It may seem as if all The Star ever writes about is Senate, but perhaps that is because interesting things do in fact take place there.
Sometimes it is not even the funding requests or committee updates themselves, which are the real issues and discussion-starters for Houghton’s student government, but rather the implications that come with these seemingly basic requests.
Climbing Club approached the Senate with a request for $1,000 to go towards renovations for the climbing wall and shoe closet. Usually the Climbing Club makes a request for $1,000 toward a specific climbing trip’s expenses. In the past, the club has gone to Colorado, Canada, and several other prime climbing locations.
This year, the club chose to forfeit their trip in order to use the funds to repair the climbing wall. As of now, the small holes and other damages to the wall pose a problem to climbers, particularly small children, who come to the wall on Mondays when it is open to community members.
It is not surprising that the club is making the effort to pay for repairs and renovations to the equipment that they use every day. They take pride in what they can offer to students and community members, and they want to see everyone safe and satisfied.
What is surprising is that a student organization on campus has to go to another student organization in order to find the funding to repair part of Houghton College’s facilities. We at the Star are not entirely sure when the maintenance and upkeep, and the necessary finances, of the college’s facilities and grounds ever became the responsibility of students.
And though the SGA has plenty of money to pass around to different clubs and organizations on campus, it is not the SGA’s responsibility to see that renovations are made to a climbing wall that poses safety hazards. According to Tyler Kempney, president of the club, the wall has recently passed inspection, but that does not mean that a small child could not get his or her fingers or hands stuck in small holes and cracks in the wall while climbing. This could easily lead to serious injuries and the damages could also lead to a loss of interest in rock climbing.
We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Climbing Club to provide a safe environment; what we take issue with is not their actions. But what we can not reconcile is why they have had to even take these actions. The Equestrian Society is not responsible for buying arena footing, though members are arguably the ones doing the most riding. The Gadfly Society does not have to pay for the chairs and desks they use while philosophizing, even if they should break one. Mercy Seat is not responsible for painting Presser Hall or fixing a leak in the roof of the chapel, and so why does Climbing Club find itself having to pay for renovations if they want them done? How do Houghton’s commitments to excellence and community line up with a potentially dangerous facility?
Ultimately, though, the issue is larger than the climbing wall. This is not the first time that SGA has funded events or projects that, as Senator Wynn Horton put it, “It’s not our responsibility to pay for.” Why is it that students seeking to attend an academic conference specific to their major have had to turn to SGA to get there? Is there a disconnect between these academic departments and the funding they need to make the learning experience truly beneficial and better than at other institutions’?
If so, and if SGA has to continue funding trips to conferences and repairs to facilities, Houghton College, as an institution, can not then make the claim that it provides students with wonderful opportunities and outlets. In reality, without students allocating the limited funds they can control, other students could not have the experiences for which they hope in coming to Houghton.
We may indeed be more powerful than we think, but this power should not come at the price of the institution shirking the simple responsibility of safety.