At this year’s Mr. Buff competition, contestant Jeff Preptit jokingly referred to athletes and “Milligan-ites” within the Milligan community in his “State of the Union” speech to the “Buffalo Nation.” He might have been joking, but the divide seems to be a reality between athletes and non-athletes.

Preptit, a sophomore and political science major, believes that because many student-athletes spend much time together with their own sports teams, they may lack the time to get to know other students.

“There is definitely a divide among the student body,” relays Preptit “It’s there, it’s prevalent, but I understand how it come’s about.”

Preptit relays that responsibility to help the divide is in the hands of the students, not in the hands of administration.

“I think it’s a student’s responsibility to mold the social construct,” says Preptit..

Adam Coto, a soccer player, provides further explanation for subtle student division between student athletes and student non-athletes.

“I don’t think it’s some significant problem or purposeful creation,” says Coto. “Naturally, when you are always with a group of people, your team, they are the ones you’re, for the most part, are going to be close to.”

Dr. Ruth Lavender, professor of humanities and English, has experienced some differences with athletes and non-athletes in the classroom due to schedule conflicts.

“Every once in a while, in my first few years, I had male soccer players out every week,” Lavender recalls.

But as Milligan coaches have grown more accommodating towards academic affairs over her 15 years at Milligan College, Lavender has experienced less conflict with athletes missing classes. Lavender also emphasizes that she has taught several excellent athletes during her career.

“I’ve had some wonderful student-athletes, including an All-American runner now currently in a Ph.D. program,” says Lavender.

Lavender explained that she holds the same expectations for all students, whether athlete or not. She also expects the same from students of different performance levels, and no student should have an excuse for not performing up to their potential.

“You don’t have to be an A-student to impress me, you just need to get your butt to class,” says Lavender.

She thought that providing economic incentive to different groups of people would help in reducing the break in community. She wished for more scholarships and aid for students interested in the arts and humanities fields.

On a survey titled “Undergraduate Financial Aid Overview” issued by The Stampede during March of 2013, students awarded fine arts and music scholarships reported having individual scholarships that were less in monetary value as compared to academic or athletic scholarships.

Those quoted in the article suggest that there may be a subtle divide between athletes and non-athletes, Preptit suggests that students can “mold the social construct” themselves.  Lavender suggests that action can be taken to encourage a more diverse pool of students to enroll at Milligan through financial aid incentives.

This story updates and corrects a previously posted report about the Board of Trustees Institutional Advancement Committee meeting on April 25, 2013.

The Institutional Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees took an early step toward a new capital campaign to fund a list of potential projects that may include new academic programs, additional classroom space and updates to athletic facilities and the library. The move came during the committee’s semiannual meeting on April 25.

Jack Simpson, vice president of institutional advancement, presented a “wish-list” of potential campus projects to the board and took a vote to establish the Campaign Development Committee to oversee the fundraising initiatives and allocation of funds raised in the next three to five years. Simpson said the entire wish list would cost around $250 million if completed.

“We are going to look at that larger list of items and come up with the things that we think…we could fund in the next three to five years,” said Simpson in a conference call with Stampede staff and advancement staff.

The projects covered in the next campaign would cost around $20 to $30 million, according to Simpson. Projects could begin during the three-to-five-year fundraising campaign or soon after it was finished. The start date for the campaign has not been set yet.

Specific projects have yet to be selected, since the board has recently agreed to establish a committee to propose these decisions. The committee will be made up of various college stakeholders: cabinet members, faculty, staff and trustees.

Advancement staff highlighted the possibility of construction projects including adding more classroom spaces, specifically a new science building with the addition of science programs, updates to Anglin Field and the Welshimer Memorial Library, and further construction of The Village residence halls.

Simpson said residence halls are on the list, as the college is currently building five new residence halls and is looking to build more as needed. Talks of new majors are underway as well.

“We’ve talked a lot about new programs, particularly programs in STEM-H, which is science, technology, engineering, math and healthcare,” said Simpson. “One of the things that will probably happen is that those kinds of programs will require additional facility space, classroom and lab space, so those kinds of things are on the list.”

There are also talks of revamps to the baseball and soccer fields, as well as the addition of a track.

Contrary to previously published information, the committee has no plans of building a new library. Simpson said there are plans to eventually replace the building’s windows, lighting and heating and air-conditioning systems.

“We want to maintain the building and make it as energy efficient as possible,” said Theresa Garbe, director of alumni relations.

Garbe said the school would like to add a more easily accessible elevator as well.

Renovation of the library has been on the list of past campaigns. Though a recent aesthetic upgrade was done during the summers of 2010, 2011 and 2012 for around $50,000, adequate funding has not been received to finish the remodel, so the project remains wait-listed.

Milligan’s current yearly fundraising amount was another topic of discussion during the board meeting. Institutional Advancement has a goal of raising $1.325 million in donations each fiscal year. As of the meeting on April 25, $1.127 had been raised since June 1. Contrary to previously published information, these donations come not only from alumni, but also from churches, students’ family members and others.

This story has been taken offline, pending review after The Stampede received reports of numerous factual errors. The Stampede strives for accuracy, and so we apologize for any confusion or inconvenience. We hope to publish updated information in the next few days.

The Lady Buffs fell to the Virginia Intermont Cobras 14-2 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference championship game on Friday afternoon at Domtar Park in Kingsport, Tenn. Milligan had advanced to the championship by defeating the tournament’s top-seeded Reinhardt University Eagles, eliminating the two-time defending tournament champion, 7-6 .

In the championship, senior Camille Olvey from Maryville, Tenn., scored in the top of the first inning on a Lady Cobra wild pitch. But Virginia Intermont scored eight runs in the next two innings to take an 8-1 lead into the third inning.

Jessica Connaster, also from Maryville, led off the fourth inning with a triple and scored when  Jessie Wheelock singled. Virginia Intermont came back to assure the win with six runs in the bottom of the frame.

Seniors Emily Biggs, Abby Hughes and Olvey were all 1-for-2 at the plate, as well as underclassmen Wheelock and Connaster. On the mound, junior Chancli Connaster from Maryville was handed the loss as she allowed seven earned runs on five hits.

In the semifinal, the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, but the Buffs answered in the third inning as Lindsey Keys, from Johnson City, scored off of Olvey’s single. The Lady Buffs’ Catherine McGinnis drove Biggs and Olvey to score, and Hughes bunted Krista Lambdin across the plate to give Milligan a 4-1 lead.

The Eagles started to rally with a solo home run in the fourth inning, but Biggs scored off a Hughes sacrifice fly to extend Milligan’s lead in the next inning. Jessica Connaster drove in Lambdin and McGinnis to give Milligan a 7-2 lead after five innings. The Eagles scored two in the sixth inning and another run in the seventh. Lady Buffs Lambdin and Jessica Connaster snagged two fly balls to bring in the victory.

Biggs went 2-for-4 at the plate, while McGinnis was 1-for-3 with two runs batted in. Highes and Jessica Connaster finished the game with two RBIs. On the mound, Chancli Connatser earned the win as she permitted six earned runs on 11 hits and four strikeouts.

The Lady Buffs finished their 2013 season with a record of 15-22.

Jordan Kinser, a Milligan College senior, has been awarded a Jessie Ball duPont Fund Fellowship, providing him a two-year position working alongside of the fund’s senior staff on grant programs at the duPont headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla.

“This is a very prestige and exclusive award for Jordan and for Milligan,” said Dr. Garland Young, vice president for academic affairs and dean.

Kinser, a 21-year-old native of Johnson County, Tenn., will graduate this spring with majors in history and sociology. His charitable work for Coalition for Kids, an afterschool tutoring program for local underprivileged children, and the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Johnson City, Tenn., made him stand out in the application process, according to Young. Young and Sue Skidmore, Milligan registrar and associate dean, collaborated to nominate Kinser. DuPont requires chief academic officers of schools to nominate applicants.

“In the call for nominations, they asked for students who had demonstrated interest in social problems specifically related to southern poverty,” said Young. “Jordan fit that like a glove…In a couple of different ways, Jordan has distinguished himself by becoming involved in social service projects that are geared to the needs of Appalachia and its residences.”

Kinser was one of two applicants who received the fellowship for 2013-2015. Twenty-one students applied. The fund accepts up to one applicant from each of the 37 private liberal arts colleges that it supports. These schools include Milligan College, Auburn University, Wake Forest University, Georgetown University, Yale University and others.

The two-year fellowship program includes a fulltime, paid position working on fund projects and grant programs, but Kinser is not completely sure of what his position will be. He said he believes he will be “modifying small grants programs” through research. DuPont spokesperson Mary Kress Littlepage, said fellows’ work depends upon the individual’s interests and expertise and the fund’s needs.

Kinser hopes to continue to work in social service after his stint with duPont. He said the fellowship will give him a better understanding of the monetary aspects of the field, but he hopes to also work in a more hands-on position in the future.

“It’s a great place to get my foot in the door,” said Kinser. “It will prepare me for future plans to have a more direct impact on the marginalized in society.”

Helping the marginalized is a principle that Jessie Dew Ball follows, the wealthy Floridian educator and philanthropist who the fund is named after. Ball died in 1970 and left her estate as a religious, charitable and education fund that grew into the duPont Fund. The foundation not only supports small liberal arts schools today but also larger institutions such as the University of Notre Dame and The Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., according to the fund’s website.

Young expects to see Kinser making great strides in his profession, as Ball did.

“Jordan Kinser is the kind of person that we are going to hear from in future years in the social service sector of the nonprofit world,” said Young.

Milligan received a “Pathways to Success” grant from duPont that is used to fund a program designed to smooth the transition of transferring community college students. The grant is used to fund advertisements in community colleges and tutoring programs. Milligan receives a number of other grants from duPont as well.

The Grill, Milligan’s only dining alternative to the cafeteria is expanding this fall. And be prepared people, we are getting a Starbucks.

“It’ll be a surprise when everyone gets back,” said Mark Henry, director of food services on campus.

The Grill will go under construction this summer, taking over the Fireside Lounge and renovating its style and menu to resemble popular restaurants like Panera Bread Company and Jason’s Deli.

All plans are tentative thus far, including furniture, layout design and menu. But President Greer announced two weeks ago at “Pizza with The President” that students could expect big changes. And one of those changes is the addition of a fully operating Starbucks on campus.

“The project has been under development for the past couple of years,”

said Greer. “We’re able to complete it this summer thanks to the generous support of Pioneer Food Service and the Hoover-Price Foundation of Ohio, who have provided funds for the project.”

Milligan and Pioneer College Caterers have a deal with franchises like Starbucks and Chick-fil-A that allow certain restaurants to be put on campus. Henry said Milligan is too small to bring in enough revenue for Chick-fil-A, which requires a certain quota of money each year.

Both Henry and Greer decided implementing an on-campus Starbucks was the best option.

“This project is part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best experience possible for our students,” said Greer. “In this case, the project will benefit both residential students as well as commuters, providing everyone with a much more pleasant dining option.”

Henry describes the Starbucks as one you might see at Target or Barnes & Noble. He said that Milligan will be hiring and training students to work there starting this fall.

All espressos, lattes, smoothies and pastries offered at the Johnson City Starbucks on Roan Street will be featured here at Milligan too.

The Starbucks will be open Monday to Friday 7-12 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 p.m. to midnight.  Starbucks gift cards will not be accepted at this time.

Henry is especially excited about new menu for The Grill. While keeping the tradition of selling American style recipes like cheeseburgers, personal pan pizzas, chicken finger baskets and quesadillas, the menu will feature some healthier options as well.

Henry hopes to add gourmet salads, specialty sandwiches and soups similar to the Panera menu. This may even include a half soup/half salad/half sandwich combo. The Grill is receiving new equipment like the Turbochef Oven that will toast a sandwich in just seconds.

The new and improved Grill will even have a pager system. Students can order their food and leave the dining area because the pagers will work anywhere in the building.

Next year students can also expect an upgrade from 15 to 25 exchanges meals each semester.

Through partnership with J C Business Group, a consulting firm in Nashville that works with Chinese and western companies, students from Wuhan Donghu University in China will attend Milligan for graduate degrees in business, counseling or education.

“There could be 20 to 30 students as soon as this fall,” said Lee Fierbaugh, Milligan’s vice president for enrollment management and marketing. “They are in the process of starting recruitment over there.”

Over the past four to five months, Fierbaugh and Li Weaver, president of J C Business Group, have worked together to iron out the details of this partnership, which includes standardized language criteria and available student services.

“Milligan is one of the first of several universities we are working with,” said Weaver. “I knew they would have a great experience there with the staff and students, and the whole environment would be welcoming to the Chinese students.”

Wuhan Donghu University does not offer graduate degrees, so this pairing enables the international students to obtain U.S. degrees, as well as expand Milligan’s graduate programs.

“We have been trying very hard to grow our graduate programs,” said Garland Young, vice president for academic affairs. “And this is a new pool of students who could be right for Milligan, but who we haven’t had access to until we made contact with Weaver and her organization.”

By: Hannah Austin and Sydney Franklin

Milligan’s quest to build modern apartment-like dormitories, termed collectively as the “Milligan Village,” began in 2012. With only a few of these buildings planned to be completed by the fall of 2013, there was competition and controversy surrounding who would be selected to live there.

Kate Anderson, director of residence life and housing, Mark Fox, vice president for student development, and the 2012-2013 resident directors decided on a system of tiers to fairly select students. President Greer’s cabinet approved the process.

Groups of applicants were drawn from tiers with the first tier including groups with all five seniors. The second tier included three to four seniors, and the last tier included zero to two seniors. Students had to have lived on campus for at least one academic school year and be a junior or senior in class standing to qualify. All groups from the first tier were selected — meaning ten suites of all male and female seniors were selected to live in the Village.

Traditionally, when evaluating applications for upperclassmen housing, grades were taken into consideration. This year, for all upperclassmen housing including Williams, Kegley, and Quillen Halls and the new Village, hours were the central factor in determining who was selected.

“A lot came down to hours, we wanted to differentiate between juniors and seniors,” said Anderson. “There are majors more difficult than others and GPA definitely plays a part into that. We wanted it to be fair for all students to have a chance.”

The few juniors that were selected to live in the Village were chosen from the second tier. Two out of six female groups were drawn from the second tier to complete women’s housing. In other words, five apartments consist of all senior girls while two apartments have one or more junior girls.

Other juniors living in the Village are students signed up for the Living and Learning Communities or are roommates of Village resident assistants.

Village residents are held to the same conduct standards as other students. Visitation hours for males and females will be the most lenient on campus, with five days a week of open dorms including Sunday. There is still a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol violation. Students breaking conduct guidelines will meet with Kate Anderson and Mark Fox and be defaulted to Hart Hall, Sutton Hall or Webb Hall if necessary.

Like other halls, the same procedure will take place for room inspections in the Village with monthly health and safety checks. Resident assistants will be prohibited to search thoroughly, but resident directors and staff have the authority to search refrigerators and drawers.

“We can have surprise searches or unannounced searches,” said Anderson. “That can happen up to once a semester.”

For students that may be stressed with housing, Anderson understands and expects issues.

“Housing is always a big deal every spring,” said Anderson. “Just be patient, everyone is going to have a room.”

Parking on Milligan’s campus has been a concern of students over the years.

But, as construction for the new Village is nearly complete, parking should become easier with new spots available near Hart and MSA.

Mark Fox, vice president for student development, explained that several parking lots will be reconfigured for easier access as well as easier mobility throughout campus.

Currently, the construction is taking up about 15 to 20 parking spots. These spots are located next to the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse and in front of where MSA 1 used to stand.

Fox ensured students that there will be over 100 new parking spots for student life. Those spots are reserved for residents of the Village, Hart Hall and MSA.

According to a recent survey of the Milligan College community, the school is more opposed to the federal legalization of same-sex marriage than the majority of America. However, there is a small group of students who reject the Church’s blessing of homosexual marriages but cheer for government acceptance.

The Stampede conducted an anonymous survey of 75 students and a few faculty members on their attitudes toward same-sex marriage. Members of the Milligan community opposed United States legalizing same-sex marriage by a 69 to 29 percent ratio. The remaining two percent did not denote a position.

America’s attitudes are not as extreme. According to a Pew Forum study conducted this year, 49 percent of Americans are in favor of same-sex marriage and 44 percent oppose it.

An even greater portion of students believed that homosexuality goes against Christian teaching. Eighty-eight percent of students indicated they believed the Bible forbids same-sex marriage. Four percent said the Bible does not forbid same-sex marriage, and eight percent said they did not know.

Two questions in the survey were designed to compare how students thought about the issue both politically and religiously. One question asked about same-sex marriage legalization by the federal government, and the other about whether or not the Church should bless it. Those surveyed could pick one of the following answers: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree and strongly disagree.

Twenty-four percent strongly disagreed that the federal government should legalize it and also strongly disagreed that the Church should bless the marriages. Five percent strongly agreed that the federal government should legalize same-sex marriage but strongly disagreed that the Church should bless the marriages. The remaining had moderate opinions on the scale questions.

The Five Percent

David Lawler, a senior Bible and humanities major from New Jersey, fell among the five percent.

“Let the state be the state, and let the Church be the church,” said Lawler, in both an interview and in the comment section of the survey.

Though he did not believe same-sex marriage fit in the Christian understanding of marriage as a sacrament, he did however believe the sanctity of marriage could be restored in state sanctioned same-sex marriages through Christian community. His main reason for supporting legalization is a desire for justice and love of neighbor.

“In our society homosexuals are ostracized,” he said. “A Christian is called to be an advocate of the marginalized…regardless of whether their lifestyle is morally inconsistent of Biblical teaching.”

Lawler found it unjust to withhold from homosexuals the legal and financial benefits afforded to heterosexuals, particularly for same-sex households with children. He mentioned domestic abuse cases and employment discrimination as important issues that hinge on the government’s recognition of same-sex marriage.

It is the Church’s job to hold homosexual married couples to the same standards as heterosexual married couples, according to Lawler.

“I think we want to replicate as best we can the call to covenant faithfulness in the Church,” he said. “If Christian homosexuals choose not to [be] celibate, they should join up in a larger story.”

He found it “ironic” that some Christians are against same-sex marriage. By not promoting a legal binding between the couple, he said promiscuity might be encouraged. Though he did not feel the Church should perform these marriages, as it would “confuse” the Christian sacrament of marriage, Lawler said he was comfortable using the term marriage to describe a same-sex union.

“I am not asking the Church to marry homosexuals,” he said. “I am asking the Church to advocate for justice and love.”

Lawler found The Stampede survey results, showing a striking opposition to same-sex marriage legalization, to be “problematic” because he said the Church would be able to offer justice and show love if homosexuals were given the same rights as heterosexuals.

Men vs. Women

Another trend found in the survey results was that a greater percentage of women were opposed to same-sex marriage than men. Seventy-eight percent of women were opposed to legalization, nearly ten percent higher than the overall average. Only 54 percent of men were opposed to federal legalization. Both sexes strongly believed that homosexuality went against the Bible’s teaching. While 96 percent of women believed homosexuality went against the Bible, only 75 percent of men agreed.

Heather Espeland, a junior exercise science major from Maryland, said she did not agree with same-sex marriage legalization because it goes against the Bible.

“It’s something that is not going to glorify God, so I don’t want to support it,” said Espeland. “We can’t pretend like we are going to accept all of this stuff [homosexuality] if it clearly states in our book that we are against it.”

Espeland said it is the job of Christians to ensure that Christian ideals are upheld in government legislation.

For, Beattie Renn, a junior double majoring in worship leadership and history, said she did not believe Christians should use the law to exercise their traditions in society.

“I don’t feel like that would be an honest Christian way to do it,” said Renn. “People don’t want to be pushed toward God.”

Zach Hollifield, a freshman Bible major from Tennessee, who said he was “for the legalization of same-sex marriage but not the moralization,” agreed with Renn.

“I think there is this big idea about making America this Christian nation,” said Hollifield. “When I look back at the history of the world, every time Christianity has been an empire, it’s been an atrocity for everyone involved.”

*The Stampede editor Sydney Bickers and Milligan junior Kelly Chism helped gather survey results, and Stampede reporter Kelsey Teel helped sort statistical data.