The Hillsdale Collegian 4.25.19

Michigan’s oldest college newspaper

Vol. 142 Issue 27 - April 25, 2019

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Sajak to take the helm on board of trustees By | Kaylee McGhee Opinions Editor After decades of faithful service to Hillsdale College as its Chairman of the Board of Trustees, William Brodbeck ’66 is stepping down and will be replaced by Vice Chairman Pat Sajak.

Unlike Brodbeck, Sajak — who is famous for running the TV show “Wheel of Fortune” — did not attend Hillsdale, though he’s served as Vice Chairman of the Board for 15 years. But Brodbeck said Sajak’s lack of a degree won’t hamper him at all.

“Pat is a brilliant mind.

He brings a sound knowledge of the school,” Brodbeck said. “He can dramatically move Hillsdale forward, both on campus and around the country.”

And that’s what Sajak plans to do: He intends to keep Hillsdale on the path shaped

by Brodbeck, Arnn, and the rest of the board, improving the “physical plant” of the school through renovations, and monitoring the academic standards it has set.

Sajak said he would like to see Hillsdale’s national reach continue to expand.

“Our funding comes from people who have never stepped foot on campus,” he said. “And that’s the challenge: the outreach.”

As Brodbeck prudently led the Board of Trustees for many years, Arnn said Sajak will do the same, with, perhaps, one difference: he’ll bring his wits.

“Pat is a man of calm and steady judgment, possessed also of a wicked wit. He is a man of selfless service, famous and yet not interested in celebrity, hilarious and yet serious. He knows the purposes of the college and is devoted to them,” Arnn said.

Brodbeck said he decided to step down from the chairmanship because he felt his time had come.

“I don’t want to be in the way,” he said. “It’s time for me to go and let Pat have this opportunity. And I can do it knowing he will fulfill his duty well.”

Brodbeck’s service to Hillsdale is one of inestimable worth, Arnn said.

“I have discouraged this successfully for a couple of years, but now he says, ‘It is time,’” Arnn said. “Of course he has lost his sight. In the face of that sore trial, he has been the brave and cheerful man, the high-minded and self-deprecating man, that I have known these 19 years.

I think he makes but one mistake about his blindness, which is to think that it causes others inconvenience. It does not. Rather it gives others opportunity to repay in some

small way the large kindnesses he spreads about himself wherever he goes.”

Sajak said he is thankful Brodbeck will continue to serve on the board, adding that he will continue to look to him for “wisdom and guidance.” Brodbeck said he isn’t planning on going anywhere, noting that he and his wife, Jan, will still live in Hillsdale and contribute what they can to the school.

“Our intent is to stay here as long as we’re useful,” he said. “We deeply adore this place.”

This transition has been about a year in the making, according to Sajak, who has spent more time on campus, sitting down with staff and students, to get a “closer look” at the school and better understand its “daily ins-andouts.”

Since returning to Hillsdale to serve on the board in 1996, Brodbeck said he has seen the school grow and transform in tremendous ways. When former President George Roche III stepped down, Brodbeck spearheaded the effort to bring Larry Arnn, then the president of the Claremont Institute, to Hillsdale. Brodbeck guided the school through the transition and has since been apart of major changes on campus and around the country.

Under Brodbeck’s direc-

Known for hosting the “Wheel of Fortune” game show, Pat Sajak, vice chairman of Hillsdale’s board of trustees, will serve as the next chairman after Chairman William Brodbeck ’66 steps down.

External Affairs

tion — though he credits the board’s action and Arnn’s vision — Hillsdale has renovated and built dozens of buildings on campus, developed the Washington D.C. Kirby Center, expanded the school’s online courses as well as Imprimis’ reach, which now arrives in the homes of nearly 6 million people nationwide.

“There’s no aspect of the school that hasn’t improved under their watch — under the vision of Arnn and the

passion of Bill,” Sajak said.

Arnn recalled the day Brodbeck called him to ask if he’d come to Hillsdale, and said he wouldn’t have accepted if anyone else had asked.

“It matters very much to my life that he was the one who called me about this job,” Arnn said during his remarks at an event honoring the Brodbecks. “At a good college with a beautiful idea behind it, being the president is unique.

And it would not be so except

for the service of Bill Brodbeck.”

The number of chairmen at Hillsdale College, in its 175 years, has been small, and Sajak said it is the honor of a lifetime to be among them.

“I’m in an industry where we’re always patting each other on the backs for different awards we’ve won,” he said, “but this one is at the top of my list.”

Mollie Hemingway to join Kirby Center teaching staff By | Alex Nester D.C. Correspondent Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist and Fox News contributor, will join the Allan P. Kirby Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Statesmanship staff next fall as a journalism professor.

As part of the ongoing project to expand Hillsdale’s campus in Washington, D.C., Hemingway has been hired to teach journalism classes for students in the Washington-Hillsdale Internship

Nicole Ault | Collegian

Smith’s Flowers celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. See A5 for coverage.

O’Toole selected as assistant provost of K-12 education By | Brooke Conrad Features Editor Five years ago, Kathleen O’Toole took the helm of what was then a brand-new Barney Charter School in Texas: Founders Classical Academy of Leander. Having received her doctoral degree and taught politics for a short time at Morehead State University, she agreed to run the school, with more than 400 children enrolling in the first year.

“They just walked in our doors, and we figured out how to have a school,” she said.

This summer, O’Toole will come to Hillsdale to take the position of assistant provost of K-12 education, a new administrative role created for the purpose of pulling together all of Hillsdale’s K-12 initiatives, including Hillsdale Academy and the various Barney Follow @HDaleCollegian

Charter Schools, under the provost’s office. The Barney Charter School Initiative formerly fell under the external affairs department.

When O’Toole’s father, Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn, created the new position, he said he had not even considered his daughter as a potential candidate.

Instead, he allowed Provost David Whalen and Board Chairman William Brodbeck to take over the hiring process upon their request.

“I confess I had not thought of her as someone to run it, partly because it would be complicated to hire my daughter, but also because I really hadn’t thought of it — she likes what she’s doing,” Arnn said.

Whalen and Brodbeck had originally asked O’Toole to apply for the position of Hills-

dale Academy headmaster last year, but after interviewing her, they decided to have her stay at the Texas school for that year and then later offered her the opportunity to work at the college.

Brodbeck said he found O’Toole well-suited for the position, due to her prior experience at one of the Barney Charter schools.

“Frankly she reminds me of her father,” Brodbeck said.

“She’s amazingly intelligent and has done an exceptional job down in Texas at that school. I’m confident she’ll be exceptional in this position.”

O’Toole’s husband, Daniel O’Toole, who is currently finishing up his doctorate at the University of Texas, is going to work as a Hillsdale College fellow next year, teaching and

See O’Toole A2

Program. This gives students, including those working toward a journalism minor, the opportunity to take journalism courses for credit while in Washington.

“I’m excited to help students figure out career opportunities,” Hemingway said in an email. “Of the many changes in life, transitioning from one’s studies to professional life can be particularly challenging. I’m so appreciative of those who helped me with that process, and am glad I can help others.”

Hemingway, a senior editor at The Federalist and a contributor at Fox News, graduated from the University of Colorado in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Hemingway began her journalism career at Radio & Records, a publication specializing in the radio and music industries. Along with her work for The Federalist, Hemingway has been published in many national papers, including the Wall Street Journal,

See Hemingway A2

Restoring liberty: Paul Ray ’08 revises government regulations By | Joel Meng Collegian Reporter “I think I have the best job in government,”said Paul Ray ’08, recently appointed acting head of the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs.

After graduating from Hillsdale College, Ray earned a J.D. from Harvard

Law School. He has clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit and for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. In July 2018, Ray Joined OIRA as deputy administrator. In March 2019, Ray assumed the duties of acting administrator.

“OIRA’s role is, in essence, to ensure that agency regulations embody the

president’s policies and that the regulations are lawful and warranted by strong economic analysis,” Ray said in an email. “Under President Trump, we’ve focused on working with agencies to rescind or revise regulations that unduly restrict the liberty of the American people or that are not authorized by statute.”

See Ray A9

State approves funding for Dawn Theater project By | Josephine von Dohlen & Julia Mullins City News Editor & Assistant Editor

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Strategic Board fund approved the Dawn Theater project Tuesday, giving the Hillsdale Tax Increment

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Finance Authority the green light go ahead with the rehabilitation project.

“It means everything,” City of Hillsdale Zoning Administrator Alan Beeker said. “It means we can actually finally get started.

Everything has been on hold until we heard from them.”

According to Beeker,

TIFA is hopeful the project can begin in June.

“We are optimistic that we will be able to start at the beginning of June,” he said.

“Now that we have the grant, we will move forward pursuing contracts with architects and contractors.”

See Dawn A5

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April 25, 2019

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Debate ends season with eighth place at tournament By | Regan Meyer Web Content Editor Five Hillsdale College debaters spent Easter break in sunny Santa Ana, California at the National Forensic Association National Championship Tournament, taking eighth place overall in the biggest national tournament in NFA history.

Junior Hannah Johnson, sophomores Jadon Buzzard, Katrina Torsoe, Theodore Wilson, and freshman Benjamin Bies debated 120 competitors from 34 different schools, including Western Kentucky University and Penn State in the Lincoln-Douglas form of debate.

“NFA is a pretty unpredictable tournament and it’s the best debaters in the country, so competition is going to be stiff,” Johnson said.

Buzzard and Torsoe both broke out of preliminary rounds in the Open Division, while Bies broke out of preliminary rounds in the Novice Division. Buzzard placed as a triple-octofinalist, Torsoe as a double-octofinalist, and Bies as a semifinalist.

“Overall, it was a pretty successful tournament,” Buzzard said. “We had a good amount of people break, and

especially because it’s the largest national tournament they’ve ever had before, it was definitely good for Hillsdale.”

A few weeks before the tournament, Buzzard and Wilson traveled to a Lincoln-Douglas tournament at Sacramento State to better understand the intricacies of West Coast debate. Torsoe said the information they gained during their trip out West helped the team with their preparation and performance.

“It definitely helped us to know the kind of judging that was there and how they viewed stock issues and speed out there,” Torsoe said. “There was a lot of good judging.

Almost all of my rounds were coaches and really experienced judges.”

NFA concludes debate season, but the team is already looking forward to next year.

“We’re looking to be even better, recruit more people, and hone the skills of the people that we already have,” Johnson said. “It’ll be a completely new topic, either energy or climate. We’ve started doing research and looking into that area. We’re looking to just build on the successes we had this year.”

In brief: Yearbook to hold first reveal party By | Alexis Daniels Assistant Editor The 2018-2019 Hillsdale College yearbook will be revealed and available for pickup at a party in the Grewcock Student Union on Tuesday, April 30 – a change from releasing it the fall after a school year ends.

“In the past, the yearbooks have come out in the fall for the previous year, and we just felt like that was not conducive to students being excited about seeing the yearbook,” yearbook Editor-in-Chief juniorCelina McGowan said.

According to McGowan, there will be two volumes to the yearbook this year – the main portion and a separate portion that will be mailed to the seniors. This year’s book also features many more student-submitted photos, McGowan said.

“We also included the GOAL programs and the honoraries, which we hadn’t really done in the

O’Toole from A1

possibly helping a bit with the college’s classical education programs, according to O’Toole.

O’Toole earned her bachelor’s degree in politics from the University of Dallas and then attended Claremont Graduate University for her master’s in political science and doctorate in American government and political philosophy. As the daughter of an Aristotelian scholar, O’Toole eventually became one herself.

“Sometimes she would be impatient with me, and she’d say, ‘You should just let me be happy,’” Arnn said. “And I’d say, ‘You’re too young to be happy. You have to learn to be good.’ And that’s what she wrote her doctoral thesis about.”

O’Toole’s Leander school has expanded to 650 students since its founding, and she said she’s amazed at the progress it has made in five years.

While she’s sad to leave, she believes the transition in leadership will be good for the school, as it will show the school is successful on its own merits.

“When I look at these stu-

past,” McGowan said, “and we did more Greek this year as well, which I’m really excited about.”

McGowan said every student is a subscriber to the yearbook, the Collegian, and Tower Light by virtue of their student fees, so the actual yearbook will cost nothing, but there is a $5 fee for non-seniors to cover the cost of shipping.

Though this year’s yearbooks don’t follow specific themes, the design for this one is simpler, according to Design Editor and senior Zane Miller.

“We’re going back to a more simple, clean design that feels a lot more Hillsdale,” Miller said. “You can see it on the shelf; it’s the ‘college blue.’ You’ll see, ‘OK, that’s the yearbook.’”

Miller said they wanted to make the yearbook easier to understand and emphasize the photos more.

“People are opening the yearbook, they’re opening to see pictures of them and their friends and the events and remember those,” Miller said. dents and parents I’ve been working with, it breaks my heart to leave them,” O’Toole said. “But I know it’s the right thing, because the school is stable now, and it doesn’t rest on me the way it used to.”

Hillsdale Academy Headmaster David Diener said bringing the K-12 initiatives together under O’Toole will allow everyone to work together better and collaborate in places where there is overlap between BCSI and the academy.

“She’s an energetic leader who’s committed to classical education, and I look forward to working with her to further the college’s mission,” Diener said.

Arnn also noted O’Toole’s life-long love of learning.

“She loved school. She always did,” he said. “She was a joyous little girl and good at school. And then she found subjects that she loved and pursued them to the highest level.”

Arnn was also the one who suggested she run a Barney Charter School. O’Toole describes running a school as learning to balance “things that don’t necessarily go together” — that is, simultaneously caring for practical

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The Hillsdale College Debate Team took eighth place at the National Forensic Assocation National Championship Tournament in Santa Ana, California. Katrina Torsoe | Courtesy

Hemingway

from A1 the Los Angeles Times, and CNN. She has been on Hillsdale’s campus for seminars and other events. She and her husband, Mark Hemingway, who is also a journalist, taught a Pulliam Fellow class at Hillsdale in 2016.

Hemingway dedicated most of her time over the past three months to writing a book on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. Now that Hemingway and her co-author Carrie Severino have finished the first full draft of her book, Hemingway and Matthew Spalding, associate vice president and dean of educational programs for the Kirby Center, are working on a formal contract.

Hemingway will be a tremendous asset at the Kirby Center, Director of the Dow Journalism Program John Miller said. Hemingway will teach students on WHIP in a formal class setting; the preliminary plan is to walk through the way she reported for her new book on the Kavanaugh’s nomination.

“Our aim is to produce well-educated young people who can move immediately into the professional media and become good journalists,” Spalding said. “We want to teach them how to write well and hone their skills so they know how to operations like budget issues and building safety, and also helping cultivate an academic culture that focuses on “goodness, truth, and beauty.” She said her new role will allow her to help other schools navigate those issues in order to “create something really high and noble but also stable and steady.”

O’Toole noted that many around the country are interested in the college’s charter school mission and that the college wants to assist even those outside its BCSI through curriculum guidance and other means of assistance.

“It’s amazing how many people come to you and say, ‘Even if I can’t send my kid to your school, can you tell me what to do?’” she said.

“People around the country are really craving substantive classical education, so our mission is to help anyone who wants help, which will include homeschool and maybe private school students as well.”

Arnn similarly noted the trend.

“We live under a deluge of requests for help,” Arnn said. “The people running the Barney Project have been

investigate a story, follow the facts, dig the dirt, and then put it together in ways that are both credible and compelling.”

Hemingway will work with students, particularly those interested in journalism, as a mentor outside of the formal classroom setting as well — for example, students will have the opportunity to assist Hemingway with future research projects.

“Many of the most Mollie Hemingway and her husband, Mark, taught a two-week semiimportant things you nar at Hillsdale College during the spring 2016 semester as the Dow can learn aren’t always Journalism Pulliam Fellows. Collegian Archives in the classroom,” are good because they are success in journalism to her Spalding said. “Prudence is well-reported and well-rewillingness to commit time best learned by doing. So searched. to research. we create opportunities and “In an age where most “Research is my favorite provide mentors for students part of journalism,” she said. to build careers of excellence journalists are really doing the fast and easy thing, “Much of my success as a and integrity.”

Mollie represents an older reporter has been because of Hemingway will also visit my willingness to read origHillsdale’s main campus reg- understanding of journalism, ” Spalding said.

“Of late, inal documents instead of ularly for journalism events. she stands out as one of the regurgitating talking points In the past two years, few who had the sense to about them.”

Hemingway’s reporting investigate rather than jump In addition to her jouron Special Counsel Robert on the fashionable media nalism skills, Miller appreMueller’s investigation into cause. She’s a good, honest, ciates Hemingway’s love for Donald Trump and the respectable journalist — a baseball — even though her 2016 election has brought to good model for our stuteam, the St. Louis Cardilight a narrative unlike that dents. ” nals, beat Miller’s team, the portrayed by many in the Miller also attested to Detroit Tigers, in the 2006 media — she was skeptical the quality of Hemingway’s World Series. of Trump’s alleged collusion work.

Spalding looks forward to with Russia as well as the “Every time you read her, working with Hemingway. popular narrative surroundyou get something fresh,” “Networking at its best is ing the issue.

Miller said. friendship, ” Spalding said.

According to Spalding, Hemingway credits her “And Mollie is a friend.”

Hemingway’s columns very successful, and they’ll hold the same responsible roles they’ve had in past, but it will have a more overall direction to it.”

After serving in a demanding and time-consuming role as a K-12 headmaster, O’Toole said one of the things she looks forward to most is a change of pace among Hillsdale College’s academic community.

“I’m part of an academic community now because I’m working with these teachers and students,” she said.

“It’s fun because you can accomplish many things very quickly, but I’ve also come to a place where I’m wanting time be more reflective, and I think being at the college will give me time to be more helpful to these schools.”

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Kathleen O’Toole will serve as Hillsdale College’s new assistant provost of K-12 education, and will oversee Hillsdale Academy as well as the Barney Charter School Initiative. Kathleen O’Toole | Courtesy

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The Weekly: Thank your professors (517) 607-2415 Online: www.hillsdalecollegian.com Editor-in-Chief | Nicole Ault Associate Editor | Jordyn Pair News Editor | Nolan Ryan City News Editor | Josephine von Dohlen Opinions Editor | Kaylee McGhee Sports Editor | S. Nathaniel Grime Culture Editor | Anna Timmis Science & Tech Editor | Crystal Schupbach Features Editor | Brooke Conrad Design Editor | Morgan Channels Web Content Editor | Regan Meyer Web Manager | Timothy Green Photo Editor | Christian Yiu Columnist | Nic Rowan Circulation Manager | Regan Meyer Ad Manager | Cole McNeely Assistant Editors | Abby Liebing | Alexis Daniels | Alexis Nester | Allison Schuster | Cal Abbo | Calli Townsend | Carmel Kookogey | Isabella Redjai | Ryan Goff | Stefan Kleinhenz Faculty Advisers | John J. Miller | Maria Servold

The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff

It’s no secret that Hillsdale boasts an excellent faculty. Out of 384 colleges, the Princeton Review last year ranked Hillsdale #9 for “professors get high marks” and #16 for “most accessible professors.” Many students love their professors not only for their excellent classroom teaching, but also for, in many cases, serving as career coaches or life mentors.

Students, and especial-

The editors welcome Letters to the Editor but reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, length, and style. Letters should be 450 words or less and include your name and number. Send submissions to the Opinions Editor at kmcghee@hilldale.edu before Saturday at 3 p.m.

Beneath banners of white and blue By | Kaylee McGhee Opinions Editor

This past month has been one of lasts.

Last assignments, papers, to-do lists. Last late-night gatherings, convocations, well wishes.

As graduation approaches, we, seniors, are moving on.

There will be new cities, new jobs, new friends — so much to look forward to as we clutch our degrees and show the real world our best brave faces.

Yet, I find myself holding on tight to the lasts.

It’s not difficult to drag myself up the hill to class each morning. Not anymore.

I regret every complaint, because now, heading into my final week of classes, I wish I had more. Just a little longer.

Just a few more weeks to learn, to grow, to study alongside like-minded people who adore the things that make this life so rich.

Learning is a lifelong venture for which Hillsdale has prepared us well. But I will miss these classrooms, lectures, and professors, who give us everything in hopes of planting a seed that will one day flourish. Here, we begin to learn what things are. Out there, we will understand why that matters.

I grew up here. In just four years, I have lived and loved alongside people who are now lifelong friends. I am not the same person I was when I walked into Olds dormitory, and they know that. I’ve learned much from Hillsdale, but I’ve learned more from my friends. They have shown me what faithfulness, kindness, and dedication should look like. I will carry that with me wherever I go. Perhaps we didn’t realize it in the day-today mundane, but we are none the same for knowing each

other, and we are all better for it.

These next two weeks could be the last time we, seniors, are in the same place with the friends Hillsdale brought us.

Cherish the lasts — the last laughs, soulful conversations, and heart-warming fellowship.

We will see each other again soon, but we will be different, just as we are different now than when we first met.

It’s difficult to put into words how much I owe Hillsdale College. In truth, I owe it everything. I still remember the sense of awe and wonder I felt walking these halls as a student for the first time, the pride I felt wearing the white and blue. I wish I had not taken that for granted, that I had kept my love for this school in the forefront of my mind, that I had cherished it more when I had the chance. I have that same pride now, but it is a different kind.

Because now, I understand the mission of Hillsdale more fully, and I recognize that it is my duty to further it, even after I walk across that stage. Seniors: This place is our responsibility. No matter where we go, it is ours to keep, ours to bear.

Four years is not enough.

But no time here would ever be enough. I envy the underclassmen who have the long collegiate road before them.

Cherish it, because soon your time will be up. It comes quickly, leaving you with little time to prepare for the loss of a home, this place, Hillsdale.

Strive for knowledge, nurture lasting friendships, and treasure your lasts, whatever they may be, here beneath banners of white and blue.

“Here, we begin to learn what things are.

Out there, we will understand why that matters.”

Kaylee McGhee is a senior studying Politics and Journalism.

Cherish all Hillsdale has to offer, Kaylee McGhee writes. Courtesy | Hillsdale College

ly seniors, should consider writing thank you notes to their professors as the semester comes to a close. As seniors Chloe Kookogey and Ellen Friesen point out, student-professor relationships often extend beyond the classroom: sometimes professors invite their students over for dinner, or spend an extra hour in their offices discussing intellectual topics completely unrelated to

the class material (while also providing coffee or tea).

While we often say thank you as we exit the classroom or after discussing a paper in office hours, writing a note is a way to show we really mean it. And the blessing goes both ways: sometimes taking the time to write a thank-you makes us appreciate our experiences even more than we did before.

Thanking professors is a way of acknowledging that our education wouldn’t have been possible without them.

As much as we like to think our learning is a product of our own hard work — which it is, to an extent — it is also, as Friesen puts it, “a product of the love of those around us.”

Office Hours To upgrade or convert, that is the question By | D. G. Hart Associate Professor of History

Charles Chaput, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia and a conservative voice in the church, recently wrote positively about an event sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation honoring people with disabilities.

Tebow, of course, is the former football star from the University of Florida, who in fits and starts tried a career first in the NFL and then Major League Baseball. He also gained notoriety for praying after scoring a touchdown and wearing eyeblack during games (to reduce glare) that featured biblical citations. Tebow is, in other words, an evangelical Protestant and Chaput is a conservative Roman Catholic. And yet, Chaput referred to Tebow, though “not a Catholic,” as “a committed Christian.”

Even more recently, David Mills, a Protestant convert to Roman Catholicism, wrote about Protestants in similarly positive ways. To the fear of no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church, Mills wrote, the “church does not think Protestants will go to Hell because you don’t join up.”

Instead, it “teaches that your church may well be for you the way to live with Jesus and to enter Heaven.” With explanations from the Baltimore Catechism (1885), Mills reassured worried believers not in fellowship with the Bishop of Rome: “You’re in, my Protestant friends. . . . We want you to be Catholics, but understand why you’re not.”

Someone might be tempted to disregard the opinion of a mere lay person, but Mills’ argument appears to line up with that of a successor to Christ’s apostles. That’s pretty mainstream. So perhaps the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants are not so great — the latter need not worry about the eternal fate of their souls outside Rome, and both sides may regard the other as Christian, sort of like different denominations within Western Christianity (I will let the Eastern Orthodox speak for

themselves).

If this is a fair reading of current relations between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, why do we continue to hear about “conversions” from Protestantism to the Roman Catholic Church? If you go from a Methodist congregation to a Baptist church, you don’t call it conversion. If you switch from an Anglican parish to a Missouri Synod Lutheran congregation, again, you don’t use the language of conversion. So why do ex-Protestants regard their membership in the Roman Catholic Church as a form of conversion? Is this the product of a bygone era of church history?

Take the case of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founder in 1809 of the first American congregation of nuns, the Sisters of Charity, whom in 1975 Pope Paul VI canonized as a saint. A woman who struggled to find religious meaning amid the death of a husband while rearing five children, Seton experienced some spiritual satisfaction in the revivals of the Second Great Awakening only to identify later with the communal and sacramental character of Christian piety in the Episcopal Church. Still, she continued to search and in 1805 “converted” to Roman Catholicism. The recent biography of Seton by Catherine O’Donnell, Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, shows that Seton took comfort in the tactile nature of the church’s “murals, gestures, saints, and sculptures.” As O’Donnell writes, “God’s literal presence . . . thrilled her.” O’Donnell does not determine whether Seton had actually been a Christian while either an evangelical or Episcopalian.

Surely, though, before joining the Roman Catholic Church Seton was Christianish.

Seton’s religious migration contrasts in many ways with the twentieth-century intellectuals that Alan Jacobs follows in his recent book, “The Year of Our Lord 1943: Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis.” The French philosopher, Simone Weil, Jewish by birth but never practicing,

showed an interest in Roman Catholicism but her conversion according to Jacobs never became complete. Another French philosopher, Jacques Maritain, was an atheist who thought the natural outcome of his lack of belief was suicide. He only became open to the possibility of faith after hearing Henri Bergson’s lectures, though Bergson himself was not a Christian. The modernist poet, T. S. Eliot had no religious belief as an adult; his poem “The Wasteland” was a description of his own ruin, Jacobs argues. Another poet, W. H. Auden, grew up in an Anglican home but had no faith. When in the mid-1930s his poetry made him famous, Auden thought he had forever abandoned Christianity.

Meanwhile, C. S. Lewis, like Auden, grew up in Ulster Protestantism but by the age of seventeen told a friend, “I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best.” These lives are the stuff of conversion— that is, going from no belief in God and Christ to communion in a Christian church.

In which case, the better word to use for Christians who go from Protestant to Roman Catholic may be “upgrade.” That term is one we commonly apply to computers, like calling the move from Windows XP to Windows 10 an “upgrade.” The old system can still run a number of tools and programs but it lacks the features and capabilities of the new system. An upgrade is even supposed to eliminate some of the bugs of the old system, which is often what some deduce about going from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism (or vice versa). You receive a better (not new, of course) and improved version of Christianity but you do not start using a computer for the first time. An upgrade is when you retain the same operating system. In the world of computing, “convert” applies better to what happens when someone goes from a PC to an Apple. There, as I understand, old files and programs do not

work and users need to learn a whole new set of icons, names, and applications. Do people who go from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism really think they previously did not believe in the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the need of Christ’s death for forgiveness of sins, the infallibility of the Bible, or the benefit of prayer?

Aren’t Protestants and Roman Catholics basically using the same Christian hardware and software with programs that include more or less features — Douay-Rhiems or King James’ Bible, church calendar or Sabbatarianism?

Of course, when someone goes from one version of Christianity to the other, part of the appeal is to be rid of the bugs that afflict the old system. For many non-Protestants, Protestantism,especially its low-church varieties, seems long on tackiness and short on tradition and ritual.

Conversely, Roman Catholics who go from Rome to Protestantism may believe they are eliminating the bugs of praying to saints and misplaced trust in bishops for the sake of a simple and exclusive trust in Christ. Either way, the switch from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism involves a calculation of benefits and liabilities, not a dramatic change from unbelief to confidence in God. Perhaps the best way of challenge the word, “convert,” is to remember those famous lines from John Newton’s hymn, “Amazing Grace.” The phrase, “I once was lost, but now am found, ‘Twas blind but now I see,” may apply to some who joins the Roman Catholic Church, though Newton’s understanding of total depravity is some distance from the post-Vatican II church’s view of human nature. But to apply Newton’s lines to someone who trusted Jesus as a Protestant and then puts her faith in Jesus plus the church is at least simplistic, if not wrong-headed, for anyone who ponders the often dark and impenetrable ways of God in the human soul.

Don’t wait for the diploma to start your education fall by the wayside amongst the By | Kathleen Russo Special to the Collegian undiluted praise of Hillsdale If I had a penny for every time I heard Hillsdale referred to as “the conservative Harvard,” I could build another Chapel. As senior year comes to a close, it is impossible to challenge the incredible education that Hillsdale gave me and my peers.

Even as I grumbled through baby chemistry as a Bachelor of Arts student, I never doubted the value of a well-rounded education. Our parents, the administration, and strangers who spot our Hillsdale gear in the airport and yell ‘I get Imprimis!’, never hesitate to applaud our one-of-a-kind education.

Truly, Hillsdale has offered edification unlike any undergraduate institution in our country.

However, as we leave campus, for good or for summer, it is important to consider other things that contribute to a good education. There are things Hillsdale taught us that we ought to carry; things that can

supporters.

There is incredible value in setting aside books and papers and going out and living life and participating in those things that are not strictly academic. Hillsdale is a place of learning, but there is much to be learned outside of the pages of a book. After all, things in books had to, at some point, be observed and absorbed to then be catalogued and critiqued. It seems that Aristotle had to go out into the world and love and be loved and see love to be able to categorize it.

Seniors aren’t the only ones faced with the opportunity to grab life by the horns. In fact, underclassmen can and should start using their education now. There are so many other worthwhile things to spend time on at Hillsdale that don’t present you with a grade at the end of semester, but are just as important to a well-rounded education.

Extracurriculars provide

a real platform on which to interact with the ideas we learn about in lectures. Societies and clubs not only create community, essential to good learning, but also teach students how to manage multiple tasks and relationships at once. However, extracurriculars are not just for the purpose of self-gratifying resume building. They are a way to selflessly contribute to the Hillsdale community and make a difference in our world.

Sure, an incredible GPA is impressive, but if you don’t donate your time to a club or throw yourself into a GOAL program, you will come to realize you have wasted your time at Hillsdale.

God created an incredible world and blessed us with a strong community. There is more to experience than can be found at a desk in the library on a Saturday night.

No senior would say that you should boycott classes and turn in blank pages for your senior thesis — but, I will say that I remember each March for Life

much better than I remember the evenings before my deadlines. There is excellence in friendship, and the ability to maintain good grades, but fulfilling extracurriculars is not something that should ever be undervalued. Rather, they should be celebrated.

Reaching out of the world of academia does justice to our education. The purpose of scholarship is to go and use it to make the world a better place.

Frankly, a good GPA means less if it is the only thing that we, as students, have achieved during our time at Hillsdale. Education is not in itself an end; it is the means by which we learn to better serve God. Being involved in extracurriculars is serving others. It’s supplementing your grades and learning in a way that benefits campus and our greater community. Don’t wait until you have a diploma in your hands to start using your education.

Kathleen Russo is a senior studying American Studies.

A4 April 25, 2018

Vol. 142 Issue 27 - April 25, 2019

No. 1 on Princeton Review’s Best College Satire

Michael and Mitch: Alumni take on D.C. By | Stephen Clean-Hands principles.

When asked if he was Collegian Thot proud of these two alumni “When I noticed them de- because of their current sucbating who was more conser- cess in D.C., Parry Larnn said vative during the lunch hour, that he feels bad for “those I knew I’d see them in politics boys” (referring, of course, one day,” Hillsdale College to Mitchell and Michael) bePresident Parry Larnn said cause they spent their college about rising political stars years “living in the shadows and Hillsdale alumni, Mi- of such excellence, like felchael Pence and Mitchell Mc- low student and entrepreneur Dan Taco.”

Connell.

Taco was a fellow classLarnn said the two of them mate of the current freshman were the best of friends, but he does recall a time when their senator and the White House resilience was tested. Mitchell assistant, and Taco knew both and Michael were senior class Mitchell and Michael pretty officers and some trouble well when they were students arose when it came time to together.

“They always looked up to choose the commencement me and I take credit for their speaker.

D-termination, ” Taco said. “It “As the class president, Michael was set on inviting a was an honor being not only Supreme Court justice to de- their mentor, but also their liver the commencement ad- political inspiration.”

Dug Arthur went through dress,” Parry Larnn said. “But, the registrar system to refresh as social media chair, Mitchell his memory on Mitchell and had different ideas.”

Mitchell filibustered the Michael before he commentpick for weeks, claiming Mi- ed on their lasting legacy on chael could not select the campus.

“There are a lot people that commencement speaker become through these doors; I cause it was an election year couldn’t possibly remember and Michael was “a lameall of their faces and stories,” duck president,” Mitchell said. Despite many efforts to Arthur said.

He quickly remembered explain that class officers only Michael, saying, “How could hold one-year terms, and are elected for the sole purpose I forget that beautiful man?” of selecting the commence- While some old photos of ment speaker, Mitchell did Mitchell didn’t seem to jog Arthur’s memory, we came not budge.

“We tried to explain the across his old art portfolio.

“Oh yes of course,” Arthur rules of commencement to said.

“I know Mitchell, how him,” Parry Larnn said. “But could I forget the art student nevertheless he persisted.”

Parry Larnn said that com- who specialized in painting mencement was pretty dull turtles?”

Going through Mitchell’s that year, but he was grateful old art and records, Arthur for the significant amount of discovered something he’d time and money they saved because of Mitchell’s fiscal soon regret uncovering.

“It seems here that Mitchell managed to graduate without having completed the constitution course,” Arthur said with The countdown to 4/20 has begun. | Wikimedia fear in his eyes. Commons “This is relationship with Michael. bad, this is real bad. This is “He was just the sweetoff the record. No one can est boy. I just wish he would know about this! It would have met a nice Hillsdale ruin his career! You can’t girl,” she said. “But, he was print this! Do you underjust too scared to eat alone stand?” [Delete Before with a girl...what a sweet boy Publish!!]

As Michael’s academic he was.”

When asked about Mitchadviser, religion professor Jordan Dolphins, had fond ell, Phyllis’ smile quickly memories of Michael, saying faded. She initially refused that he was the best “Chris- to comment on Mitchell, but tian, Conservative, Republi- after some prying, she finally can,” he had ever met, “in that budged.

“All I’m gonna say is that order,” Dolphins added for he would play the piano in the emphasis. dining hall, ” Phyllis said with Dolphins also said Michael was one of the most well her arms crossed and frustraversed Bible scholars at the tion in her eyes. “And that’s all college, and most of the class you need to know about him.”

Parry Larnn said it isn’t learned from him. likely that he’d ever award “Sometimes I’d just turn the class over to him,” Dol- honorary degrees to Hillsphins said. “I loved learning dale alumni and politicians Michael and Mitchell because from Michael.”

He was a great student and “there are so many prominent completed the entire major alumni ahead of them on the without buying a single text- list, I just don’t see it happening. It’s not like they’re presbook, Dolphins said.

“Michael refused to learn ident or something,” Parry religion from any other book Larnn said. “I’m looking forthan the Bible,” Dolphins said. ward to presenting Dan Taco Phyllis from the dining with his honorary degree in hall said she had a pretty close Public Speaking later this spring.”

Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell declaring their majors. | Colm Maines

Collision whips Barstool into shape Student journalists congratulate themselves for ridding Hillsdale of its toxic culture By | Reagan Dugan Frat God Your new go-to for wholesome memes and inspirational quotes is none other than the old Barstool Hillsdale account. Followers of the account were taken aback when it dropped its bad-boy image almost overnight.

The account deleted all of its old posts and changed its handle from BarstoolDale to Arnn’sArmchair and shares a daily inspirational quote and advice on how to achieve “the good.”

The account lost 1,000 followers when account manager Sake Jievers rebranded.

“Sure, that’s a significant number, but I’m not worried,” Jievers said. “It’s also a lot off my plate. I don’t have to worry about what conservative pansy I’m going to offend next.”

Jievers chalks the change up to the arguments made in an opinion piece published by the Collision earlier this semester.

Follow @HDaleCollision

“I just really respect the opinion of the Collision editorial staff,” Jievers said.

“They’re the moral police of the campus. Of course I listened to them.”

The author of that opinion piece, Moel Jeng, said he was not expecting Jievers to actually listen to him or even read the piece.

“I’m honestly bummed Barstool has changed,” Jeng said. “One of the trademarks of a Hillsdale student is complaining about trivial things on campus. That’s one less trivial thing to complain about.”

So far, Arnn’sArmchair has shared Winston Churchill quotes and trivia as well as a plethora of pictures of Arnn’s dogs. While Arnn says he enjoys the Chur- A student opinion piece absolutely OBLITERATED BarstoolDale. | chill quotes, the students Instagram are fans of the dog pictures. my senses heighten and my “I’ve never really heard an “I have never felt more focus intensifies. I want to do answer I liked to the question burdened with glorious pur- those good boys proud.”

‘What is the good,’” Larnn pose than I have following As for the account’s name- said. “If someone says ‘the this account,” sophomore Pro sake, Hillsdale College Pres- good’ is Arnn’sArmchair, that Crastinate said. “As soon as I ident Parry Larnn said he one I’ll take.” see a picture of Arnn’s dogs, loves the account. www.hillsdalecollision.com

www.hillsdalecollision.com

@realParryLarnn Tweets from your college president...

i got my chapel in the bacc no one: Papa Whalen: Is it that wildly inappropriate for a man with 11 children to be making jokes about celibacy?

Hillsdale students absolutely DESTROYED Will Witt with FACTS and LOGIC.

Graphic | Katie Shoe

‘Hillsdale Plus’ to prolong core education for alumni By | Nickel Not-My-Fault Editor-in-Grief Hillsdale College graduates who long to keep rejoicing in the challenge are in luck: The college is now requiring that graduates take additional online core classes, called “Hillsdale Plus,” to maintain official alumni status.

“It is a good and noble thing, indeed an act of self government, to maintain education into one’s old age,” said Parry Larnn, president of Hillsdale College. “We don’t want graduates of the college acting like idiots out in the real world.”

Larnn also said the additional core is a means of leveling the playing field for students who graduated before the core was the size it is today — and who missed out on courses like Logic and Rhetoric and the Senior Capstone.

“We are an equal opportunity educator,” he said, quickly pointing out, however, that he wouldn’t call it affirmative action.

In true liberal-arts style, the Hillsdale Plus classes will cover a broad range of subjects.

Courses include “Western Heritage Revisited,” “Physical Wellness: Geriatric Edition,” and “How to Donate to a Conservative Christian College.”

Alumni must take one class each semester.

Professor of Economics Evan Pun-Grassic said he’s pretty bitter about having to teach another class every semester, but he might soothe himself by turning part of his surf guitar course into a lesson on the pitfalls of GDP measurements.

“If kids are learning macro and music into old age, maybe the world will be a better place after all,” he said with a sigh.

Add-’em Carrington, professor of politics, said he doesn’t mind the additional load and hopes to see alumni carry constitutional principles into every possible aspect of life, now that they have the chance to study them ad infinitum.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see alumni teaching their children the ABCs and the Bill

of Rights right along together?” he said.

It comes as good news to some that the number of credits students graduate with won’t determine their registration status. Registration will simply be an online free-for-all on WebAdvisor every January 1 and July 1 at 6:44 p.m. (18:44 military time).

“We thought that little pneumonic device would benefit our more elderly alumni.

They deserve a little assistance since they never knew a thing about registering via the World Wide Web when they were students,” said Dug Arthur, the registrar.

Alumni certification will be assessed on a pass-fail basis, but alumni who achieve straight As in Hillsdale Plus courses will be given special “Blue and White” status and receive a complementary (and complimentary) brick in the alumni walk for every five years of such behavior. Alumni who fail a course must return to campus for a two-week independent study with Larnn himself, which they must pass to maintain alumni status.

Alumni who lose their status will receive letters asking them to send back their diplomas on a temporary basis until they have passed another six consecutive semesters of Hillsdale Plus.

“We’re thinking of printing diplomas on vinyl because we’re expecting some backand-forth over the decades,” Arthur said. “Thankfully the Latin itself will never go out of style, though the vinyl may be tacky.”

Alumnus Nick Rowin ’18 said the new requirement came as a surprise, but he’s grown used to it now and is even fond of a course he’s taking now with Professor of English Jon Summerville called “Elvis Presley and the Western Tradition.”

“The Western Tradition is richer than we even knew,” Rowin said. “Good thing we have these extra courses to broaden our knowledge and — who knows? — maybe extend our lives forever. An alum who’s taken Hillsdale Plus has yet to die.”

Look for The Hillsdale Collision

April 25, 2019 A5

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Smith’s Flowers, a local shop in downtown Hillsdale, will celebrate 125 years this year. Collegian | Nicole Ault

Smith’s Flowers celebrates 125 years in Hillsdale

By | Nicole Ault Editor-In-Chief In a back room crowded with bouquets and vases and ribbons, Jane Stewart dashes off instructions to employees: An order for a secretary needs a “nice bow;” someone needs wedding flowers and the bride actually isn’t too fussy about the kind; those altar flowers will be picked up on Saturday.

The phone rings and a new order comes in.

“We’re so incredibly busy,” laughs Stewart, the owner of Smith’s Flowers. Work varies by season, but they’ve filled as many as 60 orders in a day, she said.

The flower shop celebrates its 125th anniversary this year — Stewart isn’t sure of the exact date, but she plans to celebrate with a birthday party for the community in the fall.

A century ago, filling orders for its customers looked a little different than the three ladies bustling in the back of the Broad Street building.

Pulling out a file of news

clips from the shop’s history, Stewart points to old pictures of previous owners and locations. Decades ago, she remarks, it would have taken a month to plant flowers for a cemetery, and she can do it in an afternoon.

Founded by a German landscaper named Carl Hirsch in 1894 as Hillsdale Floral Park, Smith’s Flowers was first located on Carleton Road (then called Railroad Road).

According to the Hillsdale Historical Society, Hirsch took charge of landscaping grounds for the Lake Shore Railroad Company, and his greenhouses were renowned in Michigan. A 1904 advertisement for the park boasts the “Largest and Best Equipped Greenhouses in this part of the State” and claims its carnations, roses, and lilies “are now sent over Every State in the Union.”

“When coming to the Carnival, don’t fail to bring in your girl and have a nice Buttonhole Bouquet,” the ad concludes.

The store has had five owners and five locations, Stewart said. Hirsch’s wife took over for a few years after his death in 1915, then sold it to the Smith family (who gave it the name it has today). According to a 2001 Hometown Shop-

Over that time, the shop has been on Lewis Street and three different locations on Broad Street. Stewart bought its current building at 106 N. Broad Street around 2012, she said.

Despite its many moves

“My favorite thing is giving joy to people, because flowers make people happy,” Stewart said. “Making people happy fills my soul. And we’re doing a lot for the community.” pers Guide feature on the shop, the Smiths’ sold it to a son-in-law, Frank Coscerelli, in 1950, who operated the shop when Maureen Millies came to work there. Millies took ownership in 1979 and sold it to Stewart in July of 2010.

around town, the shop boasts several mementos of its history: An original cash register, a large walk-in cooler, and a white arch, propped up in the window display, that Stewart still pulls out for weddings.

“I’m am so excited that the shop has been around

The Dawn Theater project will begin in June since MEDC approved their grant on Tuesday. Collegian | Julia Mullins

Dawn from A1 The grant will provide the City of Hillsdale $1.415 million to aid the project, which has been in the works for the past few years.

The City of Hillsdale TIFA began accepting bids for the project this winter, but all bids received by February surpassed the then-budget of $1.3 million. After returning to the construction bids and explaining that they all came in above budget, TIFA then received two bids under budget.

Now that MEDC has approved of the project, Beeker said they will reach out to the construction contractors and architects to put together a

contract and finalized plan.

“Later on this week, we will revise the architect’s drawings so that the contractor has up to date drawings to draw up permits,” he said.

Board members of the MEDC were excited to approve the grant for the Dawn Theater. MEDC CEO Jeff Mason said that filling the space will be beneficial for the community.

“The restoration of the historic Dawn Theatre in Hillsdale will involve reactivating the vacant structure for community use by providing a venue for movies and special events,” he said.

In addition to filling a vacant space, Mason said in a media call that the rehabilitation project will also be a

benefit for the community economically.

“The project is expected to result in private investment of $400,000, creating approximately 27 jobs,” Mason said.

“It will help strengthen the vibrancy of the historic city of Hillsdale.”

According to a news statement from the City of Hillsdale, the Dawn Theater will be used as a community space for movies, events, and rental.

“TIFA plans to restore the original brick facade and windows to their original appearance,” the statement said.

“The work will also include asbestos and lead abatement, structural repairs, and roof replacement. Interior work includes the installation of new finishes, stage mechanicals

and lighting.”

Greg Tedder, chief community development and marketing officer for MEDC, said that TIFA has been working to ensure the site is remodeled historically.

“They’re planning on rehabbing an existing theatre and their site plan is in accordance with the state historic preservation office, and we have been working on that project with them for the past few years,” Tedder said.

Since the project’s approval, TIFA is working to get everything in place as soon as possible.

“We are beyond excited to finally get started,” Beeker said.

and gone through trials and tribulations,” Stewart said of the anniversary, pointing out that Smith’s survived the Great Depression. “Flowers at some point are a luxury, not a necessity.”

Stewart herself came to Smith’s after the recession, when work in the automotive industry didn’t have a bright outlook, she said. She’d worked in greenhouses as a teenager and grown things in years since. She still grows the shop’s sunflowers.

Now, business seems to be booming. Weddings and funerals take up most of her orders, Stewart said; her favorites are for new babies.

Mother’s Day is the biggest month-long season, while Valentine’s Day packs in the most orders for a single day.

Stewart works mainly with head designer Carmel Wright and her “jack-of-all-trades” Tina Glancy, as well as a few others who work part time.

Stewart sources flowers from distributors in South America, Canada, and Cal-

ifornia. In the summer, she takes shipments from five local growers, three of which are in Hillsdale County. And she grows her own sunflowers.

“Quite a bit of our customers trust us because we know them and what they like,” she said, noting that she has a lot of regulars.

As she’s bustling in the back, a man comes in and asks for “just a bouquet of flowers to set on a table. Just need to brighten my wife’s day.”

“Let’s do that!” Stewart says eagerly, dashing to the cooler. In a few minutes, she has a full bouquet tied with a ribbon for him.

This type of moment is what Stewart finds fulfilling about her work.

“My favorite thing is giving joy to people, because flowers make people happy,” she said.

“Making people happy fills my soul. And we’re doing a lot for the community.”

By | Alexis Daniels Assistant Editor

said. “That’s definitely different for us. It’s also new this year because we moved it to the month of April, which coincides with child abuse prevention month. The reason we moved it was to help bring more awareness to Hillsdale County about child abuse and prevention awareness.”

Denise Potter, co-chair of the event, said the number of participants has increased from last year up to 85.

“I attribute it to us changing it to the glow run,” Potter said. “I think it’s a better opportunity for families to get together. It’s at night, not in the early morning. It’s more appealing to younger families and young adults.”

The funds amassed from the event will go to CAPA’s child abuse programs such as Cozy Kids Campaign, which raises money for “warm sleeping apparel,” and Baby Think It Over, which uses baby simulators to foster discussion and understanding about parenthood to “deter teen pregnancies.” Campbell said she hopes that the event not only raises awareness but that it also is fun for the community.

“It is unfortunately something that’s happening here, and the more we talk about it, the more awareness we can bring and hopefully the more children we can help,” Campbell said. “We hope that this gets kids out of the house, that we have families that get involved. We hope people enjoy it and they tell their friends and we can make this event bigger next year.”

Registration for the event is $30 per person and $65 per family.

CAPA to host 19th Magic Ride and Pinwheel Glow 5K this weekend Hillsdale County’s Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness organization will host a bike race and a glow run Saturday at Lake Baw Beese and Owens Park to raise money for programs dedicated to raising awareness for child abuse.

CAPA’s 2019 Magic Ride and Pinwheel Glow 5K Run/ Walk will have both a bike portion, which will start at 5:45 p.m., and a run/walk portion, which will start at 8:30 p.m. According to CAPA Executive Director Christie Campbell, the bike ride has two routes; the first is a smaller route that goes through Hillsdale, past Johnny T’s, and circles back to the lake, and the second goes to Jonesville, ending at the Udder Side, and back – a 15 mile round trip.

“There’s a family friendly and an enthusiast one,” Campbell said.

For the run/walk portion, the route will be lit up with blue pinwheels for participants.

“We will have blue pinwheels placed along the route which is the national symbol for child abuse prevention and awareness month of April,” Campbell said. “Our hope is just to bring even more awareness to Hillsdale county about child abuse prevention and awareness.”

This is CAPA’s nineteenth year hosting the “magic ride,” and it is their eighth year hosting the 5k. The glow run, however, is a change from previous years.

“It is a glow run this year, so it’s at night,” Campbell

SPORTS

A6 April 25, 2019

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Follow @HDaleSports for live updates and news

Amy Otterbein: the core of a football family By | Allison Schuster assistant editor Long before she sat in the bleachers at Frank “Muddy” Waters Stadium to watch Hillsdale College football games, Amy Otterbein grew up sitting in her family’s living room watching football as a kid.

She watched games with her father, Stephen Adams, and not too much has changed. But now, she roots solely for the Chargers, along with the rest of her family. She and her husband, head football coach Keith Otterbein, passed down their football tradition to their kids, and plan to continue the tradition with their grandkids in the future.

“I really was my father’s son,” Amy said.

Since her dad played football, he enjoyed watching games with Amy since neither of her two sisters , Lynn and Jill, were interested. Neither was their mother, Patsy. It was a typical for Amy and her father to spend afternoons either watching or playing sports together.

“I played softball, so I would play softball with him sometimes,” Amy said. “But it wasn’t a varsity sport.”

Although Amy participat-

ed in both cheerleading and synchronized swimming as varsity sports in high school and continued with the latter at University of Michigan, her time in high school was before the inception of Title IX, which meant there weren’t as many options available to her, such as softball, she explained.

“But I’ve always liked football,” Amy said. “Well, I’ve always liked every sport.”

She began dating Keith in high school, who is one year older and lived in the same neighborhood as Amy in Lathrup Village, a northwest suburb of Detroit. Although Keith went to Hillsdale and Amy went to Michigan, they “pretty much” made it through the four years, according to Amy. After cheerleading for high school football games, Amy would visit Keith during his first year playing at Hillsdale, cheering from the stands.

After college, Amy and Keith moved to Hillsdale for Keith to begin his first job as an assistant football coach.

Since then, the Otterbeins have moved to five different locations for coaching jobs.

All three of their kids, Steve, Alyssa, and Brad, fol-

The Otterbeins enjoy a family vacation at Mackinaw Island. amy otterbein | courtesy

lowed in their father’s footsteps by attending Hillsdale with strong involvement in the football program. After playing on the team, Stephen and Brad both currently serve as assistant coaches, giving the term “family business” some real meaning. Alyssa supported the team by serving on the training staff as a student at Hillsdale.

“Sometimes we’d really all be on the bus together,” Amy said in explaining the Otterbein family involvement with the football team. “I try to go [to away games] when I can get out of work and if

it’s not too far.”

Although she spends 30 hours a week working for the Orthopedic Rehab Specialists as a physical therapist, Amy still makes time for Hillsdale football.

“Thank goodness I do like football,” Amy said.

Assistant football coach and Amy’s oldest son, Steve, said his mom has only missed a few games in all the years he’s played and coached for Hillsdale.

“She’s one of our biggest fans,” Steve said.

Given all the time their husbands spend at games,

Women's Tennis

Amy said the coaches’ wives do a lot of tailgating, providing an opportunity to get to know players’ families.

“By the time [the players] are seniors I’ve gotten to know them,” Amy said. “And then the freshmen come in and it starts all over again.”

When Keith worked as an assistant at Hillsdale for the first time, the Otterbeins only lived there for two years.

“When we lived here the first time I was like ‘Eh, I don’t think so,’ so I worked in Jackson, and we lived here for two years and I was ready to get out,” Amy said.

After bouncing around as a coach between Divisions I and II, the Otterbeins moved back to Hillsdale, where Keith has been the head coach for the last 17 seasons.

“We got a chance to move back here. [Keith] didn’t think I would want to, but I was excited about it,” Amy said. “Now that we’ve been here I think it’s great.”

Today, the entire family is settled in Hillsdale. Despite Alyssa moving with her husband to California and Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he was stationed in the Navy, she’s been back in town for almost three years.

“We both really enjoy be-

ing around them,” Keith said.

“We’re extremely blessed to have all five of our grandkids right here.”

“We have a spot at the very top of the stadium and they can’t escape and they bring coloring books,” Keith continued. “Brad and Steve and their wives come with all their kids, so games can be counted as a family affair.”

In her spare time, Amy enjoys walking their family dog, Cooper, or “Cooper the pooper,” according to her grandkids.

Although football is an Otterbein family operation, Cooper is one member of the family who doesn’t come to games.

“It’s enough that we just have the grandkids running around,” Amy said.

When not at work or football games, Amy can often be found at her church, Trinity Lutheran, as the secretary of the council. And when she’s not working, she’s volunteering, or attending Bible study. Fully immersed in the Hillsdale community, Amy doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

“I’m going to retire here,” she said. “We have five grandkids and they all live within a few minutes of us.”

Men's Track and Field

Senior Day shutout leads Chargers Chargers compete into G-MAC tournament semifinal nationwide to tune By | Ryan Goff assistant editor

In their last match of the regular season, the Hillsdale College Chargers defeated Cedarville University 7-0 as they honored their seniors in the Biermann Center.

All four seniors, Corinne Prost, Halle Hyman, Madeline Bissett, and Julia Formentin earned singles wins en route to victory. Hyman did not drop a game, Bissett and Formentin won easily in straight sets, and Prost came from losing the first set to force a tiebreak which she won 10-7.

The journey for these four has been a long one, filled with success and adversity over the past four years.

Growth is a common theme among these players, who have experienced many challenges in their time in the tennis program.

“The journey through four years in the program has been extremely beneficial to me and my personal growth. It made my college experience something that I'll never forget,” Formentin said. “Being a student-athlete was one of the most challenging things I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding.”

As someone who experienced a few stressful matches this season in her 8-1 singles and 1-2 doubles record this season, Prost said she sometimes felt pushed to her brink and learned how

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to press on.

“The ability to smile and give love in all its forms when you’re feeling negative, the ability to push harder on a sprint when you have what feels like nothing left to give, and many more skills I’m still working on were a part of what being a Charger tennis player gave me,” Prost said. “I will forever be grateful for that.”

Still, when thinking about this weekend being the end of her collegiate career, Prost said she almost couldn’t comprehend it.

“I get the same feeling you get when you go through your favorite childhood toys — that season of your life felt never-ending,” Prost said. “But then it was gone all too soon. It’s surreal.”

Looking back on the past four years, head coach Nikki Walbright said she’s seen the seniors flourish into the players they are right now through the many changes the program has gone through.

“We’ve had four very different years here because we switched leagues and matches were kind of all over the place so they’ve all stayed really positive,” Walbright said. “I think this year has been their shining year. Last year we didn’t have seniors

g-mac women's tennis championship semifinal

| owensboro, ky 3:00 P.M. 1 H illsdale (14-2, 7-0) vs. 4 F indlay (9-8, 4-3) FRIDAY, APRIL 26

so they were forced into that role, but this year they really shined with it.”

She said their efforts have strengthened and pushed the team toward success so far, which comes from consistent hard work and dedication.

“They don’t have any case of senioritis or anything.

They’re the ones driving the rest of the team to work super hard and have stayed really consistent,” Walbright said. “They’re not checked out at all.”

On the eve of the G-MAC Championship, where winning guarantees a bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament, Walbright said the team is focused on staying committed to their season-long mindset of going into matches with confidence but not expectation.

“You never know on any given day how matches will be, so our mentality needs to go in thinking about it as a new match, having the confidence that we have a really good season behind us, but not necessarily being overconfident that it’s going to be easy, because I think they will be two very difficult matches that we have to play,” Walbright said.

As the no. 1 seed, the Chargers will play no. 4 seed Findlay University on Friday, and may go on to play

the winner of no. 2 Walsh University vs. no. 3 Tiffin University.

Walbright said the team will be working on trying to stay focused on the point ahead this weekend.

“We’re working on consistency — we don’t want to let the small things define us this weekend, we want to be consistent with how we hit the ball, how we win our points, staying really confident on the court,” Walbright said. “We want to be really positive about what we do and work really hard with it.”

This season, with the help of the seniors and consistent contribution from sophomore Hannah Cimpeanu and freshman Sarah Hackman on the one and two courts, the Chargers have put together a very strong season, finishing at 14-2 overall, and an undefeated 7-0 in the G-MAC. These successes have put them in the national ranking at the highest ever at no. 46 last week and earned them the top seed in the G-MAC. “It’s been cool that our successes led us to the point that we’re in, but we’ve gotta keep staying focused on the task at hand—to win the next match, to hopefully win the tournament, and to win the NCAAs,” Walbright said.

“The pressure is there, but we’re excited for it.”

Golf

Chargers finish third in G-MAC By | Ryan Goff assistant editor

At the University Club of Kentucky, the Hillsdale College Chargers found themselves in third place at the end of the G-MAC Championship April 19-20. With a team score of 36-over-par, the Chargers were eight behind second place Findlay and 19 behind the winning Trevecca Nazarene after the 54-hole tournament.

After enjoying success earlier in the season with a tournament win at the Music City Invitational in Nashville, the Chargers couldn’t reach the same successes in the final tournament of the season.

Junior Ryan Zetwick said the first round 10-over-par followed by a second round 21-over-par all but took the team out of contention.

“Unfortunately, we got off to a bad start the first day and were too far behind to recover,” Zetwick said. “The conditions were bad and that only added to the tough scoring.”

In junior George Roberts’ take of it, the wet conditions in the second round presented difficult challenges that the Chargers were unable to overcome.

“In the second round the heavens opened,” Roberts said. “My hands were slipping; it was miserable.”

Senior Liam Purslowe and

Zetwick drove the Chargers, finishing tied-eighth individually at eight-over-par.

Freshman Josh Davenport finished behind them at 12-over, followed by Roberts (+14), and sophomore Logan Anuszkiewicz (+26).

Despite a rocky start, Zetwick said there are still positives to take from the tournament and the season which may come to an end if the Chargers don’t qualify for the NCAA tournament.

“I think as a team we have a lot to be proud of this season, we won our first two tournaments in program history and hopefully will qualify for the Super Regionals,” Zetwick said. “While we would have liked to have

won this week, the outcome shouldn't hurt us and is something to learn from moving forward.”

On the final day, the Chargers shot the second-lowest team score of the tournament, which moved them up to third place. To Roberts, the team’s performance on the third day was exceptional, even if not enough.

“Third round we gave it a go-to claim some spots; unfortunately, we couldn’t make up the difference for a second round—only enough for third,” Roberts said.

“A shame, as we know, we should have taken the title with the form we came in on.”

up for G-MACs By | Calli Townsend assistant editor The Hillsdale College Chargers competed across the country as they tune up before the G-MAC Championship next weekend. While many athletes traveled to Ashland, Ohio, on Saturday, several others competed in California at Azusa Pacific and the Long Beach State Universities.

Sophomore Ryan Thomsen got things started in California on Tuesday as he competed in his first full decathlon of the season.

With good weather and great competition, he was able to score 6476 points in 10 events — just four points shy of his personal best.

Thomsen won the heptathlon in the G-MAC Indoor Championship and will look repeat that success in the decathlon outdoors.

He is currently ranked first in the conference and no. 21 in Division II. On Thursday, junior Joey Humes raced the 5000 meter run under the lights at Azusa. He ran a season-best time of 14:29.37. After winning the mile and the 3000 meter run at the indoor championship, Humes will look to defend his title as one of the best distance runners in the conference.

“That race in California didn’t go so hot,” Humes said. “It was a very physical race with a lot of pushing and shoving. I’m feeling pretty strong going into GMACs, and I’m planning on doing the 1500.”

The pole vaulters competed on Friday and Saturday as well. Freshman Ben Raffin cleared 4.80 meters at Azusa to take 13th out of 42 athletes. On Saturday, senior Jared Schipper placed seventh out of more than 70 competitors at Long Beach State. His mark of 5.32 meters is his second best height of all time. Schipper is still ranked first in NCAA Division II. At the Alumni Open at Ashland University, the Chargers continued to improve with seasonal and lifetime best performances.

Leading the way for the Chargers was senior Nathan Pando. After beginning the outdoor season well ahead of last year, he earned a significant personal best time in the 200 meter dash on

Saturday. His time of 21.82 was nearly two-tenths of a second better than his previous best, and he took second place.

Junior Ian Brown also recorded a personal best in the 200 meter dash. He finished ninth in 22.58, just ahead of senior Levi Wyse who finished in 22.60.

“That was the rematch between me and Levi. He beat me the first time and i beat him the second time,” Brown said. “It’s very fun. It’s a good teammate rivalry, but not really a rivalry, it’s just kind of funny.”

Pando and Wyse ran the 100 meter dash along with freshman Jacob Schmidt.

Pando earned a season-best time of 11.02 en route to his third place finish. Schmidt finished three-hundredths of a second shy of his personal record of 11.10 seconds, and Wyse finished in 11.39. They came in fifth and eighth, respectively.

The four sprinters teamed up to run the 4-by-100 meter relay. Despite their messy handoffs, Pando, Wyse, Schmidt, and Brown still managed to run 42.48 and take second.

In the 110 meter hurdles, Brown continued his streak of improvement as he set yet another personal record.

He finished in 14.70 to take fourth.

The 400 meter hurdlers, junior David Downey and freshman Kevin Curby, came in seventh and 11th, respectively. After hitting a hurdle early in the race, Downey recovered and regained momentum to run a near-personal best time of 56.80.

Curby finished the race in 57.84.

In the distance events, sophomore Mark Miller and junior Alex Oquist ran the steeplechase, taking first and third, respectively. Miller finished in 9:44.82, and Oquist crossed the line in 10:07.30.

Sophomore Jack Shelley ran a strong race in the 1500 meter run. With a sprint to the finish, he came in fourth with a time of 4:06.20.

This weekend the Chargers host the 53rd Annual Gina Relays which kicks off tonight. Events will carry on through Saturday afternoon.

The G-MAC Conference Championship will follow on May 2-4.

Sports

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Softball

April 25, 2019 A7

Chargers split final four home games Hillsdale to finish regular season with four road games before G-MAC tournament game 1

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her mental approach at the plate.

“Knowing what my job is during each at bat is critical for me,” Taylor said. “For example, with a runner at third, I look for an inside pitch to hit to the right side in order to score her.”

Monday, April 22 (Game 1): Hillsdale 10, Lake Erie 0 (5 innings) Junior pitcher Dana Weidinger pitched a shutout for the Chargers and picked up her sixth win of the season. She allowed just one hit and had six strikeouts.

Weidinger said she felt great after the win at home.

“My approach on the mound for Lake Erie was to get batters out,” Weidinger said. “I went in with a clear mind and a goal to dominate the batters.”

Taylor went two for three

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9 8 run batted in. Kish, Catron,

at the plate, scoring two runs and one run batted in.

Sophomore first baseman Emma Johnson went 2 for 2 at the plate. She scored one run and led the Chargers with three runs batted in.

Taylor, junior shortstop Sam Catron, sophomore catcher Madison Stoner, and sophomore pitcher Natalie Walters each hit doubles.

and Walters all hit doubles.

Walters pitched four innings for the Chargers and gave up three runs on five hits.

Freshman pitcher Camryn Olson came in for relief and earned her second loss of the season as she gave up one run on three hits. Freshman pitcher Julia Sayles also faced two batters in the top of the seventh inning and gave up one unearned run.

Monday, April 22 (Game 2): Lake Erie 5, Hillsdale 4 The Chargers picked up 12 hits, but their offense fell flat in the final three innings of game two. Taylor led Hillsdale, going three for four at the plate, and Johnson went two for three.

Johnson said she tried to keep it simple at the plate.

“I see a good pitch, and I hit it,” Johnson said.

Kish went 2 for 4, scoring one run and earning one

Tuesday, April 23 (Game 1): Hillsdale 5, Ursuline 3 Weidinger earned another win in the circle, allowing three runs on five hits in five innings.

Throughout the season, Weidinger said she has seen herself grow in the roles as a starting and relief pitcher.

“It was hard at times to stay positive when I would go out and get hit, but I had my teammates and fellow pitchers behind me cheer-

Sam Catron swings during the Chargers' second game against Ursuline on Tuesday. julia mullins | collegian

12:00 and 2:00 P.M.

Hillsdale (18-23, 12-8) at Findlay (21-19, 11-9)

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After splitting a doubleheader against the Lake Erie College Storm, the Hillsdale College Chargers split their final two home games against the Ursuline College Arrows.

After celebrating Senior Day in their games with Lake Erie, senior outfielder Katie Kish and senior second baseman Amanda Marra each surpassed 50 hits this season.

Senior third baseman Jessica Taylor went 7 for 14 at the plate and improved her batting average to .374 and on-base percentage to .451 In the last couple of weeks, Taylor said she has been stepping into the box with more confidence by trusting in her preparation.

“My mindset these past few weeks has honestly just been: ‘Leave it all out there,’” Taylor said. “I have been playing this game since before I can remember, and my time on the field is coming to a close quickly.”

Throughout the season, Taylor said she has challenged herself by improving

MONDAY, APRIL 22

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By | Julia Mullins assistant editor

ing me on,” Weidinger said.

“It’s one of the best feelings knowing your teammates have your back in the good times and bad times.”

Sayles came in to pitch during the top of the sixth inning and got the save for the Chargers. Marra hit a double and picked up a run batted in. Taylor went 1 for 3 at the plate, scoring one run and earning one run batted in. Walters went one for two at the plate and picked up one run and earned two runs batted in.

Tuesday, April 23 (Game 2): Ursuline 9, Hillsdale 8 (8 innings) Ursuline picked up 17 hits in game two compared to Hillsdale’s 13. Catron led the Chargers on offense going three for five at the plate with one run. Stoner went two for three at the plate with two runs batted in.

Taylor and junior outfielder

Victoria Addis both hit doubles and picked up one run batted in. All four members of Hillsdale’s pitching staff entered the game, but Sayles got her fifth loss of the season. She allowed two runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings.

Walters started in the circle and allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Up Next The Chargers will play their final regular season games on the road beginning Saturday, April 27 with two games against Cedarville University at noon and 2 p.m. On Sunday, the Chargers will take on the University of Findlay at noon and 2 p.m.

Weidinger said she’s hoping for some big wins this weekend.

“We’ve been hitting the ball really well, and our pitching has been strong this whole season,” Weidinger said. “I’m looking forward to seeing our seniors finish out their season on a very high note and for us to enter the conference tournament ready to take the trophy for the second year in a row.”

Madison Stoner catches a pitch during the Chargers' second game against Ursuline on Tuesday. julia mullins | collegian

charger chatter: Dana Weidinger Dana Weidinger is a junior from Bath, Ohio. She is studying sports management and is a starting pitcher on the softball team.

Junior pitcher Dana Weidinger photo: hillsdale athletics

Q: What’s the number one thing you’ve learned from softball?

Q: How long have you been playing softball?

DW: It’s taught me how to manage my time properly, but I’ve also had to learn how to have friends beyond the softball team. Spending that extra time with other people and getting together with groups on campus like Athletes Intervarsity and Bible study has been huge. I’ve also learned to come out of my shell. I was so quiet when I got to campus, but I realized I needed to lead people on the team instead of just listening to whatever was happening, which is what I was used to.

I actually had to speak and learn and teach other people.

DW: I’ve been playing ever since I can remember. I started when I was eight and began pitching when I was 10.

Baseball and softball runs in my family so my older sister and dad got me into pitching. I always had that athletic spirit about me and softball was just something I knew I loved immediately. As soon as I stepped on the field it just felt like home. Then I grew six inches in one summer and got the height that most pitchers have at the collegiate and professional levels. My pitching coach looked at me and said, “Well, here we go.

This is what you’re going to be doing.”

Q: What’s been the most memorable part of your softball career at Hillsdale so far?

DW: That’s hard because there are so many, but starting as a freshman was really big for me. Normally freshmen don’t start for most sports but my coach was like, “You’re a starting pitcher.

You have to come up to this role and be ready for anything that’s thrown at you.”

I had to instantly become a leader. You’re the center of attention and you’re controlling the time of the game because everything starts when you throw the ball. It was exciting to have such an important role as soon as I came on campus, but it was also very stressful to balance all that responsibility on top of Hillsdale academics as a freshman.

Q: Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Q: How do you envision softball being a part of your life down the road?

DW: I like taking my time getting warmed up for pitching.

If I’m starting the first game at home or away, I like to put my sunglasses on, stretch, and wait until the very last minute to put my cleats on (because they’re very uncomfortable). I try to socialize and relax before games by hanging out with the hitters while they’re warming up or talking and joking around with teammates. I want to keep up a good mojo before the game starts and get my mind in the right place before I walk out there.

DW: Softball has always been a big part of my life and I don’t see that ever changing. I don’t plan on going professional or anything like that, although eventually when I have kids I’d like for them to play baseball or softball because it’s taught me a lot of life lessons that have been very important. But I would also like to do management and marketing for the MLB someday. I hope to work with professional teams and do the best I can for them.

---compiled by Madeline Peltzer

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

April 25, 2019

A8

“Magnolia Table” by Joanna Gaines cultivates a sense of home. Collegian | Carmel Kookogey

Culture

Great Cookbooks: Magnolia Table

Ginger & Tonic: Boost your immune system for hell week

By | Carmel Kookogey Culture Editor When my youngest sister turned 10 years old, we went to brunch at a place called Kitchen Notes, and I ate the best biscuit I’ve ever tasted.

Since that moment, I’ve been looking to recreate it.

I tried just about every recipe I knew, but none was fluffy enough. None, that is, until I found a recipe in “Magnolia Table.”

The 2018 cookbook was written by one half of the famous house-flipping couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines.

While most people know Gaines and her husband for their HGTV show “Fixer Upper,” or perhaps the Magnolia Market, the couple’s new artisan market in Waco, Texas, that has become a popular tourist spot since it opened in 2015, it turns out she’s not just an interior design goddess:

Joanna Gaines knows food, too. The cookbook boasts many show-stopping recipes, but none quite so interesting to me as “JoJo’s biscuits.”

Gaines’ approach to the book is refreshingly simple: She aims to make good, hearty food. Some recipes are healthier (garlic and herb tomatoes, or beef stew with jalapeno cornbread), some are delightfully indulgent (fried chicken with sticky poppy seed jam).

But what makes Gaines’ cookbook great is how approachable it is: brussel sprouts with crispy bacon, toasted pecans, and balsamic reduction are both a genius idea and also something that can be made with ingredients already in your freezer. It’s common food done creatively.

Unlike so many contemporary cookbooks, “Magnolia Table” also does not try to cut corners to make things health-

By | Anna Timmis Collegian Reporter Finals Week approaches, and so do torturous late nights of studying fueled by junk food and coffee.

Finishing term papers and being prepared for finals takes a toll on your body and sleep schedule, and while a sufficient amount of sleep might be idealistic, you may not always have time.

To keep your immune system in peak form, try washing your snacks down with a boosted tonic.

Berry smoothies, carrot juice, garlic, and kale are all immune-system boosters, according to the internet.

But a hot ginger drink has the benefit of doubling as a comforting tea as well — and smells better than garlic.

Found on The Juicery (with a few modifications) is this “Ginger Tea Tonic.”

Whip one up this Finals Week, for maximum health.

By | Nolan Ryan News Editor When senior theatre major Jessica MacFarlane had to choose a play to direct for her senior project, she wanted to find something that would require intellectual discussions with the actors. For her, the obvious choice was “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen.

The Tower Players’ production of “A Doll’s House,” which opened Wednesday night in the Quilhot Blackbox Theatre and runs through the weekend tackles difficult questions, including individuality and marriage, according to MacFarlane.

“After I’ve lived and worked with the play for 16 months, it’s become so important and personal to me,” MacFarlane said. “It’s so Hillsdalian in a way because it’s about self-government and a person coming to terms with themselves and the difficult path that that is. Yet it’s not Hillsdalian, at the same time, because the end of the journey is not

what people want it to be.”

The narrative focuses on Nora Helmer, played by sophomore Kirby Thigpen, as she wrestles with her role as wife and mother. Much of the action follows from how her husband, Torvald, played by freshman Jon Syren, perceives her as a person. The action begins when a secret from Nora’s past comes back to haunt her — she forged her father’s signature to borrow money for the sake of her husband’s health. The man who lent her the money, Nils Krogstad played by senior Lane Gaudet, comes onto the scene and threatens to blow her cover.

Nora is placed in a tension as she lives a sort of double life, attempting to be the perfect wife for Torvald, while knowing she used dishonest means of securing money.

Thigpen said how the audience interprets Nora’s character will affect how they view the play’s themes.

“There’s a theme of individuality and being your own

Gaines’ cookbook offers home-like simplicity, incredible biscuits ier. If Gaines is making a burger — the “Gaines brother burgers with drip jam,” to be precise — it’s big and it’s juicy and it’s topped with Gruyere cheese, arugula, and a jam made of brown sugar and bacon drippings. She doesn’t do things by halves (though you may need to with this burger).

A lot of the hype around the Gaines’ popular home renovation show is due to Joanna Gaines’ interior decorating style, and her signature “rustic farmhouse look” has taken over Pinterest boards and home magazines since 2013.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the Gaines’ style, though, is the fact that it is both clean and cozy. It’s minimalist without losing depth of character. It’s the ideal home.

Gaines brings this understanding of home to the cookbook: She’s neither overly simple, nor overly showy. It’s

good food with good ingredients, nothing more. Even the names of the recipes are straightforward: Try “cod in parchment with lemon and vegetables” for a fresh summer dinner.

The beauty of this is that it’s an excellent all-in-one cookbook. From the perfect roast chicken to strawberry shortcake, the gang’s all here, like the best versions of your mom’s standby recipes, but all in one place. Everything is fresh, everything is hearty, everything has the warm familiarity of home.

I bought “Magnolia Table” — and some buttermilk, flour, and a pound of salted butter — and two years after that first life-changing Kitchen Notes biscuit, I finally replicated it. With three types of rising agents, JoJo’s might be the fluffiest biscuits you’ll ever eat.

‘A Doll’s House’ open all weekend person and finding out how to do that,” she said. “But in my opinion, there’s also an underlying theme of family and what it really means to be

and Chairman and Professor of Theatre and Dance James Brandon separately wrote down their ideal casts after auditions, and, serendipitous-

Sophomore Kirby Thigpen as Nora Helmer in student-directed play “A Doll’s House.” Courtesy | Hillsdale College Theatre Department

a part of a family.”

MacFarlane, who chose to set the play in 1950s Midwestern America, said the process of working with the actors has been spectacular. MacFarlane

ly, had chosen the same actors for their respective cast lists.

“I knew these were the people,” MacFarlane said.

“Some of them were a gamble; I had never seen the married

couple read together when I cast them. But we got to the read-through and it was apparent that their chemistry was fantastic.”

The dynamic of directing a cast of her own peers was also a unique challenge, she said.

Brandon said the play is an opportunity to think through how we behave in society based on the roles society gives us, and what happens when those roles no longer make sense.

“Part of understanding the play is getting a sense of how chained, how restricted, these characters are by the expectations of their society,” he said.

“The play pushes us to a confrontation when a character has to choose between what is best for her and what society thinks is best for her.”

The play is especially relevant for college students, he said, who haven’t yet had their ideas tested by the world.

“They don’t have a lot of practical experience. What’s going to happen when your

Ginger Tonic Ingredients Water A stick of fresh ginger Apple cider vinegar Lemon Honey (optional, but delicious) Cayenne pepper Instructions 1. Boil a cup of water.

Chop about one inch of the fresh ginger stick. Let steep in the boiling water for two minutes (or longer if you like a zing to your tea).

2. Squeeze in fresh lemon to taste.

3. Add one tablespoon of vinegar 4. Add honey to taste, approximately one tablespoon.

5. Add a pinch of cayenne for extra kick (make sure you’re OK with the spiciness of the ginger first).

Pour into a travel mug so it stays warm until the library closes. Then go to bed.

You won’t regret it. ideals meet the road of life?” he said. “Where and when is it acceptable to compromise?

That’s a difficult thing to understand.”

Nevertheless, Brandon said it has been great having an undergraduate direct the play, and MacFarlane’s dynamic has been beneficial. MacFarlane is one of only a handful of theatre students who have done a project in directing during his 21 years at Hillsdale.

“I take Ibsen for granted.

I know how important he is; I know what he’s contributed to the theatre. But students always come at great classic works with fresh eyes,” Brandon said. “I’m jaded; Jessica comes to it with an energy and a unique perspective.”

Brandon also said MacFarlane brought more than just actors’ skills to the project.

“A great actor is not always a great director,” he said. “Jess, I think, has the tools to be a great director. It’s been exciting from a faculty perspective to watch those unlocked.”

Vampire Weekend to release ‘life-goes-on’ album after 6 years By | Victoria Marshall Collegian Reporter On April 4, fan-favorite indie rock band Vampire Weekend gave fans a sneak peek of its upcoming album, “Father of the Bride,” with the release of another EP, “This Life/Unbearably White.”

“Father of the Bride,” which is set to release on May 3, will be the band’s first full-length album in six years. Its last album, “Modern Vampires of the City,” came out in 2013.

The band has been pre-releasing singles in pairs ever since Jan. 24, when it released “Harmony Hall” and “2021,” after announcing the name of the upcoming album.

“Sunflower” and “Big Blue” followed on March 6.

“This Life/Unbearably White” is the band’s final release in anticipation of the full-length album.

Many of the songs on the album focus on relationships and marriage. Lead vocalist and frontman, Ezra Koenig, based “Father of the Bride” on

the 1991 Steve Martin movie of the same title.

“I’ve never been married, but I think everybody thinks about those things as you get older. There’s something about “Father of the Bride” that’s almost biblical. It’s about the ties that bind, the relationships between communities, between humans and God, between people and the land they live on,” Koenig said in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine.

Koenig mentioned that this is a break from the band’s previous work, and was a natural progression from the youthful reveries of their self-titled first album, “Vampire Weekend,” to the somber musings on death presented in “Modern Vampires of the City.”

“On our first album, most of the songs were written in college, and it had a very youthful vibe,” Koenig said.

“On the second and third records, the wide-eyed enthusiasm dimmed considerably.

You see more of the world, and you’re more and more

disheartened. But that trajectory can’t go on forever. After you make the black-and-white album cover with the songs about death, you can’t go deeper. This is the life-goes-on record.”

The “life-goes-on” theme is exactly what the latest EP offers a sneak peak of. “This Life,” the first song on the EP, makes light of a relationship that is falling apart. With a happy-go-lucky guitar riff in the chorus, Koenig faces the fact that he and his partner have fallen out of love.

“Baby, I know dreams tend to crumble at extremes/I just thought our dream would last a little bit longer,” Koenig sings.

On its surface, the music of the EP sounds happy and carefree, but a look into the lyrics reveals the tension between the protagonist and his reality. The failure of past relationships pushes Koenig to introspection, and causes him to question himself. In the chorus of “This Life,” Koenig ponders his self-worth.

“You’ve been cheating on me/But I’ve been cheating through this life and all its suffering/Oh Christ, am I good for nothing?” he asks.

In “Unbearably White,” Koenig and his partner face their future together, making peace with it.

“There’s an avalanche coming/Don’t cover your eyes,” he sings, and again a few lines later, “To learn what kept us together, darling/Is what kept us alive.”

The EP ends with “2021,” an ode to the year after next, and what is to come. Koenig sings that he hopes his band will be remembered as “life goes on.”

“2021, will you think about us?/Copper goes green, steel beams go rust,” he ponders.

Still characteristic of their classic, indie-rock style, “This Life/Unbearably White” will not disappoint longtime Vampire Weekend fans. Fans should expect the more mature “life-goes-on” theme to continue throughout “Father of the Bride,” while still paired

Vampire Weekend pre-released several singles in advance of their latest album, releasing May 3, 2019. | Wikimedia Commons

with Vampire Weekend’s traditionally experimental sound — of which “Sunflower” is a tasteful reminder.

Techno beats and clever wordplay set up this fourth

album to be just the East Coast vibe your summer was looking for: deep lyrics, washed out until they appear light, just like your saltiest sweatshirt.

Features ‘The first notes’: Hillsdale violinists teach next generation

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By | Matt Fisher Collegian Freelancer If you walk into the lowest floor of the Howard Music Hall on a weekday, you may occasionally hear a young student bowing through “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on a violin, accompanied by a college-age instructor.

One of these instructors, senior Josh Brown, teaches 12 beginner violinists at the Howard Music Hall and at Gier Elementary School in Hillsdale. Brown’s students are generally children ages 5 through 8 years old, which he says brings both blessings and challenges.

“Younger children are

April 25, 2019

usually easier to teach due to having no preconceived notions of what it means to play the violin,” Brown said. “The biggest challenge, however, is understanding and adapting to each student’s individual learning style.”

Junior Keely Rendle first learned violin through the Suzuki Method, a teaching approach that applies the concept of learning a language or native tongue to recognizing the noises and sounds of a violin. Rendle teaches three students, two on campus. She also works as an observer and assistant to senior Laura Salo who teaches a Suzuki class to local children.

Both Brown and Rendle

first got involved in teaching through Melissa Knecht, professor of music. Rendle began teaching violin last spring as a sophomore, and Brown began teaching during his junior year.

“I really enjoyed it from the beginning as a fun outlet,” Brown said. “Teaching violin to students adds an entirely new dimension to the instrument that I had not considered.”

Most lessons for beginning violinists last about a half hour.

“For myself, I did not start doing lessons lasting forty-five minutes to an hour until my sophomore year of high school,” Rendle said.

Hillsdale.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with Cicero lately. His ‘On the Orator’ is really a forgotten gem, especially for those of us who want practical guidance about combining the life of the mind and the life of action,” Ray said. “And of course, Chesterton’s and Eliot’s poetry are more or less constant companions.”

At Hillsdale, Ray’s study of Dante with Professor of English Stephen Smith had a major influence on his thought.

“Too many people read only the Inferno and think of Dante as a poet of anger and vengeance, but ‘the Purgatorio’ shows him as really a poet of mercy,” Ray said. “His depiction of the power of human choice and the path to the good life, not through abandonment of creation, but through properly ordered love of it, has stayed with me through the years.”

Smith remembers Ray as a wonderfully talented student.

“He had a gift for noticing what many of us overlook in our reading,” Smith said. “He would often call attention to little details in the work and make crucial connections through them. He and ‘The Divine Comedy’ were made for each other.”

Smith recalled how Ray engaged with the work.

“Paul recognized that, for Dante, the fundamental question for a human involves the real order of their loves. What do I love the most, and why?

Do I love things in the best order? What’s the true order of my heart?” Smith said.

Professor of Philosophy and Religion Nathan Schlueter remembers Ray as a model student.

“I sometimes tell my students, ‘Seek ye first a true liberal arts education and the rest will be granted unto you.’

Paul Ray exemplifies this.”

college students through course catalogues from the period.

“Women are taking classes on the Constitution of the United States and Francis Lieber’s treatise on political ethics,” he noted. “They’re taking something called Political Manual and studying Cicero’s orations. The fact that they’re taking these political courses is pretty interesting in itself.”

But while his research has led him to some surprising discoveries about the political involvement of women at Hillsdale during the war, Waechter stated the documents have not suggested that a feminist revolution brewed beneath the war effort.

“This isn’t your typical Rosie-the-Riveter story,” he said.

“I have letters where the women are talking about marriage and how valuable it is, which very much undermines the idea that the war was some great feminist leap forward.

When you look at an article in the Ladies Literary Union, it’s not about being independent women but rather about influencing society where they can. Hillsdale women recognized their very special status of being college educated, but nowhere in here does it say they need to run for the legislature.”

What the research has revealed, however, is the

patriotism Hillsdale women possessed.

“At one point, Etta’s brother comes home to visit and she says it will be hard to see him leave again but he must go,” Waechter recalled. “Then her father Cornelius dies in the war but she’s willing to accept that too. And that’s something striking that I want to communicate — this classical republican sense of duty that’s come through in this.”

Waechter said that one of the most challenging aspects of taking on a project of such magnitude is its depth.

“You always feel like you’re not giving it justice,” he explained. “There are so many questions, and the deeper you go, the more you have. I’ve had to learn when it’s okay to stop. You have to do good research and then be content with the argument. I feel like I’ve gone from being a mere student of history to being a scholar of history. I have a lot more respect for the field now.”

As he looks ahead to graduate school, Waechter said he hopes admissions departments will recognize his growth as a scholar.

“Regardless of whether or not I get published, being able to say I spent half a year working on an originally-sourced project is a great talking point,” he said. “I want to show I have what it takes and a passion that goes beyond the classroom. This is a project of my own and I’ve

demonstrated my dedication to it.”

Waechter said that in addition to shedding light on an area of civil war history on which there is little scholarship, he hopes his research will enhance the understanding of Hillsdale College’s heritage and the students that have come before. Geiger agreed.

“We are all very proud of Josh’s ambition and think that his thesis and research is really going to contribute to Hillsdale’s history and a better understanding of what happened here in the city of Hillsdale and also at the college during the Civil War,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to reading what he’s going to produce.”

Waechter’s research is due at the end of the semester and he predicts the final product will be 20-25 pages in length.

But despite the time and effort the project has required, Waechter said he’s enjoyed it.

“It’s definitely taught me a lot about the history of this place and made me appreciate it more,” he said. “Before, I just had this bullet point in my head that women were admitted on equal basis with men. But now when I hear that I think about it in a much more complex and three-dimensional way because I know the story. And I hope that through this article, other students will have the opportunity to know that as well.”

from A10 “In the early days of college life in America, there were not many extracurricular opportunities for students.”

Lecturer of History Dedra Birzer said Alexander de Tocqueville acknowledged how important voluntary associations like literary societies were in America for democratic purposes.

“Tocqueville saw these voluntary associations as being fundamental to the exercise of liberty,” Birzer said.

Hillsdale’s literary societies began when the college was founded. The original societies, the Eunomian and Philogrammation, were coed.

But the administration forced the societies to break up into separate male and female societies.

“Apparently, there was too much fraternization,” Sullivan said.

During the 19th century, Hillsdale had four major literary societies. Alpha Kappa Phi and Amphictyon were both all male societies. While

the Ladies Literary Union and Germanae Sodales were all female societies.

Even though the literary societies were not coed, Sullivan said they often discussed the relationship between males and females and if there were any inherent inequalities.

“They had this idea in their minds that they weren’t going to let the administration define the conversations they had,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s where a lot of the independent spirit of the Hillsdale students comes from.”

In one meeting, Alpha Kappa Phi discussed whether men were inherently better teachers than women and concluded that men were superior teachers.

“As someone who is going to be teaching in the fall,” Sullivan said. “I thought it was an interesting question.”

Sullivan said Alpha Kappa Phi had the largest presence on campus, followed by the Amphyictyon.

“The Civil War statue was not originally intended to commemorate all of the fallen soldiers,” Sullivan said. “It was put up by Alpha Kappa

Phi society to honor fallen soldiers from their society. I think people were annoyed initially that it didn’t represent all of campus, but the fact that it’s come to represent all of campus shows how the societies work.”

Alpha Kappa Phi also created the first campus newspaper, the “Alpha Kappa Phi,” released on June 16, 1858.

Eventually, the Amphyictyon and the Ladies Literary Union also had their own publications.

“I think that helped contribute to The Collegian and the Forum,” Sullivan said.

“It got that publication ball rolling.”

The literary societies often discussed temperance, women’s suffrage, and the abolition movement.

In 1863, the literary societies invited Frederick Douglass to speak at Hillsdale’s campus.

Abolitionists asked speakers like Douglass to speak for different groups across the country, Birzer said.

“The literary societies were the groups these speakers were going to,” he said.

After Hillsdale College

Ray from A1

Ray attributes much of his success to his Hillsdale education.

“In one sense, it’s completely impractical, because it’s about contemplating first principles, not about acquiring skills to use on the job,” Ray said. “But in another sense, learning about first principles is the most practical thing you can do, because they point the way to the goal of your activity and skills.”

Ray said he strives to continue his contemplation of first principles.

“One of the first lessons I learned after Hillsdale is how difficult it is to make time for the life of the mind out in the world,” Ray said. “Discipline is key. For me, that means getting reading in before the sun comes up.”

An English major, Ray has continued to read the classics since his graduation from

Civil War Women from A10

Literary Societies

The time length can pose some challenges depending on the attention span of the students, so instructors will sometimes introduce games to break up the monotony.

“For some younger children, this can be a challenge,” Brown said. “I’ll sometimes try and change things up with a game or having them step away for a few minutes to come back with a fresh mindset.”

Salo agreed that it’s good to be creative in helping students learn.

“Remember that every student is an individual,” she said. “What worked for one student might not work for another student. However, I

have never met a student who couldn’t learn. So there is a way to teach every student, you just have to find that way.”

Of course, the job can be difficult some days.

“There are moments that are challenging when you wonder if you have done a good job with a student,” Rendle said.

However, Rendle added the experience is beyond rewarding. One moment in particular stood out for her when an adult student thanked her and expressed appreciation for her instruction. “Those moments are encouraging,” Rendle said.

“It’s fun when I see a student make progress and they enjoy it.”

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“I would tell someone interested in teaching violin to enjoy the lessons they teach.

If they are having fun, their student will also have fun,” Salo explained.“ Brown agreed.

“It has to come from a place of wanting to help young people learn,” he said.

“The biggest joy comes from watching students struggle with something and then it clicks — that moment of clarity. If you do it because you enjoy seeing the process, it is very rewarding.”

Three students compete in a Feb. 19, 1959 game of intramural basketball game. | Collegian ARchives

Historic Hysteria: campus intramural competitions generated Collegian commentary By | Callie Shinkle Columnist If you think people in Hillsdale take intramural sports seriously today (not many people would make this claim, but just in case), you should look back to 1956 when The Collegian dedicated an entire column to Intramurals entitled “Intramural Scene.” Filled with stats and play-by-play reports, the column was an informative campus news source. However, the author, Howard Johnson, still managed to add some flair to his recurring piece.

When discussing a baseball game in a May 1956 issue of The Collegian, Johnson wrote, “The game was filled with errors and poor plays on the part of both teams. The best of these was a high fly hit between home and third base

by Delt catcher Paul ‘Garbage’ Trichel, both ran to it yelling ‘I’ve got it!’ Seems they didn’t see each other and you can guess the rest.” What a scene, it is always a real shocker to

come across Mr. Garbage making a trash play.

Despite only reporting on intramural games, Johnson managed to write with a tone that left readers on the edge of their seats, waiting for more action out of the amateur league.

For example, on Nov. 13, 1958, the author wrote, “The fraternity men moved with full force in the opening quarter and threaten to turn the game into a full slaughter.” Just enough drama, just enough accuracy. Johnson was exhibiting big journalistic skills.

This seems to have matched the attitude on campus, because Johnson reports of voting for an intramural all-star team. I’m not saying that Hillsdale used to be full of recreational hardos, but logic and reason following this column do seem to point in that direction.

And Johnson was not above calling out his readers for not sharing his enthusiasm for intramural sports. On Oct.

10, 1957, he wrote, “All intramural football games start at 4 p.m. at the baseball field.

Turnouts for some of these games have not been up to expectations.” I am disappointed in the true fans of intramural baseball for not doing their part and showing up.

Interestingly, Johnson reported on teams from all the fraternities, boys dormitories, the independents, and a team entitled “The Misfits.” Little information is given regarding the members of this team, but people who are neither Greek nor independent are definitely misfits, because those are the only two options available.

Other interesting team names included the Damper Dans and the Field House team.

Intramural sports in the earlier days of the ’Dale were definitely taken very seriously.

I say we bring some of that “Leave-it all-on-the-court” competitive spirit back to the games today.

President Edmund Burke Fairfield put out a mandate limiting the amount of people who could attend society functions, students started the Great Rebellion of 1866.

“This mandate was very upsetting to the college students, so they shut down the literary societies for about a year,” Sullivan said. “This became a problem for the college because it realized that these societies were very beneficial for students.”

Moore said the college did not have a central library prior to the Fire of 1874. For that reason, each of the literary society had their own collection of books for students to use.

“Their members would give money or donations of books, and students had to have permission from the societies to go into their rooms and look at their books,” Moore said. “People ran from literary society to literary society looking for what they might find useful.”

After the Fire of 1874, the college combined the literary societies’ collections into one central library in Central Hall, which became the basis for

the college’s collection.

Moore added that the literary societies on Hillsdale’s campus served two functions.

“It was a social organization, but it really prepared students for the kinds of occupations many of them were going in to,” Moore said. “They did oratory and debate, and those skills are useful in law, politics, religion, teaching, and ministry.

Even in their entertainment, the students were preparing themselves for the world after Hillsdale.”

On most campuses, Sullivan said literary societies were the ancestor of both the fraternity system and honorary societies. Literary societies combined both social and academic aspects of student life.

“Literary societies were perfect for the time they occupied,” Sullivan said. “I think they could do a lot of good today, but I think they gave a lot to the current institutions that we have, both Greek and honorary.”

During her research, Sullivan said she worried the Greek system brought

about the downfall of literary societies.

“I’m very proud of my sorority and it’s history,” Sullivan said. “But I was concerned initially because I asked, ‘Did we kill off the best thing about Hillsdale College?’”

Sullivan said she was comforted by the realization that times change and campuses evolve.

Moore said literary societies on Hillsdale’s campus were on coming to an end by 1920.

“The college made an effort to keep them going by trying to combine the literary societies together, but times had changed,” Moore said. “And by the time the 20th century came around, the students had radio, and they had a lot of other things they could do, including the rise of the fraternities and the sororities.”

While the literary societies are no longer active, Sullivan said she realized Hillsdale’s current campus has absorbed many of the literary societies’ traditions.

“A culture that strong doesn’t just fade away,” Sullivan said. “I see it infused into everything we do.”

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www.hillsdalecollegian.com Former Hillsdale College student Lauraette Hadley poses during the civil war.

Josh Waetcher | Courtesy

Hillsdale’s literary societies: ‘Infused into everything we do’ By | Julia Mullins Assistant Editor When she initially heard about the opportunity of creating a senior display case, senior Kelly Sullivan didn’t think there was enough time left in the semester to complete a display.

After speaking with public services librarian Linda Moore, Sullivan decided to research and produce a display regarding literary societies on Hillsdale’s campus during the 19th century.

“Linda Moore initially suggested the idea, and she was very helpful by providing different resources like the primary documents,” Sullivan said.

Each student in the interdisciplinary Public History and Museum Studies class, taught by professor of history Dave Stewart, has the opportunity to produce a senior display case as an independent study project.

Stewart said students completing a display case must meet professional standards in the field.

“The process is very similar to writing a senior thesis,” Stewart said. “They have to pick a topic, do some research, decide what argument they’re going to make, how they’re going to make that argument, and then they have the addition of the design element.”

As a member of the Greek system, Sullivan said the literary societies interested her because both the Greek system and literary societies share similar academic and social focuses.

“I’m a history major and a huge English nerd,” Sullivan said. “And I thought it was the perfect combination to focus on the history of literary societies and how they shaped

19th-century thought.”

Through her research, Sullivan discovered that literary societies were originally started during the 18th century, before the founding of the United States. Some of the earliest presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, were members of early literary societies.

“The influence that these societies had on our early leaders showed how valuable these societies could be,” Sullivan said. “By the 19th century, the literary societies were sought after and very prominent because they had already proven their worth.”

The first literary society in America, the Flat Hat Club, was founded at William

and Mary College in 1750.

Jefferson belonged to this society. While the society is no longer active on William and Mary’s campus, it was recently rechartered in Scotland at St. Andrews.

Sullivan said literary societies were established for college students to take the founding principles from their classical education and discuss those ideas and how they apply to contemporary issues.

“These societies were interdisciplinary and autonomous associations of students that developed in response to a lack of literary opportunities for students,” Sullivan said.

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Senior Kelly Sullivan currently displays her research project about Hillsdale’s literary societies in the library. Cal Abbo | Collegian

Student researches Hillsdale women during Civil War By | Madeline Peltzer collegian Reporter Josh Waechter is doing something that’s never been done before at Hillsdale. A junior majoring in history and a George Washington Fellow, Waechter has undertaken an independent research project to fulfill the fellowship’s work component. It’s the first time a student has initiated a semester-long research project on his own, especially with the aim of publishing it in the scholarly field.

“It started with the fact that I’ve been wanting to get published for some time and have that on my resume for grad school,” Waechter said.

“A lot of undergraduates don’t get published in a historical journal. It’s very rare.”

Waechter spent last semester studying abroad in Oxford.

He said his initial thought was to take advantage of the vast resources available there by researching a British historical event. However, when the project didn’t materialize, Waechter turned his attention toward Hillsdale College’s involvement in the Civil War. “I reached out to Linda Moore, the library archivist, and told her I was interested in doing research on a military regiment from Hillsdale,” he recalled. “She responded and gave me the rundown on the sources we have on local regiments, but she also

pointed out two collections that had been archived and digitized relatively recently and had never been used as primary source documents.

I was like, ‘Wow, okay, that’s really intriguing.’”

After getting the green light from Soren Geiger, research assistant to the president and coordinator of the George Washington Fellowship, and Matthew Spalding, associate vice president and dean of educational programs for the Kirby Center, Waechter got to work.

“The project in its final form is a study of Hillsdale College women during the Civil War, the way it affected them, and how they viewed the war,” Waechter explained.

“Hillsdale was the second college to admit women on equal basis with men, but what does their story look like once the war starts?”

David Stewart, professor of history, is advising Waechter on the project. He said he believes Waechter’s choice of topic will be an important contribution to Civil War scholarship.

“Josh has found an interesting angle on a frequently studied period, and I commend him for that,” Stewart said in an email. “His paper will significantly nuance historians’ understanding of and claims about the role of mid-Western women during the Civil War.” In addition to Hillsdale’s

archives, Waechter’s project has taken him to the Michigan State University Archives and the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan where he has studied family correspondence, diaries, and soldiers’ aid societies. His research has revealed some interesting insights, leading him to conclude that women at Hillsdale were politically savvy.

“Etta Hadley, a Hillsdale College student, writes to her fiancé Asher to ask him what he thinks about the 1864 election and says she supports Lincoln,” Waechter recalled.

“We don’t have the letter from Asher in response, but we have her reply to Asher in which she excoriates him for being a copperhead, a derogatory term for Democrats in the North who favored ending the war at any cost. So it’s not, ‘Oh dearest, whatever you believe politically I agree with.’

Instead, it’s, ‘Here are my views, what do you think? No, you’re wrong, and I’m going to tell you why.’ The women here are thinking actively about politics and formulating opinions and are willing to argue with men about it. My guess is that that’s a pretty unique thing.”

Waechter has also garnered information about the lives of female Hillsdale

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