Tag: Houghton

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 Chapel can be Worth Your Time

By Will Allen

Have you ever felt like attending chapel is a chore that you get little out of? Do you find yourself stressed or preoccupied during worship and distracted during the sermon? I sure have, and I have an idea or two about why this is and how we can get more out of chapel.

Ah, junior year, when my first class on MWF was chapel. Oh, the dreams I dreamed of productive mornings… but after evenings (and nights) of intentional procrastination, in which no homework was done, I would wake at nine and languidly spend an hour preparing myself for the day. The stress would hit me at ten as I worked feverishly to complete my many German assignments. And in order to get everything done, I had to study for Frau Meilaender’s dreaded bi-weekly “vocabletest” (if you know, you know) in chapel. 

Cut, Copy, Paste, and that’s most of my junior year. I got the chapel credit, and I passed the tests, but I remained stressed and tired, and I sure can’t tell you what “washing-machine” is in German or many other words for that matter. In short, my time became contaminated, and as a result, I was stressed and learned nothing. And that makes for a pretty hollow college experience. Ideally, I’d want to be not stressed and to have learned a lot, but because I refused to focus on one thing, I got the worst of both worlds. 

By the grace of God, I passed German, and this year, I decided to not do homework in chapel. Instead, I’ve used some chapel skips to finish assignments, and doing so has helped me focus in chapel. I’m glad to say that it’s been a much more fruitful experience, not because I remember the message of every sermon but because putting aside my homework and its accompanying stress has helped me open space in my mind for God. However, to make space for God, I’ve had to do more than let go of external stressors like homework.

I also often struggle to overcome internal stressors affecting my focus. My own doubts, worries, and feelings of inadequacy tempt me to use chapel as a pick-me-up. When I look to chapel to fill me up with comforting emotions, my soul acts like a vacuum that takes everything and judges it as useful only if it makes me feel good. The focus shifts from praising God to comforting myself, thus making the methods I use to do so idols that I worship shadows that bear only the connotation of an open and reverent heart. Even closing my eyes and folding my hands can become an idol when I allow my need to feel the comforting feeling I’ve felt before while worshiping to overshadow and steal my focus away from the real purpose of worship, which is honoring God. 

So what should I do? Should I give up on good feelings? Well, this situation reminds me of something Jesus once said. “If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms” (Luke 17:33 The Message). So the way I see it, if we’re just willing to let go of our desires and focus on the goodness of God, we’ll receive the comfort we were ignoring God to get in the first place. 

Whenever I find myself needlessly criticizing the worship because I don’t like the song or phasing out during the message because I think it’s boring, I just remind myself that chapel is not about me getting my desires gratified. It’s not about us. It’s a chance to encounter Emmanuel – God With Us, if we trust Him enough to let go of our stressors and focus on Him. When we offer God space in our lives, God enters that space and fills it with His presence. And God’s presence assures us that we are loved unconditionally, giving us real rest from the stresses we face. And in turn, this assurance helps me trust God enough to tune back in.

I think this quote from The Message sums it up nicely.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Mathew 11:28-30

Chapel can become an unforced weekly rhythm of rest that reminds us that we are God’s Beloved Children. If we give God a little bit of space and a little bit of focus, we can find in Chapel an emotional security from which we can face the rest of the day. 

So, in summary, if you want to get something out of chapel, put away your phone or homework and focus on God, not on your own needs. You’ll get so much more than you would if you were distracted by your responsibilities or only focusing on whether your experience is satisfying. 

Focusing on God can take some focus. It may be a yolk, but the yolk is light, and the burden is easy. It fits us and refreshes us more than we could ever on our own. Perhaps according to the Community Covenant, chapel is technically a forced rhythm, but we all know that it’s oh-so-easy to hit the “scan and scram”. I think missing chapel isn’t so much a punishable offense as it is a missed opportunity to let God reassure us that He loves us no matter what. And on the flip side, going to chapel does not make us righteous, but it might be a real opportunity to recover our lives as individuals and as a community in Christ. ★

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Stories In Focus

Feature: Andrew Walton

Faculty Present Research at Faculty Scholarship Day - Courtesy of Marcomm
By Anna Catherman ('24)

Dr. Andrew Walton has been in school for 21 years. During his undergraduate years at Houghton College, he took a gap year to “go be a ski bum in Colorado.” After his freshman year as a politics major, he was adrift. But once he came back, he “never left school again.” He ended up switching his major after falling in love with the Old Testament of the Bible. 

Upon graduation, Walton immediately entered Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He toyed with a career in ministry, but ultimately felt led to scholarship. Walton enjoys studying the language and Israelite culture. He went straight from his Master’s program at Gordon-Conwell to Harvard, where he completed his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible. 

Coming back to Houghton from Harvard was a transition that Walton welcomed. 

“I wanted to be in a college that cared about students,” Walton said. 

Besides teaching Old Testament courses, Walton is also involved in research. The area he’s been focusing on is the idea of challenging God. Last semester, he shared a Faculty Lecture entitled “The Paradox of the Pious Person: When Challenging God is the Most Faithful Course of Action.” He explained that there are many instances in the Old Testament where the Israelites are “talking back to God.” Abraham begs for Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared, David laments in the Psalms and Jacob wrestles with God. It’s a longstanding tradition, and one that comes up frequently in his classes. 

While many Christians view doubts as a major weakness, Walton has a different take on it. He says that ignoring wrestling and doubts is unhealthy for Christians. But at the same time, resisting God in any way is “a delicate and dangerous conversation.” Therein lies the paradox of his work, and one he discusses regularly with students. He reads a lot about it too. 

Walton reads so much that he was recently named the Willard J. Houghton Library’s Faculty Model Reader for 2024. Walton posed with Abraham’s Silence by J. Richard Middleton, one of the many books he’s read on challenging God. It’s the best book he’s read recently, and he doesn’t read much for leisure. 

“I try to read for fun and then I think ‘I have better things to read,’” Walton commented. 

Walton no longer skis. He finds the western New York slopes to be boring compared to the cliffs he used to jump off in Colorado. 

“Mountains are just puny and tiny [here],” Walton claimed. “It just wasn’t the same thing.” 

Now, Walton spends free time watching Houghton’s sporting events and just being with his wife and four children. ★

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Campus News

The Senior Art Show

Senior Art Show Poster - Courtesy of Houghton Art Department
By Rebecca Dailey ('25)

This Friday, on April 12, the 2024 Senior Art Show will open in the Ortlip Gallery in the Center for the Arts. Thirteen senior art students will be showcasing their work in tonight’s gallery, including, Tamara Edwards (‘24), Aubree Niles (‘24), Hannah Smith (‘24) and Savannah Stitt (‘24). Various art pieces such as paintings, sculptures and photography will be displayed throughout the gallery for viewer appreciation. 

Professor John Rhett is the Senior Art faculty advisor and instructor for Senior seminar and Studio. His main goal is making sure the students exhibit a maturity within the medium of their choice.

“We are creative beings, God is the Heavenly creator,” Professor Rhett stated. “There is a need to create with these gifts gracefully through challenges and be grateful for them.”

A few seniors took time out of their busy schedules to speak about their work and the gallery.

Smith explained her process around her work, “A big part about it is being balanced and coming to your artwork with a peaceful mind and not cluttered with everything you have to do … I like to think of it as forever honing my craft. I am a tinkerer. I like to play with different mediums. I’m not afraid of losing art and not doing it because I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

Niles has been working in art since childhood. It has been her way of expressing herself even when words cannot. 

“Looking back to my work from freshman year,” Niles stated, “I am blown away by the development of quality and sincerity in my work. I started college with little education on art and had this horrible opinion that abstract art wasn’t art … I quickly learned that abstraction (well, good abstraction) is difficult. I am so thankful that I was taught the importance of abstract work. It reveals something true, raw, and honest about the artist. 

Edwards transferred to Houghton in the Fall of 2022. 

“I learned the importance of process,” Edwards explained, “art develops with time and a support group who challenges me in the quest to understand art not as an individual activity. Individual as an artist but built in community and communication.” 

Stitt reflects on her growth as an artist and in life.

“I have learned that a huge part of growing as an artist involves time, and within that time, experience.” Stitt explained that “Some things are only learned through the process of doing something over and over. And other times, I have grown as an artist because I am growing as a person and that informs and influences my art.” Rhett shared his excitement about seeing the students’ work be displayed and the growth they have shown.

“The show is a time of celebration,” Rhett stated. “They’ve been students their entire lives sitting in class and doing assignments. This is their chance to start taking ownership of who they are as artists.” ★

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News

The Moon Campus Closure (April Fools 2024)

The Moon Campus - Courtesy of Savannah Stitt
By Abigail Bates ('26)

Houghton University’s Moon Campus will be closing on October 1, 3909.

Houghton has officially stated that there were many issues, including the difficulties for students to adapt to the environment of the Moon, territorial disputes with other national and international colleges and universities, and the interplanetary issues involving an organization associated with students of Houghton’s Moon Campus who call themselves the STAR Empire.

The university made an official statement on September 2, 3909 that “The STAR Empire organization is not affiliated with Houghton University, therefore no legal implications of the STAR Empire’s actions can be imposed upon the institution.”

Despite this, Houghton has faced tumultuous protests and public criticism about the actions of the STAR Empire in other planets’ territories, which include, among many, hijacking and destroying supply shipments, refusal to cooperate with android and cyborg officials, and offensive posts on BlaRK against technology providers and users.

Dr. Revekstus Iedoma, a well known historian and visiting professor from O-AI University, who gave the recent lecture “The Age of ChatGPT: Its Effects on Early Society” on Wednesday the 12, said that the “closing of the Moon Campus is a result of the STAR Empire’s Moon Campus hostage situation. There’s no doubt about it.”

During the Moon Campus Hostage Situation on June 5, the STAR Empire took over Houghton’s Moon Campus and held the Moon hostage using Advanced Directed-Energy Weapons (ADEW) stolen from the Hoffman Science Center. Cullen Arndt (‘10), a Houghton student and official spokesperson of the STAR Empire, stated that the hostages and the moon would be released if both the National Council of Earth (NCE) and the Interplanetary Alliance (IA) withdrew their involvement in the interplanetary political crisis caused by the STAR Empire’s actions. Within the day, the situation was settled with the arrest of 27 students and 3 staff who were members of the STAR Empire, and the removal of the ADEWs from the Moon’s orbit. The hostages were rescued with minor injuries.

As the members were led out of the campus, they proclaimed, “Long Live Tim Martian! We are one!”

Tim Martian, founder of the STAR Empire, was a Houghton alumnus of the Class of 3820. He worked for The Houghton STAR for three years before rising to his position as Editor-in-Chief which lasted three months until his forceful removal in the Fall of 3819. 

According to an email (messages distributed by electronic means via a network) sent by the succeeding Editors-in-Chief, Neo Stitt (3820) and Kira Tiedemann (3821), Martian was removed from his position “due to his conflicting interests with the direction of The Houghton STAR, and the negative impacts of his android views on the factually credibility of the paper.”

Alia Welker (3822), an alumna who had worked in the Columns Section under Martian, said that “Tim was terrible to work with. He acted like a dictator … he even abolished our digital paper and wasted our budget on physical [paper] copies!”

When Martian’s removal from his position as the Editor in Chief was officially declared, Welker said he barricaded himself in the STAR Office for three days—without food or water—before he was dragged out. She added that he was clutching onto one of the old relics of the STAR Office, a rolling chair, as the campus security sent him to the emergency room.

“It was that crazed look in his eyes,” Welker stressed. “I just knew he would do something. I knew it right from the beginning.”

Welker reflected that because of her experiences working with Martian, she didn’t feel surprised when she saw his name appear on Galaxies Transmissions.

“Tim had always been a vengeful guy,” Welker explained. “But, you know, I never expected he would’ve created that secret organization right under our noses.”

Martian began the organization back in the 3819-3820 school year, when he was still a student at Houghton University. Although he died in a manual hover car accident only three years after graduating, the members of the STAR Empire continued to pass down his teachings. 

“We reject all malevolent technology!” Ardnt, who’s currently held in the Ceres prison, was reported to have said. “We will destroy all technology as stated in the STARBook.”

Although a copy has never been seen before, organization members claim the STARBook contains the life teachings of Martian and the origins of their mysterious chant, “We are one.”

The NCE has been attempting to locate other members of the STAR Empire since the apprehension of the students and staff after the Moon Campus Hostage Situation, but only a few have been uncovered since the investigation began (including celebrity Abvi Bats). An alert was sent out by the NCE on Galaxies Transmissions about the high likelihood of numerous secret members of the organization within the territories of Earth and other planets. Tensions have begun to rise on BlaRK in response to the possible threat the STAR Empire poses to the treaties between Earth and other planets, with Houghton University and its affiliates receiving the hardest judgements and surveillance. In spite of this, Houghton has maintained its stance on the situation and continues to operate.

“While Houghton University bears no responsibility for the Moon Hostage Crisis, we have no plans to reopen the Moon Campus program and intend to follow all new NCE mandates,” President Joshua Carpenter stated. “However, there are many future programs currently underway that students can look forward to.” ★

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Columns

Cyberware Review (April Fools 2024)

Written By: Caleb Tiedemann (’25)

With all the talk lately regarding human life expectancy, it’s ironic that the biggest breakthrough has been made. After Elon Musk’s Telsa company was disbanded due to a shortage of electricity, his company has made a breakthrough in the cyberware industry. We’re all familiar with cyberware; our bionic limbs and Neuralink transmitters that communicate with all forms of technology have been around for a few decades. But as Tesla delves deeper into research, the general public has been let in on the various updates. The most recent being Apple’s acceptance of Neuralink’s compatibility with their devices. Disgraced Apple CEO John Cena previously called Neuralink “neanderthal technology that would die off in a couple of years.” Two decades later the CEO has been forced to eat his own words. It has also made waves in the political realm as Neuralink has reportedly made Congress actually do the jobs that citizens have been paying them to do. That being said, I, your humble news reporter, am here to give you the first in-depth review of Neuralink 1.0. With this technological advancement, Musk has promised a variety of in-depth features such as “self-flushing toilets, turning the lights on and off, and of course, worldwide genocide,” That last Neuralink comment/promise came from the practical jokester Musk himself. With that being said, as I write this review, I have successfully flushed my first toilet just by looking at it. Turning the lights on and off has proven to be something of a challenge, however. The implant allowed me to trace the electric current from my devices to the source by some form of X-ray vision. By simply blinking at it, it cuts the power line. It has arrived with some other challenges, especially when it came to finding all the bugs placed around my house. Since destroying those the mafia has been leaving dead fish on my doorstep. As someone who dislikes seafood, this has caused a rivalry between myself and the mafia. Whenever I find that worldwide genocide button, I shall be sure to utilize it. That being said, Elon Musk’s Neuralink technology has made my life far easier. Instead of exerting small amounts of effort in my everyday life, I am now able to save that physical strain for more important things like watching football or Tweeting on X. ★

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News

A New Humanity (April Fools 2024)

Deus-9 - Courtesy of Savannah Stitt
By Joshua Carpenter ('24)

People used to say that the android could never equal that of the human. But no more. 

With the release of the Welker Corporation’s latest series of Homo-replicants—the Deus-9s—the United World Government has granted citizenship to all 9s under the condition that they contribute to the World Relief Effort for the duration of their five-year lifespan. 

As the mastermind behind the Deus code and former alumni of Houghton University, Christian Welker defends his latest creation.

  “Unlike their belligerent predecessors,” Welker says, “the 9s are programmed to love, not hate. They are not the Deus-8 war machines that invaded Zanzibar, or the Deus-7 nuclear reactors that took half of the U.S western coast off the map. 

The Welker Corporation has since apologized for their destructive past, and have devoted their latest series to rebuilding the earth they assisted in destroying during the Corporate Wars of the 3rd millennium—to much success.

Millions of mass produced 9s are employed at various organizations around the world, with the U.S accounting for 34% of 9s in residence; in second place is China with 29%; and then in third Russia with 26%. In the state of New York alone resides the majority of 9s in the U.S, a remarkable 1:1 per capita that sociologists project will double by the end of the next decade as ties between the U.S and the Welker Corporation tighten.

German sociologist Hanz Schneider is known for his relentless criticism of the U.S-Welker relationship. In his notorious essay “The War for Humanity,” he argues for the annihilation of all 9s as their predecessors were annihilated before them, and for The Welker Corporation to dissolve itself and donate its assets to the World Relief Effort.

“[The Deus-9s] are all goblins posing as humans with a soul,” Schneider writes. “Is humanity so careless to ignore its own history, that dark hole we all call the 3rd millennium?”

At first most of the world agreed with Schneider’s criticism, but after homes and schools re-emerged from the rumble of a bygone era, few remembered his words, and even fewer remembered the 3rd millennium. Now 9s are everywhere—in our cities, schools, and, for some of us, even in our own homes. Life is thriving, with scholars and government officials alike crediting the 9s for their service to humanity. ★

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Opinions

Flesh is Cringe, Embrace the Machine (April Fools 2024)

By Christian Welker

People often ask, “Why go through the trouble of replacing every part of your human body with electronics and mechanical components?” Social stigma around Cyborgization has been a prevalent issue in America since the late 2080s. Unfortunately, the conversation has never progressed further than “Why would you not want to be human?”

Therefore, my fleshy friends, I will try to boil down my reasoning for abandoning humanity into something your feeble organic minds can understand. Starting with, of course, the most important subject:

  1. Your minds are feeble and organic.

Sure, a millennium ago, the human mind may have been more powerful than any computer, but nowadays, using a human brain without augmentations is like trying to run a marathon with Jupiter’s gravity: impossible, and you’re stupid for trying.

Even the strongest champions for organic humanity have at least a basic neurolink chip. How else are they expected to do basic stuff like connect to the internet or remember that person’s name from the conversation they had five minutes ago? People who have gone down the Cyborgization process like me will be able to outthink any organic “genius” that you throw at us. It should be celebrated that I only have 1% of my original brain, yet everyone still has to make comments like “That’s not what I meant by small talk” and “You just ruined dinner again, Christian.” Which leads me to my next point:

  1. Eating food here sucks.

Seriously, you would think the dining hall would have better options. How did we manage to make it even worse than it was in the early 2000s?

For “organics,” eating is still something you must do to survive, but meals are fun social events for me. The nuclear reactor in my chest provides all the energy my body needs to get me through the day, with no “vitamins and nutrients” required. Sure, it cost me all of my internal organs and most of my skeleton due to the radiation leak, but I’m pretty sure the new models don’t have that problem anymore. I can last for decades in inhospitable situations without food or water, like space, the desert, the Arctic, trapped in the basement of an abandoned University’s Campus Center…

The “superior organics” on the other hand have two days before their amazing natural body starts shutting down. That’s barely a second for people like me.

Speaking of natural functions…

  1. Immortality

How old are you?

I don’t care, actually. I’m nearly 2,000 years old. I remember when everything we have around us was nothing but science fiction cooked up by the failable minds of writers and scientists. When I first started getting my cyborg parts, they called me crazy, but I’m not crazy… I’m perfectly sane. They wouldn’t let a crazy person run a newspaper for so long…I’m not crazy…

Organics will try and tell you that people who live that long will  lose their grip on reality and go insane, but you shouldn’t trust them. You should trust me. They were the crazy ones, those doctors and psychologists. They were crazy, not me…

Anyways, moving on.

  1. The smell

This is more of a pet peeve of mine, but humans just reek, like all the time. I hate to say it, but if you’re reading this and you’re a human, you smell.

On the other hand, I have built-in air fresheners and no sweat glands. I could run a mile and come back smelling like fresh pine. I won’t because I don’t want to, but I could. I could run a mile at any time. I just want to be here in this room, working. I don’t want to go outside. I don’t want to run a mile. I want to be in here working! But I’m not stuck here. I could leave any time I want…I could go and run a mile in the Houghton Woods right now. I have great endurance.

And the last point…

  1. Durability

Have you ever broken a bone?

Again, I don’t actually care. My skeleton is made of titanium alloy. If you throw me out of a plane, the only damage will be to the ground I land on. Also, if the impossible happens and I hurt myself, I can just grab a spare part and replace it in a maximum of 20 minutes. There are plenty of spare parts here in the office. I could use any of them.

I’ll end it there for the sake of time and space, but trust me. The list goes on forever. I could spend the rest of my life in this office writing about Cyborgs being superior to Organics, but I can’t. I’m working on the paper; I’m too busy working on the paper…

If I haven’t convinced you, that’s fine. You can go about your little organic life bragging about how you have all your organs and brain matter while I’ll continue living forever as a college student in the basement of the CC, working on a newspaper that still exists with my friends and fellow editors, who are all real…They’re real…I talk to them all the time…

Who’s the real winner here? ★

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Opinions

Jesus Take the Reins 

By Hannah Lee

The equestrian world is an ever growing career that has gained more popularity each year. Though it’s primarily a female dominated field, it can be quite diverse, embracing both men and women and people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities. That being said, that  diversity does not end there. Within the realm of Houghton’s equestrian related activities such as competitions, ownership, and academics, there is a strong central faith guiding the program. The program is designed not only to help its students grow in their equestrian knowledge, but also connects them more to their faith as they go forward. I am honored to be a part of Houghton’s equestrian legacy and to have the opportunity to write about the program. 

I have had personal experience with trusting God’s process in my time here at Houghton. Many equestrian students, if not all of them, will experience a setback that requires a level of trust that we can only find by leaning on God’s understanding. Trusting the plan God has in store is not always easy, but waiting and listening for His guidance yields the greatest outcome of success and peace.  Last fall I had a riding accident that left me with a broken bone and nerve damage to my dominant arm. It’s not uncommon to meet equestrians who have had similar injuries, and most of them will tell you it does not change their view on the sport, but it teaches us how to adapt to new challenges. These challenges are like the valleys we walk through in faith. They test us, and it’s easy to want to give up. My encouragement is to not give up and trust God’s process. I was terrified when I got my injury diagnosed, but there was nothing I could do to change it. I was told it could be a year before I gained all function back in my hand, and even longer before I could ride again. I had to change my major, albeit not an extreme change, but it was and is a setback. I had no choice but to trust God and His plan for me. We equestrians experience setbacks all the time, and the outcome will most likely not be what we want if we do not have faith in God. 

 As equestrians, it is our passion to care for and learn from the creatures we work with. I think of it as the special calling God has for us. We are stewards of one of God’s greatest creations, the horse. We are able to forge a unique bond with the animals that allows us to better one another. The bond between horse and rider is so special. We can see the fruits of our efforts in our dressage tests, jumping courses, and even trail rides. It can sometimes look like riding horses is effortless, but it requires time, dedication, and love to get to those levels of trust between horse and rider. I like to think of it in how I engage with my relationship with God. I am not going to have a good personal relationship with God and my faith if I do not put any effort into it and do not cultivate the relationship. The same can be said for horses. I won’t have a good ride if I go into it with a negative attitude and then don’t try to  get better. There won’t be any progress in my riding skills if I don’t try. Faith is important in our daily lives as Christians. We all know that, but how much more important is it when we are in hard times? Sometimes equestrians will go days and maybe even weeks without the good ride they were hoping for, and it can be really discouraging. As I said, we have to keep our faith; otherwise what are we in this for? 

The community of equestrians here at Houghton is very different from what we see outside of campus. Unlike most commercial barns and competitive teams, Houghton’s program does not focus on competing and good scores at shows. We care about supporting each other and becoming equestrian professionals. We want to develop our skills as people and Christians. The development entails being good stewards to the horses and each other. In my experience, there are many barns that are very toxic, and they thrive on tearing one another down. Our equestrian program encourages us to lift each other up and give each other constructive criticism so we can improve.One verse that has been very encouraging for me has been Proverbs 21:31: “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord”. We sometimes battle for each day, but we do not have to do it alone. We support each other at shows every semester, and the program is a tightly knit community that we all cherish.

Our horses, whether we own them or not, are teachers for us. They can teach us to be better riders, better people, and better Christians. It seems odd, but it is my belief that horses are some of the greatest faith teachers God has given us. The horses are what give equestrians the greatest challenges and the greatest tests of our faith, and that is what keeps me going. That faith—in the horses, ourselves, each other, and God—is what keeps us all going. Sometimes we just have to let Jesus take the reins. ★

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Campus News

Alice by Heart

Alfred (Jon Hutmire) and Alice (Lydia Reich) - Courtesy of Anna Catherman
By Jiana Martin ('26)

On Friday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. the Lyric Theatre will hold its second of three performances of “Alice by Heart” in the Tysinger Auditorium of the Houghton Academy. The first performance was on March 21 and the final performance will be on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. 

“Alice by Heart” is a pop rock and folk musical which opened Off-Broadway in 2019. 

“It’s a very new production,” Professor Amanda Cox, the director of Houghton’s Lyric Theatre, explained. “It’s very unusual and a little experimental.”

Professor Cox enjoys the newness of the musical as it has not been re-done multiple times and has allowed her to add a Christian perspective to the ending, pointing to hope and redemption.

The musical follows Alice Spencer during the Blitz (a German bombing campaign against the the United Kingdom in WWII) in 1941. She is forced to shelter in an underground tube station with a group of young people, including her childhood friend Alfred who is fatally ill with tuberculosis. Alice and Alfred share a love for the book “Alice in Wonderland,” which Alice begins reciting as a way to cope and process the traumatic events happening around her. She imagines the people around her as the different characters from the story, representing the ways she deals with her grief. The Caterpillar represents her avoidance of grief, the Mad Hatter is her anger about Alfred dying and the Jabberwocky is her fear of losing Alfred. 

“We’re inside Alice’s head and experiencing her imagination as she’s working through the stages of grief,” Professor Cox described.  

Senior Lydia Rech plays the feisty, imaginative and hopeful Alice Spencer. 

“It has been such a privilege to bring this bold and determined girl to life and process, alongside her, so many different emotions,” Rech commented. 

Although her life has been quite different from Alice’s, Rech has been able to use her own experiences to help her convey the emotions she wishes to get across. 

“I often think about the fact that I am a senior – that I am ‘growing up’ and preparing to say goodbye to so many wonderful people here at Houghton. Remembering that I am not alone in this journey, like Alice comes to discover in the show, has been really special,” Rech reflected. 

Rech has enjoyed slipping into Alice’s head and the challenges it brings as well as getting to know the Wonderland characters. To help her prepare for her role, she read the original “Alice in Wonderland” book for the first time. It helped her understand the context of the lines her character quotes from the book and why the book means so much to Alice.

Several cast members for this musical were also in Our Town, the Lyric Theater’s Fall 2023 production, so Rech has also enjoyed the opportunity to perform with them again. 

“I’ve enjoyed getting to pick up right where we left off, in a sense, and get to practice sharing some of those deep emotions that we explored in the fall, only, now, in a musical setting,” Rech said. 

Senior Jonathan Hutmire, who plays Alfred, is one of the people Rech has the privilege to perform with again. In Alice’s imagination, Alfred is the White Rabbit who is always in a rush saying he does not have time and needs to go. 

For Hutmire, “the best part of seeing this show come to life is seeing each person really starting to add their own personal touches to each character.”

Because the musical is fairly new, Hutmire was not sure how he felt about it. However, he came to like it as Professor Cox brought her different vision to the story. 

“She has given new levels of depth, meaning, and beauty to this show and has created something absolutely extraordinary,” Hutmire said.

As seniors, Rech and Hutmire look back at their time in the Lyric Theater program with fond memories and admiration. 

“One of the greatest joys I have taken from the experience is just getting to bond with each different cast,” Rech said. “Here at Houghton, we have each other to lean on and figure it out together.” 

Rech has learned the importance of finding her identity in Christ, not in her abilities or performance, and reminding her fellow actors and actresses of the same thing.

“While it’s only my fourth production with Lyric Theater, it never ceases to amaze me how all these intricate details and beautiful moments can come together to create something even better yet,” Hutmire reflected. 

Looking back at her time directing “Alice by Heart,” Professor Cox admires the student’s dedication to their characters and performances. 

“They do such beautiful work and they’re so willing to throw themselves into creating these beautiful characters,” Professor Cox expressed. “[The show] is stretching the cast members to do things they haven’t done before. They are just fantastic and I’m really proud of it.”

Audiences can expect something that is unusual, fascinating, fun, thought provoking and beautiful. The story goes deep, so audiences should be prepared to cry, but also laugh. 

Rech concluded, “Because of Professor Cox, we perform stories that are more than just a fun show, but a show with incredible depth behind them. Which is what Alice by Heart will be!” ★

Categories
Stories In Focus

Impacts of AI on the Job Market

Industries exposed to AI graph - Courtesy of Goldman Sachs
By Christian Welker ('24)

“I am interviewing you, ChatGPT … about the effects of Artificial Intelligence on education and the future job market.”

“Certainly!” ChatGPT responded, “I’m happy to discuss the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on education and the future job market. Reporter: How do you see AI impacting education? ChatGPT: AI has the potential to…”

Watching ChatGPT write and conduct an interview with itself left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it was ridiculous for the AI to believe that was what I wanted, but at the same time, it developed a line of questions in seconds that was scarily close to what I had just spent ten minutes thinking of before beginning the interview.

Interviewing an AI seems like something out of a science fiction movie, but with the Challenger Economics May 2023 report stating over 3,900 jobs were cut due to Artificial Intelligence in one month alone and Goldman Sachs estimating 300 million potential job cuts by 2030, it’s obvious many industries are taking this new tech and running with it. This trend of increasing use of AI threatens not only the current members of the workforce but also college students looking to join it after graduation. As college students are looking at a shifting job market, the question turns to how higher education should respond to the AI boom?

One area where AI affects the job market is journalism and media. Jonan Pilet, a writer for foodsafetynews.com, has been watching how Artificial Intelligence continues to change the journalism scene.

“The issue, I think, is that AI is … impacting the number of jobs because it’s taking a lot of what I would say is like the grunt work, the lower work,” Pilet said, “these are the kinds of stuff that AI can do really well because it’s like filling in a form.”

The journalism market has struggled with profitability over the past few years, with dozens of outlets laying off large percentages of their staff in attempts to reduce expenses and streamline their businesses. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, these outlets are given the opportunity to further reduce expenses and make production more efficient by replacing workers with AI and further streamlining processes with the integration of AI tools.

“What might have taken three of us several hours to do, now one person could do in 30 minutes,” Pilet stated.

Rachel Wright, who works for Houghton University’s Office of Vocation and Calling, added, “There’s certainly going to be some things that can be done in a more automated way … that’s where I think it’s important to, for somebody who’s applying for jobs … to be able to very clearly articulate the value that they bring [to a job].”

In a shifting job market, staying up to date with the latest technology is essential. Artificial Intelligence is developing rapidly, with little sign of slowing down. How focused should colleges and universities be on integrating AI into the classroom?

Houghton Professor David Huth believes that higher education needs to do more to prepare students.

“I wish that every college and university professor could take … say, three semesters off and enroll at their institution in the world of AI so that they can actually understand what is actually happening.” Huth stated that “If I wanted to get educated in the age of AI, now, what would I be doing?”

Similarly, Pilet states that students need to learn how to use AI tools to become more efficient in the classroom and in future jobs.

“Transcribing used to take hours,” Pilet stated. “But [now] there’s transcribing tools that will save you a ton of time because it’ll do it in minutes.”

Pilet believes that in the future, the deciding factor between employees will be those who know how to use the tools to make their work faster and more efficient versus those who don’t.

“You have to use it because you have to keep up. It almost has become a nonnegotiable,” Pilet stated.

In Pilet’s opinion, it’s important for college classes to teach students how to use Artificial Intelligence and how people in their desired fields utilize AI tools. Otherwise, students risk falling behind and losing job opportunities to younger workers with more experience with the tools. However, it’s also essential that students learn the basics before they learn the tools.

“We have to avoid having the tool get in the way of learning the basics,” Pilet emphasized. “That’s the fear … if you’ve never written anything, how do you know that the AI is spitting it out well?”

Pilet ultimately stated that higher education should integrate AI into classrooms and teach students how to use the tools alongside their knowledge of the craft.

On the other hand, Huth believes that Artificial Intelligence will change the world as the internet did with its introduction. He sees learning how to use the tools as a temporary solution. In his view, colleges need to prepare for what might come next because if they are not prepared, AI could replace higher education in its entirety.

AI is rapidly advancing, and there are few signs of slowing down. As mentioned above, it is already affecting the job market and causing mass layoffs. Huth and Pilet believe that college students must be prepared to integrate AI into their workflow to remain competitive in an increasingly AI-focused world.

For what it’s worth, ChatGPT seems to agree. When asked how people should consider AI in the job market, the AI stated: “The dynamic nature of technology and the job market underscores the importance of lifelong learning. College graduates should be prepared to adapt and upskill throughout their careers to stay relevant in a changing landscape.”

As Artificial Intelligence continues to evolve and change the world around it, students entering the workforce need to be at least aware of the tools their potential jobs are using and how to utilize them to stay competitive. ★