On paper, the answer to that question may be yes. Admissions brochures practically dare young men to live in a community with only one rule, the subtle implication being that responsibilities increase as a result of the freedom they acquire. But a number of students have somehow received the opposite message. They have come to believe that the Gentleman’s Rule represents unlimited freedom to act without regard to any restrictions whatsoever—legal, moral, or otherwise. And it would seem that many students received this impression from their early visits to campus.

This is evidenced by the discontent of last semester. Much of the anger that Wabash students directed at their college administration last semester can be traced to a sense that the administrators were being disingenuous. The phrase “a gentleman always follows the law” was repeated often in the wake of Johnny Smith’s death, and we were assured by the Deans that it was in fact repeated often before his death as well. But many students sensed that the College was changing the rules mid-game. They felt that the sudden calls from the Administration for Wabash men to follow drinking laws amounted to self-righteous hypocrisy, and that Wabash always allowed underage drinking, at least implicitly.

That was certainly the impression I received from my first tour of the campus three years ago. I remember attending a question and answer session with college representatives, and the question of alcohol inevitably arose. I do not remember anyone saying, “a gentleman always follows the law.” If it was said, the fact that I do not remember it testifies to its relative insignificance in the conversation. What I do remember is something along the lines of, “we’re not going to come looking for you.” The emphasis was on what the College was not going to do, rather than on what the students were expected to do.

For the second part of the event, the administrators left the room and allowed current and prospective students to talk amongst themselves. Blunt questions were asked, and honest answers were given. It was clear from these talks that underage drinking occurred often at Wabash, and, from the perspective of the students, the College did not care. Violence and plagiarism would get you in trouble, we were told. Nothing else.

I tell this story to demonstrate how easy it is for prospective Wabash students to get the impression that the school permits underage drinking. And my story, of course, is not unique. Since the disbandment of Delta Tau, it has become clear that the student view of the Gentleman’s Rule with regard to underage drinking, and the Administration’s view as articulated since the death of Johnny Smith, are very much contradictory.

President White has dubbed the phenomenon of students believing Wabash College endorses underage consumption of alcohol “the winking effect.” The actions of Wabash’s representatives during student visit days, whether intentional or not, can lead prospective students to the belief that the school gives a pass to lawbreaking. This is a significant problem. The division between Wabash students and the Administration last semester was not healthy for our college environment, and as long as we continue to send prospective students contradictory messages, that division will not go away.

So how do we address this problem?

First, the Administration should acknowledge its fallibility. Last fall, when “a gentleman always follows the law” suddenly became the defining corollary of the Gentleman’s Rule, the Administration chose to feign shock that underage drinking was taking place. In President White’s mandatory Chapel Talk, he announced with disappointment that investigations had uncovered underage drinking in Johnny Smith’s pledge class, and he proclaimed that such actions “cannot stand.” Unfortunately, this was probably the first time that the Wabash community had heard such a clear and definitive statement on the issue.
The effect of this was to make the Administration seem self-righteous in its response—especially after the disbandment of Delta Tau Delta. It was a very painful semester, and all the blame for that pain was shifted onto the students. It was students who were being lectured, and students who were being punished. It would go a long way toward healing our old wounds if the Administration would admit that they are imperfect too—that the expectations for drinking at Wabash were not always made clear, and that they too have made mistakes in the course of the past year.

For our part, we students need to understand the responsibilities inherent in the Gentleman’s Rule. Freedom and responsibilities have a positive correlation: the more you have of one, the more you get of the other. If and when we drink, we need to do so responsibly—or else invite more rules and regulations from the Administration. And if and when our friends drink, we need to make sure that they do so responsibly as well. We have a responsibility to govern ourselves and look out for each other.

These ideas must be implemented in the Admissions Department. Their message on the Gentleman’s Rule must be unified, both in their mailings and their personal contacts with students. Last semester—and every year, for that matter—our student tour guides faced inevitable questions about alcohol. Some were put in the uncomfortable position of not knowing the correct answers. When the Administration and the students were so divided, how could they know? It is important that we as a college work out a shared understanding of gentlemanly behavior with regards to such important issues, and it is important that every tour guide understands those expectations.
Most importantly, we need to sell the Gentleman’s Rule with a strong emphasis on responsibility. This goes for all of us—students, Administration, and Admissions. We all come into contact with prospective students, and we all have an obligation to explain what the Gentleman’s Rule really means. Too often, students come away from visits to Wabash with the impression that the Gentleman’s Rule means, “you can do whatever you want.” If we sell the rule like this, we are selling the College as easy.

It is not difficult to run into troubles once in a while trying to sell a college as unique as ours. We lack certain superficially attractive features that other colleges have. How do you sell a college without women to a bunch of teenaged high school prospects? There are two common answers: either lie to them about weekend buses full of women, or promote Wabash’s unique level of freedom. The latter being the more honest, it is probably the wiser argument to make. But true freedom can never be unchecked. In an autocratic society, or an autocratic school, the people are kept in line through the power of an imperious authority. In a free society, as Wabash seeks to be, the people must keep themselves in line. They cannot use their freedom to do anything and everything they want, and push the boundaries too far. If they do, then they will inevitably face the increasing power of the government, or in our case, the College administration. Free societies cannot be maintained without responsible citizens.

Responsible citizenship should be a prerequisite for admittance to Wabash College, and prospective students need to understand that. They need to understand the concept of personal responsibility, and they need to be good at exercising it. They need to understand their responsibilities to their friends, and they need to be willing to act on them. Without students who understand and demonstrate these values, our traditional idea of Wabash will quickly fall apart.

This is not the easiest sell for a college. You are not telling prospects that they will have unlimited freedom to do whatever they wish. You are telling them that they will have to govern themselves. They will have to make tough decisions about responsible actions. They will have to look after their friends to do the same. You are telling them that no one will be there to make tough decisions for them. No one will be there to keep their behavior in check. You are telling them that the freedom they will experience at Wabash will not be easy. But it will be worth it.

Related posts:

1. A Risky Rule?
2. March 2009 Phoenix
3. Tradition at Wabash: Moral Idiocy, Piety, and the Gentleman’s Rule

It was by random chance that I even stumbled upon the name Wabash. I was in the market my junior year of high school looking for a good private college that fostered an excellent academic environment, was small in terms of class size, and more importantly was located outside of Florida. I had been schooled for twelve years in Florida, and though the weather is pleasant most of the time, I wanted to challenge myself. I’ve never been away from home for long periods of time and I wanted to experience living in another part of the country. It just so happened that I picked up the recent issue of Newsweek magazine which had an article about the top liberal art schools in the nation. What made Wabash stick out to me was that it met all the criteria I was looking for in a college and more. One of the appealing features to me was that a common major chosen by students was history. That led me to assume that Wabash must have a good history department. I told my parents I was really interested, and we sat down and did some research on the college. When I later discovered that it was an all male school my interest grew. The idea of going to an all male liberal arts college reminded me of the movie The Dead Poets Society, which appealed to me since it seemed like an interesting experience living in a community that fostered a spirit of brotherhood. My mom asked me if I wanted to take a trip to see the college and I said, “Sure, why not?”

So a flight was booked, and we set off to the rolling plains of Indiana. Upon arrival I was nervous about how the campus may look, but once I saw the red-bricked buildings and the architecture I knew that this may be the real deal. I met with Chip Timmons and he gave me the 411 of Wabash. A tour of the campus revealed more of the true beauty of Wabash which included a chance for me to sit in two classes, one with Dr. Warner on Latin American history and the other with Dr. Abbot on rhetoric. At the end of the day I was really impressed and added Wabash to the top of my list of colleges. Yet, my mom was a little apprehensive at first. “It’s a really beautiful college,” she told me “but I don’t think we can afford it. And do you think you can handle being 16 hours away from home?” Chip Timmons overheard her and said “Oh don’t worry. We wouldn’t have you come all the way up here for nothing.” Just saying that confirmed to my Mom that there was something special about Wabash and that it was worth the risk. After I received the letter in the mail and later learned that I was granted a scholarship, I began the transition moving up north. I became very nervous and wondered if I couldn’t handle it and if I would have to come back to Jacksonville and go to the city schools. Yet I had a smooth transition and started to learn to live a Wabash life. I still remember President White’s speech at the ringing in of the class. What really stood out was him telling the parents “don’t think of this as you losing your son for four years. But rather, think of this as gaining a college for a lifetime.”

Nonetheless, I don’t think this story fully answers “why Wabash?” I still seek to answer that question every now and then. The easy answer would be that Wabash is an excellent liberal arts school that fosters an exceptional academic environment. However, there is so much more than that. There is something about the college that gives off an aura of romanticism that makes you fall in love with it. As the late Professor Bill Placher once said, “walking around this campus at night with a new fallen snow, I always fall in love with it all over again.” It can also be that despite the recent losses we as a campus can still come together and proclaim Wabash Always Fights. Whatever the answer may be, I continue to revise my responses over time. The reason being is that as I continue to attend this school I see more examples of what the answer is, for the answer simply cannot be explained in words. It is just part of the experience the College offers— an experience I’ll admit that I am and will likely be ever grateful for. I’m sure that even as an old man with my college days long past, “when future days shall bring its name before me” still “my greatest joy will be to shout the chorus…”

Related posts:

1. Man’s Chief End: A Reflection on Dr. William C. Placher ’70
2. Tradition at Wabash: Moral Idiocy, Piety, and the Gentleman’s Rule

For those unaware, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Steve Klein and his staff is located in Trippet Hall, on the far north end of campus. For many outsiders, Trippet provides the first glimpse of Wabash, and it is without doubt one of our greatest ambassadors. Beautifully furnished with artwork and stately interior architecture, it greets all visitors to campus, especially visiting prospective students, with a warm handshake and a classic grin, and offers them a splen­did view of our dear campus from wide, spotless windows. Fresh coffee, plush chairs and abundant literature invites guests to sit and relax, and maybe wonder what it might be like to spend a college career on such a serene campus. But a short exploration reveals that this inspiring view is seen only from the front of the building. Down the stairs and towards the back, that view becomes just a vague memory. It’s suddenly clouded out by closed doors, cubicles and drab gray walls that lack personality.

Unfortunately it’s in this disconnected environment where you’ll find the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices. Now, I don’t mean to say that these departments live lives disconnected from the rest of the College. To be sure, Dean Klein and his staff work unbelievably hard to stay connected and in touch with the spirit of the school. As Dean Klein reported to Jim Amidon in an early February interview celebrating the 1,456th received application for the fall ’09 semester, “We recruit students the old-fashioned way- person to person. We build interpersonal relationships with families that endure. As we build those relationships, we’re also utilizing new technologies- our website, blogs, Facebook, and even YouTube. What it boils down to is a fully integrated, campus-wide approach to recruiting” (“Ap­plications at an All-Time High”, Feb. 9, 2009).

Yes, this seems in excellent accord with the spirit of Wabash. The latest edition of “Our Core Values: What We as a Community Believe In”, published with the latest draft of President White’s Strategic Plan, places a firm emphasis on “A personal context to teaching and learning that en­courages…candid, respectful, face to face conversations.” Recruitment techniques are obviously right on track with this. But I noted that in his interview with Amidon, Dean Klein also said, with reference to the slipping economy: “We’re in unprecedented circumstances this year. We usu­ally rely on historical data for building our freshman class; we have predictive models that indicate the percentages of our admitted students who will enroll here in the fall. [But] this year is unpredictable.”

This struck me for two reasons: First, I was curious what these so-called predictive models were, and how they related to our famous personal touch; and secondly, I won­dered to what extent economic duress affects recruitment methods, specifically how it changes the balance between “personal” and “predictive”. I directed these questions to Dean Klein but due to scheduling difficulties was ultimately unable to meet with him. I decided instead to sit down to talk with Charlie Blaich, Director of the Center of Inquiry and former Associate Professor of Psychology at Wabash. —Hi, Charlie, I said. Do you have a second? —Of course, he said.

Dr. Blaich not only answered my questions, he answered them with a nice plethora of helpful information besides. He talked about how the recruiting process can be modeled like a funnel, where large numbers of names and mass mailings sift down over time to increasingly more manageable num­bers and increasingly more personalized attention. “The re­cruiting process will always focus on students with specific backgrounds—athletes, academic and theater standouts, etc.,” he said. “But it’s hard work to find young men who will thrive in this place.” He noted that recently there’s been de­bate around whether recruiting should focus on admitting well-rounded classes or well-rounded students, which is a fascinating debate, but did not say whether that was true or not of Wabash. But he continued, echoing Dean Klein: “The economy has a large effect. Things are different this year and no one knows what to expect.” In regards to the most personally direct recruiting and distribution of limited scholarship money, he explained that, “It’s complicated. There comes a point when the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices have to make some critical decisions: Which types of students best fit our mission and core values? To which students should we give the most financial aid?”

Complication in point: Several years ago Dr. Blaich and other honorable Drs. from various departments at Wabash conducted a study to determine what role athletics, a single aspect of college life among many, play in the envi­ronment of small liberal arts colleges, especially Wabash. They then posed research-backed questions as to what role athletics should be playing based on those institutions’ missions statements. I did my own bit of research on the of­ficial Wabash College Mission Statement, and surprisingly found that nowhere among our listed core values is athlet­ics clearly enumerated. Whereas “A culture of competition without malice” might include athletics, it is not a necessary correlation. Although Blaich noted that not all athletic sports shared the same results, the Drs.’ study “How does the Game of Life Play at Liberal Arts Institutions?” revealed that “Athletes at these institutions typically entered col­lege with slightly lower standardized test scores and high school academic performance than non-athletes”, a fact that might seem initially contradictory to a Wabash core value that is clearly enumerated in our mission statement: “A rigorous liberal arts education that fosters [among other things], ‘a local scholarly community’, and ‘a dedication to the serious pursuit of learning’”. Yet the study also revealed that “Athletes showed higher levels of engagement than non-athletes on several aspects of student engagement, including student-faculty relations.” So, although they may not be up to par on some core values, athletes excel regard­ing others. It’s a complicated process for any institution to decide which values are truly more valuable.

But this problem is not seen in athletics alone. It’s just an example. For the study results continue: “Such questions about athletics are no different than the questions faculty can and should ask about study abroad, undergraduate research, academic majors, and other programs on our campuses.” At Wabash, just as the worth of these different programs can never be precisely, quantifiably measured, men are not judged to be “exemplar” or “poor” students based on their performance of core values in individual areas alone, but rather on their embodiment of the spirit of the College mission statement as a whole. Blaich summed it up for me: “Chemistry, Psychology, football, theater, publications—they’re all just means to an end: to think critically, for instance.”

Very well. I do not envy Dean Klein and his staff the complicated sorting out of this hugely complex system of analysis. But in spite of these inherent complexities, at least one thing is clear: When the day’s paperwork is done and the final numbers are tallied up, the Admis­sions Department decides who makes up each freshmen class—and effectively who makes up the Wabash student body.

Therefore, the importance of looking closely at prospective high school seniors should never be underestimated. But some­thing still nagged me. It was clear that we do an excellent job letting prospects get to know Wabash, and that we invest a lot of thought and research into what types of students we want here, but it was as yet unclear to me just to what extent Wabash works to get to know the prospective students themselves.

When it comes to determining admit­tance to any college, the step between admit­ting student types and student faces is a great leap. Perhaps I do not need to mention all the various reasons why. We can all imagine the many possible bad consequences that can result when students are admitted based on apparent attributes, yet are able to hide much of their true personali­ties. Of course, the appearance vs. reality binary is inherent in all things, and there are unavoidable limits to even what might be the Admission Department’s best attempts to find prospects’ true identities. But the attempt to do so is still entirely necessary.

In my research I happily found indications that Wabash still does strive to get to know its prospective students. As I learned from Mr. David Clapp, Director of Off-Campus Studies and International Students, the most recent devel­opment in his role in the admissions process has been no less than the greatly increased personalization of interna­tional recruitment. Beginning last summer and continuing throughout this year, he and his staff have been using the modern internet marvel “Skype” to connect on a face to face basis with international recruits half a world away. “From my desk I can talk with prospective students from all around the world, and we can even take them on campus tours or help guide them through complicated paperwork. I can get a much better idea of their English and personal­ ity through personal conversation rather than e-mails, and they can get a better understanding of the campus and the Wabash personality this way, too. After they’re accepted I can then [using Skype] prepare them for the all important Visa Interview at the US Consulate- by role playing- which is another much added benefit.” Mr. Clapp’s work is a great example of that key goal of personal touch which Dean Klein so heavily stressed, but it’s fundamentally different. Clapp’s work of getting to know the prospective students personally takes place before they are admitted, not after, so that their admittance depends upon how well the Ad­missions staff thinks they will thrive in this challenging environment.

This puzzles me. Why should personal discrimination of any sort, let alone discrimination based on personality, occur just in regards to international recruiting? Granted, some might say that this isn’t the case, that it just happens earlier for international students than it does for United States residents, and that the Dean of Students performs this judgment when necessary; certainly every year there are cases where students are removed from the College by the Dean’s Office for all manner of ungentlemanly behavior. But, I would argue, why should that removal have to wait? Why couldn’t that ungentlemanly behavior be sorted out in the admissions process beforehand? Are there no signs apparent during the senior year in high school that might seem telling of future behavior, signs that would be caught by in-depth personal interviews? One can only speculate. But while the case for wholesale, required interviews to sort out the bad apples could surely be made, there is a very strong case otherwise as well. It’s no small fact that there exist stories upon stories of students radically turned around by the Wabash culture and the very installation of core Wabash values. Indeed, it would not be far-fetched to assume that every graduating senior has been funda­mentally altered by their Wabash education. Required interviews for all students, while helpful to some extent, would limit the possibilities of a genuine Wabash-induced transformation.

There are many sides to this incredibly complex issue, and I will not profess to have come up with any genius solu­tions. The experienced, hard working, intelligent others in high places, whose success is evident and continual, I will not in good Wabash faith critique. In closing, I find that the issue, regardless of yet unresolved problems, can be solved at least in part by a fundamental constant: Whether students arrive on campus as prospective high school se­niors attracted by the personable approach of a genuinely smiling recruiter and a tempting scholarship check, or as freshmen Wallies who, by the chance of an impersonal recruiting model chose Wabash as the playground of their late teenage years, it is absolutely necessary that they are immediately and continually bombarded and infused with our core values. In their future Wabash careers, then, no matter where they find their steps directed- whether across a glistening campus on a bright spring afternoon or down carpeted stairs leading towards the coldest fringes of their environment- they’ll be strong men well-able to carry the trust of their peers—brothers and professors alike. As Dean Klein remarks at the end of his interview with Amidon, “We’ve always been able to do what it takes to get the job done. We’ll keep working hard, moving forward, and seeing what happens, and as a result we’ll be that much smarter heading into next year.” Exactly.

Related posts:

1. A Wink and a Nod: How Do We Sell the Gentlemen’s Rule
2. The Revolving Door: Many Question Admission Department’s Strategy
3. March 2009 Phoenix

During the tumultuous events of last semester, these issues bubbled to the surface again and again. Any effort to move past last year’s pain must involve taking a serious look at the way we recruit and the way we admit new students. In this issue, we attempt to do just that—and to give our advice for how to best move forward. First, Editor-in-Chief Austin Rovenstine discusses how the Admissions Department sells the college to prospective students. The other cover feature by Luke Blakeslee provides readers with a sneak peak into the workings of the department itself.

As always, we have a variety of other features as well, including a conservative commentary on the Gentleman’s Rule by Adam Brasich, and a truly touching tribute to the late Professor Bill Placher by Dr. Webb. Bob Cassady, Adam Current, Steve Henke, Michael Nossett, Kevin Stevens, and Zach Rohrbach round out another full and interesting issue. We hope you enjoy.

Read the full March 2009 issue

Related posts:

1. Around Wabash – March 2009
2. March 2009 Back Page Cartoon
3. March 2009 – Front Page Cover

Related posts:

1. Starting at the Base: A Thorough Look into the Wabash Admissions Department
2. March 2009 Phoenix
3. A Wink and a Nod: How Do We Sell the Gentlemen’s Rule