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representing “a significant step toward a future in which Bryn Athyn College
can serve a global community in studies where New Church thought can be
conducted in conferences like this on this campus.”
But beyond that flush of pride there is work to be done. As Co-Chair Dr.
Jane Williams-Hogan notes on page 216, the College is challenged to see such
events as vital to the College’s mission and to build on it – with all the necessary
networking, funding and commitment.
“For such an event to be meaningful,” she says, “we must capitalize on it.
We, the College, are the ones who can do it. While invitations may come to us
as a result of this conference, going forward is basically up to us.”
Let us hope the College rises to the challenge of making this another
significant building block “Toward a New Church University.”
(BMH)
a goal we should strive for
We must do everything we can to free Bryn Athyn College and all our schools
from any dependency upon government funds and the regulations that
accompany such financial aid.
Many universities, intimidated by political correctness and threats of
government financial penalties, now provide, not just coed dorms, but coed
bedrooms. Not a suite, a bedroom. And they make it difficult to opt out of such
an arrangement. (See the article by a mother – a graduate of Yale College and
Harvard Law School – whose daughter at Stanford University was assigned to
a coed bedroom without being informed of this: (http://www.nationalreview.
com/article/227424/caveat-parens-karin-venable-morin).
Our College is not the only institution facing the loss of freedom to operate
according to its own moral principles. Financial independence is vital in this
war of independence.
A prominent example of what we should aim for is Hillsdale College in
Michigan, a top-ranked private liberal arts college founded in 1844 that has
approximately 1,400 students.
According to its website:
Hillsdale College, which does not accept or permit its students to bring federal
financial aid to campus, is fully committed to providing its students with
competitive financial aid packages, all of which are privately funded.
From its founding, Hillsdale has been nationally recognized for independence
from federal and state subsidy. Our commitment safeguards our ability to serve the
mission of the College and preserves the integrity of our liberal arts curriculum.
Across the nation, generous people who believe in Hillsdale’s mission support our
independence through their gifts, and allow us to provide generous scholarships
and privately funded, need-based aid to our students.
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