New dormitory to house women on campus starting in fall of 2023 By Tess Owen Assistant Editor Construction of a new dormitory next to New Dorm will finish by July 2023 and be ready for students in the fall, according to Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé. Located on Union Street, the new dorm will house female students. “It would work well as a men’s dorm, but, given its proximity, it works best for a women’s dorm” Péwé said. According to Péwé, the dorm has yet to be named, as the college is still funding the project. “The college is financing it internally and seeking a lead gift for the naming rights,” Péwé said. McIntyre Head resident assistant and junior Bridget Whalen said she welcomes the addition. “Considering the incoming class size of last year, having more space on campus is definitely a good thing,” Whalen said. Whalen said the new dorm could improve dorm life overall. “As long as they have better plumbing than Mac and better bathrooms than Olds, it should be an improvement,” Whalen said. “Hopefully they also have a better defined community space than Mac, which has so many it can actually be a
little isolating.” In addition to Péwé's office, Executive Director of Facilities Dave Billington is overseeing the project. “Liz Gray from my office has been managing the furniture procurement, and Julie Fisher has been assisting with paperwork,” Péwé said. “We have worked closely with Rebekah Dell on the interior finishes and furniture.” According to Péwé, the college has hired Design Collaborative and Weigand Construction to design and build the dorm, the same architect and contractor who built New Dorm in 2018. According to freshman Jamie Parsons, friendship is the main factor in where she’ll decide to live next year. “I’d need to know more about the new dorm before I’d see if I’d want to live there next year,” Parsons said. “I’m already planning on seeing where my friends go and staying where they end up.” Whalen said she also values community in dorm life. “We need a strong on-campus community and having a concentrated female presence on campus could be awesome,” Whalen said. “It could be a really wonderful inter-dorm community.”
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Vol. 146 Issue 10 - November 3, 2022
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Senior running back Michael Herzog celebrates after scoring a touchdown . Anthony Lupi| Collegian
Chargers defeat sixth-best team in the nation By Christian Peck-Dimit Associate Editor The Hillsdale Chargers football team toppled the nationally ranked Ashland Eagles in a 36-20 home win, ending the Eagle’s perfect season. The upset once again pushes the Chargers’ over .500 and marks the
Students have a ball at bubble soccer
program’s first win over a top-10 ranked team since taking down Grand Valley State in 2011. “At the beginning of the season, we were watching the full game footage of Grand Valley, and we were like ‘that’s a crazy game,’ I wonder if we can do that,” senior running back Michael Herzog said. “And we ended up doing it, so
yards and had two total touchdowns: one through the air and one on the ground. Gillock collected eight total tackles, two pass breakups, and returned the game’s only interception 17 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
See Football A8
'Hillsdale Student, American Hero' to premiere Wednesday in Plaster By Elyse Apel Opinions Editor
Dozens of students played bubble soccer on Wednesday at Simpson Field, hosted by the Student Activities Board. Hannah Cote | SAB
now we’re hoping that kids can watch our game and be like, ‘yeah, we can do that someday.’” After the performance, fifth-year senior quarterback Luke Keller earned the conference’s offensive Player Of The Week award, while sophomore defensive back Jackson Gillock won the defensive award. Keller threw for 223
Six Hillsdale students will present their documentary on Hillsdale alumna and renowned codebreaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 in Plaster Auditorium. Friedman, who graduated from Hillsdale in 1915, worked as a codebreaker during both world wars. The movie is this semester’s group project for the documentary filmmaking course, taught by instructor Buddy Moorehouse as part of the Dow Journalism Program. “It has been a beautiful opportunity to work on the Elizebeth Friedman documentary,” said junior
Lauren Scott, who is one of the students in the filmmaking class. The showing is free and open to the public. A donor provided financial support that allowed the students to travel for research and interviews. “That was an incredible bonus,” Moorehouse said, “because the film would have been a lot harder to do if we didn’t have that funding.” Four students traveled to Washington, D.C., and Virginia to visit Friedman’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery, where she is buried beside her husband William Friedman, a fellow codebreaker. The students then traveled to Lexington, Vir-
ginia, to visit the George C. Marshall Foundation, where an archive of Friedman's family correspondence, codebreaking papers, and pictures are kept. “There were 22 boxes, filled to the brim with any document you could think of tangentially related to Friedman,” said senior Christian Peck-Dimit, who visited D.C. Two students also visited Tucson, Arizona, to interview Friedman’s grandson, Chris Atchison. Atchison said he plans to attend the documentary’s premiere.
See Documentary A2
College adds new online course on the Founding in discussion-based format By Alexandra Comus Collegian Freelancer Hillsdale’s newest online course, “The Real American Founding: A Conversation,” features a conversational approach to American founding principles as they were understood at the Founding, according to Kyle Murnen, director of online learning. Released on Oct. 11, the eight-part course includes conversations between Professor of Politics Thomas
West and Assistant Professor and Research Fellow at Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship David Azerrad. West and Azerrad said they aim to discuss how the Founders would view current events. Murnen said the conversational style of the course is unprecedented in Hillsdale’s online courses, but early feedback has been positive and could lead to similar courses in the future.
“It was especially helpful to have the conversational aspect, where Dr. Azerrad was able to draw out certain points that Dr. West explained,” Murnen said. West said his book, “The Political Theory of the American Founding,” published in 2017, inspired the new course. “In this book, I tried to show how the founders had a coherent political theory grounded in the natural law and natural rights tradition, and that their policies
were all connected with their theories of what government is for and what the principles of government are,” West said. According to West, the course is a way to make these ideas accessible to a wider audience. “In the course, we talk about the relationship between the Founders’ ideas and what people today think about such matters,” West said. Murnen said the course discusses the American
Founders’ ideas of a good nation and illuminates how they might see modern issues. “I think it’s a very different presentation of the Founding than what many people are used to,” Murnen said. According to Azerrad, it is crucial to understand and to be bound by the principles of the Founders. He said this does not mean Americans must always be bound by the exact policies of the Founding.
Instead, they should have a healthy recognition of the profound thought and purpose behind American government. “Through this course, we try to recover how they thought about certain issues,” Azerrad said. “People think that the founding was just a bunch of guys in wigs who talked about the separation of powers, but there is much more.”
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A2 November 3, 2022
Professor argues evolution and Christianity can coexist
James Spiegel will join the Hillsdale faculty in January. Courtesy| James Spiegel
By Isaac Green Assistant Editor
Taylor professor finds refuge in Hillsdale philosophy department By Thomas McKenna Collegian Freelancer James Spiegel will join the Hillsdale faculty after he was fired from Taylor University for refusing to remove a music video from his YouTube channel. Starting in January, Spiegel will teach philosophy classes and conduct research as the Arete Professorial Fellow during the next three semesters. The college’s Arete Research Center for Philosophy, Science, and Society hosted the fellowship, currently held by Paul Rezkalla. “He is a world-class scholar,” said Professor of Philosophy Ian Church, director of the center. “The fact that he was applying for something like this was jaw-dropping.” Spiegel taught for 27 years at Taylor University — a small, Christian liberal arts college in Upland, Indiana. Spiegel said he was fired after refusing to remove a video of himself playing a song he composed titled “Little Hitler” on his YouTube channel. “There’s a little Hitler inside of me / There’s a brutal killer inside everyone / The hatred grows inside us naturally,” Spiegel sings in the refrain of the song.
Spiegel said he meant for the song to satirize the sinful nature of man, and that he had performed it at college-sponsored events. “I performed the song in multiple contexts at Taylor, including as part of a chapel service,” Spiegel said. “I also played the song for a faculty retreat, and it was warmly accepted then. After a faculty member anonymously complained to the administration, the provost asked Spiegel to take the song off his YouTube page. “As the story goes, I declined,” Spiegel said. “Then, I was terminated.” Church said he was impressed by Spiegel’s goodwill toward Taylor after his termination. “If I was in his position, I'd be sorely tempted to be extremely angry and antagonistic to Taylor University,” Church said. “But Jim seems to be profoundly caring and forgiving and loving. He's shown genuine Christian character, amidst this hardship. A lot of people can talk a big game, but when it comes down to enduring hardship in that way, not everybody is going to rise to that challenge. It's good to see that he has.” Spiegel took a new job in May 2021, almost a year after his termination from Taylor, as the principal
at Lighthouse Christian Academy, also located in Upland, Indiana. When he joins the Hillsdale faculty next semester, he will be teaching classes, including Western Philosophical Tradition, as well as conducting research alongside Church on a project exploring the “Experimental Philosophy of Religion.” Church said he is excited to have Spiegel’s help with this project. “I think Dr. Spiegel is someone who perfectly fits the mission and vision of Hillsdale College, while also deeply appreciating the great academic freedom we have here,” Church said. “He's not just a refugee — he's a refugee that actually is fitting with Hillsdale.” Associate Professor of Philosophy Blake McAllister said Spiegel will fit the role well. “Dr. Spiegel is both a prolific researcher and an award winning teacher — a rare combination,” McAllister said. “This makes him a perfect fit for the position, which requires not only that he contributes to the project but also that he instructs our students with the level of care and excellence expected of a Hillsdale professor.”
GOAL program hosts tutor training with Professor Gregg By Tracy Wilson Design Editor Forming a relationship with students is one of the most important parts of tutoring, said Visiting Assistant Professor of Education Jonathan Gregg ’11 in a talk to the GOAL public and private school tutoring programs on Oct. 27. “It is not wasted time if you are spending some time getting to know the student and getting to hear about their life,” Gregg said. “Education, as we conceive of it at Hillsdale College, is holistic. We’re interested not just in educating the head but in meeting the whole person.” Seniors Brynn Elson and Rachel Warren, public and private school tutoring program leaders, hosted the event. Warren said she hoped it would give students in the GOAL tutoring program the opportunity to ask questions and learn how to be successful during their volunteer time. “I had been hoping at some point this semester to do a tutoring info event
because I realized that I communicate with these people and send them off to tutoring but don’t really equip them,” Warren said. “People don’t really ask questions, and I’m sure that they have them. I wanted to have some event for them to be able to go to if they wanted tangible advice.” Gregg outlined five different goals to keep in mind when tutoring. He said tutors should ask questions of their students, and that tutors should be creative during tutoring sessions. “If you’re consistently doing these things, they’re going to bear fruit,” Gregg said. “The more you can turn something into a conversation, the better it’s going to be.” Sophomore Abby Fleming said she attended the event because she hopes to become a teacher. “I am a classical education minor and want to teach, specifically in public school, so I wanted to attend the event to learn more about tutoring and to start thinking about what it looks like to be a tutor, teacher, or anything similar,” Fleming
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said. “I also have Professor Gregg for quadrivium and wanted to hear from him about education in-and-out of the classroom setting.” At the end of the event, some students asked questions and shared stories about the difficult encounters they have had with tutoring. When Gregg responded to a student’s question about dealing with stubborn learners, Warren said it reminded her of her own tutoring experience. “A couple of years ago, I tutored a student who was pretty belligerent,” Warren said. “Even though that was in the past and I’m not tutoring him any more, I thought Professor Gregg’s response was really good.” Gregg encouraged the volunteers and aspiring teachers, reminding them that some of the most impactful moments can be when they feel like they aren’t succeeding as a tutor or teacher. “This is tough,” Gregg said. “There’s no magic for tutoring. There’s no magic for teaching.”
The battle between Christianity and evolution is a culture war, according to David Lahti, professor of biology at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Lahti delivered two lectures on evolution as part of the John H. and Elsa Roscoe Lecture Series in the Natural Sciences on Oct. 27. The first discussed how human beings affect evolution in animals, and the second examined how evolution relates to Christianity. Lahti argued in the second talk that there are two extreme positions on the earth’s origin — creationism and scientific atheism. He said both positions hold that faith and evolution cannot coexist. “It's the idea, not just that science and faith don't mix, but that one must be primary in a radical way,” Lahti said. “To be true to that position, your position on the other is a foregone conclusion.” Lahti described his own journey toward reconciling Christianity and evolution before explaining how others might do the same. He said it started with realizing that the disagreement is not over science. “For most people, I don't think it's really about science,” Lahti said. “This culture war is not really
about science either.” He said the culture war is rather about forcing those who would reconcile faith and evolution to pick a side, often for ideological reasons. Blake McAllister, associate professor of philosophy, said Lahti’s point was interesting. “Both agree that God and our best science don’t mix,” McAllister said. “The tragic result is that many would-be Christians are pushed towards atheism when there’s another option: that evolution is a mechanism by which God creates.” Lahti agreed there is a way to preserve faith while believing in evolution. “One of the crucial reasons that both sides think evolution threatens the Judeo-Christian worldview is because of a lack of understanding of levels of explanation,” Lahti said. He said that since evolution cannot explain ultimate purpose, creationists do not think it can explain nature either. Scientific atheists use similar logic, according to Lahti. “Here, the common mistake of creationists and scientific atheists is pitting different levels of explanation against each other as if they were alternatives to each other,” Lahti said. He reconciled this problem by creating a third position, which lets Christianity and evolution handle their own respective areas of explanation.
“I don't view this intersection here as a middle way,” Lahti said. “How can it be a compromise when both sides are against you? It is a positive position of its own right that repudiates both the war cries of the main opponents here.” Lahti said the reconciliation of faith and evolution, when used rightly, is a tool for Christians. “Understanding that God creates through evolution can enrich our faith experience,” Lahti said. “When the undecided out there see that it can do that in you, whether they be agnostic pro-evolution folks or evolution-wary Christians, this enriched perspective can only help the faith in terms of evangelism and in terms of apologetics.” Freshman Isaac Estabrook said Lahti’s lecture addressed questions he has considered himself. “Dr. Lahti’s talk was an intriguing attempt to reconcile two positions that I’ve struggled with myself,” Estabrook said. “On the one hand, I know God exists, but, on the other, the evidence for evolution seems overwhelming. The idea that accepting evolution could actually glorify God was a completely novel argument.”
New Sight Singing Fight Club brings music to AJ's Cafe By Nikoleta Klikovac Collegian Reporter The Sight-Singing Fight Club is bringing choral music to A.J.’s Cafe every Wednesday night. The new club, founded in October by Professor of Music Katherine Rick, consists of students from a subsection of the Chapel Choir known as the Choral Scholars. Every week, the club meets in A.J.’s to sing Evensongs, choral songs that are commonly used in a church setting. “We needed a forum where the group could work on sheer sight-singing, being able to sing a piece of music that you’ve never seen or heard before,” Rick said. “It would have been too much to make it a requirement for the whole group, so we decided to make it an optional extra-curricular activity.” Junior Joseph Perez said his experience has included many opportunities for learning.
Documentary from A1 Moorehouse said this is the fourth semester the class is presenting a documentary about Hillsdale’s history. “Each semester, we pick one big group project that we do as a full-length documentary,” Moorehouse said. “I’ve had this one on the radar for a while, ever since I heard about Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s story.” Moorehouse said he thought this semester was finally the one to feature Friedman, especially since the Hillsdale in D.C. campus will soon be erecting
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“We always try our best, but we inevitably make some mistakes — that’s a fundamental element of sight-reading,” Perez said. “You learn to keep going anyway, just as you would in performance.” Junior Ann Brooks said the club is not a strict ensemble but a collaboration of artists. Brooks said anyone is welcome to join. “It is a casual environment where we can chat, laugh, and have fun singing together in such a way that it does not feel like a class,” Brooks said. Perez said the small size of the club is an advantage. “I like singing out, which is easy because it’s a small choral group, and I’m usually the only bass,” Perez said. Rick said she hopes to do a weekly Evensong next semester. “I would love to get to the point where we could fluently read off things like Bach’s fugues either a statue or a bust of her. Hillsdale alumnus and sculptor Isaac Dell ’18 will begin work on it this month. “We thought the timing would be perfect to do the documentary now to introduce the campus community to who she was and just how remarkable she really was,” Moorehouse said. Scott said she is excited to be a part of telling Friedman’s story. “Nobody knew that she helped end two world wars. As a student at her alma mater, there is no greater honor than to be a part of the beginning of her story
on solfege,” Rick said. Brooks said she looks forward to improving her musicianship by consistent sight-singing practice. “Sight-singing is an important skill for any musician,” Brooks said. “It improves overall musicianship and musical instincts, as well as your ability to be a great member of any ensemble.” Rick said the Sight Singing club should be a relaxing experience, which is why the club meets in a busy cafe. “I was looking for a place where students could grab a drink to sip while they sing, and A.J.’s fits the bill nicely,” Rick said. Rick, Brooks, and Perez agreed singing in a crowded space can be challenging, but they persevere through the difficulties. “This group is becoming the choral equivalent of the Navy Seals,” Rick said. becoming well-known around the nation,” Scott said. “Her story has been hidden for too long, and more people need to know about this Hillsdale student and American hero.” Moorehouse agreed with Scott, saying this documentary is important because it tells the story of such an important alumna. “The thing I’m by far the most excited about is that people at Hillsdale College are going to finally learn Elizebeth’s story,” he said. The journalism program will offer the documentary filmmaking course again in the spring semester.
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November 3, 2022
www.hillsdalecollegian.com Senior Josh Barker records his show, "The Policy Corner." Courtesy | Addy Longenecker
Yoga Club stretches into second year By Alexandra Hall Assistant Editor
Three radio students receive national broadcasting awards By Victoria Wagner Collegian Reporter Three students received awards from the National College Broadcasting Inc. on Saturday, Oct. 29 for their shows on WRFH/ Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Sophomore Lauren Smyth took first place in Best Newscast or Sportscast, alumna Rachel Kookogey ‘22 received first and second place for Best Sports Reporting, and senior Josh Barker won third place for Best Hard News Reporting. “This is the fifth year the station has entered submissions for the CBI awards,” General Manager of WRFH Scot Bertram said. “We've taken home five first-place awards during that stretch.” Out of the more than 1,100 entries this year, Hillsdale students stood out to CBI’s panel of experts. “It's always exciting and gratifying to have industry professionals acknowledge
the hard work and outstanding content created by our students at WRFH,” Bertram said. “I can tell them all I want that they're doing a great job, but hearing it from someone outside of Hillsdale means a little bit more.” In her newscast, “Lauren Smyth News,” Smyth covers national and local stories, along with sports and weather updates. “The broadcasts we submitted to the CBI awards were recorded just a few weeks after I got started,” Smyth said. “To anyone who wants to get started in radio: Know that you will mess up spectacularly. But don't let that stop you.” Segments of Kookogey’s feature, “Sports Story Time,” in which she told a three-minute short story about sports, placed twice in the sports reporting category. “It was a three-minute ‘feature’ and in each episode I told funny, unbelievable but true, stories from hockey history — everything from eventful games
to fun facts and weird things fans or players did,” Kookogey said. Barker, the program director at Radio Free Hillsdale, won third place for his show “The Policy Corner.” In the episode submitted to CBI, he discussed election reform bills with state Rep. Andrew Fink (R.). “So much of cable ‘news’ is actually just talking points and sophistry lacking any substance,” Barker said. “‘The Policy Corner,’ on the other hand, focuses on the substance.” Bertram said he is glad to see the work of Hillsdale radio students pay off. “We are proud of our students and all of their hard work in creating some of the best radio programming in the state and, indeed, the country,” Bertram said. “They have dedicated themselves to producing high-quality content, and it’s satisfying to see others recognize their passion and effort.”
Students prepare to register with Self-Service after 15 years of WebAdvisor By Erin Osborne Collegian Reporter Hillsdale students will register for spring courses this month with a new system that replaced WebAdvisor, which the college had used since 2007. Self-Service will improve on the old application by preventing crashes as students enroll for next semester’s courses, according to Registrar Douglas McArthur. The new system will also allow students to see which classes they successfully registered for on the same page. “You'll know immediately which classes you got because you'll be on the same screen if you press the registration button. It will tell you what went through and what didn't on that exact same screen,” McArthur said. “On the old system, students had to log back in again, and all of that delay was problematic.” Self-Service will help to combat a system overload by restricting the number of sessions that students are allowed to have open with different class options. This means students will have to manually enter alternative classes if their initial course requests are not accepted, McArthur said. “WebAdvisor allowed students to have multiple sessions open with differ-
ent schedules,” McArthur said. “The unfortunate thing is that this increased the number of students that were registering at the same time. WebAdvisor never actually went down, but it definitely got gummed-up.” Junior Lydia Hilton said WebAdvisor has crashed on her computer each time she has registered for classes. “The new system will be more efficient and easier for students to understand and navigate,” Hilton said. In preparation for the new system, training sessions will be available to students on Canvas, in person, or through resident assistants. “The training means that if residents are struggling with registration, there are people in their dorms who can help them,” Hilton said. “Not everyone would have to flood Career Services with registration questions.” Career Services is offering more registration training sessions this year than usual, according to McArthur. The new system allows students to locate classes, filter them under the “Student Planning” tab, and add them to their carts. “On WebAdvisor, it was hard to search for things,” Hilton said.
“On Self-Service, you can search by professor, by time, by semester, and by subject. There are so many more options for filtering your search results.” Self-Service will also allow students to learn which classes they successfully registered for more quickly. Because WebAdvisor crashed, confirmation for classes was often delayed, and students had to open multiple tabs to find out what classes they got, according to junior Ann Brooks. “The old registration system was very stressful because you had to wait to see whether your class requests went through for 15 minutes,” Brooks said. Some students said they believe a new system is unnecessary. “I was not unhappy with the old system,” Brooks said. “It’s not like a faster registration system will help you get into any more classes, so there’s not a huge difference.” Even with the change to Self-Service, Hilton said registration will still be stressful for students. “There will always be a little bit of anxiety with registration because everyone has to register,” Hilton said. “That’s something we all have in common.”
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Stretching into its second year, the yoga club is now offering a consistent schedule of morning and evening classes, led by sophomore Kody Richards, the club’s newest president. What began as a casual interest in the exercise, eventually earned Richards a teaching certification from her local studio in Washington. “When I turned 16, I decided I wanted to do yoga one day,” Richards said. “I saw that a studio near me had a class the next morning, and I just started going. The first class was actually a hot yoga class, and it was way too intense. But I kept going and learning more. During my senior year of high school, I got certified.” Richards works closely with health instructor Leah Novak, who is also the club’s adviser. She oversees weekly schedules, steps in when needed, and even hosts monthly yoga workshops to further educate yogis. “The yoga club offers students an opportunity to pause, reconnect with themselves, and rest,” Novak said. “As a society, we spend far too much time enslaved to schedules, todo lists, and the constant
barrage of technology. The yoga club offers students a chance to get out of their heads, move their bodies, and reset.” According to the John Hopkins Medicine blog, yoga can not only help patients manage stress but also ease pain for those struggling with chronic conditions like arthritis and insomnia. The American College of Physicians recommends yoga as a first-line treatment for people struggling with back pain. “Yoga helps anyone become a more resilient person, welcoming them wherever they are at,” Novak said. “You do not have to be strong or flexible to take yoga. You do not have to make it rigorous or spiritual.” The American Institute of Stress reports that 61% of college students seek counseling for problems related to anxiety, depression, academic performance, and other stressors. Yoga does not have to be the cure-all for students facing mental and physical health problems,. It can aid in the management of those issues and can also be a form of exercise without the spiritual components often associated with yoga, according to Richards. “I just like yoga,” Richards said.
“Part of yoga’s physical practice is to help you sit for long periods of time. So as students, and personally as a Christian, learning to sit for long periods of time is so valuable, like when you’re sitting in class or in prayer.” The yoga club offers classes geared to no level in particular, making it an experience that is open to all students. This semester, yoga club classes run Monday and Wednesday mornings from 7-7:45 a.m. and Monday evenings from 7-8 p.m. Additional yoga classes offered by Novak are Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 6-6:30 a.m. and Wednesday evenings from 6-7 p.m. All classes are held in the upstairs fitness rooms of the Sports Complex. You can sign up for updates by emailing Kody Richards at krichards@hillsdale.edu or by following the club’s page on Instagram: @hillsdaleyoga. “My first experience was a lot better than expected,” junior Gabby Lewis said after her first class. “Kody did an amazing job walking everyone through the stretches and exercises. She even offered suggestions when I was struggling with a particular pose. I will be going again.”
Construction on the addition to the Health Center finished in mid-October. Jack Cote| Collegian
Health center finishes construction on new addition, indoor renovations By Josh Newhook Digital Editor The Health Center gained an 1,100-squarefoot addition as well as indoor renovations, following the completion of a construction project during the week of fall break, according to Director of Health Services Brock Lutz. Health center employees, who had been exiled to various parts of campus, have returned to the enlarged facility, which became fully operational on Oct. 17. “It has been wonderful for all of us to be back under one roof,” Lutz said. Construction started in June with the demolition of the back third of the old structure, which used to house a small lab and two older medical examination rooms, Lutz said. Plans for renovating the facilities had been ongoing for several years, but it wasn’t until February that the college board approved the project, according to Lutz. The final steps of the project were mostly decorative, Staff Nurse Kari Coupland said. “We made sure all the examination rooms and consult rooms were warm and welcoming and also able to function for their prescribed purposes,” Lutz
said. “We did a lot of putting furniture together and had a lot of fun.” The addition includes three new medical examination rooms, two new bathrooms, an office for the sports chiropractor, and two new multi-purpose rooms, Lutz said. The examination rooms feature sinks, cabinet space, and big windows. “It’s so nice to see the outside,” Coupland said. Coupland said she appreciates the extra storage spaces in the new addition. “Before, I had nowhere to store all of my supplies,” she said. “They were scattered everywhere.” One of the multi-purpose rooms, located on the second floor, is a new kitchen and dining space for group counseling and staff meetings. “We can eat here as a family,” she said. “We are planning on a soup day coming up soon.” The other multi-purpose room, located on the ground floor, features an open space for the dietician, counseling, and psychiatric services, along with an extensive fitness section for the chiropractor to use to build strength and conditioning in patients.
“The extension provides a lot more meeting space for us and students,” Lutz said. “Often, we had to share offices and that was often inconvenient or limited availability for counseling or chiropractic services.” Outside, the addition features a wraparound porch and a newly paved parking lot on the south side of the building. Before, there was limited parking in front of and alongside the building, according to Coupland. Lutz said the expansion will allow for the Health Center to provide more services and to serve more people. “Our physician is now here for three hours a day and is able to treat students, staff, and their families,” he said. “Employees are able to either bill their insurance or pay a $50 self-pay rate, just like the students can pay.” Despite having supply issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lutz said construction went well. “There were some delays, but I think everyone involved really did their best to complete a beautiful project and get us back in as soon as possible,” he said.
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A4 November 3, 2022
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Online: www.hillsdalecollegian.com Editor-in-Chief | Maggie Hroncich Associate Editor | Christian Peck-Dimit Design Editor | Tracy Wilson Digital Editor | Josh Newhook News Editor | Elizabeth Troutman Opinions Editor | Elyse Apel City News Editor | Logan Washburn Sports Editor | Claire Gaudet Culture Editor | Megan Williams Features Editor | Meghan Schultz Social Media Manager | Jillian Parks Circulation Managers | Linnea Shively | Micah Hart Ad Manager | Carly Moran Staff Photographer | Jack Cote Outreach Director | Hannah Cote Assistant Editors | Michael Bachmann | Michaela Estruth | Lauren Scott | Evalyn Homoelle | Tess Owen | Olivia Pero | Isaac Green | Alexandra Hall | Maddy Welsh Faculty Advisers | John J. Miller | Maria Servold
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Don’t smoke outside classroom buildings After sitting in stuffy, stale classrooms all day, most students look forward to walking outside and taking a deep breath of fresh fall air. But recently, groups have been gathering outside classroom buildings creating huge clouds of cigarette smoke. Choosing to smoke, like most things, is a personal decision; if you want to destroy your lungs, that’s fine with us, but don’t force those around you to
inhale your cigarette. It’s as simple as following the golden rule – treat others the way you want to be treated. In the same way that you don’t appreciate students screaming in the halls of Kendall, walking barefoot in AJ’s, or cuddling on the quad, don’t puff on your cigarettes right outside of classroom buildings. Even if you don’t care about other’s preferences,
there are much more aesthetically pleasing places for you to get your fix before class. You can wander over to Christ Chapel and enjoy the fall colors, sit on one of the benches placed around campus, or perch at the amphitheater and converse with your friends and professors. Smoking cigarettes is banned on 92% of college campuses in the United States, according to the American Nonsmokers’
Rights Foundation. Hillsdale College is one of the few institutions that still allows tobacco products to be used on its premises, so don’t abuse the privileges that we have here. Be respectful of others, be grateful you’re even allowed to smoke here, and find a new place to light your next cigarette.
The editors welcome Letters to the Editor but reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, length, and style. Letters should be 400 words or less and include your name and number. Send submissions to the Opinions Editor at ehawkins@hillsdale.edu before Saturday at 3 p.m.
There should be no abortion exceptions for fetal anomaly
By Caroline Kurt
Any mother who hears that her unborn child has little chance of surviving outside the womb faces a heartbreaking choice: go through with the pregnancy and birth, or end
the pain now. For my parents, it wasn’t a choice at all. Twenty years ago, they were newlyweds joyfully expecting their first child. Halfway through the pregnancy, they learned that their daughter – my
sister – suffered from anencephaly, a fetal anomaly with a 100% mortality rate in the first year of life. A quarter of the babies with this condition die before birth. Others die in the hours or days after.
Many babies with fetal anomalies are aborted. Courtesy | Pixabay
Anencephaly prevents the closure of the neural tube in the first weeks of life, which prevents the brain and skull from growing and developing normally. Babies born with this condition commonly lack large portions of skull bone and brain tissue. Their senses and motor functions are impaired. Estimates suggest that more than 90% of anencephalic babies are aborted. Arizona, Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia make exceptions to their abortion restrictions for cases of lethal fetal anomaly. Maryland makes an exception for any fetal anomaly at all. In these states, unborn babies diagnosed with a condition that threatens their lives or makes long-term viability outside of the womb highly unlikely can be aborted at any stage of the pregnancy. Abortion proponents value these exceptions because many fetal abnormalities cannot be diagnosed before an ultrasound at 18-22 weeks of pregnancy, which is well past the abortion cutoffs in many states. Other states allow abortion at any stage, for any reason, including fetal anomaly. My parents’ original doctor, as well as many of my mother’s law firm colleagues, encouraged an abortion. Even today, plenty of articles and discussion boards about anencephaly advise
abortion as the most compassionate, painless solution for mother and child. Some cite the ugliness and weakness of an anencephalic infant, or the emotional and psychological pain the mother will experience in carrying to full term. Isn’t it for the sake of the parents’ “selfish joy,” Cristiane de Oliveira asks, to prolong the infant’s life until birth? Mary Grace Kurt was born July 9, 2003, two weeks premature. Pictures still sit on our bookshelves at home of Mary Grace in my mother’s arms, a hospital cap covering her halfformed skull. Yet, she was perfect. My parents fell in love with her dainty hands, chubby toes, and sweet face. They dressed and baptized her in a tiny white gown my mother handmade during the pregnancy. Family and friends came to visit my parents and meet Mary Grace. Three days later, on July 11, she passed away peacefully in their arms. Why give such a child a chance at life? The joy, peace, and beauty that gushed from her short existence blessed every generation of my family, including the four children my parents would go on to have. Suffering is no reason to end a life early. Whatever emotional and psychological hardship my mother endured during the pregnancy were repaid a hundredfold in Mary Grace’s three
days of life outside the womb. All she ever knew was love and comfort: the gentle embrace of my parents and grandparents, breastmilk, and warm clothing. Babies who are severed from life with cold forceps or suction machines suffer an unspeakably crueler end. The beauty of my parents’ choice further unfolded in the years to come, when they chose to celebrate Mary Grace’s birthday each year and tell her story to their other children. They wanted us to know that we, like Mary Grace, would be loved unconditionally, no matter our health, physical appearance, or abilities. Their children were a blessing to them, not a burden. Babies with fetal anomalies can bring astonishing happiness to the families that receive them, even amid the tears. In a world that preaches “compassion” and sugar-coated selfishness, let’s demonstrate true love. No matter the heartbreak and grief, no one deserves to die before his or her time. We must firmly reject exceptions to abortion restrictions for fetal anomalies and defend the inherent dignity and value of every unborn child’s life. Caroline Kurt is a freshman studying English.
Elon Musk’s Twitter is a useful experiment in social media By Nathan Stanish Despite concerns from both sides of the aisle about the power and influence one man has to buy a major social media platform like Twitter, this deal gives America something invaluable: an experiment in social media. After a dramatic saga of big promises and billion-dollar offers, CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk finally closed the deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion, only a day before the deal’s deadline. Musk began his reign by firing the CEO, CFO, and general counsel of Twitter before dubbing himself the “Chief Twit” on his own Twitter account. Reactions to the transaction are split down party lines. Right-leaning influencers applaud the purchase as a victory for free speech, while left-leaning influencers condemn the purchase as ill-informed and selfish. Instead of falling along party lines, now is the best time to wait and see. Musk has already hinted
at several sweeping changes. He has expressed interest in removing lifetime bans, and a variety of unique systems for splitting Twitter into different zones based on the maturity of content or style of interactions. Any of those changes could be game changers for social media. From the beginning, people skeptical of the Twitter buyout worried that Musk’s policies could open the door for more racism and trolling on the platform, supported by a barrage of N-word tweets in the 48 hours following the acquisition announcement. To address that concern, Musk said in an open letter to advertisers that Twitter would not become a “freefor-all hellscape.” Analysts and political commentators have waxed eloquently trying to predict how these policies and the idea of privatized social media will work, but nobody knows. That’s the beauty of the Twitter buyout, now that it finally went through: the world will see if privatized social media with more
transparent policies can function in today’s internet. While there is still good reason to worry about a billionaire wielding enough power to casually buy and reshape a major social media company, fortunately, Twitter is only one small slice of the social media pie. According to Search Engine Journal, Twitter ranks 10th by monthly active users, well behind Facebook and Instagram but even trailing Pinterest and LinkedIn. Any damage Musk does to Twitter will not radically impact the internet as a whole. So look at this Twitter buyout as one big experiment in social media practices. If it works, maybe other social media platforms will implement similar reforms. If it doesn’t, users will migrate to other platforms. The world has a lot to learn from Twitter in the next year.
Nathan Stanish is a sophomore studying the liberal arts and journalism.
Elon Musk recently bought Twitter. Courtesy | Pixabay
November 3, 2022 A5
www.hillsdalecollegian.com Prop. 3’s vague language will likely leave judges to decide its meaning. Courtesy | Pixabay
Sunak may not save the day By Micah Hart
Proposal 3 is unclear and dangerous By Elizabeth Crawford
The extremeness of Proposal 3 is reminiscent of eugenics laws proposed and passed in the early 20th century. According to Lutz Kaelber, associate professor of sociology, Michigan passed a law in 1923 which allowed doctors to sterilize those deemed mentally unstable. In 1929, this law expanded to include individuals diagnosed as “insane,” “epileptic,” and as “moral degenerates.” Under this law, 3,786 people were sterilized, with women making 76% of the sterilizations. Kaelber cites a disturbing instance of a 13 year world girl whom the doctor sterilized because she was sexually abused by male family members. These startling facts demonstrate that sterilization particularly targets women, and that physicians and doctors interpreted these laws broadly. Like these eugenics laws passed in the early 20th century, Prop. 3 runs the risk of grave interpretation errors. Appearing on Michigan’s Nov. 8 ballot, the proposal seeks to ensure reproductive freedom–but
what the proposal defines as “reproductive freedom” is expansive. Prop. 3 states, “Every individual, has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.” The language is imprecise and vague, which guarantees long and bitter legal disputes. The language of the law brings into question certain norms and practices: Who counts as an individual? At what age do people have the right to make these sorts of decisions for themselves? Like the eugenics laws of 1923, Prop. 3 takes liberties that could place children and young women in danger. “As a matter of constitutional interpretation, then, the rights guaranteed by Prop. 3 would be rights that both adults and children possess as ‘individuals,’ and the rights apply equally to males and females,” wrote Margot Cleveland, senior
legal correspondent at The Federalist. By the proposal’s own loose wording, children without parental consent can seek “gender-affirming care” in the form of hormone blockers or sex-reassignment surgery, both of which render the child infertile as he or she matures into adulthood. If this bill is supposed to focus on adult reproductive care, then groups such as the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health and the American Federation of Teachers have no place endorsing the proposal. Besides sterilization, “abortion care” is one of the enumerated “rights” granted to “individuals.” Because of the ambiguity of what an “individual means” however, parental consent concerning both abortion and sterilization comes into question. “In the context of abortion, Prop. 3 guts Michigan’s requirements for either parental consent or a judicial bypass, first by declaring that the amendment applies to all ‘individuals’ and second by expressly providing that ‘the state shall not discriminate in the protection or enforcement of this fundamental right,’”
Cleveland said. “Treating females under 18 differently than those 18 or over is a textbook example of discrimination.” Parental rights are already under attack. According to Cleveland, judges in states such as Alaska and Florida struck down parental consent laws, rendering them “unconstitutional.” If Prop. 3 passes, and if red leaning states such as Alaska and Florida can issue such rulings, then Michigan stands next in line for eliminating the role of parental consent. This lack of discrimination between individuals under 18 and over 18 therefore places children and other minors at greater risk of sexual abuse, since the law cannot discriminate about who can access these services. If concern over its radical stance on abortion is not enough to move people to vote against Prop. 3, then vote against it to protect the kids. Protect the young girls. Protect the women. Protect them before it’s too late. Elizabeth Crawford is a junior studying politics and journalism.
Lettuce survived longer than Liz Truss remained prime minister. It’s a sad day when a leader is unable to outlive a piece of vegetation. Not only is it a somber day for Truss, but it is a dismal day for the people of the United Kingdom. It should always be about the people over the politician. The people of the U.K. are grappling with a turbulent political system right now, and our sympathies should be with them. It is good Truss accepted defeat and parted ways with her position. Rishi Sunak, a former opponent of Truss in the battle to be the Prime Minister, has assumed the role, but it is still too early to say whether he will do a great job. Sunak is the first British Prime Minister of Indian descent, which is a huge leap for the country. Gender, race, ethnicity, or any other characteristic of the sort should not be the prime reason a person receives a position; however, society should celebrate and embrace such breakthroughs. It is great to see that anyone, with regard to race, ethnicity, creed, or gender, has the ability to take the stage and become a world leader. I hope that Sunak can help the struggling United Kingdom, especially regarding the economy. Sunak formerly served as the finance minister, so he might be able to use his expertise to realign the country. It is important to note, as reported by Reuters, that Sunak “set Britain on course to have its biggest tax burden since the 1950s.” With this in mind, his expertise may not help. Similarly, Sunak is not in touch with the general populace. Sunak is wealthy, with the Sunday Times Rich list evaluating his family’s wealth at 730 million pounds ($846 million). Wealth should not be a factor in whether or not a person will be a good leader; however, to be a strong leader, one mustn’t get out of touch with the people. The country is facing tough economic conditions, with Reuters reporting that “The good news for new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
is that few analysts now expect the pound to fall below parity with the dollar. However, a raft of strategists at investment banks have recently predicted the pound will retreat to the $1.04 to $1.10 range in the coming months, citing Britain’s economic woes, BoE [Bank of England] policy, and dollar strength.” His predecessor couldn’t be trusted. Within 44 short days, she dealt several blows to an already struggling economy and contributed to the economic pit that Sunak is going to have to dig the U.K. out of. According to The Washington Post, Truss’ finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, haphazardly announced tax cuts benefiting the top earners. Paired with inflation rates, this ignited a fire. Truss fired Kwarteng. Kwarteng’s replacement, Jeremy Hunt, reversed most of the tax cuts after replacing Kwarteng. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that the Bank of England had to step in to realign the markets after a bond sell-off. Kwarteng’s actions, however, have consequences. The British pound plummeted, the central bank had to increase interest rates, and it consequently cost more to take out a mortgage. With people already struggling, this was not ideal. Furthermore, there were other issues with several staff members fired or leaving their jobs, and a struggle over a controversial vote on banning fracking (proposed by the Labour Party), according to The Washington Post. Whatever the reason may be, Truss failed to lead the people properly. She did not live up to her job title and therefore resigned. It was honorable for her to resign. Truss had the worst numbers of any British political leader, with a YouGov poll showing her at a net favorability score of minus 70%, according to Politico. If Sunak’s leadership is anything like Truss, he too will be gone faster than lettuce dies. Micah Hart is a sophomore studying politics and journalism. He is assistant circulation manager at the Collegian.
Michigan Governor’s Race:
Re-elect Whitmer for her experience Elect Dixon for her effective policies By Avery Noel Michiganders should re-elect Gov. Gretchen Whitmer next week. In spite of attacks from conservative news outlets, and even an attempted kidnapping, Whitmer, a Democrat, has stayed strong and promoted policies which allow the state to thrive during her time in office. Promoting safe and legal access to abortion, pushing tax cuts for small businesses, and following through on her campaign promise to fix the roads are among her accomplishments as governor. Whitmer’s accomplishments, policies, and experience stand in stark contrast to her Republican opponent, Tudor Dixon. Touting herself as an outsider candidate, Dixon earned the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and, thanks to the cult-like state of the Republican Party under Trump’s influence, the GOP nomination. Dixon’s campaign has largely focused on culture wars, modeling a proposed policy after Florida’s infamous authoritarian parental
rights in education bill, dubbed as “Don’t say gay” bill, intended to prevent discussions of sexuality in schools. Dixon is also extreme and dangerously uncompromising on reproductive rights. Dixon has said on Twitter that she believes abortion should be permitted only to save the life of the mother and without exceptions in the case of rape or incest. In addition, Dixon supports Michigan’s 1931 law which, if implemented, would mean a near total ban on all abortion, calling it a “good law.” Dixon’s regressive position on abortion does not reflect the views of Michiganders. According to a Mitchell Research and Communication survey conducted by MIRS, 53% of Michiganders consider themselves either “strongly pro-choice” or “somewhat pro-choice.” Clearly when it comes to reproductive rights, Dixon is out of touch. Whitmer has come out in strong support of Proposal 3, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Her action in suing to prevent the enactment of the ex-
treme 1931 law allowed for Michiganders to continue enjoying reproductive freedom in the post-Dobbs era. Whitmer is a well-established and accomplished executive in her own right. Whitmer’s campaign to fix Michigan’s infrastructure has repaired massive numbers of roads and bridges, according to her campaign website, and supported Michigan jobs in the process. She has invested in small businesses by cutting taxes while maintaining a balanced budget. Contrast Dixon’s tax plan, which would lower the personal income tax rate by a fixed percentage, disproportionately helping the very wealthiest in the state. Do we really need another try at inequitable and ineffective trickle down economic policy in Michigan? Clearly, due to her experience, proven track record, and willingness to fight for women, Whitmer is the best choice to lead Michigan as its governor. Vote for Whitmer for fiscal responsibility, reproductive freedom, and an experienced politician. Avery Noel is a junior studying policial economy.
By Christian Peck-Dimit Any Michigander that has turned on the TV, watched a YouTube video, or opened a social media platform in the last month has likely been unable to do so without watching several out-of-context, poorly-edited sound bites from Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon. The ads, with the aid of a menacing voiceover, detail Dixon’s stance on abortion using “her own words.” One such commercial, which points out her ‘no exceptions’ position, is highlighted by a clip where Dixon is asked “a 14-yearold who, let’s say, is the victim of abuse by an uncle. You’re saying carry that?” to which she responds “Perfect example.” After a statement released by Dixon’s campaign saying the answer was taken out of context, the interviewer, Charlie LeDuff, posted Dixon’s full answer where she clarifies her feeling that “a life is a life.” Few, however, know the candidate behind the ads. Dixon is a breast cancer survivor and working mother of four. She made her career in the steel industry before
transitioning into conservative news media. Like nearly all of her Republican counterparts in Michigan, she sought her nomination because of a distrust and dislike of Whitmer’s policies, especially her COVID shutdowns and her failure to “fix the damn roads.” During this year’s midterms, few public officials deserve to be booted from office more than Whitmer does. She won election four years ago by promising to “fix the damn roads.” Yet she has done no such thing. The Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council, a state agency, says that the share of roads in “good” condition has risen from 21% to 26%, but that 32% are in “poor” condition and that this rate will soar to 48% in the next 10 years. All Whitmer has done, it would seem, is fill a few potholes. She’s fixed almost nothing. During COVID, Whitmer forced businesses and schools across the state to close. While many other governors did the same, Whitmer was the worst in the nation. Nearly one-third of Michigan businesses shuttered at least temporarily, compared to a national average of about 19%. Not
only that, but Whitmer also violated these lockdowns. Her school closures devastated students, as test scores on math and reading dropped dramatically, according to the latest findings of the National Assessment of Student Progress, the so-called “nation’s report card.” Michigan’s fourth graders, in fact, recorded their worst reading scores in 30 years. Bolstering Michigan’s economy, defending second amendment rights, and - of course - her hardline pro-life stance round out Dixon into a candidate built to ride the Conservative Populist Movement that has commanded the nation’s attention in recent years. For Michigan conservatives who have spent the better part of the last four years shaking their fists at every one of Whitmer’s COVID regulations or failed spending bills, a vote for Dixon represents their first legitimate chance to right the ship. Christian Peck-Dimit is a senior studying history and journalism. He is associate editor at the Collegian.
City News
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A6 November 3, 2022
‘Depraved’: residents condemn drag show
‘We literally invaded this city. We’re the best thing that’s ever come here... we’re here and we’re queer.’ By Haley Strack Senior Reporter Community members say they are “shocked” after a local bar hosted a charity drag performance last month. Local charity Survivors Strong organized the Drag Queen Bingo event, which took place last month at 55 Below, a bar on Broad Street. Tickets to the show cost $25, with proceeds set to benefit victims of domestic abuse. About 30 people attended the performance. Survivors Strong has hosted multiple drag events at 55 Below this year, according to online advertisements. “We literally invaded this city. We’re the best thing that’s ever come here,” drag queen Sasha Banks said at the event. “I’m just kidding, I love this place, isn’t it great? We’re here and we’re queer.” The Oct. 22 performance included flying dollar bills, a costume contest, and a Bingo game with Halloween-themed prizes. Four performers staged dances in which they gyrated on audience members. One “Lady Kryptonite” twerked on the reporter. “This is not the kind of thing that we want in our community,” said Hillsdale Right to Life Vice President Heather Tritchka ’98. “I don’t care what the money is being raised for — that’s not the way you do it. Don’t bring depravity in to try to stop some other depravity.” Sasha began his dance
to Cher’s “Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves” by making a sign of the cross. Rev. David Reamsnyder, pastor of St. Anthony Catholic Church, said faith should direct the community to reject drag shows. “I hope that even the simplest gesture, like the sign of the cross can, in some way be a channel for God's grace,” he said. Drag queen Astara Love danced to the song “All That She Wants” in a neon pink dress covered in hundreds of sewn-on plastic babies. With the lyrics “all that she wants is another baby” playing in the background, Love danced on and straddled audience members as she handed out plastic babies. “If you’d like to give her your unborn children, she’ll take them,” Sasha said to the women in the crowd. Another drag queen said the dress reminded him of a high school prom trash can. “They're trying to raise money for a good cause by celebrating the death of babies,” Tritchka said. “That's really depraved.” Hillsdale County currently has no abortion providers, according to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, and the city council considered an ordinance to become a “sanctuary city for the unborn” last year. Tritchka said many community members supported the ordinance, and it was concerning for Hillsdale businesses to give drag queens a platform
Lt. governor candidate Shane Hernandez speaks. Jack Little | Collegian
to make statements on abortion. At the Meet the Candidates Forum hosted by Hillsdale College on Oct. 24, Mayor Adam Stockford said drag events are “gross,” but that he would not ban them in Hillsdale. “I would hope that the community would reject it and a lot of people wouldn't show up to it, but I wouldn’t want to make a law saying that a local private business couldn't hold some particular event, unless it was against our ordinances,” he said. “I'm as worried about this country as everybody else is. But I will not respond to a left-wing totalitarian government by creating a right-wing authoritarian government.” State Rep. Andrew Fink ’06 agreed with Stockford. “It certainly seems like there would be less of an appetite in our community than many other places,” Fink said. “It's not something I would support or encourage. It sounds like the charity might be worthwhile. But this method of fundraising seems antagonistic to at least a large number of the people in the community.” When one drag queen asked the audience how many of them were from Hillsdale County, only one person cheered. “The fact that it's out of step with the values of many of our residents doesn't mean that they couldn't find some people who supported it,” Fink said.
By Jack Little Collegian Freelancer Conservative activists and Republican candidates for state office rallied at Fellowship Baptist Church in Clarklake on Oct. 26. The event, billed as the sixth stop on Stand Up Michigan’s bus tour of the state, brought together conservatives from Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Jackson counties. Jon Smith, secretary of the Hillsdale County Republican Party’s “America First” group, said the event’s main focus was “organizing and energizing the grassroots and voters heading into November’s election.” Speakers included Hillsdale Mayor Adam Stockford, former ambassador to the Netherlands and former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, state Senate candidate for District 17 Jonathan Lindsey, and lieutenant governor candidate Shane Hernandez. The event included candidates’ speeches on why voters should oppose each of the three statewide ballot proposals. Stockford slammed Proposal 1, which would decrease legislative term limits to 12 years and require that candidates release financial information, calling it “two questions in one.” He said it will increase the time a member stays in Lansing, summing it up as “a dishonest proposal by dishonest people.” Attorney and co-founder of the Great Lakes Justice Center David Kallman
decried Proposal 2, which expands early and absentee voting, as an amendment that would decrease voting integrity and open Michigan elections to “outside money from Zuckerberg and Soros.” All speeches included themes such as combating gender ideology and critical race theory in schools, attacking Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her COVID-19 policies, and economic harm from heightened inflation. Organizer Ron Armstrong said the 2020 COVID lockdowns motivated him to become an activist. “It was that moment they shut down the schools, told people to stay home, and closed churches,” Armstrong said. “When those things happened, I realized that America was under assault.” Armstrong also claimed Proposal 3 is a “national template” which will be “used all over the country to accomplish their agenda.” Hernandez said college students should vote for him and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon because of Whitmer’s record on education and crime. “We’re dealing with the issues that really matter as far as their future. We have to have an education system that works for everyone. We have to have safe communities,” Hernandez said. “Ultimately, the big picture is less government intervention, and freedom to go down whatever path it is you choose.”
or burlesque shows or ran them out of town by restrictive zoning, Hillsdale residents could do the same,” Slack said. “It would be up to the people’s elected representatives on the city council. As we move into November elections, we should ask our local
candidates what they think on this subject. Hillsdale residents might have a more immediate impact if they inform 55 Below that they will no longer do business there.”
counties in 2020 by more than 20 points each. Bellino currently represents the 17th District in the Michigan House of Representatives. Davis said she acknowledges how strong the area’s support for Trump was in the 2020 election, but that she believes she can win the election. “To be honest, I think my chances are 50-50,” Davis said. “People are going to turn out in this election. There is going to be a big turnout for people just for these ballot proposals that are on there. We still want to put a referendum on Jan. 6 and the events that happened.” Both candidates are using high gas prices as a campaign issue. Davis said she would support cutting the gas tax, while Bellino said he would support a gas tax holiday. “We have enough money to do that,” Bellino said. “It would save people money
and put it in your pocket right now.” The candidates clash strongly on abortion. The issue will be on the ballot in the form of Proposal 3, which would amend the state constitution to establish a right to abortion. Davis said abortion is her top concern. “I can tell you what my number one goal for everyone is,” Davis said. “First and foremost, especially if Proposal 3 doesn't go through – reproductive rights is going to be the number one issue.” Bellino said there is a strong contrast between his position on abortion and his opponent’s. “I'm staunchly pro-life, and she's voting yes on Proposal 3,” Bellino said. “That's all you need to know. That's a big difference right there.” The candidates also have differing views on the minimum wage. After an increase to $9.87 last year, the Michigan minimum wage is
scheduled to gradually rise to $12.05 by 2030. Davis said she is in favor of an increase in the minimum wage beyond the scheduled $12.05, but doesn’t think her ideal policy is within reach. “If I could make everybody's minimum wage $50 an hour, I certainly would,” Davis said. “But it's not going to happen. I just have to be realistic. There's no way that you're gonna get anybody to like all people to agree on that.” Bellino said he is undecided on how he would vote when the minimum wage increases end. “You’ve got to listen to the business community,” Bellino said. “I’ll listen to people in my district and will act accordingly.” Voters can find the location of their polling place by visiting the Michigan Voter Information Center online at https://mvic.sos. state.mi.us/Voter/Index.
Drag queens handed out plastic babies to the crowd as they made light of abortion. Haley Strack | Collegian
Bellino faces Davis in state Senate election By Thomas McKenna Collegian Reporter
Activists, GOP candidates rally ahead of elections
A drag queen approaches the audience. Haley Strack | Collegian
Survivors Strong held another drag queen bingo in July at 55 Below. Organizers allowed minors as young as age 17 at the first event, but raised the age requirement to 21 for the October performance. Multiple Hillsdale College graduate students called 55 Below in July to protest a drag event. Doctoral candidate at the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship Christopher Goffos said he was shocked there was another performance. “My family enjoys the Farmer’s Market in downtown Hillsdale, which has great family events and is good for the community,” Goffos said. “We saw a drag poster on a store window downtown. The poster has several men with large fake busts, posing in pornographic ways, and was advertised to kids 17 plus. It was right out there for my kids to see in downtown Hillsdale.” Goffos used to frequent 55 Below’s upstairs liquor store, but said he will no longer patronize the business. When Goffos confronted 55 Below’s owner with concerns about the drag event, he said, the owner called him a sexist and a racist. The store owner did not respond to a request for comment. Associate Professor of Politics Kevin Slack, a father of five, said Hillsdale residents and their city officials should reject transactivist culture. “Some municipalities have barred strip clubs
Republican Rep. Joseph Bellino Jr. said he is confident he will defeat Democrat Katybeth Davis on Nov. 8 to represent Michigan’s 16th state Senate District. “I'm going to keep doing the same work I've been doing the last nine months,” Bellino said. “We're running through the tape at the finish line and hopefully it comes out that I win.” The two candidates are running for the newlyredistricted seat that now represents parts of Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe counties. The seat is currently held by State Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, who cannot run again due to the state senate’s two-term limit. A Republican has represented the 16th District for more than a decade, and President Donald Trump won the three
POLICE REPORT:
The Collegian has compiled a selection of arrests from the City of Hillsdale and Hillsdale County in the past week.
26 Oct.
31 Oct.
1 Nov.
- The Hillsdale County Sheriff 's Office arrested a 40-year-old Pittsford man for assault and great bodily harm by strangulation. No bond was allowed.
- Michigan State Police arrested a Jonesville man for retail fraud, among other charges. A $10,000 bond was posted.
- The Jonesville Police Department arrested an Osseo man for home invasion and destruction of property. A $60,000 bond was posted.
- Michigan State Police arrested a Hillsdale man for a stolen vehicle and retail fraud, among other charges. No bond was allowed.
Sources: City of Hillsdale Police Department, Hillsdale County Sheriff 's Office
City News
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November 3, 2022 A7
Internet provider obtains $3.1 million fiber-optic grant Shelters help strays, Officials hope the move will connect farms, businesses, and schools to the internet say they need funding By Josh Newhook Digital Editor
DMCI Broadband, a wireless internet provider, will receive a $3.1 million grant and a $3.1 million loan to increase fiber-optic internet in Hillsdale and Branch counties. “Extending broadband out to rural areas of Michigan and the nation enhances educational opportunities and also helps to ensure that rural residents have access to needed telemedicine,” said Brandon Fewins, the Rural Development State Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The official announcement came on Oct. 27, as part of the USDA’s $759 million venture to expand highspeed internet access across the country. The initiative allocates $59 million to rural Michigan communities, according to a Michigan USDA press release. DMCI’s project is one of four projects in the state and seeks to connect 2,899 people, 94 farms, 56 businesses, and four educational facilities to the fiber-optic network, according to the press release. The grant funding comes from the Biden administration’s ReConnect Program, which seeks to expand internet connectivity to unserved or underserved people in rural areas across 11 states, according to Agri-Pulse. “This is really following up on the Biden administration’s commitment to bridging the digital divide for rural America,” Fewins said.
Fewins said one can apply for a 100% grant, a 100% loan, or a combination, but this deal combines the options. DMCI Connections has been a fixed wireless provider since 2006, operating from 51 towers across Hillsdale, Branch, and southern Calhoun counties, according to David Cleveland, owner and managing partner of DMCI.
“It will be a multi-year project. There are many miles to go.” “Right now, our infrastructure is built out wirelessly, and we serve those customers via antennas on the outside of their homes that connect to one of our towers,” he said. “If we pass their home down the street, they will have the opportunity to jump off the wireless system to the fiber optic system, which is capable of much higher speeds, up to 1,000 Mb.” Cleveland said he submitted his application in February and heard back about his acceptance to the program in September. He said he should be able to put the grant money to work in short order. “The intent is for this money to be used very quickly, and for these projects to be ongoing this fiscal year,” Fewins said. As part of its agreement to receive funding, DCMI will build 90 miles of fiberoptic connections over the
Churches, businesses support Share the Warmth ministry
next five years. “It will be a continuous build-out on our existing network,” he said. “It will be a multi-year project. There are many miles to go.” There are multiple projects already going on, but supplies have been hard to come by, Cleveland said. “The supply and demand system is very upside down,” Cleveland said. “Demand is very strong, and foreseeably will be for the next six or seven years as these grants continue to play out.” DMCI recently received 90,000 feet of plastic duct for the optic fiber, a supply it had been waiting on since February. “We have had several projects that had been stalled waiting for duct,” he said. “We got a bunch of work to do yet this fall to get some of the prep work for this program.” Cleveland said his team will begin building out the fiber-optic connection from the company’s two core connections, one at its offices north of Reading and one in Bronson. “We are building out in a lot of different directions from these two cores,” he said. While the two cores are already connected together wirelessly, Cleveland said his company hopes to join them via fiber by the end of 2023 or in early 2024. “It will not get us down every street. The reality is that with the ruralness of our area, some roads will only have two to four houses in a mile,” Cleveland said. “The long term of our network is going to be a mixed network where it will be a fiber-wireless hybrid system.” Part of the requirements
for the government money is to go to places that do not have cable companies or access to 100 Mb downloading speed currently, such as small towns like Camden and Cambria. “We are building to the areas that either have some of our wireless systems or only have frontier digital subscriber line, which is much slower.” DMCI will offer a variety of plans, with increased speed for an additional cost. Cleveland said he thinks he will get more customers with the increased speed plans. “I believe there will be a lot of pick-up in areas where our towers are too far away,” he said. “We are going to build right through those areas that are weak points for us.” While other fiber-optic providers in the Hillsdale area usually service commercial businesses and only build connections in areas with high demand, Cleveland said DMCI’s mission is unique. “Our approach is quite a bit different,” he said. “We seek to serve the unserved in rural areas the best that we can.” Cleveland said the team at DMCI looks forward to starting this new chapter. "Being a rural provider for a long time and providing service to thousands of customers already, we are very excited to move forward into the next step of continuing to grow our internet service and provide better services to all our customers in Hillsdale, Branch, and southern Calhoun counties,” Cleveland said.
By Alexandra Hall Assistant Editor
Hillsdale’s stray animal problem can be boiled down to one main problem: funding. According to local animal shelter workers, the problem with strays has increased exponentially in the past few years due to the economy. “At least for dogs, the economy tanks, and the next thing you know, people can’t feed their pets,” Director of the Greater Hillsdale Humane Society Joni Baker said.
“It’s been a problem that has been neglected for so long.” Baker has been director of the GHHS since April and has been on its board since 2018. She said the shelter is currently at capacity for cats, housing 60 of them. Although it is against Michigan law, people leave their pets on GHHS property after hours. Even though they might be doing the right thing by surrendering an animal they cannot care for, they are skirting the surrender fee of $50, which helps take care of the pets’ general care like vaccinations and spaying or neutering. “It is really expensive to spay and neuter a cat,” junior Emma Widmer said. “For a healthy cat to be generally taken care of and ready for adoption, it takes around $200. Even if you have the animals and the money, there aren’t a lot of people who are
able to do the surgeries.” Widmer is the GOAL Program’s Humane Society leader. She works with Greater Hillsdale Humane Society, Branch County Animal Control, and Hillsdale Felines & Friends. Kátia Sherman runs the nonprofit Hillsdale Felines & Friends. Sherman owns a small facility on Summit Street where she helps the community by taking in stray and feral cats. “Without money, we can’t go anywhere,” Sherman said. “I think that is what our county needs to realize. It’s been a problem that has been neglected for so long. We’re happy to be the instrument of this improvement, but we need help.” According to Widmer, the root of the problem lies not only in a lack of funding, but also outdated veterinary resources. GHHS and Felines and Friends struggle to find funding and support their shelters, often attempting to help in alternative ways. “We’re trying to do something to assist in other ways trap-neuterrelease programs, educating the community on the importance of neutering and spaying,” Widmer said. “A lot of people don’t know about the importance, and if they do, they might not be able to afford it.” Sherman’s plea for funding is echoed by neighboring shelters in the area like GHHS. “I wish that more people knew that we are not animal control,” Baker said. “We subsist off of things like surrender fees and adoption fees, and if we don’t get those, we can’t keep our lights on. We can’t help anyone.”
Attendees look at poultry at the Hillsdale County Auction. Thomas McKenna | Collegian
Share the Warmth offers beds for the night. Courtesy | Penny Myers
By Sydney Green Collegian Freelancer As Share the Warmth of Hillsdale County opens for the season, local businesses and churches are gathering to help support the shelter. “We couldn’t do it without the community, they are wonderful,” said Penny Myers, the warming center’s executive director. “We are very thankful and grateful.” Myers said it took lots of work to gain this support, including speaking at churches, speaking on the radio, and spreading awareness through the Hillsdale Daily News and social media. Myers said several local businesses and churches have continued to offer not only financial support, but also clothing, supplies, and volunteer hours. Drew’s Place of Hillsdale, an assisted living facility, has supported the warming center for nearly three years. Owner John Drew previously served as a board member for Share the Warmth and now focuses his time on maintaining the facility and providing supplies. Drew said he has found many ways to help the organization and expressed his support for its mission. “I feel called to help people when I can, especially those who are in such a low position that it’s hard for them to even reach out for help,” Drew
said. “When people get to a shelter, they’ve exhausted most of their resources and have a lot of reasons why they're not able to live normally at that point. If you can, always give somebody a leg up.” Small business owner Disha Patel also said she wanted to help those in the community. Through her business, D’s Creations, Patel has donated household items to shelter guests and holds an annual bake sale to fundraise for the warming center. “When I learned about Share the Warmth, I decided to blend my desire to help those in need and serve the community through my small business,” Patel said. “It is a great initiative to help the most unfortunate and needy people in our community.” Sozo Church, located at 7 S. Manning St., has housed the warming center for the past few years, offering shelter for the homeless during winter. Lead pastor at the church, Rev. Edward Spreeman, said this ministry has been a blessing and benefit to the congregation, as it challenges them to walk in Christian love. Spreeman said the church shares this responsibility with the community. “We have always looked at it as a community responsibility,” Spreeman said.
Tricycles and beer cans: Auction attracts hundreds to fairgrounds
‘It’s still an essential item in the community... it’s used by a lot of people.’ By Thomas McKenna Collegian Reporter Guy Russell was calling auctions at 17 years old. Today, 60 years later, he owns and operates the Hillsdale County Auction. “People from every walk of life come to this auction,” Russell said. “This auction has been going on for over 100 years. Most generally, you can buy things way cheaper than what you pay for them in a store.” Hundreds of auctiongoers gathered at the Hillsdale County fairgrounds on a recent Saturday morning amid dense fog. A gravel parking lot was covered with row upon row of various items, including tricycles, used tires, baby cradles, and five-liter cans of Coors Light commemorating Super Bowl 40. An auctioneer began taking offers for items at 9 a.m. “If you want something,
you have to be the highest bidder when the auctioneer is selling it,” Russell said. “If you win the bid, then it’s just like McDonald’s. You go in and pay for it and you get your item.”
Guy Russell has been an auctioneer for more than 60 years. Thomas McKenna | Collegian
Josh Ikessler was among the bidders on these items. He said he has been attending the Hillsdale County Auction for the past 10 years. “You can get some stuff cheap you might or might not need,” Ikessler said.
“Usually random stuff. Stuff for the farm that I can buy at a cheaper price.” Ikessler purchased a small horse cart that morning. He said he plans to use it when he gets a mini-horse for his daughter. “If not, eventually I can fix the seat and sell it for 200 bucks,” Ikessler said. The horse cart was not the best thing Ikessler said he has bought at the auction. He said his best purchase was back in June. “A mini cow,” Ikessler said, “Like the ones you see on Facebook. I got it for a cheap price – around $1,100 when they’re going for like $3,000 on Facebook.” Chris McCullough sold an assortment of plants, trees, and other shrubberies at the auction. He said he had been attending the event since 1991, at first with his father. Now it’s a weekly tradition. “We have a big evergreen farm,” McCullough said. “We really enjoy selling
the plants that we grow to people who can plant them in their yards and help the environment. Obviously, it's income for us, but it's also fun. We enjoy coming up here.” Russell said the auction is especially useful to people due to the state of the economy. “It's still an essential item in the community,” Russell said. “It's used by a lot of people. Now that the economy is getting tough – nearing a recession – people are starting to sell some things they don’t need just to get a little extra cash to turn things over.” Russell said he plans to hand the business over to his son and daughter-in-law, but that handoff remains years ahead. “I’m 72 years old,” Russell said. “It’s been a lifetime of doing this. I can still see myself doing this in five years.”
Sports
A8 November 3, 2022
Club Feature
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Men's club soccer comes together for a huddle. Courtesy | Matt Muller
Hillsdale club soccer holds their own against state schools By Moira Gleason Collegian Freelancer
The Hillsdale College men’s club soccer team wrapped up their season in the Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference in early October after a series of close games against teams including Michigan State, University of Michigan, and Central Michigan University. After bringing on nine new freshmen and a new coach this season, the team focused on integrating the new players and growing together as a team. “It was a bit of a learning curve with trying to get up to speed with the team and figuring out what the team's strengths and weaknesses are,” senior Sam Schaefer said. “There was definitely improve-
ment over the course of the season. We got to be really, really good defensively, which I was proud of. It was a lot of moral victories, if not actual victories, which sucks because you want to win. But you have to take the moral victories.” This was the club’s second season in the MASC, a competitive league in which Hillsdale is by far the smallest school. Although the team finished with a record of zero wins, nine losses, and one draw, junior and team captain Matt Muller said the team contended well, with most final scores within a few points. “We had a lot of close games, like against Michigan State it was 3-4, and Western Michigan we tied,” Muller said. “And three or four other games were within one goal.
So it was an encouraging season considering it was just the second one in this league.” Hillsdale is the only private school in the league, according to coach and philosophy professor Paul Rezkalla, so their performance against these larger teams was impressive. “There’s a lot of individual talent on the pitch,” Rezkalla said. “Hillsdale, which is a college of 1,400, is holding its own in a league with state schools 50,000 students strong. That is impressive, and I think we had a super impressive season just in that regard alone.” Looking back on the season, freshman Jacob Beckwith remembered their home game against Michigan State as a moment when the team came together and contended well
against one of the best teams in the league. “We went down 4-0 pretty quickly. It was pouring rain, so it was muddy and everyone was slipping around, but we didn’t give up. We went on to score 3 goals in the last 20 minutes and almost tied the game,” said Beckwith. “We’re going to give it our all until the final whistle — and you don’t see that often on a club team. ” Based on the strength of the freshmen and the talent of the team as a whole, Muller said that he sees potential for the team to succeed in the league next season. “The goal is to stay in the same league and really start earning a spot in it,” Muller said. “Considering the fact that we’ve really competed and we have a young team, my hope
yards for a touchdown early in the fourth. “Our defensive line was pressuring him, they almost got a safety, so he was scrambling, and then he just made a bad decision and passed it to my guy and I was right there, so it worked out pretty well,” Gillock said. The pick-six once again gave Hillsdale a two-possession lead, 29-20, with just over 12 minutes left to play. “All of a sudden Gilly picks it off and takes it to the endzone, the whole sideline was pandemonium, everyone in the stands was going crazy,” TeSlaa said. “I just felt like that moment put us over the edge.” Now with their backs against the wall, the Eagles drove it down to Hillsdale’s redzone before the Chargers created another turnover. A fumble, forced by senior defensive back Julius Graber and recovered by sophomore defensive end Riley Tolsma, gave the Chargers the ball with under 10 minutes to play. Now in kill-clock mode, the Chargers offense burned nearly six minutes off the clock before Herzog punched in his second touchdown of the game. It marked Herzog’s third multi-score game of the year. The senior is second in the G-MAC in total rushing yards in his first season playing since 2019. “It means a lot, it’s pretty crazy to think about because I haven’t played in two
years, and I feel like I’m getting better with each game,” Herzog said. “Just like it is for the team, I feel like it’s going to be a building block for me as well, going into these next few games and even next season.” One more defensive stop — forcing a turnover on downs — sealed the game, giving the Chargers a 36-20 win and moving them into fifth place in the G-MAC. “I think a lot of guys in the locker room knew that we were capable of beating these guys and we knew that we hadn’t played our best football yet,” Herzog said. “Throughout the game, there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win.” This Saturday the Chargers will face their final non-conference opponent in the team’s last home game of the season. Hillsdale will face off against Michigan Tech Huskies Hillsdale’s Senior Day, and they will honor the team’s 12 graduating seniors prior to the game. “The seniors really stepped up this year,” TeSlaa said. “I was a little worried coming into this year because we lost a lot of seniors who were leaders, so it was going to be a test of who’s going to step up, and there’s been some guys who have really stepped up and been great leaders.”
is to beat four or five of the teams that we would compete with. The league has both a regional and national tournament so my goal for next year is to attend that. It takes four or five wins and a few ties. I think it’s definitely doable with the team we’ll have.” Beckwith said he has a lot of hope for what the next three years will bring for the team. “We have a huge freshman class, and it’s a really skilled freshmen class,” he said. “And we’re only losing four seniors, so the majority of the team is young. Because of that, we’ll be together for a while which means we can grow together and continue to improve and win some games.” In the meantime, the team hopes to get the greater campus community more involved
and excited about soccer. The team will be hosting indoor soccer in the sports complex on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., open to any students who want to play. With the World Cup coming up, Rezkalla said he hopes to see more of campus coming together to enjoy the sport. “Soccer is the most watched and most played sport on the planet for a reason,” Rezkalla said. “Especially with the World Cup around the corner, I want to see lots of soccer watch parties, students wearing international jerseys all over campus, and people collecting stickers for the World Cup. Let’s be excited about soccer.”
Hillsdale soccer club wrapped up season in October. Courtesy | Matt Muller
Football Football from A1 “Everything was clicking, I had a good understanding of what they were going to do defensively, so I just trusted my instincts and played football,” Keller said. “We had nothing to lose, so I just did my best to play with a lot of confidence and passion.” Sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa also posted an excellent individual performance, using 116 yards on six catches to become only the sixth Charger in program history to pass 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. His 1,031 yards and 11 touchdowns put him fifth place in the nation, in both categories. With two games remaining on the team’s schedule for the regular season, TeSlaa sits 391 yards behind Trey Brok (‘19) for the program’s single-season record. “I remember coming in to Hillsdale right as Trey Brock was leaving, I came to a game my junior year of highschool, just watching him do his thing, I was like ‘man, I’d love to be out there doing that someday,’ and now to be up there on that list my sophomore year is cool,” TeSlaa said. TeSlaa’s impact on the game was nearly instant, catching a 38-year bomb from Keller with one hand to set up a touchdown on the team’s first drive. Keller finished off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to
tie the score at seven. When Ashland took the lead again on a field goal in the second quarter, the Chargers again responded with a one-yard touchdown run set up by a long KellerTeSlaa connection, this time for 41 yards. This time Herzog was the one to punch it in, giving the Chargers their first lead of the game with under a minute to go before halftime. “It’s a very satisfying feeling to put together a plan and have it executed the way our kids did,” head coach Keith Otterbein said. “We made some unbelievable plays, Isaac had three catches that were just out of this world, Michael ran hard, but we blocked him well.” The Eagles slimmed the Chargers’ lead to one with another field goal in the third quarter, but Hillsdale was quick to respond. The Chargers’ went 68 yards in 2:31 thanks to a 42-yard catch-and-run touchdown by sophomore Ty Williams that extended the team’s lead to nine. Ashland wouldn’t go without a fight, and responded with a 55-yard touchdown bomb that cut the Chargers’ lead to two in a drive that lasted under a minute. After forcing a Hillsdale punt, the Eagles offense again had the ball, this time with a chance to take the lead. Gillock, however, stepped in front of an Ashland pass, returning it 17
Chargers celebrate Ty WIlliam's 42-yard touchdown. Courtesy | Matt Muller
Sports
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Shotgun
November 3, 2022 A9
On target: How the shotgun team finds balance in the midst of competition By Carly Moran Ad Manager The Hillsdale College shotgun team is experiencing numerous successes this season, both in and out of the country. One of the team’s most recent accomplishments includes a Team High Overall at the Association of College Unions International / Scholastic Clay Target Program Upper Midwest Conference Championship in Marengo, Ohio. Similarly, Hillsdale won second highest overall at the ACUI/ SCTP regional conference in Sparta, Illinois. “To me, the most special moment of the semester was breaking 498/500 in trap at the ACUI/SCTP Central Midwest Conference Championship,” said head coach Jordan Hintz. “That is a score that, to my knowledge, has never been achieved by the Hillsdale team. We've had a lot of success this season but a number like that puts you in contention for a highest score regardless of division.” Coach Hintz began coaching the team in 2018 after graduating from Hillsdale that May. He was a member of the shotgun team during all four years of college, earning the National Rifle Association’s All-American title three times.
“I work with athletes within their own style of shooting,” Hintz said. “We are always trying to figure out what is the easiest, most consistent way for someone to break a particular target.”
Senior trap shooter Ida Brown referenced how Hintz’s alumnus status has affected his coaching. “Traveling with the team is definitely easier to balance than traveling with Team USA,” Brown said.
“Because our coach was a Hillsdale student on the shotgun team, he makes a pretty good effort to make sure we avoid missing as much class as possible. We have a lot of quick turn-
World Cup, but was missing one key item on her packing list. “I got a call from my coach of the U.S. team," Brown said. "He's like, ‘Yep, we're going to travel. Do
Springs, California, and competed on Calaveras High School's sportsman club team. She has competed in international trap for 10 years now, and found her start at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Sports Center. "My parents didn't understand what they were getting me into," Brown said. "They thought it was more of a safety program, they didn't realize it was a competition program.” Despite this unique start to the sport, Brown is now an Olympic prospect with plans to qualify for the games in Paris in 2024. One of the rising members of the team is freshman trap shooter Leif Andersen, of Edgar, Nebraska. "My favorite Ida Brown practices at Hillsdale's shooting center. tournament was Courtesy | Matt Muller the ACUI/SCTP Upper Midwest Conference arounds." you have a passport?’ ‘No.’ Championship in MarenOne recent turnaround So we worked with the go, Ohio," Andersen said. for Brown happened this Passport Agency that they "It was the first time that I summer on the way to the have in Detroit to give me have competed in a national independent tournaments a passport early because I tournament and my first for Team USA Shooting. wasn't going to get one in time shooting bunker trap Brown had qualified at the time otherwise." and skeet doubles competilast minute for the ISSF Brown grew up in Valley tively. I really enjoyed com-
peting while surrounded by the high-octane shooters on the team." Andersen mentioned that there are very few adjustments to make when becoming a college athlete. "Balancing athletics with school has been fairly easy," Andersen said. "As long as I have a plan for how to manage my time effectively, I have no problem keeping academics and shooting in check." Coach Hintz mentioned Andersen's performance, both on and off the field. "He had only shot trap before coming to Hillsdale," Hintz said. "At the Central Midwest Conference Championship, he shot one of our best scores in skeet doubles. He is doing fantastic in his classes, gets along great with the rest of the team, and is making great strides in his shooting." The team’s next event will be on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the East Rockwood Sportsman Club in Carleton, Michigan. It will be an Amateur Trapshooting Association tournament. “Ultimately this is about the college experience, so I'm successful if we have happy team members that are getting through college,” Hintz said.
Charger Chatter Peter Kalthoff What song would be the opening theme in a movie about your life? Why?
I've thought about this question a lot, actually. Definitely a violin instrumental. I always pictured it as a close-up of me playing the violin in an allwhite suit. Probably "You're The One" by Shania Twain. Then the camera zooms out slowly and pans to my farm as the beginning credits roll across the screen.
If you co-hosted a radio show with a celebrity, who would that celebrity be?
Probably Colorado State big man Patrick Cartier. I've talked to him from time to time and I think we would have good chemistry. Also, he doesn't seem to be scared of making bold takes. Radio is probably best for him anyways since he's missing his two front teeth.
Compiled
by :
Hannah Cote
Courtesy | Hillsdale College A theletic Department
WHat are your go-to gas station snacks?
Either the hot dogs or the pizza. Whichever one looks greasier. Then I'll pair that bad boy with a nice, smooth, 0-calorie La Croix.
What are you most looking forward to after graduation?
Matrimony, I get to change Isabella Hedrick's last name to Kalthoff next year.
If you had the choice, what would be your last meal ever to eat, and why?
Probably something Mexican, especially Metz's Mexican food. It's not my favorite, but I do like it a lot and it really upsets my stomach. If I were to die right after eating a spicy taco, I wouldn't have to suffer the next day. All gain with none of the pain.
If you were going on to play professional basketball, what team would you be on and why?
I'm a Detroit Pistons fan, and they need a forward/ center. I play center on the Hillsdale team but my size and skillset would probably transfer better to the power forward position in the NBA and let's just say Peter Kalthoff may be the Piston's answer at the position because it sure isn't Marvin Bagley III.
A10 November 3, 2022
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Chargers raise Traveling Trophy after beating Ashland for the first time since 2011. Anthony Lupi | Collegian
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Charger Sports
Volleyball
Chargers take first in division, sweep weekly awards By Isaac Green Assistant Editor The Hillsdale volleyball team took the lead in the G-MAC North Division last weekend as seniors Karoline Shelton and Linnea Larson swept the player of the week awards. The Chargers played against the Findlay Oilers on Oct. 28 and 29, first at home and then in Findlay. Heading into the weekend, Hillsdale was tied with the Oilers atop the G-MAC North Division — but, a pair of four set wins put them ahead. “Everyone knew these were big matches so everyone wanted to compete really hard,” assistant coach Taylor Wiese said. “We had four really good days going in and Friday had a huge home crowd, which was
awesome.” Shelton received her third G-MAC North Division Offensive Player of the Week award for the season, leading the Charger offense in kills during the Findlay matches for a total of 32. Her 1,409 total career kills place the outside hitter at fourth in the program’s history. Larson brought home the weekly award in the defensive category, compiling three solo blocks and eight block assists during the two matches. The middle hitter is now averaging 1.16 blocks per set, a team high. “For the Findlay games, it was really exciting to play them, especially twice in one weekend because we are such big rivals,” setter and outside hitter Madeline Zenas said. “Both games were extremely competitive.”
The Chargers came out strong in their home matchup Friday, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead with a 25-16 first-set win. The Oilers fought back in the second set to even the match 1-1, but the Chargers won both the third and fourth sets to put themselves one game ahead of the Oilers in the North Division “There was a lot of energy, both on the court and from the fans, which made for a really fun game,” Zenas said. The team traveled to Findlay the following day, and the Oilers, looking to once again even G-MAC records with the Chargers, pulled out a first set win, 25-17. Hillsdale quickly rebounded, however, and swept the next three sets to secure a share of the G-MAC North Division title.
“We knew it was gonna be more challenging going to Findlay so we had a really good mindset of we need to make some adjustments, '' Wiese said. “We worked really hard again, and we were able to do that.” Wiese said that the team’s effort while serving improved and that they were able to get their middles involved more as well. “Friday we really didn't serve as tough so they were able to get some big kills,” Wiese said. “We really got our middles going. Linnea Larson got some really big kills on Saturday, Maisie Brown got a ton of kills on Saturday too, so they were able to come in and be really, really effective.” Assistant coach Allyssa Van Wienen said they were also able to display how well-rounded their roster is
during the Findlay matches. “It was nice on Saturday to be able to put Madeline Zenas in for a couple sets,” Van Wienen said. “She did a really nice job coming off the bench and doing exactly what we needed her to do on the court. Same thing with Adi Sysum, she came in and she got a huge kill and a couple of blocks. Those were all momentum shifts that kind of carried us to the win, so it's really, really nice to see that depth from our bench in big games where it actually matters.” Zenas said that this depth is what gave them the win in the end. “It was fun to see the players who came off the bench really step up,” Zenas said. “You could tell everyone was ready to go. This was beneficial for us, as Saturday’s game was more
back and forth. Both teams were really trying to expose each other's weaknesses, and I think our team's depth and determination helped us finish strong in the end.” The Chargers now prepare for the final weekend of the regular season with matches against the Walsh Cavaliers and Malone Pioneers. During the Saturday match against Malone, the Chargers will also honor six members of the next graduating class for senior day. These six are Megan Kolp, Linnea Larson, Audrey Riley, Karoline Shelton, Emily Susitko, and Madeline Zenas. “These are our last two matches in what we call ‘phase three,’ so we want to finish off with two wins and would love to have four more good days of practice this week,” Wiese said.
Defensive Player of the Week Linnea Larson jumps up for an attack. Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan
Swim
Swim team beats Albion, on track for G-MAC's By Maddy Welsh Assiatnt Editor Charger swimmers made winning look easy at this past weekend’s meet against Albion College, finishing a hefty 45 points ahead of the Britons at 136-91. To open the meet, the Chargers had a 1-2 finish in the 400 yard medley relay. The winning relay, composed of seniors Leah Tunney and Anika Fassett and sophomores Joanna Burnham and Lilly Golladay, finished in 4:10.80. The other Charger team swam a 4:19.09 thanks to seniors Sydney Slepian and Hannah Douthitt, junior Phoebe Johnston, and sophomore Emma Dickhudt. “Everyone loves swimming relays,” head coach Kurt Kirner said. “We always have pretty decent depth and work for winning both if not one of the relays. On Satur-
day, relays showed our depth by their awesome performances.” The 1000 yard freestyle saw two more Charger swimmers in first and second place. Senior Sarah Clark came first with a time of 11:18.67 and junior Sarah Pataniczek followed her in second (11:21.92). The top scorer at the meet was sophomore Megan Clifford who earned G-MAC Women’s Swimming Athlete of the Week for her performance. She finished at the top of every event she swam and broke Albion’s pool record for the 200 yard butterfly. It’s her second pool record of the season after she broke Hillsdale’s in the 100 yard butterfly a few weeks ago. In the 200 yard freestyle, Clifford won with a 1:58.41. Junior Caroline Holmes said it was the most exciting swim
she watched at the meet. “Megan raced against one of Albion's fastest swimmers. They were about even at the 100, but then Megan picked up speed throughout the last 100 and drove to the finish in first place,” Holmes said. “It was a super tight race, and everyone on deck and in the stands was screaming. A memorable moment for sure.” Sophomores Elise Mason (2:02.16) and Emma Dickhudt (2:08.76) came after Clifford in third and fourth, respectively. Clifford won the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 2:07.81, nine seconds ahead of second place finisher and teammate sophomore Joanna Burnham (2:16.84). “It was super exciting to break that record,” Clifford said. “The past record was a 2:08.3, so I knew I had a chance to break it, and it was
very exciting when I saw that I did. The 200 fly is my favorite event so I was really excited to be able to swim it for the first time this season.” Hillsdale swimmers finished second, third, and fourth in two events. In the 200 yard individual medley, Holmes took second with a 2:17.38, closely followed by Tunney (2:18.03), and senior Amy Mills (2:23.84). In the 100 yard freestyle, senior Marie Taylor came second (56.93), Golladay third (57.15), and Pataniczek fourth (57.56). The 200 yard backstroke saw another Charger win with Holmes in first at 2:12 flat. Tunney was right behind her with a 2:12.72 and Slepian soon followed (2:20.40). Holmes said she enjoys racing teammates like Tunney. “I always love swimming with Leah — she is someone who I've looked up to
throughout my entire time at Hillsdale,” Holmes said. “I admire how she combines her focused determination for each race with a fun and playful spirit – she's such an inspiration to our team, and it's an honor to train with her every day. Also, it's always nice to go 1-2 and earn some points for the Chargers.” Mason won the 500 yard freestyle by a wide margin – she finished in 5:21.74 and the second place finisher swam a 5:36.27, more than 14 seconds behind. Mills came third in the same event (5:36.78). G-MAC player of the week Clifford anchored the 400 yard freestyle relay to close out the meet, with Taylor, Holmes, and Mason setting up for the team to finish in 3:41.52. Hillsdale’s B relay team of Fassett, Pataniczek, Clark, and Slepian finished third in 3:56.12.
“Relays are always the best part of the meet, getting to race with my teammates and get the job done together is super exciting,” Clifford said. “This relay was super hype because we really wanted to win, and luckily we were able to do it.” The team gets a weekend off from racing to prepare to face off with its rival University of Findlay. “Findlay is a challenge. They have 15 plus new freshmen on their women’s roster alone,” Kirner said. “We will be ready to do battle, let’s just keep it at that. Hopefully we can be healthy and at full strength by then.” The Chargers wiped the floor with the Oilers last year, nearly doubling their score at 144-77. They will also race Lewis University, whom they beat by an even larger margin last year (159-46).
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November 3, 2022
“Peanuts” comics and films help viewers get into the holiday spirit. Courtesy | Peanuts.com
Culture
‘Peanuts’ returns for the holidays By Jillian Parks Social Media Manager
For most, autumn is the season of the leaves changing colors, picking out clever Halloween costumes, and adding new sweaters to their wardrobe. For avid “Peanuts” comic strip fans, fall is the season of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” The Mossey Library hosted a discussion titled “The Enduring Appeal of Peanuts” on Oct. 26 in the Heritage Room. All in attendance agreed that this was the very season for Charlie Brown holiday specials as they sat around the table heaped with compilations of the beloved comic strip. “There is something about Schultz being able to capture the essence of childhood and then make it relatable both to children and adults that I think is really interesting,” Mossey public services librarian Brenna Wade said. “‘Peanuts’ was in syndication for 50 years, and it’s been over 20 years since it stopped
syndication, but we are still talking about it. We’re still interested in ‘Peanuts.’ We’re still watching the shows.” The group began the lecture by reminiscing on their favorite “Peanuts” characters and side plots. Schroeder, Lucy, Charlie Brown, and Snoopy all had loyal fans, but secondary characters like Linus garnered the most praise for his philosophical, religious tangents and quippy one-liners. “I do like Linus and his blanket,” Wade said “That blanket is all-purpose; it’s actually kind of similar to ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.’ Always bring your towel. Linus was ahead of his time.” The group also paid homage to infamous duos like Charlie Brown and the kite-eating tree, Peppermint Patty and Marcy, Frieda and her limp cat, and Snoopy and the Red Baron. “I like Snoopy because he’s philosophical, he’s sarcastic, he has a runaway imagination, and yet, at the same time, he’s a dog,” fresh-
man Olivia Finch said. Everyone had pieces of “Peanuts” trivia to share. From Finch’s knowledge on the history of the “Peanuts” parents to freshman Catherine Graham’s knowledge on the origins of the famous comic’s name being based on the phrase “the peanut gallery.” Library Director Maurine McCourry got her theory about Woodstock’s name confirmed as well. “Did Woodstock appear after the Woodstock Festival?” McCourry said. “Was he named for the hippie scene? Because that would have been 20 years into this. I always assumed he was there to represent that part of the counterculture.” Other adaptations of the “Peanuts” characters in TV holiday specials, movies, musicals, and even amusement park themes all garnered praise from the table. The clear favorite was “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for its classic jazz music, iconic individual “Peanuts” characters dancing scene,
and the joy of the underdog triumph displayed by the celebration of Charlie Brown’s pitiful Christmas tree. “I feel like the whole strip was just really full of hope,” Graham said. “That’s probably why people love it so much, but it’s very apparent in the Christmas special.” Wade said this was the best turnout they had had for a book discussion since the “Ender’s Game” discussion several years ago, speaking to the enduring appeal of the “Peanuts” characters years after no longer appearing in the funny pages. “It really captured the essence of childhood, but it carried through a lot of upheavals in the culture,” Graham said. “It didn’t focus on it though, It just focused on the part of childhood and daily life that will never go away. I think there’s a lot of beauty to just the simplicity in all the things that are represented by all of those ‘Peanuts’ characters.”
The Joy Quartet debuts creepy concert By Moira Gleason Collegian Freelancer Hillsdale Academy elementary school students and members of the community packed into McNamara Recital Hall on Monday for a Halloween-themed performance by the Joy String Quartet, featuring violinists Michael Eller and Peter Kalthoff, violist Ethan Tong, and cellist Paul Trainor. The chatter of young voices died out as Professor of Music Melissa Knecht, dressed in an elaborate witch costume, stepped forward to introduce the ensemble. The Joy Ensemble plays rare string instruments from as early as the 1600s, Knecht explained. The instruments include a Nicolo Amati violin, Francesco Ruger violin, Giulio Gigli viola, and an Alexander d’Espine cello, all of which were donated to Hillsdale’s music department by David and Bonnie Joy Hough. Each academic year, college students audition to be a part of the program and form an ensemble. Knecht left the stage, and three members of the quartet entered, dressed in ghoulish hooded robes. As the musicians took their seats, a sudden thumping sound startled the audience. Ethan Tong, the fourth quartet member, emerged from a coffin behind the musicians and took his seat to the laughter and applause of his audience. The concert showcased a repertoire of pieces tra-
ditionally associated with the spirit of Halloween. Senior Paul Trainor commented afterward on the first piece, “Danse Macabre,” by Camille SaintSaens. “‘Danse Macabre’ relates to the dance of the spirits of the dead,” Trainor said.“It’s originally written for an orchestra, so there’s
and apparently you can sweat out the toxins from a tarantula bite.” The ensemble immediately followed with “Erlkoing” by Franz Schubert. Tong explained the piece was written to the words of a poem by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which tells the story of a boy and his father who are chased
Seniors Paul Trainor, Michael Eller, Ethan Tong, and Peter Kalthoff prepare before their performance. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Fine Arts
lots of clangy percussion resembling the clattering of bones that had to be reduced to what we have now,” Trainor said. Tong introduced the second piece, “Tarantella.” “The ‘Tarantella’ actually originated as a dance,” he explained. “Traditionally, it’s because when you’re dancing, you’re sweating
through the woods by an evil elf king. Each instrument took on a character in the chase. The concert concluded with a performance of the familiar “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” by Edvard Grieg, arranged by Steve Winst. As the musicians took a bow, the audience met
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them with a standing ovation. College and elementary students alike enjoyed the work of the Joy Ensemble. Hillsdale senior Theresa DiFranco commented on the impressive visible communication between the ensemble members during the performance. “I love the way they work together,” DiFranco said. “You watch them, and they’re making eye contact and communicating. It’s very coordinated, and it’s so nice to see them all working together. They’re like one mind when they play.” Elementary school student Miranda Mumme shared her thoughts on the selections after the concert. “I really liked ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King,’ because it’s one of my favorite pieces,” Mumme said. “I thought the poetry piece was pretty cool too because I’m really musical and I also love poetry and I also play the cello, so I really enjoyed this.” Ensemble member Michael Eller said he was happy for the opportunity to give a fun, relaxed concert. “We have these noontime concerts that are kind of like a step away from class or work and people can come enjoy a pretty low-key, relaxed concert,” Eller said. “It’s nice to do something that’s not super high stakes.” The Joy Quartet will continue its program with a Christmas concert at noon on Dec. 2.
Tizedes poses for promotional images for her EP. Courtesy | Abigail Tizedes
Watch Tizedes go
By Micah Hart Collegian Reporter
Hillsdale College student Abigail Tizedes isn’t “Too Shy” in her recently released debut EP, “All Under Control.” A combination of strong R&B vocals and relatable lyrics, Tizedes didn’t just get her foot through the door– she made a firm stance. This step into the spotlight has been several years in the making, but Tizedes says the Lord was her biggest impetus to launch her music career. “I felt like the overwhelming response I got from the Lord was to share my songs, share what I had been writing,” Tizedes said. In an Instagram caption posted after the release, Tizedes wrote, “Every single person involved in this project knows the Lord intimately… from my support system to my producer to my photographer… every single person involved in this project is an answer from God.” Upon receiving this clear answer from God, Tizedes said all the right people came into her life. “I met my current best friend over Instagram, and she introduced me to her producer, who I ended up working with a few months down the road,” said Tizedes. Kate Kuehn, a singer herself, said that when she went into the studio with Tizedes, she knew this was going to be big. “She has a really unique edge to her music,” Kuehn said. “Every idea she has ever come up with is unique.” For Tizedes, she either writes when she is inspired or when she feels like she hasn’t written in a while. Writing is a key part of the production process, and Tizedes said that artists should be writing 100 songs per year. But Tizedes isn’t just a songwriter. She’s also a full-time student. “I wrote, over the course of that year [2022], 20 songs and ended up picking four,” Tizedes said. These four songs make up Tizedes new EP, but the process has been in the making for several years, with the singer starting one of the songs, “WATCH ME GO,”
when she was 17 years old. “I think that was the real start of my writing journey,” Tizedes said. “17 is when I actually started taking writing a little bit more seriously.” Tizedes’ music has gone further than she could imagine, with a scout who works for some of the top music executives reaching out to her just 10 hours after she released her first single, “Strawberry Honey.” “I thought it was a scam, there’s no way,” Tizedes said. “There are 60,000 songs released on Spotify a day, and these scouts just have to filter through and find what they find unique or drawing enough attention that they want to listen past 10 seconds.” Only one month after the release, Tizedes’ dream is closer to becoming a reality. Tizedes is one of 55 new artists being interviewed for 12 spots to be represented by an interested music executive. Through all of these major milestones, Tizedes said that her support system has been a huge blessing. “My sorority, Chi Omega, has been absolutely amazing,” Tzedes said. “My parents have been super supportive. All my friends from home have been super supportive, and my church community at home too.” Tizedes’ producer, Sam Lyon, has noticed this gratitude as one of the singer’s strengths. “I think she’s done a really good job at building a team around her,” Lyon said. Lyon also pointed out that Tizedes is more than an artist– she is an entertainer. “Music is, nowadays, a lot more holistic than just the music,” Lyon said. Kuehn echoed similar sentiments about Tizedes as an entertainer. “She doesn’t have to rhyme everything,” Kuehn said. “She is telling a story.” When she’s not studying, you can find Tizedes writing her music, perfecting her unique R&B sound. With the mind of an entertainer, get ready to watch Tizedes go places.
Catholic Society sponsors morning of sorority fellowship By Adriana Azarian Collegian Freelancer The Catholic Society Outreach Board sponsored “Faith & Sisterhood,” a morning of faith, food, and fellowship for Catholic women in Greek life on Oct. 29. With a retreat-like structure, the goal of the event was to focus on cultivating faith through friendships in sorority life. The event began with prayer, mass, and Adoration at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, giving participants from Pi Beta Phi, Chi Omega, and Kappa
Kappa Gamma time to pray, reflect, and foster unity together. “I was sitting in Eucharistic Adoration and I had this thought that I felt so close to these women just through prayer,” said senior Anna Swartz, the Catholic Society outreach member for Pi Beta Phi. Catholic Society outreach member for Chi Omega, junior Vivian Tork planned the event for sorority women last year with the help of Kappa alumna and director of academic services, Christy Maier. Tork told Maier her idea of Faith & Sisterhood,
and Maier took the opportunity to speak after Mass and Adoration. She asked fellow Kappa Kappa Gamma alumna, Lauren Smith ’07, to share her own insight as well. After the time at church, participants congregated at Chi Omega for coffee and cinnamon rolls, listening to Maier’s and Smith’s talks. The discussion focused on creating and maintaining friendships, setting good examples, and ministering to sorority sisters, with Maier and Smith offering their own testimonies, advice, and encouragement.
“I actually had a crisis of faith in college, and it was the faithful Christian witness of two of my sorority sisters that really helped bring me back to and deepen my faith,” Maier said.“I think that’s what a good friendship would do, to bring the people we know into a deeper relationship with Christ.” Maier described relationships within sorority life compared to residence life. While dorm living allows students more freedom to choose friendships, Greek living can entail choosing close friendships that might not have formed otherwise.
Maier advised the Greek women to create friendships within this unique context. Smith offered practical suggestions for maintaining those relationships, including Bible studies and prayer groups with small groups of three or four women. “If you’re constantly pouring into one another in those small groups, then those people will in turn have a couple people they’re also pouring into spiritually, and that tends to be a really effective way of making the spirituality of your house really vibrant,” Tork said. After counting 21 Greek
women in attendance and receiving feedback from many who found Faith & Sisterhood insightful and edifying, Tork is considering holding similar events in the future. “I’m really grateful that Catholic Society offered this opportunity for Greek women specifically, and I really hope that we can do more events like this in the future to continue to foster a sense that being in Greek life is compatible [with being Catholic] and that you can actually grow in your faith so much through your sorority,” Swartz said.
B2 November 3, 2022
Culture
‘Our Town’ premieres this week By Alexandra Hall Assistant Editor In celebration of the Tower Players’ 75th anniversary, Hillsdale’s theatre department is paying homage to Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” The Tower Players first performed the play in 1948 as one of their first major productions. “Our concept is centered on the theater process itself,” Associate Professor of Theatre Christopher Matsos said. “Audiences will see a group of actors gathering to tell the story of Grover’s Corners, from first rehearsal through opening night. In
catching a glimpse of the theater process — not just the final product — it is my hope that audiences will join us in recognizing the hard work that our students have devoted to Tower Players over the decades.” Sophomore Fiona Mulley plays the Stage Manager in the play. According to her, the point of the play is to remind spectators that every moment of life is important, even if we don’t see why right away. “Even though we are only small creatures in a vast universe, it is good that we exist, and there is beauty to be found in the mundane,” Mulley said. “I
think this message is so poignant, especially for a college audience, because a lot of us are very anxious about our futures and what we’re going to make out of our lives. ‘Our Town’ isn’t just mindless entertainment; it really leaves you with something to think about, and I hope it moves audiences the same way it’s moved us.” “Our Town” will be shown in Markel Auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 9 - Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. No tickets are required.
Senior Jason Cimponer hands out candy to children at the Trunk or Treat. Courtesy | Daniel Molter
Students host trunk or treat
By Christina Lewis Collegian Freelancer
Longing to see a lifeguard getting eaten by a whale, a princess on her quest to find her long-lost prince, or even Winnie the Pooh looking for honey? Look no further than Hillsdale College’s annual trunk-or-treat event. Started in 2020 by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the trunk-ortreat event serves as one of the many highlights of fall in Hillsdale. There were more than 35 cars for kids to trickor-treat at. Numerous Greek sororities, dorms, and other student groups decorated their trunks in the George C. Roche Sports Complex parking
lot. As kids from the Hillsdale community filtered in with their families, their bags quickly went from empty to overflowing with candy. Many kids had opinions on their preferred candies. “Milk Duds are my favorite candy,” 7-year-old Maggie Cote, dressed up as Cinderella, said. But her sister begged to differ. “My favorite candy is Whoppers,” 13-year-old Lucy Cote, dressed up as Eeyore, said. Unlike most Halloween events that take place late at night, this event took place on a crisp and sunny Sunday afternoon. As kids went from trunk to trunk, college students saw a mix of both cute and crazy
Strait saves country By Logan Washburn City News Editor It’s difficult to find classic country music on most radio stations. Pop-country (an oxymoron) and bro-country (whatever that is) dominate the airwaves. As Alan Jackson and George Strait put it in their 2000 track, “They committed murder down on music row.” Strait, however, released a cover of “Willie the Wandering Gypsy and Me” on Sept. 30 as a tribute to Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver. Jennings and Shaver, who have since passed away, first performed the song when it was released in 1973. Strait’s version flies in the face of modern trends and serves as a tribute to classic country music. Strait preserves the sanctity of the original track. The cover includes the same lyrics as the original, but Strait shifts from his usual style to incorporate both Jennings’ and Shaver’s characteristics. The song includes the lumbering rhythm of Jennings but incorporates the guitar and a similar voice to that of Shaver. “Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me” is a welcome reprieve from the current trends in country music. Absent of autotune, whiny voices, or electronic effects, Strait holds true to the clas-
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sics. The steel guitar, piano, and drums carry the lyrics at a steady pace, which is only appropriate for this song. “And I reckon we’re going to ramble /‘Till Hell freezes over /Willy the wandering gypsy and me,” Strait sings. At the same time, Strait calls upon some more modern, dynamic styles of guitar work. He fades in and out at exactly the right times, like contemporary artists Cody Jinks or Chris Stapleton. The lyrics are also far easier to understand than those of Shaver and Jennings, who both put their own spins on them. This serves to preserve the song in modernity, not letting any word’s meaning go to waste. Strait, age 70, still hasn’t lost his hallmark style. It seems he can’t resist putting his own mark on the song, as he backs the chorus with soaring steel guitar. This seems to show how invested he was in remembering his late peers. The song only lacks in its length. Strait should have taken his time – the song’s conclusion leaves the listener somewhat unfulfilled, longing for the past. Only good songs, however, leave the listener asking for more. Modern country music asks for more meaning, and this homage to the past offers plenty.
costumes. A dog dressed up as a hot dog, characters from Narnia, and a toddler dressed up as a mini Yoda were some of the many costumes. Hillsdale College Art Director Shanna Cote, who is the mom of Lucy and Maggie, said the first thing she thinks about when she hears the word fall are the leaves. “Michigan is so beautiful when it comes to the foliage here,” Cote said. This event also supports a cause. “One of our main purposes for SAAC is to raise money for Make-AWish. Although this is a free event, we are accepting donations to MakeA-Wish,” senior Tyler Conrad said.
Lights, camera, cats! By Kamden Mulder Collegian Reporter Local cat shelter Hillsdale Felines and Friends works to change the world one cat at a time, and they are teaming up with the Hillsdale College Film Club to produce a commercial about the stray crisis in the community. Kátia Sherman, associate professor of Spanish at Hillsdale College, is the founder and benefactor of the shelter. After opening in September 2020, Hillsdale Felines and Friends has spayed, neutered, and found homes for more than 200 local stray cats. “I put the building there myself thinking I was going to change the world, or at least the cat world,” Sherman said. While the shelter receives about $150 in donations per month, the cost of operating the facilities, the medical procedures, and food for the cats exceeds $2,000 monthly. In order to help feature the shelter and earn more funding, Hillsdale Felines and Friends and the Hillsdale College Film Club are teaming up to produce a short commercial about the stray cat crisis in the community. The idea to start a media campaign and spread the word about this local problem came to Sherman after noticing that one of her students, sophomore Donald McArdle, is the president of the Film and Production Club. “I was just talking with Kátia one day, and she presented the idea to me,” McArdle said. “I thought it was something the Film and Production Club could get done.” The Film and Production Club has begun work to document and collect footage of stray cats in the Hillsdale area.
“In the most basic sense, there are three steps to a project like this: gathering media (visual and auditory), putting the media together into a single video, and getting that video where it will be seen,” McArdle said. There is currently no timeline for when this video will be released. Getting the footage is completely unpredictable due to the fact that the cats wander and move around town, according to McArdle. As the winter season quickly approaches, the problem gets more urgent. “Half of them are sick, they’re all full of fleas and mites and are underweight,” Sherman said. “We’re hoping that this advertisement will spread awareness of the stray cat problem in Hillsdale and to raise money for Hillsdale Feline and Friends to install a neutering and spaying suite to help with this issue,” McArdle said. There are currently 90 students working with the Film and Production Club, and Hillsdale Felines and Friends has around 20 student volunteers. At the shelter, the volunteer process is unsupervised, something that Sherman says is made possible through the Hillsdale Honor Code. “They all have a key combination to the place, I don’t keep track of what they do there,” Sherman said. “All I ask is that they go and love on the cats and get those cats to understand that people are on their side.” Sophomore Olivia Latimer started volunteering at the shelter a year ago with her softball teammates. “One of the cool things about getting to visit with all the cats is seeing their individual personalities. Some of the cats are always at the door waiting for you to come in and immedi-
ately start meowing and purring as soon as you step inside,” she said. Sophomore Kelly Behling said she enjoyed working at the shelter. “Having the opportunity to spend time at Dr. Sherman’s cat shelter was rewarding as I was able to serve the community and help cats in need. It was also a great way to destress after a long day of classes,” Behling said. In order to expand and accommodate for the influx of stray cats, the shelter needs all the help it can get. “We receive three to four heart-wrenching emails and three to four, if not more, voicemail messages per week saying ‘my house burned,’ ‘my grandmother died,’” Sherman said. “All of these people are looking for somewhere to send their unwanted pets. If I had a shelter the size of a football field, it’d be full of cats,” she said. The goal of this media campaign is to bolster Hillsdale Feline and Friends in their crusade to put an end to the countless stray cats roaming the streets. Cats are homeless due to constant reproduction when they have not been spayed or neutered, as well as people abandoning their domestic pets. The shelter has plans to bring veterinarians and veterinary students from Michigan State University to help spay and neuter the cats. “I’ve never been a cat lady, it wasn’t until I came here and experienced the problem firsthand,” Sherman said. “I can’t go to bed every night knowing there’s 800 cats and kittens absolutely freezing.” If students are interested in helping the cause, they can volunteer at the shelter or help the film club collect footage. Any videos shot can be sent to dmcardle@hillsdale.edu.
A before and after photo for one of the stray cats who benefitted from Hillsdale Feline and Friends. Courtesy | Katia Sherman
Noah Kahan’s newest album, ‘Stick Season,’ is a love letter to the past
By Sarah Katherine Sisk Collegian Reporter Noah Kahan’s new album “Stick Season” feels familiar, despite its distinctive sound and lyricism. Kahan’s third studio album was released Oct. 14. The 14-track album offers a wide range of emotions while staying grounded in Kahan’s acoustic indie-pop style. “Stick Season” is reminiscent of fall in New England— the time between peak fall and the first snowfall, when the trees are stripped of their leaves and are left as barren “sticks.” The new album debuts an emotional intimacy between Kahan and listeners that his previous work had not. Kahan first teased the single “Stick Season” nearly two years before its release. The single garnered fan favoritism on social media platforms like TikTok. Written during the pandemic while staying with his parents, Kahan wrote the album about the small town he grew up in and the feelings that resurfaced during his time at home.
At an October concert in Northampton, Massachusetts, Kahan told the audience, “This album is my love letter to New England.” Through his raw and heartfelt lyrics, Kahan transports the listener to a time,
little more standoffish – but I think there’s a very genuine kindness that comes out of that,” Kahan told People magazine. “I think it’s a real specific kind of life to live when you grew up in the cold with little light, and it
“‘The View Between Villages’ embodies the mix of emotions one feels when returning to their hometown. Kahan speaks to universal aspects of the human condition by weaving together nostalgia and heartbreak.” place, and feeling that are eerily familiar. In “Northern Attitude,” Kahan sings “If I get too close, and I’m not how you hoped / Forgive my northern attitude, oh I was raised on little light.” “In New England, the stereotype is that people are more reserved, maybe a
lends to a personality type that is specific to where we’re from.” The final track on the album, “The View Between Villages” embodies the mix of emotions one feels when returning to their hometown. Kahan speaks to universal aspects of the human condition by weaving together
nostalgia and heartbreak. Kahan sings, “A minute from home but I feel so far from it / The death of my dog, the stretch of my skin / It’s all washing over me I’m angry again / The things that I lost here / The people I knew.” Kahan’s lyricism portrays the growing pains experienced when reconciling one’s childhood perception of the world with their adult view. Unlike the current climate of break up songs, which is very partial to vindictiveness and anger, in “All My Love,” Kahan reflects fondly on past relationships. He sings “Now I know your name, but not who you are / It’s all OK / There ain’t a drop of bad blood, it’s all my love.” His disposition towards breakups is far more mature than the majority of its modern counterparts. Even if you’ve never been to New England, felt a heartbreak, or been paralyzed by nostalgia for your hometown, “Stick Season” marries a bittersweet sense of home with an appreciation for difficult lessons learned in one’s youth.
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Features
FEATURES
November 3, 2022 B3
Hillsdale dresses to impress for Halloween Compiled by Claire Gaudet Sports Editor
Sophomore Lindsey Stevens and Jack Coker ’22 and senior Reese Seniors Hannah Douthitt and Coker dressed up as celebrities Brianna Lambrecht were anything junior Claire Henzel took a creative Elvis and Priscilla Presley. but despicable as Vector and Gru. approach as Marge Simpson and roadkill.
Festive Halloween haunts step up to spook students Three student groups hosted chilling events to spend an evening scaring both campus and town By Linnea Shively Collegian Reporter Last weekend, Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, Hillsdale College Campus Recreation, and Simpson Dormitory organized spooky surprises for campus. Although the most “horror” I watch is NCIS, I stepped outside my comfort zone to review each haunted experience. DSP Haunted House As I wandered through DSP’s haunted house, I felt like a character in Disney’s “Monster House.” With tarps hanging from the ceiling, flickering lights, and a winding route throughout the house, scares came from almost anywhere. Hands reached out from underneath tarps. The swaying of the sheets left me wondering if a figure hid just around the corner. Although I tried to prepare for the unexpected, I still jumped every time someone appeared out of the shadows at us. Even though being atw the back of the line should have given me time to prepare after initial jump scares, I kept falling for it. If the jump scares weren’t enough, only one group went through the house at a time. The emptiness gave scarers a great chance to keep the spookiness alive by following our group through the rooms. I soon realized the back of the line was worse than the front. Along with human scares, a live snake made an appearance in the living room. The worst, or best, part of the experience was the clown in the kitchen. Intense strobe lights bounced off the tiles. I found it hard to focus on the clown slowly creeping toward us when it was hard to see. However, the treacherous descent down a narrow spiral staircase into the basement
came immediately after the clown. While my friends made slow progress down the stairs, I forced myself to make small talk with the clown to cope with my fear. After almost tripping down the stairs, I found that once I finally reached them, the unfinished basement didn’t need any extra decorations. Finally, a dark figure chased us out
Along with providing a thrill for Hillsdale students, DSP raised money for local nonprofit ARE, or Activities Recovery Empowerment. The organization operates two drop-in houses in Hillsdale and Jackson. According to senior and DSP President Carson McNellie, ARE assists “people recovering from mental illnesses
With rapidly fading sunlight, narrow trails, low-hanging branches, and ominous moonlight, the woods provided an excellent haunted setting only enhanced by the cannibal baby dolls hanging from the trees. The beginning of the path brought a towering clown and shadowy figure crawling towards us on all fours. Continu-
I accidentally watched about a woman trying to evade a bad guy alone in the woods. To ensure I didn’t end up alone, I dragged my friends close behind. Coming across animal bones is always a possibility in the woods. On Trail of Terror, animal bones on the path were a fitting reality. “I saw a pile of deer bones
Simpson residents gathered together to host a asylum-stlye haunted house. Courtesy | Simpson Dormitory
of the basement through an outdoor cellar door and into fresh, haunt-free air. According to junior and DSP member Oliver Hunsbedt, the preparation process helped active members and pledges bond. “It took two days and every brother to get the whole thing set up,” Hunsbedt said. “It required every brother to participate and contribute in their own way.”
achieve their goals of sustained recovery.” Trail of Terror As I entered Hayden Park on Friday evening for Trail of Terror, I tried to remind myself that the people jumping out of the woods at me were the same people reffing my flag football game the day before. Unfortunately I forgot that fact as soon as we started walking down the trail.
ing into the woods, I imagined every branch hid another scary pair. Sophomore and Campus Rec employee Lizzie Penola appreciated the natural scare of the park. “The woods does a lot of the work for you because it was a spooky path,” Penola said. I agree with Penola. As I wandered around the woods, my imagination conveniently reminded me of a horror film
on the path, so I just spread it along the trail with my foot,” Penola said. “That’s a natural prop there. That’s the horror of the woods.” Simpson Asylum The final haunted experience of the weekend was Simpson Dormitory’s annual asylum on Saturday night. A tour guide led people through the different floors of Simpson and through the basement
lobby. Overturned furniture, dim lights, and a variety of materials hanging from the ceiling created a narrow, treacherous path through rooms and hallways. Television screens and record players added an eerie, auditory element to the dark lighting. With suite style rooms and winding paths providing numerous places for scarers to hide, I was constantly on edge while walking through Simpson Asylum. Immediately after entering, a clown jumped out at us. After that, I tried to peek around corners to see what was coming next. Another jump scare came from a resident hiding on the toilet. With the shower running, I expected a scare from the shower instead of the other direction. One visitor was so shocked she fell into the running water. Staying true to the name of Simpson Asylum, we wove through a hoard of residents in the basement lobby begging for our help to escape the asylum. Residents wholeheartedly and convincingly played their parts. Simpson Asylum was a community effort. The dormitory donated all proceeds to Helping Hands Pregnancy Center in Hillsdale. Freshman and Simpson resident Patrick Hamilton appreciated the community aspect of the haunted event. “There were a lot of people from the town who came so it was an all-city event,” Hamilton said. Overall, I felt the closest to a character in a Halloween movie in the DSP Haunted House. After the variety of scares I’ve experienced at these events, I hope I could do a better job escaping the bad guy in a movie than most star actors.
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November 3, 2022 B4
Off-campus craze: Students snatch up houses Following a mad dash to sign leases, houses on Manning Street were taken for August 2023 by September 2022 By Michael Bachmann Assistant Editor As students settled into their houses this August, junior Mary Ruth Oster had her sights set on a home for the next academic year — The Lodge on Manning, a popular off-campus house on Manning Street. Oster had begun planning with Lodge’s current residents over the summer and contacted the landlady as soon as she returned to campus this fall. Unbeknownst to her, a group of Sigma Chi brothers had contacted the landlady two weeks earlier. “I wasn’t going to let anyone stand in my way,” Oster said upon finding out. “It was going to be our house and nothing was going to stop us.” Within a week, she solidified a group, submitted interest forms, and signed a lease on Sept. 3. “It was a matter of moving as fast as possible during the first few days of classes,” Oster said. “It was a flurry of phone calls between potential girls who were going to live there and girls who already lived there. The idea was to take it out from under them.” Oster and her group were the first to sign a lease for a house on Manning Street, but they were not the only ones to do so. In the first few weeks of the fall semester, students raced through Manning Street in a high-stress dash to secure off-campus houses on the coveted street for next year. Some students have even signed leases before receiving off-campus permission, which will be released next semester. “The weekend before classes, I started to get calls immediately,” said Becky Fultz-Roth who owns four homes on Manning Street, including Lodge. “It was like a wildfire. I was inundated with all kinds of emails and texts.” Fultz-Roth said she has never had students sign leases as early in the school year as she did this fall. By the end of September, leases for all four of her homes on Manning Street were signed. While Fultz-Roth assumed that interest was limited to her houses, after talking to other landlords, she realized the rush to secure off-campus housing early has been happening all down the street. “I have no idea why this is happening this year,” Fultz-Roth said. “We are all trying to figure it out.”
According to Oster, Manning Street’s centrality to off-campus culture contributed to the scramble for houses. “I think a part of it is that everyone wants to be on Manning since it’s the best street — all the parties happen there and it’s right up by campus,” she said. “Another factor is that, as a junior, you want your senior year to be in a house that you’ve imagined you’d live in since freshman year, and for many that is a house on Manning.” At the heart of the mania were Graceland and Lodge, both houses owned by Fultz-Roth. “Manning has a pretty tight-knit community,” sophomore Lord Kirsten Lopez said while explaining the importance of the two homes. “You could see in the Sip of Manning last year after Taste of Manning got canceled. All the houses organized their own event.” Lopez said he was going
in the house. By the time Fultz-Roth texted Oster with the interest forms the next day, Oster already had them filled out. “Since Emma already lived there and knew what to do, it would have been much harder without her knowledge of how Becky is and what the process is like,” Oster said. According to Lopez, much of the drama surrounding the off-campus scramble this fall was caused by Oster’s nabbing of Lodge within the first few days of classes. “Behind everyone’s back, they went to Becky,” Lopez said. “Out of panic, we decided to start looking at Burt House, which then triggered a group of girls to try to get Graceland.” Junior Jonathan Abrantes, who currently lives in Graceland, said he came into the school year believing that he had the house secured for next year. “When we first moved in, we met with Becky’s hus-
“When you’re on top, everyone hates you. When you have Graceland, you are the bullseye on the target.” for Lodge because a few of his friends had sisters in the house, but Oster was able to get it, in part due to her own connections to the house. “We knew all the girls who lived there previously and liked the energy and culture they created there — strong, independent women,” Oster said. It is not uncommon for students to attempt to “will” their homes to underclassmen. Some houses, such as Manning Stables, Fultz-Roth has always rented to Chi Omegas, while others, like Graceland, have usually housed independent women. Fultz-Roth said she tries to respect the traditions surrounding each house. “We know a lot of these students for a whole year,” Fultz-Roth said. “If they say, ‘Some of my friends are gonna take this house next year, we try to respect that.” According to Oster, having someone on the inside makes the housing process much easier. When Fultz-Roth didn’t respond to Oster’s request for interest forms immediately, she was able to get them from Emma Purdy, a senior who currently lives
band. He told me that since I was the only junior I would have the house for next year and just needed to pick my house mates,” Abrantes said. During the second week of school, Abrantes discovered that a group of sophomore Chi Omegas were trying to sign a lease on the house. When he called Fultz-Roth about it, he was told he would be second on the list if anything happened. “One of their moms didn’t want to pay a deposit yet, so they pulled out. But we could have lost it just like that,” Abrantes said. According to Abrantes and Lopez, Fultz-Roth contacted their families and resident assistants before allowing them to sign leases. Fultz-Roth said she does get a little nervous renting to men, especially at Graceland, since the house comes fully furnished. “When I have a relationship with their parents, you know they are going to take care of the house even more,” Fultz-Roth said. “For the most part though, if you are going to Hillsdale College, you are going to be a respectable individual.” Within a few days, the
housing crisis had roped in students who were not planning on signing leases until the spring semester. Junior and Chi Omega Vivian Tork said she was enjoying living in her current home, Dog House, when the sorority found out four other groups were trying to take Stables during the second week of classes. “Becky said she would hold the house for us, but she could not hold it forever,” Tork said. “She needed a lease signed by the end of the week with a security deposit.” While Tork said Fultz-Roth was understanding during the process, and even gave some of the women extra time to send in their security deposit, it was still a stressful experience. “Even if individual members are not crazy about a certain house, you just have to make sacrifices for the sake of tradition,” Tork said. “You just feel like you are trapped because you don’t have time to explore other options.” Tork said she wishes students would respect off-campus traditions more, but also that landlords would be willing to hold off on signing leases until later in the semester. While Fultz-Roth usually does not like to sign leases until after the college has released off-campus housing permission in February, she felt comfortable doing so this year since she was renting mostly to rising seniors. Dean of Men Aaron Petersen is not aware of any factors that are driving students to sign leases earlier than normal but said that signing a lease earlier does not improve a students chance of getting off-campus permission. “Anyone who signs a lease does run a risk,” Petersen said. Even students who came into the semester looking to sign a lease were not prepared for the housing crisis to be this stressful. “It was really high intensity for a week for no reason,” Oster said. “I feel like we all kind of are being really dramatic about it and amped it up in our heads.” Abrantes said that being in what he described as the most popular house on campus inevitably made the housing process competitive. “When you’re on top, everyone hates you,” Abrantes said. “When you have Graceland, you are the bullseye on the target.”
Graceland currently hosts a group of junior and senior men. Jack Cote | Collegian
Junior Ally Hall and sophomore Kara Miller enjoy the Burt House porch. Jillian Parks | Collegian
Burt House is one of Roth’s larger off-campus homes. Jack Cote | Collegian
Married speakers share perspective on masculinity and femininity By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter On Nov. 1, Peter Herbeck, vice president of Renewal Ministries, and his wife Debbie Herbeck, founder of Pine Hills Girls’ Camp and women’s ministry Be Love Revolution, engaged with the reality of masculinity and femininity in their lecture titled “The School of Love: Lessons in Authentic Masculinity and Femininity.” They discussed the mystery of God revealed in masculinity and femininity and the cooperation between the two, specifically in one’s journey to salvation
in a fallen world. “Essential masculine and feminine nature has been distorted by the Fall,” Debbie Herbeck said. “Identity has been tied up with external standards of worldly success.” Vice President of Catholic Society, Emma Purdy, has known the Herbecks since her high school involvement in Debbie’s Be Love Revolution. She invited them to speak on-campus. “I think at Hillsdale there is a tendency to focus on the philosophical and logical components of our relationship with Christ and the way we relate with one
another as men and women,” Purdy said. “But Peter and Debbie Herbeck conveyed this message through a more spiritual lens which I think is really refreshing for Hillsdale’s campus. I think they did a great job of relating the head and the heart in a very spiritual way that we are all thirsting for.” Peter Herbeck’s faith started to come alive in college after reading Matthew 6:33. He made it his mission to seek the kingdom of God first and God’s way of holiness. “To seek the kingdom means to seek the King… over time, this became the
truth of my identity,” Peter Herbeck said. “Don’t be anxious about who you are, because God will show you.” Whereas the Bible urges us to find our identities in God, society tells us to listen to our fallen human hearts, Peter Herbeck said. People receive their identities from God, rather than developing them on their own. “Contemporary culture doesn’t pay attention to biblical revelation about the condition of the human heart,” Peter Herbeck said. Through his masculinity a man is called to represent Christ, Peter Herbeck
explained. Christ represented perfect masculinity in his meekness. Peter Herbeck described meekness as “strength under control and in the service of love.” Debbie Herbeck referenced the Hebrew word for ‘femininity,’ which means ‘to receive and nurture.’ “A woman reveals the beauty of the mystery of God,” Debbie Herbeck said. “A woman is God’s weapon, which he uses to penetrate and transform a culture. As women, we have an important role to play in the culture, to restore society. The Blessed Virgin Mary really shows us
what redeemed femininity looks like.” Men and women “share a common reality in the Lord. Teaching us how to love,” Peter Herbeck said. “We are brothers and sisters in Christ first. Healthy friendships between men and women do not need to be sexualized.” Debbie Herbeck concluded by discussing the difficulty of being a committed Christian in today’s world. “Communion with God is the key to it all. Otherwise our lives will not bear fruit – male or female,” Debbie Herbeck said.