Blue House becomes Messa House

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Blue House of North College will be renamed Messa House at noon on Sat., May 29 as a part of the Reunion Weekend celebrations.

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By Benjamin Engle

Blue House, one of the seven Minerva Houses at Union College, will be renamed during ReUnion weekend to recognize a $2 million unrestricted gift to the college by Frank L. Messa '73, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and his wife, Colleen Messa.

Blue House will be renamed Messa House during an official dedication ceremony on Sat., May 29, at noon. The Messas chose Blue House to rename because of their family's connection to the Minerva; their daughter Keri Messa '08 was a member of Blue House.

Messa, who retired as senior vice president for International Strategies at the Ayco Company, a local tax and financial consulting firm, earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in Political Science from Union in 1973 and received a J.D. degree from Albany Law School in 1976. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a finalist for the Albert C. Ingham Prize, given to the student in social sciences with the most outstanding scholarly work.

Though Messa graduated 37 years ago, he has been an active alumnus. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1994, serving as chairman since 2007. Messa is co-chair of the "You are Union" fundraising campaign and led the Presidential Selection Committee for Union's 18th president, Stephen Ainlay.

The gift by the Messas is just one part of the college's "You are Union" campaign, which according to the Alumni Relations website, has raised $183.1 million as of March 31. The "You are Union" campaign is to support projects outlined in the college's Strategic Plan and was recently expanded, setting a new fundraising goal of $250 million by 2012.

As part of the campaign, the college's goal is to raise $191 million by June 30.

"[The gift] is an extremely generous act of support by a loyal Union family. It says a great deal about their confidence in the college. This gift follows years of support - commitments of time, expertise, and financial resources - including the Messa hockey rink. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board and so he knows that this gift comes at a critical time," Ainlay said. "It shows his confidence in Union and the strategic direction that we are pursuing. Through this gift, the family demonstrates its belief that Union is making a difference."

According to the Feb. Board of Trustees Report by Mr. Messa, the gift will be his second major campaign gift. "The gift will further one of the important initiatives in our Strategic Plan and provide much needed capital to the college during the ongoing financial crisis."

"[The gift] comes at a time when the economic downturn has led many people to be cautious," President Ainlay added. "I hope that the Messa gift will be inspirational to others. As an unrestricted gift, it allows the college to direct much needed financial support to areas of greatest need."

In addition to this contribution, the Messa family has been generous in their donations to the College in the past. The family has provided the funds for the renovation of Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center, the renovation of Schaffer Library, the establishment of the Frank Messa '73 Endowed Scholarship, and the Steinway Piano Fund for the new Taylor Music Center.

Established in 2004, the Minerva Program is made up of seven houses and was created to expand the educational and social experiences of students, faculty, and staff. When they were originally created, each Minerva House was named for a color; however, they were renamed in honor of donors who gave significant contributions to the college.

Chronologically, the houses were renamed Wold House (John '38 and Jane Wold), Golub House (William Golub '26, from son Neil), Beuth House (Philip Beuth '54), Sorum House in 2005 (Christina Sorum, dean of faculty and vice president of Academic Affairs who died in 2005, from Paul Sorum), and Breazzano House in 2007 (David Breazzano '78).

Of the original seven Minerva Houses, Green House is the final house in the program that has not been renamed.

While there are no specific plans to rename Green House at this time, President Ainlay is optimistic that the gift by the Messa family will inspire others to donate to the College during these tough economic times.

"We continue discussions with other donors about the naming of Green House," Ainlay commented. "Our intention is to have it named as well before the end of the current Capital Campaign."

In honor of the renaming of Blue House, the Minerva will host a big party to celebrate the new name after the fireworks display on Library Field during ReUnion Weekend. Open to the entire campus, the Messa House event will have fried dough, slushies, popcorn, and other carnival-style activities.

"Having 6 of the 7 houses named is a big accomplishment," Dean Thomas McEvoy added, "and I would really like to thank the Messa family for their generous contribution."McEvoy is the director of the Minerva program.

Messa House is governed by a council that is elected at the end of each winter term. The council, which is open to all Messa House members, works to create both intellectual and social events as well as create a home-away-from-home feeling for the campus community. It meets on Thursdays at 9 p.m. in the house and is open to the entire campus community.

"We're inclusive. Over the years we've worked hard to reach out to everyone in the Union community and let them know that they are welcome. We try to keep the physical condition and social feeling of the house comfortable," Blue House Faculty Representative Shelton Schmidt said.

"While being at Union I have come to consider Blue House my home. I know that I will continue to come back and visit Messa house and feel the same way because it is a place with a lot of heart!" added outgoing Council Chair, Tamara Linde '10. "When it comes down to it, we don't Messa-round!"

Originally Published in Union's Concordy on 4/8/10

Road to an honor code

By Benjamin Engle

During the weekend of October 16, members of Union College's Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) sub-council on Academic Integrity traveled to Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri to attend and present at the Conference for Academic Integrity.

Associate Dean of Students and Director of Minerva Programs Tom McEvoy, Ian Clemente '10, and Benjamin Engle '12 presented Union's draft of its new honor code and honor court.

Stemming from a cheating scandal in a Mechanical Engineering class in 2006, the Academic Affairs Committee established the sub-council on Academic Integrity with the goal of creating a modified academic honor code for Union.

At the conference, hosted by Clemson University's Rutland Institute for Ethics, Union representatives led a panel discussion entitled "Reintroducing an Honor Code at a Liberal Arts College." During the discussion, McEvoy, Clemente, and Engle discussed Union's history and the actions that the College has taken to bring a modified honor code back to Union's classrooms.

Union originally had an honor code and pledge in 1909, also resulting from a cheating scandal.

Unlike the code of 1909, the sub-council is currently building a modified honor code that does not have a single penalty for academic misconduct, does not mandate students to report observed observations, and gives professors the option whether or not to have un-proctored examinations.

McEvoy, Clemente, and Engle presented the sub-council's work to approximately 15 students and faculty from around the United States.

The group explained to the audience Union's history with honor codes and how it is imperative that there be mutual support between students and faculty in order for the College to go ahead with an honor pledge, code, and court.

Support for such a code has not been mutual since 1924 when faculty lost confidence in students' willingness to report cheating on unproctored exams to the honor court. Because of this disagreement, students and faculty voted to end Union's honor code in 1925.

Union's panel made it clear to those in attendance that having an honor code on campus will reduce cheating and will emphasize academic integrity throughout.

In creating the code, Union's sub-council is hoping to reverse the ethos of the campus community by defining the relationship between a student or a faculty member and the rest of the academic community as well as making academic misconduct an educational experience rather having rules for rules' sake.

The panel believes that the conference was an effective barometer of the sub-council's work thus far.

"The Conference was important to attend because it confirmed that the work we are doing is positive," Clemente said. "The weekend validated that we are on the right track as we build an honor code and court."

With the information from the Conference, the sub-council is expanding student input by adding new members to represent the various groups on campus, including Student Forum, the Greek system, the Minervas, and multiple academic departments.

Additionally student input is important as the committee moves further along in building the honor court since they will be determining the composition of the court, how hearings are held, as well as the appeals process, among other topics.

The sub-council is hoping to present its pledge and statement on academic integrity and honor court process to the Academic Affairs Council before the end of the fall term in November to be in place for the class of 2014.

Originally published in Union's Concordy on 10/22/09

Campus vandalism on the decline

Benjamin Engle
Despite recent acts of violence at Wold House and Psi Upsilon, vandalism has been slowly declining across the Union campus.

According data provided by the Facilities Services Department, both the number of incidents and money spent to repair vandalism damages has fallen since the 2004-2005 fiscal year.

In 2004-2005, Facilities Services spent approximately $101,000 on vandalism repairs across the campus. However, vandalism expenses were down to $72,000 in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

Director of Facilities and Planning, Loren Rucinski believes that the most vandalism, which as defined in the Union College Handbook as the “intentional or reckless destruction of college or private property,” occurs in the independent residence halls, particularly the freshmen halls of Davidson, West, and Richmond, which have been subjected to students tearing posters, signs, and bulletin boards down.

However, Rucinski believes that drop in vandalism during the past four years is continuing: “In general, the vandalism has been decreasing over the past 4 years and this year so far looks like it will be below [previous years], which would be great.”

Rucinski credits the active work of the Residential Life staff for the decrease in the number of vandalism reports in the independent housing on campus.

“I think that Residence Life has been doing a good job trying to get the message across with appropriate billing,” Rucinski added.

Joe Melendez, Residence Director of Davidson and Webster Halls, believes that vandalism has a rollercoaster affect in the sense that it comes in waves. According to Melendez, in addition to bulletin boards, ceiling tiles, exit signs, walls, and hallway lights are primary targets of vandalism in residence halls.

In order to prevent these types of crimes, Melendez and the rest of the residential life staff continually work to build a positive community and inform their respective communities of the consequences associated with destruction of property.

Matt Goodrich, a Resident Advisor in Davidson Hall used a unique strategy to combat vandalism and destructive actions on his floor after a weekend that resulted in the destruction of numerous ceiling tiles as well as the bulletin board. Instead of listing the ways the college tries to prevent vandalism, Goodrich asked his residents to write on the bulletin board ways to “keep the floor clean.”

Michael Jacobson (’12), resident of Goodrich’s floor, believes that the bulletin board was effective in reducing the violent acts of vandalism on his floor, “Matt works hard to build a tight-knit community and it is a direct insult to him when people tear down his boards. It is frustrating to walk in the hallway after a Friday or Saturday night and see my home at Union destroyed, usually by people who don’t even live there.”

In addition to vandalism decreasing in the residence halls, Minerva Houses have seen significant decreases in acts of property destruction. The most recent act of destruction that has occurred, according to the Office of Minerva Programs, was the destruction of a ping-pong table in Wold House. Sometime during the middle of the night on a recent weekend, a group broke the legs of the table causing the playing surface to cave in. According to Benjamin Foster, Assistant Director of Minerva Programs, the group of individuals has not, and probably will not be caught.

However, according to Foster, vandalism in Minerva Houses is “incredibly sporadic” and is almost non-existent. When it does occur, vandalism is billed to the respective house’s operating budget.

Dean Tom McEvoy, Director of Minerva Programs, believes that for buildings that are approximately eight years old are in good shape for buildings on a typical college campus.
“I find that the nicer the building, the less students vandalize,” McEvoy explained.

However, according to Foster, the small amount of vandalism still affects residents, “Wold House residents were very upset. They felt violated and it takes away from the community.”

McEvoy also believes that vandalism is a direct insult to the custodians and trades people that have to clean up and fix the damages, but at same time students must remember that they are vandalizing their own homes, “Students need to be responsible for each other. Your home is the face you show to the world and people should behave in the way they would want others to behave in their house.”

As for the Psi Upsilon, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Timothy Dunn reports that the mural destruction is still under investigation, though in general most acts of vandalism occur during social events and are usually not done by the members of the particular house.

While eradicating vandalism from campus buildings is not an easy fix, Rucinski is encouraged by the improvement in the number of cases of vandalism, “It's an ongoing issue, probably like it is on other campuses, but so far we have been seeing a nice trend of improvement in that area.”

Originally published in Union's Concordy on February 19, 2009.