Carpenter, Ogden is better with words; for Ogden, if a joke goes too far, “John always knows when to stop.” Due to such chemistry, or possibly just the fact that they both have blond hair, they once were even mistaken as brothers.

Overall, Ogden and Carpenter anticipate a satisfying SPOT for this spring. They possess confidence in the acts and in themselves as hosts. As opposed to the lengthy, mediocre SPOT of the fall, Ogden plans for a SPOT filled with entertaining acts. He said, “We would rather have an hour-long SPOT of awesomeness and good acts than a two-hour-long with good acts and bad acts.”

 

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Stories In Focus

Film Review: “The Book Thief”

The recent release of the enthusiastically anticipated film, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, completely overshadowed what I thought more worthy of enthusiastic anticipation: the Thanksgiving night debut of The Book Thief. When asked about my plans for break, after expressing my excitement towards seeing my family, my bed, and The Book Thief, I often faced the question, “The what?” Nevertheless, Black Friday found me not in line to buy that seventy-five-percent-off sweater, but rather waiting to purchase that full price movie ticket.

And the film proved well worth the anticipation along with the sacrifice of the sweater, even if my affection for Black Friday shopping was questionable to begin with.

Courtesy of imdb.com
Courtesy of imdb.com

Based on a book published in 2005 by Markus Zusak, the movie shows us part of a young girl’s life in Nazi Germany. The film generally stays true to its novel predecessor, leaving out, as films often must, only the unnecessary. Descriptions of both the book and the film include the setting of The Book Thief in WWII Germany, the hidden Jew in the main character’s basement, and the hobby of the book thief herself: stealing books from grave sites, Nazi book burnings, and a wealthy man’s library.

Though the excitement may initially sound thrilling and the plot may appear dangerous, the movie in fact points more toward the lover of a simple story, not an action-oriented or passion-inspired audience. It rather targets the sort of person that probably enjoyed the book before seeing the movie; more than half of the occupants in the theatre I sat in looked to be older than 60.

Still, the slow-moving plot gains appeal through lovable characters and clever scenes. We meet the Book Thief, Liesel Meminger, as a child of about ten, introduced to us by the surprisingly enticing, velvety voice of the film’s narrator, Death. We first encounter Liesel sitting on a train, lifting her enormous blue eyes to discover her just-dead brother. At his burial we watch her steal her first book, a neglected handbook for gravediggers, which she keeps as a memory of the one buried.

From the graveyard we move to Heaven Street, where Liesel spends the rest of her movie-life. We learn that her mother entrusted Liesel to the foster care system, and as a result, the child meets her new parents. Rosa, a secretly softhearted woman encased in a hostile, insensitive shell, and Hans Hubermann, a large-nosed, winking, immediately lovable father figure, form a duo dubbed “Mama” and “Papa.” The pair repeatedly provoked chuckles from the audience, through Rosa’s witty nagging and Hans’ silent expressions and gentle retaliation.

During her time at Heaven Street, Liesel forms loving relationships between the two foster parents, the Jew, Max, whom the Hubermanns harbor in their basement, and Liesel’s new best friend, the neighborhood energy-filled, “lemon-haired” boy, Rudy.

Though I found the film as a whole enjoyable, many aspects of the story seemed too beautiful for the plot and subject matter they surround. One scene in particular shows Liesel and Rudy just after the latter receives news that Nazi authorities selected him to enter into an early elite training program for the military. We see the two inexpressibly adorable fair-haired children laughing and yelling, “I hate Hitler,” across a clear lake, before a screen of bright green trees and sunshine.

In another more sober scene, following a shower of bombs from foreign planes, the camera focuses on burning rubble, shattered buildings, and a lineup of intact bodies, the occupants of each dismembered home lying peacefully on the ground, simply sprinkled with a little dust.

Overall, I suppose this lack of realistic representation also appeals to the same story-loving audience, who may in turn cringe at accurate gore or the expression of depressed emotions. Nevertheless, for those who crave a spirit-lifting tonic every so often, I found The Book Thief, with its charming protagonist and touching performance just the film to do so.

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News

College Investigates Performance with Decennial Review

Every ten years, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) requires Houghton College to conduct an extensive review on different aspects of the college. Houghton completed its last review in 2005; the next, already in progress, will reach completion in 2015.

FancherThe review is labeled a self-study, conducted by Houghton for the benefit of Houghton. The MSCHE website describes the review as “a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association” and contains a manual asserting the commission’s fourteen “characteristics of excellence” that affiliated institutions strive to meet.

Each institution is required to create a missions statement. Each characteristic of excellence in turn must line up with that statement. One standard of excellence specified by the manual reads, “The human, financial, technical, facilities, and other resources necessary to achieve an institution’s mission and goals are available and accessible.”

The MSCHE provides a resource containing similar information collected by other institutions involved in the commission. Any previous MSCHE study conducted at a given institution may be accessed through the website at any time.

In order to facilitate the self-study process, Houghton collected what is called the Self-Study Steering Committee, comprised of both students and faculty. Paul Young, Chair of the Self Study Steering Committee, works with the president and the dean of the college to select the students and faculty who serve as members.

The committee then works to collect information.  Young said, “We’re doing what’s called a comprehensive review… we’re looking at every one of the fourteen standards to see how well Houghton meets the standards.”

During the self-study, the committee appoints seven groups of information gatherers, each of which gather information on two of the fourteen standards. “They are responsible for gathering information, then analyze what the information means, evaluate it, and write a chapter for the final report,” said Young.  Each chapter consists of analysis of evidence in regards to how well Houghton is meeting the specified objectives, and will in turn make recommendations based on that evidence.

According to the Self-Study Design, a document created by Young to outline the purpose and instructions of the Self-Study Steering Committee, each group must “locate existing evidence, collect new evidence as necessary, and analyze evidence relevant to the research questions assigned to the group” as well as “answer each research question, identifying issues critical to Houghton College.”

One of the seven groups, for example, collects information on faculty and educational offerings. Some research questions outlined by the design analyze the qualification of specific faculty in their current roles, current hiring practices and their effectiveness, as well as the efficiency of educational offerings.

Houghton uses the information found through conducting the self-study to improve certain aspects of the college that may prove lacking.  In the last survey, results suggested that a full time institutional research position was necessary to Houghton. In 2007, that change was enacted.

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Stories In Focus

Catholic Students at Houghton

Though Houghton College professes Christian Wesleyan religious affiliation, many students enrolled at the school inevitably differ in denomination, tradition, or religion in general. Such differences serve to produce a conversation between contrasting beliefs and a resulting respect for others regardless of his or her religious tradition.

One such presence, differing from the Wesleyan denomination, is students affiliated with Roman Catholicism. Approximately 30 students currently enrolled at Houghton College this fall identified themselves as part of the Catholic religious tradition.

Kayleigh Gurney, Houghton freshman and Catholic, explained some of her experience as a Catholic student in a Protestant institution. Sometimes people will “talk about Roman Catholics as some completely outrageous religion,” she said, but for the most part people at Houghton prove understanding and accepting.

Courtesy of stpatsbelfastfillmore.org
Courtesy of stpatsbelfastfillmore.org

College often serves a time for exploration in a student’s beliefs or practices, an idea that may contribute to the accepting nature of the campus. Andrew Gibson, senior, though raised Catholic, takes the opportunity to attend a Protestant church while at Houghton. “Most of the backgrounds and views are the same,” he said, “so it’s a fairly easy transition to be Catholic at a Protestant school.”

Though students like Gibson participate in a different religious tradition, others continue to pursue the tradition they know. A family from Buffalo recognized the need for a ministry to provide a link between Catholic students at the college and a Catholic church. Consequentially, the family requested that Saint Patrick’s Catholic Parish in Fillmore initiate such a ministry.

Officially beginning in 2007 and initially aimed at engaging students affiliated with the Catholic tradition, the ministry surprisingly brought in equal numbers of Catholic and non-Catholic Houghton students from the start. The result, according to the ministry’s website, was a “dynamic, organic, and personal Campus Ministry,” in which Catholic students desiring a connection with a parish community and non-Catholic students interested in exploring the Catholic tradition might come together with a “mutual respect for each other” and their differing religious traditions.

Debra Fitzgerald, current campus minister to Catholic students at Houghton College along with her husband, Dan, first encountered the ministry through her children attending Houghton. When the previous campus minister left the position, Fitzgerald had been actively involved and the former minister subsequently recommended her to take over.

Through her experience in the ministry, Fitzgerald emphasized the importance of the church’s availability to college students interested or involved in the Catholic tradition. “We try to incorporate the students into the life of the parish,” she said, “so that they feel like they have a church home while they’re away at school.”

While the main focus of the ministry lies in providing transportation between Houghton and the Fillmore Parish every Sunday for Mass, on Holy Days, and on Saturdays for Confession, the ministry also provides access to other related events.

Consistently focusing first on the needs of the students, Fitzgerald proves attentive to their busy schedules and academic concerns. “We’re fulfilling the needs that the students have without piling things onto them,” she said.

As a result of such a focus, events such as Donut Hour on Sundays after Mass, a time when students eat donuts and drink coffee provided by the church while socializing with each other as well as local parish members, often promote a low-obligation atmosphere, while intentionally building relationships between the church and the students.

Fitzgerald encourages both Catholic and non-Catholic students to take advantage of the ministry, to produce even more conversations and relationships between different religious traditions. She believes there is more opportunity and understanding now than before, especially between Catholics and Protestants.

“Houghton has a very good atmosphere in terms of social morality and seriousness of study, as well as respect for the whole Christian tradition,” said Fitzgerald.

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Stories In Focus

Houghton in Context: The State of Higher Education

Tuition rates seem to soar as enrollment drops.  Staff suffers position cuts and Contemporary Contexts is discontinued.  Students talk of the plummet of Houghton College as if momentary discouragement inevitably leads to downfall.

But according to studies of higher education in the rest of the country, Houghton simply stands as a participant in part of a larger trend, a number in a high percentage, and one that does not necessarily result in doom.

Courtesy of houghton.edu
Courtesy of houghton.edu

Many others echo the worry that those connected to Houghton College face.  In a Huffington Post article, Cathy Sandeen wrote that the “vital liberal arts tradition is under attack;” Christopher Moraff of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote of the decline of liberal arts degrees, saying, “Each year more students abandon the study of history, philosophy, English, and languages in favor of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”

In a “survey of 436 small private colleges and comprehensive state institutions,” The Chronicle of Higher Education found that “nearly half of the respondents said that they missed either their enrollment or their net-tuition-revenue goals.”

The survey also identified factors that may currently affect enrollment decline – the smaller the college, the more likely missing enrollment goals becomes; regional difficulties aided in more than half of small institutions in the Great Lakes region falling short of enrollment targets; competition surges as droves of colleges and universities work to recruit more students.

The fact that problems like low enrollment prove especially prominent at smaller institutions displays itself specifically at Houghton.  As President Mullen said, “With schools that are less than 1,500 students, your margin for change in enrollment is much less – just 25 less students makes a huge difference.”

Though many four-year institutions lose appeal to lower-cost options like online courses or community colleges, many traditional higher education programs remain hopeful and endeavor to adjust.

An insert in this October’s first issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, titled “A Special Report on the Future of Higher Education,” consists of articles considering such a trend.  Throughout the various articles within, different reporters explain changes in institutions, both currently occurring and anticipated, among numerous traditional four-year colleges and universities that may better promote these institutions.

One such article entitled “Career Centers Stretch to Fill New Roles” discusses how multiple institutions recently started noting the importance of post-graduation success appeal, and began to modify to meet such a demand.

“A competitive job market, rising student-loan debt, and questions about the value of a degree have pressured colleges to prove that they are a good investment,” the report reads.  “These forces, coupled with a growing body of research on the value of experiential learning, have led colleges to rethink how they prepare students for careers.”

It proceeds to note that many colleges notice such a trend and act upon it, most notably “liberal-arts-focused colleges,” to dissuade the mindset that a liberal arts degree is not marketable.

Houghton College, as a liberal arts institution, also finds value in such an interest.  Mullen explained the college’s plan to improve its own career services, to gain appeal through “helping students translate their Houghton education into what comes afterward.”

Littering the media, higher education reviews and surveys, websites, and news about the seemingly deteriorating state of higher education can discourage, worry, and overwhelm those currently enrolled.

“What I think is really important,” said Mullen, “is that students realize that this is a revolution going on in higher education in our country, and what we need to be doing… is to think, ‘What does it mean to respond to this in a way that’s creative and powerful and that assures that we’re going to be able to have Houghton for decades to come?’”

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Report: Sodexo’s Contract with Houghton College

In 2010, Houghton College entered into a contract with Sodexo, naming them manager and operator of the college’s food services. Since then, Sodexo stands as a prominent part of the college, gradually gaining more responsibilities, such as janitorial services and, most recently, the operation of former Java 101.

Courtesy of sodexoeducation.com
Courtesy of sodexoeducation.com

Currently Sodexo and Houghton maintain two contracts, referred to separately as Food Services and Facilities. The Food Services contract began on June 1, 2010 and spans a seven-year period following that date. This contract covers an agreed-upon group of Houghton services involving food, comprised of the cafeteria, Big Al’s, Sandella’s, and the newly-added coffee shop.

 Contrary to common belief, Houghton College still maintains ownership over each of these campus features, including the coffee shop. Tina Powers, Sodexo General Manager, said, “We are contracted to run any retail that [Houghton has] requested us to run; we manage it for them. There’s no ownership at all on our part.” She explained that the coffee shop was an important aspect of student life, and Sodexo and Houghton found it necessary to work together to sustain it.

 This owner-manager relationship also applies to the second contract, Facilities, which covers the janitorial, maintenance, and grounds component of Houghton’s services. This contract began later than the Food Services contract.

 Both the Food Services and Facilities contracts cover specific details concerning the college’s expectations for Sodexo, the service provider. For example, Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, said, the Food Services contract “specifies what the college owns, versus what Sodexo owns.”

“In general,” Pool said, “we own all physical property… all the permanent equipment (sinks, refrigerators, ovens), but bowls, utensils, inventory for all food, and food supplies – that’s purchased and operated by Sodexo.”

 Along with these matters, the contracts also stipulate what Sodexo’s duties are within the specific services. The Food Services contract provides a definition of its services, reading, “Food Services shall include the following: Resident dining programs, retail sales, catering.” Such instructions dictated by the contracts aid in clarification and direct decisions such as how much Sodexo can charge per meal, how they maintain hours of operations, and what aspects of the college’s food services are managed by Sodexo.

Houghton and Sodexo work together to make changes, whether changing a part of the contract or simply rearranging the layout of the cafeteria. Pool described a recent layout change, saying, “Sodexo came to the college saying here’s what we would like to do… and we then give some feedback.”

 Amendments are also made to the contracts each year to adjust, improve, or remove parts of the original documents. The college holds “expectation meetings” in which representatives from both Houghton and Sodexo discuss such adjustments in addition to the college’s expectations for the service provider.

 Powers summarized one recent expectations meeting, saying the meeting’s focus was “just making sure that we’re meeting expectations, and what [Houghton’s] expectations are for the next six months or for the next year… right now they’re focused on us making sure that students have what they need.”

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Enrollment Numbers Short of Anticipated Target

Courtesy of houghton.edu

With the start of the Fall 2013 semester came approximately 280 incoming students, a number that falls just below the anticipated enrollment target and consequentially may elicit questions concerning the welfare of Houghton College.

“The goal for the past couple years would aim for around 300 to 400 students,” said Ryan Spear, Assistant Director of Admissions, establishing the fact that the actual number of new students coming to Houghton this fall follows a trend of low enrollment.

The total of first-year students, transfer students, and those returning to Houghton after taking time off for various reasons, comprises this enrollment number.

Spear acknowledged that Houghton, as a Liberal Arts institution and as a college in general, faces challenges in regards to consistently bringing in students.  “If you look at the media, a lot of the news stories out there are challenging that college is even worth it,” he said, “…that’s one thing that has been a challenge, not just for Houghton, but for all institutions – proving that it is worth it.”

Eric Currie, the college’s new Vice President for Enrollment Management, added, “In some places and areas, education has turned into an expense, not a value… we have to help people see the tangible aspects and purpose in having an education at Houghton College, and for that matter, in Christian higher education.”

One example of Houghton’s recognition of this problem and approach to eliminate it, Currie later said, is that the college currently demonstrates its value in a new way, by investing in families for longer than what was previously normal.

“We take a proactive approach,” Currie said, “by allowing families to enter into in a longer process or journey that has been normal in the application process… Now with the financial pressures that are out there, we see that we have to have a greater persistence.”

That persistence carries over to other areas of enrollment as well.  Spear identifies another obstacle the college faces in bringing in students, and how persistence in that may produce different results as well.

“There are things that are happening locally, regionally, nationally, and globally that all affect enrollment at Houghton College,” said Spear.  “One of these trends is that more and more students are studying closer to home, and Western New York has experienced a population decline during the past few years or decades.”

Another one of Houghton’s marketing and enrollment strategies to counteract trends which may hurt the college’s enrollment is to contact specific types of students, such as those currently enrolled in a community college, who may plan on transferring to a four-year institution like Houghton.

“We have moved into some deeper relationships and partnerships with some community colleges in the area,” said Currie while considering one way in which Houghton works to bring in more students in the future.

In the end, both Currie and Spear agreed that Houghton College faces its challenges in appealing to incoming students and in competing with other education or career-oriented options, yet both expect and currently see positive outcomes.

Although enrollment numbers fall on lower ground than Houghton hopes, Spear remained confident.  “It’s a challenge for Houghton to recruit – that’s for sure,” he said. “But we think that God is using Houghton in a powerful way in the world.”

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Enrollment at Houghton: Past, Present, and Future Marketing Strategies

Courtesy of www.houghton.edu

As enrollment numbers gradually but unquestionably decrease, Houghton College turns to deliberate means of bringing in prospective students, particularly through marketing.  Jeff Babbitt, Director of Marketing and Communication, spoke in an interview about Houghton’s past, present, and future marketing strategies.

“For many years, I would say we relied on our reputation, being one of the top Christian schools in the country,” said Babbitt. “But as other schools have ris

en to that same level and competition has increased, that name recognition hasn’t been there… Maybe twenty years ago, if you were to ask someone to name the top Christian colleges in the country, Houghton would have been in the top five.  Now there might be twenty names of schools that are suggested, and Houghton might still be in there, but there are a lot of other schools that have risen to that sort of prominence.”

Babbitt, along with the rest of the Marketing Department, acknowledges that Houghton College can no longer rely on reputation alone.

He talked of different, more recent advertising techniques, saying, “We developed an advertising campaign just to get the word out about Houghton, both in the local area and our region of Western New York, and even beyond.  So we’re doing more advertising online, in some Christian magazines, on the radio, putting up some billboards on Route 86, just so people know we’re here and know who we are and where we are, so when they’re thinking of college, they think of Houghton.”

Houghton’s online presence in particular displays a recent change in marketing that appeals to the current generation and seems to successfully advertise the college.

Marshall Green, Public and Community Relations Specialist, said, “In my opinion, the internet has really changed how prospective students shop for college.  In the past, national magazines, word of mouth and alumni/family history might have been the key factors in college shopping.  I think now, students are more apt to search online.  To make the visits to schools that spark their interest and then make their decisions from there.”

Though advertising provides a method of creating awareness of Houghton College, it often serves as a means leading to a greater end of a larger marketing strategy.  Both Green and Babbitt agree that the more important factor lies in a person-to-person experience.

As Green said, “Our campaigns are not designed to have the prospective ‘make the decision’ but rather for awareness to create openness to start a conversation with the admission team.  Rarely, if ever, does a student make a decision based on an ad.  It is the personal contact that usually leads to the decision of which school to attend.”

Babbitt also focused on sending Houghton College to prospective students, through tactics like the website, word of mouth, and other advertising methods, rather than waiting for them to find Houghton on their own.  He said, “We’re trying to put Houghton in front of students where they already are.”

As private institutions may not represent the current trend, the Marketing Department’s primary goal is to remind prospective students why such an education might prove the best one for them.

Babbitt said concerning one underlying marketing technique, “I think what we need to do is to effectively tell the story of Houghton so that the differences between a private Christian education and a community college, a state college, or another type of college are very clear so that students see the advantages of coming to a place like Houghton.”

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Houghton Students Tackle Independent Film Project

Courtesy of kickstarter.com
Courtesy of kickstarter.com

As a group of artists aspiring to learn and grow from the experience of a challenging project, Aaron Fitzgerald, Jordan Meeder, Andrew McGinnis, Graeme Little, Aubrey Thorlakson, and Nicolas Quigley came together at the beginning of the fall semester to begin creating a short film, called Telemachus.

Fitzgerald, the team’s director, said concerning the origin of such a project, “Jordan and I kind of had an idea about it, and had talked about it sort of seriously, sort of jokingly over the summer… but we didn’t do anything about it then… Then I sent out an email to him and a couple other people I thought might be interested, and we met, and that was it.”

Telemachus acts as a group undertaking for an advanced projects class, supervised by Professor David Huth, Visual Communication and Media Arts.  The project’s production time spans the entire 2012-2013 academic year.

“We’re all doing the equivalent amount of work that would be involved in an individual project… most projects would encompass more aspects of the medium, but wouldn’t necessarily do as in-depth kind of stuff,” said Graeme Little, director of sound.

To explain the plot of Telemachus, Fitzgerald said, “I think the easiest way for someone to understand it, without revealing too much, is that it’s like a loose, modern adaptation of the first three or four books of the Odyssey, and then the last two books of the Odyssey… I wouldn’t say it’s a parallel story, but more of a character study.”

When asked whether the individuals in the group had ever attempted producing something like Telemachus before, Fitzgerald said, “Nothing like this. We’ve all done smaller, more independent projects.”

Meeder, director of photography, said of the project as a whole, “I think it was a challenge to learn to work creatively with other people because none of us had ever done that before… I think it’s a good experience, but it’s definitely something you can’t really plan for… It’s been more of a learning experience than we ever expected.”

Fitzgerald went on to say, “I think one of my ideas for this project is to give people who I think are gifted or invested in a certain way a cooler platform to showcase their work on, the kind of thing a lot of other majors have, but the communication major doesn’t necessarily.”

Since Houghton lacks a specific film department, the group’s goal to complete Telemachus acts as an experience and essentially an experiment of their own.  As Fitzgerald said, “We didn’t do this because Houghton doesn’t have a film program; we just wanted to do something, and we thought that fact might be a good marketing platform.”

The team establishes its objective as principally gaining experience while deliberately challenging each of its members.

McGinnis, director of editing and effects, said, “I guess for me, the project is basically to get a large production under my belt, whether it turns out good or not.  I can just say I helped with a film that was over fifteen minutes long, and basically adding that to my portfolio and seeing what it’s like to work in a team atmosphere.”

Little’s hopes for Telemachus parallel those of McGinnis as well.  He said specifically, “I guess my goal for the project would be to best create something that… is not just my project anymore, but more like part of a larger project, which is like what any project is going to be in the real world.”
While the team hopes to eventually enter the film into film festivals in order to gain recognition, this aspiration comes second to the actual completion and experience of the entire project.

“I think our primary goal in this project is really just to learn and to try something that’s new and something that we’re not used to,” said Fitzgerald.  “I think a good way of thinking about is not in terms of, ‘We’re doing this so that we can be known,’ but rather something like, ‘A good goal for us would be trying to get into a festival,’ and that could help drive us to do something better than what we’ve done before, and do something new and different from what we’re comfortable with.”