College cancels summer camp for inner-city kids
Not enough funding for high-schoolers' on-campus Life and Liberty Camp
Betsy Woodruff
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Your News
Hillsdale College will terminate its summer program for inner city high school students, the Life and Liberty Camp, because of a lack of funds.
"It was a good program, but we can do those kinds of things when the stock market's a little bit different," Vice President of Administration Rich Péwé said. "Life and Liberty really is an example of one of the things that had to be sacrificed this year for the greater good."
Students from across the country came to the camp to learn about life at a liberal arts college, said Director of Voluntarism and Chaplain Duane Beauchamp, who directed the camp. Campers worked with student mentors and went to daily classes.
"It was primarily a camp for students who had not had the exposure to a liberal arts tradition that we felt would have a good advantage in having that experience and possibly wanting to attend Hillsdale College," Beauchamp said.
Péwé said many of the students who came were from urban areas and showed academic potential but had never left their home cities. They came from as far away as Oregon, and many were from Washington, D.C.
Hillsdale found these students through the I Have a Dream Foundation, a group that helps prepare inner-city students for college.
They participated in a one-week program and learned about history, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and science. Campers also had organized recreation and free time.
Christian Campbell, a junior theatre and speech major, participated in the camp in 2005. When he participated, the campers were divided into two groups. Each group took different classes at the same time, then switched.
Coming to the camp made him want to attend Hillsdale as a college student.
"I had never heard of Hillsdale and didn't even think about applying here until after I first came. It gave me knowledge of the school in general and then taking the classes and meeting the students made me actually want to go to this school more," he said.
"It was a good program, but we can do those kinds of things when the stock market's a little bit different," Vice President of Administration Rich Péwé said. "Life and Liberty really is an example of one of the things that had to be sacrificed this year for the greater good."
Students from across the country came to the camp to learn about life at a liberal arts college, said Director of Voluntarism and Chaplain Duane Beauchamp, who directed the camp. Campers worked with student mentors and went to daily classes.
"It was primarily a camp for students who had not had the exposure to a liberal arts tradition that we felt would have a good advantage in having that experience and possibly wanting to attend Hillsdale College," Beauchamp said.
Péwé said many of the students who came were from urban areas and showed academic potential but had never left their home cities. They came from as far away as Oregon, and many were from Washington, D.C.
Hillsdale found these students through the I Have a Dream Foundation, a group that helps prepare inner-city students for college.
They participated in a one-week program and learned about history, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and science. Campers also had organized recreation and free time.
Christian Campbell, a junior theatre and speech major, participated in the camp in 2005. When he participated, the campers were divided into two groups. Each group took different classes at the same time, then switched.
Coming to the camp made him want to attend Hillsdale as a college student.
"I had never heard of Hillsdale and didn't even think about applying here until after I first came. It gave me knowledge of the school in general and then taking the classes and meeting the students made me actually want to go to this school more," he said.
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