Collegian 2.9.2023

Student competes at shotgun World Cup

By Aubrey Gulick

Senior Reporter

Hillsdale sophomore and shotgun team member

Joshua Corbin competed internationally at the World Cup in Morocco last month for USA shooting’s men’s skeet team.

“Joshua is right on the brink of success internationally,” said head coach of the shotgun team Jordan Hintz. “If he continues on the same path he is currently on, there is no limit to what he will accomplish in the near future.”

Corbin competed for the United States at the International Shooting Sports Federation World Cup in Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 13-15. Participating in the World Cup may allow Corbin to qualify for Olympic trials for the 2024 summer Paris Olympic Games.

“I was competing in fourth position for America at this World Cup, and only the top three people were competing for medals, so I couldn’t win a medal personally; I was just there for the ranking points,” Corbin said.

Competing internationally requires immense mental preparation, according to senior Ida Brown, who participated in a 2022 World Cup.

“Competing on the international stage is both physically and mentally demanding,” Brown said. “You spend days traveling and then you get off a plane and are expected to be ready to shoot. It takes a lot of mental strength to perform well in a place where you’ve never shot with very little practice.”

Alumna publishes book on history of abortion

By Elyse Apel Opinions Editor

Just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Hillsdale alumna Leah (Hickman) Savas ’17, has published a 500-page book on the history of abortion in America from a prolife perspective.

As a reporter for World, Savas spent the last three years co-writing “The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level History, 16522022,” with Marvin Olasky, former editor-in-chief of World.

“I hope this book adds for people what it did for me on the abortion issue,” Savas said.

“When we started talking about the book back in 2019, I didn’t know much about the history of abortion in America.”

The book was originally meant to be an update to a book Olasky wrote in the 1990s about abortion, but as they started researching, Olasky and Savas realized they would have to write a new book.

“With just how much information and newspaper clippings and court records are available online now, he decided he needed to do a rewrite, not just an update,” Savas said.

The plan was to publish the book in January 2023, a month that marked the 50th anniversary of the handing down of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

“When we started working on the book, we had no idea that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. That was not even on our radar,” Savas said. “Even when the Supreme Court took up the Dobbs case, we thought it would allow that law to stand. We never thought it would overturn Roe v. Wade altogether.”

After the Dobbs draft was leaked, Olasky and Savas realized the last chapter of the book would need to be about the end of Roe and how different states responded to it.

“We had already turned in all the other chapters and had started editing, but we told our editors and publisher that we need a little time in July to add this last chapter in, just to tie it up,” Savas said.

A native of Michigan, Savas said she never planned to end up in journalism.

“I just thought that journalism seemed a little too cutthroat for me. Kind of intense with lots of deadlines and I just thought that I’m not that kind of person,” she said.

As a student at Hillsdale, she and a few friends founded Fool’s Talk, the faith-based,

student-run publication of Hillsdale College’s Equip Ministries.

One of those friends was Stephen Savas, whom Savas married in 2021.

“I loved all of my friends at Hillsdale,” she said. “We just always had a good time together.”

After graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and double minors in classical education and German, Savas took a job in marketing at a small business.

“When I was at my first job after college, I would listen to the World podcast,” Savas said. “That’s when I realized that there’s some actual human interest in journalism, it’s not all about politics. They were telling stories of individuals and people, and I just thought, ‘wow, it would be cool to learn how to do this kind of reporting.’”

This podcast changed her view of journalism and led to her attending the World Journalism Institute in 2018. That then led her to an internship.

“In 2019, I took an internship with World and then they hired me at the end of that summer internship,” Savas said.

Olasky asked her to cover abortion, and later to help him co-write “The Story of Abortion.”

“Leah is great,” Olasky said. “She is smart, well-educated, articulate, and well-organized.”

Released on Jan. 3, the book has received many positive reviews from pro-life leaders.

“Olasky and Savas provide crucial historical context for the effort,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life.

The book takes a “street-level” view of abortion over the “suite level” view in America, according to Savas.

“We tell the story of abortion in America through the everyday experiences of people who were personally affected by the issue,” Savas said.

See Book A2

SAB to host Met Gala President’s Ball this Saturday

By Tayte Christensen Collegian Freelancer

A red carpet, student art show, and unique photo opportunities will bring the Met Gala to the Student Activities Board’s annual President’s Ball Feb. 11. Doors open at the Searle Center at 8:30 p.m. for swing dancing, followed by the formal ball from 9 p.m. to midnight. The Jerry Ross Band will provide live music for the event.

Caitie Dugan, junior and

SAB creative team lead, said the décor of the event models after the Met Gala.

“There will be a red carpet like there is at the Met Gala, greenery like they have at the Met Gala, and a very cool backdrop for photos that will kind of look like a magazine cover,” Dugan said.

The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It raises money for the Met’s Costume Initiative and attendees’ fashion is often a highlight.

An art gallery will be located in the Hoynak room, featuring the work of student artists and members of the campus art honorary, Alpha Rho Tau, according to SAB staff adviser Maddie Clark.

“The art honorary will have some of their pieces in the Hoynak room, similar to the actual Met, so that will be a unique feature,” Clark said. “I’m really excited to see how that turns out, and we’re glad that we can partner with the art honorary.” According to Clark, Satur-

day’s event will have something for everyone.

“There could be food, or the live music for dancing, or just listening too. Also, going and looking at the art and mingling and chatting with friends,” Clark said. “I think there are a variety of things to do.”

Students should attend President’s Ball even if it is not for dancing, but simply to sneak in a late-night snack, Clark said.

The menu for the night includes antipasto skewers,

chicken tenders, French macaroons, and chocolate mousse shooters. According to Dugan, the mocktails at the event will be really fun.

President’s Ball is one of the most exciting events of the semester, according to Dugan.

“It’s just a fun way to spend your Saturday night,” Dugan said. “You get to dress up, and it’s going to feel like you’re on the red carpet with the paparazzi. And also everyone goes, so don’t be lame.”

Former mathematics and computer science professor dies at age 75

By Olivia Pero Assistant editor

Retired mathematics and computer science professor Jack Reinoehl died Jan. 14 at 75 years old in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

“He really loved working with students, and everything he did, he did with love. It got us very interested in the topic and made it very enjoyable,” said Paulina Volosov, assistant professor of mathematics who graduated from Hillsdale in 2014.

Reinoehl taught at Hillsdale for 32 years and helped create the college’s computer science minor.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

Volosov knew Reinoehl from taking his complex analysis class during her

time as a student at Hillsdale. Reinoehl had a teaching style that matched his personality, she said.

“He was a very kind, soft-spoken person,” Volosov said. “So his teaching style was along those lines, but he had a very nice sense of humor that would appear frequently.”

Professor of Mathematics David Murphy said Reinoehl was always smiling.

“That was just his personality,” Murphy said. “He was happy to be doing the work he did.”

Associate Professor of Mathematics Samuel Webster said when he thinks of Reinoehl’s legacy, his passion for birding comes to mind first.

“You could almost argue that birds were his profession, and math was a hobby,” Webster said. “I’m obviously flipping the two there, but that’s how much he loved and

enjoyed birds.”

Reinoehl could identify different types of birds merely by listening to their calls, and he regularly contributed to annual counts for Michigan and birding publications until his death, Volosov said.

During his sabbaticals, Reinoehl would travel around the world to study different types of birds, Murphy said.

“He would do a lot for the college unrelated to mathematics,” Webster said. “He would assist the biology department with things about birds, and he would take guests visiting campus around and identify birds.”

Webster said he has wonderful memories of driving around with Reinoehl in the spring identifying the birds that were returning.

One birding outing, Webster said Reinoehl took the two of them and Thomas Treloar, chairman and

professor of mathematics, to a cemetery in the southern part of the county.

“He took us there in early March, and there was a group of about 30 long-eared owls on their migration pattern back up north,” Webster said.

“He knew that they were there. I’ve since gone back occasionally, and I know Jack would go back too, but those owls never returned to that cemetery as part of their migration pattern.”

Even after he retired in 2014, Reinoehl would always return in the spring for the graduating seniors’ luncheon, Murphy said. “We were able to see him again last spring,” Murphy said. “It was always fun to see him, and hear about what he’d been doing. He was upbeat and happy, and it seemed like that was the way that it continued until just recently.”

Michigan’s oldest college newspaper

See Shotgun A8

Leah Savas graduated from Hillsdale in 2017.

Courtesy | Leah Savas

Campus Rec to host Super Bowl watch party at new operations location

By Ty Ruddy Collegian Freelancer

Campus Rec will host a Super Bowl watch party with games and food this Sunday at its new headquarters.

“You can expect to eat some delicious Buffalo Wild Wings, participate in a chip dip competition, and enjoy a great game of football,” said Tristan Wertanzl, logistics team lead for Campus Rec. Campus Rec primarily organizes intramural sports, but they saw an opportunity for a new event in the Super Bowl.

“One of our goals for the year is expanding our reach to more of the campus, so we thought a good way to do that is by putting on events that are still focused on sports, but not quite as involved as month-long leagues,” creative team lead Liz Oxaal said.

Last semester, Campus Rec acquired the old security building and created The Compound. The team has been diligently working to improve the place and create an environment suited to house fun. Oxaal said she

and all of Campus Rec are enthusiastic about sharing their project with the rest of the college.

“The Super Bowl party is doubling as The Compound’s debut to the rest of campus,” she said. “We’ve got it pretty tricked out and are excited to show it off.”

Wertanzl expressed excitement over giving students a fun watching experience for years to come.

“This will definitely become an annual event,” Wertanzl said.

Ultimately, this event is

College dedicates Stanton Building

By Olivia Hajicek

Assistant Editor

The college dedicated the Stanton Foundation Center for American Classical Education at a ceremony Feb. 6. Formerly an elementary school, the center houses Hillsdale’s K-12 Education Office and serves as home base for the college’s educational outreach efforts.

David and Laura Stanton funded the renovation through the Stanton Foundation, which they co-founded in 1998. Members of the Stanton family attended the dedication.

The dedication ceremony in the Searle Center included remarks by College President Larry Arnn, Assistant Provost for K-12 Education Kathleen O’Toole, and Professor of Education Daniel Coupland.

“It was an abandoned school for 10 years,” O’Toole said. “What a terrible thing — an abandoned school. So it seems right to me that we’re working there now. It’s good for the people in the building to be in a school. We’re all teachers, and we’re used to going to school every day. It’s a little funny to us that we work in education, but we’re not in school. So it makes us happy

to be able to go to school to go to work. It also makes us happy to be part of bringing back some of the seriousness and the joy and beauty that was present in American education a few generations ago to American public schools.”

Katie Sorenson, the college’s proposal and stewardship manager, attended the dedication.

“I do some of the grant writing related to our K-12 initiatives, so I’ve seen a lot of what comes out of the Stanton Center and what they’re doing,” Sorenson said. “I think the space will give them a lot more capacity for teacher training and headmaster training and school board training, which are some of the big things we have to offer that not a lot of other institutions in the classical educational world do.”

Dale Kopas, a friend of the college, attended the dedication while attending the Center for Constructive Alternatives. According to Kopas, America needs more classical schools similar to Hillsdale.,

“I think this is one of the few places in the country where that kind of education is fostered and encouraged, and I think it’s very important

for the students and the country itself that that takes place,” Kopas said.

The building also houses the marketing department and WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale which will move into the Stanton Center next fall.

Director of Marketing Content Monica VanderWeide said she feels blessed to be in the new building.

“Our creative team has much more space; previously we had been packed into a small area in Moss Hall,” VanderWeide said. “The layout of our office space in Stanton is much more conducive to focusing on my work. I love that there are still elements of the former elementary school present, which makes for a unique and quirky environment!”

Following the dedication, guests attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Stanton Building.

“We’re very grateful for the Stantons’ generous gift,” said Special Events Planner Erika Gehrke. “I know everyone who works here is happy to be working in a bright renovated space and appreciate the sort of history of the building as well.”

Admissions counselors to hold career talk

By Ashley Kaitz Senior Reporter

At 12 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, the admissions team will hold its “Becoming an Admissions Counselor” event in the formal lounge for interested students.

Jolene Macaluso ’21, Southeast admissions counselor, said the purpose of the event is to explain why the job of an admissions counselor is important, provide details on travel requirements and other responsibilities, and tell students what it’s like to live in Hillsdale after graduation.

“Think of the event like a one-sided blind date,” Macaluso said. “Before we know any-

From Book A1

The personal element was critical for Savas and Olasky as they wrote the book. According to Savas, they wanted to show how personal opinions and actions affect the larger cultural attitude towards social issues, including abortion.

“We just want to tell those personal stories to emphasize and debunk the common claim of pro-abortion advocates that abortion was seen as normal and accepted in early

thing about you as an attendee or potential applicant, we want to be upfront with you about who we are, what we do, and why. Our hope is to give you enough information to help you determine whether this is a role you wish to pursue.”

Another Hillsdale graduate and new member of the admissions team, Brennan Nokelby ’22, attended the event himself as a student last year and will be returning as a counselor.

According to Nokelby, he chose to become an admissions counselor because he saw an opportunity to support a mission he believed in and work with others who wanted to do the same.

“I fell in love with liberal

America,” she said. “Through these street-level stories, we hope to show what Americans actually believed about the issue and how it affected laws at the time.”

While Olasky and Savas collaborated on the entire book, Olasky wrote the first 40 chapters and Savas the last 10. From early legal cases in which abortion was considered murder, to the stories of the many doctors who stated as early as the 1800s that life begins at fertilization, the

about creating a fun experience for the students of Hillsdale on Super Bowl Sunday, Oxaal said.

“It’s a good excuse for a party and one of our main priorities is having fun. Everyone needs to be there!” Oxaal said.

This year’s game features the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 12.

Q&A: John Daniel Davidson

By Haley Strack Senior Reporter

Alaska native John Daniel Davidson ’04 is a senior editor at The Federalist, where he covers politics, immigration, culture, and religion. He is the former opinions editor of The Collegian and delivered a talk over lunch at the Center for Constructive Alternatives titled, “The Twitter Files Reveal an Existential Threat.” Davidson, his wife, and their daughter are moving to Alaska this summer, where they plan on homesteading.

Why journalism?

Two weeks after I started at Hillsdale, the 9/11 attacks happened. In the old student union, I watched the second plane hit live. I came to Hillsdale with a vague idea that I wanted to study literature and be some sort of writer — but everything changed after 9/11. I switched my major from English literature to history, and I decided to join the journalism program. I had no way of explaining to myself or to anyone else, what had happened and why. I thought that there must be some deep roots to this. So I needed to study history and become a better educated person. And if I was a better educated person, then maybe I could have something worthwhile to say as a writer.

With the increase in virtual newsrooms, what’s the best way for young journalists to get the experience of a print newsroom?

To the extent that young people can work in an in-person office, a deadline-driven news environment, and be answerable to editors, that is as good of a substitute as you can get for the experience of working in the newsroom of a daily newspaper.

Johnny Cash fan. I had gone down to Checker Records because I knew “American IV” was coming out. I told the guy just before it came out, “I want you to order the CD when you get it in, call me and I’ll pick it up.” That’s how we got music back in the 2000s. So, weeks and weeks go by, the guy calls me he’s like, “got your record in.” The record blew me away and I spent a couple hours driving around back roads listening to this CD. Not long after that, Johnny Cash died. I wrote a short obituary for him. The director of the journalism program at the

dia platform you kind of need to have as a journalist. I’m locked out of my Twitter. Have you made appeals to the new Twitter gods to get your account back?

Yeah.

Do you think they’ll work?

No. I don’t think I’m important enough, for one. And for another, I don’t think Elon Musk is totally in control of what’s happening right now. Social media is a dangerous and pernicious development in American public life. And it would be better if it didn’t exist. And if people want to be happy, they should not use social media. To the extent that journalists can, they should limit their use of social media as much as possible and rely on it only to the extent that they have to.

education, the mission of the college, and the people who make both a reality,” Nokelby said.

Macaluso and Nokelby recommend students come prepared with lots of questions and hope that attendees will evaluate whether the admissions team might be a good fit for them.

“It may be cheesy, but it’s the people that make this role enjoyable,” Macaluso said. “Not only is our team exceptional and a blast to work alongside, but I have the privilege of still being surrounded by the goodness of Hillsdale and people who push me to be, and recruit, the best that I can.”

book traces the history of abortion in America by telling the stories of those involved.

“I think it is really important, regardless of what someone’s view is on the abortion issue, to see that this is a very emotional topic that has affected a lot of people,” Savas said. “Among those people are unborn babies. We want to make sure that these babies are seen as characters in these stories. They are a very real part of the stories we tell.”

Did you have a favorite piece published when you were a student?

In 2003, Johnny Cash died. I was — am — a huge

time, Tracy Lee Simmons, shared my little obituary with William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of National Review. Buckley sent back a note saying that it was excellently done. When I heard that I thought, “I’ve made it.”

What’s your hottest Catholic take?

The future of the Catholic Church is the Latin Mass.

At what age should kids have social media?

Social media should be illegal for people under the age of 18. Twitter is a professional hazard. It’s the one social me-

What political philosopher most accurately predicted the modern state of American politics? The standard answer is Alexis de Tocqueville. You have to read him. People should also read John Dewey. His notes and his view of public life in America helps explain the problem of the collapse of Protestantism. You don’t read him because you’re going to agree with his assessment, but his argument represents sort of the void into which we are stepping.

George Washington rises from the grave and asks you for a two-sentence summary of the border crisis. Go. General Washington, there is no southern border. We’re being invaded.

What is the name of the book you’re writing?

“Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Coming Dark Age.” I imagine it will be out at the end of this year.

Journalist to speak on modern religion

By Elyse Apel Opinions Editor

Dominic Green will arrive on campus next week as the next Eugene C. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Journalism.

“Green is an outstanding writer, critic, and historian,” said John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program. “I’ve read his work with admiration for years, and it will be great to have him here on campus, meeting our students and teaching a course on journalism.”

Green is the former editor-in-chief of the U.S. edition of The Spectator, a British magazine, as well as a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and a weekly columnist and essayist for the Washington Examiner and the Jewish Chronicle.

Green will give a public

talk on “The Birth of Modern Spirituality,” which is also the subtitle of his latest book, “The Religious Revolution,” on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. in Plaster Auditorium.

“We talk about the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution as transformative in making modern Western society,” Green said. “This book is an attempt to do the same for the inner life, which has also been transformed in drastic ways.”

He holds master’s degrees from the University of Oxford and Harvard University, and a Ph. D. from Brandeis University. Throughout his career, Green has taught writing and history and also has expertise in politics, foreign policy, and journalism.

During his time on campus, Green will also teach a two-week long seminar class

titled “What Journalism Is.” “I regularly meet Hillsdale graduates through my work in journalism and am always impressed,” Green said. “I’m looking forward to working with hard-working and committed students, and meeting faculty members that I’ve previously only been able to correspond with long-distance, by email.”

Junior Olivia Hajicek has taken several Pulliam seminars. “You can learn so much from a person that you just can’t learn from a textbook. I’m super excited for Dominic Green’s seminar,” Hajicek said. “Every one is different, and I never really know going in what I’m going to learn, but I’ve a feeling this one’s going to be really fun.”

Campus Rec staff pose in front of their new headquarters. Linnea Shively | Collegian

College President Larry Arnn and others stand in front of the newly dedicated Stanton Builing. Linnea Shively | Collegian

John Daniel Davisdon speaks on “The Twitter Files.” Jack Cote | Collegian

Q&A: David West

By Emma Verrigni Collegian Freelancer

David West is a professor of history at Ashland University in Ohio. He earned his M.A. from the University of Dallas and his Ph.D. from Boston University. His parents, Thomas and the late Grace West, are professors of politics and classics at Hillsdale College. At the recent CCA on Classical Greece and Rome, he lectured on Pericles and Athenian Democracy. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

What is the importance of understanding history, and how can the study of Greek and Roman states help us understand modern governments and regimes?

There are so many lessons to be learned. In the books of the Roman historian Livy, for example, you learn all about conflicts between the people and the Roman elites. You learn about these conflicts within Rome between certain politicians who represent a more populist strain of society, and they’re at odds with most of the other senators, but they have the support of the people. And what effect is that going to then have on top foreign policymaking? Sometimes it has a good effect. Sometimes it has bad effects. You can learn from the experiences of the room that the Romans own experiences and domestic international politics and see how affairs might play out in our own situation. The more fundamental point is that history repeats itself. And the best line in terms of an ancient story comes from Thucydides, a Greek historian. Early in his history, he says, “my history of this war between Athens and Sparta will be an everlasting possession.” It’s a possession for all time. And why he says, given human nature, the same events that you read about here will repeat themselves either in the same way or almost the same way.

You wrote your dissertation on Cicero’s arguments about how ethical philosophy should influence political engagement. Should politicians today study philosophy?

If people are required to study John Locke and the ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle and Cicero, yes, it might have some salutary effect on their minds and hearts. They need to learn the whole tradition, and especially the classics, the medievals, and the early moderns.

What inspired your research of Roman figures such as Cicero?

I’ve always been interested in politics. My undergrad major was actually not in classics, but in politics, with a focus on political theory. And I went to grad school to study Latin and Greek, because I love Latin and Greek. I love languages. So when I was an undergrad, I took this in addition to Latin, and Greek, and I did a minor in Latin and Greek with my politics major.

Later, I decided that when I went to get a Ph.D., I actually wanted to get into Latin and Greek and into those literatures and cultures. I was kind of always more inclined towards the Roman side, and one important, prominent Roman on the political theory side would be Cicero. You have to read dialogues of Plato in undergrad. But not everybody has to read the dialogues of Cicero. They’re not just treatises, they’re live conversations between actual Romans and historical figures. They are fictionalized, just like Plato’s dialogues are fictionalized conversations between people who are real. I thought that was really exciting to get into, the Roman philosophical dialogue.

What was democracy like in ancient Greece?

“I really liked my topic. I think it was the right topic for ancient Greece. What I tried to show is that we’re not a democracy. We’re not a strict democracy. Athens was a pure democracy. And that had its problems, because it seemed to go hand in hand with violent aggression towards others. Because it’s always done in the economic self-interest of the Athenians to control other people so they can take their money and make their lives more comfortable, make their city more glorious, and fuel the power of being able to push other people around. That’s the direction that pure democracy was going in. Thank goodness for the American founders not running a machine like that.

How has the concept of democracy changed since the time of Pericles in Athens?

In modern regimes, like our own, we don’t vote on laws directly, and we don’t vote on foreign policy decisions. Something like democratic Athens can only work in a much geographically smaller country, an individual city state. We got even further from direct democracy than that, because at this point, we elect representatives to Congress but with many of the laws they make, they are actually just delegating decision and law making powers to administrative agencies. So they’re not even making laws anymore. And they pass these laws which are unreadable because they’re thousands of pages long.

How can philosophy shape our daily lives?

It might not even be philosophy necessarily, it could just be some great, edifying work. Great work elevates the mind and the heart. And that could include, of course, great poetry, and history, and works of political theory. By habitually reading, you just learn to reflect anywhere and to reflect on what you’re doing, and on your own choices. It can imbue you with the habit of reflecting on your own choices or and put notable examples and noble ideas before you.

CCA III discusses ancient Greek and Roman history, politics

By Elizabeth Crawford Collegian Reporter

Western literature, culture, and American politics find their origins in the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome, according to speakers of the third Center for Constructive Alternatives on Classical Greece and Rome.

“I think we ought to think about the history of Rome, as we ponder what our own future can be and what we can do about it. The Founders looked at the Roman Republic as an endless source of inspiration,” Professor in Humanistic Studies at Cornell University Barry Strauss said.

On Sunday, Assistant Professor of History at Ashland University David T. West spoke on Pericles’ reforms — namely of the justice system, the voting block, and public service.

“Pericles became a key figure in transforming Athens into one of the most radical, direct democracies ever seen,” West said.

West is the son of Hillsdale College’s Professor of Politics Thomas G. West as well as the late Grace Starry West, who taught in the classics department.

Some of Athens’s crowning achievements under the leadership of Pericles, such as the Parthenon, were the result of the growth of the Athenian

Empire, according to West.

“If you think of the Parthenon, if you think of Athens, then Pericles got what he wanted,” West said. “He wanted Athens to be remembered eternally for this sort of fame.”

Professor of Political Science at Davidson College Peter Ahrensdorf, in his lecture titled, “Xenophon’s Socrates,” contrasted Xenophon, an Athenian student of Socrates,

ical Science at the University of Notre Dame Walter Nicgorski traced all the schools of philosophy, even of Cicero and the later Stoics, back to Socrates.

“Some scholars think that the late Stoics offered a faded, thinned out version of what was once a vigorous school of philosophy, reaching back to Socrates,” Nicgorski said. “The earlier, pre-Cicero Stoicism had been initially formed into a

In his lecture, “The Importance of Virgil,” Professor of Literature from Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts Anthony Esolen said we read Virgil because we are human beings.

“As human beings, we read the words of those who come before us, we honor their wisdom and their truth, as much of it as they could see, and we trust that the conversation will continue,” Esolen said.

Former Professor of Classics at Princeton University Joshua Kratz ultimately arrived at the same conclusion as Esolen regarding the purpose of reading Homer and Virgil.

“What makes these tales excellent is their humanity,” Kratz said. “They tell of gods and men, of valor and defeat, of love and jealousy, of pride and piety – all the emotions are in there, all the complexities that make humans, human.”

to Plato.

“Xenophon’s serious point is that the admiration for Socrates and philosophy, an admiration encouraged most powerfully by the dramatic poetry of Plato, can lead to a thoughtless, cultish, and sleepy reverence for Socrates, the most independent minded of human beings and a man who embodies the spirit of wakefulness,” Ahrensdorf said.

Professor Emeritus of Polit-

comprehensive and systematic philosophy.”

According to Nicgorski, Cicero’s writings on philosophy are not just primary sources for Stoicism, but also for all the schools of philosophy which flourished in the Hellenistic period.

The last two lectures of the CCA focused on the Greek and Roman literary contributions to the broader western tradition.

According to sophomore Sam Wallace, Homer began “the great conversation of Western civilization.”

“There’s so many things to consider when talking about Western civilization, but turning back to the classics of Greco-Roman literature takes us back to the roots of the issue and the most fundamental principles of our western world,” Wallace said. “This conversation is possibly the most important one we can have.”

Career services holds panel on jobs in STEM

By Michaela Estruth Assistant Editor

Getting a job in STEM after college is more about communication and relational skills than basic hard skills, according to Jason Lantz ’06, IT product manager of Kunz, Leigh & Associates.

“If you can get to an interview and ‘talk shop’ and check the box on hard skills, then you’re going to be in a really great spot,” Lantz said. “When you ‘talk shop’ with someone then they’re already treating you like a colleague in the interview. That’s about as good a spot as you can be.”

Career Services hosted a job and internship panel for students interested in STEM on Tuesday, Feb. 7 in the Formal Lounge. Four panelists answered students’ questions about internships, jobs, interviews, and work environments. Lantz said getting an interview is the biggest hurdle and the interview itself should be a display of all capabilities, not just specialization.

“So it’s really about proving

or showcasing through the interview process that you have a high level of competency and that you have a high level of capacity, meaning you’re going to be a high capacity employee who’s going to take off and help the company accomplish their main objectives,” Lantz said.

Kathleen Petersen ’95 said Hillsdale students have an advantage over other college graduates because of their liberal arts studies.

“When you go into some kind of stem careers, people who are just focused on science or math cannot communicate to others and cannot write well,” Petersen said. “But you’ve done the research, and you’ve written the papers. You know how to speak about other things besides just one focused area.”

Petersen, who now works at The Pediatric Palace of Hillsdale, said it is helpful to have these skills if you want to go further in a medical career and pursue a masters or Ph. D. Petersen said to only pursue further education if you know you want it. She married after

graduation and didn’t get her nurse practitioner degree until years into raising her family. She said she knew what she wanted at the time of graduation and then she decided to go back when the time was right.

Austin Hall, manufacturing engineer at Delphinus Medical Technologies, agreed and said it’s important to know ‘why’ you want an additional degree over ‘what’ that degree is. Higher education is expensive and lots of work is offered without that requirement, he said.

Lantz said IT industry is everywhere–every business anywhere has an IT department because they all need proper set-up, function, and repair.

“There’s very few industries that have not been transformed over the last 10 to 15 years by technology,” Lantz said. “And so there’s engineers and people who need to understand tech, tech discipline in every space. Tech jobs are not going anywhere.”

Because both IT and medical expertise are highly demanded, the panelists said

young graduates should be intentional on where they accept a position.

“Know what companies you want to work for,” Lantz said.

Caleb Bowers ’15, software engineer at Anduril Industries, said you must consider what life you will have by taking the job. Culture affects a lot of a work day, he said.

“It’s easier to do hard things with good people,” Hall said.

Because of the plethora of opportunities, the panelists encouraged graduates to migrate until they find what they love.

“It’s not worth it to stay in a job you don’t enjoy,” Petersen said.

Hall said internships are helpful to students to discern what kind of job they may want in the future–to learn their likes and dislikes. Internships may also become job offers, he said.

Junior Joey Spoelstra said he appreciated the panelists’ practical points.

“I really liked their emphasis on the point of figuring out ‘why’ before ‘what,’” he said.

WSJ contributor visits campus

By Maggie Hroncich Editor-In-Chief

The best interviews often are conversations rather than interrogations, said journalist Tunku Varadarajan at a forum on Feb. 2.

“It’s not really an art, nor is it a science,” Varadarajan said of interviewing. “It’s just a method.”

Varadarajan, a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and its former op-ed editor, was born in India and is a naturalized British citizen who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. As the op-ed editor for the Journal from 2002-2007, he introduced the “Weekend Interview” feature to the editorial page.

“A staffer from the Journal would sit down with somebody who was in the news, or we thought ought to be in the news, and talk to them at length and distill the conversation into a sort of prose essay based on the words that this person uttered in the course of this conversation,” Varadarajan said.

During the forum on campus–“The Art of the Interview,” sponsored by the Dow Jour-

nalism Program–Varadarajan said he tries to understand and learn from interviewees.

“Find someone worth talking to, someone of elevated ideas, status, importance, and get as much as we could out of them to make their ideas accessible to the reader,” Varadarajan said.

The weekend interviews in the Journal, he said, “were friendly and continue to be friendly in nature.”

Varadarajan’s interview subjects have included economist Milton Friedman, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, and author Laurent de Brunhoff, who is known for continuing his father’s “Babar the Elephant” children’s book series.

“The way to approach an interview is to come prepared,” Varadarajan told students. “I know that this sounds like a kind of truism, but you mustn’t go to an interview with somebody without having done your homework. That doesn’t just mean googling the person or reading their Wikipedia. It means if the person has written books, read those books, if that person has made movies, watch some of those movies,

if that person has made music, listen to some of their music.”

According to Varadarajan, the goal of interviews is often to be as conversational as possible.

“The aim is to keep the interview as organic as possible, to turn it from a formal inquiry into an informal conversation,” Varadarajan said. “It’s tough in the space of an hour, but you’ve got to win somebody’s trust.”

Varadarajan said interviewers should keep conversations organic rather than attempting to follow a script.

“If you ask a question, and the answer takes you in a particular direction, let your next question follow on from that direction,” he said. “Don’t cut off the conversation, turn to your notes and say ‘OK, here’s my next question.’”

Varadarajan said aspiring journalists should pick who they interview wisely.

“A lot of people are in the news, but they wouldn’t necessarily make good interviews,” Varadarajan said. “You need to find somebody who’s articulate, who has a bit of a backstory, who might be willing to be

voluble and expansive for you.”

Freshman Mattie Grace Watson said she is excited to use the skills she learned from Varadarajan in the future.

“The talk today was very informational. We learned so much about developing a relationship with your interviewee and having a more organic interview that way,” Watson said. “I look forward to implementing these new strategies in the future.”

Professor of History Wilfred McClay, who attended Varadarajan’s forum, said he appreciates Varadarajan’s unique approach to interviewing.

“I’ve long admired Tunku Varadarajan’s work, especially his iconic ‘Weekend Interview’ feature at the Wall Street Journal,” McClay said. “His gentle and humane approach to interviewing is refreshingly different from the reigning canons of ‘gotcha’ journalism. He seeks not to pin down his interviewees but rather to understand them as they understand themselves, and convey that understanding in a sympathetic way.”

Junior Marlow Canady and senior Kate Pipher attended the annual Curate Women's Summit this past weekend. See B1 for more.

Hannah Cote | SAB

Ashland University professor David West, son of Hillsdale professor Thomas West, spoke at the CCA this week.

Jack Cote | Collegian

Opinions

Online : www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Editor-in-Chief | Maggie Hroncich

Associate Editor | Christian Peck-Dimit

Design Editor | Tracy Wilson

Digital Editor | Josh Newhook

Outreach Director | Hannah Cote

News Editor | Maddy Welsh

Opinions Editor | Elyse Apel

City News Editor | Logan Washburn

Sports Editor | Isaac Green

Culture Editor | Megan Williams

Features Editor | Meghan Schultz

Science & Tech Editor | Ally Hall

Social Media Manager | Jillian Parks

Circulation Managers | Micah Hart and Victoria Wagner

Assistant Editors | Linnea Shively | Michaela Estruth | Lauren Scott

| Olivia Hajicek | Tess Owen | Olivia Pero | Thomas McKenna | Jane

Kitchen | Michael Bachmann | Carly Moran

Faculty Advisers | John J. Miller | Maria Servold

The editors welcome Letters to the Editor but reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, length, and style. Send submissions to the Opinions

Editor at ehawkins@hillsdale.edu before Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Collegian Weekly

The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff

Dress creatively for President’s Ball

New York’s Met Gala is the one night in the year in which the conventions of fashion are flipped on their head. On Saturday, the Met Gala will come to campus. What is craziest is in vogue, and students should take advantage of that.

At this year’s President’s Ball, students should ditch their evening gowns and suits for the craziest outfits they can muster. Halloween may have passed, but the opportunity for students to

dress up has not.

The MET Gala is much more than a red carpet event. Looking nice is not enough; creativity is demanded. Absurdity and elegance fuse in a spectacular evening. By embracing the theme, students can transform Prez Ball into much more than just another annual event.

While students may not have a team of designers and stylists to make $20,000 dresses and perfectly tai-

Liberal media attacks are a good thing for Hillsdale

By Catherine Maxwell

Liberal media criticism

about Hillsdale College only make the school stronger.

These hit pieces artfully take facts about the college and present them in a way that attempts to discredit the school and promote a leftist agenda.

“Hillsdale has mixed fast-moving streams of education, politics, culture, patriotism, and religion into a roaring rapids of what some might call militant, white, Christian nationalism,” the Detroit Metro Times declared in November.

In its lengthy article, The New York Times subtly suggests the college engages in multiple kinds of discrimination. “As a result, the college does not follow Title IX guidelines on sex discrimination and the handling of sexual assault cases and it has refused to engage in the otherwise required reporting on student race and ethnicity, let alone develop an affirmative action plan,” the Times said in 2018.

Articles like this appear to be bad publicity for the school, but they are actually beneficial in two key ways.

The first is advertising. Hillsdale is no stranger to advertising. One can find their ads on the biggest conservative talk shows and news stations, and their publications reach millions. But even here, in an area where Hillsdale has such a stronghold, a good (or bad) hit piece can make a difference.

Take the publications that have written about Hillsdale

in the past few years. The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic have written “unbiased” stories attacking the school. Michigan-based papers like Detroit Metro Times have also attempted to discredit Hillsdale. Combined, they reach millions of readers.

The impact is significant. The average reader of Impri-

theNew York Times, Washington Post, and Atlantic into one group and assume they always believe what they read, one should not make that mistake. Many would read about Hillsdale’s mission statement and agree that it is the most racist thing they have ever seen. Others, however, would be curious, and that curiosity would

them off so soon. Those people would do their own research and perhaps become the school’s newest supporters.

The second way hit pieces are beneficial is that they confirm that the school is heading in the correct direction.

To illustrate this point, one must look at the values the publications of these articles espouse. They promote almost if not total leftist ideology and condemn anything that dares contradict their beliefs. Anything widely concerned good or true must be seen as evil or false.

If a paper with those values attacks Hillsdale so viciously, Hillsdale must be doing something to draw their ire. Most recently that has been the charter school initiatives, which a Washington Post editorial accuses of “[spreading] the gospel of the right-wing” and “[rewriting] American history, particularly when it comes to civil rights.”

lored tuxedos, the all-inclusive MET theme is perfect for a college budget.

Ever wanted to wear your comforter to a formal event? Now is your chance. Perhaps you want to make a political statement. I’m sure you can find an ill-fitting white sheet to scrawl some trite political slogan on. When in doubt just throw a lampshade on. Katy Perry did, so why not you?

The evening is restricted only by the scope of one’s

imagination and resourcefulness.

Nothing is more upsetting than seeing celebrities fumble the MET’s extravagant themes, and nothing would be more upsetting than to see students not even try. Wear anything, literally, anything. But wear nothing boring.

Letter to the Editor

Slavery was not America’s original sin

By Josiah Lippincott

In the Feb. 2 edition of the Collegian, “Hillsdale students should celebrate Black History Month,” Elizabeth Troutman claims that slavery constituted America’s “original sin.” But as every school child now knows, the first African slaves permanently arrived in America in 1619—well over 150 years before the colonies declared their independence from the British empire. Therefore, her claim is false.

mis is not, for instance, the most likely person to read the New York Times on a regular basis. Many of those publications’ readers would have never heard of the school prior to those hit pieces. They certainly are not the type to listen to Rush Limbaugh or watch Fox News. Each of those articles, then, reached millions of people whom Hillsdale never could have found.

While it is tempting to lump all the readers of

eventually lead them to the truth about Hillsdale.

Even if no one was curious, however, it would not be a problem. When people become incensed about something, they tend to rant about it. To their friends, on social media––any possible method to make as many other people angry about the same thing.

Eventually that ranting would reach people who agree with Hillsdale, or at least do not want to write

In other cases, the mere existence of the school is enough. Those papers are desperate to prevent Hillsdale from achieving its goals, which is proof that Hillsdale must press on.

It would be easy to ask, for the sake of fairness, that socalled journalists stop writing their hit pieces. I ask them to do something very different––write them. Publish as many as you can.

Hillsdale’s future supporters and students thank you.

Catherine Maxwell is a freshman studying the liberal arts.

Putin’s successor could be his chef

By Jack Little Putin’s chef

his next course.

is preparing

During the fall of the Soviet Union, Yevgeny Prigozhin, like many young Russians of his generation, sought to make his fortune in the new Russia. While many of the other men who would become oligarchs chose to go into commodities such as oil or natural gas, Prigozhin had a get-rich-quick scheme — selling hot dogs.

Palace intrigue over possible successors dominates external analyses of Putin’s Russia, and Prigozhin is now in a unique position to step forward as a continuation of Putin’s brand. Hot dog salesman to president is not a common pipeline, but it may be on the horizon.

Prigozhin is no longer merely known as “Putin’s Chef” (a nickname acquired due to both his close personal ties to the Russian president and his massive catering business) but as the founder and de facto leader of the Wagner Group, a little-understood and seemingly omnipresent mercenary organization with substan-

tial links to Russian military intelligence. Wherever there is trouble or intrigue, and the Putin administration stands to gain something, Wagner is close behind.

Much of the focus on Wagner has been on its involvement in Syria, where it has aided forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the decade-long civil war, and in Eastern Europe, specifically, Ukraine, where Wagner has served as a front-line unit in the Donbas. However, Wagner’s most unique ability is not as a combat force, but as a tool able to be deployed by the Kremlin in ways not directly attributable to Russia. A private military force, operating with plausible deniability, is the perfect force for an age of rapid breakdown in traditional military and great power competition.

Despite the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, Wagner has yet to find its forces locked up in Eastern Europe, but instead, has expanded its footprint in Africa. For instance, following the coup d’état in Sudan which saw the toppling of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir, Wagner mercenaries provid-

ed security for the military council which seized power.

The French government, which has traditionally had a significant interest in African affairs, accused Wagner of spreading anti-French propaganda and in turn, building up support for Russia in Sudan. In the Central African Republic, Wagner has aided the government in their decade-long civil war — their influence was only ameliorated by the withdrawal of French security forces in 2016.

The expansion of Wagner’s influence over the last few years is not to say, however, that Prigozhin is some sort of spy-thriller mastermind. He is not, to use the title of a recent film, “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.” The effectiveness of Wagner is not as a peer competitor force, nor as an army in itself that can take on less-powerful nations, but as a group operating as an extension of Russia’s foreign policy, in limited situations and circumstances.

In Ukraine, Wagner has been forced to conscript convicted prisoners to fill their ranks, and estimates, although they vary wildly, conservatively

say that they have suffered a roughly 30% attrition rate.

Prigozhin has, unlike other oligarchs, made himself both a public and indispensable figure in Russia’s foreign policy. This week, he published a video of himself in a Su-24 bomber, claiming that he had participated in an operation supporting Russian forces in their push to secure the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut. Oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich (the former owner of Chelsea Football Club), have attempted to create separation between themselves and Putin. Prigozhin, on the other hand, has never missed an opportunity to demonstrate his fealty to Putin.

Prigozhin’s possible future ascent hinges on loyalty: the loyalty he displays to Putin, and the loyalty his men have for him. The war in Ukraine has allowed him to expand his power base and has truly made him a force to be reckoned with in future power struggles.

Jack Little is a senior studying history and politics.

Before the United States of America existed as a legal entity, a quarter million slaves had already been transported to the original colonies. The Founding Fathers did not have a choice in the matter of African slavery and a sin must be an act of the will. Therefore, slavery was not the original sin of the American regime. It was, however, a practical political problem the Founders wished to solve.

They took efforts to curtail and ultimately eliminate the practice. The Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery in the upper Midwest. The Constitution made provision for the complete future abolition of the slave trade and neutered the use of slaves in measuring representation in Congress. Prominent early American politicians including Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, and Abraham Lincoln worked to eliminate slavery by colonizing blacks elsewhere. Those efforts did achieve some measure of success.

To call slavery America’s original sin is to falsey damn the whole country for the acts of a small minority. This blanket assertion leads to dangerous notions of collective guilt. At the least, the claim does not encompass a Christian understanding of sin. It does, however, reflect a fundamentally leftist view of justice.

The modern American academy, following the Soviets, castigates America as a fundamentally racist, imperialist, and colonialist power. America, in this framework, can only achieve absolution by, in the words of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-GA, repenting of the “worship

of whiteness.” This is the dominant view of our time, shared by all institutions of corporate, political, and media power. America’s real civil religion is anti-racism, decolonization, and opposition to antisemitism. Our real heroes are not Abraham Lincoln and George Washington but Barack Obama and George Floyd. ABC plays John Lennon’s “Imagine” at the New Years Eve ball drop in NYC—not the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

“Wokeness” has been around a lot longer than the last decade. Former President Franklin Roosevelt’s assistant secretary of the treasury, Harry Dexter White, intentionally passed classified information to Joseph Stalin’s agents. During World War II, the American government gave money and weapons to Ho Chi Minh and Stalin alike. During the Cold War, American diplomatic and economic pressure helped the Zimbabwean African National Union—Political Front take power in Zimbabwe. ZANU-PF proceeded to install Robert Mugabe, a brutal communist dictator. In the face of the American elite’s overt favoritism for the global Left, it is little wonder then to hear conservatives parrot narratives slandering the American character. Hillsdale students, however, should aim to be better than this.

Josiah Lippincott is a doctorate student at the Hillsdale Graduate School of Statesmanship.

“Before the United States of America existed as a legal entity, a quarter million slaves had already been transported to the original colonies.”

Hillsdale is often the subject of liberal media pieces.

It’s time to break up with your toxic makeup

By Victoria Wagner

From toothpaste and soap to makeup and perfume, everyone at some point during their day uses a cosmetic or personal care product. According to Statista, consumers spent $98 billion on cosmetics and personal care products in 2020 alone. But what is in those products, and how does it affect our overall health? Our relationship with these products may be more one-sided than we used to think.

Hillsdale students are among the many consumers nationwide who have made the switch to clean beauty products. Junior Emma Widmer made the switch many years ago.

“Your skin is your largest organ and it absorbs whatever you put on it into your bloodstream,” Widmer said. “When you pack your beauty products from the age of 12 all the way to 65 with hormone disruptors and neurotoxins, you can’t tell me that’s good for you.”

Sophomore Emma Turner has made the switch after developing sensitivities to the ingredients in many traditional cosmetics.

“I feel a lot better about putting on makeup because I know I’m not putting harsh chemicals into my body,” Turner said.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website, they do “not require cosmetic

products and ingredients to be approved…before they go on the market… however, they must be safe for consumers under labeled or customary conditions of use.”

The lack of U.S. Federal regulation over cosmetics gave the space for nonprofit organizations like The Environmental Working Group. EWG studies and informs consumers about ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products by consolidating the results of studies and worldwide regulatory practices.

“Since 1993, the Environmental Working Group has shined a spotlight on outdated legislation, harmful agricultural practices and industry loopholes

that pose a risk to our health and the health of our environment,” according to their website.

For example, a sunscreen sold in the United States might contain the common preservative methylparaben, but since parabens are banned in the European Union, the same product might be reformulated with glycerin to be sold in the EU.

Research nonprofit companies like EWG help shed light on potentially dangerous or irritating ingredients found in cosmetics and personal care products sold in the U.S.

“Personal care products are manufactured with 10,500 unique chemical ingredients, some of which

are known or suspected carcinogens, toxic to the reproductive system or known to disrupt the endocrine system,” according to EWG’s website. “Although some companies make products that are safe to use, others use dangerous ingredients, like coal tar and formaldehyde, both of which are human carcinogens, and lead acetate, a developmental toxin.” Finding products free from toxic ingredients can be difficult, but niches of the beauty industry have created tools and resources to make the search easier. EWG’s “Skin Deep” database allows you to look up almost any product and view its ingredient anal-

ysis. The lower the score, the safer the product. Additionally, Ulta Beauty and Sephora have sections of their website where you can view products they deem “clean.”

“When you see our Clean Seal, you can be assured that the product is formulated without specific ingredients that are known or suspected to be potentially harmful to human health and/or the environment,” says Sephora’s “Clean at Sephora” webpage.

Since people have become more aware of toxic ingredients in their personal care products, many brands have changed their marketing tactics. “Greenwashing” is the prac-

tice of making a product appear non-toxic through branding, but the product’s ingredients fall short of many people’s standards for clean beauty.

According to Provenance’s 2022 “Skin Deep Beauty Report,” “four in five consumers have difficulty trusting the sustainability and social claims made by companies in the beauty and wellness industry.” Additionally, a majority of consumers believe terms like “Clean” and “Green” are unclear since there is no standard for brands to be able to use those terms.

While there is no industry standard for what makes a product “clean,” doing research on different ingredients to avoid can help you make smart decisions about what products you are putting on your body. Eliminating ingredients like parabens, sulfates and synthetic fragrances is a good first step in lowering your exposure to toxic and irritating ingredients.

“Your body wants to be in homeostasis, so it’s important to allow your body to do its job and fix itself,” Widmer said.

So the next time you run out of toothpaste or moisturizer, consider checking the ingredients and switching to a cleaner alternative. Your body will thank you in the long run.

Victoria Wagner is a sophomore studying politics and journalism.

Hillsdale students should spend the summer excavating the Holy Land

By Nathan Steinmeyer

Few things connect you to the past the way exca vating does. Whether you are interested in prehistoric peoples, the biblical story, or the Roman Empire, the joy of discovery is incredible and life changing.

I remember the first time I held an Early Bronze Age vessel that I had uncovered with my own two hands. At that moment, I was closer to the past than I had ever imagined, holding an object that had last been touched by a human more than 4,000 years ago.

I gained a passion for history and education at Hillsdale with professors such as Ken Calvert, Don Westblade, and many others. Now, my job is not only to experience these things for myself but to help

others do the same. Working for the Biblical Archaeology Review magazine – as I finish my Ph.D. at Tel Aviv University – I collaborate with archaeologists and scholars all over the Holy Land and the Mediterranean to share their discoveries. One of the best

parts of my job is connecting them to volunteers who want to take part in their excavations. Whether it is watching the biblical city of Bethsaida emerge from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, seeing an Edomite stronghold reveal its desert secrets, or exploring a recently buried section of Jerusalem’s Iron Age walls (c. 1200586 BC), excavating in the Holy Land has opened up completely new ways of viewing the Bible itself and the peoples and cultures who inhabited the region. You don’t need to be religious or a history nut to come on a dig. From getting handson skills in the science side of archaeology, to just spending a few weeks experiencing a foreign country, there is a lot

that excavating has to pro vide. Many digs even offer university credit. So why not knock out some of those needed electives while you’re at it?

Having visited dozens of active dig sites and talked to hundreds ostudents who volunteered for the dig, I can tell you that I personally have not met a single person who regretted this opportunity to learn and grow. I want Hills dale students to enjoy this opportunity as well. Take the step out of the classroom and into the class-field.

So, have I convinced you? Well, here are a few more selling points: incredible food, not living with your parents for the summer, having a unique experience on your resume, making friends from all over the world, visiting a

new country, and so much more.

So, how do you sign up for a dig? I can help with that. Go to www.biblicalarchaeology. org/digs for our thorough list of excavations looking for volunteers this summer. We also offer scholarships to help you cover expenses. Be sure

to check soon, as the deadline for submission varies by site and you don’t want to miss out. If you have any questions, I would love to answer them.

Whether you want to excavate on the Mediterranean coast, the Galilee, the Judean Hills, or the plains of Jordan, we have a dig for you.

Nathan Steinmeyer received his BS in philosophy and religion – with a minor in mathematics –from Hillsdale, his Master’s from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Bible and Ancient Near East, and is pursuing a Ph.D. at Tel Aviv University in Assyriology. He currently works for Biblical Archaeology Review as an Assistant Editor.

Dr. Uri Davidovich and Dr. Sam Atkins dry sifting materials at Mitzpe Shelem near the Dead Sea. Courtesy | Natha N s tei N meyer

Pillars and gate of the Nabatean Temple at Avdat.

Courtesy | NathaN steiNmeyer

Consumers spend billions on

cosmetics and makeup every year. Courtesy | Fli

Prosecutor drops charges against man arrested in viral video

By Lauren Scott Assistant Editor

County Prosecutor Neal Brady dropped charges against a Hillsdale man arrested last year for disturbing the peace and resisting and obstructing an officer.

Andy Dewaine Bailey could have spent one year in jail but no longer faces the charges, according to Bailey’s attorney Daren Wiseley.

Wiseley said he decided to take Bailey’s case pro bono after one of his assistants suggested it. After watching the viral video of Bailey’s arrest, which garnered 25,000 views, Wiseley said he thought the charges were unfair.

“No one’s saying he was a gentleman in the videos, but at the end of the day it’s almost more like he was assaulted by the officer,” Wiseley said.

News

Businessman seeks to renovate Stock’s Mill

By Jacob Beckwith Collegian Reporter

Dave Wheeler, the CEO of Mar-Vo Mineral Co., hopes to bring a rock climbing wall, a restaurant, and a mural to the former F.W. Stock and Sons Mill.

“The silos would make a great climbing wall, the largest of its kind in the country,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler also proposed the idea of a restaurant across the top of the silos. For now, he is focusing on a mural, and former City Economic Development Coordinator Mary Wolfram is working with Wheeler to secure the permit.

“Dave spent much of his summer on a boom lift sanding and priming the silos with his daughter,” Mary Wolfram said. “He really is serious about doing this for the community.”

While there is no timeline yet for the larger project, Wheeler said he has begun talking with contractors, researching the necessary permits, and making the needed repairs to the facility.

Wheeler purchased the property in 2015 for his mineral processing company “Lucky Buck,” which makes salt licks for deer. When Mar-Vo Mineral Co., Lucky Buck’s parent company, first bought the site, there were holes running five floors deep where some of the machinery used to sit, Wheeler said.

Since then, Wheeler said

he has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into renovating the mill, including $100,000 for a new freight elevator to access all five warehouse floors.

Though the Lucky Buck products can’t be sold in Michigan and are heavily

regulated in 31 other states, Wheeler said the company has still seen exponential growth in demand through their exports to other parts of the country.

“We are consistently expanding at about 20% each year, and while we aren’t using the entire

City council reviews homeless numbers, considers next steps

The Hillsdale City Police Department received backlash and death threats after Bailey was arrested in March 2022. Police officers were responding to a “disturbing the peace” complaint about Bailey, and when they let him go with a warning, they used pepper spray to deter a loose, barking dog. Bailey confronted them, and one of the officers accused him of obstructing their investigation. The officers then arrested him.

The City of Hillsdale released bodycam footage of the incident that weekend, saying there had been “misinformation and false statements made regarding the Officers’ conduct with this dog.”

Bailey refused to take a plea bargain since he believed he did not commit any crime, Wiseley said. Bailey thought taking a risk with the jury was the best option, according to Wiseley, so they proceeded to trial.

“I decided the resisting and obstructing an officer charge was of marginal quality and that his annoying interference did not exceed the misdemeanor level for me, so I dropped the felony resisting charge,” Brady said.

After Brady dropped the felony charge, Bailey was still planning to go to trial for his misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace.

“I had multiple witnesses who could not appear on the date scheduled for trial, so I had it dismissed without prejudice,” Brady said.

Brady said this means the charge can be reissued in the future.

“They're not going to admit it, but I think at the end of the day they kind of knew there wasn't really evidence of a crime,” Wiseley said. “That’s why they just threw it out.”

By Josh Hypes Political Correspondent

The Hillsdale City Council reviewed findings on homelessness and considered next steps to address the problem during its meeting Monday night.

The council also amended its zoning ordinances and set a hearing for two new special assessment districts Hillsdale’s public safety committee presented its research on the homeless population to the council Monday night, drawing its findings from official estimates made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The committee said the county is home to about 85 homeless people.

The city defines homeless individuals as anyone whose primary nighttime residence is a place not for sleeping, including cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, airports, and camping sites.

Councilman Greg Stuchell said the public safety committee focused on HUD’s point-in-time count, which counted the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The

highest PIT count was 13 unsheltered people in 2020.

“The reason those numbers are so low is that Hillsdale County’s pointin-time count is during the last Wednesday in January,” Stuchell said. “That’s when they actually go around looking for people sleeping in cars, tents, and abandoned buildings.”

Stuchell said the PIT count does not include people in emergency shelters or the foster care system. While the count might be low, it is only taken once per year.

Stuchell called for the council and its new Homeless Task Force to work with the Community Action Agency, a social service agency in the county, to collect more data.

Several candidates during the 2022 city council election campaigned on addressing homelessness in Hillsdale. After the election, Mayor Adam Stockford formed the Homeless Task Force to study the issue and offer solutions.

The city council also unanimously voted to amend its zoning ordinances, meaning residents will now face zoning violations as municipal infractions punished by fines, rather

than a misdemeanor.

Violators will face a ticket of up to $50 after the first violation, $100 after the second, and $200 after each subsequent offense, for instance, a business operating in a residential zone.

John Lovinger, the city’s attorney, said downgrading the offense will allow the city to assess fines for violators and mandate individuals bring the property to compliance through a court order. Lovinger said this lowers the standard of proof from a trial with a jury to a formal hearing in front of a judge.

“If something is a misdemeanor criminal offense, then the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard would apply,” Lovinger said. “If it is a civil infraction, then it is just fines and costs that are assessed, plus the court can enter an order requiring you to bring the property into compliance.”

The council also set a hearing for two new special assessment districts on Uran Street and on Howell Street, Lynwood Boulevard, and Morry Street. The districts would help reconstruct roads, and the hearing will be at the next city council meeting on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.

Wolfram said she remembers the last time the mill was bustling with activity.

“It was 1989 when my husband and I moved into Hillsdale,” Wolfram said. “I distinctly remember the dozens of Dunkin’ trucks I would see coming in and out of town. I soon learned that the Donut Company of America owned the mill, and they were a primary supplier of the mix that was needed to make donuts.”

Pillsbury purchased the facility from DCA in 2002, and in the years following, ownership changed multiple times with various companies buying the property to strip away valuable machinery.

City Councilman Gary Wolfram, professor of economics and husband to Mary Wolfram, said it is a miracle nobody was ever injured while exploring the empty mill.

“The site quickly became the place to go for adventurous Hillsdale students over the period that it sat vacant,” Wolfram said.

property currently, we will

continue to grow into it in the coming years,” Wheeler said.

As the company has grown, Wheeler said he has considered ways to give back to the community and take advantage of the fortress-like facility.

By Quinn Delamater Collegian Reporter

The Wellbeing Café is brewing with much to offer.

Rick Tropiano, owner of Johnny T’s Bistro, opened the smoothie café in October 2022. He based his mission statement on Biblical values, and hopes to educate the community on how to nurture themselves both physically and spiritually.

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you even as your soul is getting along well,” Tropiano said, quoting 3 John 2:2 to explain his mission.

The Wellbeing Café, located in The Well Activities Center at 3240 West Carleton Road, focuses on offering healthy smoothies to the community.

“We use whole foods, good foods without a lot of chemical makeup in our ingredients or anything like that,” Tropiano said. “They’re as natural as can be, and good for you, without all the poisons in the fast food industry.”

Camden Dice, coowner of The Well, said the café offers healthier options than many other restaurants.

“The awesome part about The Wellbeing Café is that all of their products are whole foods, which is not seen anywhere in today's restaurant business,” Dice said. “So when you order a strawberry banana smoothie, you get exactly what you asked for: fresh strawberries and bananas in a smoothie. It's not powder or a chemical. Then, you can always add extras like honey, protein, peanut butter, etc.”

Students would often explore the ins and outs of the sprawling facility, according to Wolfram, and some would even climb to the top of the four silos for the view.

Wheeler said he hopes the renovations will let students and residents see the downtown view safely again.

During February, specials will include a chocolate-covered strawberry protein shake, a berries and cream vanillabase protein shake, a coffee protein shake, and the mocha and flax with cold brew blended in.

“My favorite thing is by far the Tropical Paradise smoothie,” Dice said. “I love mangos and pineapple and it just tastes so good. I will even have it after a workout and add a scoop of grassfed whey protein. It's really tough to beat.”

Food items will also be hitting the menu soon, according to Tropiano, who goes back and forth multiple times a day between managing Johnny T’s and the café. He said the process has been a challenge.

“I still have a firm belief that God is in control, and if he wants this to work, even I can’t screw it up,” he said. “We are implementing new things now and have newer equipment. We’re going to start serving food, like sandwiches and paninis that will still be healthy without all the chemicals. Probably by March, we’ll be rolling with that.”

Customers can also watch local basketball teams play a game on a court in front of the smoothie bar.

“We're hoping to see the café pick up a bunch more traction as it begins to add more things to the menu,” Dice said. “The biggest struggle is that people don't know it's in the building. It's an amazing facility with a physical therapy clinic, doctor's clinic, weights and gym floor, but the café really is the cherry on top. It's super convenient to get done with a workout and immediately have something to help your body refuel.”

“Bailey refused to take a plea bargain since he believed he did not commit any crime.”

Workers repair the old silos.

Courtesy | Dave Wheeler

Wellbeing Café promotes physical, spiritual health

Two local districts ask state for more than $300,000 in school safety grants

By Christina Lewis Collegian Reporter

Two local school districts are seeking state grants to hire more school resource officers.

“We all believe that it’d be great to have a school resource officer in all of our districts. The problem is funding,” Troy Reehl, superintendent of Hillsdale County Intermediate School District, said. “If money wasn’t an issue, school resource officers would already be in schools.”

Hillsdale Community Schools applied for a grant of $167,547 and Hillsdale County ISD applied for a

grant of $147,410, according to the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety.

Local author plans book signing at Rough Draft

By Josh Newhook Digital Editor

The state launched its 2023 School Resource Officer Grant Program on Oct. 10, 2022. School districts can use this program to apply

for a matching government grant to offset the costs of hiring school resource officers. If districts can raise 50% of the money needed, they will be eligible to receive the rest of the amount from the state in the fall.

SROs are law enforcement officers, usually from local police departments, hired by schools to ensure safety of students and staff on campus. Local schools, mostly high schools, get threats on a regular basis, according to Reehl. He said the district is working with the city council to offset some of the cost for SRO grants.

Reehl stressed the importance of having SROs in school buildings, and said he thinks the community and the schools should be on the same page when it comes to handling school shootings and threats.

“From a safety standpoint, you have somebody that’s there quicker. They’re right there in your building already,” Reehl said. “The key with law enforcement being in the building is it builds that relationship with our students. I think that just having that police presence in the building is a nice thing to build those relationships in the community.”

Hospital offers new vascular screenings

By Emma Verrigni Collegian Reporter

Hillsdale Hospital

began offering a vascular screening service last month that informs patients about their risk of heart disease or stroke.

The service, called AngioScreen, is easy to use and takes 15 minutes to complete, according to Rachel Lott, chief communications officer for Hillsdale Hospital. After the screening, patients receive a consultation with a physician and educational materials, as well as an ultrasound image of their carotid arteries.

The screening detects aneurysms and leg artery blockages and measures blood pressure, heart rate,

heart rhythm, and body mass index, according to a Hillsdale Hospital press release.

The program will give patients peace of mind and allow them to be confident that their vascular health is in good shape, Lott said.

The hospital began offering the screenings on Jan. 26, Lott said. On the first day, doctors found one patient had an atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that often leads to blood clots in the heart.

“It’s just a great testament to how valuable this service can be,” Lott said.

Lott said the service will benefit people who are unaware that they have underlying health

conditions. She said many people who suffer from aneurysms show no symptoms.

Patients can book appointments to use AngioScreen online or through a physician.

According to Lott, the hospital is also in the process of implementing a new program which will let employers offer AngioScreen to their employees. The program will be available to businesses in the area.

Lott said this program will allow employers to ensure that they have a healthy workforce.

Local author Nancy Hastings will sign copies of her first book, “Mission Possible,” on Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Studio 42 inside Rough Draft.

The event is sponsored by Artworks of Hillsdale County in cooperation with the Heritage Association.

Hastings, who worked for the Hillsdale Daily News for 25 years, said she retired in October 2021 to pursue writing.

Hasting’s inspiration for “Mission Possible” came from the story of her parents, who were missionaries with the Presbyterian East Mission of Brazil in the early 1950s. Hastings followed them on their journeys from her perspective as a child.

“I’m their third child, so the time I really remember was during grades three through the first semester of sixth grade,” she said. “I had an American tutor and went to classes with my brother and two other missionary children.”

Hastings said she has wanted to write this book for a long time.

“Mission Possible,” will be displaying and offering some of his artwork for sale during the event.

“The majority of it will be wildlife paintings,” Castellese said.

For every book purchased, attendees will be entered into a raffle for the chance to win one of three giveaways. The grand prize is an 8x10 inch watercolor portrait from a local artist, valued at $250, according to Heritage Association co-founder Connie Sexton.

The second prize is a print copy of one of Castellese’s first paintings, valued at $125. The third prize is a coffee basket, with bookmarks, postcards, and a mug with the “Mission Possible” cover design on them, she said.

“We’re giving out all different kinds of little things that all pertain to the book,” Sexton said. “We try to make it fun for everybody.”

Sexton said this will be the first big event in Studio 42 since the Heritage Association and Artworks of Hillsdale County, who share the space, started renovations last year.

The screening costs $75, but a flexible spending account or health savings account could cover the expense.

“Access to affordable and quick screenings like this are one of the best ways for patients and those of our community to really have an opportunity to take control of their own health,” Lott said.

“It’s a way to keep their story alive for future generations,” she said. “Not only is there a sense of accomplishment attached to something completed, but there is fulfillment in knowing that you’ve put in the time to create something that may make a difference in someone else’s life.”

In addition to Hastings’ work, local artist John Castellese, who helped design the book cover for

“We decided in the fall that we were going to make it a fine art studio,” Sexton said. “It will pretty much be our first big event in the renovated studio space. We’re pretty excited.”

Sexton said there will be free admission and refreshments will be provided.

“Morning refreshments will be geared toward brunch types of food, and then from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. will be afternoon appetizers,” she said. “Come in and browse around and get a book.”

Airport navigates Michigan winter

By Olivia Hajicek Assistant Editor

“Hey, how’s your runway look?” a jet radioed to the Hillsdale Municipal Airport on Friday.

“Looks great,” Airport Administrator Ginger Moore said.

“Okay, we’ll be landing around 3 o’clock.”

Pilots often call the Hillsdale Municipal Airport during winter to make sure the 5,000-foot runway is safe for landing. The airport keeps everything clear for winter flights, making sure that pilots and flight students can safely land their planes.

Moore said it is up to pilots to determine whether conditions are safe for landing their planes, as the airport is an uncontrolled field.

“Usually we just have a radio in the plow truck so we can listen to see if anyone’s coming in, and then the pilots can decide. We can tell them what the runway conditions are, and it's up to them to decide if they want to try coming in

or not.”

She said they very rarely close the runway altogether.

“The only time we would close the runway so they couldn't come in is if we had a really heavy snow event and we couldn’t get the snow off the runway,” Moore said. “But no one would really be flying during that anyway, so it's never been really a big issue.”

Moore said the airport has not seen much snow yet this winter.

“The first time we used our plow truck was actually this last snow that we just got,” she said, referring to the Jan. 25 snowfall. “When it snows and we get an inch or two, we get the plow truck out and start plowing — the active runway first, then the taxiways, and then the parking lot and driveway.”

Line Manager Steve Boyd said they have a plow truck like the ones on the county roads, but cannot use salt as it would cause metal on the planes to rust.

“When it snows we take that out and we just start

plowing from the center of the runway to the outside of the runway to keep it clear,” Boyd said. “You can’t use salt or anything on the runways or tarmacs or anything like that.”

Staff rely on snow blowing and plowing, with a little help from the sun, to keep the runway as dry and clear as possible. Boyd said they have to be careful where they scrape the snow.

“If we can get it scraped down to the asphalt as quick as possible with the sun coming out, it will dry it out,” Boyd said. “You want to keep the piles of snow at a low height because of the wings of the plane.”

He said they also need to keep the runway as smooth as possible and free from ice chunks.

“It's a major no-no for a plane,” Boyd said, “because airplanes can’t dodge.”

According to Boyd, planes can have equipment like de-icer, rubber boots, and heated propellers to help them navigate icy conditions, though planes mostly kept in warm

climates don’t usually have these features. While large planes are built to burn off ice, Jack Cooperwasser, a certified flight instructor at Skywalker Flying in Adrian, said it can be a much worse problem for small planes.

“We gain more weight, we gain more drag, and we lose lift, so all bad things,” Cooperwasser said. “Even frost, if there’s an eighth inch of frost, we can lose lift by as much as 40% and increase drag by as much as 30%.”

Boyd said students at flight schools in Jackson and Adrian sometimes fly into the airport for practice. Cooperwasser said he has flown into the Hillsdale airport 10 or 15 times, usually in training flights.

“Funny enough,” he said, “I had a friend who went to Hillsdale, and so I picked her and her boyfriend up a few times at Hillsdale and brought them back to Ann Arbor where her parents are.”

Cooperwasser said flying in the winter is actually easier in many ways.

“You have better

performance. You have more lift. The engine performs better,” he said. “The airplane overall just performs better both aerodynamically and with engine power.”

Cooperwasser said dealing with clouds is an exception. He said he teaches new pilots to avoid them.

“Sometimes it can be a bit of a pain because clouds are usually a little lower in the winter,” he said. “In our trainer aircraft we don’t have any way to get rid of ice if we collect ice on our airplane, so we have to stay out of clouds because that’s where icing can happen in the winter. Anytime there’s visible moisture,

Correction:

for example clouds, it is possible to get icing.”

Cooperwasser said a plane cannot take off again until the ice has melted. He said extreme cold can cause problems too. “If it gets too cold, like if it goes below zero degrees Fahrenheit, we might come across some other issues. The engine might start coughing, wanting to quit on you. If you shock-cool it, if we jam in the throttle too fast, that’s too much cold air into the engine at once and it might choke the engine and stall.”

He said this usually happens when they make a quick landing and then take off again, what pilots call a “touch and go.”

A Feb. 2 article titled "Both county Republican factions send competing delegates to state convention" incorrectly said a judge issued an injunction against the HCRP's "America First" leadership on Nov. 15, barring the group from political activities while the case is in court.

The order actually barred defendants, the party's thenleadership -- and not the group itself -- from political activities while the case is in court.

“One patient had an atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that often leads to blood clots.”

Airport employees keep the runway clear of ice and snow.

Olivia Hajicek | Collegian

“Local schools, mostly high schools, get threats on a regular basis.”

Women's Basketball

By Moira Gleason Collegian Reporter

Despite a 29-point game from senior Grace Touchette, the Hillsdale women’s basketball team fell 94-60 to the undefeated Ashland University Eagles on Thursday night. Two days later, the Chargers got their first conference road win of the season with a second half push to defeat Ursuline College 66-55.

Tied with Walsh University for sixth place in the G-MAC, Hillsdale is now 14-11 overall and 7-8 in the conference. The Chargers have recorded the most wins overall this season since the 2018-2019 season, the last time they made the conference tournament.

Nine players scored for the Chargers Thursday night, led by Touchette who shot 10-for-17 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to finish with 29 points and four rebounds. Even with this performance, the Chargers couldn’t match No. 1 Ashland, who sank 11 3-pointers in the first half and took

Men's Tennis

a 55-30 lead heading into halftime. Hillsdale kept scoring close in the third quarter, hitting 17 points for Ashland’s 20, but the Eagles pulled away in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

“They shot the lights out,” said senior Maverick Delp. “It wasn’t a bad game for us. Grace Touchette played incredibly. I don’t really think anyone in the league can guard her, so she ended up really carrying us in the first half. Good competition, so we have to take the positives from that, which I think we did because going into Ursuline, we were pretty fired up.”

Sophomore Caitlin Splain scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds for the Chargers. Senior Sydney Mills led with nine rebounds and added three points. Sophomore Dani Salenbein chipped in six points.

“Preparing for a team like that, we tried to make it similar as we prepare for every team,” assistant coach Brooke Bailey said.

“I’m super proud of the way

our girls played and how they stayed composed and handled themselves whether we were making shots or not.”

The Chargers ended a 13-game road losing streak on Saturday with a critical road win against the Ursuline College Arrows. Trailing 30-25 at the half, Hillsdale put together a 10-1 run in the third quarter with 3-pointers from Mills and sophomore Carly Callahan to pull ahead.

Salenbein scored seven points in three minutes in the fourth quarter. The Arrows cut Hillsdale’s lead to 59-55 with 1:12 to go, but the Chargers made four defensive stops and went 7-of-8 at the line to secure the win.

Ten players scored for Hillsdale against Ursuline. Salenbein led with 15 points off the bench. Mills hit 14 points and snagged 14 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Callahan added nine points, and sophomore Peighton Nelson scored six points with five rebounds.

Sophomore Lauren Mc -

By Emily Schutte Collegian Reporter

The spring season started with a pair of victories, over Cornerstone and Davenport, for the Hillsdale men’s tennis team.

“In our matches this weekend we showed off our depth in the singles and doubles lineup,” head coach Keith Turner said.

The Chargers went 6-1 both days, outplaying their opponents in almost every match. In Saturday’s competition against Cornerstone, each of the players won at least one singles or doubles point for the team. On Sunday, Hillsdale grabbed its second win of the weekend, and is now 3-0 this season.

Saturday’s match against Cornerstone started off strong with senior Brian Hackman and freshman Nik Wastcoat taking a 6-1 win as the No. 2 doubles team for the Chargers.

“I've never played them before, but my coach said that they are a very good NAIA school, so we didn't underestimate them at all,” Hackman said. “No. 2 is the highest I've ever played in the lineup. I knew I would have a tough opponent, but I've just been really focused on my fitness and just being able to be really consistent and just play a bit more de-

Donald also added five points off the bench.

“I thought Peighton Nelson and Lauren McDonald, along with Dani, really solidified us and helped push the lead for us in the fourth quarter,” head coach Charlie Averkamp said. “To finally come out in that fourth quarter and get one was exciting for all of us.”

The Chargers face Walsh at home on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. as they fight for one of the three remaining spots in the G-MAC tournament. Saturday is senior and alumni day as the Chargers face Lake Erie at home at 1 p.m.

“Walsh is a very tough team,” Delp said. “They’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of different weapons. We’ve got some different defenses ready, changing it up between zone and man. We’re expecting a battle, so we know it’s going to come down to a two, three point game hopefully in the fourth. That’s kind of what we’re looking for. We’re hoping we’ll be able to put the ball in the basket there at the end.”

Chargers bounce back from loss to Ashland, defeat Ursuline on the road Chargers grab two victories in weekend matches

fense than I’m used to.”

Hackman had a rough first singles match, losing 4-6, but he quickly recovered by winning his next set, 6-3 and winning a super-tiebreak, 12-10, earning the match point for the Chargers.

Sophomore Daniel Gilbert and senior Tyler Conrad, the No. 3 team, followed suit with a 6-1 victory, helping to clinch the doubles point.

“It was a very good weekend,” Conrad said. “I was especially happy with how doubles went. I've never really played very much with Dan Gilbert before in dual matches, and I was glad to see that we were able to quick and take out a couple pretty strong teams without very much trouble.”

Junior Brennan Cimpeanu said injuries last year kept the depth of the roster shallow. But player additions during the offseason have improved the team’s chances, he said.

“We would go into every match knowing we would be losing,” Cimpeanu said. “This year, not only are we back like mentally and physically just healthy now, but we have three new players that just add so much to our team.”

Cimpeanu won two straight sets in singles, 6-1, 6-1, while freshman Aidan Pack won his set tiebreak,

6-1, 2-6, 10-3. Both Conrad and Sean Barstow, the teams Nos. 4 and 5 singles players, claimed points from their matches. Conrad with a 6-4, 6-4 victory and Barstow with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. “We came out and we showed that we're going to be competing at a high level this year,” Barstow said. “We lost pretty badly to Davenport last year, and then we came out and beat them pretty handily.”

Sunday was an equally strong day for the team. The No. 2 doubles partners, Hackman and Wastcoat earned a 6-4 victory while the No. 3 doubles team, Gilbert and Conrad, pulled the Chargers ahead with a 6-2 victory.

“We really showed off our depth, because our lineup,” Gilbert said. “We have five guys that could beat one another any day of the week.”

Singles were again dominated by Cimpeanu, who won the 7-3 second-set tiebreak.

“I'm a singles player through and through,” Cimpeanu said. “It's just my strong suit because I can just do whatever I want in the court. Not really having to worry about anything else.”

Hackman, No. 3 singles on Sunday, also clinched a 6-4, 6-0 victory that secured

his 4-0 win streak for the weekend.

Conrad and Barstow had matching wins, 6-1, 6-1 while Gilbert achieved another point for the Chargers with his 7-5, 6-2 victory.

“Our team is really deep this year,” Barstow said. “I didn't play great doubles, but the other two teams picked it up and covered for us. And then singles wise we all played solid, yeah the freshmen they went out and showed that they were ready to play.”

Among the many injured last season was Hackman, who was out with a labral tear.

“My serve is a lot slower than pre-injury, so I don't really get very many free points,” Hackman said. “So I really have to hussle around and earn every point, and I was prepared to do that.”

Gilbert said the main struggle the team faced was early-season jitters.

“I think for opening weekend, a lot of people have kinda a lot of nerves that they need to work through,” Gilbert said. “We haven't played a match since September, so I think once we get a little more into match play people are feeling comfortable at the beginning of matches, then we'll do a little better.”

Shotgun from A1 Softball

During the 2022 National Championships at the John A. Halter Shooting Sports Center in Hillsdale, Michigan, Corbin placed sixth, making the national team for USA Shooting.

“For this World Cup, they were going to take the top five shooters, and two of the top five decided not to go, so that opened up a position for me to be able to go,” Corbin said.

According to Corbin, participating in the 2024 Olympics depends on the U.S. fulfilling quotas for international competition in trap, skeet, and individual ranking points. The U.S. is currently qualified in men's and women’s skeet and men’s trap. The U.S. will need to place in women’s trap to participate in the Olympics.

Once the U.S. is qualified to participate in the Olympics, Corbin must qualify for the Olympic team by scoring ranking points.

“I have to travel to at least one more shoot, such as a World Cup or World Cham-

pionship, and then I have to place first or second within the country. It’s a whole process,” Corbin said.

In addition to competing internationally, Corbin continues to shoot with Hillsdale’s shotgun team.

“Everybody has been great teammates for the two years I’ve been on the team,” Corbin said. “We all get along well, have good team chemistry, and push ourselves to shoot better.”

Corbin is not the only shotgun team member with his eyes set on the Olympics. Senior Ida Brown, freshman Jordan Sapp, and assistant shotgun coach Caitlin Connor-Royer were awarded medals at World Cups in 2022.

“Hillsdale pushes people to become the best version of themselves. This is true in our athletics as well,” Hintz said. “Our international athletes are given opportunities to hone their craft in practice and receive coaching from some of the best. We are not afraid to compete at all levels.”

Hillsdale softball gears up for spring season

By Olivia Pero Assistant Editor

The Hillsdale softball team has been preparing for its spring season by batting indoors, swimming, cycling, and reading.

“I think we look good to return at or near the top of our conference,” head coach Kyle Gross said. “We have a lot of new faces and so we're going to need to get them experience, but we have a really solid returning team and good things are expected this year.”

According to sophomore pitcher Joni Russell, the team will face tough competition such as the Ohio Dominican Panthers, the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans, and the Findlay Oilers in the G-MAC.

“We're ranked fourth this year, which was kind of hard for us since we won the

G-MAC last season,” Russell said.

The team has been doing a lot of indoor batting practice at the new softball hitting facility behind the baseball team’s barn, Gross said. They have also been doing a lot of pitching reps with a new pitching machine.

In addition to basic softball training and lifting, the team has been swimming and cycling, assistant coach Ericka Hess said.

“Day in and day out, we’re practicing all the time,” Russell said. “We’re focusing a lot on our mental game this year and are reading a book, ‘The Champion’s Mind.’ We’re talking more about ourselves as players and not defining ourselves based on our performance.”

After losing eight senior starters, Gross said one of the team’s challenges will be

getting the freshmen and players who have not played as much into consistent roles.

“When you lose that much experience, even though we have a lot of talent coming up, that experience is tough to replace,” Gross said. “The only thing that can replace that is time itself and playing.”

According to Gross, the entire pitching staff is returning from last year as well as freshman Mackenzi Maxson.

“I would say as a whole, we have a very strong pitching staff and some upperclassmen that are going to greatly contribute offensively,” Gross said.

Russell said the team dynamics have been great so far this year.

“Everyone's a team player, and everyone's trying to help each other out,” Russell

said.

Hess, in her first year as assistant coach, said she is eager to know the players better and what motivates them.

“I'm excited to get to know the girls as competitive softball players: why they play the game and who they are on the field,” Hess said.

Russell said her goal this season is to be excited about the game and have fun playing the sport she loves.

“I did really well my freshman year, so there is some pressure to perform well again, but I'm trying to not have that pressure,” Russell said.

The team will begin non-conference play in the Tusculum Round Robin Friday and Saturday in Tennessee.

Grace Touchette scored 29 points against Ashland University last Thursday.

Courtesy | M C kenna e I CHH olz

Brennan Cimpeanu went undefeated in singles matches last weekend.

Courtesy | Isabella sH ee H an

Women's Track

Chargers earn provisional marks, throw team maintains No.1 spot

By Tracy Wilson

Design Editor Hillsdale’s women’s track and field team is ranked third overall this week in the NCAA Division II Midwest region.

Following the Jud Logan Light Giver Open at Ashland on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, the Chargers took home several victories, including multiple provisional qualifying marks. For the second week in a row, the women’s weight throw team is ranked first among NCAA DII weight throw teams.

“It was a really good step in the right direction,” head coach R.P. White said. “We had a lot of really good things happen. Not every-

Swim

By Maddy Welsh

News Editor

Charger swim started this year’s conference championship meet with standout individual and team swims to earn points for what could be the team’s fourth consecutive championship win.

“We are very upbeat and optimistic but also understand that Findlay has reloaded with three fourths of their scoring nucleus being freshmen we haven’t seen at

thing goes your way at a big track meet like that, but for the most part, the overarching emphasis was that we’re turning in the right direction as we approach championship season.”

Sophomore Shura Ermakov excelled at the Light Giver Open, hitting the provisional mark in the Open 400 with a time of 55.63. Ermakov and teammates Gwynne Riley, Reese Dragovich, and Meg Scheske, also hit a provisional mark in the women’s 4000 meter distance medley relay with a total time of 11:41.

“My leg on the DMR is the shortest by far, so a lot of success is due to the mile leg, and the 1200 and the 800,” Ermakov said. “It was fairly

unexpected for me to PR in the open 400 by a lot. I was just hoping to hit close to the provisional mark.”

Sophomore Reagan Dahlquist said she was impressed by Ermakov’s success. “What stood out to me was when Shura ran a 55 second 400. That was a crazy personal record for her,” Dahlquist said. “I was shocked, and she was super happy about it.”

Dahlquist placed first in the women’s high jump. She jumped 1.65m, which was her best so far this season.

“I had been in a little bit of a rut for the first few meets this season,” Dahlquist said. “This meet, it just

came together. I was able to execute the stuff we’ve been practicing. All the pieces fit, and I ended up being able to jump a season’s best. I had a miss at one of my heights but I handled that fairly well, and I went ahead and made it on my second attempt at it.”

There were several other standout team members this weekend. Sophomore Katie Sayles took second in the weight throw event, throwing 18.67m. Senior Nikita Maines took fourth in the weight throw, throwing 18.20m. In the women’s shot put, sophomore Averi Parker took second with a throw of 14.52m, while Maines took fourth with a throw of 13.69m.

White said it's standard

a championship before,” head coach Kurt Kirner said. “We are focused however on our performances and not on what anyone else is doing or capable of.”

The team traveled to Canton, Ohio, earlier this week for the G-MAC/MEC meet which began Feb. 7 and will close this Friday, Feb. 10. After preliminaries in the morning, the team finished second in the first timed final of the championship, the 200 yard medley relay. Senior

Sports Opinion

By Josh Newhook Digital Editor

More than 50 million adults in the United States are expected to bet $16 billion on Super LVII, according to survey results released by the American Gaming Association, setting a record. But while the Philadelphia Eagles still hold the line as 1.5-point favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs, the majority of betters are wrong. At first, it might appear as if the Eagles should be even stronger favorites than the spread suggests. They finished top 10 in passing yards and top five in rushing yards, averaging more than 147 yards per game. In addition, the Eagles' combina-

tion of a stellar offense and a stingy defense allowed them to soar to third in points for and eighth in points against, placing them at a third-best +133 point differential in the regular season. All this amounted to a first-time 8-0 start and a record-high 14 wins during the regular season.

Nevertheless, as all football enthusiasts know, the postseason is a different animal. Anything can happen on game day. With the NFL top-gun quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the other side of the ball, the Chiefs have a far better chance at bringing home a third Lombardi Trophy.

Mahomes, who will be starting in his third Super Bowl in four years, is

Leah Tunney, sophomore Joanna Burnham, senior Anika Fassett, and freshman Julianna Weir finished the race in 1:46.26 to beat their own record time.

Sophomore Elise Mason remains the reigning G-MAC champion in the 1000 yard freestyle which she won with a time of 10:19.37. This swim was a personal best time – last year at the championship meet she swam it in 10:28.08 – as well as a NCAA B cut time. She was also 17

no newcomer to the big game. In fact, now that the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady has retired, he has the most Super Bowl appearances of any active starting quarterback.

He is coming off a stellar season with a career-high 67.1% pass completion and a league-leading 5,250 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns, enough to earn him a second First Team All-Pro nod and make him the clear favorite for what would be his second NFL MVP honor.

Mahomes led the Chiefs to the No.1 scoring offense this season despite the odds. For the first time in his career, Mahomes was without his longtime favorite wide receiver target, four-time first-team All-Pro Tyreek Hill, who left for Miami in a

seconds ahead of the second place finisher who swam a 10:36.21.

Four Chargers stood on the podium for the 200 yard individual medley. Burnham placed third with a time of 2:07.47. Junior Caroline Holmes finished fourth (2:09.76), Tunney sixth (2:11.10), and sophomore Emma Dickhudt tied an Ashland University athlete for seventh with a time of 2:14.67. Senior Marie Taylor tied

for the throwers to throw for provisional marks.

In the women’s pole vault, sophomore Morgan Iverson tied for third place with two other opponents, each hitting 3.65m.

In the 5000m run, junior Natalie Martinson took third with a time of 18:13.09. Fellow distance runners Riley and Scheske took first and second respectively in the 3000m run. Riley finished with a time of 10:01, with Scheske following close behind at 10:08.

In the pentathlon, sophomore Neva Polo took second place overall with an overall scoreof 3166. Junior Allison Nimtz, who also competed in the pentathlon, took first in the pentathlon shot put with

a throw of 10.93.

Sophomore Louisa Klaserner took first in the 60m hurdles, finishing at 8:93.

“Louisa hit a PR in the 60 hurdles, which is not unexpected, but it was cool to watch her do that, especially since she’s been working through a lot with hurdling,” Ermakov said. Ermakov said the team’s success at this meet was good preparation for competing at Ashland in a few weeks.

“It’s significant that we were able to perform well at Ashland because that’s also where we’re holding conference in 3 weeks,” Ermakov said. “It was good to get a feel of the track there.”

a Findlay University freshman for first in the 50 yard freestyle, which she won last year as well. Both swimmers finished in 23.93 and earned NCAA B cut times. Weir came sixth in the sprint race with a time of 24.32.

To close the first day, the Chargers finished second in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.32. Weir, sophomore Lily Golladay, Tunney, and Taylor participated in the event.

These performances put

trade last March. In addition, Mahomes has had to battle an injury throughout most of the playoffs, after suffering a high ankle sprain in the first quarter of the divisional round game against the Jaguars, which sidelined him for the rest of the half. Nevertheless, he played through the pain to help his team hold off the Jaguars in the second half and outgunned rival Joe Burrow in the championship game.

Mahomes said his ankle is “definitely better” ahead of Super Bowl weekend, according to CBS Sports.

With a healthy body, the league’s best asset is set to make a splash in comparison to Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is in only

his second postseason appearance and has won four times fewer postseason games than Mahomes.

Just as Mahomes learned earlier in his career when facing Brady, who ended his career 2-0 against Mahomes in the postseason, experience matters. Mahomes reflected on his growth even since last year’s conference championship during the NFL’s Super Bowl interviews on Tuesday.

"I think when you've been in some big games now a couple of years in a row, you've learned from your mistakes," Mahomes said in an interview after the victory over the Bengals.

He also has the experience of losing a Super Bowl, which he sees as motivation

Hillsdale in a strong second place at the end of the first day, just 46.5 points behind rival Findlay but 151 points ahead of third-place Ashland.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better attitude to start the meet with,” senior Sydney Slepian said. “The energy on the deck was absolutely electric. Everyone is doing so well and we are so excited for what the future holds for us in the next two days.”

for this year’s big game.

“The win is amazing. It’s one of the best moments of your entire life. You take away all the positives from that,” Mahomes said Monday at the Super Bowl's opening night. “But that loss, that stings. That motivates you for years. What it’s done for me is it’s motivated me to be back in this game again. I want to make sure that I can have that winning feeling and not that losing one because that losing feeling is one you’ll never forget.”

Mahomes will be the X-factor in whether he encounters the losing feeling again this year, but with his experience and the Chiefs’ success, his team is in the perfect position for an upset.

CHarger Chatter

e rin K apteyn

you win a championship game. What meal are you having to celebrate?

We always go to Chick-fil-A. It’s God’s chicken. I get the 12-piece chicken nuggets with waffle fries, a lemonade, and Chick-fil-A sauce.

if somebody means that much to you though.

C ompiled by l innea s H ively

C harger S port S

Baseball

Chargers win series over nationally ranked Lee

By Jillian Parks Social Media Manager

The Hillsdale baseball team defeated the topranked Lee University Flames in two-of-three games last weekend in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Coming into the weekend Lee was ranked 11th in the Collegiate Baseball NCAA DII poll and 18th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association DII poll.

“We had a great series this weekend,” head coach Tom Vessella said. “Taking two out of three from Lee showed what type of team we can be this year. This team has the potential to be

something special when we put all the pieces together. When we play solid defense and throw strikes, we can compete with anyone.”

Junior Brendan Pochmara said it was the most exciting weekend he has had as a Hillsdale College baseball player.

“To take a series from a top-ranked team nationally is a big statement for us,” Pochmara said. Hillsdale lost the first game 16-5 with the Flames scoring 10 runs before the Chargers got in one.

“One big moment was game one in general,” senior Aidan Brewer said. “I think that was a big wake-up call

for us. We came out pretty flat and weren’t able to get ourselves back in the game, but it lit a fire under us for games two and three where we knew what we needed to do.”

In game two, sophomore pitcher Tommy MacLean set the team up to start and junior pitcher Zane Barnhart closed it out, allowing offense to get him the run support he needed. Senior infielder Cody Kanclerz hit a homerun, tying the game at 1-1.

“I like where we are at the moment,” Vessella said. “The big thing for us will be continuing where we left off and playing solid baseball.”

In game three, junior first baseman Jeff Landis and junior outfielder Lewis Beals both hit home runs. Yet the most pivotal moment was Landis’ two-run single that gave the Chargers the lead in the ninth. Senior relief pitcher Dillon Manion also played a crucial role in the game.

“Overall, the team and I feel great about the weekend,” Brewer said. “It was great to get back on the field and compete against another team as opposed to just facing our own guys inside. I think there is still plenty of room for us to get better both individually, and as a team, which is exciting that we can keep improving.”

Vessella said he will be specifically focusing on improvements with the pitching staff in the coming week.

“We need to be a little better on the mound, getting ahead of hitters and throwing more strikes,” Vessella said. “Increasing our strike percentage will be a big focus for the pitching staff this week.”

Vessella also said there were some standout players last weekend.

“There were several standout performances this weekend,” Vessella said.

“Tommy MacLean and Zane Barnhart were fantastic in game two, holding Lee to just one run. Lewis Beals and

Jeff Landis both came up big for us at the plate in clutch situations to put us up on top in game three.”

The team will follow up this success with three games this weekend against Davenport University in Millington, Tennessee.

“They’re another regionally ranked opponent, and they’re always solid every year,” Pochmara said. “We opened up the season against them last year, stole two of three from them last year in Hoover, Alabama, so it’d be exciting to see those guys again. They’re a tough squad, but, I mean, we are too, and I think we just proved that.”

Basketball Gohlke ties school record, Chargers drop first home game of season

By Christian Peck-Dimit Associate Editor

Despite a program record-tying game from fifthyear guard Jack Gohlke, the Hillsdale men’s basketball team dropped its first home game of the season to the Ashland Eagles, 82-73, loosening the Chargers’ grip on the conference lead.

Gohlke knocked down 10 threes, tying Tim Homan’s record set in December of 2007. Hillsdale, however, gave up a season-high 82 points to Ashland, and was unable to dig itself out of a 15-point halftime deficit.

Following the loss, the Chargers dropped six spots to No. 15 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches national poll.

After shooting 1-of-7 from outside in the first half, Gohlke went an incredible 9-of-12 from three after halftime, finishing just one point shy of the program’s record for most points scored in a half.

“It’s tough to have that type of performance come in a loss, and I would take a big portion of the blame

Women's Tennis

for that game because in the first half obviously I did not perform that well,” Gohlke said.

The historic game moves Gohlke into the Hillsdale record books in other spots as well. With 69 made threes so far this year, he needs just three more to move into the eighth spot for most threes made in a single season. Additionally, he broke onto the top 10 list for most threes made in a career with 155.

“I’ve always enjoyed my time here and I looked up to some of those guys that came before me,” Gohlke said. “So to know some of those guys, those really good shooters that have been here before, trying to repeat what they’ve done and pass them in the record books is definitely pretty cool.”

Despite Gohlke’s performance, however, the Chargers were unable to complete a second-half comeback, and are now tied with the Walsh Cavaliers at the top of the G-MAC.

“I don’t think anyone was particularly happy with how we played and how we

performed, especially in the first half,” head coach John Tharp said. “I think everybody was pretty emotional and upset.”

Hillsdale, who maintains a top-10 scoring defense in the nation, allowed Ashland to shoot over 50% from the field and above 40% from outside.

The Chargers will have a chance to even the score with the Eagles in a few weeks, when the teams will match up in Ashland for the second-to-last game of the regular season.

“Defensively, we just need to make sure that going into that game, we’re going to key in on the performance their point guard had, he played really well and keyed their whole offense,” Gohlke said. “Overall just sticking with our matchups and sticking to our gameplan a little better than we did this time.”

In the meantime, Hillsdale will have its only matchup of the regular season against Walsh on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The winner would not only take sole possession of the

G-MAC lead, but it would also hold the tiebreaker over the loser, effectively giving it a two-game lead with four games remaining.

“Walsh is an outstanding basketball team with a terrific guard that runs the show,” Tharp said. “They shoot the ball particularly well, they have an inside game, they’re guarding at a really high level, we have to be ready to compete and execute.”

Unlike most weeks of the season, the team didn’t have a game on Saturday after its Thursday contest, and will have a full week between games.

“It’s tough having a buy at this time in the year, you’d probably be better off getting back on the floor on Saturday to get back on the floor and compete,” Tharp said.

Some of the players said, while they would have preferred to play right away, they were able to use the time to rest and regroup.

“We can reset mentally, I think this will be a good break for us,” sophomore Joe Reuter said.

Women's tennis triumphs 6-1 in first match of season

By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale women's tennis team defeated the Davenport Panthers on Feb. 5 in a hard-fought 6-1 home match.

Sophomore Libby McGivern and senior Ellie Chawner ran away with a dominating 6-0 lead in No. 2 doubles, and senior Canela Luna and freshman Megan Hackman secured a 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles for an impressive start to the day.

McGivern said that the key to her and Chawner’s initial success was their aggression and persistence.

“Sunday's match against Davenport went really well,” McGivern said.“My doubles partner Ellie Chawner and I had a quick win which was an amazing start to our spring season. We put a lot

of pressure on the other team from the start of the first game and played very aggressively which helped us keep the points short, saving up our energy for singles.”

At the No. 1 spot, senior Sarah Hackman won 6-1 and 6-1 in singles play, and junior Melanie Zampardo gave the Panthers a run for their money with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles.

“I thought the match went really well,” Sarah said.

“One thing I think that gave us an edge over Davenport was that we had great energy on and off the court, starting from the moment we began warmups.”

McGivern said Luna and Megan worked hard which helped the team achieve one of their main goals for the season.

“Canela Luna and Megan Hackman also had a great

win in doubles which led to us winning the doubles point,” McGivern said.

“Coach Fraboulet had us make team goals at the beginning of the fall semester, and one of our goals is to always win the doubles point so that was a great start to our year.”

Despite having to rally from earlier deficits, Luna flipped the script at No. 3 singles and took a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win in the end for the Chargers. McGivern remained undefeated with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles giving the Chargers the advantage before Megan sealed it with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Davenport at No. 6 singles.

“We had two awesome firsts that happened this weekend,” McGivern said.

“One was that freshman Megan Hackman won her first collegiate singles

match. The second first was that this was Coach Fraboulet's first win as head coach.”

For their first win of the season, McGivern said the Chargers’ victory over the Davenport Panthers was an amazing opportunity to perfect their skills, attain team goals, and celebrate their teammates’ strengths.

“Overall it was a great day and an amazing start to our season,” McGivern said. “We really set the tone that we will be the team to beat this year and we are all excited to keep up the high energy matches and keep winning.”

Hillsdale will have two more home matches this weekend, competing against Ferris State University Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. and Lewis University Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.

Jack Gohlke now has the ninth most career threes in Hillsdale program history.

Courtesy | Charles Miller

Culture

Curate community: women’s conference returns to campus

Hillsdale students, grads, and community convened Feb. 4 for the fourth annual Curate Women’s Summit.

The half-day event began in the Searle Center with a breakfast buffet. Participants had the chance to mingle and chat before the introductory talk by Dean of Women

Rebekah Dell. They then split up for four breakout sessions, punctuated by a catered Handmade lunch.

Featuring 15 talks and one panel discussion, Curate 2023 drew speakers from the Hillsdale faculty, community, and alumni, with topics such

as “Homemaking as a Liberal Art,” “Women’s Health,” “Things I Wish My Mother Had Taught Me,” and “Cultivating Hospitality.”

“When we started four years ago, it was from the desire to answer a lot of the questions we were hearing in the world of student affairs,” Dell said.

In response, Dell and her team tapped into the rich resource of women in the Hillsdale community.

“The lineup of speakers was really built around what’s resonated with women before, and the things women have said they’d love to hear,” Dell said.

In addition, she highlighted Curate’s focus on practicality.

Senior Artist Spotlight: Brianna Lambrecht

By Moira Gleason Collegian Freelancer

What led you to become a music major?

During my senior year of high school, I did all the college auditions and then decided I didn’t want to major in music. So my freshman year I went to Spring Arbor University, and I was a marketing major and a music minor.

A big reason why I initially decided I didn’t want to major in music was because I had instructors who were really good and gave me good technique, but were often demeaning or confusing. They weren’t really uplifting or showing me this was something I was good at. And then I had Professor Emily Douglass, who gave me phenomenal technique and had high expectations, but still was very kind. So that was why I went back into studying music.

Why did you decide to transfer to Hillsdale?

I had already decided I was going to leave Spring Arbor. Emily Douglass had been an adjunct at Spring Arbor and at Hillsdale. I chose to leave Spring Arbor in July of 2020, and I called her to tell her I wasn’t going to be coming back and I was going to be applying to other schools. And she was like, “you should consider applying to Hillsdale because I’m going to be teaching there full time now.” I always say that God was laughing at me in that moment because my older brother went here and I refused to apply here in high school. So I applied and I thought I would be coming in January, and then I found out five days before move in day that I was accepted for the fall.

“Part of it isn’t just having a conversation, but knowing where to go with the conversation, and feeling like you know how to take next steps,” Dell said. “There are a lot of bad messages out there right now. Women have to figure out how to sort through what’s good wisdom, and what’s trendy.” Appropriately, the theme of the summit was “Rooted.” Speakers aimed to teach young women how to examine their fundamental desires and grow through involvement in their community. They urged women to look toward the future while emphasizing the importance of putting goals into practice in the present.

In her talk “Homemaking

as a Liberal Art,” Elizabeth Schleuter encouraged her audience to pursue the role of motherhood, even after receiving a college education. Schleuter explained that nothing students do at Hillsdale will be wasted if they choose to pursue homemaking. She encouraged women to continue growing in excellence.

Curate kickstarted the mentorship process by giving students a wide array of dynamic, grounded female role models.

“It was really wonderful to see the different ways that they’ve embraced a common feminine vocation, while pursuing it very differently,” freshman Maria Schmid said.

Assistant Professor of Modern European History, Anna Vincenzi, delivered a talk titled “On Motherhood and Work.”

In it, she encouraged young women to find fulfillment through prioritizing their families and relationship with God, while also working in an area where they can have great personal growth, inside or outside of the home.

“Be open to the vocation God calls you to,” Vincenzi said. “Don’t be scared about how you’re made.”

Schmid explained her first Curate experience was very dignifying.

“I was really impressed with the setup and all the effort they put into making us

In addition to Prof. Douglass, who at Hillsdale has influenced you in music?

When you’re a music major, you have the same two professors for music history and then for music theory. Dr. Tacke I’ve had for theory, and I respect him so much because there have definitely been times that I’ve struggled at different points in those courses, and he’s very patient with people, so he’s been very influential and in that regard. Dr. Stauff, this is my second semester with him, and he is really focused on making his students good writers as well, which sounds very Hillsdalian. Outside of just wanting us to learn the material, he wants us to be able to write research papers and term papers and everything. So he’s been great to have as an extension of the great books one and two that I took in the core.

What have been your favorite parts of being a music major at Hillsdale?

You meet people from all corners of campus when you’re in the music department here because most of us are not music majors, so it’s bridged a lot of gaps for me. Our chamber choir was something that I joined right away and that I have a lot of fond memories from. Some of my dearest friends I met my very first semester in chamber choir. We’ve gone on different retreats. We traveled last year to Colorado, and that has definitely strengthened a lot of my friendships

And then this is just Hillsdale in general, but we have very small class sizes. My classes have six or seven people and for one of my upper level classes last semester, we’d sit in a circle and just talk, which is really nice. There’s also a wide variety of genres of music that you can get involved in here.

How have you seen the music major tie into the core classes and liberal arts curriculum of Hillsdale?

Within the mission of the liberal arts, and at least for Hillsdale, we still value the art part, which is great. You have the option within the core to take the music 206 or 204 class, which as a music major, that’s a prerequisite that you do have to take. But I would like to think that in all of our classes, even if it’s theory or history, my teachers have still been concerned with me as a person. I think we approach learning music from maybe a less secular perspective than you would at other schools. And then inevitably, you have your capstone at the end, which one of the first things we read is Aristotle talking about how it’s horrible to pursue the life as a professional musician, and we’re like, “Well, what

does he mean by that?”

Even as a music major, as something that’s not like English or history or economics, which you think of as very Hillsdalian, you still feel the influence of Hillsdale and your classes and it’s still different than how it is at other schools. And I know that just from sitting in on classes at other schools and going to a different school as well.

What are your plans after graduation?

I have applied to graduate school, and I’ve been doing auditions for that. But I’m also considering teaching– probably at a classical, charter, or private school, and it all just depends upon where I get into school and how much financial aid I get and whatnot. So I definitely want to go and get my master’s at some point, but it might not be next year.

feel special.”

Every part of the day celebrated womanhood, with the opportunities to learn and build relationships, and a thoughtful selection of gifts for participants, including stationary and “Every Moment Holy,” a book of liturgies for daily life.

Equipped with new wisdom and joy, participants left the summit Saturday afternoon with concrete resolutions and a greater appreciation of the gift of womanhood. “I feel inspired to cultivate hospitality and develop virtue more intentionally, because those will bring a lot to bear on the way I live my life in the future,” Schmid said.

What to wear to Presidents’ Ball

By Kamden Mulder Collegian Reporter

When people think of Hillsdale College fashion, the first thing that comes to mind is a freshman decked out in business casual for their 8 a.m. philosophy lecture. The word “serve” is reserved for lunch in the dining hall, and when someone is “giving,” they’re putting money in the offering basket on Sunday morning.

Yet this year, power suits and Hillsdale social stereotypes are taking a back seat. The Met Gala is making its college debut, setting the tone for a groundbreaking President’s Ball.

The Met Gala is an annual ball held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Celebrities such as Blake Lively, Madonna, and even Elon Musk are typically in attendance. The objective: to raise money for the museum’s Costume Institute. Not only is the “Met” the most coveted social event of the year, but it is also an opportunity for the world’s elite to make their biggest fashion statements.

Anna Wintour, best known as the editor-in-chief of Vogue, is the brain behind the event. In conjunction with the ball, the Metropolitan Museum unveils its newest costume exhibit. The thesis of that exhibit is the theme for the ball.

While it may be a glorified costume party, celebrities, social media moguls, and athletes alike work with top designers to create a cohesive look that encapsulates the theme presented in the exhibit.

Past themes of note include: “The Glory of Russian Costume,” “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years,” and “Camp: Notes on Fashion.”

Even with the annual theme change and ever-evolving fashion trends, the common denominator of the Met Gala is its extravagant take on typical red carpet fashion. While some celebrities follow the theme to a tee, others reject

it completely (which is so “camp”), and every person who walks up the infamous museum steps is sure to take the world by storm. For President’s Ball this year, students have been given a unique opportunity to embrace their creativity. In contrast with the actual Met Gala, there is no subtheme that attendees must adhere to. Students must embody the “Met”: be innovative, eclectic, unprecedented, and wholeheartedly themselves.

How does this translate to tangible fashion advice?

First and foremost, the theme is begging everyone to break the rules, which is something Hillsdale students tend to struggle with.

President’s Ball typically calls for long, “prom style” dresses. This year, wear something short. Shy away from that black, strapless, bodycon dress.

Only own black? This is the moment to lean into accessorizing. A colored heel can completely change an outfit and a pair of earrings or a necklace that coordinates with the shoes is the perfect way to create a cohesive look.

Magenta is the Pantone Color of the Year. Not only is it a jewel tone, which compliments the winter season, but the bright pink hue will help anyone stand out in the crowd. Winter white is also a bold choice. Although white after Labor Day is typically avoided in more conservative communities, the theme invites controversy and risk taking, something a white dress would lend itself to.

For the men, suits are still an acceptable fashion choice. This is the traditional choice for male students, and although it contradicts the advice for female students, a classic suit is the way to go.

The most important piece of advice: be yourself. That is truly what a theme like this is all about. Sure, it alludes to exaggerated patterns, asymmetrical hemlines, or puffy sleeves, but confidence is the best accessory.

Caroline Kurt Collegian Freelancer

Brianna Lambrecht soaks in the moment after performing a solo in Christ Chapel.

Courtesy | Brianna Lambrecht

Culture

After snow melted, igloo remains: Galloway builds new home

By Cassandra DeVries Collegian Freelancer

A 12-foot-wide igloo appeared on the lawn outside Galloway overnight after the snow storm two weeks ago. When freshmen Connor McCormick, Will Deaton, Ty Ruddy, Seth Jankowski, and Colsen Conway were bored Wednesday evening, McCormick convinced his friends to build an igloo, thinking it would be an easy feat.

“We thought that if we built an igloo, it would just be really quick and easy.” Deaton said. “But Connor goes to make the outline, and he just does this giant circle.”

Jankowski also doubted their ability to carry out McCormick’s plan.

“I thought, there is no way we are going to build that,” Jankowski said. “But Connor said that we’d find a way.”

They started by gathering snow in garbage cans

and storage bins. Once the bins were filled, the friends stomped the snow into bricks and placed the bricks around the circle’s circumference. The bricks towards the top were surprisingly heavy, requiring one or two people to hold them in place while the others packed them in with snow. Each layer took approximately an hour. As the walls grew, Galloway’s snow supply shrank, forcing the builders to traipse further and further away to make their bricks. By the end of the night, the only snow left around Galloway was part of the igloo. As the igloo slowly developed, many people stopped to contribute or encourage the builders.

“Throughout the night, random people showed up to help for 20 to 30 minutes, even at 3 a.m.,” Colsen marveled.

Some people carried over snow, others made bricks, and most came for moral support. Around 11

p.m., a group of unknown girls brought the builders candy. At midnight, security stopped to investigate, Colsen explained.

“Right as we got the top done, security showed up and asked what was going on.”

A few hours later, the police arrived on the scene, talked to the builders and volunteered to take

pictures of the Galloway men and their igloo.

At 1 a.m., McCormick, Deaton, Ruddy, Jankowski, and Conway started on the ceiling and committed to finishing the igloo that night. After a quick trip to Taco Bell for sustenance, the men of Galloway built the doorway, smoothed the exterior, and sprayed the igloo with water to

Collegian’s guide to Valentine’s Day

By Haley Strack Senior Reporter

Whether you’re dormbound or able to travel far, here are some date ideas for the special day:

Pizza Date Night

Enjoy a couples pizza-making class for $65 at Tiki Sam’s Pizza in Horton on Monday night. The experience includes custom aprons and toppings galore — plus, it’s far enough from campus that you and your sweetheart are guaranteed privacy. Visit tikisamspizza.com to book your spot (gluten and dairy-free options included, in case your valentine is picky).

Catch a Show

With options ranging from “Titanic” to “Puss in Boots” to “Avatar,” Hillsdale’s movie theater is a great date option. The Collegian doesn’t endorse illegal activity. If we did, we may encourage readers to get to their seats early and send one person to Little Caesar’s, allowing the second to smuggle them and a pizza back through the exit door well before showtime.

Dance the Night Away

If you’re willing to drive, Sharon’s Dance Studio in Kalamazoo is hosting a Valentine’s Couple Workshop on Tuesday evening. The ballroom dance lessons are $25 per couple. RSVP to sharons_dance@yahoo.com or call 269-544-2420.

Sushi-Making Sushi kits sell for as low as $11 on Amazon. Impress with your cooking skills (rice isn’t too difficult to get right) if you want a night in. Peanut avocado or vegetable rolls do the trick just fine if raw fish grosses you out.

Art Spot Paint pottery at Toasted Mud, which is just a short walk from campus. Pottery options range from $5 and up.

Listen to the Music

Head to Howard Music Hall at noon on Valentine’s Day for a performance by the Joy String Quartet. With free desserts and a sprinkle of Broadway and jazz music, this one’s sure to hit.

For a Thrill Michigan boasts some of the most haunted places in the country, sure to impress your thrill-seeking partner. About 11 miles from Hillsdale, Church Road is allegedly haunted by a man who killed his family then himself. Many have seen glowing red eyes peering at them from the cornfield — and who doesn’t love red on Valentine’s Day? Also just a short drive from campus, the medical care facility Maple Lawn used to be an asylum. The building is privately owned, but that shouldn’t stop you from exploring outside. For a more romantic, albeit more boring spooky date, take a romantic graveyard walk.

Sports Moment

With weather predictions in the 40s, a hike or bike ride on Lewis Emery Park’s scenic trails would be a great afternoon date idea. Pack a picnic or grab sandwiches to-go.

Boozy Fun Stop in for a nightcap or a game night at everyone’s favorite hang spot. Rough Draft’s Valentine’s Day drink is a cranberry-lemon moscow

mule, garnished with rose petals.

Duel it Out

What Collegian reporter Aidan Cyrus ’22 once deemed the “cure for Hillsdating,” Blade & Bones is the perfect place to test the strength of your relationship. Although the knife store doesn’t have a Valentine’s Day special (yet), call the owner to see if you can set up a dueling match with your loved one. Romance is sure to heat up as you’re whacking each other with PVC pipes. (Also: single Simpson boys looking for a place to drown their miseries might find this a good place to commiserate.)

For the Single Ladies (and Men)

You don’t need a date to celebrate love. Do all of the above with a friend or by yourself. Or — offer babysitting services to a professor or couple, bake, visit a bar, go ice skating in a neighboring town, or call your family.

Your soul is made for love. Act like it next week — perhaps over pizza or a duel.

Twain’s no longer the queen of country

By Hannah Cote Outreach Director

Shania Twain has taken off her cowgirl hat for good.

Beloved by many for her effortless country-pop anthems, Twain holds a legacy as one of the defining country stars of the ’90s.

Arguably her most famous album, “The Woman in Me,” won best country album at the Grammy Awards, album of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and country album of the year at the Billboard Awards. She’s received countless Grammys, Billboard awards, and World Music Awards for various songs and albums.

At 4 years old, I used to stand atop my couch singing and dancing to “I’m Gonna Getcha Good” for anybody that would listen. Thirty years later—and after a tough battle with Lyme disease—she’s still releasing music. But this latest creation is unrecog-

nizable next to her greatest hits.

Twain’s sixth album, “Queen of Me,” released on Feb. 3, remains far from a country-pop masterpiece. Instead, it’s 12 songs and 36 minutes of corny, pitiful pop. This album shouldn’t be placed in the country genre.

It seems that Twain is having an identity crisis as most of her new songs are comparable to Taylor Swift’s and Meghan Trainor’s cheesiest pop songs. The album opens with “Giddy Up!” a weak attempt at a rodeo line dance to get anyone on their feet (“Slide to the left, then slide to the right / Jump in the air, ‘til you’re 10 feet high”), making lazy references to the south just to mark off “country” on her checklist. It seems Twain is trying to prove she knows the lingo, too, through painfully awkward lyrics: “Drunk in the city, got a litty in the cup.”

True fans will notice that “Giddy Up!” and “Got it Good” seem oddly familiar. Why? Because of Twain’s old hit singles, “Up!” and “I’m Gonna Getcha Good.” Yet neither of these songs are good counterparts to their preceding songs. They fall flat, forcing a country twang that Twain has lost.

“Brand New” feels like a Rachel Platten breakup anthem; “Pretty Liar,” notably Twain’s first ever explicit song, sounds like Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” or “Made You Look”; “Number One” pulls out Twain’s classic “Uh-Ohs,” but is far too synthy for a country girl; and “Queen of Me,” the title song of the album, is just bad. It’s reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “ME!” which was a flop.

Twain is evidently trying to send a message in this album—she’s not just a girl. She’s the queen of herself. But this album only makes that less believable.

In a poor attempt to get

harden its outer shell.

The completed igloo had walls two and a half feet thick and weighed an estimated 3,000 lbs. The five friends easily fit inside.

Satisfied with the giant snow hut that now dominated Galloway’s lawn, McCormick, Deaton, Ruddy, Jankowski, and Conway headed to bed around 4 a.m.

During the following days, students stopped by on their way to and from classes to admire the igloo. They took pictures, crawled inside, and speculated about its creation.

When yellow stains appeared on the igloo’s surface, rumors circulated that Simpson residents vandalized the igloo by urinating on it. However, the builders confirmed the yellow stains were merely lemonade, albeit lemonade from Simpson.

Despite the igloo’s popularity among students, McCormick soon decided the igloo needed a

few renovations. He settled on a fire pit to make it more homey. Collecting wet sticks and cardboard, the Gallowayians dug a fire pit in the igloo’s ice floor and doused the sticks and cardboard in a healthy dose of lighter fluid. They carved a small hole in the top or the igloo for ventilation, and lit a fire. While the fire took off instantly, the smoke from the wet wood overpowered them leading to a hasty retreat. Not to be thwarted by nature, McCormick ordered a mini wood stove online for $16. Once it arrives, the group wants to spend the night in the igloo. McCormick is also debating adding a TV, so igloo visitors should not be surprised if extension cords start running between Galloway and the igloo. While only time will tell how many amenities an igloo can accommodate, affordable housing is now only a few hours of work and a yard full of snow away.

Harry Styles steals the show

By Micah Hart Circulation Manager

The big winner of the Grammy Awards was Harry Styles.

Styles took home the coveted album of the year award, beating out Beyoncé, who now holds the record for most Grammy wins in history. Styles also won the pop vocal album award for “Harry’s House.”

On top of his big win, Styles shined in his performance of “As it Was.”

His rendition was reminiscent of the music video for the smash hit, but included a significantly bigger group of people. The turntable set the scene as Styles sang the iconic tune, standing at the microphone for the majority of the song. Shimmering in a pantsuit while the dancers performed, Styles joined the group in the latter half for a high-energy performance.

her name out again and outshine up-and-coming female country artists— like Kelsey Ballerini, who just released an incredible pop-country album— Twain is only digging herself into a hole.

Over the weekend, Twain appeared on the “The Late Late Show” with James Corden. When asked to describe her album, she said, “I am celebrating happiness and joy and taking control of your own mood and your own spirit.”

Corden’s reply was simple: “Well, there are some absolute bangers on this album.”

That’s all he said about the music, because that’s all you can say. None of these songs stand out, none are comparable to past hits, and none fall in line with the old Shania Twain we know and love. The country pop star of my childhood has completely fallen off the charts.

Styles wasn’t the only musician to give an impressive performance. Lizzo rocked a gospel-styled rendition of “About Damn Time” and “Special.” The performance was definitely one for the books, as Lizzo created a powerful moment from two distinct songs that made for a unique and attention-grabbing experience. Onstage with Lizzo was a gospel choir, with a very toned down stage that had nothing but the performers on it. The singer was also adorned with a black cross necklace as she belted out her songs. Lizzo created a strong presence from very little scenery and action, something that seems increasingly rare in music these days.

After Lizzo’s performance, Sam Smith and Kim Petras delivered a show that also made use of Christian themes, but instead of glorifying, it was sacrilegious.

The duo performed their hit “Unholy,” in which they used visuals and props of Satan, fire, whips, and cages.

Conservatives such as Ted Cruz called out the performance. On Sunday night, Cruz retweeted Liz Wheeler’s critical comment about

the performance and wrote, “This…is…evil.”

This same song, however, won the best pop duo or group performance. Kim Petras also added to the historic victories on the Grammy stage, becoming the first trans-woman to win in the category, according to CNN. All of this drama just scrapes at the surface of what went down at Crypto.com Arena. Ninety-one Grammys were awarded throughout the day, whether it be at the preshow or the main event.

Overall, the show was a group of Hollywood elitists gathering together to celebrate the work they have done.

Some are shocked about Styles’ win over Beyoncé, but he deserved the coveted award. Both artists created strong albums, which is why they were nominated in the first place. At the end of the day, it comes down to who the judges thought had the best album. Feelings about a person or their accomplishments should not come into play. Both musicians are well respected and received in the industry, and a win by either should be considered a victory.

While it was great to see Beyoncé break a record, it was equally as terrible to witness Sam Smith and Kim Petras create a demonic atmosphere that praised both Satan and adultery.

The Grammys should be a night to celebrate music, but stunts put forth by people like Smith and Petras make it an undesirable show to watch.

Performances like those of Harry Styles and Lizzo deserve to be applauded for their focus on music and creating an atmosphere that supports true musicianship. Styles and Lizzo both brought energy to the stage, but they focused on the music. Both delivered different types of performances, yet expressed themselves in a respectful and thoughtful manner. The two didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but were still able to create memorable performances.

Seth Jankowski and Will Deaton pose in front of their functional igloo. Cassandra DeVries | Collegian

Harry Styles won several awards at the Grammys last Sunday. Courtesy | Grammys

FEATURES

‘All those things put together a total expression of me’

By Jillian Parks Social Media Manager

Stacey Jones was an international marimba competitor, composer, collegiate-level instructor, and orchestra member before she finished her undergraduate degree. She now works closely with prospective music students considering Hillsdale College.

Artist and music teacher of percussionist studies at Hillsdale College, Stacey Jones stepped into the role after her late husband, Eric Jones passed away in 2011. He joined the college’s music department, specializing in percussion, in August 2000. More recently, Stacey Jones has guided students through the admissions process as a department-specific counselor, all while pursuing her own musical endeavors.

“It was very exciting, and I was very honored,” Jones said. “It forced me to deal with the grief process. Every time I stepped into the building, I was able to celebrate Eric’s life too and what he accomplished there before I did.”

Growing up, Jones played everything from guitar to viola. In eighth-grade, she volunteered to play the timpani. After talking with a percussionist, she learned how to play a snare drum. She settled on percussion during high school.

“I think it sustained my interest and kept me focused because — it’s sort of crass to

say it this way — but there’s so many things you can hit,” Jones said. “I think another aspect of percussion that kept me interested over the long term was the physical movement of it. I’m also an athlete, so percussion felt like music that I could do while doing athletic movement and dancing. It felt like all those things put together a total expression of me.”

Sophomore Luca Vitale worked one-on-one with Jones when he transferred to Hillsdale and joined the music department.

“My first impression of Stacey was that she was a person who genuinely wanted to improve the music culture on campus, and she was incredibly kind and helpful in that process with me,” sophomore Luca Vitale said. “The music program here was the most important reason I transferred, and the help she gave was instrumental in my decision.”

Jones attended college at the University of Oregon where she originally planned on majoring in composition. She quickly realized her percussion lessons better piqued her interest.

Jones married her husband Eric Jones halfway through her undergraduate degree.

“Because he was four years older than me, and his career was four years ahead of mine, he went off to get his graduate degree in Pennsylvania, we got married, and I went with

him,” Jones said. “I couldn’t finish my degree there, so I had to work full-time selling furniture.”

The two formed the Equal Temperament Percussion Duo, commissioning music from composers and playing concerts together. Jones aided Eric in his doctorate-level recitals and continued her undergraduate studies at Michigan State. After she graduated, she had a daughter and came back to the college, where she was awarded the Catherine Herrick Cobb Fellowship. The fellowship is offered to students with “exceptional music talent,” enrolled in music or performing arts programs and covers tuition, room, board, books, and living expenses,” according to Michigan State University.

In the first year of the fellowship, she competed in concerto competitions, winning the Music Teachers National Association Young Artists competition as a percussionist. The second year of her fellowship got cut short.

“I never was able to go back because I was raising a family and working,” Jones said. “That’s the last education that I had.”

After Eric Jones passed away, Professor of Music James Holleman offered her a job at the college. Originally, the job focused on classical and jazz percussion. As Jones

is classically-trained, Holleman decided to exchange the jazz portion of the job with covering the music admissions process.

“I knew she was a good fit for our students and our department, and I wanted to support this family after losing Eric because he was a friend to all of us,” Holleman said. “Their two daughters call me Uncle Jim. And it meant a lot to me to get her in that position.”

According to Holleman, Jone’s role in music admissions has helped the department grow.

“Having somebody whose job was to coordinate with admissions on behalf of the music department, communicate with prospective students, set up their auditions with the different faculty in the department, collect all that information, feed that information to me, so we could then allocate scholarships and recruit, made all the difference in the world on our recruiting,” Holleman said.

Jones said she continues to learn and practice. She played the hardest piece she has ever had to learn in a recent recital.

“My recital, ‘On the Precipice,’ was about continuing to grow as a musician and trying new things,” Jones said. “While academic faculty may publish or present research,

College

By Isaac Green Sports Editor

When Assistant Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya agreed to teach an independent study of Russian at Hillsdale, she knew she was saying yes to more than instructing students in her native language. She was helping to preserve her culture.

“It’s been a long time since I left Russia, but I grew up speaking that language, reading that literature, and playing that music,” Navrotskaya said. “In a very profound way, I am culturally Russian. If I can do something, even a little tiny step to preserve that culture, I should, and I’m happy to.”

Three students now meet twice a week with Navrotskaya to study the language, two of them for credit. But at the beginning of the semester, Navrotskaya’s only student was senior Stella Webster.

Webster approached Navrotskaya about the study when she began considering pursuing Russian studies after graduation.

“I wanted to take Russian because I really love Russian history, but one of the prerequisites for doing that at a higher level is to know the language,” Webster said. “Since Hillsdale didn’t have a Russian program like they do with other languages, I thought, ‘I guess I’ll have to do it some other way.’”

Webster didn’t have to look far, since she and a small group of students already met with Navrotskaya weekly on Tuesdays to speak the language.

“We met once a week, and those who could speak already spoke to each other and those who didn’t speak at all just tried to learn a little bit,” Navrotskaya said.

When Webster decided that she wanted to pursue a formal study of the language, she Navrotskaya, and the professor agreed to talk to the registrar and organize the course.

Shortly after Navrotskaya began teaching Webster, sophomore Brennan Slade joined the independent study under the encouragement of his advisor, Jeffrey Hertel, an assistant professor of German.

“I was looking for other language options, and he told me that Dr. Navrotskaya offers an independent study of Russian and that I should email her just letting her know I’m interested,” Slade said. “I started in the second week of school.”

Slade’s interest in Russian springs from his love of the language itself as well as the culture and history that come along with it.

“I’ve always just had a personal interest in Russian,” Slade said. “I like the way it sounds; I think Cyrillic is a really neat alphabet. I think Russian culture and Eastern European culture is something that is not widely known or appreciated, and to have a chance to study that further here was a really neat opportunity.”

Navrotskaya said that she has tutored and given private lessons in Russian before but has never taught the language at a university level.

“It’s a different feeling for me because Russian is my native language,” Navrotskaya

said. “It’s more difficult because I don’t immediately know an explanation. I have to give it a thought. In French it’s easier because I went through my learning the same way my students are doing now, so I can anticipate questions or difficulties and I know what an explanation is.”

According to Navrotskaya, Russian can be a toxic subject on some college campuses because of the current political situation in Russia.

“That’s not my Russia, and it’s not the Russia that millions of people know, love, and would like to preserve,” Navrotskaya said.

Navrotskaya said that she hopes to be able to change that perception of Russia and its culture by teaching the language.

“If a student comes and says, ‘I want to learn Russian,’ I say, ‘Of course,’” Navrotskaya said. “Hopefully I can show or teach or share something that I know about Russian culture that goes completely against what the current Russian government is doing.”

For Navrotskaya, providing an authentic image of the culture helps to keep the present state of Russia from becoming its future, too.

“There are several prominent Russian writers who are now outside of Russia and had to emigrate, and many of them say that what is happening in Russia now primarily destroys Russian culture,” Navrotskaya said. “For those of us who find ourselves outside of Russia, it becomes our position, our job, our heritage, to preserve.”

presenting recitals is a primary way that music faculty can stay current in their field.

I a presented current and experimental solo percussion repertoire that challenged me technically and intellectually, and also included the use of multimedia technology.”

Now remarried, Jones spends her time outside of work caring for her family while preserving time for her many hobbies, which include landscaping, golfing, and cooking.

“Teaching at Hillsdale is very humbling — to see the students that are investing so much in their education. I especially am in awe of the musicians that continue to cut away pieces of their time from academia for their passion for music,” Jones said. “Being around that elevates me, and I want to make sure that I’m there for my students at the highest level when they need it.”

Students prepare to leave campus by working off-campus

By Olivia Pero Assistant Editor

If not for the professors and faculty strolling across campus, it would seem as though Hillsdale College is run by students. Need coffee? Just head over to AJ’s Café, and there’s a former lab partner from chemistry to take your order. Time to pick up a package?

There’s that kid from constitution class ready to help. While most students work up the hill, some students hoping to pursue medicine after graduation have made their way into town to find part-time work and career experience.

Sophomore Isaac Frigerio, who who works at the Hillsdale County Medical Care Facility as a certified nursing assistant, hopes to be physician’s assistant after graduation.

Frigerio said his job involves anything from walking residents to taking vitals to minor wound treatments.

“There’s a clear barrier between CNAs and nurses,” Frigerio said. “CNAs do the grunt work for nurses basically.”

Frigerio said he enjoys his job because he never knows what the residents will say and what stories they will tell.

“It’s fantastic,” Frigerio said. “I never know what’s going to come out of their mouths, but it’ll be funny. I also get to hear the residents’ life stories. We have people who’ve been in WWII, who have been all over the world, who have 40 grandkids and great grandkids, stuff like that.”

Frigerio’s employer requires him to work 16 hours per month, which he completes by working a weekend and one other shift. To be accepted to graduate school, he must complete 1000 hours of paid patient contact time.

Scheduling at the medical care facility is flexible, and Frigerio earns $18 an hour.

“I would go to work even without being paid, just to chat with the people there,” Frigerio said. “Some of them are the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”

Puppies, cats, birds, and baby goats are a part of junior Hannah Allen’s day when she’s working at Fieldstone Veterinary Care.

Since the summer of 2021, Allen has worked at Fieldstone.

“I’m mostly a receptionist, but I do a few odd jobs here and there,” Allen said. “I’ll clean packs, wrap them, and put them in the autoclave for surgery a lot, or I’ll do surgery charges.”

Allen decided to work off-campus for experience in the veterinary field, which interests her as a potential career.

“An on-campus job doesn’t really offer me anything for a potential veterinary career,” Allen said. “So that was kind of the motivation because you really need to have experience in a vet clinic in order to apply for vet school.”

Working at Fieldstone is a break from school and extracurriculars, providing a change in focus for a few hours, Allen said.

“It’s really nice because when I go to work I’m in a completely separate world from the Hillsdale campus,” Allen said. “I’m not thinking

about anything to do with school or my extracurriculars. I’m purely focused on my job because it’s a whole different community.”

Allen works one to two times each week.

“I love my coworkers, and they love me,” Allen said. “It’s a good little relationship.”

Sophomore Ellie Sassak recently started working at Hillsdale Hospital, training to be a phlebotomist in the outpatient lab.

Sassak’s job involves drawing blood and doing blood work as well as working with Covid-19 swabs and urine tests.

“It’s a good introduction into health care,” Sassak said. “I’m thinking about med school, either for psychiatry, pediatrics, or a mix of both. I don’t really know what kind of setting I want to work in, so being in the local hospital is enlightening.”

Working in town allows Sassak to feel more committed to the community, and to work in a structured environment, she said.

“I think it helps you get more active and committed to the community,” Sassak said. “You get to know people that are not in college, and it is more structured, with a sense of responsibility.”

Professor shares the winding journey of grief, love, and music that led her to the halls of Hillsdale

Stacey Jones performed a recital in Howard Music Hall in January. Courtesy | Stacey Jones

French professor preserves her culture one Russian class at a time

Anna Navrotskaya snuggles with her pet cat.

Courtesy | Anna Navrotskaya

Sophomore Ellie Sassak works at the Hillsdale Hospital. Courtesy | Hillsdale Hospital

FEATURES

Local chicken farmers thrive as chain grocery stores struggle to decrease the rising price of eggs

By Thomas McKenna Assistant Editor

After a decade as owner of Sunrise Poultry, Hanover local John Schwartz finds himself on surprisingly level ground with his competitors, who he calls “factory-focused farms.”

The price of a carton of grade A eggs has more than doubled in the U.S. over the last 12 months, according to federal data. As egg prices rise, more consumers are looking to local chicken farmers instead of grocery stores for fresh eggs. Schwartz’s commitment to producing healthier eggs than those found in the average grocery store is beginning to pay off.

Schwartz said demand has increased by more than 20% in the last month.

“We have what we call a natural, non-GMO, free range, pastured egg,” Schwartz said. “Ours in a niche egg, a healthier egg. What we’ve found is that with the commodity market, more people are wanting to buy this egg

because now it is just as cheap, if not cheaper, than your commodity egg that is not as healthy.”

A main cause of the price spike is a nationwide shortage of eggs caused by an avian flu that killed 43 million egg-laying hens last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to Market House president and owner Brett Boyd, the price of eggs from his suppliers has tripled over the last nine months.

“It’s had quite an impact on our company because eggs are a big portion of our dairy sales,” Boyd said.

But local chicken keepers, including Schwartz, said the avian flu has not infected their broods. Morgan Morrison ’21, associate director of business and industry for the college, said his chickens have also been uninfected. His fowl roam freely in the backyard of his home.

“Our chickens are pretty happy and they’re free range – we don’t confine them in

a house,” Morrison said. “So I think they’re not as affected by these viruses that go around.”

Morrison began keeping chickens while he was still a student living in Bjornheim, an off-campus house. The landlord approved Morrison and his seven roommates’ request to keep chickens in the quarter-acre backyard. After Morrison visited the weekly livestock auction at the Hillsborough County fair and made his purchase, the chickens called Bjornheim home for two years.

The students kept the birds free-range, and Morrison said he enjoyed having them as pets.

Students share traditions and rituals for the big game

By Carly Moran

Assistant Editor

The sound of a trumpet theme echoes throughout the room as you settle into your recliner, a plate of buffalo wings warming your lap on a chilly February day. Announcers’ bets and whistles break the flow of percussion and brass, and the roman numerals LVII illuminate the television screen. It’s Super Bowl season yet again, and this year, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will face off.

For Hillsdale students, it’s an opportunity to bond over a love of sport. With 70% of the student body hailing from out of state, it’s the perfect time to unleash geographic rivalries. Irrespective of home state or team preference, the student body comes together to celebrate and theorize about the American phenomenon that is NFL football.

Senior and Hillsdale Chargers quarterback Garrit Aissen watched his teammates blow air onto the TV during a field goal to try and make a kicker miss. Senior Avery Buchanan described the feeling of “just knowing” before a game whether or not it’s going to be a good one. On a game day, sophomore Miranda Heid shouts a classic, “Who dey?” chant to any who will listen.

“If my team is doing badly when I’m watching, I’ll leave for 15 minutes and see if

they’re doing better when I’m gone. If that’s the case, I don’t watch,” Heid said. “The same is true if they’re doing worse when I’m not watching, then I’ll be sure not to leave the whole time. Weird, I know.”

One of Heid’s favorite game day traditions is partaking in comfort foods, which include chicken wings, Kroger cupcakes, and her mom’s nacho cheese dip.

“I sit in a bean bag to watch the game or I’m in distress,” Heid said. “I’ll also make absolutely sure I’m not wearing anything with the other team’s colors on it.”

As for how she felt about the Bengals’ devastating loss during the American Football Conference Championship, Heid merely replied, “Go Eagles, I guess.”

Two weeks ago, sophomore Betsy Hook traveled to watch her team, the Chiefs, beat the Cincinnati Bengals. Since her father is originally from Kansas City, she’s been a fan her whole life.

“I am super excited. And I’m even more excited because Rhianna, who’s playing the halftime show, said, ‘Patrick Mahomes is the greatest quarterback of all time. So I feel that shows that she too is loyal to the Chiefs,” Hook said. “I’m very excited for them, and I think that they will win.”

Hook’s only true superstition comes at the very beginning of the game.

“I feel like whenever they win the coin toss, they usually win,” Hook said.

“During the day they would walk all over, through peoples’ yards. The neighbors really liked them,” Morrison said. “Sometimes they would wander out into the street and cause a traffic jam. But it was a lot of fun.”

When Morrison and his wife, Christina Morrison ’22, moved south to a ten acre property in Osseo, they decided to get chickens again.

“Last spring, we purchased chicks,” Morrison said. “We started with 33 of them. We now have 27 hens and a rooster.”

Jonathan Smith ’06, a business analyst for the college, keeps chickens with his wife, Lauren Smith ’07, and their

five children. He calls his 9-acre hobby farm two miles north of campus “paradise.”

“Margaux has been the chicken lady before. Now, she’s more the cat lady, but Max is the chicken man right now. He’s the one that goes out every day and gets the eggs,” Smith said of his two oldest children. Smith said he thinks more people in the area are beginning to keep chickens for more than just the financial benefit.

“There’s more and more families who just want a little bit more self sufficiency,” Smith said. “A lot is just health and family culture and community culture as well. There’s a lot of benefits – it’s not just that it’s going to be cheaper or that it’s potentially healthier.”

Morrison said he has seen an uptick in demand in recent months.

“We charge about what the grocery store charges and our eggs are far superior,” Morrison said. “So when people

find out, ‘Oh, you’re only charging as much as I can get them for at the grocery store,’ they really want ours.”

The living conditions of Morrison’s free-range chickens directly affect the eggs’ flavor, taste, and texture.

“The whites of the egg are less watery than they are in a grocery store and actually cook a lot quicker,” Morrison said. “So you can notice these effects. You have happy chickens that are eating well and not confined and they’re not breathing in fecal matter like they do in confinement housing – chickens are happier and they produce better eggs.”

While prices remain at record highs, Boyd said he expects they will come down throughout the rest of 2023 as economic forces run their course. “We are doing our very, very best,” Boyd said. “But certainly, these are uncertain times – unfortunate times in regard to the prices of eggs.”

In a nationwide egg crisis, how’s Hillsdale doing? Super Bowl superstitions

But when she’s home, her gametime plans become a bit more unique. Traditionally, she watches the game at a local Chiefs bar and at halftime, she participates in a time-old tradition of turtle racing. “You can place bets on which turtle is going to win, which is kind of fun,” Hook said. “Especially if the game is anxious, it can calm the nerves.”

Sophomore Matt Andoni described the Charger football team’s food-centric traditions.

“My good buddy Kyle Riffel says he tries to eat a Doritos Loco taco for every single score in the game, I thought that was pretty interesting,” Andoni said. “My friend Carson Ingram said that he usually goes home for the super bowl, and that his mom cooks his favorite meal, tuna fish.”

As for what the rest of the football team eats? It’s pretty simple.

“The rest of the guys just eat wings,” Andoni said.

Regardless of what happens at State Farm Stadium this year, it’s bound to be an exciting time for the football fanatics on campus. Yes, the football gods are cruel, but so are the competitive students with their rituals and rivalries, bound to resurface for Super Bowl LVII.

Above: Market House’s suppliers have tripled the price of their eggs.

To the left: Jonathan Smith holds his chickens with his two oldest children, Margaux and Max. Collegian | Thomas McKenna

Betsy Hook watched the Chiefs win the AFC Championship. Courtesy | Betsy Hook

Garrit Aissen played quarterback in the 2021-22 season. Courtesy | Summer Fields

“Certainly, these are uncertain times – unfortunate times in regard to the price of eggs”