funding – Houghton STAR

On Tuesday morning, faculty and staff members met for an update on the Kerr-Pegula Project. Dave Smith, Vice President for Finance and Planning, presented to faculty and staff information that will be shared with the Board of Trustees on Friday, May 3^rdas they decide how to proceed with the project. Smith’s presentation was focused on the financial aspects of the Kerr-Pegula Project, such as the total cost of the project, the funds raised thus far, and the plan for funding the rest of the project, if extra funding is needed. These are the factors that the Board of Trustees will weigh as they vote on how to move forward with or delay the project.

The Board of Trustees has already approved the three fields that are currently under construction, while the addition of a field house is pending Board approval. According to Smith, there is a range of options which will be presented to the Board, and two of these options would not involved added funding. Dr. Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, said only a very small percentage of the project will be financed by loans. He said, “I, along with all of the presidential staff, have looked at all the risks and costs, and it is a no-brainer: go forward.”

Skip Lord, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said that the College has the gift (the original donation by the Kerr-Pegula family) and a plan for advancement. Lord supports the project not only because it will enhance intercollegiate athletics, but also because it has the potential to increase Houghton College’s visibility, improve enrollment, contribute to advancement goals, and expand intramural and academic programs. “It has the potential to impact Houghton in unique ways we have not even begun to imagine,” Lord said. He also said, “I am certainly hopeful that we will move ahead, but the Board of Trustees, in their wisdom, will make the decision.”

Like Lord, Lauren Niswander, Co-leader for Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics, reflected a large vision for the Kerr-Pegula Project. She said, “This is an awesome gift that we have been given, and it will help our campus ministry by opening doors to represent our athletics and academics.”

Connie Finney, Professor of Education, gave her opinion of the general support for the project. She said, “In my various conversations with faculty members, I have found them to be very supportive of the project.” Similarly, David Davies, Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory, stated, “I am generally in support of the Kerr-Pegula Project.”

However, some professors are more skeptical about the Kerr-Pegula Project. Benjamin Lipscomb, Professor of Philosophy, expressed concern over the funding of the project. If a significant amount of the funds come from loans, he said, “The financing of that debt will be an additional burden on the College and ultimately on its students.” He affirmed the value of athletics but emphasized the importance of making sound financial decisions, especially because Houghton has been struggling with enrollment and finances. “The most disturbing aspect of going ahead without full financing,” Lipscomb said, is that the original vision was to have all the operating expenses covered by an endowment.” If the project is funded by loans rather than an endowment or funds the College already has, Houghton might jeopardize its financial and institutional values.

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.