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City Harmonic Headlines Houghton’s First Accepted Students Weekend

Featuring The City Harmonic, Houghton College, will host its first Accepted Students Weekend, allowing prospective students to experience Houghton before many of them make their final decision.

The weekend, beginning on Thursday, March 19 and will conclude Saturday, March 21. Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m. in the Wesley Chapel, Houghton will welcome multi-award winning rock and worship group, The City Harmonic, with special guest and recent Houghton graduate, Taylor Wilding ‘14. The performance will take place as a stop on their nationwide tour. Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m. in the Wesley Chapel.

The Admission Office has put together a weekend “geared toward providing accepted students an opportunity to visit campus, meet other potential classmates, and interact with faculty and staff,” said senior admission counselor, Zina Teague. Accepted students will arrive on Thursday evening and will stay through the weekend, leaving Saturday morning.

Screen Shot 2015-03-19 at 11.21.26 PMEach accepted student will have the chance to stay overnight with current Houghton students, view a movie in the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex, and attend The City Harmonic concert. Following the concert there will be an after party in the Center for the Arts building and all current and prospective students are welcome. Teague said of the accepted students, “Overall, we want them to have a chance to experience what it’s like to be a Houghton College student.”

Houghton offers many Visit Days or Opportunity Days for prospective students to have a tour of the campus, attend classes, and meet other current and prospective students.  However, this Accepted Students Weekend offers high school and transfer students the opportunity to spend a weekend on Houghton’s campus, while attending events to make their stay more memorable.

Accepted Students Weekend is unique to other Visit or Opportunity Days because it offers accepted and current students the chance to attend The City Harmonic concert. According to Housing Liaison and Resident Director of Lambein, Krista Maroni, the concert is helpful due to a lack of activities during overnight visits. Maroni said, “I’ve found that hosts often struggle to find creative activities to share with their visitors. The concert provides an easy way for current and prospective students to share an experience and connect. Ideally the concert and the after party can be a jumping point for future connections.”

Maroni also mentioned how the concert will leave accepted students with a “lasting memory of their visit”.  In past years, Houghton has hosted bands such as Jars of Clay and Sanctus Real, so The City Harmonic will add to Houghton’s repertoire of award-winning performers.  Having The City Harmonic perform during Accepted Students Weekend enables accepted students to engage in an energetic, exciting weekend that is different from the typical weekend here at Houghton.  Maroni stated “Prospective students are vital to Houghton’s future and the culture we want to create; this concert is an expression of that value.”

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Stories In Focus

Printed Matter Press

Stepping outside the automated world with screenprinting and letterpress.

The Printed Matter Press (PMP) may be one of Houghton’s less visible student organizations, but when they set up shop, they stand out. The self-described “team of designers, printers, printing assistants, marketers, and sales students,” appears during Homecoming Weekend, at the Arts and Crafts Fair, or prior to a major holiday. Visitors will see their table, neatly arranged with a collection of cards, T-shirts, and posters for sale, all designed and handmade by the team.  More present among the Houghton community during these sales, PMP nevertheless remains active all year, working to design and print a variety of products from tote bags to notebooks and cards.

PMP1_LaurissaWidrick_RGB “It’s a fairly big time commitment,” said junior Mason Wilkes, who is a recent member. Ten members attend regular meetings where they anonymously submit designs and vote on which to print. Then, as a team, they meet in the Stevens Art Studio to either screen print the designs onto T-shirts or to use the college’s century-old letterpress to print cards, notebooks, and posters. According to senior Laurissa Widrick, a member since 2012, the group will often hold midnight printmaking sessions.

“We’ll all be up at the studio at the same time printing, packaging, and getting everything done for the upcoming sale,” she said. “There is always something for everyone to do, whether it’s printing, packaging, folding T-shirts, cleaning screens, or just making sure we have good music playing.”

While PMP uses college facilities to create their products, they provide all of their own supplies. Senior Alex Hood, who has acted as “a sort of director” for the loosely structured organization over the past year, oversees their finances with assistance from faculty advisor, interim art professor, Alicia Taylor. For the most part, the students themselves control the business aspect of the organization. Taylor helps with logistical issues, such as paying for tickets to the international printmaking conference that the group attends yearly.

PMP3_LaurissaWidrick_RGBSince the group’s inception over five years ago – a joint effort between students and Jillian Sokso, former art professor – one of PMP’s primary goals has been to raise funds to attend an annual conference held by the Southern Graphics Council International, the largest print organization in North America. This year, seven PMP artists, along with Taylor, are currently attending the conference in Knoxville, Tennessee between March 18th and 21st. They will attend exhibitions, demos, and keynote speeches offered by high-profile printmakers, as well participate in open portfolio sessions.

“It is a gathering to try and concentrate as many printmakers in one spot as possible,” said Wilkes about the conference’s attraction. “[Printmaking is] a growing market right now again, but it is still a niche thing. There really aren’t that many studios out there.”

The conference gives students an excellent opportunity to make connections in the printmaking world, and even to advertise their own work. Last year, students took a suitcase of their inventory and sold it during the open portfolio. Senior Katie Kloos, a member of PMP for three years, recalled the positive reaction the group received for their work at last year’s conference.

“People loved it. It was really reaffirming to have people who know about letterpress and screen printing like and buy our merchandise.”

Right now, PMP is winding down for the semester, with only one event officially scheduled before the end of the year: Take Back the Night.  As in past years, the organization will set up a table to live print their “Take Back the Night” design onto T-shirts or paper.

Though several PMP artists are about to graduate and are currently focused on their own senior art shows, members are working to ensure that the organization endures. The group is always looking for new members to keep the legacy going.

It isn’t just the teamwork that goes into sales or the pride the group takes in their work that makes them so intent on keeping PMP going.In a world where goods are often pumped out in identical batches by machines, they know what they’re doing is special. It’s the kind of work, says Widrick, that allows one to “…step outside that automated world for a while, and into one that’s more personal and meaningful.” Through their work both on campus and off, PMP invites the Houghton community to step into that world with them.

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LGBQ Inclusion: Community Covenant Amendment

The words “homosexual behavior” need to be taken out of the Community Covenant. Placing “homosexual behavior” within this context equates it to premarital sex and adultery. It is a vague statement which singles out lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students.

Houghton College’s Statement of Community Responsibilities reads: “We believe that Scripture clearly prohibits certain acts, including drinking beverage alcohol to excess, stealing, speaking or writing profanely or slanderously, acting dishonestly, cheating, engaging in occult practice, and engaging in sexual relations outside the bonds of a Biblical understanding of marriage, including premarital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior” (emphasis added).

Luke_QuoteEquating “homosexual behavior” with premarital sex and adultery hyper-sexualizes LGBQ students’ lives. Recent Graduate, Wynn Horton, said, “By condemning homosexual behavior alongside these others we denigrate it in certain ways,” pointing out that it makes it sound only lustful and foolish. Premarital sex and adultery are both explicitly sexual acts, but “homosexual behavior” is not exclusively about sex. There is much more to a “behavior” than sex.

There are straight students kissing, holding hands, and snuggling around campus. Whether these public displays of affection are desirable is besides the point. The point is they are happening and no “rules” are broken. What does this mean for LGBQ students? The vagueness of this brings many questions. What does “homosexual behavior” mean? What about two men dating on campus, a lesbian student with an off campus fiancée, or, perhaps in the future, a married lesbian or gay couple enrolled on campus? Additionally, how will lesbian or gay alumni couples feel about returning for homecoming and reunions? In an attempt to answer some of these questions, Michael Jordan, dean of the chapel, said, “I want to be clear that the Community Covenant by itself does not restrict LGBQ dating behavior that is not explicitly sexual.” The issue, however, is that the language of the Community Covenant does not adequately communicate this and so these questions still raise doubts in the minds of LGBQ students.

The college’s Same-Sex Attraction: Our Community Voice document outlines community beliefs, acknowledges differing views, and says how people should be treated. It states “… we ask for [LGBQ] students to respect our perspective for the sake of our communal life together. This would mean being especially sensitive to public displays of affection.” While this document is progress, this passage further perpetuates the view that LGBQ students must hide in the “closet,” while their straight peers do not.

LukeWhile the intention may not be to single out LGBQ students, it nonetheless does. By saying “homosexual behavior” and not mentioning heterosexual “behaviors,” the Community Covenant alienates LGBQ students from their peers. Jordan pointed out, “Statements about celibacy and chastity are of course problematic for all 18- to 22-year-olds, no matter their sexual orientation.” Yes, this is true, if the statement were about only chastity or celibacy. However, within their context, these two documents seem to be prohibiting more than just sexual relations, even if that may not be the intent.

The passage in the Community Covenant should be rewritten. Horton said the “passage could easily be rewritten to serve the college’s purpose while maintaining its loyalty to a Christian heritage.” He suggests changing the last part to “‘…and engaging in sexual relations outside of the bonds of marriage.’” This simpler, condensed version still maintains the essential meaning, but does not single anyone out.

According to Kim Cockle, student life administrative assistant, to make such change to the

Community Covenant, requires it to be brought to the Student Life Council as a policy change, then taken to the faculty, and ultimately to the Board of Trustees. To stand in solidarity with their LGBQ peers, students should bring this amendment proposition to the Student Life Council, in the form of a petition or in person at a council meeting. It would still condemn illicit sexual relations for Houghton Students, but diminish the hyper-sexualization, clear up the vague language surrounding the issue, and improve the climate for LGBQ students on campus.

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News

Obama Proposes Free Community College

Last week in the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama outlined America’s College Promise, a plan to “lower the cost of community college — to zero.”

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the proposal aims to waive tuition for community college students who maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA and “make steady progress toward completing their program.” The plan applies to both half-time and full-time students and includes certificate, associate, and bachelor’s degrees. The plan would cost the federal government an estimated $60-billion over ten years, which would cover 75% of projected costs, while participating states would be asked to fund the other 25%.

358209_Obama-Community-College.18Dr. Linda Mills Woolsey, Dean of the College, who said she has “mixed feelings” about the plan, described it as a “well-intentioned” attempt to “meet a projected education gap” and to “make sure that there’s access to education for people from all economic backgrounds.” Woolsey said doing this solely through the community college system, however, encourages the mass-production of education,“we’re imagining a kind of Henry Ford type way to get students through their first couple years of education.”

Eric Currie, Vice President for Enrollment Management, said while initially the plan might “create a challenging moment” for Houghton, the already existing “great transfer processes” Houghton has with community colleges will be an important asset. Currie said Houghton is likely to continue to prioritize the continued development of online programs and of the Buffalo campus of Houghton, both of which more closely meet the needs of the demographic of students primarily targeted by America’s College Promise.

President Shirley Mullen said her primary concern is the current prominence of cost in the dialogue about higher education would make it “easy for the idea of a free two-year college to just be too tempting for students for whom that really isn’t the best option and not the only option,” and usually the rhetoric about cost “underestimates the impact of [four year] education on even one’s financial resources over the long haul.” She described a sadness in the potential loss, not just for Houghton, but for all students pursuing higher education if the proposal draws students away from four-year learning communities that in general provide “a more coherent education overall.” However, Mullen also said, “we would like to have more transfer students” as they often bring a greater appreciation for Houghton and a more focused drive. Currently, transfer students make up 18% of incoming students and 15% of the student body.

Currie said while he supports anything that will bring education to more people, he would have liked to see the government offer to pay two years of tuition for eligible students at any college that was able to meet a given price cap. “I would say challenge us all to rise to the occasion. Not just community colleges,” said Currie. “Challenge whoever is willing to go and make it happen…I think that that edifies some of the best things about our society which is innovation, entrepreneurship…and the kind of take charge personality, and yet still meeting people’s needs.”

The needs of the people are not just financial. Woolsey said she embraces the social good of widely-available free education, but is not sure “it will do what we want it to do if in the process we lose the richness and variety of higher education.”  Woolsey said, “These small private colleges and even some of the midsized, private Christian colleges offer an education that’s more varied, sometimes more creative, and certainly more focused on the individual.”

Though at this point it seems highly unlikely that the proposal will make it through congress any time soon, Currie said, “Whether it’s President Obama or the next President or the President after that, I think that something like this is going to come through…it’s on the radar in the federal government and in the state governments that they feel that they really want to have an impact on this issue, and I think they feel it’s important.”

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Stories In Focus

The Role of Social Media Outlets at Houghton

“Students have a lot of influence on what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to social media at Houghton,” said Amy Tetta, Development and Communication Specialist. “Current students bring a certain aspect to social media at Houghton that I can’t provide. When students go on fieldtrips or have class experiences that I am not able to see, take a photo, and then upload it to Instagram, it gives prospective students a way to see what life is really like at Houghton.”

JoshDuttweiler_AdmissionsWith the multiple social media outlets that Houghton College has, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and a Pinterest page, alumni, students, faculty, and prospective students are able to connect with each other from all over the world. Tetta said, “Social media is allowing students to have a voice in the community. I am always looking for fun photos that we can put on our Facebook page or Instagram of a student’s perspective on dorm life, the dining hall, and just everyday life at Houghton.” Senior social media intern, Meagan Hummel, said, “Technology is becoming more and more prevalent in society. Prospective and current students use social media all of the time.”

While social media allows for current students and alumni to stay up-to-date on upcoming events that are happening on campus, social media plays a role in drawing prospective students to Houghton. As an intern, Hummel manages the Instagram page and said, “it is more than just showing them [prospective students] the nature and what Houghton looks like, it is showing them what it is like to be a student. Things like SPOT, Chapel, concerts, art gallery openings, sporting events that make Houghton more appealing”. Felicia Rynzowski, a first-year student, said that as a prospective student, she noticed many of these student events held on campus through Facebook. “I like that Houghton posted things that students were involved in,” said Rynzowski. Alanna Paris, also a first-year student, added that prospective students can see what it is like to be a student on campus.  In addition to the main Houghton Facebook page, other Houghton Facebook pages exist to connect accepted students and alumni from different graduating classes.

Social media, specifically Instagram, which is run primarily by Tetta’s social media interns, allows prospective students to see what life is like at Houghton from the eyes of a current student. “It wasn’t long ago that I was a prospective student. I have a pretty good idea what students like to see and how they use social media so I am able to use my insight to help Amy,” said Hummel.

Along with all of the helpful uses that social media plays in the Houghton community, there are ways that some posts or pictures can sometimes be taken in a negative way. “I always try to put myself in the place of a prospective student, current student, alumni, and faculty member to see if the post can be taken in a negative way,” said Tetta. Because social media allows individuals to post whatever he or she would like to, “it can start great dialogue, but it can also start negative dialogue. That is when it needs to be closely monitored,” said Hummel. Additionally, Tetta mentioned that social media is meant to be a conversation with people that might have different backgrounds and experiences than someone else might have. “It’s hard to sit back and watch an argument take place online. But Houghton is filled with a kind group of people that can sort out issues,” said Tetta.

Social media plays a role in every student’s life here at Houghton College. One of the ways that it influenced student’s lives was last April during the One Day Giving Challenge. Social media was used throughout a majority of the day and made the giving challenge a success. The funds raised from that day were used to help current and prospective students with the scholarships and grants that they received this year.

By tagging Houghton College or using the hash tag “#houghtoncollege” you may possibly have your Facebook posts, tweets, or Instagrams reposted by Houghton College. “The students are our biggest asset,” said Tetta, “They make Houghton what it is.”

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Stories In Focus

Fitting In: Transfer Students’ Experiences

Cindy Austin, the Transfer Admission Counselor at Houghton College, loves her job. Officially, she works with students who are trying to make the transition to Houghton from another school. Unofficially, she is also the go-to information source for transfer students who are already enrolled and on campus.

“I’ll get calls from students all the time,” said Austin. “They’ll say something like ‘Hey, remember me, the student who wanted to transfer here? Well, I’m here now, and I need a ride home for Thanksgiving, what do I do?’” Laughing, she explained that helping transfer students who are already here, in addition to getting them here in the first place, is what makes her job fulfilling.

With the rate that transfers are coming in, however, Austin’s phone could well be ringing off the hook. According to a report by the New York Times, roughly one third of students who enroll in a four-year institution will transfer at some point during their college experience, and that rate is increasing each year.

The percentage of Houghton students that have transferred from another school have hovered around five percent since 2009. However, the college is likely to see the amount of incoming transfer students rise as the trend around the nation continues.

Austin believes that students may choose to transfer to Houghton after starting their college career elsewhere because of finances. “The majority of our transfers wanted to come here in the first place,” said Austin. “However, if the student is successful in academics, attending community college can basically be free. It’s difficult to compete with free tuition,” she explained. “So what we’re seeing now is an interest from students who have already completed their integrative study requirements in community college and now want to be a part of our major programs here.”

Junior Neal Fahey, who transferred to Houghton after attending Utica Community College, backed up Austin’s statement. “I originally wanted to come here because of the emphasis on faith,” said Fahey. “I just didn’t have the finances…God had plans for me here, so thankfully He drew me back and made it work.”

Of course, it can be difficult to transition to a different environment, as well as getting used to Houghton’s high standards for academics. So Houghton has taken steps to help transfer students adapt. “We are very gracious with transferred credits, so students don’t have to worry about taking classes they’ve already had,” said Austin. In addition, a required class called Transitions for Transfers was specifically designed to help students meet others and get acclimated into the culture of Houghton.

Angela Poblocki, a senior who transferred from St. John Fisher to finish her degree at Houghton, had mixed feelings about the class: “The Transitions class is a great way to meet other transfers, but it isn’t the most effective in building relationships,” she said. “The class enables us to be in one classroom together, but the interaction between the transfer students is limited…I wish the Transfer Transitions class had more group discussions with students, instead of just a speaker to the class.”

What Cindy Austin would encourage prospective students to do is apply to both community college and Houghton coming out of high school. “I think they would be surprised with how much we can help with the financial aspect,” said Austin. In the meantime, Austin will continue to help transfer students make the transition, officially or otherwise.

 

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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.”