Jory Kauffman – Page 2 – Houghton STAR

The Residence Life staff is anticipating a smooth transition as Resident Directors Steve Mattiace, of Shenawana Hall, and Marc Smithers, of Rothenbuhler Hall, plan to leave their positions at the close of this spring semester.

Houghton already posted advertisements designed to find replacements for the two RDs. Jacobsen hopes for applicants who will potentially encourage variation among the Resident Life staff. He said, concerning any Resident Life applicants, “We like to get a little bit of variety in terms of experience and perspective.”

But such variety will not necessarily change the traditions and dynamics of Shenawana and Rothenbuhler Halls. While new staff may bring new ideas and skill sets, through deliberate transitional processes, former policies tend to remain in place.

In order to encourage a smooth transition between Resident Directors, Jacobsen said, “Typically we have the current RDs write something like an information packet for any replacement that comes in.”

Marc Smithers, current Resident Director of Rothenbuhler Hall, explains one detail of the transitional practice of passing on knowledge and experience to his future replacement. He said, “The outgoing RD [writes] a letter to the incoming RD informing them of hall culture/traditions and explaining the vision that we have had for the hall and what we hope it to be in the future.”
The future RD uses this information in adjusting to the new role.

In addition, incoming Resident Assistants for the 2013 fall semester receive hiring and training from the current Resident Directors, so that they might aid in making the transition from one RD to another a smooth one. Thus, being familiar with current tradition and policies, the RAs possess the abilities to help the prospective RD adjust to managing the dorm.

In addition, Jacobsen said, “We do try to get students on the RA staff in on the actual hiring process.” The RA’s play an important role in the transition between Resident Directors, not only by helping the replacement Resident Directors, but also by actually helping to choose who among the applicants might best suit their dorm.

Concerning the fluidity of the replacement process, Smithers said, “The RD position is one that typically has a fair amount of turnover.” As Resident Directors often come and go, the hiring process for the position is a familiar and relatively frequent occurrence, and Houghton seems to maintain a good system of transition. Jacobsen voiced his confidence in the system as well, and said, “Typically I feel positive about our hiring process here.”

According to Smithers, Rothenbuhler Hall in particular will hopefully function the same as always, even as he will be absent next semester.
Smithers said, “I think an RD does his or her job best when the success or failure of a hall does not depend solely on his or her talents. I firmly believe in empowering my staff to cultivate and carry on the culture and vision that we have collectively forged together in Roth, so that when I’m gone, there isn’t a big hole in the life of the hall but that somebody new can come in and add to what we’ve created.”

Students receive their soup and bread as part of Praxis events.

Praxis, defined on the Houghton College website as “a reflection aimed toward action,” spanned the week of January 20-25th and reflected on the topic “Feasting and Fasting” through various events, chapels, and workshops.
This spring’s Praxis week featured Houghton professors Michael Jordan and Sarah Derck, as well as Duke Divinity School’s Norman Wirzba and the global executive officer of Food for the Hungry, Luis Noda.

Sarah Derck, professor of Old Testament, commenced the week’s events in Monday’s chapel, where she explored the topic “Food in the Old Testament,” and introduced ways for Christians to relate to seemingly outdated Biblical tradition. Derck explained that while considering this topic, she fittingly prefers to start at the beginning, with the original sin. In introducing her lecture, Derck said, “Americans have a love/hate relationship with our food.” She went on to voice her hope that we might recover strength in such a relationship.

After Derck’s lecture, Sodexo challenged students to exchange one cafeteria meal for a simpler dinner of bread and soup. Participation in this event not only encouraged students to discipline their bodies through eating less, but also allowed them to better the community, as Sodexo will be donating the cost of each forfeited dinner to a local food pantry.

Other related activities and discussions included a workshop on how to create and maintain a window garden, a panel discussion considering various subcategories of vegetarianism, and a campus-wide potluck, followed by communion, held Thursday evening as a conclusive event to the week’s reflection.

Tuesday’s workshop discussions included a lecture presented by Mike Walters, Professor of Christian Ministries, examining “Feasting and Fasting as Spiritual Disciplines.” The lecture explored aspects of feasting and fasting such as choosing to limit food intake in order to move closer to God, and how not doing so potentially leads away from His will.

Also held on Tuesday were two panel discussions: one on vegetarianism and another concerned with informing attendees about members in the community currently producing food.
Luis Noda led Wednesday’s chapel with a lecture on “Food and Social Justice,” focusing on the indisputable lack of food in the world today. As part of the organization Food for the Hungry, Noda is understandably interested in this lack of food and how it relates to the presence of hunger.
In a description concerning the topic of his lecture, Noda wrote, “Psalm 146 mentions how the Lord gives food to the hungry, as well as how he responds to other social justice issues. Chronic hunger and malnourishment is intimately linked to the lack of social justice from the Biblical point of view and interrelated to poverty.” Noda discussed ways in which Christians should react to such an injustice.

Thursday offered a variety of workshops and discussions including Michael Jordan’s lecture exploring “Feasting and Fasting Through the Christian Year.” Jordan said, concerning both his lecture and Praxis as a whole, “I hope it will help students to develop a closer connection to the source of their food.” He encouraged those who listened to learn from traditional feasts and fasts of the Christian year, as they often create paths for spiritual growth.

Norman Wirzba’s Friday lecture on “Eating as a Christian Act” signified a final conclusion to the week’s reflection. Wirzba said, “My focus for the talk [was] on what it looks like for Christians to think about food as a gift from God, rather than a commodity, like so much of our industrial food system wants us to think.”

Concerning the spring Praxis, Michael Jordan said, “Through feasting and fasting, we are disciplining our bodies. We need to be more content to do that.”