Ohio Northern University’s (ONU) chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honors society, sold out of models of Hill Memorial building they ordered as a fundraiser during Homecoming. 24 models were bought, and all were sold at a price of $30, mostly to alumni, according to Phi Alpha Theta advisor Russ Crawford.
The model fundraiser occurred because the chapter was denied permission to host Haunted Hill, which has been an annual event jointly hosted by Phi Alpha Theta and Delta Sigma Phi, the social fraternity. Over the summer, Hill was shut down and its faculty and classes were relocated to Dukes.
Jacob Wagner, senior double major in Social Studies Education and History, is the President of ONU’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta. He stresses the significance the sale has for alumni sentiments. “Phi Alpha Theta is not surprised that alumni continue to support Hill Building enough to buy models of the structure,” he says. Still, he laments that student efforts to save the building, which include a petition with 630 signatures, have “fallen on deaf ears.”
Russ Crawford, Professor of History, is the advisor of Phi Alpha Theta. He says the model used to order the Hill figurines was reused from a similar 2007 sale. He feels the event “went great.” Like Wagner, he thinks the event indicates significance about Northern alumni’s relationship with Hill: “A lot of people expressed their love for Hill.”
I find comfort that alumni still identify with what we believe has been the beating heart of the campus for 145 years
Jacob Wagner