College to open new video studio

By Josh Newhook Digital Editor

Hillsdale College plans to construct a new video studio beginning next year, according to Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé.

The studio will be built on the corner of Fayette and Union streets in part of the parking lot next to the Stanton Building for Classical Education and the Founders Gym.

The plans for the studio include additional space for teaching online courses and will serve as a lab for documentary filmmaking classes, according to Director of Visual Media Mark Waters. This is the first phase of a larger project. It will also include the construction of a connected building that will house marketing and media offices.

“This new studio will be critical to expanding our educational outreach, and several generous donors have already stepped up with lead gifts for the fundraising for this building,” Vice President of Marketing Bill Gray said.

Péwé said Chair of the Board of Trustees Pat Sajak gave the lead donor gift of $2.4 million — presently valued at $1.9 million. An anonymous donor gave a $1 million matching gift, leaving about $800,000 left to raise. The donations will cover the studio and mezzanine loft.

The first step of the project is to submit an order for the “studio box,” a high-ceiling, heavily insulated concrete structure where the video team can film without interruptions, according to Péwé.

“The plan is to build a big-box studio where we can do classes and forum-style videos,” Péwé said.

Péwé said the college hopes to settle funding and order the concrete prefabrication for the project in the spring.

Currently, the visual media team uses the small studio in the basement of the Knorr Student Center for filming, Waters said.

"It's limited in the amount of content you can put out because you have to change the space every time,” Waters said. “It takes a couple of days to recreate another set so that we can do something different there next.”

Trump announced his third presidential campaign from his home in Palm Beach, Florida on Nov. 15.

“There’s never been anything like it, this great movement of ours,” Trump said. “America’s comeback starts right now.”

Another 18% of those surveyed said they would prefer another candidate over Trump or DeSantis.

More than half of Hillsdale students, faculty, and staff surveyed said they would not support a presidential run from Trump in 2024.

The remaining half was split between a positive reaction to his campaign and a “maybe” response to supporting Trump’s third run.

DeSantis has not announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. Regarding his potential presidential run, 23% of respondents replied that they would not support it, and 25% answered maybe.

The survey, included in the Student Activities Office biweekly newsletter, received a total of 166 anonymous responses. It first appeared in the newsletter on Nov. 17, and results were collected through Nov. 30.

Senior John Paul Schlueter said he plans to support Trump in 2024.

“DeSantis was largely ineffective when he was a congressman, and while I have hopes for a future DeSantis ticket, I believe Trump is the man for the job in 2024,” Schlueter said.

Schlueter said Trump’s name is polarizing.

“Republicans have failed to communicate their ideology convincingly, in part because the GOP does not speak as strongly about issues as the Democrats,” Schlueter said.

Hillsdale remembers Javier Barrios

By Micah Hart Collegian Reporter

between the two,” former Spanish Professor Sandra Puvogel said.

Gray said the Old Snack Bar is directly above the current studio, which makes recording difficult.

“I can remember filming an online course and having to run upstairs to halt a swing club practice because the sound of the students’ heels was being captured on the audio for the course,” Gray said.

Former Hillsdale College Spanish lecturer Javier Barrios died at his Ypsilanti, Michigan home on Nov. 4 at the age of 53. According to the Stark Funeral Professionals, Barrios is survived by his sister, two nieces, and his three dogs.

Even on his deathbed, the former lecturer continued to pursue knowledge. Barrios decided to delve into the nearly 700 page novel “Middlemarch,” according to former Spanish Professor Carmen Wyatt-Hayes.

could know the ending. Barrios’ love for learning and compassion for people intersected at a correctional facility, where he taught Spanish to inmates.

Barrios loved to learn, whether it be Spanish, literature, or history.

“We often commented upon how he would start out a sentence in Spanish and end it in English and hardly even know he was going

“It was this quest for knowledge and for the joy that comes in literature that was just always part of him,” Wyatt-Hayes said.

“He really enjoyed participating in a process that might give someone a second chance,” Spanish lecturer Amanda Stechschulte said. Barrios’ care and compassion for others extended outside of the classroom. He would take more of a workload at times just to help a colleague in need, according to Wyatt-Hayes. See Media

Wyatt-Hayes said Barrios knew he would not finish the novel. His curiosity overcame him, and he decided to watch an adaptation so he