Collegian 10.27.2022

Hillsdale no longer to open three charter schools in Tennessee

By Elyse Apel Opinions Editor

American Classical Edu cation, a K-12 charter school management organization af filiated with Hillsdale College, withdrew its applications for three new schools it hoped to open in Tennessee.

Emily Stack Davis, exec utive director of media and public relations at Hillsdale, said Hillsdale’s mission to further classical educational opportunities has made it the object of opposition from the public education establish ment.

“Hillsdale College’s belief in genuine classical education and its deep admiration for the principles of the American Founding, as espoused in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, has made it a target for those who oppose such challenges to the status quo of what is now taught in many American institutions,” she said.

This played out in Tennes see when the school boards of Madison, Montgomery, and Rutherford counties denied the three charter applications approval earlier this year.

ACE then appealed the decisions to the Tennessee Public Charter School Com mission, a group appointed by the governor and set up to review appeals after local school districts deny charter applications. After being re fused a delay in the hearings, ACE withdrew the appeals at the end of September.

Dolores Gresham, an ACE board member, said in a statement to parents regard ing the withdrawal that, since many parents and students would have been unable to make it to the hearings, “the Commission would not hear directly from the voices that really matter — the parents and students in these commu nities.”

Students prepare Friedman documen tary

team places

Postal Service releases stamp honoring women cryptographers, including Hillsdale alumna

By Eleanor Whitaker Collegian Freelancer

The United States Postal Service released a stamp this month honoring women cryptographers who cracked codes during World War II. The most promi nent among them may have been 1915 Hillsdale alumna Elizebeth Smith Fried man, according to Adjunct Instructor in Journalism Buddy Moorehouse.

“She essentially pio neered the science of code breaking and then used her skill to help win World War I and take on Al Capone's mob during the 1930s,” said Moorehouse, whose docu mentary filmmaking class is researching Friedman’s life for a film which will screen on Nov. 9.

Women’s cryptographic skills became indispensable in World War II, Moore house said. Since many men were deployed over seas, the U.S. government enlisted women students and schoolteachers to break encrypted German and Jap

anese messages, build code breaking machines, and se cure U.S. communications. Among the women they recruited, Friedman stood

“If the Nazis had taken over South America, the war might have had a very different outcome,” Moore house said. “Elizebeth Smith Friedman literally prevented that from happening. She helped win the war. She was an American hero in every sense.”

Hillsdale College in stilled a love of literature in Friedman, Moorehouse said. Following graduation, she researched hidden ci phers in Shakespeare plays. After proving Shakespeare wrote all his own plays, she became hooked on the growing field of cryptogra phy, Moorehouse said.

Friendman went on to bust liquor smugglers, ex pose spy rings, and shorten world wars, becoming “America’s first female cryptanalyst,” according to the National Security Agency.

Security Agency said.

To bring awareness to their story, the Unit ed States Postal Service created a stamp commem orating their influence on American history this year.

“The Postal Service strives to recognize people and events of historical importance,” Tatiana Roy, publicity officer for the USPS, told the Collegian in an email. “During World War II, women cryptolo gists were one of the con flict's best-kept secrets.”

The stamp artwork depicts a Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergen cy Service, or WAVES, recruitment poster beneath excerpts from the Purple Code, a Japanese code used before Pearl Harbor which women cryptographers deciphered.

By Elizabeth Troutman News Editor

The Hillsdale College debate team took first place at its most recent tourna ment on Oct. 16, hosted by Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

The team participated in both one-on-one, or In ternational Public Debate Association, and partner style, or National Parlia mentary Debate Associa tion, competitions at Bowl ing Green against 40 other teams from schools such as the University of Michigan and Cornell University.

“Whoever got the most points based upon the number of rounds that they won as a team, wins or loses the tournament as a whole,” said team coach and Visiting Assistant Pro fessor Blake Faulkner ’12. Faulkner said he was surprised with the team’s success because about half of the team is new to debate. The team doubled in size this year, growing from 10 to 20 members. Faulkner attributed the team’s growth to the switch from online to in-person tournaments this year.

“Last year, we had en tirely digital tournaments,” Faulkner said. “This year, they have opened up more debate stuff. We had a particularly good year for student interest.”

The Bowling Green tournament was a swing tournament, meaning team members competed on both Oct. 15 and Oct. 16. They took second place the first day and won the sweepstakes the second day.

out, Moorehouse said.

According to Moore house, Friedman changed the course of the war by cracking Nazi codes sent to the coast of South America.

The efforts of women cryptographers like Fried man were not recognized during their lifetimes and remained classified until decades later, the National

Antonio Alcalá, the designer of the stamp, said he wanted the woman on the stamp to represent all women cryptographers. He chose a blurred face

The debate team took first place in their first tournament of the year hosted by Queen's College from Sept. 23-24.

Mayoral, city council candidates discuss local politics at forum

By Carly Moran Collegian Reporter

Residents asked city government candidates about explicit library books, the homeless population, and the continued rift in the Hillsdale County Republican Party at a “Meet The Candi dates Forum” on Oct. 24.

The town hall event, hosted by the Hillsdale Daily News and the Colle gian, brought an audience of around 100 people, including both residents and college students. Penny Swan, a Ward 4 city council candidate, live-streamed the event.

“I think it's really import ant for voters to be able to make informed decisions,

and events like these allow that to happen,” junior Jonah Apel said. “Local govern ment is really important. I also appreciate the amount of concern and care that local residents had.”

Participating candidates included Mayor Adam Stockford, running for re election; Cindy Merritt and Gary Wolfram, competing for the Ward 3 city council seat; and Joshua Paladino and Penny Swan, vying to represent Ward 4 on the city council.

The town hall featured a one-hour Q&A session, in which each candidate had 10 minutes to answer questions from the audience.

The Collegian’s city news editor Logan Washburn and

Hillsdale Daily News report er Corey Murray served as moderators, asking candi dates questions throughout the night.

Adam Stockford - Mayoral Election

Stockford spoke first at the event. His opponent Rondee Butcher declined to attend.

“I'm here tonight. I showed up. I think that's half the battle,” Stockford said. “I've got a perfect attendance as mayor. I have attended every single city council meeting since I was elected.”

One attendee raised concerns on homelessness. Stockford said he has been working on solving the issue

as mayor, but there are many obstacles.

“I've put together a homeless task force; it was spinning wheels to get peo ple to even show up to the meetings,” Stockford said. “I've got an entire police force that's full of frustrated officers because they arrest people, they take them to the sheriff's department, and they're told that they're at capacity.”

Stockford has a personal connection to the issue, he said, so he remains commit ted to working on solutions.

“I've been burglarized by homeless. My grandfather was murdered by a homeless man that he took into his house,” Stockford said.

A student asked him

about previous legislation that would ban abortion in Hillsdale and whether or not he would support future bills to ban the practice. Stockford said he was “not opposed to the idea,” but that he was cautious when putting new laws on the book.

“I think you have to be really careful with local ordi nances,” Stockford said.

Stockford’s final question was about a local drag queen bingo event at a private business in town, and if he would support banning such events.

“I think it’s really gross. I wouldn’t attend it,” Stockford said. “But I won't respond to a left-wing totalitarian government by creating a

right wing authoritarian government.”

Cynthia (Cindy) MerrittCity Council Election, Ward 3

Merritt is facing Hillsdale College Professor of Eco nomics and Public Policy Gary Wolfram to represent Ward 3 on the city council. She described herself as a former opera singer, music teacher, and “most impor tantly, a mom.”

One audience member asked Merritt how she would solve the issue of pitbulls as a public safety threat.

Damon

Manno

Junior Lauren Scott interviews Melissa Davis at the Marshall Foundation in Lexing ton, Virginia about Hillsdale alumna Elizebeth Smith Friedman for a student-doc umentary to screen Nov. 9. The United States Postal Service remembered female cryptographers like Friedman with a stamp released Oct. 18. Jack cote | collegian

AJ's Cafe to extend nightly hours

By Thomas McKenna Collegian Freelancer

A.J.’s Cafe expanded its evening hours on Monday, and is now open until 10 p.m. seven days per week and serves hot food at all hours.

“Our goal is to meet the needs of the students and faculty,” said Metz General Manager Jeffrey Cassell.

The changes extended hours past 9 p.m. when A.J.'s had closed previously this semester. It will con tinue to open at 7:30 a.m. every weekday and 11 a.m. on the weekends.

Cassell said the new hours will give students access to hot food after the dining hall closes.

“From my perspective, it made sense to give a hot food offering even later into the evening — even after the dining hall closes at 7:30 p.m. during the weekdays and 6:30 p.m. on the week

ends,” Cassell said.

Senior Meera Baldwin, who has worked at A.J.'s since her freshman year, said students were surprised when A.J.'s closed at 9 p.m earlier in the semester.

“I worked a closing shift this year,” Baldwin said. “Students would come up, and they would be very con fused when all of a sudden around 9 p.m, the gate was closed.”

Paul Bowman, retail manager for Metz at Hills dale, oversees A.J.'s Cafe af ter working as a supervisor for Bon Appetit last school year. Bowman said Metz has also eliminated time restrictions on meal swipes at A.J.'s.

“We made it so you can get a meal at any time you want,” Bowman said. “ If you're on the 19, all-inclu sive plan, you could use all 19 swipes on Monday morning if you wanted to. But then that's it for the rest

of the week.”

Bowman said students were only able to use three swipes per day last year.

“It’s up to the students to use them when they want, and they are allowed to use them in whatever time frame they want,” Bowman said.

In addition to later hours, A.J.'s also diversi fied its selection of snacks, drinks, and sides, according to Bowman.

“If you look at the count er at A.J.'s, it's way more full now,” Bowman said. “We have all these snacks. Our drink options are way more than we had last year.”

Bowman said he expects to extend hours even more next semester.

“I’m hoping to at least be able to get it, at the bare minimum, until 11 p.m.,” Bowman said. “If I can get more workers, we are definitely looking into mid night, even 1 a.m. or so.”

Professors connect economics, conservation

By Jane Kitchen Collegian Reporter

Economics and envi ronmentalism are inter connected fields according to Assistant Professor of Biology Christopher Heckel and Chairman of Econom ics, Business, and Account ing Charles Steele.

“Eco means home,” Steele said. “Ecology is the study of home and economics is the art and science of managing the home.”

Heckel and Steele addressed the relationship between environmental conservation and econom ics in a discussion hosted by the conservation club on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in the formal lounge.

Heckel began by explain ing biological perspectives on conservation. He said biological conservation gen erally focuses on preserving biodiversity among genes, species, or ecosystems.

Heckel said three forces drive conservation: aesthet ics, pragmatics, and land ethic. Coined by environ mentalist Aldo Leopold, the term “land ethic” refers to a heavily interconnected en vironment in which chang ing one factor can have a ripple effect on others.

Heckel said he sees a fourth component, reli gious imperative, which isn’t typically mentioned in textbooks.

“The Bible tells us that we inherited the earth. We are supposed to be stewards

to highlight their secretive profession.

“My opinion is that women's contributions to our culture are often under-recognized,” Al calá told the Collegian in

Gresham said ACE need ed additional time to “further address concerns and clarify confusion and misconcep tions raised by the Commis sion.”

Since first taking office in 2019, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R.) has pushed for the expansion of charter schools, which the Tennessee Depart ment of Education defines as “public schools operated by independent, non-profit governing bodies.”

In his State of the State address given earlier this year, Lee said, “We are formalizing a partnership with Hillsdale to expand their approach to civics education and K-12 education.”

In his address, Lee said he believes Hillsdale is a “standard bearer in quality curriculum.”

of the earth, right? That's not just a domination over the earth,” Heckel said. “It’s learning how to live with Earth and conserve all of those things.”

According to Heckel, the guiding principles of con servation ecology say eco logical complexity should be maintained, evolutionary processes should continue, and biological diversity has intrinsic value.

Heckel then gave the floor to Steele, who began by defining economics.

“It's the study of how people act, in the sense that people economize – they do useful things, and they try to do them in such ways that they avoid waste,” he said.

According to Steele, early economists focused on topics like agriculture and natural resources, so the history of economics is intertwined with ecology.

Steele said three ideas from economics are especially applicable to conservation and environ mentalism: the notion that all actions have costs, the concept of mutual gains, and the importance of pri vate property rights. Steele said actions are not necessarily justified by their environmental bene fits because the costs must also be considered.

“There's a tendency to think that recycling is good,” Steele said. “It does generate benefits because it saves the resources that are recycled. But it also gener

an email. “The more we can bring these stories and accomplishments to the American public, the better. We all benefit from knowing about our histo ry.”

Alcalá said he sees a stamp as an excellent

Last fall, Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn spoke to parents at an event in Franklin, Tennessee, and said he has been having conversa tions with Lee about devel oping 50 new schools in the state over the next six years.

Davis said the partnership was never formalized.

“While Dr. Arnn and Gov. Lee are both ambitious for classical education to be available to any families who seek it out, there are not — and never have been—formal plans to expand without par ent and community demand,” she said.

ACE and Hillsdale faced backlash from Tennes see media and education establishment groups about the proposed charter school. Following the denial by the school boards and the appeal by ACE, the Tennessee Edu cation Association, a teachers’

How to: Advertise with The Collegian

To advertise in The Collegian, please contact Carly Moran at cmoran3@hillsdale.edu.

ates costs, and it's possible that those can be destruc tive on net.”

Steele said mutual gains means people are incen tivized to work together to solve truly wasteful, pol luting conditions. He cited the example of ranchers in Montana collaborating with non-profit organizations to preserve trout populations.

“We ought to be able to turn resource and environ mental conflicts into mutual cooperation,” Steele said.

Steele said private prop erty rights were effectively employed in New Zealand to help combat overfish ing. The local government implemented individually transferable quotas there, which gave fishermen tradable property rights to a certain number of living, uncaught fish. The ITQs created incentives to con serve and prevent over-cap italization, Steele said.

Junior Gabrielle Lewis, president of the conserva tion club, said she doesn’t think Hillsdale students talk enough about conservation.

“By focusing on econom ics as well as a platform for people to ask questions, we’re trying to change the way that students here view conservation,” Lewis said. “It does have a place within the capitalist mindset, and there are more ways to solve climate change than just government interference.

By Megan Williams Culture Editor

Americans should find fulfillment outside of eco nomics because the nation al debt is a crisis that can’t be fixed, said Philip Klein, editor of National Review Online.

Klein spoke on Tuesday afternoon to students about the national debt and its impact on Generation Z at a lecture hosted by the Dow Journalism Program.

He compared the in creasing debt to the median income for college-aged adults.

“We’re in a situation where the average person graduating college and earning income is inherit ing a debt two times their income on average,” Klein said. “Somebody who grad uated college back in the ’70s did not have to worry about facing anywhere near as much debt as you guys have.”

Klein explained the his tory of debt in the United States, describing how it is created and how it has been resolved in the past. He offered solutions to the current crisis.

Debate from A1

Junior Emma Sanders and sophomore Jeff O’Neill received speaker awards, and senior Frankie Vitale and sophomore Ben Brown got first place.

The type of debate the team does is conducive to new members, Faulkner said.

medium to spread the word about a little-known group

“I don’t expect the stamp to tell the full story of women cryptologists, but I hope the stamp helps make the viewer interested in learning more,” Alcalá said

union, launched a public relations campaign to “fight Hillsdale charters.”

Despite the setback in Tennessee, Davis said Hills dale “remains committed” to expanding educational op tions for parents and students throughout the United States.

“Hillsdale College’s outreach in K-12 education across the nation — includ ing Tennessee — is a natural extension of its mission,” Davis said. “A high-quality, American classical educa tion shouldn’t be limited to the 1,500 college students enrolled at Hillsdale’s campus but should be available to as many students as possible — including in K-12.”

ACE remains partnered with the Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office and Gresham said ACE will con tinue to work with parents and students in Tennessee to

“There are forms of de bate that are very technical, and we're not doing those kinds of debates, so it's easy for new folks to participate right away,” Faulkner said.

Freshman Emma Kate Mellors received first place and won best speaker in the Novice IPDA division at Bowling Green. The next day, she qualified for the quarterfinals and received

provide additional educa tional opportunities outside of “monopolistic public schools.”

“ACE remains committed to empowering parents and students to have access to high-quality public schools of choice,” she said. “We look forward to applying for additional charter schools where local parents, teachers, and students desire excellent education alternatives.”

Gresham said parental love is driving the nation wide alternative education movement.

“It remains a much stron ger claim than the claim of the bureaucracy that con tinues to stifle quality public education options for fami lies,” Gresham said. “After all, parents are the purest form of ‘local control’ when it comes to their child’s education.”

The Barney Charter

How to: Subscribe to The Collegian

To receive weekly issues of Hillsdale College’s student newspa per, please contact Linnea Shively at lshively@hillsdale.edu

“You could raise taxes, you could cut spending dramatically, or some com bination of the two,” Klein said. “But this creates a trap where, on the one hand, you want to raise taxes or cut spending, but doing that hurts the economy which could make the debt even worse.”

Klein proposed reform ing Social Security and Medicare systems, but, after the COVID-19 pandemic, he said it’s becoming more difficult to make those sorts of changes. In addition, younger generations simply aren’t worried about the debt, he said.

“We have older voters that are a reliable, active voting bloc, and they really care about Social Security and Medicare,” Klein said.

“But younger voters aren’t really focused on retire ment. They have other things that they care about.”

Senior Andrew David son said he appreciated Klein’s thorough knowledge of the subject.

“I liked Klein’s com bination of pessimistic predictions and calm pre sentation,” Davidson said.

“He explained exactly how

fourth best speaker in the Novice IPDA division. She also won a speaker award.

“I definitely didn't expect to do as well as I did at the debate tournament earlier this month,” Mellors said.

“However, the veterans on our team have dedicated hours to teaching us and are incredibly successful and experienced. Doing as well as I did at my first tourna ment definitely makes me feel some pressure but also makes me so excited to see how much I can grow.”

The debate team prac tices every Wednesday night for about an hour by arguing for 20-30 minutes against each other. They also participate in lectures or drills on Mondays.

Sophomore Vivian Turn

School Initiative was es tablished in 2010 and has assisted local school groups and charter management organizations in opening dozens of classical schools around the county.

Now called the Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office, the office partners with charter management or ganizations, charter founding groups, and private founding groups to provide profession al development services and access to The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum at no charge.

“Where demand exists, Hillsdale College offers its assistance, guidance, and mentorship,” Davis said.

There are now 71 schools in 27 states affiliated with Hillsdale College. Of those 71 schools, 23 of them are Hillsdale College Member Schools. In addition to being licensed to use Hillsdale’s

serious our national debt and entitlement crises are without sounding hyster ical.”

Klein told students to continue spreading aware ness about the debt crisis.

“Confront the human nature issue and figure out a way to put this situation in the present moment for people,” Klein said. “Show people how the debt affects them today.”

Graduate student Christina Grattan said she appreciated the timeliness of Klein’s lecture.

“He mentioned that many Republicans have turned their concerns away from the national debt to the war on wokeness,” Grat tan said. “While drag queen story hour and the ongoing cultural degeneration are harmful to our generation’s youth, I think we need to focus on the financial side as well."

At the end of his lecture, Klein admitted his pessi mism because he didn’t believe the debt would ever get resolved.

“I’m resigned to eating cat food in my old age,” Klein joked.

bull said her favorite part of debate is getting ready with her team.

“My highlights are always team prep,” Turnbull said. “We have 20 minutes for NPDA to come up with our case, so it’s a frantic time of bouncing ideas off each other, researching, and memorizing statistics.”

The debate team will compete at Marshall Uni versity in West Virginia this weekend, followed by Muskingum University on Nov. 5, and St. Anselm University on Nov. 12.

“We compete against schools that are much bigger than us and have more funding all the time,” Faulkner said. “We have a pretty good record against those teams.”

K-12 curriculum and K-12 Program Guide, Member Schools benefit from having a closer relationship with the college that involves in-per son teacher and school leader training, among other things. With more than 8,000 students on waitlists at Hillsdale’s Member Schools, Davis said the K-12 Educa tion Office will continue to move forward despite the challenges.

“The Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office re mains committed to answer ing the demand for increased educational options echoed by parents across the na tion,” Davis said. “It remains dauntless and steadfast in its mission to empower parents and students and to see to it that high-quality public clas sical schools are within reach of all who seek them.”

How to: Join The Collegian

To find out more about how to contribute to The Collegian through writing, photography, or videography, please contact Maggie Hroncich at mhroncich@hillsdale.edu

Stamp from

from

National Review editor Philip Klein predicts national debt will deliver economic ruin

Philip Klein explained his pessimism about the economy at Tuesday's lecture.

Elizabeth Troutman | Collegian

Hillsdale in DC conducts student journalism panel

By Olivia Hajicek DC Correspondent

Student journalism protects liberty on college campuses, according to Collegian editor-in-chief and senior Maggie Hroncich at a student journalism panel on Oct. 21.

“Thomas Jefferson once said that liberty depends on freedom of the press, and I think the same is true for on-campus liberty,” Hron cich said.

Seven student journal ists, including Hroncich, joined Senior Journalism Fellow Mollie Hemingway for a panel discussion titled “Student Journalism and the Battle for On-Campus Liberty.”

The discussion was part of Hillsdale’s series on “Revers ing the Ideological Cap ture of Universities” at the

Julie Hartman, a 2022 Harvard University graduate, described how her political positions changed during the riot-filled summer of 2020, in part through the influence of Prager University videos. When Dennis Prager invited her to appear on his radio show, she made the “grievous mistake” of accepting.

“I had a lot of people un follow me on social media. I had friends stop being my friends. I even had the TA in one of my classes say that if my presence offended the other students they could move to another section; it was insane,” Hart said.

Hart now has a show with PragerU called “Dennis and Julie.”

Hroncich said she is

fortunate to be at Hillsdale, where students respect each other’s freedom and profes sors encourage debate. She said in her journalism in ternships she has interviewed many college students who feel scared to share their opinions on campus.

“If student journalists can’t even question their own college,” Hroncich asked, “why would we expect them to question anything else?”

Chris Philips and Daniel Schmidt, students at the Uni versity of Chicago, shared their experience asking ques tions when their university hosted a “disinformation conference” that included guests like CNN’s Brian Stel ter. Philips and Schmidt, who work at the Chicago Thinker, the university’s conservative paper, became “the people the speakers were terrified of” at the lecture, according

to Hemingway

Philips asked Stelter how Fox News could be “the enemy of the people” when CNN pushed the Russia collusion hoax and the Jussie Smollett hoax. Schmidt asked Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlan tic whether she regretted dismissing the Hunter Biden story as a conspiracy theory after the New York Times confirmed it was true. Her answer, according to Schmidt, was that she didn’t find that interesting.

Hemingway said the most effective opposition to the millions of dollars spent on disinformation has been from Philips, Schmidt, and other student journalists.

“The left is so loud, so militant, so vocal,” Schmidt said. “Conservatives have to be just as loud and have to be on the offensive.”

Valparaiso professor defends boredom in education

By Moira Gleason Collegian Freelancer

Teachers should give students the tools to en gage with their boredom and cultivate a capacity for leisure, Kevin Gary, Valpara iso University professor of education, said in a lecture on Oct. 19.

Hillsdale’s Education Department and Graduate School of Classical Education hosted Gary’s lecture, “The Moral Eclipse of Boredom.”

Gary is the author of “Why Boredom Matters: Educa tion, Leisure, and the Quest for a Meaningful Life.”

If students are taught how to respond to their boredom, it can serve as a helpful indi cator of their true interests, he said.

The first step toward properly engaging with boredom is developing an awareness of it, Gary said.

Students often react to boredom in negative ways without realizing the reason behind their actions.

“We think of emotions as things like anger and fear and anxiety because we experience those coursing through our system,” he said.

“Boredom often flies under the radar which is why it has been described as the latent emotion.”

When one is aware of boredom, the question becomes how to respond to it, according to Gary. He said avoidance is a problematic response to boredom on an individual and educational level.

“We experience boredom, and we just quickly find a way to stimulate ourselves. The iconic example of this is the smartphone,” Gary said.

The idea that a teacher must outwit boredom and entertain students is a mis

conception, Gary said. This non-reflective tactic corrodes the students’ ability for deep attention and perseverance through boredom.

“The other response which is problematic is res ignation to boredom,” Gary said. “I think what’s really going on here is a loss of imagination.”

Drawing upon the work of philosophers Kierkeg aard and Josef Pieper, Gary advocated for the cultivation of leisure as the best way to overcome boredom.

“Leisure is a way of be holding and being attentive,” Gary said. “It is a capacity to be receptive to intrinsic goods.”

Lauren Blunt, a student in the Graduate School for Classical Education, said Gary’s thoughts on leisure and education resonated with her own experiences in the classroom.

“I was particularly in trigued by Dr. Gary’s focus on showing students the inherent and intrinsic goods of the things being studied,” Blunt said. “As someone who has taught and spent a lot of time in the classroom, the value of creating wonder in a student through the means of conveying its beauty made such sense to me.”

Professor of Education Dan Coupland said he was glad to host Gary, as students in the master’s education program are reading the philosophers Gary referred to in his lecture.

“I thought it might be nice to bring someone in to just talk about this idea of why boredom matters, why leisure matters, and why part of a well ordered life — a well ordered soul — involves leisure,” Coupland said.

Praxis hosts lecture on pandemic, economy

By Anna MacPhee Collegian Freelancer

The world became part of an unprecedented experiment in 2020 when governments began taking control of free economies and destroying them, said Jeffrey Tucker, founder and president of the Brownstone Institute in a lecture hosted by Praxis on Oct. 20.

Tucker spoke about the effects of the pandemic re sponse in 2020, arguing that the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic distorted the economy and devastated many markets.

“We could write books listing all the economic calamities caused by the di sastrous pandemic response,” Tucker said. “Even today, not many people have grasped the relationship between our current hardships and what happened back in 2020.”

Tucker said government responses in 2020 disrupted economic growth in Amer ican markets. The distinc tions between essential and nonessential businesses created major distortions in the economy, Tucker said.

“Malls were empty, churches were abandoned. Vast numbers of people huddled in homes, fully convinced that a universally deadly virus was lurking out doors and waiting to snatch life of anyone foolish enough to seek exercise, sunshine, or, heaven forbid, have fun or friends,” Tucker said.

“Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre vention was recommending that all ‘essential’ businesses install plexiglass and paste social distancing stickers everywhere, all in the name of science. America in those days was post-apocalyptic.”

Tucker said politicians used the COVID epidemic to expand their own pow er. On March 16, 2020, the White House released an order for bars, restaurants, food courts, gyms and other indoor and outdoor venues where groups of people con gregate to close, according to Tucker.

“I'm not sure there's a more totalitarian order ever issued in the history of hu manity by any government,” Tucker said.

According to Tucker, this order distorted the economy and caused lasting impacts on inflation and major dis ruptions to several markets.

“The economy cannot be turned off using coercion,” Tucker said. “30 months later, we face an economic crisis without precedent in our lifetimes: the longest period of declining real income in the post-war pe riod, health and educational prices exploding, pushing inflation to a high, contin ually seeing random short ages, dysfunctional labor markets that defy all models, breakdown of international

trade, collapse in consumer confidence, and a dangerous wave of political division.”

Ivan Pongracic, professor of economics and faculty advisor of Praxis, said he agreed with Tucker’s assess ment of the economic effects of the COVID response. According to Pongracic, the distortions caused by COVID response policies could be extremely destruc tive to free markets.

“When people talk about the economy, they're talking about cooperation and coor dination of hundreds of mil lions, if not billions of people across the globe,” Pongracic said. “When you mess with one aspect of it, you have no idea what the full repercus sions are going to be. The government comes in like a bull in the china shop. It’s not even aware of what it's doing. They say it’s for the greater good, but it destroys a bunch of these interconnecting chains in this incredibly complex order.”

Tucker said the worst consequence of COVID policies is inflation.

“We experienced the wild swings from shocking riches to rags in a very short period of time,” Tucker said. “Once the inflation came along, it ate up the value of the stimulus, and all that free money turned out not to be free at all but rather very expensive.”

According to Pongracic, most Americans do not understand the gravity of inflation because the U.S. has not experienced the same economic disasters in the past as other countries.

“Everybody says it's going to be fine,” Pongracic said. “It’s akin to a person falling from the 20th floor, passing the second floor and saying, ‘So far so good!’ And then splat.”

Sophomore economics major Gwen Thompson said she agreed with Tucker’s explanation of the effects of COVID policy.

“I really appreciated the way that he gave the over view of a lot of different effects of the pandemic response rather than honing in too much on one thing,” Thompson said. “He gave us a really good broad picture of the overall effects on the economy.”

According to Tucker, public authorities create false distinctions between eco nomic prosperity and public health.

“The separation between economics and public health does not hold in theory or practice,” Tucker said. “Eco nomics is about people, their choices, and the institutions that make them thrive.

Public health is about the same thing. Driving a wedge between the two surely ranks among the most catastrophic public policy decisions of our lifetimes.”

Director of post-graduate theological study program invites students to apply

By Eleanor Whitaker Collegian Freelancer

The Brazos Fellowship seeks to redefine vocations for college graduates, Paul Gutacker, the program's executive director, told Hilldsale students on Oct.

11.

“I think we assume that discerning your vocation means figuring out your career,” Gutacker said, “In Scripture, it has to do with the thing that we’re all called to do—follow ing Christ. It's not overly simplistic to say it, but we actually know what our vocation is.”

Gutacker recently visited Hillsdale to encourage stu dents to apply to the Brazos Fellowship, a nine-month residential program in Waco, Texas. There, college graduates study church history, reflect on their spiritual calling, and grow in their relationship with

God and fellow Christians.

“The Brazos Fellowship started to answer the big questions that emerging adults have,” Gutacker said.

"Questions like ‘Who am I? What do I hope to do? What should my life look like? What is a good life?’

The last thing we should try to do is think for our selves. Instead we should pursue these questions in community and, in partic ular, the church.”

During each week of the program, a group of four to 10 fellows gather together to attend lectures, discuss texts, and worship in prayer.

According to Gutacker, college gives very little time to develop important spir itual habits, so the Brazos Fellowship aims to build that foundation.

Cody Strecker, assistant professor of theology at Hillsdale, said he helped get the program off the

ground when he worked as an academic tutor at Baylor University

“The mission of the program is to help students begin a life of spiritual integration in which every thing they’re doing, not just individually but in commu nity living with others, is in pursuit of a life of faith,” Strecker said.

During their time in Waco, fellows dive into four areas of concentra tion: theological training, vocational discernment, spiritual disciplines, and community life.

The core of the theolog ical training is the Course of Study, a series of lectures and discussions held two days a week by visiting scholars, Strecker said.

“One of the best things we can do is attend to how forebears in the faith have thought about their own lives and thought about God in relation to

the world,” Strecker said. “And that’s really what the Course of Study is seeking to do, to draw students into a deeper understanding of what Christianity has been and allow that to illumi nate what it can be in the present.”

In addition to studying thinkers like Aquinas and Calvin, fellows choose an area of interest to study under a personal tutor that culminates in an informal presentation.

Fellows also meet regularly with a certified life coach who assists in spiritual discernment and personal discovery.

One of the highlights of the program is the amount of time fellows spend together exercising spiri tual disciplines, according to Strecker. The program offers morning prayer time and Monday cohort dinners. The group also goes on two retreats: one

in the fall that is focused on prayer and one in the spring that is focused on food and celebration.

The fellowship gives young adults an opportu nity to truly reflect on what it means to live a Christian life. College often does not leave much time for think ing about how to translate a liberal arts education into the life beyond, Strecker said.

“If you talk to graduates, they say this has shaped the way that they make prayer a constant compo nent of their life, the way that they read and engage with the Christian tradition with a kind of capacity for knowing where to look, what to think about, and what to dwell upon that they otherwise might not know how to live, not just alongside other people, but with other people drawn into life together,” Strecker said.

Senior Griffin Johnston said she is interested in the program because she wants to invest in her intellectual life and form good habits.

“It will give me the time and freedom to read things I am interested in with someone who is knowledgeable about those things,” Johnston said.

Applications for the 2023-2024 cohort open Nov. 1.

Strecker said the pur pose of the program is particularly aligned with Hillsdale students.

“It's something that many Hillsdale students would benefit from and would delight in, not as a kind of repetition of what they’ve done here but as an extension and that kind of bridge to life beyond,” Strecker said.

Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C.

Senior Journalism Fellow Mollie Hemingway moderates a panel discussion about student journalism and free speech on campuses.

Olivia Hajicek | Collegian

Opinions

The Collegian Weekly

The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff

Voters must remember the lockdowns

The “Nation’s Report Card” came out this week, and the results don’t look good.

The data, from the National Assessment of Education Progress scores released on Oct. 24 by the Department of Education, revealed historic drops across all states in math scores and reading levels. The results provide yet an other example of the failed response to the pandemic – by unelected bureaucrats, teachers’ unions, and the elected officials that went along with them.

As we head into the election, inflation, abortion, and education are issues at the top of voters’ minds. It

makes sense that inflation is often mentioned first: we feel the pain of higher prices every time we make a purchase. The overturn ing of Roe has given new urgency to people on both sides of the abortion debate. And kids being shut out of school on and off for more than two years, radical gender ideology in public school classrooms, and the previously mentioned NAEP results have pushed education to the forefront for parents especially.

But in the midst of these current issues, we shouldn’t forget what happened a mere two years ago. As Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer enforced strict

stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures, she flew on a private jet to visit her dad in Florida.

As California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged people not to gather with family for the holidays, he was caught attending a fancy dinner event in Napa Valley.

Voters have a chance to reject these policies on Nov. 8, and hold elected officials accountable for their hypocrisy. And while the latest education data is another reminder of the harms of lockdown policies, children weren’t the only group affected.

Voters should remember the husbands who weren’t allowed in hospital rooms

as their wives gave birth –and the women who were forced to wear masks while in labor. Remember the elderly who were forced to die alone in hospital beds – and their families who couldn’t hold funerals. Remember the businesses that were shut down, some never to reopen – and the millions who were told their livelihoods were “non-essential.” Remember the same people enforcing these measures gave them selves exceptions.

Remember they can do it all again.

Hillsdale College should cancel classes on Election Day

By Micah Hart

With a crippled economy, a baby formula shortage, and a crisis at the border, a lot is at stake in the upcoming mid

term elections. Politicians always blabber about un precedented times, and— for once— the politicians are correct. Inflation rates are the highest they have been in the last 40 years.

Americans are worried about gas prices at the pump, food prices in the grocery store, and even candy prices for Hallow een treats. It is no secret that America is struggling.

Thankfully, election day is less than a month away, and the American public has the ability to recall the disastrous lead ership of the Democrats and vote for change in Washington and state wide.

Hillsdale College students also have the chance to make our mark by voting and volunteer ing. A lot is at stake, and election day is a big day for students to vote and be involved. For these reasons, Hillsdale Col lege students should have election day off.

While our votes alone will not change the direc tion of the country, we should do our part and fulfill our civic obliga tions.

Not only is Michigan a battleground state, but Proposal 3 also offers a significant threat to the sanctity of life in this state.

According to the Hillsdale College profile, 30% of the student body is from Michigan. This is not a large number; how ever, it is still something, and these students should be able to go home to vote on election day.

Early and absentee voting are valid argu ments against this, but sometimes students don’t

have time on weekends to get home or don’t trust that their ballot will be safe in the mail. Personally, I don’t love my information in the mail. My ballot is my own ballot. I don’t feel all that comfortable shipping my ballot from my home state to the college: anything can happen while it is in transit. I am not suggest ing that voting by mail is bad, but a certain degree of concern and caution are warranted.

In addition to this, Hillsdale is a college. The end of October is mad ness for everyone, with midterm season, Parents Weekend, and other obli gations.

By having the day off, the college would be making an intentional statement by showing that voting in person is a priority, especially for students who live close enough.

In addition to Mich igan students, there are several students who live in neighboring states, such as the battleground state of Ohio, that would be able to go home to ful fill their civic obligations.

For those who do not live close enough, the case can still be made. Hills dale College is known for politics. The Princeton

Review ranks Hillsdale College as 15th in the nation for most politically active students.

With a close governor’s race (according tothere is a 5.4% difference between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her opponent, Tudor Dixon) and the right to life for the unborn on the line, students should be allowed to go out and vol unteer. Canceling classes would allow students to get involved and help campaigns or other orga nizations.

It is one day, but the consequences are grave and influential for many years to come.

No matter if one stu dent votes or volunteers or the whole campus does, it is more about the message than the quan tity. Hillsdale College is a beacon of liberty and freedom. Let’s live up to that by partaking in our civic duties and doing our part to make the country a better place.

Micah Hart is a sopho more studying politics and journalism. He is assis tant circulation manager at the Collegian.

Harriet Tubman should be added to the Liberty Walk

By Jennifer Wiland

When Harriet Tubman was introduced as a possible replacement for Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill in 2016, Princeton professor of jurisprudence Robert P. George joked about the justice in “a racist popu list” favored by Democrats being replaced by “a black, gun-toting, evangelical Christian, Republican woman.” Though her face has yet to displace Jack son’s, Tubman deserves recognition from liberals and conservatives alike.

Hillsdale should celebrate her contributions to the Underground Railroad, the Union during the Civil War, and the women’s suffrage movement by adding her to the Liberty Walk.

Born a slave, Tubman knew hardship. At the age of 12, she saw an overseer about to throw a metal weight at a fugitive slave. She stepped in the way and took the hit. The weight broke her skull, leaving her with headaches and narco lepsy for the rest of her life. Yet the injury brought her the unexpected blessing of vivid dreams and visions she believed came from God. Her faith remained steadfast throughout her life, and she often used spiritual folk songs as code when guiding other slaves

to freedom.

After the death of her master, Tubman fled her owners’ Maryland plan tation. She knew the fatal risks of capture, but she re mained undeterred. She es caped via the Underground Railroad to Pennsylvania, where she could live freely. She said, “I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”

Although she found a job as a housekeeper, Tubman was not satisfied with her own freedom. “My home, after all, was down in Mary land, because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there,” she said. “But I was free, and they should be free.” She traveled back into slave territory 13 times, saving most of her family and rescuing more than 70 slaves through the Under ground Railroad.

When the Civil War began, Tubman devoted her service to the Union army: first as a cook and a nurse, and later as the head of an espionage and scout network. Most famously, Tubman led the Combahee Ferry Raid, guiding gun boats away from torpedoes and toward strategic points on the Combahee River in South Carolina. When Civil

War correspondent James Yerrington reported about the raid, he noted that it was under Tubman’s “inspira tion it was originated and conducted.”

The raid succeeded: “Col. Montgomery and his gallant band of 300 hundred black soldiers, under the guidance of a black woman, dashed into the enemies’ country, struck a bold and effective blow, destroying millions of dollars worth of com missary stores, cotton, and lordly dwellings, and strik ing terror to the heart of rebellion, brought off near 800 slaves and thousands of dollars worth of property, without losing a man or receiving a scratch!”

As a college founded by abolitionists, Hillsdale has recognized the abolition of slavery as an essential step toward liberty for all Americans. Three statues on the Liberty Walk already commemorate the Civil War era: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and an unnamed soldier who stands for the more than 500 Hillsdale students who fought as Union soldiers. A statue of Tubman would recognize her ground-level work as an Underground Railroad conductor and a Civil War scout.

Tubman also fought for a cause not yet recognized on the Liberty Walk: women’s

suffrage. She spoke in New York, Boston, and Wash ington, D.C., using stories of her work in the Civil War and the sacrifices of other brave women to show how women contributed as much to society as men. When asked whether she thought women should be able to vote, she replied, “I suffered enough to believe it.” Though Tubman’s work for the women’s suffrage movement consisted of support rather than lead ership, her commitment to women’s suffrage further highlights her dedication to liberty for all people.

Hillsdale has built its commitment to liberty on the understanding that all are born with equal rights, promising an education to “all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex.” Harriet Tubman toiled her whole life for the abolition of slavery and the women’s suffrage move ment, two causes that fur thered equality in America. As a champion of liberty for all, Tubman deserves a statue on Hillsdale’s Liberty Walk.

Jennifer Wiland is a junior studying rhetoric and public address.

Harriet Tubman helped rescue more than 70 slaves.

Courtesy | CommonsWikimedia

Courtesy | Freepik

Look outside the West for new courses

By Josh Hypes

Hillsdale students can’t learn about Indian epic po etry, Confucian philosophy, or the Japanese language, at least not through the college’s course offerings. It’s time to broaden our perspectives at Hillsdale.

The college’s defense of the liberal arts and the Western tradition provides many excellent classes to explore the intricacies of Western philosophy, reli gion, and culture. Juxtapos ing the guiding principles of the East with the West would enhance the study and appreciation of the Western tradition while allowing students to explore the other half of the world.

The college largely overlooks the richness of non-Western cultures. I can identify a total of four of ferings on the East: History of the Far East, Introduc tion to World Religions, Introduction to Islam, and Introduction to Eastern Religion. This inadequa cy leaves students largely ignorant about the broader dynamics of the rest of the world.

To fix this flaw, Hillsdale should add a non-Western language and offer up per-level electives geared

toward studying the West’s interaction with the East.

If Hillsdale seeks to produce America’s next great statesmen and leaders, it must provide instruc tion in these areas. Many Hillsdale students will go on to work in Washington, D.C., and many national security circles require criti cal language skills for top positions. Diplomatic and intelligence agencies select candidates skilled in Chi nese, Hindi, or Japanese.

Several students across campus are already learning non-Western languages, such as Russian, Chinese, and Swahili on their own. Hillsdale could support these students with the ba sic infrastructure to deepen their studies by offering course credits and guided instruction. Not only does this support benefit the stu dent but it will also follow the mission of the college.

These languages ad vance the college’s goal to be a trustee of the Western heritage by unveiling the close relationship interwo ven between the intellectual traditions of the East and the West.

The recent addition of Polish as an interdisciplin ary class is a positive exam ple of the college expand

ing languages. Although Polish is not necessarily a non-Western language, it is a good starting point for how the college can teach new languages. The college can expand its course offerings while including a small part of the Eastern tradition by hiring or using existing faculty fluent in a critical language to teach these courses.

Hillsdale’s lack of up per-level courses studying the Eastern tradition creates an intellectual blind spot in the student’s education. The East provides a history rich with great works of litera ture, philosophic discovery, religious inquiry, and politi cal instruction. For Hills dale students not to learn the joy of the great Indian epic the “Mahabharata,” the fascinating tales of China’s “Journey to the West,” or the beauty of Japan’s “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.”

Hillsdale should provide at least one upper-level elective course each aca demic year in the politics, history, English, philoso phy, and religion depart ments focused on some type of Eastern interaction with the Western tradition. Expanding those course of ferings to be more specified

would deepen the intellec tual value.

Some claim that these courses might draw stu dents away from the West ern tradition. For example, English students might not be able to fully explore the intricacies of American and English literature if they are preoccupied with taking courses outside of the West.

One application of that value is learning how to address the problems facing the West’s relations with the East today.

The lessons from the East and other non-West ern cultures could give us an insight into how the Communist Chinese Party maintains control over one of the most populous nations in the world, why North Korea’s citizens do not revolt against the tyran nical Kims, and how Africa might be the next center for innovation and industry. By ignoring the East we risk rushing into the unknown. Exploring the East opens a new lens to view the West ern tradition.

Josh Hypes is a junior studying politics and journalism. He is the po litial correspondent at the Collegian.

Stop glorifying serial killers

By Sarah Katherine Sisk

Nothing is more stom ach churning than Jeffrey Dahmer’s vile and disturb ing crimes. The only thing that comes close is the new fanbase he has built after Nexflix released and promoted “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”

Jeffrey Dahmer, an American serial killer and sex offender, murdered 17 men and boys between the years of 1978 and 1991. He lured many victims to his apartment with the promise of alcohol or money. There, he drugged and molested his victims. He often mur dered them by strangula tion, then used their body to perform experiments, dismembering, dissecting, and even eating various body parts and organs.

Netflix released the biographical crime drama about Dahmer on Sep. 21. In a NetflixQueue Interview, producer Ryan Murphy claimed the show would not be told from Dahmer’s point of view. Rather, it was meant to tell the untold aspects of the impact of Dahmer’s crimes

on the victims and their families.

Rita Isbell, sister of Erroll Lindsey (one of Dahmer’s victims), told Insider that she was never contacted about the show. She said that it felt like an attempt to profit off of an immense tragedy.

Isbell only saw parts of the show that included her sister. “I didn’t watch the whole show,” Isbell said. “I don’t need to watch it. I lived it. I know exactly what happened.”

Other family members expressed similar senti ments.

Netflix cast Evan Peters to play Dahmer, famous for his work in “American Horror Story.”

Although claiming to showcase the untold perspectives of the victims and their families, the 10-episode show spends little time with anyone else but Dahmer. Focusing pri marily on his dysfunctional childhood and struggles with his sexuality, the show attempts to humanize Dahmer. This has left many viewers of the show feeling sorry for Dahmer, despite

his monstrous and inhu mane crimes.

You need not look far on social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter before encountering Dahmer’s new fanbase. They sympa thize with Dahmer, with one comment saying “Jeff was a good man, and that’s why he gave them quick deaths because he didn’t want to hurt them.”

Other fans post clips of Peters in the show in a hypersexual context, ro manticizing his disturbing behavior.

Not only does the show humanize a man who should be condemned at every opportunity, but it has forced victims’ families to relive their traumat ic losses. Many families would never see their loved ones again, since Dahmer would dissect them beyond recognition, completely desecrating their remains.

Netflix profits off of the families’ suffering simply to take part in the ever-pop ular, true crime genre.

The attention garnered by this show also encourages copycat behavior, encour aging murders like these

to be idolized and imitated due to their sensational publicity.

When it comes to ex ploiting murders for profit, Netflix is a serial offender.

In 2020, it released “Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer,” which cast Zac Efron, a well-known heartthrob known for his role in “High School Musical,” to portray the psychopathic criminal. Similarly, this show created a massive fanbase on social media that was entirely too sympathetic to him, given the 28 women and girls he confessed to killing.

Due to the sensational ization of these serial kill ers, the families affected are forced to relive trauma that most fans will, thankfully, never fully understand.

Fans of the genre seem to forget that true crime is just that, true. Just because it is trending on Netflix does not mean we should neglect the welfare of the people most affected by the horrific crimes.

Sarah Katherine Sisk is a sophomore studying the liberal arts.

Pumpkin spice:

ica: caffeine.

By Nathan Stanish

What do you get when you combine lies, smoking, and controversial coffee companies? You guessed it: pumpkin spice.

The first problem with pumpkin spice is the name. Pumpkin spice does not contain a trace of pump kin. Early creators of this unnecessary flavor had the audacity to call it pumpkin spice and lie about its very nature.

Its lies aside, pumpkin spice is like smoking. Some people like to smoke, and some don’t, but the ones who don’t like smoking have to suffer second-hand smoke all the time while the ones who do love smoking blissfully puff away, destroying their lungs.

Similarly, some people like pumpkin spice and some don’t, but pumpkin spice air fresheners and baking products force the smell of pumpkin spice even on those who don’t like it. Is it too much to ask for clean air and unboth

ered nostrils in the fall season?

Who is to blame for the modern obsession with this false, pervasive smell that haunts each and every

Everyone should learn how to make real chai

By Maddy Welsh

What if I told you the chai at many local coffee shops is not the real thing –that “chai” flavored syrup in a glass of milk is as similar to chai as slices of apple in water to apple cider?

In many places, espe cially Hillsdale, the “chai” available for sipping is nothing more than a sickly sweet cinnamon swill unfit for human consumption.

The “chai” served at Rough Draft or AJ’s or sold at Kroger is a shadow, in the Platonic sense, of what chai really can be.

Chai is a Hindi word for tea and masala chai means spiced tea. It is what people are attempting to imi tate when they concoct a cinnamon, sugar, and milk drink thoughtlessly labeled chai. Masala chai recipes vary based on the region of India they originate from as well as how they’ve been Westernized, but the most basic typically include black tea, cardamom, and milk.

Variations may include other spices like ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, or cloves. Typically the tea is lightly sweetened with sugar or honey.

That’s what real chai is, and it’s delightful. The black tea makes it bitter, the milk rich, the cardamom sweet and light, and the additions of ginger, cinnamon, or other spices add depth, warmth, and sharpness.

The “chai” in Hillsdale and elsewhere is a poor imitation. Too many people are missing out on the joy of real masala chai.

Here’s the problem with the vague impersonations of chai found in Hillsdale: they all taste too much of sugar and cinnamon and not enough of tea. Chai should have tea in it; this seems like a small ask, but especially in Hillsdale, it’s apparently not.

According to several local baristas, one coffee shop makes its “chai” with a cinnamon-flavored sugar syrup. I have been reas sured, after multiple public outcries, that their syrup recipe includes tea. But syrup is not tea, and vice versa.

People might ask why they should care what real chai is if they find the fake stuff tasty. First, I’d ask them whether they’ve had real masala chai before. If

not, I’d encourage them to try it. Either way, I’d then tell them about the benefits of chai.

Black tea and ginger are antioxidants that can help with gut health, choles terol management, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Cardamom, aside from being a delicious and criminally underrated spice, is antibacterial and can soothe inflammation.

When you drink “chai” with very little real tea, little to no ginger or cardamom, and heaps of sugar, you miss out on all the benefits that come alongside the

American for three months every year? The answer is Starbucks, the creator of the pumpkin spice latte. The company took pumpkin spice and its dishonest histo ry and combined it with the most popular drug in Amer

Without Starbucks, Americans could have lived happily and blissfully in the absence of the pseu do-pumpkin scent, but according to the FoodNet work, Starbucks managed to sell 200 million pumpkin spice lattes in the first 10 years, cementing its place in fall culture.

Fall already has a variety of honest traditions. Pump kin pie actually contains pumpkins, does not ruin innocent airspace with its smell, and provides tasty satisfaction without the inclusion of a stimulating drug.

Say no to pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin spice as a whole. Don’t let pumpkin and spice mix again. Let them live their separate lives so the rest of us can enjoy fresh air devoid of fake fragrances until Christmas brings a new set of special smells.

Nathan Stanish is a soph omore studying the liberal arts and journalism.

warm, comforting nature of authentic masala chai.

It’s not even hard to make – it takes about the same time as your morning cup of coffee. To brew a delicious cup of authentic masala chai, warm equal parts water and milk on a stovetop. Add black tea and leave it to steep before adding cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and other spices of choice along with a little sweetener, if desired. Then serve it fresh and steaming. There’s no reason to drink fake chai when the real stuff is at your fingertips. You can buy tea, milk, whole spices, and fresh ginger as close to home as the Car leton Road Kroger.

Step out of the cave. Learn to make real masala chai.

Maddy Welsh is a junior studying history and jour nalism. She is an assistant editor at the Collegian.

Is a part of American heritage

By Jack Little

What seems to be a simple blend of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves reveals something profound about American culture and our history.

In 1796, Amelia Sim mons published “American Cookery,” one of the earliest cookbooks that can truly be categorized as authentically and uniquely American. Published only 20 years after the Declaration of Indepen dence was written and eight years after the ratification of the Constitution, American Cookery encapsulates the birth of American cuisine. And what is included in it? A recipe for “Pompkin,” including a blend of mace, nutmeg, and ginger. Pump kin spice or pumpkin pie spice is referenced again throughout the 19th century in cookbooks such as “Smi ley’s Cookbook,” “Universal Household Guide,” and “The Original Boston Cook ing-School Cookbook.”

Simply put, pumpkin spice is intangibly and inex

tricably linked to America. There is an idea that it has become overly commodi fied, particularly due to the obsession so many have with the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte — a genuinely good drink. If it is overly commodified, it may be the most innocuous com modification to come out of corporate America. The flavors and aroma of pump kin spice are not damaging to the soul, in the way that so many consumer goods are, but instead bring back memories of friends and family gathering during the holidays.

All this is said without re gard to the taste of pumpkin spice. It may lack its titular ingredient, but the com bination of flavors evokes leaves changing colors, crisp breezes, and sweaters. While it may be easy to chalk this up to clever marketing gimmicks on behalf of Star bucks (which makes tens of millions of dollars a year from its pumpkin-themed drinks), there is something about the warming, slightly spicy feel of the ingredi

ents that calls us back to something deeper within the communal psyche of individuals exposed to the Western tradition.

Hatred of pumpkin spice is an easy counter cultural note to hit. It goes against prevailing taste and stirs up debate. An ti-pumpkin spice diatribes often take the tone of in cessant wailing about how one has better taste than others. Based purely on the substance, few can dis agree with the pleasures of pumpkin spice, but when it provides an outlet to show how authentically different an individual is from the mainstream, people begin to hate on pumpkin spice faster than Usain Bolt in a 200-meter dash.

Don’t be different for the sake of being different. Pumpkin spice is, quite frankly, as old as America itself. There’s a reason for that.

Jack Little is a senior studying history and politics.

“Without Starbucks, Americans could have lived happily and blissfully in the absence of the pseudopumpkin scent.”

Is a menace to all Americans

“The ‘chai’ in Hillsdale and elsewhere is a poor imitation. Too many people are mission out on the joy of real masala chai.”

Fairgrounds hosts annual Trunk-or-Treat

By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter

Mermaids, witches, and superheroes of all ages came out to the Hillsdale County Fairgrounds for a “Trunkor-Treat” event on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The event attracted families from the community, and hosted more than 500 trickor-treaters who walked from car to car, passing ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles as they collected Halloween candy. The fairgrounds also hosted hayrides and costume competitions.

Three-year-old Ivy

dressed up as Princess Anna from the Disney movie “Frozen.”

“Can we stay five more minutes, please?” she asked her great-grandmother Marge Scott.

Scott told Ivy that the line for the hayride was too long and it was time to leave.

“It's ok, I can wait,” Ivy said.

Hillsdale County’s Trunk-or-Treat did not just attract locals. Amber Converse, her daughter Hazel, and Amber’s mother Karen Richards drove all the way from Coldwater specifically for the event.

Converse enjoyed

Jonesville students win College Board academic excellence awards

By Sofie Kellar Collegian Freelancer

Six Jonesville High School students received awards last month for their academic success.

The College Board’s National Recognition Program awarded these students the National Rural and Small Town Award, according to a Jonesville High School Facebook post. This award is open to students who achieve a GPA of 3.5 or higher before they graduate.

Winners included seniors Brady Wright, Damion Scharer, Holland Thompson, and Tiana Palmer, and students Hannah Spencer and Sierra Winter.

Scharer has a current GPA of 4.075 and received both the National Rural and Small Town Award and the National Merit Scholarship.

According to a September Facebook post from Jonesville High School, this made him "one of 16,000 high school seniors nationwide, one of 465 Michigan seniors, and the first semifinalist Jonesville High School has had in over two decades.”

Thompson has received various awards for music and sports, and has been on Jonesville’s High School’s Honor Roll for the past two years with a GPA of 3.956, she said.

Thompson said she hopes to study at the University of Pennsylvania or the University of California, Berkeley, as a band and drama director or a history and English teacher.

“I love music and theater,” Thompson said. “They’re some of the only things that bring me true joy, and I can’t imagine how dull life would be without them.”

A love of music and theater also runs in her family, she said.

“My siblings and I have all been taught to sing since before we could talk, and every single one of us was in our high school band,” Thompson said.

Thompson plays guitar and trumpet, and she said one of her most important performances in theater was “Peter Pan” in second grade.

“My parents have taken us to see a multitude of plays each year, so I’ve grown up watching professionals as well as my siblings perform," Thompson said. “I guess that’s one of the reasons I love it so much, because it helps me stay close to my family.”

Palmer also received the award, and said her hard work was worth it.

“I just did my best and that hard work paid off. As I got older, I realized that continuing to work hard would get me wherever I wanted to go,” Palmer said.

Winter, who plans to graduate high school in 2024, achieved a 4.0 GPA. She said she had been interested in learning new languages for a long time.

“Teaching English abroad just felt right to me, and the more I researched, the more I felt like it was the career for me,” she said.

Winter also advised other students not to be too critical of themselves or expect high grades all the time. She said it takes hard work to be the best you can be, but the best is not perfection.

Palmer gave similar advice to her fellow students.

“There is no secret to success – all it takes is hard work and dedication,” she said. “I’ve had to work hard to make it to the top of my class: I am not as naturally gifted as some of my peers. Hard work is what matters.”

the candy her children considered “yucky,” and said she appreciated the benefits of chaperoning.

“When you are this tall, they don’t give you candy anymore,” Converse said.

Converse said she heard about the event at the Hillsdale County Fair, and said she was glad she took her children to experience the Halloween festivities.

A group representing County National Bank brought “Despicable Me 3” to life with their purple Minion costumes and lively music selection. Their stand featured everything from bubble machines and danger signs, to syringes

filled with grape jello and a giant Minion inflatable.

Karla Mullaly and her twelve-year-old daughter Taryn have attended Hillsdale’s Trunk-or-Treat for several years. Taryn Mullaly even made sure that her nails matched the group’s purple Minions theme.

“We have been doing this for three years now,” Karla said. “The bubbles are a fan favorite.”

The Mullalys and their team packed 4,000 bags of candy for the event.

“This is our fun day,” Karla said. “We don’t get to do this at the office.”

Healthies of Hillsdale moves to new location

By Isaac Green Assistant Editor

Local smoothie shop Healthies of Hillsdale relocated earlier this month after the lease at its previous location expired.

Sierra Cady, the owner and operator of the business since it opened in 2019, moved the smoothie bar from 77 N. Broad St. to 4 S. Howell St. on Oct. 8. The address was once home to Small Town Sweet Boutique, which closed its Hillsdale location on July 2.

“Our lease was up at the other location so I started looking around for another place,” Cady said. “We love the new space because it is bigger, and it’s nice because it’s within walking distance of a lot of the businesses downtown.”

Kierstyn Keller, a store employee, agreed with Cady that the larger space is an improvement.

“People are able to come and sit down and enjoy their shake whereas in the other building people would, a lot of times, have to come and get their shake and leave,” Keller said.

“We’ve already had the opportunity to gain new customers because of the move as well.”

Cady said that another benefit of the new location is where it lies in the city. It is situated on a street with less traffic, which, according to Cady, allows

people to drive up, park, and enter the building more easily.

“We wanted to get on a slower side of town and this location is on a two-lane road that is less busy,” Cady said.

Cady said the business moved in between business hours, and so didn’t have to disrupt normal operations. According to Keller, this was not the plan at first.

“We decided somewhere in the beginning or middle of September that we were going to move,” Keller said. “Originally we were going to have to close down for a weekend, but we were able to do it in a way that allowed us to make the shift between closing hours.”

Cady’s parents, the owners and operators of Nutrition Xtreme in Jonesville, helped with the move. Bo Arnold, an employee of Nutrition Xtreme, said she believes Cady is doing a good job managing her business.

“She knows how to take her club and run it in a good way,” Arnold said.

“She has that drive.”

Healthies of Hillsdale serves a variety of products including energizing teas, hot chocolate with protein, and blended shakes and smoothies. It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Local officials improve roads despite sparse aid from state government

By Josh Hypes Political Correspondent

The City of Hillsdale’s road conditions have continued to improve despite little assistance from the state government, according to city officials.

Between 2017 and last year, the number of Hillsdale’s roads rated as fair or good has increased from 21.7% to 50.4%, according to data from the Transportation Asset Management Council. The gains come as city officials have attempted to fund road projects, according to Hillsdale Mayor Adam Stockford.

City Engineer Kristin Bauer said in an email lack of funding was the principal reason for Hillsdale’s crumbling infrastructure in past years.

“There is no direct assistance from the State except when grants are awarded to the city from State Departments,” Bauer said. “My experience is when funding is increased at the state level, it filters through the different state departments that utilize road funding, and there is little left for cities.”

Stockford said the city had received no aid from the state government since 2020. Instead, it has funded the infrastructure projects using budget cuts, money from special assessment tax districts, a voter-approved

tax levy in 2019, and doubling the Board of Public Utilities’ payment instead of property taxes.

“That is how we are getting street work done. It’s not coming from the state or the governor,” Stockford said.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

said. These projects often entail a total replacement of the sewer and storm drains in addition to the roads themselves.

“We got mandates from the state that say that we have to replace all the lead galvanized pipes in the city,” Stockford said. “The last thing in the world I want to do is fix the street, then have to tear it up a year later because we have to pull out a pipe. We’re doing a complete infrastructure repair, not slapping on some cheap sheet.”

momentum and minimize the cost to taxpayers.

The city could consider increasing the BPU’s contribution from property taxes by one percent and explore further cuts.

“I think we can fix the streets without doing all the special assessments and raising taxes,” Stockford said. “I just think that people don’t want to sit down and make the tough decisions that have to be made.”

pledged during her 2018 gubernatorial campaign to fix the roads, yet most of this funding has gone toward fixing state highways, according to data from TAMC. Since Whitmer took office in 2019, state highways rated fair and good have increased by 4.6%.

“Since I took office through the end of 2022, we will have invested 70% more in our roads than the previous four years to fix over 16,000 lane miles of road and 1,200 bridges, supporting nearly 89,000 jobs,” Whitmer said in an Oct. 3 press release.

Recent city road projects have been expensive and time-consuming, Stockford

During a Meet the Candidates Forum Monday night, Professor of Economics and Ward 3 city council candidate Gary Wolfram said Hillsdale’s roads wore down because the state government cut revenue sharing in 2008. State revenue sharing happens when the state collects funds from the sales tax and distributes the revenue among various cities, villages, and townships.

Revenue sharing dropped from nearly $600 million in 2001 to $266 million in 2021, Wolfram said.

“That means that $400 million has gone away from the local unit,” Wolfram said. “That’s why your roads don’t look the way they should look.”

Stockford said the city would need to consider a combination of funding options to continue the

City Manager David Mackie said the special assessments enacted by the City Council have created greater momentum with road projects.

“City Council has begun to approve special assessment districts which have allowed us to complete the more recent reconstruction/ rehabilitation with additional funds,” Bauer said.

Wolfram said when revenues decreased in 2008, the fixed costs of police and fire took up the majority of city budgets.

So cities naturally cut road maintenance, leading to today’s crumbling infrastructure.

“It’s not a matter of, ‘Your city government has just been goofy and been spending the money when they shouldn’t be,’” Wolfram said.

“That is how we are getting street work done. It’s not coming from the state.”

Staff from County National Bank set up a Trunk-orTreat booth. Isabella Helms | Collegian

Weather has worn down Hillsdale County’s roads. Courtesy | Facebook

‘See a need, fill a need’: Residents help Hillsdale Community Thrift donate bikes to women’s shelter

By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter

Hillsdale Community Thrift donated 15 bikes to Domestic Harmony after someone stole a bike from the women’s shelter.

When Hillsdale Community Thrift Executive Director Missy Desjardin discovered one of Domestic Harmony’s bikes was missing, she posted an ad for bike donations on her store’s Facebook account and received the bikes and a bag of cycling gear from people in the community.

“Of course, the bikes are used, but the thought of the women and children not being able to ride a bike or having a means of transportation when some of the women don’t have vehicles was too much,” Desjardin said.

The community’s support for Domestic Harmony through Hillsdale Community Thrift exceeded Desjardin’s expectations,

she said, as community members rallied to meet the needs of women and children in the area.

Hannah Jordan, Domestic Harmony’s executive director, clarified what happened to the missing bike.

“We lend bikes to our clients at times, and one of them just did not come back,” Jordan said. “I don’t think it was done maliciously. Transportation in Hillsdale County is rough so they might have needed it.”

Jordan said the missing bike was a blessing in disguise since by losing one bike Domestic Harmony gained many.

“We had one bike which women used when they needed it, and then when it went missing, Hillsdale Thrift gave us all different sizes of bikes, ” Jordan said.

The donation came at just the right time, according to Jordan.

“We had a family staying

in the shelter have a great bonding afternoon: they all went down and took a bike ride in the summer and had some fun,” Jordan said. “Hillsdale Thrift’s donation made a big impact.”

Hillsdale Community Thrift opened in October 2018 to bring the people of Hillsdale together by raising money for local nonprofits.

“Our goal is to be a central hub of resources for the nonprofits in Hillsdale County,” Desjardin said.

The business’ motto was inspired by the 2005 Disney movie “Robots,” according to Desjardin.

“I absolutely loved that movie, and our motto stems from the character Bigweld who says in the movie: ‘See a need, fill a need,’” Desjardin said.

Desjardin has helped countless people in need by hiring them as Hillsdale Community Thrift employees and helping them regain stability, according to Florini.

“She is such an important part of the community,” said Hillsdale Community Thrift employee Christine Florini. Since its opening, Hillsdale Community Thrift has filled the needs of the community and other nonprofits.

With support from the thrift store, Domestic Harmony can provide the women and children of Hillsdale County with anything from clothes to bikes.

“Hillsdale Community Thrift helps us out in a lot of ways,” Jordan said. “The bike helps out with maybe running errands or even exercise. It's not just for transportation, it's also a self-care thing too. When you are going through such a hard time and fleeing from an abusive relationship, just having those moments together is really important.”

Desjardin said it is important for people to prioritize the needs of

those in their immediate communities, before looking for service opportunities in other places.

“Let’s just focus here before we focus out there, that’s loving your neighbor,” Desjardin said. “You can’t just skip the person right next to you.”

Desjardin also said she has grown spiritually, and found herself closer to

God as she watched him provide and use Hillsdale Community Thrift to reach the community.

“It has really humbled me and opened my eyes to see when you really just let the Lord do his work and stand back, it will all work out,” Desjardin said. “I’ve always believed that a community can take care of its own.”

Share the Warmth overnight shelter reopens for season

By Evalyn Homoelle Assistant Editor

Hillsdale County’s emergency overnight shelter will open for its fifth season on Nov. 1.

“Our mission is to provide a warm, safe place for people to get out of the cold at night in Hillsdale County,” said Penny Myers, executive director of Share the Warmth of Hillsdale County. “There should never be nowhere to go.”

This year marks the fifth season of the shelter’s services to Hillsdale County residents in need. It operates from evening until 9 a.m., providing

from A1

“This is a personal opinion,” Merritt said. “I don't like pit bulls. They're bred to fight, they're bred to kill. I would not have a problem with an ordinance outlawing pit bulls in the city.”

When asked about homelessness, Merritt focused on the priorities of business owners.

“I have great compassion for those who are homeless, however, I also have compassion for the business owner,” she said. “My daughter lives in the Los Angeles area. Several years ago, one of her friends drove us through the Skid Row. That’s the last thing we want to see here.”

Murray asked Merritt how she would improve school safety in the wake of mass shootings in Oxford, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri, since Hillsdale High School is part of Ward 3.

“I see no problem with teachers who choose to take weapons training and arm themselves,” Merritt said.

Gary Wolfram, Hillsdale College Professor of Economics and Political Economy - City Council Election, Ward 3

Gary Wolfram, the William E. Simon professor in economics and public policy at Hillsdale College, is facing Merritt to represent Ward 3 in the city council. He focused on the financial health of the town, emphasizing a policy called “statutory revenue sharing,” which would return more sales tax revenue to the city. He argued that his tax system could fund a rehabilitative approach to the homeless crisis.

“The role of the

guests with a place to sleep as well as meals, clothing, toiletries, laundry and shower facilities. Sozo Church houses the shelter at 7 S. Manning St. in Hillsdale.

The warming center is a nonprofit operated by volunteers who work in the facility from November to March and is fully funded by community donations.

The shelter can house up to 20 residents per night, Myers said, although occupation ranges from five to 15 people on a typical night. Myers said that some guests will occasionally come for dinner or breakfast but will not stay the night.

government is to protect your property rights, and if these people are invading your property rights, then we should deal with that,” Wolfram said.

“When they come in at night, we launder their street clothes, provide them pajamas for sleeping, and give them dinner, and we also try to make sure that every person has a pair of boots,” Myers said.

Myers encouraged college students and members of the community to volunteer at the warming center for night shifts, which go from 12 to 3 a.m. and from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.

“You will have opportunities to get to know these people, hear their stories, and just know that they’re people like all of us,” she said.

Those who are interested

as Michigan’s deputy state treasurer, congressional chief of staff, and senior economist for the Republican senate policy staff will give me a

in furthering the mission of Share the Warmth but cannot volunteer during the normal night shifts can donate goods like clothing or fresh food, or sign up for cleaning and laundry shifts during the day, Myers said.

Four Hillsdale College students volunteer at Share the Warmth, including junior Leo Bykerk, who has volunteered for a night shift at the shelter for three years.

“It's been a good source of camaraderie with the buddies I do it with,” Bykerk said. “When you're waking up at 3 a.m. on a regular basis with the same guys, you get to become really good friends.”

public institutions should hold themselves to the highest standards.

“The city charter says that the council may incorporate a library for

Myers said the community has fully supported the warming center by donating food, clothing, and financial resources, as well as volunteering and contributing to the actual day-to-day operations of the shelter.

“The people in the community provide everything that we use in the building,” Myers said. “We get no government funding.”

Myers said her work at the warming center is fulfilling and meaningful.

“I remember leaving the shelter one night and talking to a few guests on my way out. They said to me

the library came as a response to the controversy surrounding the library board from the summer, in which the library director resigned after the

‘we just want to thank you so much for doing this,’” Myers said. “Every day they are so thankful. Every year we see at least two people get off the streets and move into an apartment. It’s very rewarding work.”

Myers said she and the warming center’s board members hope to start applying for private grants so they can purchase their own building.

“These people count on us now and the need for a full-time center is growing,” Myers said. “This is what God has called us to do, and this community has just rallied around us.”

these people in; we need to capitalize on this and partner with the city to find resources for them not just to bring them in every night to warm them up, but to bring them to a better and higher life.”

Penny Swan - City Council Election, Ward 4

Penny Swan is running against Paladino to represent Ward 4 in the city council. Since moving back to her hometown in the 1990s, Swan can be found live streaming nearly all local meetings, including Monday’s Q&A. She describes herself as a “believer in government transparency.”

When asked about “pornography in the library,” she expressed a belief in parents picking which books are best for their children.

Swan said she hopes to improve local infrastructure, like repairing roads.

One resident asked Wolfram about his stance on the electoral college, and Wolfram said he supports ranked-choice voting.

“I think what we ought to do is move to something like ranked-choice voting that Maine and Nebraska have,” Wolfram said. “I am in favor of moving away from ‘winner take all elections’. That's the fundamental problem.”

When a resident asked his stance on legal marijuana, Wolfram said federal laws banning the drug have made it more potent and driven demand for hard drugs.

Wolfram said his experience in state and federal politics would inform his approach to local government.

“I believe my experience

background that will be advantageous to the city,” Wolfram said.

Joshua Paladino - City Council Election, Ward 4

Hillsdale graduate student and library board member Joshua Paladino is seeking election on the city council for Ward 4, which includes the fairgrounds and northern portion of Baw Beese Lake. He said he hopes to preserve Hillsdale as a family-friendly town.

“Its citizens, its history, its beauty, and its opportunities make Hillsdale the perfect city to live, work, relax, attend church, and raise children,” Paladino said.

Paladino highlighted a focus on family-friendly library content and said

the sake of promoting the common good and the public good,” Paladino said. “Anything that has a public name on it must meet the highest possible standards.

board proposed to limit inappropriate content.

According to Paladino, he found the novels “50 Shades of Gray,” “The Hate U Give” and “Lolita” within the teen section, marked as appropriate for ages 12 to 18. During his Q&A, he emphasized his interest in creating a “book curating system” and not a “book ban.”

Paladino said he would address homelessness by building community support for those who are struggling.

“The roads are horrible,” she said. “The road I live on is horrible.”

HCRP Official Removed From Meeting

Security removed Jon Smith, the secretary of the original “America First” Hillsdale County Republican Party group, toward the beginning of the event. Smith was not involved in an altercation at the event.

This means we should have information that is academic and uplifting in the children's section.”

Paladino’s focus on

“A homeless person 100 years ago, everyone wanted to know their name, everyone would have rallied together, but now they're just off in the woods shooting up – they're totally isolated,” Paladino said. “The warming center brings

“I was at the public event to support my personal friends Adam Stockford and Joshua Paladino, but also to meet Mrs. Merritt and to see what she was about politically. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do either,” Smith said. “I honestly don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Its citizens, its history, its beauty, and its opportunities make Hillsdale the perfect city.”

‘The people in the community provide everything that we use... This is what God has called us to do’

Left to right: Cynthia (Cindy) Merritt, Dr. Gary Wolfram, Penny Swan, Joshua Paladino, and Mayor Adam Stockford. Alexandra Hall | Collegian

Desjardin’s husband brought bikes to the shelter in his truck. Courtesy | Facebook

Burning Off Stress with Club Tennis

By Jacob Beckwith Collegian Freelancer

Every Tuesday and Thursday night, about a dozen students take a break from their studies and work out their stress on the Delp tennis courts.

With a broad range of skill levels coming out to play this fall, the focus has been on growing the cul ture and welcoming in new members.

Freshman Ciara Collins said that club tennis is an immediate way to meet new people, build friend ships, and get to know upperclassmen.

“All my life, I’ve played and thought of tennis as a very individual sport,” Col lins said. “I don’t feel that way here at Hillsdale.”

For many of the mem bers of the club tennis

Softball

team, this time on the court gives them something to look forward to at the end of all the classes and assignments.

“I get excited when it’s a tennis day,” freshman Lucia Bosco said. “Being able to play more casually instead of solely competitively has been a great way to burn off stress.”

Collins clarified that there is still plenty of competition, however. For example, the women from the club won every single match they played against the Cornerstone University junior varsity team a few weeks ago.

In that same tourna ment, the men’s club team faced a recently disbanded varsity team from Tay lor University. Despite the challenge, the play ers pushed themselves,

winning a few matches. Sophomore Max Aylor said that the club aims to have two more competitions in the spring, possibly even competing in the United States Tennis Association Midwest Championship.

“In past years we have consistently played in the USTA tournaments, and have even had players recruited for the varsity team,” Aylor said.

The club is led by an entirely new board this year, with sophomore Sarah McKeown as president, sophomore Brennan Slade as vice-president, and Pro fessor of Philosophy and Religion Nathan Schlueter stepping in as the new fac ulty advisor.

“I hope to run some intersquad tournaments in the coming weeks in order to help club members gain

confidence while playing each other,” McKeown said.

At the forefront of team dynamics is graduate stu dent Sam Musser, known for his enthusiastic cheers and encouragement during drills. As one of a hand ful of students in the new Graduate School of Classi cal Education here on cam pus, Musser has been able to continue fostering a club culture that keeps members coming back every practice.

As the fall weather fades, the club will move practices inside the Biermann Cen ter. McKeown stressed that all skill levels are welcome.

“Whether you are pick ing up a racket for the first time, or have played varsity all throughout highschool, there will be a spot for you, and someone at your level to play against,” McKeown said.

Softball plays against Power Five school in last fall game

By Olivia Pero Assistant Editor

The Hillsdale softball team lost its last game of the fall season in an out-of-confer ence matchup against the Michigan State University Spartans.

“Michigan State is a Power Five school in the Big Ten which is a division above us,”

Gross said. “It was fun to play at their stadium and just get a great experience for our girls.”

According to head coach Kyle Gross, it was an exhibi tion game of 10 innings that were split into two, five-in ning games. The Chargers lost both games — the first 4-0 and the second 11-0.

Gross said the team played hard and it was good to see them fight all the way through the games.

According to Gross, the

starting pitcher for the Spar tans was in the running for Big Ten pitcher of the year, with 200 strikeouts in the Big Ten.

“It was very tough facing that caliber of pitching,” Gross said. “That's not typically what we see every day, but we competed against it. We still had a few hits and we got runners in scoring position twice, but just never scored.”

The Chargers fared well in the first inning. Sophomore pitcher Joni Russel pitched four innings, with five strike outs. The team also recorded a double play, and in the beginning of the first inning, junior catcher McKenna Eichholz threw a runner out trying to steal second.

Eichholz said she was proud of her performance on Friday.

“I caught one of my best

Men's Basketball

games,” Eichholz said. “I threw a girl out stealing sec ond, which is always some thing to be proud of. I also hit a double off the MSU pitchers who are ranked 20th in the NCAA.”

Junior pitcher and team captain Erin Kapteyn said preparing to fight against the Spartans was not any differ ent than playing teams in the G-MAC.

“I went in with the same mentality I normally have, where the school on the front of someone's jersey doesn't matter,” Kapteyn said. “But I knew it was going to be tougher competition.”

Kapteyn said the fall season highlighted the team’s potential to be one of the top competitors in the G-MAC this spring.

“This fall also showed our downfalls and what we have

Men's Basketball loses exhibition game, excited for regular season

By Christian Peck-Dimit Associate Editor

After making the NCAA DII Elite Eight for the first time in program history, the Hillsdale men’s basketball team opened its season with a 100-59 loss in an exhibi tion game to the Univer sity of Toledo Rockets.

One season after making the program’s first ever Sweet Sixteen appearance, the Chargers are ready to start their regular season.

“There’s some formula of things that we need to do well in order to be successful, the idea of ex ecuting that is something completely different because there’s some new faces that have to execute those things, some ad justments that need to be made,” head coach John Tharp said.

The team gradu ated forwards Tavon Brown, Austen Yarian, and Patrick Cartier last year. Each player start ed games for Hillsdale across the past three years, with Cartier win ning two G-MAC Player of the Year awards.

“There’s a lot of vacat

Golf ends season with 6th place in North Carolina

By Thomas McKenna Collegian Freelancer

The men’s golf team ended their fall season with a sixth place finish at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invita tional in Hickory, North Carolina, edging out the Findlay Oilers by one spot.

“It was pretty much the same story as the rest of the fall,” head coach Matt Thompson said. “There were some good indi vidual performances. It felt like, besides that first tournament of the year, everyone played good at different times and we just couldn't really put it all together.”

The Chargers carded a 297-296-304=897, with senior Darragh Monaghan placing 11th and senior Gerry Jones Jr. tying for 12th with six other golfers. Monaghan finished five strokes over par and Jones shot six over par.

due to some unfortunate circumstances. But to shoot two over par on my third round and end with a triple bogey on my last hole, I had to have been playing pretty good golf.”

Burns was not the only one who ran into trouble late in the tournament. The team struggled to perform well on the final day of competition.

“I feel like the guys are more and more disappoint ed in how they played the final day,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to keep work ing on closing out some of those events and figure out what we need to do to finish strong.”

Burns said he was some what satisfied with his first fall season of collegiate golf.

ed performance in those three spots,” senior guard Jack Gohlke said. “I think there are a lot of guys that can step up.”

After the team’s first week of practice, they faced off against a DI opponent, the Toledo Rockets, who are coming off of a regular season ti tle in the Mid-American Conference.

“The Division I pro grams have a totally dif ferent practice schedule than us, they’ve already had about 18 practices, we’ll have five,” Tharp said. “We’re just trying to look forward to Novem ber, it’s pretty early for us to get out there.”

Though the Chargers held a lead early, a 19-0 first-half run from the Rockets helped give Tole do control.

“We started off pretty good in the first half, held a lead for a little while, and were running a pretty good offense, moving the ball really well,” Gohlke said. “I think that’s gonna be a big deal with this year’s team, the ball will be popping around and finding open guys, and that’s what we were doing

early in the game, is finding open guys and knocking down shots.”

The team has add ed four new freshmen: guards Jacob Meyer and Ashton Janowski, and forwards Garrett Bolte and CJ Yarian — Austen’s little brother. Additional ly, assistant coaches Eric Weiss and David Choi have left the team, John Cheng filling the posi tion.

Cheng joins the team after a two-year run as a graduate assistant for the Elmhurst Bluejays, who made it to the DIII Na tional Championship for the first time in program history last year.

“I’m not gonna come in here by any means and say I have all the answers, but there is a familiarity with having success at a high level irrespective of competition,” Cheng said. “Understanding what it takes to win and under standing the preparation that goes into it on and off the court with the players.”

to work on in the off season to be successful,” Kapteyn said.

The team has a schedule of 50 games in the spring, many of them being in the South early in the season.

“We will also play some new teams this year that we haven't played in the last four years,” Gross said. “That's going to be pretty exciting.”

Eichholz said the Chargers are determined to have a suc cessful spring season again.

“With our team winning the regular season last year, we have made it known that we not only want to win the regular season, but also the G-MAC tournament,” Eich holz said.

The first spring game will be Feb. 10 against the Tuscu lum University Pioneers in Tusculum, Tennessee.

Freshman Maxwell Burns put up a 74-7574=223, tying for 17th place. Thompson said he has been impressed with Burns’ first season on the team.

“We've been really happy with what he brings to the team,” Thompson said. “He’ll continue to get better as he settles into college golf. It was cool to see him end the season on a high note and take that momentum into the offseason.”

Burns said he was pleased with how he per formed, despite a rough ending. On his second to last hole of the third round, Burns shot a triple bogey, which is a score of three strokes over the par rating of an individual hole.

“I feel like I played pretty good,” Burns said. “I kind of ended on a sore note because I triple-bo geyed on my 17th hole

Women's Basketball

“I’m pretty happy with it,” Burns said. “I got to play in every tournament, which is definitely a bit of an accomplishment. Col lege golf is definitely a step up. I have some work to do over the offseason to get where I want to be, but I can't be too mad at it given I've gotten some experience under my belt and I have some things to take away.”

The Chargers will return to competition Feb. 20, 2023, traveling to Dade City, Florida for the Saint Leo Invitational. When they return from Florida, the team will have four more tournaments before the G-MAC championships in mid-April.

The team will be work ing in the offseason to im prove on their weaknesses.

“I think this team has a high ceiling,” Thompson said. “They have a lot of positives to look back on. We just need to get more consistent and clean up some things when we get back at it this spring.”

Chargers look to begin season strong

By Elizabeth Troutman News Editor

After falling one game short of the G-MAC tour nament last year, the wom en’s basketball team will have its first scrimmage of the season this Saturday against Lewis University Flyers.

“Our team is look ing better than ever this year,” senior guard Macy Berglund said. “We have almost everyone return ing and have had a great preseason full of learning, growing, and competing.”

The team kicked off its season with a practice last Monday. Its goal for the season is to win its first G-MAC championship.

Freshmen forward Sydney Pnacek and guards Emma Ruhlman and Pay ton Adkins are rounding up the roster this year, and upperclassmen are excited to see what they bring to the team this season.

“All three are athletic, energetic, and amazing teammates on and off the court,” Berglund said.

These new recruits are following one of the best freshman teams the pro gram has ever seen, with every member either play ing or regularly starting in the back half of the season. In May, now-sophomore

Peyton Nelson won the G-MAC Freshman of the Year Award.

“We are excited that this year we are able to jump right in as everyone knows expectations,” senior forward Sydney Mills said. “The team has been push ing each other and compet ing like crazy in practice, so I think this year we are going to surprise even more teams than last year.”

Following the scrim mage, their first official game of the season will be a home game on Nov. 12 against the Truman State University Bulldogs.

Seniors said they hope to make great memories with teammates during their final season as Chargers.

“I am most excited for our trip to Puerto Rico this December,” Berglund said. “I wasn’t able to travel last season due to my injury, so I missed the awesome trip the team had to Alaska. I can’t wait to have this expe rience with them.”

Mills, who is taking a fifth year to run out her el igibility in the 2023-24 sea son, said she looks forward to competing this year.

“We are very excited for our first game,” Mills said. “This preseason, we worked super hard, and are very well conditioned and now we are prepared to run

with anyone. Nov. 12 can’t come soon enough.”

She said the team hopes to exhibit confidence after their near-tournament sea son last year.

“We wanna go into each game not fearing any one, and at the end of the season, by competing each game, we think we have a shot at being a contender for top of the G-MAC,” Mills said.

Mills said she is most excited to play against the Findlay University Oilers.

“Being our long-stand ing rival, there is always a good crowd when we play Findlay and we are always hyped up to play them,” Mills said. “Also one of my teammates, Carly Callah an, has a twin sister on the Findlay team, Chloe Cal lahan, so it’s a little extra competitive that week.”

The Chargers also look forward to competing against the G-MAC new comers, the Northwood University Timberwolves.

“Northwood is coming into the league this year, and they have been very good in the past,” Mills said, “so it will be exciting to see how we match up against them.”

Football falls to Findlayat home

By Christan Peck-Dimit Associate Editor

Turnovers and special team’s mistakes were pivotal in the 41-20 home loss to the Findlay Oilers as the Hills dale Chargers football team dropped to 4-4 overall.

The Chargers gave up 31 points between the second and third quarters, leading to the team’s third loss in its last four games. Their now 3-3 in-conference record moves the Chargers to fifth in the G-MAC.

“I don’t think we did a great job of adjusting our blocking to what they were doing, we weren’t making the kind of adjustments that we needed to make that are pretty standard adjustments for us,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “We started, I guess, seeing ghosts a little bit and not locking in on the guys that we were supposed to block.”

Despite producing more than 300 total yards of offense, the team was just 1-of-12 on third down.

“I feel like we get ourselves into a lot of third-and-longs, and it’s tough to convert on third-and-longs because the defense can just play the sticks and not let you get a first down,” sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa said.

TeSlaa finished with six catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns, each gamehighs. He stays just shy of the nation’s lead for touchdown receptions, caught in a fiveway tie for second place with 11 on the season. He is also sixth in the nation in receiving yards, with 915.

“I thought I did alright, it’s not really about me though, I’d

rather have everyone get the ball and make plays,” TeSlaa said. “I played how I was sup posed to play, I would say, not too special.”

The Chargers’ first drive of the game ended in a 46-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Luke Keller to TeSlaa, though a missed extra point kept the score 6-0.

After 10 straight points from the Oilers, the Chargers re-took the lead with another Keller-to-TeSlaa connection, this time from 26 yards out. That was, however, the last time Hillsdale scored until less than nine minutes remained in the game.

Four Oiler touchdowns — including one on a blocked punt recovery — and a field goal as time expired in the first half, made up the team’s 31 straight points.

“For whatever reason, we couldn’t make the key play in the key situation,” Otterbein said. “It always seemed like we were there and ready to get it, and bad things happened.”

Sophomore kicker Julian Lee’s missed extra point, 112 yards in punt returns by the Oilers, and a blocked punt that turned into a touchdown late in the third quarter made for a difficult day for the Chargers’ special teams unit.

“We take a lot of pride in our special teams and we had opportunities on our punt team to make tackles and I think we had up to 80-plus yards in them picking the ball up on punts after the ball hit the ground,” Otterbein said. “The one long punt return right before halftime cost us three points, it’s 80-90 yards of field position; that costs us.”

“We started off strong, which has been kind of 50-50 so far this season,” Graber said. “Unfortunately, if we start off in a relatively strong manner, it seems like we can’t keep that going.”

According to Otterbein, when the play goes as the coaches drew it, the team does a good job in all of its phases, while it is in the times “may hem occurs” during a play that the team needs to react on the fly better.

“I really have come to see that more and more as the sea son has gone on,” Graber said. “Communication, that’s the big thing, when everybody’s communicating well, that is when things do go the right way. I can think off the top of my head several times where not everybody’s on the same page, and that’s when those big plays happen.”

The team will now look ahead to the undefeated Ashland Eagles for a 1 p.m. home kickoff. After beating Tiffin last weekend, the Eagles remain the only team in the G-MAC without a loss.

“We’ve unfortunately grown to become a bit of an excuse-making team, and you know what, nobody cares about the excuses, just go out and forget about that and play hard anyway,” Graber said. “Going into this game, we have nothing to lose, all the pressure is on Ashland, so we’ll go out and play as well as we can and try to create havoc and mess up their game plan.”

Charger Chatter

Who would play you in the movie of your life?

I guess I'd go with Taylor Swift with the blonde curly hair. She's kind of like an awkward actor, and I feel like I can be awkward.

What did you love about your team's trip to Alaska?

I loved just like being in the outdoors — the mountains and the hiking and the glaciers, seeing all the wildlife. I was cold-blooded. I love the snow and winter, so it was great.

What's your best hot take?

Well, I'm kind of getting flamed for it recently, but I like to mix my cold brew with lemonade. Apparently, that's a hot take because people don't agree with me.

Have you had any particularly embarrassing moments in your years of playing basketball?

There was one possession to wards the end of the game, where I was blocked twice within a matter of literally like 20 seconds. I was blocked shooting a jump er, got my own rebound, went to finish it as a layup and just got swatted by a dif ferent girl.

Senior defensive back

Julius Graber led the Charger’s defense with 10 tackles, one of four Hillsdale defenders with at least eight tackles.

C ourtesy

eleti

Maverick Delp is a Senior on

team from Toledo, Ohio.

Isaac TeSlaa

Anthony

Keller

ultz

C harger S port S

Chargers sweep home games, Wiese wins G-MAC award

By Isaac Green Assistant Editor

The Hillsdale volleyball team returned home last weekend, sweeping two conference opponents as sophomore libero Alli Wiese earned G-MAC North Divi sion Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.

The Chargers played in Hillsdale against the Lake Erie Storm and Ursuline Arrows on Oct. 21 and 22 after eight consecutive away matches. The pair of victories leaves them with a record of 20-6, 12-2 in conference.

“It was nice to see ev eryone get a chance to play this past weekend,” assistant coach Allyssa Van Wienen said. “We thought everyone did a nice job stepping up and representing the pro gram well.”

Wiese in particular was recognized for this effort. Her defensive award came after a strong week of play as she posted 63 digs for the week, 5.72 per set. She now has 526 total digs on the sea son, 98 shy of the program record, which she set last year. This high level of play carried over to the offense as well, where Wiese collected 12 service aces for the week, bringing her season total to 47.

“It was a great weekend,” Wiese said. “It was super fun to be back at home and especially nice that we could get two Charger victories.”

The team began the week end on Friday night with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-22 sweep of the Storm. The Chargers

concluded the match with 39 digs, 37 kills, and an impressive 12 service aces in comparison to Lake Erie’s three.

“It's encouraging to see our whole roster on the court,” Van Wienen said. “It was nice to see that we could put anyone out on the court and they could be success ful.”

The day after this match, the team faced off against the Ursuline Arrows, se curing another sweep with a final score of 25-7, 25-10, 25-13. The Chargers put up strong numbers in this match, hitting .464 with only five attack errors. This was Hillsdale’s highest hitting percentage since 2018.

“I felt good about the Ursuline game,” Wiese said. “The numbers aren’t the most important thing. I am just happy that our team worked together well and was able to be successful. The team's success as a whole is my number one goal and I will do everything I can to accomplish that.”

The Saturday matchup also coincided with Alum nae Day for the Chargers.

“Our Alumnae day on Saturday also went really well,” Van Wienen said. “It was lots of fun to have everybody back and to even get some of them playing after the match.”

The Chargers now look to prepare for two matches against the Findlay Oilers this weekend. The first is an Oct. 28 home matchup, and the second will take place at Findlay on Oct. 29. Hills dale is currently tied with Findlay for first place in the

G-MAC North Division, making these matches cru cial for both teams.

“We are very excited to be in the position to possibly win another divisional title,” Van Wienen said. “Find lay is a tough opponent. They have a few of the best players in the conference so we are looking forward to seeing how we match up. Additionally, we play them on back-to-back days which is a challenge we rarely get to face.”

Wiese said that she is looking forward to the chal lenge.

“Heading into this week end I am super excited,” Wiese said. “Findlay is a huge rival who has also had a successful season. The op portunity to play them twice is super fun. They are a very good team and it will be a great weekend of volleyball.”

On Friday night, the team will also be conducting its Toys for Tots drive, and they encourage attendees to bring donations for kids in need. Donors will receive a free ticket to the match for every toy given. Match time is cur rently set for 7 p.m. and the first 500 people to show up will receive a free Charger Rally Towel.

“We are tied for first place in our division, which means that every match from here on out is very important,” Van Wienen said. “There is much to learn from our upcoming opponents, so we are taking the time to study them and enter each match well-pre pared for what may come.”

New Field, Lights, and Expectations for Baseball

By Jacob Beckwith Collegian Freelancer

As President Larry Arnn drove his shovel into the ground alongside donors and coaches this past Friday, he signified not only the start of construction on Hillsdale’s new baseball stadium, but also a turning point for the Charger baseball program.

The new facilities, named the Glenda and Lenda Hill Stadium and Cleves Delp Field, will boast new lights, a press box, a turf field, and more comfortable seating for fans.

Athletic Director Don Brubacher said he cannot decide what part of the ren ovations he is most excited about.

“This will be such a huge upgrade for everyone involved, and today marks a day of anticipation look ing forward to all that is to come,” Brubacher said.

To accommodate the new facilities, the current field will be moved about 100 feet to the north, away from the Sports Complex and Bier man Center, with the hope

that construction will finish by next fall.

“This will really change the game for our program,” baseball head coach Tom Vessla said. “From improving recruiting to longer practices, I feel like we can make a huge step up in the next couple years.”

Many Division I programs in the Midwest have already changed to turf fields due to the unpredictable weather, but none in the G-MAC have made the leap. Without turf, rain wreaks havoc on sched ules and game times, with pools of water staying on the field for multiple days and preventing play.

Junior catcher Jaekob Sal lee said the new field’s design will allow players to practice more often, make ground balls easier to read, and increase the general speed of the game.

“Without the lights, games that went into extra innings would often have to be postponed until the next day, completely resetting all momentum and rhythm.”

Sallee said these post ponements also caused

double-headers, increasing the fatigue and risk of injury among the players. That all changes next fall with the completion of the new stadium.

One thing that will remain the same is how the wind off nearby buildings affects play.

When a ball is hit high enough to clear the top of the Sports Complex, the wind traveling across the roof of the building picks the ball up and carries it deep into the outfield, Sallee said. The conditions are compa rable to Yankee stadium, known for its many fly balls that miraculously turn into home runs.

Regardless of the change surrounding the program, Charger baseball will still have a season to prepare for and play this spring. The team will enter its second year under Vessla after post ing a 22-26 overall record last year. With only a hand ful of seniors who graduated this past spring, Vessla says the team is full of seasoned veterans bent on returning to winning ways.

Maizie Brown jumps to serve.

President Arnn,

Culture

Performing arts wow during Parents Weekend

Opera workshop and orchestra concert showcase student talent for the community last weekend

By Aubrey Gulick Senior Reporter

Last weekend, more than 90 students per formed in the symphony orchestra concert and the annual opera workshop for Parents Weekend.

“I felt we never lost our connection with each other; we never lost our focus,” said James Holle man, professor of music, choirs, and orchestra.

The department presented a collection of arias and a mini-opera on Friday and Saturday in its annual Opera Workshop.

The Hillsdale Symphony Orchestra also performed Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6” and “An Ameri can in Paris” on Saturday night and Sunday after noon.

Students from all classes participated in the opera workshop titled “Romance on the Rocks.”

The workshop pre sented diverse scene selections from operas by composers including Wolfgang Mozart and Frederick Loewe.

“We chose to pres ent scenes instead of an entire full-length opera

because scenes provide more musical variety and are easier to rehearse in a short amount of rehearsal time,” said voice instruc tor Kristi Matson.

The program ended with a production of “Broken Pieces: A Love Story in One Scene,” a modern mini-opera written by Barbara Grecki with music by Daron Hagen.

“The students were able to develop their characters and voices artistically to reveal the story to the audience,” said Emily Douglass, director of the workshop.

“This process was also rewarding as a direc tor. This work was very difficult musically, and the performers rose to the challenge brilliantly.”

Hagen worked with Brianna Lambrecht and Christopher Marco in a Zoom session to help them prepare the work.

“My favorite part about producing the opera workshop is being able to share my love, apprecia tion, and skills that I have learned in my profes sional career as an opera singer with the students,”

our days

By Jillian Parks Social Media Manager

After less than two months of endless fan theo ries and speculation, swifties all around the world finally gathered for the midnight release of Taylor Swift’s tenth album on Oct. 21.

“Midnights” is Taylor Swift’s trek through insom nia. Described by Swift as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered through out my life,” her newest album, “Midnights,” is a trip through her previous eras, journeying through both her life experiences and the range of genres that she has explored throughout her career.

I’ve been describing it as the combination of her “1989” and “reputation” albums with hints of her al bum, “Lover,” and a sprinkle of Swift’s newest venture into techno-synth elements.

It’s quintessential Taylor Swift pop, slightly refined from her previous pop al bums with frequent instanc es of extended metaphors and the vocabulary she seemed to have suddenly ac quired while writing her two indie folk albums, “folklore” and “evermore.”

The album features 13 original tracks, one featur ing Lana del Rey, and seven extra tracks that Swift calls “3 a.m. tracks”.

As of right now, “Lav ender Haze,” “Karma,” and “Bejeweled” are all my fa vorite of the original tracks. They are upbeat, poppy, and excellent examples of singalong-in-the-car music. I do

like the more pensive tracks like “You’re On Your Own, Kid” and “Anti-Hero,” but I prefer the slow, serious songs from her previous albums.

When I’m in a sad Taylor Swift mood, I can’t see myself going to “Midnights when “folklore” exists.

The album itself has plenty of cheesy lyrics. From “draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man” to “life is emotionally abusive” to, in my opinion, every single lyr ic in the track “Mastermind.”

Swift manages to juxtapose some of the most profound examples of complex human emotion with the stupidest one-liner Tweets only a mil lennial could come up with. That’s been a trend since “reputation” though, and I’ve grown to love it.

The 3 a.m. tracks are coherent with the rest of the album, but it does add a layer of depth that a lot of fans lamented in the first 13 tracks. “Bigger Than The Whole Sky’’ and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” struck a chord with me, chronicling the highs and lows of love that didn’t work out, for better or for worse. “High Infidelity” reminded me of something off of “folklore” or “evermore” with that “Midnights” techno-synth in the background. You could tell me “Paris” was in “1989,” and I would just think I had skipped it every time, and rightfully so because it is not that good.

My criticisms were rela tively tame, but many fans stayed up until midnight to listen to the album, woke up at 9 a.m. the following day

and took to every possible social media platform to proclaim that this was Tay lor’s worst album yet.

After 10 albums and two re-recordings, you would think people would learn how to consume an album by Taylor Swift.

Her album “reputation” got major backlash in 2017 for deviating from her “country” roots into pure pop music. “Lover” got bashed in 2019 for being too cheesy and millennial. Albums “folklore” and “ev ermore,” while they added a new indie listener base to the group of Swifties, took older fans by surprise and did not receive immediate praise and attention during the 2020 pandemic.

All four of those albums are now widely adored and causing fans to speculate the drastic measure they will go to hear them performed live on her next tour.

“Midnights” seems to be falling into the same trend of being called disappoint ing because people were expecting her to do what she just finished doing before. They want “folklore” and “evermore,” and this album is certainly not that. It is pop-y, synth-y, sometimes cheesy, and sometimes knocks the wind out of you.

“Midnights” is its own Taylor Swift era while paying homage to all the eras that have come before. It’s an al bum for long-time fans, and, if it takes a while to get used to, that’s because (in true, cheesy Taylor Swift fashion) good things take time.

Douglass said. “There is a look of wonder in their eyes when they realize, for the first time, their potential to sing opera.”

Both Friday and Satur day’s performances were well attended by both students and parents.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like that, where it is a tiny opera,” said Mary Kay Pynes, whose son, Kevin Pynes, performed in the work shop. “It’s just such a neat opportunity, and it’s not that big of a school to have these opportunities for music.”

The department finished the weekend with two orchestra per formances, presenting Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6, ‘Pathetique,’” and Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” to a combined audience of nearly 1,500.

“It was a great way to start the year, and it was great energy for us,” Hol leman said. “I think a real positive spirit is coming out of this concert from the orchestra. It was positive going in, but it was confirmed with the performance.”

“Symphony No. 6, ‘Pathetique,’” has been a goal for several of the members of the orches tra, who began asking to perform it last year.

“I had some upcoming seniors last year begging me to do Tchaikovsky six,” Holleman said. “I thought we had enough time to do it, we had the forces to do it, and I thought it was a good piece to start us off for the year. It was exciting, and it was accessible.”

Holleman selected

“An American in Paris” hoping to present a piece that would contrast with the symphony.

“I wanted to provide contrast - more from an educational standpoint to the orchestra, but it is also fun for the audience to have variety like that,” he said.

Holleman said he is ex cited to begin preparing the orchestra for their fi nal concert of the semes ter in December and has big plans for the spring.

“I’m considering a very monstrous piece of music,” he said.

Queen keeps you company

By Victoria Wagner Collegian Reporter

In the age of unoriginal and banal music, Queen’s newest single, “Face It Alone,” pulls listeners back into the golden era of clas sic rock.

“Face It Alone” is actu ally 34 years old. The song sat unreleased for 34 years, having been first recorded in 1988. There are sus pected to be other unre leased songs out there with Freddie Mercury’s voice, but who knows when those will be available to listening ears.

Not only is it Queen’s first original release since 2014, but it is also the latest to feature lead singer Freddie Mercury’s voice. Since his death in November 1991, many songs have been released with his vocals. Hearing a new Queen track with the unmistakable tenor of Freddie Mercury brought me the fuzziest of feelings — sending me back to my childhood in a fresh way.

Having parents who are self-proclaimed rock enthusiasts, I grew up listening to tracks from Queen, Journey, The Rolling Stones, and oth ers. “Face It Alone” takes its rightful place within Queen’s discography, fitting in perfectly with the quality and aesthetic of their other work.

Although the song’s lyrics are pretty somber, its beautiful sadness resonated with me. The idea of taking on the world alone can be

daunting, especially as a college student. It’s easy to imagine my whole life ahead of me and grow ner vous about the unknown.

The future can seem daunting, but the lyrics “Your life is your own / You’re in charge of your self” are comforting. I have control over my actions and can determine my choices moving forward. So while facing life alone might seem like an intim idating task, I can take

comfort in knowing that I control my decisions.

In today’s age of music that sees similar words put to similar sounds, I often find myself listening to older music and appreci ating its originality. “Face It Alone” doesn’t bite the dust; it’s a breath of fresh air amongst today’s newer releases, providing beau tiful melodies that bring tingles to your ears—as all the good Queen songs do.

Sophomores Emily Griffith and Nathan Malawey perform a duet (top). Juniors Marie-Therese Romanos and Emiliya Smyk sing for the audience. (bottom) Anthony Lupi | Collegian

Junior Emily Jones, sophomore John Schaefer, and freshman Rachel Dunphey sing in Markel Auditorium.

Anthony Lupi | Collegian

Queen released their first original single

uDiscover Music.

Don’t bother darling

By Jane Kitchen Collegian Reporter

What is the Victory Project? This is the ques tion the newly released psychological thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” ambitiously poses but fails to answer—at least not coherently.

By all accounts, the film was set to be a blockbust er. The lead actors, Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, are young, attractive, and immensely popular. It was also Olivia Wilde’s second directorial feature follow ing her acclaimed debut, “Booksmart,” and critics were eager to see more from the young director. Perhaps most importantly, the movie’s production was mired in scandal.

An affair between Wilde and Styles, Pugh’s notable absence from the press tour, and public conflict between Wilde and Shia LeBeouf all began gener ating headlines months before the film’s release (not to mention the al leged spitting incident at the film’s premiere).

The story is set in the idyllic, newly-de veloped neighborhood of Victory—an intensely mid-century, palm-treeheavy oasis in the middle of an otherwise barren desert. As an intentional throwback to the ’50s, the neighborhood’s houses are occupied by young attrac tive couples who observe traditional gender roles. The wives wear tea-length swing dresses and pack their husbands’ lunch es before the men leave

sheds his off-screen iden tity. He’s Harry Styles for the entirety of the movie. When Pugh was onscreen, I became immersed in the story of Alice’s life in Vic tory, only to be wrenched back to reality by the startling and inexplicable presence of a British rock star. I had to Google his character’s name to write this review.

“Don’t Worry Darling” has a problem with pace. It pours all of its energy into the first half hour of its runtime, introducing ex positional information and establishing its fundamen tal conflict. The beginning is ambitious and prompts so many questions that the audience wonders how Wilde will pull it all together.

The short answer is that she doesn’t.

The middle of the movie drags on, reusing the same “unsettling” plot points repeatedly. Alice’s vision of smiling synchronized swimmers slowly necrotizing is far less impactful the third time around. Wilde tells us at the beginning of the movie that something is wrong in Victory and then spends the next hour and a half trying to convince us that something is wrong in Victory. The big reveal, during which the “Victory Project” is finally explained, is crammed uncomfortably into the last 30 minutes of the film.

After an hour of nothing, the climax and falling ac tion are suddenly dumped on the audience.

The film’s feminist mo tifs are neither subtle nor

The film’s bumbling attempt to convey a feminist message is hostile to men and condescending toward women. It’s hardly an enlightening social commentary.

for work in their Chevy Bel-Airs. Alice, the film’s protagonist, is one of those wives who fills her days with cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking ballet classes, drinking with her next-door neighbor and best friend, Bunny, and waiting for her husband, Jack, to return home. Ev erything appears perfect, and everyone seems happy in this sexed-up caricature of mid-century Ameri ca. However, something sinister lurks beneath the picturesque veneer.

The men of Victory go to work each day for the “Victory Project,” an ideological endeavor that spawned the town of Victory itself. The mission of the “Victory Project,” which is led by Alice’s charismatic neigh bor, Frank, is distinctly opaque. Alice and her fellow wives know nothing of their husbands’ work save for daily earth quake-like disturbances that they casually brush off. The mystery of the “Victory Project” becomes explicitly menacing when Alice is suddenly plagued by disturbing visions and experiences that grow in creasingly macabre as the story progresses.

Like its female charac ters, the film is beautiful but hollow. The costumes, set, and cinematography are gorgeous. Florence Pugh’s performance is incredible. But the plot is inconsistently paced, pos sesses a dubious theme, and entirely lacks feasi bility.

Styles’ performance is disappointing on its own and downright tragic com pared to Pugh’s. He doesn’t move his face enough, but somehow still gives the impression that he’s trying too hard. He never truly becomes Jack and never

thoughtful. There is no nuanced or thought-pro voking commentary on sexual politics. The message is loud and unin teresting, moralistic and unfocused, puritanical and crude. Sure, it’s a scathing social criticism— but of what is unclear. Men in general? Jordan Peterson (who was purported to be the inspiration for the antagonist)? The ’50s? I genuinely don’t know.

The film’s bumbling at tempt to convey a feminist message is hostile to men and condescending toward women. It’s hardly an en lightening social commen tary. Half-hearted gestures toward some immaterial and unnamed misogynis tic force fail to establish an enemy to fight against.

Most disappointingly, the story simply doesn’t make sense. The big “twist” doesn’t explain the odd happenings we’ve spent so much time ob serving. While the dysto pian events might effec tively establish the movie’s tone, it fails in terms of plot. The twist is also absurd. The reveal was so jarring and silly that my friends and I laughed out loud when we went to see it in the theater.

“Don’t Worry Darling” has a lot of potential as an intriguing hybrid of “Mad Men” and “The Village.” It proves to be stylistically rich but substantively be reft. Its conflict is fascinat ing, but the resolution is logistically and themati cally incoherent.

The drama surround ing the movie’s produc tion was ultimately more compelling than the movie itself. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t worry about missing out.

New technical director takes the stage

By Sofie Kellar Collegian Freelancer

The theatre department welcomed Kim Britt into the action this summer as the new technical director.

Chairman of the theatre department James Bran don said she was a per fect fit: when he saw her application, he said it was exactly what they were looking for Her online portfolio highlighted her ability not just to brainstorm ideas with other people, but to execute them well, he said.

“It’s always about execu tion,” Brandon said. “Hav ing a great idea is only a small part of the picture. You have to be able to make it come to life.”

There are five members total that run the theatre department, with focuses in acting, lighting, dance, and costumes. Britt, as technical director, would be the sixth.

“She is very easy to work with, flexible, forged ideas with others, and was always well prepared – she did her homework,” Bran don said.

Britt visited Hillsdale once as a guest designer in January 2020. She helped make clay masks for a per formance of “J.B.,” a play based on the book of Job.

Britt said her interest in theatre began when she started a drama club at her high school.

“One of the larger buildings on campus, which became a kind of hangout, was our art building,” Britt said. “It was a renovated gym that had a painting space, a sculpting area with oil, and everything.”

One of the art teach ers, who also sponsored

a chess club, let them use the space to work on art projects and hang out throughout the day. Eventually, the students, becoming a drama club of about 20 people, wrote and performed sketch come dies. Although its growth felt natural, Britt explained

strengths were,” Britt said. “Everybody contributed something– whatever we were good at or whatever we could contribute, we did.”

After graduating high school, Britt went into theatre, hoping to work in film later.

have that same dynamic. It’s set in stone. You could almost say it’s stagnant–because you can watch it so many times, and it’s exactly the same.”

Before attending Mem phis University, Britt took a break to work with edu cational programs for high schoolers or adults who need more support to get into college. She worked with Upward Bound Math and Science for high schoolers and Educational Opportunity Centers for adults. The program’s goal was to break down eco nomic and other barriers for low-income, first-gen eration students. It was the same program that had helped Britt before high school as well.

“I was familiar with the things some of them were going through,” Britt said.

AJ Palubinskas, a junior who works in Hillsdale’s scene shop, said Britt has taught the students a lot in the short amount of time she’s been with them.

the difficulties with creat ing theatre at a small, rural high school.

“I think the most interesting part to handle was the funding,” Britt said. “There wasn’t any pool that we were drawing from– just whatever we could throw at it.”

The club used comedy night dinners and perfor mances for funding. All 20 students collaborated to write each play, Britt said.

“It was a kind of family effort, where we would help with whatever our

“They’re different disciplines,” she said.

“With theatre, what you’re looking at is everything coming together for each night– even though you have all the same items, all the same people, every thing is scripted, etc., each performance could be different.”

In theatre, the actors and audience react to each other over the course of the play, making each performance organic and unique, Britt said.

“With film, you don’t

Junior Jacob More, who also works in the scene shop, described the unique camaraderie there that lets them throw candy at each other and play ’80s music, and he hoped the new tech director would continue that community.

When Britt joined the theatre staff, she took this atmosphere in stride and amplified it, according to More.

Britt herself said she particularly enjoyed the scene shop culture and felt like she was finding anoth er family there.

“It feels like she has been here longer than just this semester,” More said, “and we’re happy to have her.”

Britt designed the set for the fall production of “Translations.” Nikoleta Klikovac | Collegian

Parents spend weekend catching a glimpse of college life in Hillsdale

By Hannah Tully Collegian Freelancer

During Parents Weekend, parents, grandparents, and siblings of students at Hillsdale flocked to campus, eager to spend time together as families.

Beginning the weekend, Student Activities Board-spon sored Fall Fest drew together students, parents, professors, and younger siblings. Lured by the smell of cider, popcorn, and cinnamon donuts, attendees of all ages participated in pumpkin painting, mason jar decorating, and corn hole games. Although students had spotted snow flakes only the day before, the sun shone warm and bright for the fest, providing the perfect weather for a fall festival.

The following morning while their students slept in, parents hurried off for their short conference rounds. To some, these rapid 10-minute meetings may seem unpro ductive. Even faculty members have had their doubts.

“When I first arrived at Hillsdale, I (like many new faculty) was unaware of the Par ents’ Weekend phenomenon,” Professor of History David Raney said in an email. “I was quite skeptical about the parent conferences, wondering why an institution devoted to inde pendence on multiple fronts seemingly enabled the ongoing dependence of its students on parental contact and involve ment.”

However, after conducting countless interviews over the years, his opinion has changed. As College President Larry

Arnn often points out, college is intended to be a partnership between professors, students, and their parents. After his experience with these confer ences, Raney said he feels that they facilitate this partnership.

“I soon came to appreciate and enjoy getting to know my students’ parents a bit, and the meetings do indeed promote collegiality and a shared com mitment to the college’s mis sion,” he said. “Not surprisingly, the conferences are widely popular among parents, who appreciate receiving an unfil tered description of courses and their students’ performances in them.”

Despite the early morning, parents say they appreciate these meetings as well.

Sandra Mangravite, mom to a freshman, said she en joyed her time talking with her daughter’s professors.

“The opportunity to meet with the faculty and staff was immediately helpful,” Man gravite said. “Each of her professors offered excellent recommendations and helped us understand the course structures. This kind of careful feedback is a rare, precious aspect of Hillsdale which I wish other colleges would emulate.”

After the meetings, parents and students could attend a variety of events such as a luncheon with Arnn, opera per formance, symphony orchestra, and even a wine tasting hosted by the Catholic Society.

However they spent their afternoon, parents took advantage of the time to build relationships with other Hills

dale families. Mangravite said she particularly loved talking with like-minded parents in the college community.

“Meeting friends of our daughter along with their immediate family is a treasure perhaps exclusive to small communities,” she said. “We enjoyed one inspiring, thought ful conversation after another and valued the common peer sentiments we share with the other parents.”

For many families, seeing their students in a college en vironment was very encourag ing. Freshman Ashley DeVore said she enjoyed showing her parents around campus and in troducing them to her friends.

“The weekend was an excel lent opportunity for my family to catch a glimpse of what my daily life is like here at Hillsdale and to meet other like-minded parents,” DeVore said.

As Sunday afternoon wore on, parents began to say their goodbyes and begin their journey home. For Mangravite, Parents’ Weekend comforted her that her daughter was in a safe, yet challenging environ ment.

“We knew about Hillsdale’s emphasis on personal character and academic standards, but the warmth and support of all the Hillsdale families and students makes us feel blessed and yet more grateful that our daughter was invited to join this community where she can safely grow in so many more ways than merely academic,” she said.

By Elizabeth Crawford Collegian Reporter

When junior Joey Spoelstra heard the sound of giggling children running up and down the staircase of his house, he figured his time was up.

He slept there for just one night. The house has since been sold, but for 11 years, the Delta Tau Delta fraternity called it home. According to junior Liam Martin, their for mer Manning Street residence had quite the history with paranormal activity.

On the night Spoelstra slept at the house, he locked it up for the night, so the only people who could’ve entered other residents.

“I was the last person to spend a night in the Delt house alone because I came up here to move everything into the current house,” Spoel stra said. “I’m sitting there in the middle of the night and I can hear children laughing and running downstairs. And I just remember saying, ‘Well, guess this is the night I’m going to die.’”

Senior Charles Kippley recalled strange markers dot ting the floor and walls of the basement.

“You could still see chain marks and holes in the

basement and in some of the walls,” Kippley said. “The basement had dirt floors, and they looked like they had been stirred up, so who knows what went on down there,” Kippley said.

He described the heavy, five-inch thick steel door in the basement that locked from the outside.

“There were some scary things that happened in that room,” Kippley said.

Previous generations of Delta Tau Delta members also contributed to the spooky at mosphere. Some of them held seances there, Kippley said.

“It was a very open concept house, and there were a lot of doors but very few walls,” Kip pley said. “I swear if you were sitting in the living room in the dark by yourself, you could hear someone in the other room saying your name.”

Kippley mentioned other haunted occurrences, such as the sound of stomping feet in the basement and the floor above the kitchen. Residents shared nightmares, several dreaming that the ceiling fan morphed into a giant spider.

But the old Delt house does not have a monopoly on haunt ed occurrences on campus.

Marie Taylor, a senior member of Chi Omega sorority, remem bers having a creepy experience

in her room on the second floor of the chapter house.

“I was up late, about 1 or 2 a.m., writing a paper and my roommate was asleep,” Taylor said. “There was a desk light still on and at one point she woke up, turned to me, and asked me why there was some one sitting on the back of her desk chair. I didn’t see anything and so I said, ‘Sydney, there’s no one there – I mean, your back pack is on your chair.’ And she said, ‘No, there was someone sitting above it.”’

When Taylor asked her roommate, senior Sydney Me kitosh, the next morning if she remembered anything from the night before Mekitosh recalled seeing someone sitting at her desk.

Taylor said she was a “bit unnerved” after the incident, but remained relatively unaf fected by it. Mekitosh was the one to experience the ghost, and their room had no history of hauntings before, so Taylor said a “prayer every night – just in case.”

Kippley and the other Delta Tau Delta members, however, dealt with their ghost by giving it a bid.

“There was a crack in the wall of the basement, so we wrote the bid on a piece of paper and launched it in there,” Kippley said.

Journalism students fly to film the life of forgotten Friedman

By Lauren Scott Assistant Editor

As I stood in front of Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s former house in Washington, D.C., I was overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for this American hero.

Friedman is a 1915 Hillsdale alumna who was a codebreaker in both world wars. Despite her tremen dous impact on America, few people know about her greatness. But that’s about to change.

This past weekend I traveled with my classmates senior Christian Peck-Dim it, junior Maddy Welsh, and sophomore Jack Cote to Washington, D.C, and Lexington, Virginia to learn more about Friedman. The four of us are making a film about her for documentary filmmaking, a class taught by adjunct professor of docu mentary filmmaking Buddy Moorehouse.

Thanks to a generous donor, we were able to travel and retrace the steps of Elizebeth’s life. Welsh and I visited Friedman’s former home in D.C. first.

Friedman raised her two children, Barbara and John, in a little house on Military Road. In 1925, the Coast Guard came knocking on the front door of that house to seek Friedman’s help fighting organized crime during the Prohibition era. She worked for the Coast Guard from home most of the time; in that very house she decod ed communications to take

down some of the most high profile liquor smugglers working on the Atlantic.

While we were at Fried man’s home, Peck-Dimit and Cote visited Arlington National Cemetery to take pictures of her grave. She

power.”

At the time she was buried, all her codebreak ing work was classified. No one knew the vital role she played in saving American lives and taking down crim inals.

the library and archives. We were overwhelmed with excitement as we saw 22 boxes filled with files from Friedman’s life containing love letters, Hillsdale essays and exams, pictures drawn by her children, Pi Beta Phi

pets around the house, most ly cats and dogs.

We looked through Fried man and her husband’s let ters to each other when their work led to separation. He would end most of his letters by saying, “Save a million

one, most likely Friedman.

As I listened to the story about Davis’ father being saved I couldn’t help but imagine how different our present world may be if Friedman had not contribut ed to history.

The Friedmans donated their entire library to the foundation, so we had the opportunity to look through their books. In the library also stands the Friedmans’ desk that was located in their home office while they were still living.

We related to her as Hills dale students as we saw her English exams in bluebooks. Her professor wrote on the back of one of her essays that her “ideas and phrases were good but the style is choppy.”

We could better under stand her struggles when we found an old copy of “The Arrow,” Pi Beta Phi’s monthly publication. Fried man wrote an article that expressed frustration in the fact that no matter how great her accomplishments were she would always simply be known as “William’s wife.”

was buried with her hus band, William Friedman, a codebreaker and a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. The Friedmans rest in the very back of the cemetery. Their tombstone displays their names as well as one of their mottos: “Knowledge is

We headed out to Lexing ton, Virginia, the next day to research the Friedman collection at the George C. Marshall Foundation.

When we arrived at the foundation the next morn ing, we were greeted by Melissa Davis, director of

alumnae publications, and letters from the government with redacted information.

One file that stood out to us was a transcript of Friedman talking about their family dog, Crypto. We learned the Friedmans loved animals and always had fun

kisses for yourself, and give a few to the children.”

We had the chance to interview Davis and learn about a personal connection she has with the codebreaker. Her father was on a World War II ship that was almost sunk but was saved by some

Looking through these files allowed us to see the personality and character of Friedman. We encountered her in a different way than ever before, leading to a bet ter understanding of who she was as a Hillsdale student, wife, mother, and spy. Now, it’s just the simple matter of making a whole documen tary about her – should be easy, right?

‘I said a prayer every night just in case’: Students share creepy corners of campus

Parents stopped by Fall Fest on the quad on Friday afternoon. Courtesy | SAB

The old Delt house sits at a corner on Manning Street. Jack Cote | Collegian

A potrait of Friedman hangs at the George C. Marshall Foundation.

Jack Cote | Collegian

Cote, Peck-Dimit, Scott, and Welsh traveled to research Friedman. Maddy Welsh | Collegian

By Alexandra Hall Assistant Editor

Getting a custom suit might not be at the top of most young men’s to-do lists, but it’s more important than it seems. After graduating from Hillsdale in 2014 and working as the student activ ities director for three years, Anthony Manno joined his family’s company Manno Clothing & Tailoring Inc.

Manno grew up with the company, watching VHS tapes in back rooms and playing in the coat racks. Eventually, he emerged from behind the hangers and now co-owns the family suit shop with his father.

Manno’s grandparents, Leonardo and Lilla Manno,

opened their first storefront in 1971 in Dearborn, Mich. More than 50 years later, the family has threaded its way into the lives of everyone from close friends to movie stars.

In fact, Matt Damon and a few other actors wore Manno pieces in the 2021 HBO Max film, “No Sudden Move.”

But customers don’t have to be a movie star to wear Manno. They could be Hillsdale College’s very own president, Larry Arnn. A customer of Manno Clothing & Tailoring Inc. for over a decade, Arnn noted the qual ity of the experience above all else.

“Other places do not serve wine and cheese, nor espres so, nor have an Italian name,

nor have proprietors wearing a tape measure around their necks,” Arnn said. “Pat and Anthony, father and son, are talented and skilled at their job. With their team of tailors in-house, they can fix anything.”

Shops might not need all the bells and whistles that make Arnn fond of the com pany, but the experience of purchasing an item in-person has often been traded in for online consumerism.

“For us, it’s all about creating an experience,” Manno said. “The only way I’m like Amazon is that we can do stuff fast. Otherwise, we’re going to slow down. I’m going to ask you to come into the store and see us. We’re going to take our time to get this done.”

Manno describes his ap proach to his job as “count er-retail.” When people think of suits and formalwear, im ages of fluorescent basements of department stores littered with mannequins might come to mind. Manno Cloth ing & Tailoring Inc. rejects this entirely, taking tailoring back to the craft, like what it was when the company was founded.

“The analogy I use is like a barber or hairstylist,” Manno said. “I don’t know about you, but I go to the same person every six weeks.

like the engine of

It’s like clockwork. I just sit down and they know what to do. That’s kind of the rela tionship you want to have with someone that does your clothes.”

According to Manno, a good suit has three primary parts: fabric, construction, and fit. The first is the easiest one for other companies to skimp on since they can use cheap fabric and just use a nice label. Construction is more complicated.

“Think about construc tion like the engine of a car. It’s nothing that you see, but it’s what you feel and what will mold to you over time,” Manno explained. “Having a good suit with good con struction — the technical term is canvassing — is going to stand the test of time. I don’t want you to wear it for a year and then get rid of it.”

President’s Club member and owner of Rutledge’s suit shop in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Jerry Rutledge, has been in the business for nearly six decades. According to him, quality matters, but effectiveness is ultimately the point of it all.

“I understand quality and all that stuff,” Rutledge said. “The point is: people, rightly or wrongly, judge people by what they look like. If you believe that, you have to dress appropriately and effec

tively. Well, if you turn them off because you look like what they don’t want, you’re dead. You’re done.”

The world of fashion can seem overwhelming and pressures surrounding style, brand, and whether to rent or buy can make young men hesitant towards the whole business. But looking nice doesn’t have to be scary. It might just be practical.

“Men should dress neatly on all or nearly all occasions. The gym might be an excep tion, or doing manual labor, which is good for the soul,” Arnn said. “Suits are not

worn so often as they used to be, but they are necessary for some occasions, and every young man should have a good one.”

Although his degrees in finance and Spanish might not directly pay off, Manno said he appreciates Hillsdale’s liberal arts curriculum and says it still serves him. Just like the moving parts that compose a liberal arts edu cation, a good haircut, or a fancy suit, orchestrating how each part complements the whole is vital.

By Claire Gaudet Sports Editor

In this quick hits interview, new professor of theology Mickey Mattox talks lions, Halloween, and boeuf bour guignon. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s the greatest joy of your life?

My family. At least, of this worldly life.

If you could domesticate any animal for a pet, what would it be and why?

You gotta say lion, right? It’s totally a biblical animal. And plus if you’ve got a pet lion, no one’s going to mess with you. Imagine: “No, I don’t have a guard dog — my best friend is a lion.”

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a hippie, a little bit. I wanted sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. I wanted to get back to nature and live off the land — wear buckskin with fringe and have huge hair so all the chicks dug me. I was a pretty stupid kid. If you had to pick only one carb to eat for the rest

of your life, would it be rice, pasta, or bread?

I’m going to say pasta. The Italians can turn it into anything.

What’s a superpower you think could help you as a theology professor?

I would say total recall or a photographic memory. Although I hear that people who have something like that kind of wish they didn’t be cause they can’t get anything out of their head.

What’s your favorite charity and why?

Any pro-life organization, especially centers that donate direct care to women who face unplanned pregnancies. When I was much younger, I helped found a pregnancy center and it’s still there to this day. I figure if I’ve done anything that the Lord would give me a half-merit for, it’s that.

What’s a piece of advice that changed your life?

I worked for an Italian once in banking, and I was asking him some question about somebody’s financing. He said, “Mick, if it doesn’t make sense to you, it proba bly doesn’t make sense.” That

was more than 30 years ago, but I think of it quite often.

Best vacation you’ve ever been on?

A trip by motorcycle to Nova Scotia. It’s an island with a road that goes around the whole thing so you can ride the whole coast forever in a circle. It’s amazing.

As a theology professor, what are your thoughts on Halloween?

It’s great if you’re into that sort of thing. But it seems like the top side of religion has kind of declined, and the bottom has manifested itself — there’s no God, but there is a devil. Evil is sometimes the presenting side of the God question. I wouldn’t be criti cal of people who put things in their yard, but celebrating it does seem weird.

What’s your favorite thing about Hillsdale so far?

You can be yourself. I’m not pretending to be some thing or hiding who I am.

What’s an item on your bucket list?

Oh, things to do before you die…I’d really like to see the Scottish Highlands and the presumed, one-time homeland of my ancestors in Wales.

What would you choose as your last meal?

Boeuf bourguignon with roasted potatoes, green beans, and a glass of Ro manée-Conti. I’m going out with the best. The French are totally going to cook for me.

What was the hardest part of getting your doctor ate?

Believing that I could do

it. If I were to have a self-crit icism to my younger self, it would be: expect more from yourself, have more confi dence in yourself. I never thought I’d get an academic post.

What made you want to teach?

I think I was born to teach. My grandmother was one of my first teachers, my parents were both public school teachers. It’s in the blood. And if you teach like I do, you get to teach what you know and love, which is a pretty fortunate position to find yourself in.

Are there any theological concepts that baffle you? Why did God become a man?

Do you believe in aliens? Yes but no. I can’t think

of any reason, in principle, why there shouldn’t be life on other planets. But, I also find it believable that the vastness of our universe is somehow for us. And if you believe in an infinite God, that belief is not extravagant.

How would you spend a million dollars?

I think when you’re an older person, what you want more than anything is to take whatever good you possess and somehow work that beyond yourself. So, I’d probably buy some Ro manée-Conti, and then find some charities that extend human care to people in need. Probably a religious order or two.

Do you have a favorite kid?

Yes.

Leonardo Manno browses

Courtesy | Anthony Manno

Anthony and Pat Manno pose for a photo with actor Matt Damon. Courtesy | Manno Clothing & Tailoring Inc. Facebook

Actor Matt Damon wore a Manno suit in “No Sudden Move.”

Courtesy | Warner Bros. Pictures

Mattox stands beside his motorcycle at the foot of Independence Pass in Colorado.

Courtesy | Mickey Mattox