acceptance – Houghton STAR

Like any good Christ-centered community, Houghton College loves to talk about unity. We latch onto the idea of coming together as a body of believers to learn, grow, serve, and worship. Discussions about injustice fascinate us because we know that the church has a duty to step up and speak out against the divisions in this world. This love for unity seems to spread across every area of our lives and to every topic that can possibly be discussed. Well, every topic except for one. For some reason, when it comes to anything relating to the LGBTQ+ community, we seem to exchange our fascination with unity for an obsession with dissent.

Photo by: Nate Moore

On the surface, it seems like Houghton has done an excellent job of trying to maintain unity. Dean Jordan’s chapel talks and special discussions are always presented with tact and respect. SGA has also been doing a great job of facilitating discussion about the language of the Community Covenant that talks about same-sex relationships. If you have been here for a few years, you have probably seen a number of chapel speakers talking about what it looks like to be gay and Christian.

However, I’m not talking about the surface. God isn’t very concerned with the surface and neither am I. I am concerned with dinner table talks in the dining hall. I am concerned about the uneasiness that many students have about talking to someone who is gay, bisexual, lesbian, or transgender. I want to shed light on the fact that students wish, and sometimes even pray for the LGBTQ+ community to leave Houghton College. It seems to me that if you even say the word “gay,” there is a Houghton student somewhere cringing in agony.

I have never seen more Houghton students instantly filled with anger about a topic than I have with this one. Why is that? Why does it anger us so much to think there are students with a different theological position than what is popular? Why does it bother us to think some people disagree? Are we afraid the Bible is being misinterpreted and that we are accepting lies, or are we actually just being swept away by our own biases? We cannot escape the fact that the church has a history of demonizing the LGBTQ+ community. I see it every time a Christian brother or sister says we should not think less of someone because of their race, gender, or economic status, but conveniently disregards sexual orientation. We all know that racism is bad. We all know that sexism is terrible. However, I question how many of us realize that homophobia is not actually something that is rooted in Christ.

joemquote If your belief in the sinfulness of homosexuality thwarts your ability to love a gay person, you may need to reconsider your motives. Hold true to your beliefs, but for the sake of the unity of the church in a time of turmoil, please do not let the Christian acceptance of homophobia get in the way of your Christ-like compassion. You have Christian brothers and sisters who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Shouting at them and questioning why they would even want to attend Houghton College has done and will continue to do nothing to strengthen the church. We are one student body. We are one Houghton community. We are one body of Christ. You cannot pick and choose members of that family. We one-hundred percent need to do better. The next time you are about to slander your LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters in Christ, ask yourself when the last time you asked to pray for them was. Ask yourself whether or not you even have a gay friend. Disagree and debate, but for the beauty of the Earth, do not use your differences as an opportunity to inflict pain.

I am not saying you should change your theological stance and affirm same-sex relationships. I, myself, am conservative on the topic of sexuality and I hold firm to that stance. What I am saying, though, is that we cannot look at sexual orientation as an opportunity to disrespect and disregard the LGBTQ+ community on campus or around the world. We need to do better in the area of loving our gay and lesbian neighbors. We need to try harder to walk beside our bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters. The Bible never says that if you disagree with a Christian brother or sister, you should isolate yourselves immediately. We need to be loving to the LGBTQ+ community, both inside and outside the Houghton bubble. Can that be uncomfortable if you believe that their sexual desires are sinful? Yes. Does Jesus care whether or not we are comfortable? Probably not.

Joe is a junior communication major with minors in business and Bible.

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.”