rock wall – Houghton STAR

Campus Club Invites Students to Climb Rock Wall Weekly

Three nights a week, students have the opportunity to boulder and belay down the wall of the auxiliary gym, where of the campus rock wall is located. The wall is open each Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights for free climb time, facilitated by students who are trained to run the wall. Anyone can show up and join, even if they do not have any prior experience with rock climbing.

Photo by: Michael Sievers

Jackson Baker ’18 has been working at the wall for two years, and has been running the Climbing Club for one year. “We have people that stay for all two hours and we have people that pop in for twenty minutes after going for a run,” he said. “I really love the atmosphere that the wall has. People are usually hesitant when they first come, but it’s a really laid-back vibe, good music and lots of just hanging out and talking.”

The purpose of the Climbing Club is to teach people to climb and encourage them to be active and challenged on the wall. They work to maintain a non-competitive atmosphere that is easy to join in to from the moment one steps into the auxiliary gym for the first time. Wesley Payette ’17 has been involved with climbing ever since his freshman year. He said, “My favorite part of climbing is the obvious progress people make after only a few days of coming. It’s a great sport if you want a physical workout and a mental workout at the same time, since climbing a route is like solving a problem.”

On a typical night of climbing, there are between 10 and 30 students who show up. Throughout the night, students take turns trying out different routes and hanging out on the mats to socialize with other climbers. Carina Martin ’18, who has been a part of the Climbing Club for about a year and a half, talked about what a typical night of climbing looks like for her. She said, “I get to the wall, warm up a little bit on some routes that I know well, and then move on some more challenging projects.” She has enjoyed being a part of the club and has fun with the people she has climbed with. She added, “That casual, friendly atmosphere was what made me fall in love with the sport.”

Along with open nights of climbing during the week, the club has occasional planned events. They show climbing films, and they are hoping to plan trips to other climbing locations, including the Red Barn climbing gym at RIT. They also want to spend more time at outdoor climbing locations in the area once the weather gets warmer.

The Climbing Club meets 7 to 9 p.m. on Mondays and 8 to10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Nielsen Center.

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.