Tag: liberal arts

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Stories In Focus

As the Darts Fly

Foam in the Liberal Arts

It’s a Saturday night. As you approach the Chamberlain building you see the lights inside are dimmed and you can feel the pounding of the music emanating from inside. There is a mass of people loading NERF blasters and preparing for battle. The first game of the night is announced, “Zombies,” and everyone yells excitedly. This is Foam in the Liberal Arts, or FILA, Houghton’s NERF club.

FILA CMYKFILA meets most Saturday nights in the Chamberlain building from 8:00-11:00 p.m. and has been a weekend highlight for some students for several years. It is “a great way to wind down and have fun with your friends and meet new people,” said first year student, Kirsten Brady. Brady said what she enjoys most is the “opportunity to run through the halls of a building acting like kids for a few hours, and the bonus is you get to shoot people.”

A typical night at FILA consists of about six to eight different games. “We usually start off each night with a fan favorite game, usually ‘Humans vs. Zombies,’” said FILA president, Justin Bullard, junior. “After that we like to mix up the games to keep it fresh each time we have an event. We can play any combination of games on our roster such as ‘3&1’ (teams of four with one medic and three survivors), ‘Team Deathmatch,’ or a frequent-member favorite, ‘All Medics,’ which is an all out free-for-all where anyone can shoot anyone and anyone can revive anyone.”

Sophomore, Shannon Derby, said, “FILA has definitely been a fantastic experience! I tend to be pretty introverted and FILA helps to pull me out of my shell and get to know people outside of my regular friend groups. I’ve made some really close friends through it. It’s also definitely adrenaline pumping and by the time the night is over, I am already excited for the next Saturday!”

FILA received official status as a club on campus last spring, which has come into effect this fall. Within the campus service budget, the club event fund exists to sponsor certain clubs, such as FILA. The club continues to have a budget, which the cabinet uses to purchase darts as well as pay for repairs to Chamberlain. In previous years, this has been an issue. Last year, the glass casings of two paintings on the second floor were shattered on separate occasions, stopping game play for the night each time. In addition to these rare incidents, the walls have accrued scuffs and markings.

Club members also believe it to be a recruiting tool and selling point for the college. When prospective student tours pass through Chamberlain, the guides often have them pause to look up at the skylight to see suction-cup darts which have been stuck there for years.  “I’ve heard from different students that the NERF club is actually one of the reasons why they picked Houghton over some of their other choices,” said, senior, Caroline VanVleck.

Some students and professors have expressed concern in regards to the noise level produced by students running through the halls. “What if there are people in here trying to study or do work?” said, junior, Brittany Hark, who was working in the Mac Lab during a FILA event. “It doesn’t bother me. The music is sometimes a little loud, but I have headphones for that. But I could see how it might bother someone who was doing a little more serious work,” said Hark.

Despite these concerns, Bullard said, “The purpose of FILA is to give students a way to blow off steam and get away from their busy schedules.”

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Opinions

Investing in an Intentional Future

I started the slow arduous ascent (or is it a descent?) along the road towards graduate school last May. Why did I begin preparing so early? Well, if you ever score below the tenth percentile mark on the math portion of a practice GRE (graduate record exam), then you’ll experience a similar sense of urgent compulsion to spend the summer studying, studying, studying.

benSo, after countless summer hours passed in the demanding company of my “Kaplan prep” practice book, I returned to Houghton to take the horrible GRE and start my applications proper. Round about October I compiled information for specific, potential schools. I honed writing samples and personal statements, and I solicited recommendations from faculty. I paid an arm and several legs for fees that rained like fire from the sky. I ran around campus tying up loose ends—transcripts, resumes, etc. Then, by December, I submitted my completed applications. As some of you surely know, all this stuff is hard work, and the satisfaction of clicking the send button on all those stupid electronic documents is wonderful.

What I’ve so far narrated is the external process of putting my name in the daunting and immense hat that is the current pool of graduate school applicants. Now I want to recall the more internal but no less excruciating process of deciding whether or not it was a good idea to apply in the first place.

I should start by emphasizing that I’m a humanities major who has applied to English programs in hopes of someday teaching in a college setting. So there’s the first and biggest problem. The job market for English positions at post-secondary institutions is abysmal. We’ve all heard the woes of education inflation; there’s no denying that academic degrees mean less now than they ever have before, and as an aspiring English “scholar,” these dire conditions hit especially close to home. The message that most of the world sent me was “don’t go.”

Due to the above-mentioned circumstances, my decision to apply was hard earned at the price of months of fraught consideration. Though, in retrospect, I think the inner turmoil was necessary. It was only after wrestling with all the reasons not to apply that I came to realize that those reasons had nothing to do with my desire to pursue study and employment in the field I love. Liberal arts (and Houghton specifically) played an essential role in this realization. I’ll do my best to explain, but because chapel this semester is focusing on “vocation,” I think I’ll frame the remainder of my explanation in similar language.

Do we come to Houghton to get a job? Are we here to take the first steps up a salary ladder? Are we here for a glorious and future retirement? My hope is that the answer to these questions is a repeating “no.” Though these concerns are important, they are not most important. Though they should be considered in our decisions, they should not dictate our decisions. I know we’ve all heard the tired catchphrases about the strengths of a liberal arts education, but I want to earnestly reiterate the belief that a place like Houghton is more about what you make of yourself than it is about what you can make in a paycheck. Though this truth may not be apparent always (what with the bombarding bad news about the economy, job market, and doom-ridden future), it is crucial to remember the value of years of hard work alongside committed peers and mentors in a deliberate and mindful community.

Now I’m going to step off my soapbox to briefly return to my personal journey. In the face of what felt like cosmic naysaying, key people at Houghton encouraged me to commit to what I care about. This support was essential because it came from caring people who appreciate the satisfaction of investing in liberal arts. They know me, and they also know the rich complexity of enmeshing oneself in a challenging, thoughtful and holistic life.

Even if I don’t get accepted this year (which is looking like a real possibility at this point, especially as I’ve just now received a rejection letter), I’m confident that I will someday leave a graduate school with a terminal degree in English. At that point, I may not immediately find a teaching position. At that point, I may be one of thousands of equally educated peers drifting from one job listing to another. I may be no further along in being sure about my future. But at that point I will not regret my earlier decision to use my gifts, abilities, and resources to commit things that put joy in my life.

It’s probable that I’m over-simplifying by spewing platitudes that you’ve all heard before. It’s also probable that I’m naïve, that what I’m saying doesn’t apply in the least to you. Obviously, it’s also true that a place like Houghton isn’t the only route for you or me to attain a worthwhile future. But is it also possible that Houghton does actually provide what we need to flourish out in “the real world”?

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Stories In Focus

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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Opinions

Woes of the Privileged Dependent

As dependents we like to complain. Or rather, as the privileged we like to complain, because it really is a question of privilege. It is a privilege to be dependent on someone financially, and even if you are an independent financially, as a student you are currently depending on this institution for food, lodging, and education.

But we love to complain. Throughout my time at Houghton and even more so it seems since I graduated, all I hear from current students is how awful this place is. Sodexo is taking over everything. The rules are too constricting and frankly ridiculous. Res Life is on a constant witch hunt. The dorms are nasty. The education is minimalistic. Finally, my personal favorite, “Houghton shelters us and does not prepare us for the real world.” The list of complaints goes on, but you get my point.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to complain as well. But every once in a while you need to stop, sit back, and consider what you are complaining about. Because more often than not we sound pathetic, and the grounds for complaints are nothing more than juvenile trivialities.

Let me put things into perspective. According to Forbes, Houghton College is currently ranked in the top 4% of colleges nationwide. Our Investment Center just recently broke $300K. Our Media program has had students go to Antarctica, and produce documentaries for the Gates Foundation. 83% of applicants from Houghton have been accepted into medical school (the national average is 43% according to the Association of American Medical Colleges). We may be small, but the quality of academics is undeniable.

During my last weekend on campus I went up to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I had to struggle choosing between numerous delicious-looking options. No institutional food will ever compare to your mother’s cooking, but have you eaten at other colleges? We get quality food, tons of variety, and all you can eat. Last but not least, Sodexo accommodates dietary restrictions like few other institutions. I would also like to praise the new management of Java 101. Flex dollars can be used to purchase coffee, and it is now open all day Sunday!

Our student guide requires students to not drink, use illegal substances, or act promiscuously. Now go find another Faith-based institution that promotes those. In fact, go find an actively Christian institution that is more liberal on those issues at all.

When it comes to Res Life, I have sat in on disciplinary hearings while serving as an RA, and I was shocked. Not because of the strictness, but because of the understanding and caring on behalf of the staff. The case I was in had to do with drugs, which under the student guide is a one-strike offense. The evidence was compelling; the confession was there. The student should have been expelled. But instead, the staff asked how the student was, what was the reasons for this, how could we help. I was asked to be his mentor.

Dorms are dorms. Hundreds of people have used the room you are in. Of course it’s not a five-star hotel in Monaco. But next time you feel compelled to whine, go spend a night in a state school dorm that has been sullied by thousands of drunken, puking, fornicating residents, and then see how you feel.

Lastly, do you really need to drink, smoke, and have sex, or even be surrounded by such things, in order to prepare yourself for the “real world”?  Let me give you a glimpse of the real world: most people work 8-5 jobs with an hour lunch break, after which they go home and watch TV. On occasion they enjoy happy hour at the local bar. Far fewer may hook up for some quick sex. But mostly this is just a television fantasy. According to the CDC, while two out of three American adults drink, the average amount consumed is 4 drinks per week. 19% of Americans smoke and only half of Americans purport to have sex once a week. So you really aren’t falling behind the rest of the population with the amount of alcohol, tobacco and sex of which you are deprived.

Houghton is not perfect. There are things that could stand improvement, but by and large it is a truly quality institution. Remember that there are so many issues in the world, i.e. world hunger, child prostitution, homelessness, domestic violence, and gender inequality. And explain to me why your life is particularly miserable at Houghton.

 

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News

College Undertakes New Initiative in China

Courtesy of chinatoday.com
Courtesy of chinatoday.com

In an effort to further its mission of global engagement, President Shirley Mullen, along with vice president of admissions, Eric Currie, and vice president of alumni relations, Dan Noyes, embarked on a two-week tour through the People’s Republic of China this past summer. Houghton College currently has preparations underway to increase its presence in Asia, with special focus on China, intending both to increase enrollment of Chinese students and to establish potential study abroad programs and internships for current and future Houghton students. Explaining the college’s rationale for focusing on the area, Mullen said, “I began to realize that both in our recruitment of international students and also in the parts of the world that Houghton grads were most engaged in, we really were doing very little in Asia.”

Initial efforts toward recruitment, though small, were made about a year ago after Houghton partnered with Zinch, an American website which allows prospective college students to browse a database of profiles of American universities and colleges by entering certain credentials. By having Zinch profile the college as part of a weekly spotlight, Chinese Zinch users have also been introduced to the school. Currie says that the college’s partnership with Zinch has worked out well. “We’ve resourced students out of there. Actually, a student here right now came through our Zinch contacts.”

However, faculty and staff involved in the recruitment initiative emphasize that their main strategy is a long-term one with a focus on forging relationships with Chinese schools. Initially considering working with intermediary recruitment agencies, the college decided to pursue other avenues, opting for a more direct and personal approach. “We’re trying to do something more creative than the agent system, and something that is more organic, more systematized, more on the ground, rather than the agent system, where basically institutions pay agents a certain fee for recruiting a Chinese student,” she said. She expressed concern with many of the tactics employed by the agencies. “As I began listening to the ways that a lot of recruitment in China was happening, I began to think, ‘Good grief, there’s going to be a huge reaction to this someday because it just seems so much more sensitive to what to American schools want out of this than what the Chinese people might want out of it.” Another concern was the ability of incoming Chinese students to adapt well to an educational experience in the U.S., something often unaccounted for by agent groups. “These young people sometimes just get sent over by agents and they are left to sink or swim,” Noyes added.

Other possibilities, mostly for Houghton students, have been explored through alumni contacts in China, amongst whom a network has already been developed. “The alumni connections are so strong, going all the way back to the ‘50s and ‘60s, that there’s a real benefit,” said Noyes.

The majority of Chinese alumni being based in Hong Kong, the college is leaning towards initial programs in the area. “We’d like to start with a student or two who are interested in doing an internship in Hong Kong. It would most likely be a business student at this point because of the connections they have,” Noyes said, naming one contact who runs trade shows for a German company in the city and another alum who works for an IT company as two contacts among many. Although initial programs are hoped to be established in Hong Kong, Mainland China is also a possibility. Said Noyes, “Hong Kong is more like low-hanging fruit for us. We have more of an alumni presence there, we have some potential partners there, so it would make some sense to begin there… but as we uncover more, then I think we could also expand to some different places as well.”

In addition to potential expansion to other areas in China, programs for larger groups also remain a possibility. “We’d love to explore a Mayterm there,” said Noyes, “but it takes a little while to build these relationships.”

Those involved in the project are quick to stress that this initiative is still very much a work in progress. “By December or January I will know where we really stand in those two particular areas I’m looking at,” stated Currie. “I would say we would have it moving forward in its strongest development by spring.”

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News

College Golf Teams Eliminated

Due to the enrollment shortfall this year, many Houghton departments and programs have had to trim their budgets significantly. One of the cuts directly impacting students is the elimination of both the men’s and women’s golf teams.

The golf teams were informed on September 10 that their teams had been eliminated from the athletics program. “I showed up for practice on Tuesday and our coaches were waiting there… I thought that maybe a tournament had been canceled – but it was actually the entire team,” said the women’s captain Hannah Fink, junior.

GolfThe decision “came out of the blue,” according to the men’s captain, Evan Castle, junior, “Basically we had two matches and were completely into our season – nobody knew that this was going to happen – and we showed up to our practice on Tuesday and we get the news from our coach.”

According to Dr. Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, the reason that the teams were informed in the middle of their season was due to the unexpected drop in enrollment in the beginning of the school year. “We thought – up until the end of July – that we would have been higher [in enrollment] than what we actually came in at. So it was, to many of us, a big surprise when we got to August and realized where we were with enrollment in terms of deposits.” This required the college to make emergency cuts for this fiscal year. “We had to cut somewhere,” said Pool, “A small piece of that was in athletics.”

The elimination of the golf teams is part of a larger amount of cuts that Athletics are being asked to make. In total, Athletics were asked to cut $60,000 out of their budget this year – the golf team taking a significant percentage of that number. According to Athletics Director, Skip Lord, “In a nutshell, every area on campus has had to make hard decisions relative to budgets this fall. That included athletics. This decision, along with other significant, but less visible cuts in athletics, were carefully weighed to accomplish the goal.”

One of the factors leading Student Life and Athletics to cut golf particularly is the relatively small number of students that it will affect. Both teams have about a dozen players combined, though this number varies between the fall and spring due to several players already involved in other seasonal sports teams. Another factor influencing the decision to cut the teams is that both the coach, Thomas Kettelkamp, and the assistant coach, Richard Halberg, are already employed as faculty members – so no jobs will be cut as a result of this decision.

Houghton introduced the golf teams last year when it made the move into the Empire 8 Athletic Conference, along with introducing other sports teams such as lacrosse, tennis, and baseball. The elimination of the golf teams should not impact Houghton’s NCAA D-III or Empire 8 standing.

Coach Thomas Kettelkamp and Coach Richard Halberg both expressed their dismay at the elimination of the teams.

“Personally I am a full time faculty and will not be impacted by the decision to cut the golf program but it was very, very difficult to tell the players that we are done,” said Coach Kettelkamp. Coach Halberg echoed Kettelkamp’s statement and said that he felt, “badly about ending our relationship with a great group of students.”

According to Kettelkamp, there were three prospective students looking into enrolling at Houghton to join the college’s golf teams, but he had to write to inform them that they should “look elsewhere for a college golf program.” Additionally, he believes that no one on the golf teams is currently intending to transfer as a result of this decision, but he said “if they ask me to help facilitate transferring to another college, I will certainly do so.”

Fink and Castle both lamented that they had not been able to complete the season as captains, the first time in these positions of leadership. “I had hoped to improve our record from last year. Individually, we all wanted to get better. Basically, improve,” said Fink. Castle said, “It’s a big bummer because I spent a lot of time with my teammates and my entire summer planning for this year. And it’s gone.”

 

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News

Enrollment Numbers Short of Anticipated Target

Courtesy of houghton.edu

With the start of the Fall 2013 semester came approximately 280 incoming students, a number that falls just below the anticipated enrollment target and consequentially may elicit questions concerning the welfare of Houghton College.

“The goal for the past couple years would aim for around 300 to 400 students,” said Ryan Spear, Assistant Director of Admissions, establishing the fact that the actual number of new students coming to Houghton this fall follows a trend of low enrollment.

The total of first-year students, transfer students, and those returning to Houghton after taking time off for various reasons, comprises this enrollment number.

Spear acknowledged that Houghton, as a Liberal Arts institution and as a college in general, faces challenges in regards to consistently bringing in students.  “If you look at the media, a lot of the news stories out there are challenging that college is even worth it,” he said, “…that’s one thing that has been a challenge, not just for Houghton, but for all institutions – proving that it is worth it.”

Eric Currie, the college’s new Vice President for Enrollment Management, added, “In some places and areas, education has turned into an expense, not a value… we have to help people see the tangible aspects and purpose in having an education at Houghton College, and for that matter, in Christian higher education.”

One example of Houghton’s recognition of this problem and approach to eliminate it, Currie later said, is that the college currently demonstrates its value in a new way, by investing in families for longer than what was previously normal.

“We take a proactive approach,” Currie said, “by allowing families to enter into in a longer process or journey that has been normal in the application process… Now with the financial pressures that are out there, we see that we have to have a greater persistence.”

That persistence carries over to other areas of enrollment as well.  Spear identifies another obstacle the college faces in bringing in students, and how persistence in that may produce different results as well.

“There are things that are happening locally, regionally, nationally, and globally that all affect enrollment at Houghton College,” said Spear.  “One of these trends is that more and more students are studying closer to home, and Western New York has experienced a population decline during the past few years or decades.”

Another one of Houghton’s marketing and enrollment strategies to counteract trends which may hurt the college’s enrollment is to contact specific types of students, such as those currently enrolled in a community college, who may plan on transferring to a four-year institution like Houghton.

“We have moved into some deeper relationships and partnerships with some community colleges in the area,” said Currie while considering one way in which Houghton works to bring in more students in the future.

In the end, both Currie and Spear agreed that Houghton College faces its challenges in appealing to incoming students and in competing with other education or career-oriented options, yet both expect and currently see positive outcomes.

Although enrollment numbers fall on lower ground than Houghton hopes, Spear remained confident.  “It’s a challenge for Houghton to recruit – that’s for sure,” he said. “But we think that God is using Houghton in a powerful way in the world.”

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Arts

Fine Arts Seminar: Learning from Guest Artists

As part of the recent additions to the art department, the Fine Arts Seminar (FAS) has become a weekly investigation into the dialog of contemporary artists and their work. The seminar, which is held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday evenings, is a course centered on building community between all students, faculty, and community members in the discussion of current studio practices and design industry issues.

Sample of Jennifer Litterer's, guest artist, work
Sample of Jennifer Litterer’s, guest artist, work

Art and design majors are required to take the course for at least six semesters, and the course’s lab fee goes directly to bringing in guest artists. The debut of the weekly seminar was last fall and featured Philadelphia-based designer Alan Espiritu and painter Ann Piper, among others. This spring’s FAS students have engaged with photographers, printmakers, and painters, and will even be host to Houghton graduate Erin Bennett Banks, a well-established illustrator.

Junior Amy Coon commented on the seminar’s value to art students, saying, “I’ve found it to be one of my least demanding classes in terms of workload, yet it is the class that I’ve gained the most from during my college experience. It has taught us how to pursue our passions and gotten us in touch with artists who have succeeded in doing just that.”

Last week’s guest artist Charles Beneke delivered a lecture titled Radiative Forcing and shared his work depicting and dealing with environmental issues in industrialized America. Beneke talked about his experience coming from the undergraduate program at Kenyon College, the MFA program at the University of Connecticut and his travels to Finland and Greenway to further explore these issues as an artist interested in photography, printmaking and painting.

The course has proven to be a very tangible exposure to the possibilities in the art world. “I find Fine Arts Seminar to be an important class that definitely helps college students envision what future career paths they can explore,” said freshman Allyson Murphy.

The seminar is part of the new Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree that the department offers. Professor Jillian Sokso, current head of the art department, explained that “by moving upper level course work from media-specific classes to interdisciplinary, team-taught studio and seminar courses, we are meeting a need to stay as current as possible with our degree offering, finding applied vocational tracks that are current and relevant.”

Amanda Irwin, a sophomore art major with plans to go into Museum Studies, has attended the Fine Arts Seminar during both semesters.  “I’ve found this experience to be humbling and richly authentic,” Irwin said. “Every week I find myself being challenged by the wide range of ideas, creativity, and dedication that is evident in the visiting artists.”

In addition to speaking as the guest lecturer, the guest artists are available to students to give one-on-one critiques of their work. This practice, in the fashion of a graduate level program, exposes students to an outsider’s feedback and knowledge. “Having an outside artist coming into our studio and giving a raw reading of our work is incredibly valuable,” said Coon. “It not only gives a fresh perspective on our work, but it confirms a lot of the advice that we hear from our professors.”

Additionally, the students participate in writing an ongoing blog about the guest artists and the conversations that they spark in the seminar. The blog can be found at http://houghtoncollegefineartsseminar.wordpress.com/.

An open invitation is extended to faculty, students and community members who wish to take part in the conversation each week in the Center for the Arts Room 145.