CHP Showdown: Last weekend, student bands competed for the chance to open for DWLLRS at CHP.
See B1 Courtesy | SAB
Historical Society: The Hillsdale County Historical Society has made progress restoring the Will Carleton Poorhouse.
See A6 Courtesy | Morgan Morrison
Charger Baseball: The men's baseball team swept a four game series this past week.
See A10 Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan
Last weekend, the Hillsdale College Mock Trial team won fourth place overall at the National Collegiate Tournament in Memphis, Tennessee.
With a record of 9-3, team 1076 placed second in their division and were tied for the highest combined strength score at the tournament. Team 1077 finished with a record of 4-8.
“In two years, Hillsdale Mock Trial went from never qualifying for nationals to placing second in the division and fourth in the nation,” junior Caleb Sampson said. “We couldn’t be more proud or grateful.”
The teams had four weeks to draft, finalize, and memorize their case materials for nationals. Team 1076 captain junior Justin Lee said competitors spent more than 30 hours a week in practices and meetings to prepare for the tournament.
“Preparing for an entirely new case in one month was a huge challenge,” Sampson said. “But working toward a common goal with my best friends made that challenge well worth it.”
The teams drove to Memphis last Wednesday afternoon, spending the 10 hour bus drive memorizing their material. On
Thursday, both teams participated in two scrimmages to help run their cases against other teams, Lee said.
“Our scrimmages were against really high quality competitors which helped us get focused for the weekend,” Lee said.
With the tournament beginning Friday evening, Lee said the teams spent every moment of free time practicing. On Friday night, team 1076 was paired against University of California Los Angeles, who won the tournament, for its first round.
“It was such a competitive round,” Lee said. “It felt like we belonged in that round; we felt like we were in it. But it was a good wake up call to make us realize just how difficult this weekend was going to be.”
Team 1076 won its next two rounds, winning all three ballots in every round. Coach Jonathan Church said competing against the University of Florida’s A team in round 3, was a complete rematch from the year before, which showed Hillsdale’s improvement over the past year.
“We showed rookie nerves against Florida last year, and we tried some strategies that just weren’t smart,” Church said. “So this year, watching the round, the rookie mistakes were gone.
The nerves were gone. We ran a clean round where we forced them into errors instead of the other way around.”
After the preliminary four rounds, the tournament hosts announced the results of the tournament and sent the top two teams into the final round where they compete for the championship.
Lee said he was going to pack up his belongings and noticed their coach organizing all of their materials. At this moment, Lee said he knew team 1076 was in the running for the championship round.
“I go up to coach and he’s organizing the trial materials,” Lee said. “I told him that we could just dump it all in there and he said, ‘No, Justin, we need to organize it now.’ I knew that we might be going again and that was crazy.”
The tournament hosts announced the individual awards and named the top 10 teams from each division. Lee said as the announcer went through the list, the nerves and fear were continuing to rise.
“We’re not number 10, not nine, not eight, and it just kept going,” Lee said. “By the time we got to third place, I knew we were second because UCLA had yet to be mentioned, and though we competed well against them, I knew they had
beaten us.”
After the ceremony, Lee said the team was absolutely exhausted, so they ordered takeout and celebrated by watching the final round live stream.
“The UCLA team was so kind; I know almost all of them by first name,” Lee said. “It felt like we were cheering on and supporting our friends. Watching them compete and execute such incredible mock trial was very fun.”
Church attributed the team’s success to a mixture of the competitors’ focus, camaraderie, and dedication. Church said the team used to have a culture of telling horror stories from past tournaments and mistakes, which led underclassmen to have fear of different schools and the quality of competition.
“Last year I told the captains that we were done sharing these stories and I had to get on people who would share these stories all the time,” Church said. “Now, our freshmen don’t even know to be nervous, they just know that they’re a part of a good program.”
Church said having this many team members, especially freshmen and sophomores, watching and competing at the NCT will help prepare them and give them the hunger to continue working toward quali-
The college will break ground for the new Diana Davis Spencer Graduate School of Education behind Central Hall on May 12.
The new building will contain four classrooms and nine offices on the first floor, and five classrooms and nine offices on the second floor, according to Provost Christopher VanOrman.
“This building will be utilized by many of our faculty and not just for the education department,” VanOrman said. “It will house other faculty as well.”
Construction will take about a year and a half, according to Associate Vice President for Curriculum and Professor of English David Whalen.
“This construction will no doubt cause significant disruptions to the use of the
quad, but once completed it will be a beautiful addition to the quad,” VanOrman said.
According to VanOrman, the new building will require moving the Ronald Reagan statue.
Whalen said the expansion of the graduate program reflects the need for more physical space.
“In order to accommodate the expansion in faculty, classes, and remote educational operations, a new building was designed by James McCrery Architects in Washington, D.C.,” Whalen said.
The website for McCrery Architects says tradition inspires their architectural style.
“The proper practice of traditional architecture embraces the best of all periods and locales in a timeless, unbroken chain of buildings with lasting beauty and utility,” the website says. “When
architecture is grounded in and engaged with tradition, it can intelligently propose and creatively project the future.”
Chairman and Dean of the Classical Education Graduate school Daniel Coupland said the classical education program has admitted another 15 students for the upcoming academic year, totaling around 36 graduate students in that program.
Coupland said the expansion of the graduate school is part of a greater endeavor.
“A lot of this is driven by Dr. Arnn — he really cares about this program, and he really wants to see it thriving,” Coupland said. “He sees it as a part of an overall effort to improve education not just here at Hillsdale College but across the country.”
Whalen said the graduate school of classical education was conceived to address a need that Hillsdale can fill.
“Classical schools around
the country are in dire need of teaching and administrative staff who understand the western and American tradition, its great heritage of ideas, achievements, and figures, and who understand the first principles of moral and intellectual formation,” Whalen said.
The new building will help meet the growing need for more classical educators, according to Whalen.
The graduate school, however, is part of a master architecture plan for the college, VanOrman said.
“This master plan includes adding onto the backside of Central Hall, front addition to the library, and possibly the front addition of Grewcock Student Union,” VanOrman said. “These potential additions have not all been funded at this point.”
fying each year.
“My view in sports or competition of any kind is that you’re not entitled to anything,” Church said. “We’re going to have to make sure that we stay true to our virtues that have gotten us this far. If we work hard, we’ll get what we deserve.”
As the mock trial season came to a close this last weekend, Sampson said the team's
success and competitive spirit only makes them want to work harder to return and do better next year.
“One judge ranked us above UCLA at this year’s national champions,” Sampson said. “This year we took silver. Next year, we’re coming back for gold.”
The Hillsdale College Podcast Network launched Monday, April 17 to create a centralized location for the college’s audio.
“Guided by the able shepherd Scot Bertram, we have been expanding our teaching by audio,” College President Larry Arnn said.
Scot Bertram, director of the podcast network and general manager at WRFH 101.7 FM, said the podcast network has been in development for some time.
According to Bertram, the podcast network exists to create a centralized location for the college’s audio and podcasts and to bring listeners deeper into the college's missions.
The podcast network will feature easy access to Hillsdale’s five podcasts: “The Larry P. Arnn Show,” “Hillsdale Dialogues,” “Radio Free Hillsdale Hour,” “Beyond The Bubble,” and “Hillsdale K-12 Classical Education Podcast,” according to Bertram. He said they plan to add an Imprimis podcast in the beginning of May.
Bertram said although there is no set schedule for Arnn’s show, he certainly expects episodes will be released on a regular basis.
“The podcast is a natural extension of many things we have been doing for a long time,” Arnn said. “Podcasts seem to be taking over the world.”
The inaugural episode of The Larry P. Arnn Show, released on April 18, featured Arnn and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Bertram said.
“I think it provided a very interesting and unique conversation between those two men,” Bertram said. “Dr. Arnn is an excellent host and is able to ask questions that elicit great responses from his guests.”
Bertram said he looks forward to hearing Arnn’s conversations with future guests who discuss topics of enduring relevance.
“Every once in a while I will put in my two cents,” Arnn said. “Sometimes with campus guests and sometimes with colleagues.”
Bertram said there was a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get the site up from Hillsdale’s marketing and web team.
“A nice thing about the website is that if people don't want to get into the podcast world, it's very easy to go to the website, find a show and click a button, click play and listen to the show,” Bertram said.
Senior Josh Barker, program director at WRFH 101.7 FM, said having the college’s audio in an easy-to-find space will be helpful to students and supporters of the college.
“While many might have expected radio and audio to die out as an important medium a decade ago, podcasting has made audio a key place where people go for education and entertainment,” Barker said.
There are ongoing conversations about turning Hillsdale’s online courses into audio podcasts, Bertram said.
The Hillsdale College Podcast Network can be found online at podcasts.hillsdale. edu.
'The Larry P. ArnnThe college has plans to improve campus beyond the addition of the graduate school building as depicted in this mock-up. Courtesy | Christopher VanOrman Members of the mock trial team pose with their trophy. Courtesy | Caleb Sampson
By Tayte Christensen Collegian Freelancer
Voting for professor of the year continues through Friday, April 21, as seniors select among four candidates for the honor. The winner will be announced May 5 at the president’s commencement dinner.
“The professor of the year award gives seniors the opportunity to express their gratitude for formative
are based on the professors inside the classroom and outside the classroom, and their campus involvement, which includes general student support,” Wright said.
Several of the professors highlighted some of their favorite parts of being a Hillsdale professor.
“The best part about teaching at Hillsdale is that the students are having so much fun,” Strecker said. “Students are serious about serious things, of course. But there’s such energy and delight in the work we get to do together.”
VanZant agreed with Strecker that the students make Hillsdale what it is.
professors who have shaped their academic experience at Hillsdale,” Senior Class Treasurer Beth Potwardowski said. “Additionally, the professor of the year has the opportunity to speak at the upcoming fall convocation.”
The candidates are Collin Barnes, chairman and associate professor of psychology; Ethan Stoneman, chairman and assistant professor of rhetoric and media; Cody Strecker, assistant professor of theology; and Jeffrey VanZant, assistant professor of biology.
“For me, the highlights of teaching here are always the students. Helping them get where they want to go, that’s just awesome,” VanZant said. “It’s always fun to have students come in as freshmen — in a sense still in high school, really — and
After being canceled last year due to poor weather, Taste of Manning is set to take place this Saturday, April 22 from 11a.m. to 1p.m.
Sophomore and Student Activities Board Creative Staff member Phoebe Vanheyningen said she is looking forward to experiencing the event for the first time.
“Honestly, I'm just excited
and hopeful that it will happen. I haven't experienced a Taste of Manning because of inclement weather every year,” she said.
According to Vanheyningen, this Saturday is currently forecasted to be rainy and cold, so it is possible that Taste of Manning might be canceled yet again.
“We are keeping an eye on the weather and will let everyone know,” Vanheyningen said.
Senior Sam Schaefer, who
lives on Manning Street, said his house will be participating in Taste of Manning if the weather holds.
“I’m excited because I haven’t participated before, and it’s always fun when everyone on Manning is out and about doing things together,” he said.
According to Vanheyningen, SAB’s creative team has been hard at work creating signs and decorations for the event.
“We’re trying to make it
feel sort of like a farmer’s market meets food fest,” she said.
Vanheyningen said she hoped the event would bring people together and result in some creative dishes.
“I think it'll be super fun to close the street off, listen to live music, and just talk to everyone,” she said. “It'll also be cool to see what the houses create and if it fits with the theme of their names.”
“The nomination process required seniors to write and submit a proposal explaining why their nominated professor should win professor of the year,” Potwardowski said. “They also had to gather at least five signatures from other members of the senior class. We had a total of four nominations this year, so every professor that was nominated will appear on the ballot for seniors to vote.”
According to Kayla Wright, communications manager for career services and advisor for the senior class officers, the award aims to acknowledge professors and the work they do for students and for the college.
“The recommendations
watch them change a lot. That’s the rewarding part — to be a part of that story.”
Barnes also expressed gratitude for being nominated.
“I want to thank the students who took the time out of their schedules to nominate me,” Barnes said.
“It’s a busy time of year, and it means a lot that they thought well enough of me to do it.”
Strecker said he was honored to be nominated.
“I consider nomination for this award the highest
The new Marilyn Sohn Residence will be complete by the first week of June, according to Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé.
Péwé said the ongoing construction between Mary Randall Preschool, Howard Music Hall, and New Dorm is related to the new dormitory.
“We are expanding the existing parking between New Dorm and Marilyn Sohn Residence,” Péwé said. “The work activity between Howard and the preschool consists of a new sidewalk, sidewalk lighting, underground piping for rainwater, and additional water retention basins, all related to the Sohn Residence construction.”
honor a professor at Hillsdale could receive,” Strecker said.” “I’m grateful for this selection and the admirable company I’m in.”
Future Head Resident Assistant of Sohn, sophomore Sophia Rome, who currently serves as an RA in Olds Residence, said she is excited to work with her RA team to build a dorm culture for the
first time.
“Next year will be different for me, because not only will it be my first time being an RA in an upperclassman dorm, but also living in an upperclassman dorm,” Rome said. “In Olds I had the opportunity to help cultivate dorm culture, whereas in Sohn my team and I will have the opportunity to create a dorm culture.”
Rome said the RA team anticipates mostly seniors and juniors occupying the living spaces, and potentially a few sophomores, depending on availability.
The dorm will consist of 25 double rooms and six single rooms, with a private bathroom in each, Rome said. In addition, the dorm will feature community spaces, including study spaces, lounges, a kitchen, and a fitness room.
Rome said her desire to serve others prompted her decision to become an RA.
“Last year, I wanted to
become an RA because I love to serve,” Rome said. “I realized that some of the most meaningful moments of my life have been when I have had the privilege of serving others. I wanted to serve the incoming freshman class and help them transition to college life.”
One of the bigger responsibilities of being an RA is cultivating dorm culture, and her RA team is already brainstorming the events they will hold, Rome said.
“We are hoping to have a very homey dorm culture,” Rome said. “My team is very creative, and I am excited to work with them and incorporate their ideas for Sohn's community.”
Sophomore and future Sohn RA Grace McNeill said the application process to become an RA is intensive.
“The deans and head RAs are very careful about who they pick, as they can really make or break dorm culture,” McNeill said.
Junior Lauren Scott and sophomore Gavin Listro will lead Hillsdale College’s radio program next school year.
Scott will be the next program director, and Listro will be the senior producer, according to Radio Free Hillsdale’s general manager Scot Bertram. The program director manages outreach and student management, while the senior producer reviews all students’ content and sound quality.
“I'm very excited to make radio look less intimidating, because I think a lot of freshmen come and think that they have to have experience, or it just looks really overwhelming for them,” Scott said. “I want people to realize that the radio station is a place where you can come and talk about what you love. We will guide you through; you're not going to be figuring anything out on your own.”
Bertram said he looks forward to working with next year’s leadership team.
“It's actually odd how it turns out most years that the students who I estimate would be best for the specific positions end up applying for that specific position,” Bertram said.
“It's rewarding to see them improve, and it's humbling in a way that this is where they choose to spend their time. There are many options for extracurricular work in activities all around campus.”
Scott will replace this year’s program director, senior Josh Barker. According to Barker, the Radio Free Hillsdale’s second live election coverage event introduced the station to new students.
“That was incredibly fun and engaged a lot of students who are not part of the radio program,” Barker said. “The biggest success the program saw this year was being named the College Radio Station of the Year by the Michigan
Association of Broadcasters last month.”
Barker said Scott will excel in the new role due to her experience and organization.
“Lauren has been involved in radio for a while and done very well,” Barker said. “In fact, back when I worked at Career Services, I hired her as the host of ‘Beyond the Bubble,’ Career Services’ podcast, another position she still holds. In her role as assistant promotions director for the station, she was a national finalist for Best Press Release at the Intercollegiate Broadcast System awards this past year.”
Bertram emphasized Scott’s enthusiasm for the station.
“She's probably our chief cheerleader,” Bertram said. “She is one who is always singing the praises of what we do around here. Lauren was my summer intern last summer, and so she spent a couple of months here plus a few weeks getting to know how the station works.”
Scott currently hosts “Be-
yond the Bubble,” “Great Men Back Then,” and co-hosts “The Collegian Week in Review” with junior Maddy Welsh and sophomore producer Megan Pidcock.
Listro became involved in radio because of his older brother.
“My brother went to Hillsdale and graduated in 2020,” Listro said. “He did radio with his friend, and when I came to visit as a sophomore he let me on his radio show. It was always something I wanted to do, and I also loved music a lot. My goal was to talk about music on the radio, to combine those two things.”
Listro started at Radio Free Hillsdale with a music show called “I’ve Got Aux,” which he co-hosts with sophomore Bella Dix and junior Alexandra Hall. This fall he will help students adjust their sound quality and teach them how to use the station’s software program, Audition, as senior producer.
“Gavin's grown quite
literally since freshman year,” Bertram said. “He is one of our students who's more involved in the music-based programming that we have. I think he's got great experience to launch into next year, and be a resource for our student hosts who want to improve the way things sound.”
Listro said radio was one of the few constants in his childhood, since he moved often, although he noticed distinct regional differences.
“I lived in Medford, Oregon, for five years,” Listro said. “There's more country, even on syndicated stations like KIIS FM. Then I moved to Florida, and it's very much wrapped in rap and R&B.”
Listro discussed the importance of radio as an audio-only medium.
“I think radio takes a lot of visual bias out of the media,” Listro said. “There's just an opinion and you can look at it as just that.”
By Linnea Shively Assistant EditorThe Delta Tau Delta fraternity letters went missing from the front of the group’s house at 3 a.m. last Thursday morning, according to Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers.
Rogers said an investigation is ongoing.
“We are hoping that the letters are returned,” Rogers said in an email.
Members of DTD noticed the missing letters after last week’s convocation.
“I was coming back from convocation, and I looked at the house and thought ‘it looks kind of different right now,’” sophomore and Delt Housing and Grounds Chairman Garrison Danzer said. “I stopped and paused for a second and realized it was because the letters were gone.”
Sophomore and fraternity member Jason Lu realized the letters were gone after leaving his 11 a.m. class.
“I was coming out of philosophy and saw Garrison heading back home,” Lu said. “I think 30 seconds later he says, ‘guys the letters from the house are gone,’ because they’re very clearly visible.”
According to Lu, fraternity members from a few years ago designed the black and yellow letters and Danzer added the letters to the house last fall.
“I nailed them up at the beginning of the year,” Danzer said. “The nails are still hanging there.”
Danzer said the inside of the house and other grounds were undisturbed. Instead, he says the letters were probably taken from the outside.
“There's a ladder leaned up against the side of the house,” Danzer said. “I assumed they took that ladder and used to climb up on the roof.”
According to Danzer, he reported the missing letters to security and the dean’s office that afternoon.
Instructor Buddy Moorehouse and eight students in the documentary filmmaking class premiered their feature-length documentary “The Price of Independendence” in the Searle Center Wednesday night.
The documentary details the college’s clash with the federal government and the origin of it not taking any federal aid. The premiere night included “The Price of Independence” and six short documentaries made by pairs or individual students.
“It was really cool, seeing the stories behind people on campus, especially on Wild Bill, learning his backstory,” sophomore Kyle Johns said. The short documentaries explored features of the students’ friends, faculty, and campus folklore.
“The assignment was to find an interesting Hillsdale College student and do a little documentary about them,” senior Tracy Wilson said. “I chose a friend who is very fun to be around, very outgoing, and has an interesting story to tell.”
Students explored the lives of students who grew up overseas, told the story of professor Bill Lundberg, and a 1970 Neil Diamond and John Denver concert hosted by the college.
“The Price of Independence” was a 27-minute-long film culminating two-and-ahalf months of work by the students.
“Being able to delve deep into this story that we all know the basics of, but getting into the nitty gritty, that was really great,” sophomore Kamden Mulder said. “Being able to talk to students who, in my opinion, this impacts
the most, and getting to hear how they deal with all this and how it impacts their life here at Hillsdale College was really great.”
The documentary began its story in the mid-1960s, when the college was facing financial difficulties.
As Title IX imposed the requirement on the college, it refused to comply, leading to a lawsuit that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I had heard of the story before, but I didn’t know the full details, that it went all the way to the Supreme Court and got the attention of President Reagan,” Johns said. “It goes all the way back to Roche and Spike Hennessy, who supported the college when it was outright broke.”
Moorehouse praised the students’ research working
on the film, and pointed out Hennessy’s significance to keeping the college from financial failure.
“I was blown away when I saw the research they came up with, that it was a pharmacist, Spike Hennessy, that kept the college afloat in the early 1960s,” Moorehouse said. “If it hadn’t been for this local pharmacist, none of us would be here right now, the college would have folded.”
In order to put together the film, the students flew to Washington, D.C., to gather interviews, B-roll, and research.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Mulder said. “All of the clips you see from D.C. were shot by us, the interview with Judge Facciola was filmed in D.C., as well as the student interviews. It was an integral
part of creating the entire documentary and we’re so blessed that there are people who support the college and support our mission here that were able to make it so we were able to go on that trip.”
The Dow Journalism Program added Moorehouse, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, as an adjunct instructor prior to the 2021 spring semester. This semester marks his fifth semester teaching the class, each of which has ended with a similar premiere night.
“John Miller really wanted to have that third leg of the journalism department, to have a video component,” Moorehouse said. “There’s something very, very special about telling any story in a documentary, it’s unlike any other medium.”
The Thomistic Society is hosting a conference “Christology in Literature,” Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m. in the Hoynak Room.
Chair and Professor of English, Justin Jackson, Michael Mack of Catholic University of America, and Thomas Pfau of Duke University will give lectures on the intersection of philosophy and religion.
Monica Blaney, an officer for the Thomistic Society, said the event will feature lectures with several breaks including time for discussion and dinner.
“Attendees should expect three lectures given by our own Dr. Jackson, Dr. Michael Mack (Catholic University of America), and Dr. Thomas Pfau (Duke University), respectively. The lectures are at 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m., followed by a roundtable modeled on the proper Thomistic fashion. There will be a half-hour break at 3 p.m. with refreshments, and a dinner break around 4:30 p.m.,” Blaney said.
According to Colton Duncan, a chapter leader for the society, the event will feature several talks on how to apply various methods and perspectives of different works.
The event is open to all students and faculty, including
The biggest challenge to reining in federal spending to bring down the national debt is not fiscal, but political, said Romina Boccia in a lecture hosted by Praxis April 13.
“Is this situation hopeless? If it were hopeless, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing,” Boccia said. “Then I would just be wasting my time. So don't believe the situation is hopeless. But it is a very tricky political situation.”
Boccia, director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, recommended an independent commission — composed of non-elected officials — that could propose a new spending cuts plan to the president who could enact or reject it without Congressional approval.
“What we will need to overcome the political problem is to provide cover for politicians for those tough decisions that will need to happen without them having to get their hands dirty,” Boccia said.
She said this would rearrange the political incentives to make necessary but unpopular spending cuts while removing the political accountability of members of Congress.
“Their primary concern is always the next election,” Boccia said. “That's as far as most lawmakers unfortunately think. How can we make it easier for them to do what needs to be done without them worrying about being held accountable for it by their voters? That's where I think an independent commission comes in.”
Federal, publicly-held debt is currently $24.6 trillion — approximately as large as the entire American economy — and is expected to grow, according to a February report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Boccia said as the debt grows larger than the U.S. economy, Americans should expect higher federal spending to stunt economic growth.
“That money can suck up economic resources,” Boccia said. “Including employing workers that could have otherwise been employed the private sector and using other real resources that the private sector may have been employed in more efficient and effective ways. That’s because they actually have the information to do so through the profit mechanism rather than towards politically directed purposes, where there's a higher likelihood of that money being wasted.”
Another negative effect would come from a decrease in business investment due to anticipated tax hikes.
“A business might make less risky investments because they know that the rewards that are going to be on the other side of that investment may not be worth it,” Boccia said. “So that would mean that we're getting less innovation, which means less progress and fewer investments overall, because some of the entrepreneurs may be pricing in the high likelihood of higher taxes.”
Boccia pointed to differences between the U.S. and other countries that also hold large national debts, including Japan.
“The Japanese government has borrowed almost the entirety of its debt from its own citizens,” Boccia said. “It's the Japanese people’s savings that are backing the Japanese debt. In the U.S. context, more than half of the debt borrowed in credit markets has been borrowed from foreign entities.”
The largest U.S. debt holders are Japan ($1.1 trillion) and China ($867 billion), according to December 2022 statistics from the treasury department. This puts the U.S. in a more
difficult situation, Boccia said.
“We are actually reliant on foreign investors financing our current government spending, which is not the case in Japan,” Boccia said. “Japan just borrows from its own population.”
To raise necessary revenue, Boccia expects the federal government would need to create new taxes.
“We would have a lot of trouble trying to raise a lot more revenue to close our current fiscal gap without introducing an entire new level of taxation,” Boccia said. “I think it would have to be a value added tax or consumption tax, and those tend to fall most heavily on lower middle income earners who consume a larger portion of their income than higher income earners who save more.”
Boccia said the main solution to higher deficits is to cut spending.
“It is likely that — for political reasons — taxes will have to go up, but not for reasons that are intrinsic to the problem,” Boccia said. “Because the spending is a problem, if we reduce the spending, we don't need the taxes. I would also argue to that point that the debt and deficit are ultimately just symptoms of a spending problem.”
Boccia said she supports the debt limit and expects Congress will strike a deal before the U.S. government defaults.
“I do think it serves a valuable purpose, to the degree that it provides a focused legislative opportunity for lawmakers to consider the size of the debt and how fast it's growing,” Boccia said. “It forces them to take some legislative action to either correct the debt or at least raise the debt limit, and it gives voters an opportunity to hold their lawmakers accountable.”
Boccia pointed to the next 75 years of the federal gov-
ernment’s unfunded spending obligations, totalling roughly $80 trillion. Social Security and Medicare make up 95% of the unfunded obligations, which Boccia said makes entitlement reform unavoidable.
“That's remarkable,” Boccia said. “Because we were just told by President Biden that there will be no cuts to Medicare, Social Security. He has convinced most Republicans to now also go on record to say ‘Medicare and Social Security cuts are off the table. We're not talking about them at the debt limit.’ Well, if we don't if we can't talk about Medicare and Social Security, what are we even talking about? Nothing else matters.”
Senior Josh Barker said he was skeptical of whether Boccia’s independent commission proposal would be an unconstitutional delegation of power to the executive branch.
“I'm more skeptical about whether or not it can be implemented in the U.S.,” Barker said. “Some of the commissions that have happened in Europe, the delegation of authority there will likely not pass, especially our 6-3 Supreme Court and its view of delegation of power. It shouldn’t, at least in my point of view.”
Junior Al Stamm, president of Praxis, said the lecture fulfilled the two goals of the political economy discussion group: educate on issues often left out of the classroom and expose students to current professionals in the field.
“I think it’s super important to be thinking about these kinds of issues as we go forward,” Stamm said. “The issue of federal debt was one of the first things I started thinking about when I started getting into economics in high school. So I was glad to have a speaker come talk about this issue.”
interested parties, even those from outside the sphere of Hillsdale College.
Attendees must register for the event using the QR codes on posters around campus. The event is free to attend.
“There are many practical elements to hosting an event like this, including the reservation of spaces and equipment, advertisement, and hospitality. I'm mostly in charge of the hospitality — making sure the visiting speakers feel welcome is a way of showing our gratitude and respect, in addition to representing the college well,” Blaney said. “Sometimes people forget about the very human elements of hosting an intellectual event such as this; I am here to make sure that our speakers eat and know where they're going.”
Even though the Thomistic Society is an extension of the Catholic Society and deals mostly with the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Duncan explains that the event is perfect for people of all beliefs and denominations.
“In fact, this conference is aimed at ecumenism. People from any faith tradition, or even any background, people who are, you know, maybe even not Christian, but simply interested in seeing what such perspective has to offer should attend,” Duncan said.
Finding a person who works to be better is essential for a good relationship, marriage therapist Greg Schutte said on April 13.
“Find that person that you want to suffer through life with,” Schutte said. “You want to find someone who helps you on the journey of life, not complete you.”
As announced in the Student Activities Board weekly newsletter, Schutte is the current director of Marriage Works! Ohio for the last 16 years. Schutte attended the University of Dayton for his undergraduate degree, and the Ohio State University to earn his master’s degree in social work. Schutte has been married for 29 years.
Schutte spoke on “Dating: Balancing the Head and the Heart,” and said the overall theme of his talk was understanding the importance of following your heart without losing your head. He referenced the book, “How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk: The Foolproof Way to Follow Your Heart Without Losing Your Mind,” by John Van Epp. He also referenced the book “Hooked: The Brain Science On How Casual Sex
Affects Human Development,” by Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. and Freda McKissic Bush.
Schutte said students should be alert for these warning signs when searching for a partner: someone who breaks boundaries, lacks empathy, and lacks emotional control.
“Another sign is someone who shows persistent resistance to change,” Schutte said.
According to Schutte, good-hearted people are the most at risk of entering a bad relationship.
“Sometimes we can think ‘my love will really change him or her,’ and we run the risk of trying to fix someone,” he said.
Schutte said it is important to spend a lot of time building friendships and really getting to know someone.
“Healthy people make healthy choices,” Schutte said. “Getting yourself healthy is the first step in that.”
Schutte quoted St. Augustine of Hippo to describe the value of transparency in a relationship.
“The deepest desire of every human heart to be seen, and see another in that same way,” Schutte said, quoting Augustine.
According to Schutte, trust is essential in a relationship. Trust is based on how well you know someone, and how accurate that perception of knowing them is, he said. When we pace relationships the right way, we build trust.
According to Schutte, cohabitation and sexual intimacy before marriage lacks commitment and makes it difficult for an individual to eventually commit in a marital relationship.
“It’s like duct tape to your arm. “When you essentially give parts of yourself away to someone in those ways, it hurts much more when the relationship ends,” he said.
Schutte said he doesn’t believe the trend of “Hillsdating” is healthy, and instead can be damaging.
“Gentlemen, we have the higher responsibility here. Be honest with her,” Schutte said. “It's important to ask someone on a date. You don't have to be committed, but it's important. If you have an interest, there's nothing wrong with asking on a date. It doesn't mean we’re going to get married, it just means you're interested and would like to explore that.”
Freshman Eleanor Whitaker said she learned a lot from Schutte’s lessons.
“After going to Mr. Schutte’s talk, the world of men is no longer daunting,” Whitaker said. “I feel like I have a greater knowledge of what a relationship that glorifies God looks like. A good relationship is not as much about personality compatibility as it is about searching for a person who is also trying to grow in their faith and character, and dating is the process of discovering that person.”
Freshman Jihye Kim also enjoyed what Schutte had to say. “I appreciated his perspective on ‘Hillsdating’ because he called for honesty and open communication. Oftentimes, one sees a couple lying to themselves and to each other in terms of their feelings and intentions, and it’s quite frankly painful to watch.”
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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 opinion of The Collegian editorial staff
Centralhallapalozza should be a national holiday. Or at least a local one. Situated after the last full week of classes of the spring semester, CHP is the perfect opportunity to relax and spend time with your friends. Even though papers might be due the following Monday, or you’ll be feeling the impending stress of finals, your homework can wait.
While we are constantly
pressured to use our free time in a productive manner by Hillsdale’s motto, the fear of failure, and the one person who always seems to be studying in the corner of the library, it will be detrimental to your college experience to skip CHP. While its main purpose is an education, college presents us with the opportunity to live amongst similarly minded and oriented friends for a
short four years. There will be no other time in our lives when fellowship is this easy, when dinner is always this communal, and when a Saturday could be spent sitting on front lawns and simply basking in the sun.
We’ve heard a similar message in student convocation speeches and the sage advice of upperclassmen: learning how to self-govern involves learning when to close your
books and take advantage of the blessings around us.
So whether you prefer to play board games on the quad or spend the day listening to music on Manning Street, remember that CHP only happens once a year and you’ll regret telling your future children that you were sitting inside your dorm studying philosophy when you could be experiencing the world
When Roe v. Wade was overturned, the pro-choice push back throughout the country has created a polarizing opinion of abortion. While the overturning was a great win for the pro-life movement, it has been an uphill battle against those advocating for the killing of infants.
A Texas judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, suspended the Food and Drug Administration approval for medicated abortions on April 8th. This was another win for the pro-life movement as the case was brought to the Texas courts by Alliance Defending Freedom, a faithbased nonprofit focused on legal advocacy, on behalf of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. The organization consists of pro-life doctors and medical groups, who seek to defend human life and advocate for doctors to uphold their oath to do no harm.
The lawsuit claimed that the FDA did not have the authority to approve the drugs needed for at home medicated abortions.
According to a New York Times Times article regarding the suspension of the drug, mifepristone, is used to terminate pregnancies up to 10 weeks. And paired with a second drug called misoprostol, the Mifeprex two-pill regimen accounts for nearly half of abortions nationwide. This decision came April 7th, 2023 and was kept quiet from the public due to fear of protestors. According to Amarillo Globe-news in an article reporting on the court ruling, the Women’s March
held a protest outside of the courthouse. The Women’s March leader Amanda Chavez Barnes spoke about the Saturday protest in Amarillo regarding the Karymarks ruling and said “For us all, seeing that Judge Kacsmaryk is acting like a politician in a robe and using his court as a way for special interests is a perversion of our court system and basic democracy,” The Texas judge ruled to suspend the approval by the FDA’s for the safety of mifepristone. His opinion regarded the drug being marketed as safe when it was not in the final stages of determining that it should be given to mothers seeking to abort.
Kacsmaryk expressed in a statement regarding the ruling that “The court does not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly.” The suspension was based on the grounds of “The FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions,” as remarked in Kacsmaryk’s statement.
The suspension of the drug could potentially inhibit access of the drug nationwide. However, immediately as the ruling became public the Washington state federal judge issued a contradictory
ruling, which set the case on the path to the supreme court. Likewise, Att.-Gen Merrick Garland issued an official statement saying he “strongly disagreed” with Kacsmaryk’s ruling. Along with push back from the Biden administration, Kacsmaryk is facing public scrutiny because of the ruling. Many are claiming that the specific case was brought to Kacsmaryk’s district knowing he would suspend approval based on his outspoken Christian-conservative background and pro-life stance. This has caused many to accuse ADF for intentionally filing the lawsuit within Kacsmaryk’s district to manipulate the
system to get a ruling that would align with their ideology.
But the lawsuit filed by ADF seems very intentional in rendering a verdict for the pro-life movement, many would argue that it is a necessity. While the polarizing topic is claimed to be an infringement of rights for both sides of the aisle, the issue can be interpreted as human rights distinction between humans, the mother or the child. Due to this sharp disagreement, both movements claim unconstitutional action is taken to further the other’s agenda. While both movements claim the extreme of the other, pro-lifers actively
involve themselves in the legislature to seek change for the ultimate ban. However, this is a feat that seems to be far-fetched. At the core of the arguments for those who tend to be pro-choice there is a fundamental irony in their lack of objectivity. This is displayed on campuses across the country. According to the Washington Post, 57% reported abortions are done for women in their twenties, which is plausible for most women during their college years. This showcases that the advocacy for the access to chemical abortions is rooted in the necessity for college aged women to seek out their “medical” options. Although studies have showcased the mental and physical trauma associated with abortions, this is not enough for those to advocate for their choice rather than admitting to the necessity of lifestyle changes. The pro-life movement is at the forefront of educating people on the long-term traumatic effects of abortions of any kind, but there is an unwillingness to make a change for the benefit of women’s health and livelihood. This is because there is a fundamental disregard for women’s health within the pro choice movement and merely remains to a portion of the moral decline of our country masked by the claims of being “pro-women.”
Anna Broussard is a freshman studying the liberal arts.
There is no end in sight for the Russo-Ukrainian War. Recently leaked U.S. military intel suggests that the conflict over the Donbas region is expected to continue into next year, necessitating more resources and lives from all parties involved. This latest report provides only more impetus on the U.S. to find a swift and peaceable solution to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict before violence spills into the rest of Europe.
Policy makers have failed to find a solution so far, in part because the U.S. has not yet established a principled objective to pursue in Ukraine. In his latest State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden addressed the Ukrainian ambassador: “America is united in support of your country. We will stand with you as long as it takes.” As long as it takes to
accomplish what? To answer this question, American policy makers should commit themselves to addressing foreign policy problems from a standpoint of realpolitik. In his masterwork, “Diplomacy”, Henry Kissinger defines realpolitik as “foreign policy based on calculations of power and the national interest.” The former secretary of state defines a balance of power as an international arrangement that prohibits any particular nation or group of nations from dominating another. Before a stable arrangement can be found, America must commit itself to finding some equilibrium for the sake of the national interest. It must pursue a realpolitik style of foreign policy.
Historically, this has been very difficult for America to accomplish. The isolation granted by America’s geography often
has impressed itself on the policy of its politicians. In his farewell address, Washington famously warned against “permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” John Quincy Adams said that America would forever support nations fighting for their independence but warned that it “goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.” Today, however, America is the single strongest military force on the planet. With that responsibility comes the lead role in determining the international balance of power and the most to lose should we fail. What has motivated American intervention, Kissinger argued, is American idealism and the country’s desire to share freedom with the rest of the world. “No other nation,” Kissinger wrote, “has ever rested its claim to international leadership on its altruism.
All other nations have sought to be judged by the compatibility of their national interests with those of other societies. Yet, from Woodrow Wilson through George Bush, American presidents have invoked their country’s unselfishness as the crucial attribute of its leadership.”
The American tendency toward altruism and selflessness on the international stage is commendable but America’s moral righteousness often inhibits diplomatic flexibility. To many Americans, for example, the idea of taking the responsibility for partitioning someone else’s homeland predicated on callous calculations of power and maximizing your own nation’s interest seems unforgivably cruel.
In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Piers Morgan voiced this exact concern over conservatives recently
suggesting that the U.S. should compel Ukraine to the negotiation table with Russia even if that requires Ukraine surrendering some of its territory —namely Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. Morgan chided this idea, saying “Why should the Ukrainians give an inch? What would all the American ‘peacemakers’ say if Vladimir Putin invaded Montana? If you asked any American what they would do, they wouldn’t give an inch. In other words, there’s a moral inconsistency to this position.” Morgan is right but the moral inconsistency isn’t the bug of realpolitik — it’s the feature. Realpolitik allows for diplomatic flexibility which puts consistency aside for the sake of avoiding a far worse conflict.
America’s struggle to establish peace in Ukraine stems largely from its historic reluctance to pursue foreign policies strictly
informed by realpolitik. Without committing to this strategy, American goals are limited only by America’s idealistic imagination. Walter Lippmann, a journalist who made similar observations about the Vietnam War, noted that when American “aims are limitless, we are sure to be defeated.” Instead of aiming to bring freedom to a country that is not our own, the U.S. should pursue whatever arrangement discourages further Russian aggression and reduces the likelihood of using NATO forces in Europe.
When a science professor leaned out of a photograph to avoid being seen at the Academy for Science and Technology event on April 11, I knew the evening was off to a rough start.
The Academy for Science and Freedom hosted the Broken Science Initiative at a dinner packed with guests, faculty, and students. The speeches described the faults of “postmodern,” “university,” and ultimately “broken” science. A lot of it made sense, such as questioning researchers who confuse causation and correlation, and critiquing the Likert scale, a scaling method used in survey research.
ogist Gerd Gigerenzer in his critique of how many scientists interpret p-values, calling it “a ritual,” as opposed to scientific thinking.
We must remember that science is a continuous process. Even when scientists seek to prove or support ideas, there are always models to adjust, more qualifications to make, and more replication needed.
By Catherine MaxwellFrances
Haugen,the Facebook whistleblower, argued that Facebook ignored research revealing that Instagram causes mental health problems in teenage girls in 2021.
More recently, TikTok has become controversial as various lawmakers suggest the app is Chinese spyware. These apps have led to discussions about whether or not social media companies are responsible for user content.
Companies are, at least indirectly, responsible for the content on their platforms. Making them legally responsible, however, is a dangerous path.
Currently, a law known as Section 230 prohibits social media platforms from being held liable for content published by users. If someone doesn’t like a post or video, he can report it or complain about it, but they can’t sue the company because of it.
Repealing Section 230, as some have suggested, would make these platforms liable for user content––but it would also create a host of new is -
sues. Content moderation would increase as Facebook and Twitter scramble to prevent potential lawsuits. If free speech is already uncertain on social media, repealing Section 230 would kill it completely.
More recently, lawmakers introduced a bill called the RESTRICT Act that is supposed to ban TikTok. Whether or not it would actually ban the popular app is uncertain––the bill doesn’t name TikTok––but, again, it would create a laundry list of problems.
The RESTRICT Act allows the federal government “to identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate…any risk arising from any covered transaction \.” The vagueness of the language suggests that any action that increases “risk”––such as using a Virtual Private Network to ensure secure access to apps or websites––could be punished as part of the “mitigation measures.”
Additionally, because the bill does not name TikTok as its target, this could be expanded to other apps the government
deems dangerous. Because of these free speech-impeding problems, legal accountability is not the right option. Companies are, however, morally responsible for what content they allow––although how they define that responsibility can also create problems. Despite this, increasing content moderation could quickly become more discriminatory than helpful. If simply told to “ban bad posts,” these companies would undoubtedly take their job all too seriously. A company could easily declare a new policy to remove “harmful content” and the user who posts it. In a world of hate speech and rapid cancellations, this would allow the company to remove any content it disagrees with by calling it “harmful.” Twitter is already notorious for censoring conservatives (although Elon Musk has since reinstated many of them), and Facebook has also censored views it disagrees with. New policies would give these companies more excuses to remove alternate viewpoints.
Instead, stronger content moderation would require specific, detailed language explaining what is not allowed on the platform and companies dedicating themselves to following those rules. TikTok, for example, says it does not allow posts encouraging suicide, but research shows that children can become exposed to content about suicide within a few minutes on the platform. It’s not enough to make new rules––companies must commit to following them.
The right kind of content moderation is unlikely to happen. As long as users keep interacting with their platforms, social media companies have no incentive to change their policies. They have the ability to address problems with their platforms, and they undoubtedly should––but in the meantime, users will have to protect themselves.
Catherine Maxwell is a freshman studying the liberal arts.
need to start a healthier life.
To make sourdough starter, you combine flour and warm water in a large jar and let it ferment for one week. On day three of the fermentation process, add more water and flour so it can grow. The starter is what you combine with dough to make sourdough bread. The starter can be added to many recipes as a nutritious substitute.
Sourdough bread is an ancient form of grain fermentation. Experts believe it originated in Egypt around 1500 B.C. It is a great alternative to chemical-filled conventional bread because of its antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.
Every kitchen should have a sourdough starter to promote nutrient-dense foods. When the starter is ready it will be bubbly and have the consistency of thick, sticky pancake batter. If someone is a frequent baker, he or she can leave the starter in a jar on their kitchen counter and add more water and flour every few days after using
it. If someone doesn’t bake often, the starter will be best in the fridge.
The starter’s fermentation process creates the wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria which makes sourdough rich in nutrients.
One of the main differences between sourdough and conventional bread is the presence of wild yeast, whereas most store-bought breads use baker’s yeast. Wild yeast is natural whereas baker’s yeast is man made
Even though all whole grain foods contain minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and zinc, the presence of phytate, an acid found in grains, makes it hard for the body to absorb the minerals.
But the lactic acid bacteria created in the fermentation process deactivates the phytate. The fermentation process lowers the phytate content more than 70%, according to PubMed Central.
The fermentation also produces prebiotics, fiber that feeds the “good” bacteria in one’s gut. This leads to better digestion and improved gut health.
To make conventional white bread, bakers bleach the flour to make it “white.”
Some of the chemicals used to bleach flour consist of
benzoyl peroxide, calcium peroxide, and chlorine dioxide gas. All of these chemicals are banned in the European Union but are consumed daily by Americans.
When gluten-sensitive people travel to Europe, many are able to consume gluten and not get sick. This is because many chemicals and preservatives that are allowed in the U.S. are banned in many European countries. But sourdough bread may be the exception. The fermentation process breaks down gluten protein, making it possible for some gluten-sensitive people to consume sourdough with no consequences.
The starter creates a natural preservative called acetic acid bacteria. This eliminates the need for added toxic preservatives. The high levels of acetic acid also prolong the fermentation process, giving the bread its unique texture and flavor.
Some researchers believe that sourdough is a good option for those monitoring their blood sugar, according to PubMed Central. Sourdough’s glycemic index is reduced because of the structure of the carb molecules, slowing down sugar
Yet other aspects were less convincing. CrossFit founder Greg Glassman assured listeners that he wasn’t there to be overtly anti-science, but just to highlight the issues he coined as “broken science.” But that sentiment didn’t match the tone of his speech as a whole. Glassman even made a joke that he began much of his research on Wikipedia, despite “hating it more than anyone.”
Glassman spent a portion of his speech redefining well-supported definitions of scientific terms like hypothesis and law — walking the audience through how science “should work.” Glassman married the terms “measurements” and “facts” while also incorrectly defining a hypothesis as “a model that based on all of the data in a specified domain, contains no counterexamples, incorporating a prediction of an unrealized fact.”
His collaborator in the Broken Science Initiative William M. Briggs had a laundry list of qualifications in comparison: he was a former professor at Cornell Medical School, a statistician at the internet advertising company DoubleClick, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, and an electronic cryptologist with the U.S. Air Force. Immediately, I was more inclined to take his ideas seriously.
That is until he referred to science as being “easy” and that we’ve “done too much of it.” Briggs even quoted German psychol -
We still need science. We still need research. It is justifiable and necessary to call attention to the pitfalls of contemporary science, but the college should consider how its public messaging regarding science affects students who are working toward careers in STEM. It was difficult to find students or faculty who thought any part of the talk was convincing, effective, or helpful. Many students and faculty members who were in attendance said they found the whole evening to be gimmicky, going so far as to express worry about how it will affect perceptions of natural science degrees from Hillsdale.
Several students expressed worry about how Hillsdale’s reputation may affect their futures.
If a graduate program is choosing between two students, one from a standard state school and one from Hillsdale, there is a chance that the sentiments of Hillsdale being “anti-science” may affect that student’s admission. Hillsdale College should host speakers with a wide range of views. This is not a debate about free speech. Yet the college should be careful not to let its critics label it “anti-science,” as if we’re a bunch of flat-earthers. The Academy for Science and Freedom is a separate entity from the natural sciences faculty and students. To an outsider, however, the line between those things may not be so clear.
Alexandra Hall is a junior studying rhetoric and media studies and journalism. She is an editor at the Collegian.
entering the bloodstream. Foods with lower glycemic index help maintain a steady blood sugar.
Although a sourdough starter is mostly used for bread, it can replace many of the other preservative-filled foods bought at the grocery store.
For breakfast, you can use sourdough starter to make cinnamon rolls, pancakes, or waffles. These are items that would be filled with chemicals at the store, but now contain flour and water as the main ingredients packed with vitamins and minerals.
For lunch or dinner, you can make burger buns, bagels, or pizza crust. With some simple modifications, sourdough starter can replace many things in the kitchen for a nutrient-dense meal. There are even ways to incorporate sourdough into desserts like cookies, muffins, and pie crust. Every kitchen should have a sourdough starter. The Egyptians would be proud.
Lauren Scott is a junior studying history and journalism. She is an assistant editor at the Collegian.
Hillsdale students across campus encountered the same problem this week when they tried to dry their hands after washing them.
The paper towels in the Student Union, as well as some dorms and academic buildings, were replaced with different ones that disintegrate in wet hands. A college that puts real hand towels in the Searle Center can give dorms and class buildings paper ones that don’t fall apart.
Whereas students used to be able to pull an intact, functional paper towel from the dispenser, they can now only grab shreds until their hands become dry. Even with dry hands, the new paper towels still require a delicate touch to keep in one piece.
Superintendent of Custodial Services Kirk Wright told the Collegian the college has not changed suppliers.
“We haven’t changed towel rolls in the two years I have been in charge,” Wright
said. “Maybe the company has changed their product a little, but we as a college haven’t changed anything. I will contact the manufacturer and ask what changed. Something is different.” According to Wright, the issue is with the supplier, not the college. Still, people should be able to dry their hands without ripping the paper towels to shreds. It may take switching suppliers.
Not every restroom on campus has the new, dysfunctional rolls. But they are spreading, and it seems as if the swaps will continue until all the old rolls are out and all the new ones in. While it may seem a trivial issue, the inconvenience is repetitive and fixable.
Students, professors, and staff alike deserve dry hands. The college should provide paper towels worthy of the name.
Thomas McKenna is a freshman studying the liberal arts. He is an assistant editor at the Collegian.
Hillsdale should be more careful about Science
There is a law on the books to keep social media companies from being held accountable. Courtesy | Pexels
By Lauren Scott Assistant Editor
The Hillsdale County Historical Society plans to finish restoring the interior of the Will Carleton Poorhouse by the end of this year.
“We’d like to turn the poorhouse into one of those living history sites where you walk through the doors of the poorhouse and you see it as Will Carleton would have seen it back in the 19th century,” said Morgan Morrison ’21, a board member of the historical society.
To complete the project, the historical society applied for and received a $5,000 grant from Americana Corner, an online resource that aims to preserve American history.
Carleton was an 1869 Hillsdale College alumnus who was one of the most famous poets of his time. As a student, Carleton visited the Hillsdale poorhouse to hear stories from its residents. This inspired him to write his most celebrated poem, “Over the Hill to the Poorhouse.”
“Back then, poets were like rock stars,” said Buddy Moorehouse, adjunct professor of documentary filmmaking. “When a poet came to your town to read his poetry, it was like Beyoncé coming to your town to perform.”
When the historical society purchased the poorhouse in 1987, they honored Carleton by naming the poorhouse after him, according to the group’s website.
Morrison said the society plans to transform the rooms upstairs into bedrooms like
those where the paupers would have stayed.
“This will include putting many beds inside of there and chests where the personal belongings of each pauper would have been,” Morrison said. “The dormitories will be separated between male and female.”
Tom Hand, founder of Americana Corner, said he wanted to find a way to remind Americans about the great country they live in. After he and his wife retired
from owning Gilman Cheese Corporation in Wisconsin, he started Americana Corner in 2020.
“Tom’s an extraordinary man with a very keen interest
in preserving the history of early America and preserving it through old history sites,” Morrison said. Hand said he started the organization’s grant program
in 2022 to assist groups in telling American stories at their historical sites. The organization gave away $440,000 in grants in 2022 and $913,000 in 2023.
“Lord willing, next year it will be even more than that,” Hand said.
Hand said he and his wife are friends of the college, where they recently agreed to start an Americana Corner scholarship.
Morrison said the poorhouse tells the story
of early Hillsdale County and how early America treated paupers. He said the poorhouse was for those who needed help but were also willing to apply themselves and be responsible.
“They went by the biblical principle ‘If you shall not work, you shall not eat,’ and they were very serious about that,” Morrison said. “So if someone was a vagrant just passing through and causing disturbances, then that person would not be part of the poorhouse.”
Moorehouse said Carleton’s poem changed the way Americans viewed the elderly.
“Restoring the poorhouse is such a wonderful thing because it’s going to help more people realize who Will Carleton was,” Moorehouse said. “His name is everywhere in Hillsdale, but very few people know who he really was.”
The historical society purchased the abandoned poorhouse in 1987 to save it from demolition by Bob Evans Farms, Morrison said. Since then, more than $100,000 has been spent renovating it. Morrison said the interior renovations should reach completion by the middle of December.
“The Will Carleton Poorhouse is part of the American story,” Hand said. “These sorts of places are important to me because they’re all part of the fabric of America.”
See below for a poem excerpt
Over the hill to the poorhouse I'm trudgin' my weary way I am a woman of seventy, and only a trifle gray I, who am smart an' chipper, for all the years I've told, As many another woman that's only half as old. O'er the hill to the poorhouse - I can't quite make it clear!
Over the hill to the poorhouse - it seems so horrid queer!
Many a step I've taken a-toilin' to and fro, But this is a sort of journey I never thought to go.
I am willin' and anxious an' ready any day.
By Jacob Beckwith Collegian FreelancerA college alumnus will purchase the Hillsdale County Courthouse Annex if the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners finalizes the agreement on April 28, according to Commissioner Doug Ingles.
“We are just waiting on that closing date where everyone signs, and then phase one will be complete and we can move forward,” Ingles said.
The commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the agreement with Hillsdale Renaissance LLC on March 28. The company is a subsidiary of Pago USA, which is owned by Eric Doden ’92. It hopes to renovate multiple buildings downtown, including the annex, which lies across from the courthouse at the intersection of N. Howell and McCollum streets.
Pago USA aims to revitalize historic downtowns across the country, according to its website, “making small town America a place where people have enhanced opportunities for personal and professional growth.”
Doden previously told The Collegian about the practical goals of the restoration.
“You want to create 10 restaurants, 10 shops, and 10 entertainment venues per town,” Doden said. “Those will then be curated by the owners of the building and the entrepreneurs.”
The courthouse annex is currently home to the 2B District Court, but Ingles said he believes there are multiple places the court could be moved once the sale is finalized.
“One option is to move the court into the Department of Health and Human Services building across town,” Ingles said.
“Another option is to build an addition to the Hillsdale County Courthouse.”
Commissioner Mark Wiley voted against the purchase agreement.
“My only reason for voting no on the sale was because there is no clear plan as to what to do with the district court,” Wiley said. “I do not believe in taking the approach ‘It will all work out,’ and though I agree we need to sell the building, the timing may be in question.”
To work for a decent livin', an' pay my honest way, For I can earn my victuals, an' more too, I'll be bound, If any body only is willin' to have me round.
And when to John I was married, sure he was good and smart,
But he and all the neighbors would own I done my part; For life was all before me, an'
I was young an' strong, And I worked the best that I could in tryin' to get along. And so we worked together: and life was hard, but gay, With now and then a baby for to cheer us on our way; Till we had half a dozen, an' all growed clean an' neat, An' went to school like others, an' had enough to eat. So we worked for the child'rn, and raised 'em every one; Worked for 'em summer and winter, just as we ought to've done;
Only perhaps we humored 'em, which some good folks condemn, But every couple's child'rn's a heap the best to them.
Strange how much we think of our blessed little ones! I'd have died for my daughters, I'd have died for my sons;
And God he made that rule of love, but when we're old and gray, I've noticed it sometimes somehow fails to work the other way.
Strange, another thing: when our boys an' girls was grown,
And when, exceptin' Charley, they'd left us there alone, When John he nearer an' nearer come, an' dearer seemed to be, The Lord of Hosts he come one day an' took him away from me.
Still I was bound to struggle, an' never to cringe or fall Still I worked for Charley, for Charley was now my all; And Charley was pretty good to me, with scarce a word or frown, Till at last he went a-courtin', and brought a wife from town.
An' I never could speak to suit her, never could please her eye, An' it made me independent, an' then I didn't try; But I was terribly staggered, an' felt it like a blow, When Charley turned ag'in me, an' told me I could go.
I went to live with Susan, but Susan's house was small, And she was always a-hintin' how snug it was for us all; And what with her husband's sisters, and what with child'rn three,
'Twas easy to discover that there wasn't room for me.
And then I wrote to Rebecca, my girl who lives out west, And to Isaac, not far from her - some twenty miles at best;
And one of 'em said 'twas too warm there for anyone so old, And t'other had an opinion the climate was too cold.
So they have shirked and slighted me, an' shifted me about
So they have well-nigh soured me, an' wore my old heart out;
But still I've born up pretty well, an' wasn't much put down, Till Charley went to the poor-master, an' put me on the town.
Over the hill to the poorhouse - me child'rn dear, good-by!
Many a night I've watched you when only God was nigh; And God'll judge between us; but I will al'ays pray That you shall never suffer the half I do today.
“When a poet came to your town to re ad his poetry, it was like Beyonc é comi ng to your town.”An abandoned house on Manning Street was overflowing with debris before being demolished. Courtesy | Dwight Lindley An excavator sat where the derelict house used to be on April 19, after its demolition. Tess Owen | Collegian The historical society plans to restore the poorhouse’s bedrooms to be more historically accurate. Courtesy | Morgan Morrison The county commissioners plan to sell the courthouse annex. Courtesy | Collegian Archives
The Hillsdale City Council joined communities across Michigan in urging state legislators to restore subsidies to city pension funds.
State legislators removed a $250 million incentive from HB 5054, which would have gone to cities that could fund 60% of their pension plans, according to a council resolution. Meanwhile, the state will continue offering a total of $750 million to communities that cannot meet the threshold. The council unanimously passed a resolution on April 3 to condemn the move.
Pensions invest a portion of employee wages into a fund, where it can grow in value while retired workers withdraw from the fund.
Ward 3 Councilman
Gary Wolfram said the state was discriminating against communities that remained financially responsible.
“The state is giving money to those cities that did not take actions to try to improve their pension liability situation,” Wolfram said, “while the cities that did meet that 60% standard no longer get anything.”
The city pension fund now faces similar instability to those that failed to reach the threshold, according to a letter City Manager David Mackie sent to Republican state Rep. Andrew Fink.
Pianists Debbi Wyse and Kristi Gautsche performed a concert called “A Musical Box of Chocolates” at College Baptist Church on April 14 and 15.
Wyse’s husband, Ned, accompanied the duo and narrated the program, performing a selection of recitations to introduce each movement. The recital ran from 8-9:30 p.m. and showcased a diverse selection of pieces that followed with the theme of the program.
Sally Beazley, secretary at College Baptist Church, explained the idea behind the name of the performance.
“The $250 million included in HB 5054 for communities that sacrificed to solidify their pensions would provide immeasurable relief to those of us who are experiencing the same pension-related financial stress as those eligible for the much larger sum,” Mackie said in the letter.
Wolfram said one of the ways cities can remain financially responsible is by changing from a definedbenefit model, where the employer guarantees a retirement income, to a defined-contribution model, where the employer contributes to an employee account over time.
The city will face difficult decisions if it does not receive funding from the state, according to Mackie’s letter.
“Without these dollars, many of us are staring at significant debt retirement payments on top of greatly increased required pension contributions,” Mackie wrote. “Others are staring at more cuts to the programs and projects our taxpayers depend upon. In short, we are looking at more pain.”
Mackie called on legislators to restore the pension incentive.
“HB 5054 had broad bipartisan support in 2022, and we are hopeful such bipartisan support remains,” Mackie said.
“Bringing this funding back would be a game changer for us as we look to keep our pension liabilities under control, our finances stable, and the great places we represent the very best versions of themselves for the many who call them home.”
The Collegian reached out to Fink for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
“It is an assortment of songs, just like the assortment you get from a box of chocolates,” Beazley said. “It is a huge variety of music, and there is a little something for everyone.”
Wyse said that they settled on the name after noticing the diverse nature of the music they decided on.
“We picked our music and decided on ‘A Musical Box of Chocolates’ after seeing its variety,” Wyse said. “Then we decided to have a good time and come up with all the different headings for the program.”
Wyse and Gautsche performed pieces ranging
from Debussy’s “Petite Suite” and Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2, Op. 17, to excerpts from cartoon classics and portions from Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.” The pieces were also introduced with themed titles like “A Chocoholic’s Dream,” “Cartoon Caramels,” or “A HeartShaped Box of Passion Fruit Cremes.”
This year marked 38 years of the duo’s friendship, and Gautsche said that they both continue to enjoy their collaboration.
“We enjoy playing with each other, it is fun to just get together and play. Our main aim though is to promote that kind of music” Gautsche said. “We are just so happy to put on a program that people enjoy
and that has something for everybody.”
In keeping with the theme of the concert, an assortment of chocolates was provided for the audience to enjoy during the 15-minute intermission. After the intermission, Wyse and Gautsche enlivened the audience by playing excerpts from cartoon classics on toy pianos.
Beazley said the practices leading up to the performance were greatly enjoyed.
“I have heard them practice over and over,” she said, “and can say all the people who work at the church have thoroughly enjoyed listening.”
Maggie Anne’s, a boutique in downtown Hillsdale, debuted trending styles such as pastels and detailed jeans at a spring fashion show on April 18.
Hillsdale alumna Patti Bailey, who owns Maggie Anne’s, hosted the fashion show with Sue Cervini. Part-time employees Amy Braxmaier, Nan Hoberg, and Joanna Wiseley, along with Bailey’s friend Ginger Moore, posed as models.
Local patrons and college students attended the show. Refreshments included macaroons and tea sandwiches, as well as wine for those of age.
Sophomore Maggie Carriker said she appreciated how Maggie Anne’s highlights smaller and more local fashion brands.
“Some of the pieces you find in here are really unique, and that helps your own personal style and makes you feel like you’re not just following whatever you have to be wearing,” Carriker said.
Cervini said pastels, bright colors, florals, wideleg pants, and details on jeans are among some of the trends for the spring season. Bailey said details on bags are also a popular trend.
“One of the other big trends in handbags is the three-dimensional flowers,” Bailey said.
At the beginning of the show, Cervini showed her wardrobe wheel to the audience as a way to help them organize and coordinate their outfits.
“I would compare the axle of the wheel to the basics of your wardrobe —
navy, white, black, khaki,” Cervini said. “The spokes are the separate pieces that work back into your basics.”
According to Cervini, accessories act like the rim of a wheel, tying the whole outfit together.
“It just takes that one little pop of color to update your wardrobe,” Cervini said.
Carriker said she enjoyed seeing the new spring styles.
big mall stores that went out of business during COVID. The mom-and-pop stores are what survived and what a lot of people like to support.”
Bailey said growing up in Hillsdale and working at Jacobson’s department store eventually led her to buy Maggie Anne’s.
“I was a children’s buyer, and I thought that I would open a children’s store downtown after I had my daughter,” Bailey said. “My neighbor worked here at the store, and I asked her if the owners would be interested in selling, and she said, ‘Yeah, they were just talking about it.’”
After purchasing the store 28 years ago, Bailey decided to keep its existing name.
“It was named after the two previous owners’ mothers, Margaret and Anne,” Bailey said. “So when we bought it we just didn’t change the name because it didn’t make sense. It had been in business for 17 years, and we didn’t want to mess with anything successful.”
“I loved the explanation of the trends,” Carriker said. “I very much anticipated the layering look and loosefitting clothes, and I saw a lot of that today, which was really cool to realize what I’ve been seeing is true.”
While the models changed clothes, Bailey advertised home goods from Maggie Anne’s, such as painted wine glasses, wedding gifts, and charcuterie boards.
“I call the store an updated traditional apparel and gift store,” Bailey said.
“We are such a unique, small store. The brands that we sell are strictly specialty. You’re not going to find them in Kohl’s or all those
According to Bailey, women of ages 35 and up are the store’s main shoppers, often coming in from Coldwater and Quincy to stay at their lake houses in Hillsdale over the summer.
“They tell their husbands they’re going to Kroger to go grocery shopping, and they come here and shop for a couple of hours,” Bailey said.
Bailey also encouraged Hillsdale students to visit Maggie Anne’s.
“We would love to have the college students come and shop with us and check us out,” Bailey said. “We have all kinds of fun things, such as gifts for your little sister in the sorority.”
“In short, we are looking at more pain.”
“The brands that we sell are strictly specialty. You’re not going to find them in Kohl’s or all those big mall stores.”
“We picked our music and decided on ‘A Musical Box of Chocolates’ after seeing its variety.”Debbi Wyse and Kristi Gausche play during the recital. Sydney Green | Collegian Models displayed different clothing during the fashion show. Beth Crawford | Collegian Attendees perused the store’s products. Beth Crawford | Collegian
Freshman Sophia Bultema became a pioneer for United States Paralympic Trap shooting after being the youngest person to make it to the finals during the summer 2022 France World Cup and ultimately placing fourth in the finals.
In addition to shooting for the Hillsdale shotgun team, Bultema shoots for the USA Shooting Paralympic team and for the bunker Scholastic Clay Target Program team in Ohio. In the last two years, she has shot in four world cups including two in Italy, one in France, and one in Dubai. Bultema is also sponsored by Krieghoff firearms and Winchester Ammunition.
“These gun companies and ammo manufacturers have realized she’s doing really well in Para Trap, with her accomplishments overseas and with her having paved the way in Para Trap here in the United States,” assistant Hillsdale shotgun coach Caitlin Connor-Royer said. “They see that she has a really bright future ahead of her, and they want to help her out. She’s a pioneer for sure.”
Bultema’s family members are hunters, so she grew up visiting her family property in the mountains of Colorado to shoot. At 12 years old, Bultema shot a gun for the first time — a purple .22 rifle that her grandpa gave her for Christmas. At 14 years old, she shot at flying targets on a range for the first time in the form of American Trap.
Bultema said it was difficult at first, but once she practiced more it became boring.
“A little clay comes out from a little house 16 yards in front of you and I was like, ‘Wow, that is so fast. I can barely see it. How am I supposed to shoot that?’” Bultema said.
“Then after a couple of years, it’s like watching paint dry.”
Bultema competed on the St. Mary’s High School shotgun team, specializing in the American disciplines such as skeet, trap, and sporting clays. Nevertheless, Bultema could not find a gun that fit her comfortably because she has an upper limb difference, so it took a few years for her to fully appreciate and not be scared of shooting.
In 2017, two members of the USA shooting team, Dale Royer and Connor-Royer, approached Bultema about join-
ing the USA shooting international committee’s Paralympic trap team. At the time, the Royers said they were helping coach Bultema’s high school team and were managing the Pikes Peak Gun Club in Colorado Springs. Bultema agreed to join the team and the couple got to work training her for the next two years. Royer said he taught Bultema the technical side of shooting, introducing her to trap. Connor-Royer said she lent Bultema her Krieghoff shotgun to see how it fit her, hoping to end her struggle to find a properly fitting gun.
“When I shot her gun it was really light, it fit me really well, and it didn’t hurt me whenever I shot it,” Bultema said. “So I was able to overcome my fear of the gun itself, which is not something you want when you’re shooting.”
In 2021, Bultema traveled to Italy for the Italian Paralympic Trap Nationals where she shot trap. The Royers said they accompanied Bultema to help her understand what takes place at the bigger competitions. It was in Italy that Bultema said she realized just how elevated the level she was shooting at was and how much higher the skill level was than the American nationals she
was accustomed to shooting in.
“I realized that Para shotgun isn’t just something that you get a participation medal for,” Bultema said. “It was new for me to compete against other people — and there were some really good shooters. It set a fire under me so that I wanted to train, get better, and be good at this.”
In her junior year of high school in Colorado, Concordia University of Nebraska invited Bultema to attend the school for shooting. She attended Concordia for a year, but after her coach passed away in the middle of her freshman year, she said she did not get the coaching she needed to improve.
While Bultema was at Concordia, the Royers signed to be coaches at Hillsdale and USA Shooting partnered with Hillsdale. Bultema said she saw the appeal in having coaches she knew and being connected to USA Shooting through a wellknown college like Hillsdale, so she applied to the college and was accepted.
“Once we got the job here and she transferred in, it was almost like we were picking up right where we left off, just with a more substantial communication between us,” Royer said. “I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.”
During the summer of 2022, before Bultema transferred to Hillsdale, she traveled to France for a world cup. Despite having an injured thumb, she shot 100 out of 125 clays in trap and became the first junior to ever make it to the finals, finishing in fourth place.
Bultema is currently in the process of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I would say look for her at Paris ’24 for sure,” Connor-Royer said. “She’s one of the top Para shooters from the United States, especially in her category.”
Securing their sixth consecutive win this season, the Hillsdale women’s tennis team competed against Northwood University at home April 15 and walked away with a 5-2 victory.
Senior Canela Luna said certain uncontrollable factors made the match challenging for the Chargers.
“This Northwood match was very intense,” Luna said. “It was a very hot day, which made it very difficult and two of the Northwood girls ended up withdrawing from heat exhaustion. I myself also struggled with the heat. The Northwood team was very loud, rude, and downright unclassy, but Hillsdale overcame all of this, and we responded in a classy, but competitive, way.”
In honor of their last home match, the Chargers celebrated seniors Sarah Hackman, Luna, Ellie Chawner, and Tatum Matthews at the senior day ceremony.
“The senior day ceremony was super nice and it was cool that we got to do it together with the guys team,” junior Melanie Zampardo said. “We are very sad to be losing four incredible seniors, but we are excited to play in the conference tournament this upcoming weekend as the third seed.”
After losing the first two doubles matches, freshman Megan Hackman and Luna emerged victorious at the No. 3 spot with a final score of 6-2 against the Timberwolves.
In the first singles match, Sarah was leading 6-0, 0-0 before Rafaela Platsiota of Northwood retired. Similarly, in the second singles match, Zampardo was leading 6-3, 1-0 before her opponent retired mid-match.
At the No. 3 spot, Luna secured a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Northwood. Meanwhile, sophomore Libby McGivern took a decisive 6-3, 6-4 win over Savannah Matuszewski of Northwood in the fourth singles match. While the Timberwolves managed to pick up a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 spot, Chawner fought back for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win at No. 6 singles.
“Northwood was a great win for us,” Zampardo said. “We were able to focus and pull out the wins that really mattered. Even after losing the doubles point we were able to step up in singles and it really felt like we all wanted to win.”
The Chargers qualified for the G-MAC Tournament Quarterfinal in Owensboro, Kentucky, and secured the third seed after winning against the Timberwolves.
The Chargers’ overall record is 9-7, with a 6-2 record in G-MAC play. Their next match will be against Ashland April 20 in the G-MAC Quarterfinal round. The winner of the match will play Findlay in the semifinal match April 21 to determine which team advances to the G-MAC Championship match Saturday.
collapse, it taught me how to deal with the life things.”
“I kind of told our team that there’s not a lot of things that I want to change or do because the structure and the culture and the format, the foundation of the program is here,” Bradley said. “I wanted to continue to help build on that and continue to provide our student athletes with great experiences and memorable experiences and give them the best four years that they could have here at Hillsdale.”
In line with carrying forward the culture of the team, the program will continue to recruit high character, academic-minded students who will be competitive and successful both in the classroom and on the court, according to Bradley.
“I’m a big believer that we can accomplish both of those without sacrificing one for the other, and that’s kind of our goal and our mission,” Bradley said.
Tharp said he believes, in addition to carrying over the core values of the program, Bradley will bring his own distinct style to his new role as head coach.
“I hope and I know that he’s going to bring different strategic thoughts and put his own personality on this program and I want him to do that,” Tharp said.
According to sophomore Joe Reuter, the team has the same expectations moving forward.
“We still have all these goals in front of us that we feel like we can achieve,” Reuter said. “We still have a lot of faith in coach Bradley that he’s going to be able to care for the tradition and the culture of our program.”
Bradley said that he is excited to continue working with Tharp moving forward.
“Still having him available and still having him as a resource around for me is going to be incredibly important for me moving into this first year of head coaching,” Bradley said. “Having him around is going to be something that I value a ton.”
The Hillsdale men’s tennis team won 4-3 against Northwood University April 15, earning a two seed in the G-MAC tournament April 20-22.
It was a milestone win for junior Brennan Cimpeanu and senior Tyler Conrad, who both reached 100 wins in their college career. “It’s the first time since 2019 anyone’s gotten that,” Conrad said. “It’s a good milestone.” This was also a final home match for the seniors, Bogdan Janicijevii, Hackman, and Cimpeanu. Cimpeanu decided to graduate a year early to join a masters program at Michigan State University.
“I know for seniors, including myself, it was kind of an emotional day since it’s the last match we will be having basically in our entire career,” Cimpeanu said.
The Chargers clinched the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2. No. 1 Cimpeanu and senior Brian Hackman won 6-3, and No. 2 Conrad and junior Sean Barstow won 7-5.
“It was definitely a closer match than we were hoping for — than we were expecting,” Conrad said. “We knew Northwood was a dangerous team coming in, so luckily we got the doubles point to start things off.”
No. 3 junior Daniel Gilbert and freshman Aidan Pack lost their match 2-7.
“Northwood is a good team, and they have a deep lineup,” Gilbert said. “They were good even at the lower spots which challenged us.”
The Chargers split their singles matches, winning No. 3, 4, and 6 singles. At No. 3 Conrad won 6-4, 6-4, No. 4 Pack won 6-2, 7-5, and No. 6 Barstow won 6-2, 6-2.
“I was happy with the way we all gave our full effort,” Gilbert said. “It’s the last regular season match of the year so we really brought it. We could have executed a bit better, but it’s still a positive going into the tournament.”
No. 1 Cimpeanu lost 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, No. 2 Hackman lost 2-6, 6-2, 1-6, and No. 5 Gilbert lost 5-7, 7-3, 8-10.
Cimpeneau said that it was nice to have others step up in their singles matches to help
the team take the victory. Rain caused the team to relocate to the Biermann Center courts mid match.
“We managed to win at six singles, and then at five singles it was just a very difficult match,” Conrad said. “It was difficult to adjust to the change in lighting and the change in the court speed.”
The Chargers completed the regular season with a 13-6 record, 5-2 in G-MAC play.
In the six team G-MAC tournament in Owensboro, Kentucky, April 20-22, the Chargers have a bye in the first round on Thursday. They will play Walsh and Ashland April 21.
“I feel like as a team, we always played better at conference,” Cimpeanu said. “I think the last two years that I’ve been part of the team we’ve really come to play at conference, whether it’s the energy or our skills have just somehow jumped up a few levels. We’ve always stepped up when we needed to at conference, and overall it’s just a fun experience. I think if the team continues that trend, we’ll be set for the weekend.”
Junior Liz Wamsley, who competed at cross country nationals with Scheske this season, said that Scheske is an integral part of the team.
“Meg is a very vibrant personality,” Wamsley said. “She brings a lot of energy to the team and a lot of openness and communication to the team and a lot of compassion as well. Those are big shoes to fill.”
While Scheske said she is proud of her accomplishments as an athlete, she is most grateful for the unity she has found at Hillsdale between running and life.
“I’ve really learned how to love running as a way of loving the rest of my life,” Scheske said. “The Lord has spo ken to me so beautifully through the act of distance running, and I’ll take that with me for the rest of my life. I don’t meet many people who see their relationship to their bodies and what they can do through a sport so inextricably entwined with their personal and spiritual life. If I get nothing else out of this, that is enough to sustain me for the rest of my life.”
Scheske said that running has taught her patience and perseverance which she can apply to the rest of her life.
“When you’re running, you have to continually just make yourself keep going,” Scheske said. “You have to teach yourself how to keep going when things get hard. And that was being paralleled in my whole life a lot. School was harder than it was for any of my siblings, my relationship with my body was harder than it would be if I could stop competing. But because I was learning through actually running in races, long runs, and practices where I felt like I was on the brink of
Even with a full schedule of running and classes, Scheske didn’t limit herself to these two worlds at Hillsdale. She invested in campus life and helped with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at St. Anthony’s parish, served as secretary of the Phi Sigma Tau philosophy honorary, and played the flute in jazz band. She met her fiance, Leo Schlueter ’22, through a student jazz band.
The couple will marry this summer in August before Schekse begins a degree in divinity and Schlueter begins his second year of law school, both at the University of Notre Dame.
“If I’ve learned nothing else here, I’ve learned how to handle a lot of stuff,” Scheske said.
“When I think about the prospect of being newly married and starting a degree that requires academic, spiritual, and emotional work, I think I would have run away screaming four years ago. But after Hillsdale, I’ll be fine. I’ve learned to really manage life on different playing fields at the same time.”
While Scheske sees her experience at Hillsdale as more than athletics, she is grateful for the fundamental role that being an athlete played in her personal growth.
“I don’t think anything would have formed me so deeply as being an athlete through it all,” Scheske said. “If I had just Hillsdale College without the athletics, I would have come out of here a fundamentally different person and I would have taken so much less from the experience. I’m very grateful that running brought me here but also that it has continued to sustain all of my life.”
The Charger men’s track team competed in two different meets this past weekend: the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Invitational in Pennsylvania and the Tiffin Carnival in Ohio.
Two Charger athletes hit provisional marks over the weekend. Sophomore Richie Johnston hit his personal best in the 3,000m steeplechase event for the first outdoor provisional mark of his career at 9:08.51, which was good enough for seventh place.
“I was really happy to have hit a provo mark, as well as hit a big PR,” Johnston said. “I’m now very excited for the rest of the season, especially considering how close G-MACs are. I believe we are trending
upwards as a program, so the postseason is going to be interesting.”
Also competing in the steeplechase at Bucknell were junior Alex Mitchell and senior Isaac Waffle, who both hit personal bests in the event. Mitchell finished 16th overall at 9:18.77, while Waffle finished 29th at 9:31.37.
Senior Mark Sprague also hit a personal best at Bucknell in the 5,000m race, finishing 72nd overall with a time of 14:51.60. The Chargers also had multiple athletes compete in the 800m race at Bucknell.
Freshman Seth Jankowski was the first Charger to finish at 1:54.34, which was good for 48th overall, followed by senior Sean Hoeft in 60th overall at 1:54.81.
Another athlete hitting a provisional mark over the
weekend was sophomore Ben Haas, who competed in the hammer throw and shot put events. Haas won both events, hitting provisional marks in both with a 16.58m throw in shot put, and a 58.05m mark in hammer throw.
The Chargers had a big return from junior Sean Fagan, who finished second overall in the 400m hurdles after being injured for the entire indoor season.
“After all the work I’ve put in the last few months rehabbing my hamstring, running at full strength and speed was a huge relief,” Fagan said. “As for the results, right now it’s not good enough, but it definitely gives me confidence in my fitness levels going into the rest of the season.”
Freshmen Connor McCormick and Colsen Conway also
competed in the 400m hurdles event. Conway finished eighth at the 55.45 mark, while McCormick finished 17th at the 59.08 mark.
Conway also competed in the 110m hurdles, finishing ninth with a personal best of 15.31. Senior John Baldwin and sophomore Cass Dobrowolski finished 10th and 12th, respectively, in the event as well.
“Tiffin was another good test for the team,” Dobrowolski said. “It brought more excitement for our last few competitions of the outdoor season.”
The Chargers will travel to Grand Valley State University this weekend to compete in the Al Owens Classic, and then will head to Canton, Ohio, for the Walsh University Tune-Up Meet April 27.
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The women’s track and field team earned eight provisional qualifying marks across two meets April 14-15, one at Tiffin University and one at Bucknell University.
Sophomore Reese Dragovich took first place in the 800m at Tiffin, running a personal best time of 2:10.70.
“My focus was on trusting where Coach Thill has me training wise, and enjoying the gift of running which
often helps me run better but is also far more enjoyable and life-giving than just focusing on hitting times,” Dragovich said. “I felt like I was able to do that this past weekend and it’s meets like that which cause me to continue falling in love with running. Two weeks ago, I ran a very poor race, so coming back and getting a personal best was great.”
Sophomore Reagan Dahlquist said she was impressed by Dragovich’s race.
“Reese Dragovich stood out to me at the meet last week,”
Dahlquist said. “She had to wait all day to compete, which can be mentally and physically taxing, and then she ran a PR.” Dahlquist took first in the high jump at Tiffin, clearing 1.64 meters.
“It would have been great to jump higher, but that’s not always controllable, so I don’t really wish I had done anything differently. I focused on controlling what I could and that’s all I can ask for from myself.”
In the 1,500m run, ju-
nior Gwynne Riley earned a provisional mark with a time of 4:30.36. In the 3,000m steeplechase, junior Meg Scheske took third with a time of 10:20.30.
“It was so fun to be back doing steeple again,” Scheske said. “I’m very happy with it. I’m very pleased. I feel very at peace with everything because I wasn’t really sure how this season would open up for me. It opened up better than I could’ve expected. I feel very grateful for that good race and very excited for the rest of the season.”
Junior Natalie Martinson ran a 17:48.26 in the 5,000m, her first 5k finish under 18 minutes.
“She has been trying to break 18 minutes in the 5k for four years and she finally did it,” Scheske said. “She’s come really close a lot of times and I was so proud of her.”
Junior Eden Little took first in javelin, throwing 43.30m. In the 400m dash, freshman Francesca Frederici ran 58.42, breaking her personal record. This weekend, the women will compete at the Al Owens Invitational at Grand Valley State University.
By Sarah Gregory Collegian Freelancer“It’s a long day out in the sun, driving around in a golf cart, drinking a few beers with other retired, old men.” This is what people who claim golf is just an “activity” will say. But golf isn’t just an activity — it’s a sport, as anyone who has tried to play 18 holes will tell you.
A sport, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill.” Golf fits all these requirements. This sport does not just include spending a day in the sun on the course. Competitive golfers, for example, are not allowed to drive in a golf cart and walk about five miles every 18 holes, according to the World Golf Foundation. That’s a lot of walking.
Walking is not the only reason golf is a sport. Exceptional hand eye coordination is required to successfully hit a golf ball far and straight. Golfers must hit a small ball — measuring only 1.68 inch diameter and just under 1.62 ounces in weight — over 300 yards into a hole only two-and-a-half times its size in just three-tofive strokes. This challenge is made more difficult by a variety of obstacles such as trees, rough, sand bunkers, and water.
Golf isn’t just physically challenging, players also participate in a mental game. A linksman must also understand the different uses of each club. “Do I use a nine or seven iron here? Do I go with a pitching or sand wedge on this shot?” The wrong choice
of club can be the difference between a birdie or bogey. These mental challenges emphasize the pressure of each golf shot, which is similar to the play-by-play pressure present in other sports, such as basketball and football. Like other sports, golf also generates a competitive — sometimes heated — atmosphere. The men of the gentlemen’s sport do not always live up to the name. Rivalries, such as the one between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeu, sometimes get so out of hand that the PGA must step in. What started out as complaints from Koepka about DeChambeu’s slow pace of play turned into DeChambeu body-shaming Koepka on Twitch and Koepka’s fans heckling DeChambeu in return.
America’s love for golf was revived by players like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who changed the idea of golf being for old men to a young, competitive, lively sport. Fans find golf so entertaining that the sport generates more than $84 billion dollars in revenue just in the U.S. every year, according to Forbes.
Golf isn’t simply a nice day out in the sun. By insinuating that less serious versions of golf disqualify it from sport status, it would be similar to saying pick-up basketball games make basketball less of a sport. The pressure, competitiveness, and unmatched skill of golf and its athletes prove it is a sport. If you don’t believe golf is a sport, try hitting par on a dogleg left par-5 in the heat of competition.
When did you start running track?
Competitively, seventh grade, but my dad was a track coach in high school so I would just run with all the track athletes when I was in kindergarten all the way up through when I started competing myself.
What is your goto gas station snack?
The chocolate covered mini- donuts and then two halfand- half teas.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
I played football and then I wrestled and swam as well as running track.
What is something that is on your bucket list?
Trackwise, I want to break four minutes in the mile, and then skydiving would be a big one as well.
‘Not just a walk in the sun’: Golf is a real sportProfessional golfer Brooks Koepka lines up a putt. Courtesy | us A t od Ay Sophomore Reese Dragovich set a personal best in the 800m in a meet at Tiffin University. Courtesy | dAvid be AC h
Hillsdale College appointed Keven Bradley as the new head coach of the Chargers’ men’s basketball program Tuesday, April 11.
The move came after the college announced previous head coach John Tharp will be moving into a new position as the Hillsdale College Athletic Director June 30 of this year.
“Kevin was my recommendation to the administration and to Dr. Arnn of who I thought would be a great men’s basketball coach,” Tharp said. “I think Kevin is a man with just high morals and great character.”
Bradley coached at several DII and DIII institutions — including Lawrence University, Upper Iowa University, and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside — before joining the Chargers’ men’s basketball program as an associate head coach three years ago.
During his time at Hillsdale, Bradley has helped lead the program to three consecutive NCAA DII Tournament berths and three consecutive 21 or more win seasons — one of which saw the Chargers secure the program’s first-ever Midwest Regional title.
“I’m incredibly grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to help lead this program,” Bradley said. “This program has been so incredibly successful under Coach Tharp’s tutelage for the last 16 years.”
Bradley said he plans to continue building on this success, making use of the work and preparation that has already been accomplished in getting the team to the place it is today.
See Coach A8
The Hillsdale baseball team won all four games against Lake Erie College April 15 and 18, scoring 63 runs across both doubleheaders. Following his performance last week, senior shortstop Aidan Brewer was named G-MAC player of the week. After 35 games, the Chargers now have a conference record of 12-8.
The Chargers won the first doubleheader games 14-7 and 10-7. In the first game, sophomore first baseman Will Shannon hit a home run in the first inning and senior infielder Cody Kanclerz hit one in the third, putting Hillsdale at a five run lead. In the second game, junior outfielder Joe Hardenbergh hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Chargers a 3-0 lead — a lead they kept the entire game.
“We did exactly what we were supposed to do against
Lake Erie,” junior outfielder Danny Passinault said. “We did a good job of capitalizing on their mistakes all weekend.”
The second doubleheader on Tuesday yielded similar results with the Chargers winning 19-3 and 20-3. The Chargers scored 13 runs in the fourth inning, and junior first baseman Nate Waligora hit a crucial grand slam during the fourth that put the Chargers up 11-1.
By the third inning of the second game, the Chargers had a six run lead because of homeruns hit by Shannon and Passinault in the first and third innings respectively.
Brewer hit a grand slam that helped the Chargers to a decisive win with a 11-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. The Chargers also scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth.
“We played as well as expected against Lake Erie,” head coach Tom Vessella said. “Even though they are at the bottom of the conference,
we still needed to play up to our capabilities to sweep the series.”
Following the four wins against Lake Erie, the Chargers lost 9-4 in a game to Grand Valley State University April 19. The Chargers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning after a sacrifice fly from Kanclerz.
The Lakers took a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning after scoring five runs on five hits.
The Chargers will play Walsh University this weekend, April 23-24, in a four game series. They will also play one game against Wayne State University April 25. They held the lead for the rest of the game.
“There is always room for improvement regardless of the outcome, and I am sure many on our team would be able to find some instances where we can be better,” Vessella said. “Now we need to keep the momentum going into this weekend against a very good Walsh team.”
The first time Hillsdale College reached out to now senior track and cross country runner Meg Scheske, she said no.
Reflecting on her four years as an athlete and a student, Scheske said she came to Hillsdale because of athletics but found everything she wanted in a college.
“I’ve gotten so much from Hillsdale and running has only been one factor of a lot of blessings,” Scheske said. “I’m just immensely grateful if for no other reason that running brought me here.”
Editor
The Hillsdale softball team went 4-2 last week in games against Trevecca Nazarene, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Northwood. Because of her performance in the first four games, junior pitcher Erin Kapteyn earned G-MAC Pitcher of the Week.
The Chargers won 3-1 in the nightcap against Trevecca after losing 2-0 in the first game April 14 in Nashville, Tennessee. They won 3-1 in the first game against Kentucky Wesleyan and they won 10-0 in the nightcap at Kentucky Wesleyan April 15. In the Northwood doubleheader April 19, the team lost 2-0 in the first game and won 5-0 in
the second game.
“Trevecca is one of the top teams in the conference so splitting with them was good,” Gross said. “Both games were tight. All 14 innings of those games were pretty intense.”
Kapteyn won the team’s fourth G-MAC Pitcher of the Week award this season.
“That’s our third G-MAC Pitcher of the Week in a row,” Gross said. “Joni Russell had had it two weeks in a row and then Erin got it the third week.”
In the third inning of the Trevecca nightcap, freshman second baseman Taylor Lewis hit a home run as the first at-bat, putting the Chargers up 1-0.
Junior catcher McKenna Eichholz hit two doubles, finishing 2-for-3, and sophomore pitcher and utility player Emma Vis also hit a double.
Kapteyn struck out seven batters, walked one, scattered four hits, and only allowed one late earned run.
In the first game against
Kentucky Wesleyan, sophomore pitcher Joni Russell struck out 15 batters, walked one, and gave up five hits. In the nightcap, Kapteyn pitched four shutout innings and struck out six batters.
Freshman pitcher MacKenzi Maxson struck out one hitter and walked another in the final inning of the game.
“We have a lot of grit and we’re all willing to do what it takes to win and play well against tough teams,” freshman pitcher MacKenzi Maxson said. “Very few games are a given in our conference and we’re determined to not let up on any team at any point. We’ve been very successful in conference play so far, and we all work extremely hard to keep playing at that level of success.”
Hillsdale stands 26-17 overall on the season and 12-4 in the G-MAC. The Chargers will be on the road to play a doubleheader against the Lake Erie Storm April 22 and the Ursuline Arrows April 23.
After competing in track and cross country since the age of 10, Scheske will leave the sport with an impressive record in both disciplines. In cross country, she qualified three times for the Division II National Meet and made second team AllG-MAC in 2020 and 2021. In track, Scheske qualified twice for the DII National Meet in the outdoor 3000m steeplechase and placed six times in the G-MAC for the indoor mile, 5000m run, and steeplechase.
An accomplished high school athlete from Sturgis, Michigan, Scheske was recruited by several DI schools before deciding on Hillsdale.
After visiting DI schools and meeting with coaches and teammates, Scheske felt disillusioned with college athletics.
“When I talked to coaches, I felt very much not like a person,” Scheske said. “I felt like someone to be used for my running abilities and used until I broke.”
Scheske said she got the impression that the other athletes were only there to get a “ticket for a job,” something she was not interested in.
“I really liked reading theology,” Scheske said. “So I came to the conclusion that ‘I don’t get to read stuff that’s worthwhile in school, so I’m just going to not go to college and work at a flower shop and read theology and philosophy.’”
Just as she was thinking that she would not go to college at all, Hillsdale
reached out a second time. Scheske said something clicked when she talked to Coach R.P. White the first time.
“The first thing he said was ‘we see you as a whole person, so your moral, your spiritual, and your academic life are all going to play a role in your physical abilities to compete as an athlete,’” Scheske said. “And that was the first and only time I heard a coach say anything along those lines.”
Scheske said that the transition from high school to Hillsdale was a shock for her as running and academics intensified and she battled health difficulties her sophomore year.
“I was physically exhausted 24/7 because I was running mileage I had never run in my life repeatedly on end,” Scheske said. “And I felt very broken down on all cylinders because I was just so unprepared for the intensity I encountered here.”
Nevertheless, Scheske said she was able to pull through and find the balance in running and academics thanks to her faith life and the support of her coaches and teammates.
She set personal records in cross country at nationals her freshman year and competed in track nationals for steeplechase her sophomore and junior years.
This past season, Scheske represented Hillsdale as an individual at cross country nationals.
“It felt like this culminating moment of ‘yes, I’ve figured out this sport after all these years,’” Scheske said about her experience in the race. “I reached a state of knowing who I am in racing and in the sport.”
White said that Scheske’s senior season especially revealed her growth as an athlete.
“She’s really disciplined and diligent,” White said. “She’s come a long way with self-confidence and during this past indoor season, she almost seemed authoritative when she was out racing. So it’s just really cool to see her go through that whole process throughout her time here as a long distance runner.”
Guitar riffs and melodies from Bruno Mars to Mr. Brightside blared across the quad on Friday night as students dressed for a whiteout theme flocked to the Old Snack Bar for CHP Showdown, one of SAB’s biggest events of the year.
From 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., eight student bands battled it out for the chance to open for the DWLLERS at Centralhallapalooza on April 29.
New and returning bands– The Ambassadors, No Boys Allowed, Diet of Worms, Sean Connery Jr., James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes, Schizmatics, Half House, and In Violet– gave it their all on stage in an electric display of campus band culture. Hundreds of students filtered in and out of OSB throughout the night to enjoy the music, support the bands, and vote for their favorite groups by dropping pearl-like beads into vases designated for each group.
“I love seeing the student talent and all of their friends coming out and supporting them,” Director of Student Activities Maddie Clark said. “I think the turnout this year was a little bit more than usual because the weather is a lot nicer.”
SAB decked out the OSB in an apres ski theme and served pizza, popcorn, and other snacks inside while the bands played on stage outside the doors.
Freshman Katherine Tobin
said that she enjoyed the atmosphere that SAB created and that The Ambassadors and Diet of Worms were her favorite groups of the night.
“I think it was a wholesome time to let loose and have a great time with my friends,” Tobin said. “It was better than I expected. I expected it to be cramped and hot in the Old Snack Bar, so having it outside was nice.”
James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes upset last year’s defending champions, the Schizmatics, and took first place with 383 votes.
The Schizmatics finished in second with 307, and The Ambassadors came in a close third over Sean Connery Jr. with 260 votes.
According to senior and lead singer Matthias Rhein, James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes has been together under various names as a group of Phi Mu Alpha musicians for more than 10 years, with different members coming in and out every year.
This year, Rhein, senior Avery Miller, senior Michael Thalen, senior Nathan Bly, and freshman Luca Vitale got together as James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes to carry on the tradition.
“Avery Miller and I have been playing together since sophomore year,” Rhein said. “The other guys have played on and off for the last couple of years, but this year was the first year we were all together as one band.”
Rhein and the other seniors will graduate this year, but Rhein says he is confident that his band and the music
scene at Hillsdale are in good hands.
“Bands at Hillsdale never really die,” Rhein said. “They kind of change forms and they change members but the central idea usually stays true.”
For most of the past ten years, the group has won CHP Showdown except for last year when the Schizmatics took first place.
“We were anxious to retake the title and strike a blow for tradition,” Rhein said. “So we’re very happy that went well.”
According to Thalen, the group’s guitarist, this year was the best of his three years competing in Showdown.
“I think I’ve been most relaxed and able to let loose and have fun on stage and give a good show,” Thalen said. “Last year I was really concerned about getting votes, so I just sat there and I stressed over the vote table the whole time, and that was no fun. But I think we just played better than we ever have tonight.”
Rhein said that after watching the other student groups who played before him, he was impressed by the group Sean Connery Jr.
“Their set lists are amazing and their sound is really tight,” Rhein said. “I was a bit bummed to see that they didn’t make top three. They were just 10 points short of placing.”
While Rhein said he thinks his band played well and deserved to win, he’s hesitant about the way voting works at Showdown.
“Band culture is really important at Hillsdale,” Rhein said. “I really like seeing how the competition has driven each band to get better. One thing I do get hesitant about at Hillsdale is that at least at CHP Showdown, it can usually turn into a popularity contest of who’s got more friends in what area.”
After three years of participating in the competition, Rhein said he thinks that CHP would be better if their were some sort of impartial judge to the competition rather than popular vote.
“People will vote for their friends, and that’s just natural,” Rhein said. “But even on the winning side, I don’t like having a music competition that’s tied to popularity. I want it to be about music, who played better, who were better performers. Because I think that will actually encourage people to work harder on the performance side and less on the PR side.”
Thalen said that regardless of who won, he enjoyed getting to watch and support the other bands who came out, especially The Ambassadors, Sean Connery Jr., and the Schizmatics.
“There’s a weird amount of musical talent as far as bands go on this campus,” Thalen said. “It’s really cool that you’ve got all of the classical musicians who go and do awesome things and then you’ve also got bands who play rock and pop and funk, and they’re both really good at what they do. It’s a cool culture.”
From pancakes to chocolate roses, Hillsdale sororities find creative ways to get students to contribute to philanthropic causes.
Every spring semester, each of Hillsdale’s sororities–Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi–dedicate time and resources to events meant to draw attention and support for their respective philanthropic associations.
Chi Omega’s president, Aruna Harihara, described the importance of her sorority’s philanthropy, MakeA-Wish. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization that grants over 15,000 wishes annually to critically-ill children, thanks in large part to the over $20 million raised by Chi Omega women nationally.
“Community service is extremely important for Chi Omega, as it is one of our six purposes,” Harihara said. “Even going beyond that, service to others allows us to look beyond ourselves and the business of our daily lives.”
Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi’s philanthropy directors – Phoebe Johnson and Abigail Fleming – agreed with this sentiment, citing philanthropy as one of the main characteristics of sorority life.
“Philanthropy and service are at the core of what Pi Phi is and believes in,” Fleming
said. “As college students, it is easy to lose sight of what is really important, but engaging with the community and giving back to those around us reminds us that there is more to life than school. Helping those in need is important to who we are as human beings.”
Phoebe Johnston, the philanthropy director for Kappa Kappa Gamma, emphasized the role philanthropy plays in allowing members of the sorority to live out their values and effect positive change.
While most of the sorority philanthropy events are long standing traditions, each organization often tries to introduce new ideas to keep campus interested and involved.
Kappa’s annual Valentine’s Day Send-A-Rose campaign, which raised money for the National Eating Disorders Association, has been a campus tradition for many years and allows students and faculty to purchase a rose to send to a loved one, either anonymously or with a note.
“There are some events that are traditional, like Send-A-Rose, but there is still a lot of freedom when it comes to finding new ways to do things,” Johnston said. “This year, we switched to chocolate roses instead of real ones and people seemed to really enjoy it and we got even more orders than before.”
Chi Omega philanthropy chair, Ruth Kirsch, described how she is introducing a new
event this year that is closer to the students’ hearts.
“I’ve decided to add an extra event this year unrelated to our national philanthropy– a drive for Helping Hands Pregnancy Center, which is right here in Hillsdale,” Kirsch said. “The upcoming Pregnancy Center drive will be a completely new event for Chi Omega, but I’m looking forward to it hopefully becoming a tradition.”
Kappa Kappa Gamma nationally has a mental health and well-being focus, but each chapter gets to choose a specific organization to support.
“We should be critical of how we understand and help those with mental illness and eating disorders as a group of college-age women in an age of endless scrolling on TikTok and illusory Instagram posts,” said Kappa’s President, Evelyn Kilty. “Aiding organizations that help people and families struggling should be taken with the utmost sincerity and confidence.”
While Kappa and Chi Omega work with independent organizations, Pi Phi’s created their own philanthropy, Read > Lead > Achieve nonprofit organization, which combats children’s illiteracy.
Fleming’s personal favorite philanthropy event this spring was the official Pi Beta Phi program, Champions are Readers because it was directly working with children in the community. In January, about a dozen Pi Phi
women spent a week reading to first-grade students at Gier Elementary School in Hillsdale as part of CAR.
“The students were so excited to have so many ‘Pi Phi Friends,’ and the girls in the house definitely bonded over the amazing experience of interacting with, and reading to, such sweet kids,” Fleming said.
In their own ways, Hillsdale’s sororities are dedicated to making a difference in our community and strengthening the bonds within their houses in the process.
“Philanthropy events are avenues for fun and cherished college memories, but hold more meaning than other events we organize because we are raising money for the good of another,” said Kilty. “Philanthropy also shows us that the spirit of magnanimity and kindness is something worth continuing and preserving.”
Pi Phi’s President, Hannah Allen, said, “Philanthropy is an opportunity to embrace something outside of ourselves. It gives you a whole new perspective. It reminds me that I can make an impact, even if it may be small.”
Harihara explained the importance of philanthropy on the college campus and beyond.
“Greek life is designed to create a community of students outside the classroom, while also striving to live as the best version of ourselves,” Harihara said.
Carter Floering is a senior double majoring in Math and Music with a focus on from Traverse City, Michigan. He is the first Music major with a focus on jazz piano at the College.
How and why did you first become passionate about music?
My parents My mom is a classical pianist, and my dad is a jazz trumpet player. Around the house growing up, my mom would play classical pieces, and I would use my ear to imitate them to play myself. And as far as style of music, my dad would always be playing jazz. So, it was a combination of ear training and that interest in jazz that came together as a love for the music.”
What has your experience with the music department been?
The four hundred level Music Theory course. I liked that it connected to jazz, and gave me tools I could apply to my jazz music even though it was more classically oriented. As far as professors, I really enjoyed Dr. Church for philosophy, and Dr. Brandon for theater history.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I’m looking at software development in Knoxville, Tennessee, where I will also be doing jazz piano gigs. My music will always continue even if I do go more of the mathematics route.
How has music helped you develop character?
lessons into practice. For example, if I learn improvisational techniques in a lesson, then I can pick a song that I want to learn in my free time and start to apply that technique to the song.
How has math helped with music?
The way you have to think in mathematics is similar to the way that I have to think with my jazz sometimes. In math you have to try to discover the solution to equations through utilizing different formulas, which is similar to sitting down in a practice room with nothing by chords, trying to throw everything that you’ve learned at a piece to make sense of it.
How have you promoted yourself and gotten your name out there?
I have been in jazz groups since I’ve gotten here. I play piano in the jazz band here, I play tenor saxophone in the jazz combo, and I recently played piano for The Ambassadors at CHP Showdown. I also will have a trio with myself, Dan Palmer, the guitar instructor here, who plays bass, as well as a drummer from Detroit for my senior recital.
Floering’s senior recital will take place on April 28 at 8pm, in Plaster Auditorium.
By Michael Bachmann Assistant Editor
When a friend told me that he was organizing a trip to see “Carmen” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago last semester, I jumped at the opportunity to attend.
I had never been to the opera but, as an aspiring socialite, I knew it was something I had to experience to claim the mantle.
The trip was planned in October for a show on March 22, which meant I would have had to wait five long months before reaching the height of culture.
Thankfully, the opera gods ushered me to their temple much sooner than I had expected. While home in Connecticut, I ended up going to the Metropolitan Opera House twice— once over winter break and again over spring break, both times spontaneously.
Including my recent trip to Chicago, I have now been to three operas in the last three months. I have become something of an opera regular and expert.
The opera is the performing art that most resembles the epic. It is the human condition on steroids— a visceral drama in a language that you can’t understand unfolding in perfect clarity.
Much like an epic, the opera reaches beyond the scope of a regular performance. I repeatedly found myself lost in its grandeur—the complex music, the dazzling sets, the gilded architecture.
And yet, the opera is surprisingly simple. It opts for strength, not subtly. Solid tableaus rather than flashy dance sequences command the stage and actors commit to almost absurd displays of emotion that can be seen even from the nosebleeds.
There is never any doubt who is in love with who or who is angry at who or is displaying any other emotion at any other character.
Thanks to these bold choices, the opera is perfect-
ly understandable. Although opera houses project the lyrics in English, you can allow yourself to get entirely swept up in the story without reading them. The music itself, not the lyrics, are what convey the emotions.
Admittedly, my favorite part of the opera is the spectacle surrounding it. What happens in the audience is the perfect complement to what happens on stage.
I quickly learned, after attending my first opera in khakis and a dress shirt, that one cannot merely go to the opera. Among floor length gowns and three-piece suits, I might as well have been wearing my sweatpants.
Looking respectable is not enough at the opera. The epicness of such an art form demands an equally epic commitment from the audience.
What would be out of place nearly anywhere else is at home at the opera — rows of Bentleys parked out front, champagne and cigarettes during intermission, elderly couples that look more like English aristocrats than city dwellers. Each time I have attended the opera, I’ve appreciated the formality and extravagance more and more.
My trip to Chicago in March was no different.
I had never been to the city before, and as I stepped onto the sidewalk for the first time, I felt like I was transported to the 1950s. The art deco architecture and racketing L trains created a distinctly industrial glam.
While we weren’t able to spend much time in the city before the performance began, somehow just eating deep dish pizza in a suit made the day feel more grand.
After getting back to Hillsdale at 3 a.m., I was exhausted, but the trip was worth it. The opera turned my weekday into an excursion of art and fellowship. It invited me to partake in its epic splendor.
Amazing! The opportunities here, especially for it being a small school are incredible. I never expected to see the Harry James Orchestra three times, or work with Mike Williams, who’s a trumpet player for the Basse Band, or Dan Miller, a trumpet player from New York. Definitely way better than I expected for a small school.
Favorite professor and class?
Sitting in a practice room takes a lot of patience to actually learn the pieces that you don’t know, and that can be a struggle. I’ve seen so many jokes and memes of musicians hitting the same note over and over again just to get it right, and that’s really how it is sometimes, and can be so aggravating. It takes a lot of patience, and performing takes a lot of courage.
What does doing music in your free time look like?
In college, it’s always practicing. Whether that be for a gig or a recital, or taking things that I’ve learned in
What do you do with a drunken sailor early in the morning? According to the new band Hillsgaelic, the answer is simple: sing about him.
“There’s a distinct lack of Irish music on campus,” lead singer and sophomore Colin Joyce said. “There have been a couple of nights where a bunch of guys just stand around the fire, screaming Irish ballads. We really love Irish music.”
The band is mostly made up of members of the Mu Alpha men’s music fraternity. Freshman fiddler and Mu Alpha member Tobin Sommerville started the band, which features senior Matthew Welch on lead guitar, junior Gabe Kottkamp on percussion and backup vocals, and freshman Julian Burchard on bass guitar.
Some of the band members, such as Charlie Reamsnyder, joined only two days before Hillsgaelic’s first performance at the SAI benefit concert.
“Charlie plays the bodhrán, which is the Irish frame drum,” Sommerville said. “He heard about us a few days earlier, joined us at the practice before the show, and nailed it immediately.”
Another change before the show was the addition of Gail Kunze, who took the place of lead soprano and freshman Tully Mitchell.
“Tully got laryngitis and Gale was able to step in at the last minute,” Sommerville said.
In spite of the mishap, Hillsgaelic won “crowd favorite” at the concert.
“They were very upbeat and performed with full energy,” SAI member and sophomore Kat Surkan said.
ed out the scene described in the song “Finnegan’s Wake.”
“Luke brought out a ladder and acted out the song, which was very amusing,” Surkan said. “It was about a workman who climbed a ladder and fell off and lay still. The band then covered him with a blanket since they thought he was dead and gave him whiskey.
“Basically, if it sounds good with string instruments, percussion, and vocals, then we’ll play it.”
The band practices once a week, and hopes to play at Mu Alpha’s end of year concert as well as Rough Draft at some point in the future.
The band members have a passion for Irish music, in part because of their heritage.
“We’re six Irish guys and one Irish lass, so we really try to get into the music,” Joyce said.
Sommerville has played the violin for 14 years, and the fiddle for seven. He led an Irish band with his father and twin brother called The Copper Celts.
“The reason my brother and father and I started The Copper Celts was because of an Irish band that we saw at a Norwegian festival in Sweden,” Sommerville said. “We were there on a trip with a Finnish folk dance group, and heard them play and thought that it seemed like a lot of fun.”
The Copper Celts performed about five times during the two and a half years that it was active, and often played together in more casual settings.
Hillsgaelic incorporated introductions to each song in their performance, explaining the type of song and its contents. The band also included a theatrical element in their performance, in which Colin Joyce’s brother Luke Joyce act-
Hillsgaelic also played “The Devil Down Below,” the “Dreadnaught,” and “Over the Hills and Far Away.”
“We love playing generally Irish music,” Joyce said.
“I really missed playing Irish music,” Sommerville said. “A couple of the members of Mu Alpha are aggressively Irish, and expressed interest in an Irish band after hearing me play fiddle with Matthew Welch last semester.”
How one student accidentally attended three operas during this school year.A group of students attended “Carmen” in Chicago in March. Michael Bachmann | Collegian The members of Hillsgaelic are bringing a new sound to Hillsdale’s campus. Erin Osborne | Collegian Carter Floering has been playing the piano since he was a young boy. Courtesy | Carter Floering
Isaw the date and said, ‘Guys, we’ve got 100 years,’” Dianne Paul, treasurer of the American Legion Auxiliary said to her colleagues.
On April 10, the women of the Post 53 American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) celebrated their 100-year anniversary over refreshments and snacks right on the edge of Baw Beese Lake. The sky was blue, the mosquitos were out, and the Bud was Light.
The ALA is a subdivision of the American Legion, a nonprofit organization of U.S. war veterans that was founded in 1919. There are over 3,000 “posts,” gathering spots for members (most always wellequipped with a bar), across
America with 360 posts in Michigan alone.
The ALA works to support the Legion through veteran advocacy, citizenship education, youth mentorship, and the promotion of patriotism, according to its website. Although the ALA works in tandem with the Legion, they abide by their own set of bylaws and operate under their own elected president.
Connie McDowell, whose husband is a Vietnam army veteran, is the current Unit 53 ALA president and came to her position last year after serving nearly thirteen years as the unit’s treasurer.
“My favorite event that we do every year is the poppies for veterans in May,” McDowell said. “Auxiliary ladies will go out around town and ask people if they’ll wear a poppy
for a veteran. They donate money and it all goes toward our veteran programs.”
Unit 53 ALA has about 170 members— some of whom regularly attend the monthly meetings and help coordinate community events, like the celebration on Monday. Paul is one of them. Despite only being a member of this post for about a year and a half, she serves as the ALA treasurer.
“My father was a past commander at the Montgomery legion,” Paul said. “I used to go there with him and my kids as well. When we moved to Michigan from Ohio, the Hillsdale legion was much closer and more active than our post in Perrysburg.”
Paul also helped write the proclamation submitted to and approved by the Mayor of Hillsdale Adam Stockford,
who came to the celebration to read the proclamation and bestow a printed copy to the governing council of the ALA.
“ALA unit 53 exemplifies service not self through countless volunteer hours, programs, and participation in service projects and never wavers in their commitment to honor those who have served their country and to assist those in the Hillsdale community,” Stockford read.
One of Paul’s favorite events the ALA participates in is the Wreaths Across America program, which coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 3,700 locations of veterans’ graves across America every December.
“My husband and I started a chapter here last year,” Paul said. “We were able to cover
every veteran’s grave here. It was super cool, and hopefully, it will carry on as a tradition. The people in the community really supported us.”
The Legion hosts many events throughout the year like Easter egg hunts, a Memorial Day service, and their Baw Beese Bash, a three-day event in June. They even have a fireworks display on July 3rd every year. Most events are open to the public as well as members.
“That’s a goal a few of us are working toward,” Paul said. “We have to get the word out more. People just don’t know what kind of things we do.”
American Legion membership is open to active-duty military service members, Reserve, National Guard, and honorably discharged veter-
ans. The ALA is open to women who are descendants of the members of the Legion. With minimal annual dues, membership to the Legion and its associated groups secure members access to a community that works to honor and preserve U.S. veteran contributions.
“The Legion has been having a hard time, so the money we make through our events helps it stay afloat,” McDowell said. “I figure if we’re helping the Post, we’re helping veterans.”
Maybe next week, instead of a Pub & Grub karaoke visit or an El Cerrito’s margarita tower, military members and their relatives will consider a trip down to Baw Beese where the beers are cheap and the patriotic spirit runs high.
Five years after gradu-
ating from Hillsdale, Nathan Steinmeyer ’18 spends his days reading Arameic, Hittite, Summarian, and Akkadian texts.
“I study the entirety of the ancient Near East,” Steinmeyer said. “Anywhere there is cuneiform writing going on, I study it.”
Steinmayer, who lives and works in Israel, is pursuing a Ph.D in Assyriology at Tel Aviv University with a focus on the Old Late Babylonian Period.
Steinmeyer’s dissertation is about life at Dūr-Abiešuḫ, a border fortress on the Tigris
River during the Late Babylonian period. As part of his research, he is studying a collection of tablets from the fortress that was discovered 30 years ago.
“Up until this point most of the work on it has just been the translation,” Steinmeyer said. “I am one of the first people going through and doing an in depth study of the text as a historical record.”
For his thesis, Steinmeyer plans to create a prosopography, a social mapping of the fortress that will explore its social hierarchy. His research focuses on the Practitioners of Divination, a class of prophetic priests that moved into the fortress after a nearby city was attacked.
“Because this is a border site, how are these diviners different at this site than at a major city? Is their job different? Do they interact with people differently? Is their function within the society at the fortress different?”
While Steinmeyer said he has not finished his social mapping, his research has allowed him to make important historical discoveries, including the date the Babylonian king was able to reconquer the fortress.
Steinmeyer was recently given control over a private collection of artifacts in the Old City of Jerusalem that has never been studied before.
“I convinced the owner of the collection to grant me permission to be the first person to study the collection and do the publication,” Steinmeyer said. “Just holding a tablet myself and knowing that I am the person academically responsible for it has been really cool.”
Steinmeyer focuses on social and anthropological questions, many of which remain pertinent today.
Calvert joined Steinmeyer and his wife, Roz, for dinner at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
In spite of the blistering heat, Hillsdale’s Roundnet Club hosted their inaugural Spikeball tournament last week.
Students gathered on Simpson Fields on Friday from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. to participate in the tournament. 16 teams competed, which included beginner and advanced divisions Freshmen Anna Heldt and Moria Gleason won the beginner division, while sophomore Christian Mancuso and senior Tim Boyd won the tournament.
“I have been a part of the Roundnet Club for this semester,” Heldt said, “It’s a good way to unwind with friends, and this tournament is a great way to include people that aren’t a part of the club. It’s competitive, but I’m here to have fun.”
Heldt said she and Gleason won their division by making the other team laugh.
“They were too distracted to play well,” Heldt said, “There was a reason we were in the beginner’s bracket.” Mancuso said he noticed a poster for the tournament and decided to attend his first Roundnet Club event with Boyd.
“We’re exactly the same way we were 4,000 years ago, the only difference is technology has allowed us to do things quicker and from a longer distance.”
Even still, Steinmeyer said much of the technology we use today, such as stamps, was invited thousands of years ago. In some instances, ancient technology surpasses what we have today.
“These tiny stamps really serve as a reminder of ingenuity. It would be difficult for someone today to figure out how to make something that small that intricate with normal hand tools,” Steinmeyer said. “To look at these things that are so artistically beautiful is breathtaking.”
Steinmeyer hopes to become a professor after completing his Ph.D. He currently serves as assistant editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, a general audience magazine about the Biblical world.
“That is something that I am really passionate about — finding ways to take really complicated topics that the average person does not have the time to learn themselves and finding ways to share that with them in a way that is easy to understand and condensed,” Steinmeyer said.
According to Steinmeyer, archaeology allows Christians to better understand Biblical context even if it cannot provide answers about specific people and events.
“As a former football player here at Hillsdale, I seize any opportunities to compete in athletic events,” Mancuso said.
Freshman Veronica Fogo said the athletic nature of the game also attracted her to the tournament.
“I played sports in high school, and Spikeball is a great way to get moving, be competitive, and spend time with friends,” Fogo said.
Students played single-elimination Spikeball, in which teams are eliminated after losing one game.
Roundnet Club President Joseph Duncan said he hopes the tournament will help to promote the Roundnet Club.
Steinmeyer cited Psalm 23 as an example. The imagery of God as a shepherd is not unique to King David, he said. Similar poetry dates back to a 4th-millennium Sumar King worshiping his personal god.
“That doesn’t take anything away from the Psalms but reminds us that people writing scripture were connected to a much richer, much deeper cultural heritage than we imagine,” Steinmayer said. “When we talk about the western heritage, Rome and Greece were only the new new kids on the block.”
While at Hillsdale, Steinmeyer majored in philosophy and religion with a minor in math. Steinmeyer said Professor of History Kenneth Calvert encouraged him in his study of the ancient world.
“On the one hand, he was an excellent student. He was very interested in the ancient near east right of the bat,” Calvert said. “On the other hand, he regularly fell asleep in class.”
Professor of Religion Don Westblade, who taught Steinmeyer for three semesters, agreed that Steinmeyer was an excellent student.
“His love of the Ancient Near East was exceeded only by his passion for percussion,” Westblade said. “Who can forget the outdoor drum circle he organized reverberating all over the campus?”
As an assyriologist working in Israel, Steinmeyer said
“I hope the tournament will bring out some people who are looking for a fun and competitive atmosphere on campus,” Duncan said.
“The Hillsdale Roundnet Club is looking to bring competitive Spikeball to Hillsdale but also a healthy space where students can forget about their papers and exams for a few hours.”
Duncan also works as an ambassador for the Spikeball brand. He hopes to promote the sport and compete in the spikeball collegiate series, an annual Spikeball tournament.
“Joseph is the man behind the event, and the tournament has been his brainchild. He has done an amazing job
he has the opportunity to visit and excavate archaeological sites throughout the Near East.
“One of the most remarkable feelings in the world is when you uncover a pot and you hold it in your hands, and you realize the last person to hold the pot lived 4,000 years ago,” Steinmeyer said. “There are few things that match that feeling.”
Steinmeyer recently helped a friend excavate a nomadic site on the Dead Sea.
The group was looking for lumanates — small, crescent shaped arrowheads used to hunt small prey such as rabbits.
“They are so small that even a good archaeologist would miss them. Yet someone six thousand years ago took the time to delicately create each of these by hand for a very important purpose,” Steinmeyer said. According to Steinmeyer, archeology is an extremely methodical process. Each archaeologist is responsible for a small dig whole which they excavate strata by strata, recording data as they go. At the end of the day, artifacts are cleaned and sorted and further data is recorded.
“It’s nothing like you see in Indiana Jones, but it is just as exciting.”
growing this club in its first semester, and I am excited to see where it will go under his leadership,” said Jacob Beckwith, the club’s vice president.
Duncan and Beckwith met while playing Spikeball last semester and quickly decided to form a club.The Student Federation approved the club last semester, according to Beckwith.
“I think the club is a perfect example of what sets Hillsdale apart. A couple freshmen have an idea, decide to start a club, and create an outlet for the entire student body to get away from the studying and have some fun,” Beckwith said.
‘It’sPh.D student and Hillsdale alumnus shares his experience studying the ancient world and excavating archaeological sites in the Near East
‘Greek
Parishioners and visitors alike packed the parish hall of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the wee hours of Easter morning for the church’s annual Greek Feast. With more than 500 participants, this year’s Greek Feast was the biggest yet.
The feast began at midnight, directly after the Easter vigil Mass. Young and old crowded into the parish hall, first standing in line to load their plates with
Giant platters of hummus, pasta, and salad were soon emptied. Flaming cheese elicited cries of “Opa!” from the crowd. In the middle of the room, men carved up piping-hot roasted lamb for eager plates.
Seated amidst classmates, professors, sponsors, and priests, newly confirmed members of the Church enjoyed their first meal as Catholics. With chrism oil still fresh on their foreheads, they jubilantly embraced friends and family.
Junior Michael Hoggatt converted to Catholicism at St. Anthony this Easter.
“Having plenty of friends and even strangers at the feast congratulating me on my faith journey into the Church felt like the warmest welcome I’ve ever received,” Hoggatt said. “I stayed for somewhere over an hour, even for several of the Irish songs the throng of students sang outside.”
Alexis Zeiler ’18 hosted the parish’s first Greek Feast in 2015 after converting to Catholicism the previous year.
“I was struck by the beauty of the liturgy but saddened how everyone just left without celebrating the new converts. They had cake and punch in the parish hall, but no one stayed,” Zeiler said.
She and her husband spoke with Rev. David Reamsnyder, the pastor of St. Anthony’s, and were inspired by his stories of post-vigil dinners at Greek restaurants when he lived in Baltimore.
Hillsdale didn’t have any restaurants open late enough, but Zeiler was confident she could make something work.
In 2015, Zeiler and her husband, Seth, worked with friends and family members to put together a Greek Feast for the parish.
“The first year we did not have any real help from the parish and a lot of naysayers,” Zeiler said.
Then came 2016. Zeiler was five weeks postpartum and five weeks widowed, having lost her husband to a heart attack just a day before giving birth to her son, Charlie.
“Many people tried to convince me to cancel the Feast that year, but I persisted,” Zeiler said.
Parishioners responded to Zeiler’s tenacity, stepping in to help her succeed. Her motivation: a devotion to building the faith community at St. Anthony’s. Zeiler said she chose Greek food because it incorporates lamb,
a traditional symbol of Christ’s suffering and Resurrection.
“The food has become more ‘mediterranean’ as the years have progressed,” Zeiler said, noting the addition of dishes like tabbouleh and baba ganoush.
Zeiler’s culinary background allows Greek Feast to run smoothly. Her family has owned restaurants for several generations, and Zeiler currently runs her own catering company.
Seven years since its inception, Greek Feast has become a beloved St. Anthony’s tradition, involving dozens of parish families and Hillsdale students in the planning, cooking, and cleanup process. A spreadsheet records the weeks-long preparation process, with jobs ranging from baklava training to floor mopping.
Just days after the Greek Feast is over, Zeiler begins planning for the next one. She orders the lambs a year ahead to give the farmer time to plan his flock for the next year.
“I work to live liturgically, so I start my preparation at the beginning of the liturgical
year during Advent, then work to recruit volunteers during Lent,” Zeiler said.
Maria Schmid, a freshman, joined several other Hillsdale students at the home of Nathan Schlueter, professor of philosophy and religion. The group spent Holy Saturday rolling dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, for the feast.
“I was amazed by the community that was fostered not only during the feast itself but also during the preparation,” Schmid said. “Helping make food for the feast was such a beautiful way to serve and invest in the life-giving community that we have.”
Irish music has become part of the Vigil tradition. After the feast, students gathered in the crisp night air to sing ballads like “Red is the Rose” and a spirited version of “Hail Holy Queen” while smoking cigarettes or sipping wine.
To Hoggatt, this sort of celebration complements the solemn joy of Easter.
“Greek Feast adds the ever-Catholic element of community which is to make merry mirth. We’re celebrating the Resurrection, after all,” he said.
In this interview, Associate Professor of Biology Andrew Russell ’05 talks hair dryers, ranch, and Ronald Reagan.
Do you have any hidden hobbies or talents? Singing. I sang in college and in high school and previous churches we’ve been a part of. I like woodworking too. It’s a nice break from mental exercise.
Of all the states you’ve visited, which is the best?
I am going to be honest — Indiana, where I went to graduate school. We are very outdoorsy people, and it has a lot to do outdoors. The climate is also very nice.
What is your most controversial food opinion?
I do not like ranch. I think it is way overrated. I also don’t like mayonnaise. It has no flavor and is a waste of time and calories.
Who is one historical figure you look up to?
The Apostle Paul. Nobody has lit themselves on fire for God the way he did.
Alumni and present students often reunite at the vigil Mass and enjoy time together at the feast.
COURTESY | ROSEMARY SURDYKE
What is the most memorable gift you’ve ever given or received?
When I was in high school on Christmas day, I opened up a gift I had gotten from my parents. The box was for a hairdryer and sure enough, it was a hairdryer. I had never been so confused in my life. My mom thought it was the best thing in the world because she had heard me complaining about how it was to dry my hair.
What is one trend from the 90s that you think should come back?
When I was in high school playing basketball, we wanted the longest shorts we could get. I think they look cool and should come back in style.
What movie do you enjoy the most?
“The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston, which was a tradition in my family to watch at Easter time. It’s a pretty accurate biblical depiction. Because I really like sports, I like the movie “Hoosiers” too. I think everyone should see it.
If you could get rid of one modern technology, what would you choose?
Most social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. I feel like people waste a look of time on them.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?
Ronald Reagan. He was the first president I remember growing up. He is beloved by a lot of people and had an interesting background before he became president. It seems he would be a cool person to share a meal with.
What’s your favorite place you’ve visited?
Staniel Cay in the Bahamas.
Attendees gathered outside the parish hall to sing joyful Irish shanties. COURTESY | ROSEMARY SURDYKE