Echo Vault - January 2011
Songs, color, education, part of the annual two weeks of greek pledging
By Chris Staab on 1/28/2010 Anyone who didn't previously know about pledging has no doubt been introduced to the annual college tradition in the past few days. Pledging is an opportunity for students who attend Olivet College to become more than a "Greek". They have the opportunity to become a part of something that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Senior Vernon Davis is one the individuals who is in charge of the pledging process. He is also the president of Intersociety Council (ISC), the organization in charge of the college's Greek life. Davis mentioned some of the rules of pledging, such as its time period: Sunday through Thursday from 7:00a.m. to 11:00p.m. He also mentioned that a single society may not have more than three complaints at a time, or their time for pledging will be moved up to 10:00p.m. Also, the rules say that all pledges must be with an active member of the Greek house that they are pledging at all times, and that they are not allowed to be left alone with any of the house alumni.
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President Corey settles into Olivet routines
By Christine Moulton on 1/28/2011 A new face has been popping up in Dole, the Kirk Center, and at various sporting events here on campus. That face belongs to Olivet College's new president, Steven Corey. Corey arrived in Michigan in December and celebrated his first day in the office Dec. 13, 2010, jumping right into his new position.
Although his family is still in Arizona and will not be joining him until June, Corey has made the Hance House (Olivet's "president's house") a home. "It's wonderful," he said. "It's big and it's quiet, but we're going to be putting together opportunities for people to come over."
"I am very excited to be his neighbor," said Judy Fales, library assistant and co-advisor for international students, who also lives on Yale Street in Olivet. "I am glad to have a family with a young child living in the house again and going through the school system"
He recently circulated an e-mail to students, faculty, and staff which mentioned guiding principles that will help him lead the college to new and exciting heights. The guiding principles included "reinforcement of the centrality of academics to the mission of the college and our commitment to the learning and student success; reduction of the size of the executive staff and redeployment of some of these resources to other areas; ensuring a continued focus on student success; enhancement of the natural and necessary relationships (through effective communication, cooperation, collaboration) between student learning, the work of faculty, academic support services, and student life; increasing inclusiveness in decision-making and college-wide leadership; fostering transparency in the management and operations of the college; and facilitating and improving cross-college communication."
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Vallar says goodbye to Olivet College
By Tajalli Kelley-Graves on 1/28/2011 As the new semester begins, the Admissions office in Dole Hall will be missing a familiar face. After working at Olivet for almost five years, Larry Vallar - class of '84 and former vice president for enrollment management - has decided it is time to move on. "I promised [former president] Don [Tuski], and I hoped, we would be able to build systems and processes that would sustain beyond my tenure. And I feel confident that we've done that," said Vallar. "I feel the college is setup in a nice position for future progress. Dr. [Steven] Corey will be a good leader for Olivet College and he will help it evolve into what it is supposed to be." He stresses that the achievements could not have been met without all of the departments' efforts as well as the student workers. Vallar said he will miss working with colleagues and peers, but Olivet will always be in his heart. He is looking forward to supporting the college as an alumnus.
Vallar had a very successful stay at Olivet, filled with several accomplishments. He created the Community Connection Grant, which made it possible for a large number of students in local areas to attend and afford an education here. He also set record consecutive enrollments in fall 2008, fall 2009, and spring 2010. Vallar improved student profiles to an incoming GPA of above 3.0 and a score of 20 on the ACT. Vallar also increased net tuition revenue from $16 million in 2007 to $20 million in 2009, among many other successes.
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Program on Buddhism offered sights, sounds of practice
By Sarah Smith on 1/28/2011 Anyone wishing to learn more about Buddhism had the opportunity to attend the "Discover Basics of Buddhism Tea" on Wednesday, Jan. 19. The tea was hosted by Dianne Thomas, Director of the Women's Resource Center, and led by teachers Bob Brown and Priscilla Hagerty of the SokukoJi Buddhist Community in Battle Creek. Brown began his practices in the early 1970s and has met with well-known Tibetan and Japanese teachers. In 2007, Brown was granted full priest-hood in the Buddhist religion. Brown was accompanied by Hagerty, a church-member and the church treasurer.
At the tea, Brown and Hagerty discussed activities and processes of the religion. They explained the "four noble truths": life is suffering, suffering is due to attachment, attachment can be overcame, and there is a path to accomplish the overcoming. Brown and Hagerty also explained how the "Buddhists were the first eco-friendly people." To exemplify this idea, they showed how the robes and other clothes were all made from entirely recycled material (including old clothes found at Goodwill). Brown and Hagerty had also brought cushions, and the students made themselves comfortable as Brown took them through a basic sensual mediation. He first had the students sit cross-legged on the floor, with eyes focused downward. Second, he had them place their hands on their knees. Brown explained how to place the hands so that "if the thumbs cave in you know to wake up." Brown took students through the six senses of meditation and explained how meditation is "making friends with yourself on a deeper level."
Brown and Hagerty also volunteer at prisons around the state. Their program assists inmates in learning about the Buddhist religion. Brown mentioned his belief that the prisoners deserve to be given the opportunity to learn about Buddhism. He has been doing prison visits since 1999.
Cafeteria Lunch hours expanded to 3 P.M.
By Jenna Lake on 1/28/2011
The Kirk Center (KC) now offers a new extended deli, salad bar, and soup service. "The idea we had for offering soup, salad and deli options after our lunch service was a collective thought process with our management team (myself and Jeff Rutter) here at Olivet," said Ben Marciniak-Jennings, director of dining services.
The extended hours for the deli, salad bar and soup service are set at 1:45p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The idea for the extension came from the student satisfaction surveys given in the fall and was passed through Larry Colvin, VP of administration, before it was implemented. "[The extended hours give] the students on campus more flexibility with their meal plans and schedules, while offering an additional point of service with healthy choices," said Marciniak-Jennings. "So far we have had limited participation, but we are anticipating that once everyone's class schedules are settled and we get into the semester, more students will start to take advantage of the additional services."
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New Olivet College 'Hall' of Criminal Justice readied for growing program
By Alex deFinta on 1/28/2011 The Olivet College Criminal Justice Department is getting a new home. Hidden behind Mott and tucked in between the Physical Plant and Adelphic Alpha Pi Greek house, the former Visual Arts building is undergoing the final stages of renovation. The finishing touches are being put on the classrooms that will be part of the new "Hall of (Criminal) Justice" at Olivet College.
Growing Pains
The department needs the extra space that the new building will provide. "Criminal Justice is one of the fastest growing departments at Olivet," said Phil Reed, director of the Criminal Justice Department, "We have a problem just meeting for seminar." The department has grown monumentally, from 38 students in 2003 to nearly 200 students, or approximately 15 percent of the student population today. "The new building will help everyone, freeing up classrooms in Mott and making three additional smart classrooms available for general use," said Regina Armstrong, chair of the Social Science Department.
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Heat, cold, and hula dancing with hypnotist Clark
By Riana Rowles on 1/28/2011 If you happened to walk past Mott Auditorium on Tuesday, Jan. 18, you may have wondered what outrageous activates were happening to produce such contagious laughter. That evening, starting at 9 p.m., an interested audience of over 100 people showed up to watch Brad Clark hypnotize 14 students, who were chosen at random. Clark, a professional hypnotist who has been working on his trade for 12 years, has been doing his best to get in big with students of various high schools and colleges.
After the students were put in a hypnotic trance, they were asked to do some crazy things. For example, Clark asked three of the men to act like ladies who were entering a hula dancing contest. Some of the students put under hypnosis were convinced that they were on a tropical island, and they actually began to shed their clothing after they were told that it was 90 degrees. Minutes later, when he told them the weather had changed and the temperature had dropped below freezing, one or two students began to seek warmth from the person next to them.Read More>>
Dustin Byrd joins panel at MSU
By Riana Rowles on 1/28/2011 Olivet College's very own Dustin Byrd, assistant professor of humanities, gave a presentation about the life of Malcolm X on Monday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at Michigan State University. Through his presentation, Byrd made the point that Malcolm X was more radical then Martin Luther King Jr. and that, for this reason, he has been portrayed in a negative light. Byrd's speech was given in an effort to cast the reformer in a new light.Byrd talked about how Malcolm X's early life was difficult and how, at the age of 13, his father was killed by a Klu Klux Klan member. After his father's death, his mother could not bear the pain and was eventually put into a mental institution. Byrd went on to tell about the fact that Malcolm X later joined the Nation of Islam. According to the presentation, Malcolm X's point of view changed toward the end of his life and he began to adopt beliefs similar to King's.
Byrd, along with the other panelists in attendance, spoke also on the lives of influential people like Gandhi, Joanne Robinson, (leader of boycotts Alabama), and Martin Luther King Jr., who fought against civil inequality. These people were jailed and persecuted because of what they believed.
The presentation ended in solemnity, as the audience was shown a photo of Emmett Till. Till was a young man persecuted not for something he had done, but simply for the color of his skin. The audience was told that by seeing his face they had seen the ugliness that is the end result of violence, hate, and intolerance.
Tobias Q. Brown offers examples, advice to motivate students to achieve
By Elery Thomas on 1/28/2011 The Olivet College campus took part in programs Monday, Jan. 17 to celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., who would have been 82 years old this year. The annual Presidential Luncheon/Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration gave students and staff the opportunity to have lunch with the new president of the college, Steven Corey, and listen to the Rev. Jack Brown of the Olivet Congregational Church speak in the Oaks Dining Hall There was also the ceremonial Ringing of the Bell, which took place in the Square at 11:30 a.m.
Following lunch, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration speaker, Tobias Q. Brown delivered the message, "Were Martin and Rosa the Only Ones?" to more than 250 attendees in Mott Auditorium.
Brown spoke not only on the life of King, but also on solving problems, time management, service, passion, success, and being creators of history. Brown told a challenging but inspiring story of how he raised his grade point average from a 1.2 to a 3.9.
Brown got involved with the audience by demonstrating the importance of goals. A random audience member was chosen to have a "race" with Brown to make a point. "If you don't know where the finish line is, if you don't know what your goal is, that's your number one priority. The sooner you figure that out, the sooner you'll be on your way to success," said Brown.
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Hibbs to move on
As of Feb. 4, Todd Hibbs, one-time Comet wrestling coach, will take up the plaid as he helps Alma College establish a wrestling program.Hibbs was named director of institution advancement in August 2009. He led fund-raising and development efforts for the campus, and oversaw alumni and college relations. Before that, Hibbs was wrestling coach for five years, posting a 56-24-2 record, including three Mid-States Conference Championships and the 2009 Mid-States Conference Coach of the Year honor. Once an assistant professor in the HPERS (Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sport) Department, Hibbs worked for several non-profit organizations as well. At one time, Hibbs was also cross country coach at Olivet.
Hibbs earned his bachelor's degree in 1989 from Mount Union College in Ohio, and a master's degree in counseling psychology and human performance from Michigan State University. "I know I speak for the entire Institutional Advancement department when I say that we are all very happy for Todd. The position at Alma sounds perfect for him, and for his family," said Ponja Vahs, Administrative Assistant for Institutional Advancement.
