Category: Stories In Focus

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Dr. Wei Hu: Inspiring Students to Love Learning

The Cultural Revolution had recently ended in China. For the first time in ten years, students could enter college by taking a standardized exam instead of supporting a political system. Working parents studied beside teenagers newly graduated from high school. Wei Hu, a teenager at the time, recalls admiring the maturity of his older classmates, trying to follow their example, and with them cherishing the “privilege to go to college.” Now a professor with years of experience, Hu passes on his classmates’ legacy by mentoring and working alongside his students and inspiring them to love learning.

Professor_HuHu, a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, has spent years musing on his role as a teacher. One component of his role, he suggested, is that of learner. He stressed that he cannot acquire information and then turn his focus to delivering it skillfully to students. Instead, he must continually refresh his knowledge, particularly in the rapidly-shifting field of computer science. Even if he uses only a small fraction of his expertise, he said, he wants an abundant supply from which to draw.

Kristin Camenga, chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science department, emphasized the task that faces Hu. “Dr. Hu cannot depend on last year’s notes to teach almost any of the courses because the content has changed,” Camenga said. “He regularly changes the content and approach to the classes, changing software, adding new applications, and changing assignments.”

A second component of his role as teacher, said Hu, is to create valuable interactions with his students. While exploring how to do this, he realized that collaborative research was unique, effective, and complementary to the strengths he brings to teaching.

Hu’s goal is to give every student the opportunity to learn through research. In upper level courses, classmates often collaborate on a research paper. Hu also involves students in more intensive research during the summer.

Brian Dickinson, a junior majoring in Computer Science and Business Administration, described summer research as “a full time job. Working from 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday for the first several weeks is typical, though in later weeks there is usually a significant amount of reading and writing outside of work as the deadline for the final product approaches.” Hu participates in and guides the student’s work, but also encourages them to experiment as they create and modify their algorithms and write their research papers. Hu “has very high expectations for what can be accomplished, and they can seem incredibly daunting,” Dickinson said.  “In my experience with research however these expectations can always achieved and surpassed.”

Even when the results do not match the expectations, Hu has an answer: “That’s research.” Failure and unpredictability are part of the research process.

Since 2009, Hu has published 14 research articles with his students. However, the results of Hu’s interactive teaching style extend farther than these tangible signs. Students appreciate the content they learn in Hu’s classes, Camenga emphasized, but even more thank him for his “encouragement to be the best student they could be and not ‘settle.’”

 

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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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Fitting In: Transfer Students’ Experiences

Cindy Austin, the Transfer Admission Counselor at Houghton College, loves her job. Officially, she works with students who are trying to make the transition to Houghton from another school. Unofficially, she is also the go-to information source for transfer students who are already enrolled and on campus.

“I’ll get calls from students all the time,” said Austin. “They’ll say something like ‘Hey, remember me, the student who wanted to transfer here? Well, I’m here now, and I need a ride home for Thanksgiving, what do I do?’” Laughing, she explained that helping transfer students who are already here, in addition to getting them here in the first place, is what makes her job fulfilling.

With the rate that transfers are coming in, however, Austin’s phone could well be ringing off the hook. According to a report by the New York Times, roughly one third of students who enroll in a four-year institution will transfer at some point during their college experience, and that rate is increasing each year.

The percentage of Houghton students that have transferred from another school have hovered around five percent since 2009. However, the college is likely to see the amount of incoming transfer students rise as the trend around the nation continues.

Austin believes that students may choose to transfer to Houghton after starting their college career elsewhere because of finances. “The majority of our transfers wanted to come here in the first place,” said Austin. “However, if the student is successful in academics, attending community college can basically be free. It’s difficult to compete with free tuition,” she explained. “So what we’re seeing now is an interest from students who have already completed their integrative study requirements in community college and now want to be a part of our major programs here.”

Junior Neal Fahey, who transferred to Houghton after attending Utica Community College, backed up Austin’s statement. “I originally wanted to come here because of the emphasis on faith,” said Fahey. “I just didn’t have the finances…God had plans for me here, so thankfully He drew me back and made it work.”

Of course, it can be difficult to transition to a different environment, as well as getting used to Houghton’s high standards for academics. So Houghton has taken steps to help transfer students adapt. “We are very gracious with transferred credits, so students don’t have to worry about taking classes they’ve already had,” said Austin. In addition, a required class called Transitions for Transfers was specifically designed to help students meet others and get acclimated into the culture of Houghton.

Angela Poblocki, a senior who transferred from St. John Fisher to finish her degree at Houghton, had mixed feelings about the class: “The Transitions class is a great way to meet other transfers, but it isn’t the most effective in building relationships,” she said. “The class enables us to be in one classroom together, but the interaction between the transfer students is limited…I wish the Transfer Transitions class had more group discussions with students, instead of just a speaker to the class.”

What Cindy Austin would encourage prospective students to do is apply to both community college and Houghton coming out of high school. “I think they would be surprised with how much we can help with the financial aspect,” said Austin. In the meantime, Austin will continue to help transfer students make the transition, officially or otherwise.

 

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Movie Review: “Carrie”

Though Gravity is topping the charts for new releases at the moment it is decidedly the season for a good horror flick. For that reason I took off my space helmet and headed past its theater to the room at the end of the hall to see the newly imagined Carrie.

Courtesy of http://www.horrorstab.com/
Courtesy of http://www.horrorstab.com/

Carrie, based off the novel by Stephen King, follows the story of young teenage Carrie White who lives with her mother in smalltown USA. Her mother, a rather unstable and abusive religious zealot, has homeschooled Carrie much of her growing up until the state forced her to put Carrie into public school. Here we find Carrie – an outcast and a loner, wandering the halls of her unfriendly educational institution. After a brutal taunting by her fellow gym-mates, she finds herself the center of controversy. One of her bullies, Chris, is to be banned from prom while the others remain on probation. However, because of a growing guilt complex, one attacker, Sue Snell, arranges what she hopes will be an appropriate apology towards Carrie: she has her boyfriend Tommy ask Carrie to the prom. Excited and nervous Carrie eventually agrees (against her mother’s wishes) and her kind date shows her a magical night. This culminates when the two are crowned king and queen of the dance. But just as the crown hits her head, a bucket of pig blood, set in place by the expelled tormentor, pours from the ceiling, drenching her hair and handmade dress. As she stands silently, her anger begins to swell and her previously underdeveloped telekinetic powers wreak havoc on all those present.

Carrie was first adapted to the silver screen in 1976 by director Brian De Palma. Though now somewhat outdated and dramatically overacted, the film has become a cult classic. The famous lines of Carrie’s deranged mother, “They’re all gonna laugh at you,” has echoed in the heads of every viewer since and Sissy Spacek’s crazed wide-eyed stare is iconic. For these reasons it is hard to imagine what a remake would do.

The answer is not a lot, though it was fully enjoyed. Chloe Grace Moretz plays an admittedly dull version of Carrie in comparison to Sissy Spacek’s strange, otherworldly features. Though her acting is solid, she falls victim to the Hollywood bland beauty, and it is just that much harder to imagine her as truly the outcast the role of Carrie requires. The real improvement on the film is instead found in the role of her mother, Margaret White, played by Julianne Moore. Moore’s character is more fully developed which makes her that much more terrifying. Moore also fully embraces the idea that Carrie’s mother is a masochist and plays it with perfect subtly, scratching of her wrists and gouging her thighs with a seam-ripper while talking to those around her.

Overall the film is simply modernized. Gone are the dramatic swells, slow scene builds, and wide-eyed overacting of the 70s, only to be replaced by dry cruelty and lots of texting. This makes for a less exciting and less inventive, but also probably more accessible version.

The final iconic scene in which Carrie destroys the prom and all those with it does not, however, disappoint. With some believable CGI and a broad range of death traps, the whole scene is a masterpiece of horror. Though Moretz lacks the luster of Spacek, she helps make up for some of it simply though her range of destruction. And here is possibly the most interesting difference between the two films–while the original implies that Carrie’s gift is unmanageable, something that will take her over, and destroy everything it’s wake–the new film seems to imply that she can control it enough to only punish the deserved. Surprisingly we see Carrie actually save those she has made connections with and insistently tortures those she sees as her worst enemies. This calls into question one of the major themes of the story- is Carrie in control of her power or is her power fully her? It also speaks to what modernization has done to the story. It seems we don’t mind witnessing the murder of a pig, but unsolicited death is not acceptable. Certainly an interesting twist to the plot and an asset to the new adaptation, at least from a conversation standpoint.

All in all, I do believe this new Carrie will largely be forgotten in a broad sense, though I would deem it a necessary watch for any horror fan. It is well made, but lacks the star power and intrigue of a true cult classic. Watch it, enjoy it, and then go to the library (yes, the Houghton library) and rent the original. Between the two you will get an eyeful of blood, a few jumps, and perhaps even a few laughs. Halloween is right around the corner after all. Boo!

 

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Houghton Profs Study Amphibians

“I have a passion, an interest, and an excitement about them, that’s the bottom line,” Professor David Huth, communications, said about his research about amphibians, slapping the table with both hands for emphasis.

Courtesy of Dave Huth
Courtesy of Dave Huth

Hydrofracking and clearcutting are causing a large-scale destruction of amphibian populations. Huth’s work attempts to understand what is causing the decline, and also what the implications of such a decline will be. Huth said, leaning forward and touching the tips of his fingers together, “My daughter might not have any amphibians to show her daughter. Populations are crashing around the world.”

Professor Sullivan, biology, has also seen the deterioration of worldwide populations in the last ten years. Regarding the impact of such a decline Sullivan said,”It’s huge; they play a very important role in keeping ecosystems functional.” Amphibians have very thin skin, and potential toxins can cause drastic effects to their health. This can warn of potential danger to humans, like a “canary in a mine shaft,” Sullivan cautioned.

Amphibians represent a whole level of the food chain, and disruption could have massive and unforeseen consequences. Huth said, “There may be other repercussions too. It may mean that what is killing the amphibians will come for us next.”

Huth, Assistant Professor of Visual Communications and Media Arts, used the resources provided from a grant to begin working on an enhanced e-book, based primarily on photography and video.

“I want to use some of my communication skills to do some kind of public educational, communication-technology kind of thing about how awesome amphibians are,” Huth explained excitedly. During the almost two years he has been working on this project, it has since developed into a collection of web-based electronic materials containing a vast array of information. Huth grinned, “Basically, the project keeps getting bigger and bigger the more I work on it.”

Professor Aaron Sullivan focuses on biological research, specifically predator-prey interactions in amphibians. His reserved, thoughtful manner is a contrast to Huth’s enthusiasm, yet there is an undercurrent of dry humor just under the surface of his speech. “I’m interested in how natural selection shapes behavior of organisms. My area of expertise would be how chemical information in an environment influences antipredator behavior in amphibians, primarily salamanders,” he said quietly.

Sullivan described how he has studied amphibians and reptiles since 1997 for two reasons. The first is very practical: they’re relatively easy to find and maintain in a lab. The second reason he is interested in amphibians is due to their complex behaviors, interesting sensory abilities, and because he “just likes them.”

Huth says amphibians are “self-evidently spectacular.” He explained how amphibians are the longest-living order of land animals and his fascination with their evolutionary history and adaptations. They secrete some of the most powerful neurotoxins known from their skin and a whole category freeze during the winter to thaw and continue living in the spring.

Huth said, “All the things I’ve described so far [about amphibians] are within, I don’t know, a hundred yards of where I’m sitting talking to you.”

Sullivan smiled lightly and confirmed regarding his research, “I’m having fun.”

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Recommended Reads: Mary Doria Russell “The Sparrow”

In the late nineties when Mary Doria Russell’s first novel The Sparrow and its sequel Children of God were published, they and their author were highly acclaimed hits within the science fiction world, with The Sparrow winning the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Children of God being nominated for the Hugo Award. Movie adaptions were in the works for The Sparrow twice—once with Universal starring Antonio Banderas, and once with Warner Bros. starring Brad Pitt—but both times, the studios eventually halted production. Since then, The Sparrow seems to have fallen off the grid a bit. I picked it up a few years ago from my step-mother’s bookshelf, and it has since been my favorite novel. But I have yet to meet another person who has read or even heard of it. Perhaps this is because Russell’s novels were thrust too wholeheartedly into the relatively small world of science fiction readers, a world that their themes, characters, and sweeping narratives are entirely too significant to be held to.

Courtesy of www.scificincinnati.com
Courtesy of
www.scificincinnati.com

The Sparrow opens in Rome, on the desolate life of Emilio Sandoz: priest, whore, child killer. Emilio has just returned from a Jesuit mission to the newly-discovered planet of Rakhat, of which he is the only survivor. The Father General, Vincenzo Giuliani, along with a team of other priests, attempt to piece together the series of events on Rakhat and the reasons that the mission went bad, their efforts constantly slowed by the bitterness and despairing rigidity of the disgraced Father Sandoz.

Flashback forty years, and we encounter Sandoz again: humanitarian, wise-cracker, avid baseball fan. He is surrounded by close and loving friends. Anne and George Edwards: physician, engineer, spirited agnostics; Jimmy Quinn: astronomer, discoverer of worlds, redheaded Irish Catholic; D.W. Yarborough: Texan, pilot, homosexual; Sofia Mendes: rationalist, Sephardic Jew, former child prostitute. By luck, or chance, or fate, their lives are brought together as they embark on a groundbreaking journey into space.

The events that mark the transformation from a lively band of adventurers to a small, ruined man in a hospital in Italy are trivial, however, compared to the theological and emotional milestones that the novel itself tackles through whip-smart dialogue and tender moments between friends. The respect Russell has for the lives of her characters goes beyond the expected, and each individual is made memorable by poignant realism, honesty, and eloquence. They come up against philosophical as well as personal conflicts. “I do what I do without hope of reward or fear of punishment. I do not require Heaven or Hell to bribe or scare me into acting decently,” exclaims a frustrated Anne, faced with the implication that a person without religion would consequently be without morals, and each of the characters deal with everything from faith and morality to masturbation and sexuality with humor, confusion, and grace. And throughout it all, Sandoz asks again and again the timeless question, what are we who put our hope and our belief in God to do with the problem of evil in our world (and, in this case, in others)?

The Sparrow is the kind of book in which theme surpasses plot—an incredibly admirable writing skill—and yet the plot is, at the same time, vitally important to Russell’s message. Its title is taken from Matthew 10:29, “Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.” But as Father Felipe Reyes observes, “The sparrow still falls.” This anguished perspective is met by a ray of hope in the sequel, Children of God. Russell’s vision is incomplete without the capstone of the sequel, but if you only have time for one, The Sparrow is well worth the read on its own.

Its epic forty-year account ties together aliens, spaceships, the Vatican, and the unbearable capacity and magnitude of the human heart.

 

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Worship: A New Vision for Chapel

“I’m very intentional about talking about worship as rooting us in a bigger story,” Dean Michael Jordan said after settling into his office chair. This story is the larger Christian story, but it is also Houghton’s story.”

Jordan_MichaelAlthough the morning was quite chilly, Jordan wore flip-flops with his suit coat, adding to the informal, yet intimate nature of the conversation. “It really occurred to me how lonely people are in general,” Jordan said, going on to talk about the pressure on students at a Christian college and how they feel the need to find God’s will for their lives and to be confident in their spiritual walks when, quite frankly, some are not. Jordan said, “Chapel is about connecting students and helping them see you’re not alone.” Therefore, Jordan hopes that chapel will serve the function of binding people together in a Christian community through worship.

One of the ways the community comes together is through music. After praising the Philadelphia Eagles in one of his recent chapel talks, Jordan mentioned his desire for the college to be fluent in three forms of worship: hymns, contemporary Christian songs, and Gospel music. In doing so, Jordan said his ultimate goal is to help students “love a breadth of Christian music and to be a grateful participant [as]  one.”

His plan seems to be successful judging by the ovation the Gospel choir regularly receives, and the heartfelt singing accompanying hymns such as “Be Thou My Vision.”

“We should ask questions about worship and how each contributes to the service”, he stated. In this way, Jordan believes we can see the value in each form of worship and how all are  used to bring God praise by the various church backgrounds represented by Houghton students.

In addition to music, chapel speakers and their messages are an important topic of discussion on chapel days. As he leaned back in his desk chair, Jordan explained that he chooses chapel speakers in collaboration with the Spiritual Life Committee; they select speakers by looking for people who will share topics they believe are important to the community and ones that will build connections to the outside world. For example, Dr. Lenny Luchetti who spoke in early October came from Wesley Seminary, representing both one of Houghton’s sister schools and a reputable seminary for graduate work. Also vital to picking chapel speakers is finding people Jordan referred to as understanding the difference between teaching and preaching. He elaborated on this distinction as the knowledge of when to present facts and when to realize the urgency of a message, and his or her need to make their intent clear and accessible to the audience, in this case, the Houghton community. One of Jordan’s regrets from his time as a Houghton student is that the speakers sometimes lacked this urgency, so he hopes that now chapel speakers will be able to provide that clarity. On days when Jordan speaks in chapel, the passion he has in presenting God’s word and drawing people together in Christ is palpable, evidenced by post-chapel conversations around campus.

In between his duties as chaplain, SPOT engagements, and family dinners in the cafeteria, Jordan works hard to make chapel the spiritual center of campus life. He hopes that students will stop thinking of chapel as a duty someone has forced them to fulfill; rather, over time chapel will form and shape student if they give themselves to it, he said before taking a sip from his coffee mug. If one does this, Jordan said, one will realize that “taking that time really helped me to look at God differently and understand myself differently and to root me in a community that I wouldn’t have been otherwise.”