Collegian 2.18.21 by The Hillsdale Collegian

Lupini and Rothfuss dance with the Arnns after being crowned President's Ball king and queen. Andrew Dixon | Collegian

Vol. 144 Issue 19 - February 18, 2021

Michigan’s oldest college newspaper

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Lupini, Rothfuss named Presi dent’s Ball queen and king By | Haley Strack Assistant Editor

Senior psychology major Claire Lupini and senior biochemistry major Spencer Rothfuss were crowned queen and king of the president’s court by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn at the annual President’s Ball on Saturday night. “Claire and Spencer are both exceptional representatives of our Hillsdale College campus community,” Chairwoman and Associate Professor of Chemistry

Courtney Meyet said in an email. “Not only are they outstanding scholars in their disciplines of study, but they have also made themselves known throughout campus by their outreach, leadership, and mentorship to other students.” Both Rothfuss and Lupini are extremely involved in multiple sects of campus life. Lupini is the small events leader on the Student Activities Board, works at the St. Peter’s Free Clinic as the volunteer coordinator, and is in the Lamp-

lighters, Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership, and Psi Chi Psychology honoraries. Rothfuss is the former chairman of Equip Ministries. “I was shocked and excited and honored and honestly, speechless,” Lupini said. “I was so beyond honored that I won — it was a moment I’ll never forget.” According to her boss Zane Mabry, director of student activities, Lupini is a wonderful example of the values Hillsdale instills in students. “Her work ethic is super

apparent. As far as SAB goes, she's often looked to as one of the leaders, and one of the wiser members,” Mabry said. “She's trusted by the whole team not only with ideas but character-wise as well. She's a good model of both like good work in terms of what happens on SAB, but also good character as a whole.” Professors are encouraged to nominate seniors for the President's Ball court on multiple criteria: high academic achievement, campus involvement, and

most of all, strong character. From there, a panel of five faculty members conduct interviews with all 10 nominees to determine who would best represent the senior class. In an email 5 to The Collegian, 9 said he didn’t want Rothfuss glory. 10 “Should I bother to make a list of my qualifications it would be, I assure you, banal at best,” Rothfuss said. “Even more so, however, I have no desire for that list to be the thing communicated 78 to my peers about my represent-

ing them. If my stint as representative king is to be of any value, it is to exhort next year's king and the rest of the studentry on how to properly view success.” Rothfuss also submitted an opinion piece to The Collegian titled “A Message from the King.” “Even if you, reader, never get a crown, live so that you won’t be ashamed to smile under one,” Rothfuss wrote. Assistant Professor of Theatre

See Ball A3

Survey: Most Hillsdale students say Do you plan to take the COVID-19 vaccine? they will decline COVID-19 vaccine The Collegian surveyed 102 faculty members, 103 staff members, and 340 students.

Many faculty, staff already have received vaccine By | Madeline Welsh Collegian Freelancer A majority of Hillsdale students do not plan on taking the COVID-19 vaccine, and a majority of faculty and staff already have taken it, according to a new Collegian poll. In the survey, 55% of the 340 student respondents said they would not take the vaccine, with 23% saying they would take the vaccine and 20% undecided. Among faculty, 76.5% of 102 respondents said they have already taken the vaccine, while 8.8% said they planned to take it and 9.8% said they don’t. Other faculty participants declined to respond or were undecided. Among staff, 53.4% of 103 respondents said they have already received the vaccine,

while 7.8% said they wanted to take it and 27.2% said they don’t. Others declined to answer or were undecided. The poll included 545 respondents among students, faculty, and staff. It was conducted online and distributed through campus newsletters from Jan. 17 to Feb. 17. In a Gallup poll last month, 65% of Americans said they would be willing to receive an approved vaccine if available at no cost. Campus respondents who said they do not plan on taking the vaccine cited concern for potential side effects, distrust of the vaccine itself, and lack of being in a high-risk category. Among those who want to take the vaccine, 48% said they wanted to speed the end of the pandemic, while 19% said they

would take it to avoid exposing family members to the illness. Only 7% of those planning to take it cited fear of contracting the virus. Professor of History Miles Smith said he took the vaccine. “It was actually pretty easy,” Smith said. “The whole process, from me walking in to getting the shot, was less than five minutes.” Smith said the shot’s effects were minimal. “After the first shot, my arm got sore, like what happens with a normal shot,” Smith said. “I was tired for a couple hours in the afternoon after the second shot, but I didn’t have any significant side effects.”

Already received No Yes Undecided or declined to answer 4.9%

8.8%

Faculty

9.8%

76.5%

7.8% 11.7%

Staff

53.4% 27.2%

See Survey A8

2.1%

Students

20.3%

55.0% 22.6%

COVID-19 on campus Limbaugh speaks at Hillsdale College's ninth annual Churchill Dinner in Washington, D.C. in 2008. | Facebook

Rush Limbaugh, radio legend and friend of college, dies at 70 By | Reagan Gensiejewski Assistant Editor Look up “Rush Limbaugh Hillsdale College” and the first thing that pops up is Hillsdale’s “Rush Limbaugh Challenge,” where you can take a Supreme Court quiz and get a free pocket Constitution from the college. The long-time Hillsdale College supporter and radio talk show host died Wednesday, Feb. 16, after a battle with stage 4 lung cancer. Limbaugh was 70 years

old. Over the last 40 years, Limbaugh became one of the most influential voices on talk radio. At the height of his popularity, Limbaugh had a weekly audience of 15.5 million listeners. Last year, former President Donald Trump surprised Limbaugh in his State of the Union speech by awarding him the Medal of Freedom. Hillsdale College Professor of Theatre James Brandon wrote his

doctoral dissertation at Bowling Green State University on Limbaugh and his interactions with his audience. “There was certainly a natural charisma there. There was confidence. He made things very simple for his audience,” Brandon said. “He had a knack for taking a complex political argument or debate, and sort of boiling it down, often in a humorous or sarcastic way, that was easy to

See rush A2

8 active student cases 5 students in contact isolation 382 students tested 29 students recovered In contact isolation

Active cases

1/18

1/21

1/25

1/28

2/1

2/4

2/8

2/11

2/15

A2 February 18, 2021

Former Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller spoke at commencement in 2019. Courtesy | Gen. Robert Neller

News

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Profs weigh in: Christian right to revolution By | Genevieve O'Gara Collegian Reporter

Gen. Robert Neller to teach one-week course on leadership By | Meg Patrick Collegian Freelancer Gen. Robert Neller will teach a special course next week on leadership in the Marines. The former commandant of the Marine Corps will focus on examples of leadership invWorld War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The one credit class will meet in the evenings on Feb. 22-26. “The class will offer the students an opportunity to consider their own leadership skills and styles in the context of how the U.S. Marine Corps teaches leadership and within a case study involving the Korean War,” Neller said in an email. Looking to military leaders, Neller said, is especially important. “Our profession is framed by an oath to the Constitution and by a code of conduct that governs how we lead our lives both publicly and privately,” Neller said. “There is an expectation that we will conduct ourselves with virtue and honor.” Neller credited the basis of a good leader with a person’s character. “At the base it is being a person of honor and virtue,” Neller said. “After that: selflessness,

competence, effort, integrity, and compassion for others.” Michael Murray, executive director of gifts and estate planning for Hillsdale College, was the original point of contact between the college and the general, having served under him in Iraq as a lieutenant colonel in the Marines. “This has been a very organic kind of process.” Murray said. “When I started working with the college, I stayed connected to General Neller.” Murray introduced Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn to Neller, who invited the general to give the 2019 Commencement address at the college. Arnn then offered the general the opportunity to speak to students more directly, and they planned for a course on leadership to be taught in spring 2020. “We were supposed to do the course last spring,” Murray said. “It was set for the end of March, and then COVID took control.” Victoria Schmidt, a senior biology major who plans to join the Air Force after graduation, said she’s looking forward to the class to help lay the groundwork for becoming a good officer. “I think the key to being a good officer is being a good leader, and one of the ways of being a good leader is by doing

these kinds of experiences, learning through other people’s experiences, and learning what it means to be a leader in the context of the military,” Schmidt said. Nick Macaluso, a senior history major who enrolled in the Marine Corps officer training program, known as the PLC, said he’s hoping to gain a more concrete perspective on military leadership. “I’m anticipating that the general will borrow from personal leadership experience in the class, teaching the material in a way which only he can and giving new life to familiar battles and military figures,” Macaluso said. Macaluso said he is also hoping this class will be a step toward a future military leadership program at Hillsdale. “It is something that other military students and I have recently proposed to the administration,” Macaluso said. “Much like pre-med or pre-law, we envision a program which would help prepare Hillsdale students to become better officers. Such a program would include a military history component, without neglecting tactical, physical, and moral formation for sound military leadership.”

In Brief: Library to phase in new computer software By | Christian Peck-Dimit Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale Information Technology Services department is in the process of installing Virtual Desktop computers in the library. They also plan to update the library’s printer software as early as this summer. ITS Systems Administrator David Pauken says that these new computers will be much easier for his department to manage, as well as being more secure. “Instead of rebooting to its own hardware, the computer is actually essentially connecting to a remote computer that’s hosted in the data center,” Pauken said. “So instead of that server having just one operating system, it actually has many,

many, many virtualized computers on it.” The updates to the library have been in progress for a while, Public Services Librarian Brenna Wade said. “ITS took some of the Virtual Desktop Thin Clients from, I believe, some of the classroom buildings, and they installed four machines in the library,” Wade said. “We’re doing it on a trial basis to see if this would be a viable option moving forward.” Pauken also pointed out that installing Virtual Desktops will be cheaper for the college and faster for the students than the computers that the library previously had. “We can reuse a lot of hardware, imagine using your computer with a keyboard and mouse from ten years ago, but

you’re on a Windows Ten machine,” Pauken said. Starting in the fall, ITS plans to change the way that print jobs are released in the library. “Any student that’s been to the library can tell you that you can often sit down and tell something to print, but when you get there, it’s gone,” Puaken said. Wade says that this problem will be solved with the library’s new, more secure printing software. “Print jobs will need to be released through a card swipe or a card tap, so students will need to use their IDs to release their jobs,” Wade said. “It’s a really good thing to do, it’s an extra step that allows more secure access to one’s print jobs.”

Student Fed impeaches treasurer, announces campus outreach events By | Genevieve O'Gara Collegian Reporter The Student Federation impeached its elected treasurer and instated a new treasurer at its meeting on Feb. 11. Because former treasurer and junior Frank Vitale is a part-time student this semester and was unable to attend the federation meetings, members voted unanimously to impeach him. “We don't like to do this, but it's important for the federation to fulfill our function, which is to fund clubs,” Vice President Thomas McPhee said. “Without a treasurer, we don't have the finance committee, so we can't hear club funding proposals.” Junior Isabella Maciejewski

was nominated to and accepted the position of treasurer. Freshman Rosemary Surdyke replaced Maciejewski as an independent representative. Freshmen Helen Schlueter and Liam Giles were also sworn in as independent representatives. In addition to the impeachment, the federation also discussed two events it is hosting that will be open to campus. On Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. in the Formal Lounge, federation officers will host a funding proposal workshop. “In the past, it might have been difficult or confusing for clubs to come to the federation for money,” President Brandt Siegfried said. “So, we wanted to host this workshop for club lead-

How to: Advertise with The Collegian

To advertise in The Collegian, please contact ad manager Ben Raffin at braffin@hillsdale.edu.

ers and other interested students to come learn about the process to earn funds for their clubs.” The federation has a budget of $34,648 available to give to clubs this semester. This money includes the accounts payable and money returned to the federation from Hillsdale College for Life, since the March for Life trip was canceled. On March 4 at 7 p.m., the federation will also host a town hall-style meeting where the student body will be invited to come and ask questions of federation officers. There will be a formal portion in which students can ask questions of the federation at large. Afterward, students can meet with individual representatives.

Christians have the right to revolt when authority fails, but making this decision requires prudence, according to Assistant Professor of Philosophy Blake McAllister. “There is no avoidance of making difficult judgments on when violence is called for, and when it's not. None of this entails that violence is always or even usually justified,” McAllister said. “As a matter of fact, I think it's precisely the opposite: Jesus' words place a great burden on us to accept peaceably all manner of persecution, for God's sake.” Alethia Apologetics sponsored a discussion on the Christian right to revolution on Feb. 15, with comments from Hillsdale professors McAllister, Distinguished Associate Professor of History Darryl Hart, and Assistant Professor of Religion Don Westblade. “Revolution doesn't necessarily require that we take guns into the Capitol building,” Westblade said. “There may be some more polite ways, there may be some more subversive ways, there may be some more non-violent ways in which we can carry off the same goals of our revolution in aiming to love one another, rather than to use this revolution as an opportunity for the flesh.” Christians shouldn’t miss opportunities to serve others and defend those who cannot defend themselves, but this duty shouldn’t result in civil unrest,

McAllister said. Senior Gracen Aldaya, president of Alethia, said the topic of the Christian right to revolution seemed especially relevant this semester, in light of Black Lives Matter protests last summer and the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “What does a revolution look like — whether that's a political revolution, or a revolution based on ideologies, or just standing your ground in your faith like the Christians did in the Roman Empire?” Aldaya said. “What is our duty as a Christian and what does that look like with governmental submission?” In ordinary circumstances, Christians must respect and obey legitimately elected authorities. But if a government abuses its power or — as in the case of Nazi Germany — commits injustices against its people, then Christians may have a right to revolt, McAllister said. Hart also spoke on the idea of injustice, emphasizing the biblical call for Christians to suffer and accept persecution for the glory of God. “Let's not be shy about saying the Roman Empire was a lot worse than the American government,” Hart said. “Christians are the subject of a human institution, and this was the institution that killed Jesus. That was a fairly unjust execution.” Instead of going to extremes of violent protesting, Hart said citizens should first fight injustice by calling their elected representatives. Westblade said there are times when Christians have

the right to resist the rules of human authorities because God, a much higher authority, has given them different rules. However, even if revolt is justified, Christians must do it for the glory of God, not their own gain. “There are some times in which we are tempted to revolt, because we have opportunities for the flesh in view, instead of the aims of God in view,” Westblade said. Christians must serve one another, even in difficult situations. If revolution is necessary, it must be done out of love for others, Westblade added. Senior Riley Arlinghaus said she hadn’t associated love with revolutions before, but found the idea to be very impactful. As a politics major, Arlinghaus said she was specifically interested in the justification for the American Revolution. “It's a hard question to answer and to put yourself in the mindset, without hindsight, of ‘What was the American Revolution trying to accomplish and to what degree did it honor God?’” Arlinghaus said. Arlinghaus said she appreciated that each professor discussed the topic through the lens of scripture, but also brought their own field of expertise into the conversation. “When it is one or the other, we follow God, rather than government,” McAllister said. “Consider the call throughout scripture to seek justice, and in particular, care for the most vulnerable and marginalized in society.”

Prestley Blake, donor of Hillsdale's Blake Center for Faith and Freedom, dies at 106 By | Maggie Hroncich Assistant Editor

was instrumental in his making the decision towards his gift. He certainly did it with her full cooperation and blessing.” S. Prestley Blake — founder According to Masslive, Helen of Friendly's restaurant chain Blake’s goal is to continue his and friend of Hillsdale College ongoing projects, including work — died in a Florida hospital last at the Blake Center for week at the age of 106. Blake, Faith and Freedom. a successful entrepreneur “My mission has and philanthropist, donated been to keep him happy a large part of his estate in and alive,” she said. Somers, Connecticut, to the “From now on, my college. mission is going to be The property, which to finish the things that includes a replica of Thomas we started together.” Jefferson’s Monticello, was Norton said that established by the college as while events at the The Blake Center for Faith Blake Center for Faith and Freedom, a religious and Freedom have institution. been hampered due to Hillsdale College General COVID-19, the college Counsel Robert Norton, fully intends to make who represented the college use of it as soon as rein zoning disputes for the strictions are loosened. property and knew Blake “Blake was still personally, said Blake was the pressing forward and example of a life well lived. "Pres" Blake was a long-time friend had big plans for the “Pres Blake meant a lot of the college. Courtesy | Robert Norton. property being used. to me. I got to know him We intend fully to a few years ago when we were Blake also cared deeply for use the property as a religious first contacted about the possible his wife, who supported and institution as the clearance that gift of his house and neighborpartnered with him in various we received,” Norton said. “We ing houses and buildings to the philanthropic projects. plan on holding the types of college,” Norton said. “He was, I “I was struck by the great events that he wanted us to hold think, 104 years old at that time relationship he had with his there; there’s a focus on faith and but he was very energetic, very wife, Helen. They clearly loved freedom. We really look forward intelligent, and he had a great and respected each other. It was to the property’s use — it’s a love of beauty and beautiful beautiful piece of property and things. He had made his property the kind of relationship you felt into a beautiful park-like setting.” good about being in its presence,” we’re going to cherish it and take Norton said. “Helen’s a wonderful care of it.” Blake was a man with a love lady in her own right, and she for adventure, opening an ice

Rush

from A1

understand.” In 2008, Limbaugh spoke at Hillsdale College’s Churchill Dinner in Washington, D.C., receiving the Freedom Leadership Award. College President Larry Arnn released a statement on the college’s Facebook following the announcement of Limbaugh’s passing. “My friend Rush Limbaugh, who died today, was a force of nature. More than any other individual, he was responsible for breaking the Left’s media monopoly,” Arnn wrote. “His voice on the radio, where he has promoted Hillsdale College for more than 10 years, will never be equaled.” Scot Bertram, general manager of WRFH, the campus radio station, said Limbaugh saved AM radio. Politics were the center of Limbaugh’s show, and future stories surrounding him will focus on that aspect, but above all, Limbaugh was a talent, he said. “He was an expert entertain-

How to: Subscribe to The Collegian

To receive weekly issues of Hillsdale College’s student newspaper, please contact Patricia Fernandez at pfernandez@hillsdale. edu or Calli Shinkle at cshinkle@hillsdale.edu.

cream store with his brother that would become a large franchise, circumnavigating the world in a yacht twice, owning dozens of Rolls Royces, and driving ATVs at the age of 104, according to Norton.

er, above all else,” Bertram said. “The most important part of the show, why it was so successful for so long, was that it was flat-out entertaining. Rush knew when to inform. He knew when to entertain. He knew when to poke fun at the opposition. He knew how to work the audience. You know how to work the clock. He knew how to hold an audience through a segment and over break all those things but most importantly he was an entertainer.”

Junior Zac Ailes said he knew Limbaugh well. The radio host called himself Ailes’ “older brother” and mentored him on many matters, including where to attend college. “Rush was a true friend to those in need, a patriot, and one of the kindest hearted people I’ve ever known,” Ailes said. “This country suffered a tremendous loss today and he’ll be missed by so many.”

Junior Zac Ailes joins Limbaugh in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2019. Courtesy | Zac Ailes

How to: Join The Collegian

To find out more about how to contribute to The Collegian through writing, photography, or videography, please contact Carmel Kookogey at ckookogey@hillsdale.edu.

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

News

February 18, 2021 A3

Q&A: Chris Krug to perform with integrity and serve a readership by giving them access to things that they otherwise couldn't access on Chris Krug is the president their own. of the Franklin News FoundaQ: How has the quality of tion and the publisher of its journalism declined? watchdog news outlet, the CenI think there are very few ter Square, which was founded people who are writing original in 2019. He has more than 25 news at this point. That is, in years of experience in the news my view, the biggest loss of all. business and was previously A story gets written and enters vice president of the Chicago into the news ecosphere. This Sun Times. person grabs it, maybe adds Q: Why do Americans have something to it, maybe just a low opinion of the media? rewrites it, maybe doesn't do A: Americans have probanything with it. This next perlems with national media. son takes it and forms an opinThey have problems with the ion on it. As a consequence, networks and with cable TV we have people making policy news. They have problems decisions as a consequence to with the major print outlets public outcry over a story that that they feel are one-sided or maybe wasn't right in the first untrustworthy. But they have place. the greatest level of trust for Q: What’s the reason for their local news outlets. I think this? that's because they're close A: I think it comes back to enough to the news that they the economics of the industry can double-check it by asking that you just don't have that someone. many people to do the work. There's also a different level Then it becomes a matter of of accountability in local news. what kind of work your media One of the things that I think company chooses to do: are you makes our organization unique creating news or are you recreis the vast majority of the peoating news? These companies ple who work for us came up are out there simply putting through local their spin on news, and the whatever it is value of that that was origiis that these nally reported, journalists had either willingly to live and walk or unwittingly among the peodistorting the ple for whom news. they reported Q: What the news. They are the most stood in line valuable skills with them at you look for in the grocery a journalist? store, their kids A: There Chris Krug has been in the played baseball are two parts news business for more than with other people to being a good in that communi- 25 years. | LinkedIn reporter. You ty, there was a personal connec- have to have a high level of tion and an accountability that curiosity and you have to have frankly just does not exist at the the courage to ask challenging national level. questions. That first part is the Q: A lot of journalism stumost important part. We can dents dream of going straight teach people how to write, how into national media outlets in to put words together, how to big cities like Los Angeles, New arrange thoughts. You can't York, and Washington, D.C. teach somebody to be curious. What’s the case for starting at a If you come equipped with state or local news outlet? some level of curiosity and the A: It’s to learn to do journal- willingness to ask challenging ism the right way and to do it questions that ultimately coax in an environment where you the truth from people with can fail, but not fail and never power and authority, you can recover. One thing I really be highly effective as a reporter, appreciate about Hillsdale is whether you can write or not. that journalism is a minor, not Q: What is the mission of a major. I don't have a journalthe Center Square? ism degree; I learned to be a A: We cover statehouse journalist. For me, journalism and statewide news with an was about trying and learning economic perspective that resand failing, and I got to do that onates with taxpayers and small in Meadville, Pennsylvania, business owners, entrepreneurs, at a 19,000-circulation daily innovators — people who want newspaper. Don’t get me wrong to create, free from government — in coming up through the overreach. We take pride in industry, there were absolutely the fact that we’re writing the people I knew who came out stories that people are talking of more traditional journalism about or the stories that people schools and were elevated to should be talking about. It’s that the top rung of the ladder in interest in what's going on with their early 20s. But I don't government, how government know if that necessarily benespends money, what governfited them, because they didn't ment is doing with the money have time to grow. Journalism we send to it — the economics is one of those races run step by of it. We want our journalism step; it’s a marathon and not a to be highly-accessible short sprint. My path has been really stories that are impactful and fulfilling and satisfying because get to the heart of how tax I've learned in real time how dollars are being spent. critically important it is to be thorough, factual, honest, and

By | Madeline Peltzer News Editor

Richard Duncan, a professor of law at the University of Nebraska, spoke with students over Zoom. Andrew Dixon | Collegian

Federalist Society guest speaks on First Amendment and compelled speech By | Alexis Daniels Senior Reporter The “no compelled speech doctrine” was designed to nip tyranny and authoritarianism in the bud, according to Richard Duncan, a professor of law at the University of Nebraska College of Law. In a virtual talk hosted by the Federalist Society on Feb. 4, Duncan explained the meaning of the doctrine and detailed several major cases in which it played a role. This doctrine, which comes from the First Amendment, focuses primarily on instances when “tyrants use law to compel free men and free women to say things they wish not to say,” Duncan said. “Ordinary authoritarians are content to forbid people from saying things they know, or believe to be true; totalitarians insist on forcing people to say things they know or believe are untrue,” Duncan said. Duncan first focused on Minersville School District v. Gobitis, where the Gobitis children, who were Jehovah’s Witnesses, refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The children were expelled and the court ruled against the Gobitis’, as “the mandatory pledge requirement did not violate the free exercise rights of religious dissenters,” because though the government cannot interfere with individual expression of belief, the Constitution “does not compel exemption from doing what society thinks necessary for the promotion of celebrate civil end,” Duncan said. The case was settled in the midst of wartime America, in June 1940 during World War II. According to Duncan, the court’s “overreaction” in its decision was due to a national crisis. This trend is equally as apparent with

COVID-19 regulations, Duncan said. The case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette in 1943 overturned the court’s previous ruling from the Gobitis case. Duncan said the court’s decision “was not based upon religious liberty and free exercise, but rather replaced intellectual individualism and the free speech rights of the individual religious or not to resist compulsory unification of opinion.” According to Duncan, the meaning of free speech went from preventing the government from compelling people not to speak, to preventing the government from compelling people to speak at all. “For the first time the Supreme Court recognized that freedom of speech protects both the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking,” Duncan said. Duncan also discussed Wooley v. Maynard, when New Hampshire resident and Jehovah’s Witness George Maynard covered up the ideological message “Live Free or Die” on his license plate. The state of New Hampshire, “somehow missing the irony of his actions,” prosecuted and convicted Maynard for obscuring information on his license plate, according to Duncan. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New Hampshire violated the First Amendment “by compelling an individual to participate in the dissemination of an ideological message by displaying it on his private property,” Duncan said. The third case Duncan highlighted was Hurley v. The Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (GLIB). In this case, a leader of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council John J. Hurley refused to allow the GLIB to march

in the council’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. The group appealed to the public accommodations law, which prohibits discrimination of sex, race, or sexual orientation in public spaces. The state court ruled that Hurley’s discrimination against this group was illegal and that it was “inconsistent with a proper celebration of St. Patrick’s Day,” Duncan said, an event that the judge argued required inclusivity and diversity. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state courts violated the First Amendment’s protection of speaker autonomy. The final case Duncan discussed was Telescope Media Group v. Lucero. Carl and Angel Larsen, the owners of Telescope Media Group, a wedding videography business, refused to shoot films that were in conflict with their religious beliefs. Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, however, the state of Minnesota demanded that the Larsens also include films depicting same-sex marriage in a positive light. “It is indisputable that the Larsens’ decisions on whether to create a specific film never focused on who the client is, but on what message or event the film will promote or celebrate,” Duncan said. The state of Minnesota decided that the Larsens’ films were in the realm of public accommodation and thus subject to Minnesota’s Human Rights Act. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the film was protected by the First Amendment under artistic expression — the Larsens could not be compelled to promote any messages they did not choose to promote. “Free men and free women must have autonomy over their speech over that which they choose to say and that which they choose not to say,” Duncan

said. “I think that covers not just you and me speaking in a public park somewhere, but also wedding videographers, such as the Larsens.” Sophomore Thomas Curro agreed, adding that many Hillsdale students might find Duncan’s points especially important because of their Christian faith. “It's nice sometimes to think about the more general ideas of religious liberty and free speech,” Curro said. “It was really great that he went into these nitty-gritty details of the court cases.” Sophomore Ryan Carmody called it “the fastest crash-course in free speech jurisprudence” he’d ever heard. “It was incredibly detailed, incredibly well done, and funny,” Carmody said. “He was a really engaging guy.” Freshman Olivia Hajicek said it was interesting to learn about what counted as free speech and said she would have liked to heariDuncan’s thoughts on the existence of anti-discrimination laws. “I would be interested to learn more about whether these anti-discrimination laws are lawful and constitutional in the first place,” Hajicek said, adding that the laws establish motive as a criterion for legal judgment. “Motive is a lot harder to establish, and I think it's also a dangerous place to be. That's not the proper role of government.” Junior and Federalist Society President Leo Schlueter said Duncan was chosen to speak because of the articles he has written on free speech in America. He said he thought the talk was important to today’s society. “I hope people get a more detailed understanding of the evolution of free speech cases, and maybe a sense for how they're going to be argued in the future,” Schlueter said.

‘A really glorious suffering’: Mothers share birthing stories at Midwifery Club event By | Aubrey Gulick Collegian Reporter While giving birth might be a scary thought to some young women, the Midwifery Club recently celebrated the beauty of the experience by inviting mothers to share their stories with young women on campus. On Feb. 11, the Midwifery Education Club hosted six mothers in the Mauck Residence solarium to share their birthing stories. Melanie Taylor, Casey Gregg, Mary Strecker, Bryna Destafani, Emma Lindley, and Mary Margaret Spiteri addressed the trials, joys, and fears of giving birth. The Midwifery Education Club was founded a year ago by junior Sophia Berryhill and senior Phoebe Fink to encourage women who were interested in midwifery as a career after college. “We really wanted to start the conversation about birth and midwifery and all of the encompassing topics,” Berryhill said. “A lot of that was getting communi-

Ball

from A1

Christopher Matsos, who said he has gotten to know Lupini over her four years at Hillsdale, said her kindness and humility made her a joy to have in class. “Claire brings a warm, calm, and confident energy to the classroom,” Matsos said in an email. “She has periodically invited me to participate in SAB events she has organized, where I've found her to be a poised and

ty women involved.” The event was something Berryhill, the club’s president, and Fink, its vice president, have wanted to host since they founded the club. “I think it’s so important to talk about this, because it’s something people don’t talk about very openly, and people feel afraid or scared and don’t know what to expect,” Berryhill said. “No one has ever talked to them before about their birth experience.” The women talked about their experience, focusing not only on the physical experiences but also the impact it had on their emotional and spiritual life. “What really struck me was that birthing isn’t just a physical thing that happens, you’ve got a whole body, whole-person experience,” said sophomore Margaret Johnston. For many of the women, the hardest part about having children was the unexpected loss of control they experienced. “I kind of wanted to have the little steps and the checkmarks and mark things off the list, and having to give that up was hard,”

said Destafani, mother-of-one and Hillsdale senior. During her third pregnancy, accountant Taylor was working from home when her water broke. “The baby was born on the bathroom floor after 40 minutes of labor,” Taylor said. “That was the unexpected hardship. I didn’t get to choose, it just happened.” Lindley, who is pregnant with her ninth baby, agreed. She emphasized that there are many good ways to give birth. “I feel like part of having such a wide variety of experiences with birth has been God showing me there are all different ways that we can do this,” Lindley said. Despite the trials they faced while giving birth, the women agreed that having children comes with incredible moments of joy. Mother-of-two Gregg ’12 described the surprise she felt when she met her daughter for the first time. “I was really shocked when she was born,” Gregg said. “I formed no emotional bond during the pregnancy at all, and

resourceful leader. If my faculty colleagues have had anything like the positive experiences I have had working with Claire, I am not at all surprised that she was selected.” The President’s Ball court historically highlights members of the senior class who excel in all areas of Hillsdale life. “It's an honor,” Mabry said. “It's a reflection of four years

of hard work and dedication to the values that Hillsdale tries to instill in you. It's a reflection that you've taken your education, your moral education and your academic education, seriously.” For two students who have dedicated their time at Hillsdale to the pursuit of all things good, Lupini said, it is truly an honor. “They do not only what is required of them, but put the extra

then to have this person come out was one of the most astonishing, sacred moments of my life.” The women tied the experience of childbirth to sacrifice, specifically in understanding the labor process as a sacrifice in union with Christ’s sacrifice. Gregg said that despite modern technology and innovations in the field of medicine, birthing procedures have seen no real medical improvements for centuries. “I hope it stays that way,” Gregg said. “Anywhere there’s something good, there’s always someone who is suffering for it, Christ being the central example.” The women reminded their audience that while fear is a natural emotion, it shouldn't get in the way of giving birth. “Don’t be overwhelmed,” Spiteri said. “It’s a really glorious suffering, and a really beautiful thing, giving birth and being a mother. So many women have done it before us; we wouldn’t be here without that.”

time into every aspect of their endeavors on and off campus,” Meyet said. “They have fostered strong relationships with fellow students, faculty, and staff. They have shown themselves to be true members of a college as well as involved citizens in the community of Hillsdale – diligent, trustworthy, and honorable.”

Edward Everett Oratory Competition Finalists

Jean-Luc Belloncle Mattis Belloncle Andrew Davidson Caleb Sampson Ethan Tong Alternate: Rachel Warren

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

A4 February 18, 2021

(517) 607-2415 Online: www.hillsdalecollegian.com

The Weekly: Only 79 days until graduation The opinion of the Collegian editorial staff

Graduation is less than 100 days away. For seniors, this means a gauntlet of job application deadlines, comprehensive exams, and thesis presentations. But it also means the end of your college career. Seniors, you will spend the rest of your lives looking back on these four years. Use this time wisely: you may soon be wishing you had savored your time with

friends and embraced your education more fully. The purpose of Hillsdale College is to pursue truth, beauty, and goodness through diligent education and study. And grades are important — but they aren’t the most important thing. There are only three months left to enjoy weekend brunches at Finish Line, Student Activities Board’s bowling matches, and late

nights talking to your friends about anything and everything. Additionally, there are only three more months in which your primary vocation is to read and study deeply — not just rush through assignments to finish them, but to truly gain knowledge. There are only three more months to make the most of your Hillsdale experience, rather than merely trudging along.

You may forget your exam scores, but you probably won’t forget Dr. Arnn’s capstone lectures on the purpose of education. Talk to the professors you admire. Don’t waste time stressing out over grades, but rather focus on what you would genuinely like to learn before you’re released into the world.

Actress Gina Carano in season one of “The Mandalorian.” Courtesy | Flickr

Student Federation’s ceremonial mace purchase is wasteful By | Cal McNellie

Students at Hillsdale College don’t have to travel to Washington, D.C., to experience wasteful government spending firsthand. Last semester, the Student Federation voted to spend $4,500 on a ceremonial mace. In the abstract, maces are impressive and symbolize the importance and stature of a governmental body. In the case of Student Fed, however, the body has a very specific purpose and an expenditure of this kind is wasteful at best, and disrespectful of the students it represents at worst. The first line of the federation’s mission statement reads, “The organization, known as the Hillsdale College Student Federation, shall exist to allocate student fees for the purpose of improving campus life; to approve of and regulate student clubs, organizations, and honoraries.” The decision to spend almost $5,000 on a ceremonial item that will in no way affect any other student on campus flies in the face of the founding documents of the Student Federation. In 2018, a Hillsdale Daily News article estimated that there are 100-130 homeless people In Hillsdale County at any given time. If the federation wants to abdicate its duty to the campus clubs and groups that rely on it for funding, it should at least attempt to make a positive impact on the community that supports Hillsdale College. The several warming centers in Hillsdale County and organizations like the Salvation Army and St. Anthony’s Family Center offer the Student Federation a host of options to make a positive impact on their community. I am not the only student who feels this way. In an informal poll I conducted in the Grewcock Student Union during lunch hours on Feb. 9, I spoke to 75 students, 74.7%

of whom said they are not in favor of Student Federation spending $4,500 on a ceremonial mace. In an article published by The Collegian about the mace, Student Federation President Brant Siegfried was quoted saying, “We wanted a gift with long-term impact and institutional value, and that’s where the idea of the mace was conceived.” While this a fine goal in general, a mace in no way fills this charge. Instead of purchasing an expensive piece of wood and metal that only a few students will ever see, why not contribute to fund a statue or piece of art to display where all students can appreciate it? In today’s culture, putting up statues instead of tearing them down is a powerful message that would certainly make a long-term impact for all students rather than just the federation. Hillsdale students have walked past statues and monuments on campus since the early years of the college. The stone bench to the southwest of Central Hall is gorgeous, and a unique piece of campus. With its excess funds, Student Federation had a chance to continue improving Hillsdale’s campus for all students present and future. Instead, it chose to spend money on a symbolic item most students will never use or know exists. This piece is not a dig at the character of the members of the Hillsdale College Student Federation. In writing this piece, I have met a few of them and have been impressed with the seriousness with which they take their positions, and am sure they are good people. But that doesn’t change the fact that they made a wasteful decision and should have more thoughtfully allocated their budget surplus. Cal McNellie is senior studying finance and politics.

Don’t apologize for your beliefs Lessons from the cancellation of Carano and others By | Aubrey Gulick Cancel culture is at it again, canceling right and left, and not just metaphorically. Last week the left canceled “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison and contestant Rachel Lindsay, as well as actress Gina Carano, who starred as Cara Dune in “The Mandalorian.” Carano’s story, however, was different from other celebrity cancellations we’ve seen in the last year. Cancel culture is a social phenomenon that picked up speed in recent years and snowballed during the Black Lives Matter riots of the summer. It generally involves digging up some long-forgotten pictures or social media posts of a public figure and judging the person based on current “woke” standards. The victim is subsequently wrung out on social media, and despite usually issuing a humiliating apology, is trampled underfoot. This new version of cultural censorship enables trolls and social-justice warriors to condemn a person for his political beliefs, put him out of a job, harass him at his home, and ensure that his name lives in infamy. It’s dangerous for democracy and our right to free speech, and it’s fatal for the careers of many. Unless,

of course, you happen to be a leftist; then, you might be able to come back into the limelight in three or four months. Carano’s story is different, however, because she was canceled while comparing cancel culture to Nazi persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. In an Instagram post that has now been removed, Carano reminded her audience that prior to the Holocaust, Jews were silenced from dissent and eventually beaten in the streets by their own neighbors. She asked how that was any different from hating others for their political views. Many labeled this “antisemitic.” Well, only “antisemitic” because, for once, the left is being compared to the Nazis, not the right. They don’t like that, and Carano clearly didn’t get the memo. On Feb. 10, the Twitter mob exploded with demands to #FireGinaCarano, and Disney did just that. Carano discovered that she was fired in a public statement from Disney which called her original post “abhorrent.” Carano did not issue an apology. She did not grovel before the mob. She moved on. On Feb. 12, she was hired by The Daily Wire and given an equally, if not better, job

than the one she had with Disney. She will be producing, directing, and starring in her own film. Ironically, the owner of Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, is a vocal Jew. That he hired Carano makes one wonder how antisemitic her post actually was. Carano’s story ended very differently than the many other cancellations of the last year, it ended with what she called: “a dream come true.” Compare this with “The Bachelor” stars I mentioned. When Lindsay was canceled last week after a picture of her from a college party surfaced, she apologized. Her apology was not accepted, and Harrison made comments in an interview suggesting there was something wrong with a culture not ready to exchange forgiveness. He was subsequently canceled and has since extended his own unaccepted apology. So why is Carano’s story so different? Maybe there are a few lessons here for Hillsdale students, who will likely be affected by cancel culture once they have left their college years behind. The most apparent lesson seems to be “don’t apologize for your beliefs.” As Lindsay and Harrison discovered, apologies won’t change whether or not you’re canceled.

Might as well go down in flames of distinguished glory. Another lesson: our childhood friend, Disney, has been ensnared by the real-life villain of a degraded culture. We largely ignored allegations that Disney praised Chinese police who were involved in human rights violations against Uighur Muslims during the production of “Mulan” in 2019. We’ve turned a mental blind eye to the leftist propaganda being spewed in their newer films and TV shows, such as normalizing gay and LGBTQ lifestyles in movies like “Beauty and the Beast.” Gina Carano’s story tells us Disney is no longer the happygo-lucky, “the princess finds a prince” company we thought we knew. This speaks to a broader point: The culture is ensnared, it has become almost impossible to live in the world, have a career, make money, post anything to the internet, without the threat of being canceled hanging over our heads. The way to fix the problem isn’t to cancel the cancel culture. The way to fix the problem is to transform culture — one conversation at a time. Aubrey Gulick is a sophomore studying history.

The contemporary Enneagram is a revival of an old fraud By | Asa Hoffman Few ideas go unchallenged at Hillsdale College. While the curriculum is based on certain core truths, rigorous conversation and debate is a staple on campus; students and faculty are committed to the earnest pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, when a perspective goes unchallenged for more than a moment, it stands out. It must either be universally accepted or be insufficiently interesting to inspire a refutation. I am not sure under which of these categories the Enneagram resides, but its recent rise to prominence on campus and in the pages of the Collegian indicates it has garnered many admirers for its usefulness in social, religious, and personal realms. Unfortunately, the Enneagram is not worthy of admiration, especially not that of Christians. The founder of the ideology from which

the contemporary Enneagram was formulated, Oscar Ichazo, confirmed as much in a January 2003 interview with Walter Effross. He also denounced “the misguided implication that the Teachings have a Catholic root.” As for its diffusion into fringe Catholic circles, we have Franciscan friar and mystic theologian Richard Rohr to thank: his 1995 book “The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective” was seminal in introducing American Christians to the Enneagram. It took a while for the Enneagram to rise to prominence among evangelicals, but recent works such as the book mentioned in last week’s Career Services event, “The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery” by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile, have reached many looking for Christian self-help. Now, many contend that

the Enneagram to which they subscribe has nothing to do with the unchristian work of Ichazo. They would be entirely correct, though not in the manner they may expect. In short, the Enneagram as it is known today is only a bastardization of Ichazo’s Arica School. There, Ichazo sought to “recreate not only what I consider the real interpretation of the Platonic-Peripatetic-Stoic-Neoplatonic traditions, but the methods and practices towards the attainment of true enlightenment, all by way of philosophical clarification and mystical transcendence.” The nine personality types that are now synonymous with the personality system known as the Enneagram of Personality were disavowed firmly by Ichazo, who took legal action against author and Enneagram-popularizer Helen Palmer for her blatant misrepresentation of his teachings.

Ichazo said: “I was at pains to separate myself and my work from this incredible parody that fits both the best comical and the best tragic script that anyone could imagine.” The authenticity of the contemporary Enneagram aside, its core tenets are abhorrent enough to dissuade Christians from integrating it into their spirituality. It is founded in contradictions to key tenets of the faith and does not encourage the sort of self-reflection found in Scripture. Simply put, when one tries to reconcile Christianity and the Enneagram, they are left with a theologically grotesque hybrid that most resembles the Gnostic heresy. We are blessed to be many centuries removed from the prominence of Gnosticism, but history tells us that heresies are not so easily defeated. The end of the Enneagram of Personality, when it is pursued in its fullness, is the discov-

ery of one’s “True Self.” This True Self is desirable because, according to The Enneagram Institute (quoting Ichazo), “In essence, every person is perfect, fearless, and in a loving unity with the entire cosmos.” One only needs to refer to the psalmist to understand this contradicts the doctrine of original sin and the nature of man’s flesh: “There is none who does good, not even one.” In the fifth chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul explains, “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” On the contrary, The Enneagram Institute asserts the inherent goodness in man: “We do not try to force ourselves to be ‘virtuous’ — rather, as we relax and become more present and awake, seeing through the fear and desire of the ego self, these qualities naturally manifest themselves in the

human soul.” When man’s fallen nature is denied, there is no need for the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus. Salvation is no longer by grace through faith; it becomes just a matter of getting out of our own way. While there is much more to say about the compatibility of the Enneagram and Christianity, it is sufficient to recognize this contradiction as prohibitive. In its beginnings and its ends, it is nothing but an imposter of a fraud. While it may seem harmless to incorporate into career planning or dating, is it prudent to give any credence to an ideology so fraught with error? Even if it is merely a “low-resolution picture,” as Cron claims, is such an image worth referencing in making a decision about your career or your spouse? The answer is a resounding “no.” Asa Hoffman is a senior studying politics.

Opinions

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Increase the gym capacity By | Austin Gergens

During the COVID-19 health crisis, the Roche Sports Complex is making it harder than ever for students to stay healthy. Perhaps many can relate to the woeful tale of arriving at the gym with a formulated workout plan and a limited amount of time before class, only to be told, “Sign your name here and I will call you when someone exits the gym.” Unlike amusement parks or dressing rooms, there are no fast-passes and no time limit for individuals in the gym — so one can potentially wait in line to exercise for a half hour or longer. For most people, doing pushups and air squats outside the gym while waiting is a poor substitute for a real gym workout. There’s no rowing machine on the basketball court. Not only has the upper gym had its capacity reduced to a mere 17 people at a time, but the downstairs weight room is now reserved exclusively for athletes, thus barring approximately 75% of

students from staying fit and trim. While the student athletes are required to wear masks during their team lifts, it is unclear whether the downstairs gym observes any limited capacity like the gym just one floor above them. Banned from the downstairs gym and severely limited in the upper gym, most Hillsdale students now have fewer opportunities to stay in physical shape than ever before. During the other three seasons, students may seek alternative outdoor workout opportunities; however, the current winter weather precludes most forms of exercise, or at least greatly increases the risk of injury, as the sidewalks are coated in ice. The gym seems to be a targeted area on campus for some of the most rigorous COVID-19 restrictions, but it is not like students aren’t exposed to one another in other parts of campus. Students who have taken the Physical Health and Wellness core class may remember

the importance of maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle. In doing so, an individual can help boost his immunity, mental health, and overall mood. Plato identifies gymnastic, or physical activity, as

“For most people, doing pushups and air squats outside the gym while waiting is a poor substitute for a real gym workout. There’s no rowing machine on the basketball court.” an essential part of a proper education. Hillsdale College has always affirmed this. Why should it abandon it now? Furthermore, each student signs the honor code, which culminates with the phrase,

“through education the student rises to self-goverment.” Prior to returning to in-person classes and on-campus residences, students were supplied with ample data from the college administration about the risks of the virus, and the steps it has put in place to mitigate its spread. Having educated themselves on the risks, students should have the wonderful opportunity to practice self-governance in their choice of if, when, and how to exercise in the gym. Since gym attendees sign a liability form relinquishing responsibility from the school for personal injury, or loss of life or property, then attendees could also sign a form releasing the school from responsibility for COVID-19 infection. If students’ health, fitness, and self-government is of the utmost concern for Hillsdale, then the college should open the gym. In the words of Moses, “Let my people row.” Austin Gergens is a senior studying English.

D.C. dog culture shows locals’ lack of commitment By | Victoria Marshall If one were to survey the inhabitants of the District of Columbia on whether they prefer dogs to cats, the results would overwhelmingly favor one side. District people are dog people. I found out about this during my semester living in D.C. On my commute to and from the U.S. Capitol Building, rain or shine, night or day, I would come across dog people. Government bureaucrats, jogging in their Lululemon leggings with Old Faithful bopping at their side, were always a fun sight to my intern eyes. At night, the energy would shift. Couples would venture out on a stroll with Fluffy on one side and their partner on the other. On Saturday mornings, I’d see dogs with their respective bureaucrats in line for coffee. They’d also be at their feet during the mandatory Sunday brunch on restaurant patios. When it started getting colder, the district’s dogs started donning sweater vests. I’d see dog people coo and squeal at the various patterns of plaid their neighbors’ dogs were subject to. District dogs also predominated social media. Cohabitating couples, after adopting a new puppy, would post pictures of their newborn fur-baby. Adoption photos resembled birth announcements. In fact, if a couple adopted a pup, it was a signal that they were serious. Never mind the fact that they were cohabitating with no intention of getting married. After a month of enjoying the district’s dog scene, I realized this phenomenon was indicative of a larger trend. A 2017 Census survey revealed 76% of D.C. residents were

A small dog dressed up for the Washington, D.C. scene. Courtesy | Flickr

unmarried. Instead, most couples in D.C. cohabitate. This is not surprising, as modern values characterize dutiful commitment as stifling to an individual’s freedom and desire. But cohabiting couples cannot escape biology. There comes a time when the nurturing instinct kicks in. This basic, biological instinct cannot be transcended, no matter what Simone de Beauvoir would have wished. It is merely subverted by and channeled into doggy adoptions. A woman can tote a pup to coffee and still get all the compliments she would if she brought a real baby, except this “child” doesn’t require her to stay home from work to raise it. The term “fur baby” is not just a cute

expression. D.C. couples refer to their dogs as children, and characterize the arrangement they have with their partner and dog as their “family.” Ironically, they cannot escape using terms and conforming to ideas that are supposedly outdated and tyrannical. When I lived in D.C., the couples I observed seemed like shells of human beings as a result of their modern values. The men were ruled by their girlfriends and bullied into an arrangement that made both parties unhappy. They swept their commitment problems under the rug and got dogs to make themselves feel better about using another person for pleasure. Many times, a dog was a symbol of a deeply disordered relationship, all stemming

from indoctrination in post-modern values that trample the soul and dignity of a human person. I couldn’t help but think the inhabitants of the district and their dogs resembled Friedrich Nietzsche’s last man in “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” a commentary on modern political communities. Nietzsche’s last man is one coddled by modernity and a slave to pleasure. He is unaware that he dehumanizes himself by making pleasure his god. According to Nietzsche, this is the goal of the modern democratic state — to tame man into a domestic pet. “We see nothing today which wants to be greater. We suspect that things are constantly still going down, down into something more comfortable, more mediocre, more apathetic,” Nietzsche writes. “Everyone wants the same; everyone is equal.” This longing for equality instilled into the modern man and woman destroys the unique gifts and role each brings to a relationship. The result is using the other for pleasure with no strings attached. Marriage is seen as tyrannical and limiting pleasure. Children are seen as limitations instead of blessings. Both parties are unhappy, but at least they have a dog to make them happy on the bad days. A dog satisfies the maternal instinct, without the responsibility and work of being a parent. Unfortunately this leads to a deeply disordered human life. The district and its dog people will have to learn this lesson the hard way.

Victoria Marshall is a senior George Washington Fellow studying politics. She is the Science and Tech Editor of the Collegian.

Improve sports: Eliminate mascots from games By | Reagan Gensiejewski

Last year I volunteered to be Hillsdale’s mascot, Charlie the Charger. I was all amped up as I climbed into the giant horse costume and walked out to the women’s basketball game. I forgot it was “Kid’s Day.” A couple hundred screaming kids filled the arena. They wanted just one thing: Charlie. As I made my way up the bleachers, a group of kids grabbed my legs and tried to push me backwards. One reached for my head, trying to rip off my costume. Others ran in front of me where I couldn’t see. As I recovered my balance, a teacher told her students to “hug Charlie!” I tumbled down the stairs. Being my school’s mascot was on my bucket list, but I should have known better because of the experience I had when I was a kid. It is my experience with mascots that has led me to this conclusion: Mascots need to be eliminated from all sporting events. Spike terrified me, but as a seven-year-old I had the job of bringing out the game ball to the umpire at the minor

league baseball park, and that meant stepping onto the field alongside the team’s mascot, a giant red cardinal with a menacing yellow beak. All went well on the walk to home plate, but on the walk back, out of nowhere, I felt a giant force slam me into the grass of the on-deck circle. Spike, while throwing out t-shirts to the fans, had tackled me. Mascots contribute nothing to sports today. Fans aren’t at sporting events for the mascot, but the mascots sure act like it. They dance on the sidelines trying to attract attention away from the game. They walk through the stands of the stadium like they own the place. The word mascot, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, comes from the French word “moscato” which means witchcraft. But it doesn’t stop there. The origins of the word can be traced back even further coming from the Latin word “mascra” which means witch. This proves just one thing: Mascots are evil. Think about it. There is not one mascot that isn’t creepy. The Stanford Tree has to be up

there as one of the worst mascots of all time. A pine tree with giant eyes and a crooked mouth does not get the crowd pumped. Or Vanderbilt’s mascot, Mr. Commodore, a seven-foot man with empty eyes that scare anyone around him. Who enjoys that? A mascot at a game is like the annoying friend in middle school who just won’t leave you alone. They always seem to roll around in a giant truck shooting out t-shirts at the worst time. Not only does the mascot delay the game, but it takes away from the intensity. The t-shirt toss and other activities cause children (and adults) to sprint around and scream, getting in the way of the action or even knocking popcorn out of a spectator’s hand. Mascots draw attention to themselves in the dumbest ways possible. Who cares if a playoff game is on the line? It is time to prank the players and sing the “YMCA” with the Phillie Phanatic. And no one cares about mascots anyways — fans are much more focused on getting on the kiss cam then paying attention to

the mascot. Even more so, as I learned last year, mascots are often the target of frustrated fans. I never realized how traumatic it was actually to be the mascot. And I only served the role for one game. Some people have to be the mascot every game. They have to entertain the fans inside a big, uncomfortable costume for hours on end. In 2017, Mr. Met, the mascot for the New York Mets, was caught on video giving the middle finger to a fan. That fan did something to entice Mr. Met’s actions. No one deserves to be the subject of anyone’s frustration. Even kids don’t enjoy mascots. Many are fearful of the mascots and it takes much coaxing to get them to warm up to the big monsters. Why should we continue to torture humanity with these creepy things? Let’s improve sports and better the world. Let’s abolish mascots. Reagan Gensiejewski is a junior studying rhetoric and public address. She is an assistant editor of the Collegian.

February 18, 2021 A5 Pope St. John Paul II. Courtesy | Flickr

St. John Paul II deserves a place on Hillsdale’s Liberty Walk By | Virginia Aabram Hours passed before anyone noticed the girl on the train platform. Edith Zierer had just been liberated from a Nazi labor camp in Częstochowa, Poland. Too weak to walk and with nowhere to go, she collapsed from hunger and exhaustion. She was 13 years old, and, though she didn’t know it, the last surviving member of her family. The 24-year-old man who finally approached her that January of 1945 with a cup of tea and a sandwich was also alone in the world, having lost his last family member, his father, four years before. Karol Wojtyla wore the robes of a Catholic priest — openly, now that the Nazis were fleeing Poland. He asked Edith if she could stand. Seeing that she could not, he carried her several kilometers to another station, where they boarded a train to Krakow. When Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II 33 years later, he approached his papacy the same way he did that girl on the platform: with understanding of the dignity of each human person, and the conviction that this dignity must have freedom to flourish. Historians have credited him with doing more to advance the falls of communism and dictators than any other single person in the 20th century. Millions of people owe their freedom to John Paul the Great, and for this reason he deserves a place on Hillsdale’s Liberty Walk. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan are honored with places on campus out of reverence for their struggles against communism and socialism, but the duo is incomplete without the third and most effective member of their triumvirate. Thatcher, Reagan, and John Paul II all came to power during Cold War tensions between 1978 and 1980, and by the time they all left office the Soviet threat was no more. To tell the full story of the Western defeat of European communism, the president, the prime minister, and the pope should be displayed together. In 1979, shortly after he was elected pope, Karol Wojtyla returned to his homeland for the first time as the Vicar of Christ. The Soviets intended to use this visit to solidify their control over Poland by showing that a Polish pope didn’t diminish their power. If the visit incited a riot, even better; they would use it to crack down on dissidents and blame the Church. The scheme backfired. John Paul lifted the spirit of the suffering nation, and set into motion the Polish Solidarity Movement that would help cause the fall of the Soviet Union 10 years later. In the words of Boston University professor emeritus Angelo Codevilla, “He told them to be good, not to compromise themselves, to stick by one another, to be fearless, and that God is the only source of goodness, the only standard of conduct. ‘Be

not afraid,’ he said. Millions shouted in response, ‘We want God! We want God! We want God!’ The regime cowered.” Despots elsewhere cowered as well. On visits to 129 countries, John Paul spoke to the people simply, affirming their rights and dignity. He brought them comfort and encouragement — often in their native languages, as he spoke 15. Liberal Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash said of the pope shortly after his death in 2005, “No one can prove conclusively that he was a primary cause of the end of communism. However, the major figures on all sides . . . now agree that he was. I would argue the historical case in three steps: without the Polish Pope, no Solidarity revolution in Poland in 1980; without Solidarity, no dramatic change in Soviet policy towards eastern Europe under Gorbachev; without that change, no Velvet Revolutions in 1989.” John Paul II is also uniquely suited to a college like Hillsdale because he was an educator who understood the value of community and recreation. When he taught ethics at Jagiellonian University in the 1950s, he brought students together for prayer, discussion, charitable service, and outdoor adventures like skiing and kayaking. This love for young people continued throughout his papacy with World Youth Day and similar events. The perfect place for a statue of Pope John Paul II would be somewhere between Christ Chapel to signify his devotion to God, Ronald Reagan’s and Margaret Thatcher’s statues to commemorate their friendship, and the quad as a testament to his concern for young people and fun-loving nature. Members of Hillsdale’s community who might balk at the thought of honoring a Catholic pope and saint on the Liberty Walk may want to take a cue from Evangelical preacher Billy Graham. After hearing John Paul preach for the first time in 1980, Graham said, “I’ll tell you, that was just about as straight an evangelical address as I’ve ever heard . . . He gives moral guidance in a world that seems to have lost its way.” The pope and the preacher went on to become friends and support each other’s ministries. On that freezing night in 1945, Edith slipped away from Wojtyla once their train reached Krakow. But she remembered the name Wojtyla, and thanked him for saving her life when they began corresponding after he became pope. She would tell him during a ceremony at the Israeli Holocaust museum that “he who saves the life of even one Jew is likened to one who has saved an entire world.” In a way, he did both. Virginia Aabram is a senior studying history. She is an assistant editor of the Collegian.

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

City News A6 February 18, 2021

A Civil Air Patrol instructor shows off his plane. Courtesy | Heather Tritchka

Students mentor Civil Air Patrol cadets in New GOAL program By | Josh Newhook Assistant Editor One of the newest GOAL programs, Military Mentorship, will assist students in the Hillsdale community who are interested in pursuing a military career. The program’s main focus is supporting the Civil Air Patrol chapter in Hillsdale. Civil Air Patrol, founded in 1941, is a civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. It provides manpower for low-threat missions, such as search and rescue. The auxiliary also has a cadet program for 12 to 21-year-olds, to learn the customs of the military, aerospace leadership, and voluntary service, according to Colonel Victoria Schmidt, a Hillsdale College senior, and Heather Tritchka, squadron commander of the Hillsdale Civil Air Patrol chapter. “It’s like a STEM program with the cool addition of learning to fly powered planes and gliders,” Tritchka said. Tritchka said the Civil Air Patrol gives students a step up when they are applying for college. Cadets

get to participate in five orientation flights, the completion of which will allow them the opportunity for flight scholarships through the Air Force, according to Tritchka. “It gives them the STEM experience that the military is looking for and leadership for other programs that are non-military,” she said. Hillsdale’s chapter began in part due to Tritchka’s daughter’s interest in a military career, she said. Tritchka said she heard from a friend that CAP is a good way to get a head start. She got in contact with Ginger Moore, the director of the Hillsdale Airport, and started a chapter. Tritchka first served as a deputy commander for about two years. Eventually, the chapter, which started with five students, outgrew the space at the airport and moved to the Old Snack Bar in January 2020, she said. This is when Hillsdale College got involved with the program. Tritchka asked Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers if he had any military-focused students who might be interested in helping with the program. “My vision was to have

a program that was more integrated with the college,” Tritchka said. “We could have the college military kids work on their leadership skills by mentoring the younger cadets.” Then, Schmidt got involved. Schmidt was a CAP cadet and made it to the top rank of Cadet Colonel. She is now a senior member of CAP. Schmidt said she started by attending CAP squadron meetings off and on. Then, last spring semester, Schmidt said Rogers asked her about creating a GOAL program that could connect CAP cadets with students at Hillsdale College who could practice their leadership skills. “I thought we should infuse this with some young kids who have the energy and the time to pour into it,” Rogers said. “It’s a great mentorship tool. It’s the Timothy model: Older kids reaching out to younger kids. It’s the perfect model.” Schmidt said she accepted the offer to lead it because she thought she could offer similar leadership skills to that which she experienced in her squad-

Seniors Paul Esposito and Victoria Schmidt work with CAP cadets Carles Reamsnyder, Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell, and Carter Lucas on color guard. Courtesy | Heather Tritchka

ron. “I liked the idea,” Schmidt said. “Since it is just a new squadron, they don’t really have many people to look up to.” Schmidt said she got final approval for the Military Mentorship program over the summer. Now that they are an official GOAL program, CAP gets to use resources at Hillsdale College, like meeting at the Biermann Center, which has helped the program, Tritchka said. Over two years, the chapter has tripled in size to about 15 dedicated cadets, Tritchka said. Now that they are established, they can recruit even more students to join. “It’s been humbling and rewarding,” Schmidt said. “I wouldn’t be at Hillsdale if it weren’t for CAP. It’s been great to give back to these cadets.” After accepting the idea of the GOAL program, Schmidt said she reached out to some friends she thought might want to help. One of those friends was senior Paul Esposito, who has experience with the Navy Cadet Corp., which is the Navy’s equivalent of CAP. Esposito said he serves as the military training officer. He is responsible for military discipline, professionalism, customs and courtesies, and drill. “I teach them how to salute, I teach them how to march,” Esposito said. “I also teach them -- a little more on the qualitative side – about how to hold themselves professionally and how to be confident and respond in the military command structure.” Esposito said he plans to join the Michigan State Police after graduating from Hillsdale. He said he sees his work with CAP as a way of giving back for the growth he experienced as a cadet. “When I was a cadet, it

formed me into who I am. It transformed from honestly kind of a slacker into someone who could excel and be confident in himself,” Esposito said. “To give the kids here that same sort of growth and formation, I count as a proper service.” Junior Spencer Woodford, another volunteer for the program, said he found out about CAP through the program at Hillsdale College. He currently serves as the physical training officer. He said his job is to make sure they hit their fitness requirements, such as running a mile in a certain time and completing a certain amount of push-ups and sit-ups. He says it is a great practice for leadership. “There are so many opportunities to share with these younger kids,” Woodford said. “It’s a really cool experience. It’s a lot of fun.” Tritchka said the help of GOAL students has led to much success in the program. “They almost run the program,” Tritchka said. “The cadets are absolutely loving the interaction with the college students.” One such cadet is Chief Master Sergeant Dylan Deasy, a 10th-grade homeschooler. He has been participating in CAP for about two years. He said he learned about CAP when visiting the airport when he first moved to Hillsdale. “The assistant airport manager told us that there was going to be a CAP meeting in 30 minutes,” Deasy said. “I stuck around for that and found out it was an amazing program that I wanted to be involved with.” Deasy said he really enjoys the aerospace part of the program. He said he hopes to join the Air Force someday, either through the Air Force Academy or Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at a college. Deasy said that he has enjoyed getting to know the GOAL students.

“Their leadership skills are incredible,” Deasy said. “They mentor us in a lot of ways, keeping us in shape and teaching us to not give up when things are hard, which a lot of our cadets need to hear.” While the Civil Air Patrol is not having any official meetings right now due to COVID-19 restrictions, cadets are still able to get together in their smaller mentorship groups at the college. In addition, Tritchka said they have been able to do some color guard at events. For instance, they were able to do a color guard ceremony for the Hillsdale’s Rotary International Club’s 100-year anniversary event. They were also able to encourage an active military member over the summer. “There was a man in town that was being promoted in the Air Force and he couldn’t go to Washington because of all the shutdowns,” Tritchka said. “We did a color guard ceremony for him down at the courthouse.” The cadets might also do a modified color guard ceremony for the graduation ceremony at Hillsdale College this year, Tritchka said. Esposito, Schmidt, and Woodford said they encourage people to join the GOAL program for leadership experience. “We definitely want to get a larger amount of campus involved in this,” Schmidt said. Esposito said volunteering in this program is helpful even if they are not interested in the military. “It is not necessary to have a military background,” Esposito said. “Honestly, they just need role models to look up to.” Those interested in joining should contact Victoria Schmidt at vschmidt@ hillsdale.edu.

w Vendors see success in first Ad Astra Valentine’s market By | Elizabeth Troutman Collegian Freelancer

On Feb. 6 and 13, Ad Astra Coffee Roaster’s Valentine’s Day Market gave vendors from the community the opportunity to share the fruits of their labor. Kristi and Patrick Whalen, who moved to Hillsdale from Kansas in May, opened the market in November. “It’s been this really awesome underground community of people hanging out, getting to know each other,” Giana Green, owner of Mangia Italian Bakery, said. “I wanted to bring some really beautiful things like flowers and art and jewelry and baked goods all together to kind of be like a one-stop-shop for your Valentine’s Day.” Green sells cookies, pasta, and other Italian treats at Ad Astra’s indoor market

every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. It was Green’s idea to put together a Valentine’s day theme on the Saturdays leading up to the 14th. “This is something that happens every single Saturday. We are always here, we always have cookies, and we always have coffee,” Green said. “We always have a place to sit and hang out.” Mangia Italian Bakery started off at the Hillsdale Farmers Market before Ad Astra co-owner Kristi Whalen invited her to join Ad Astra’s indoor market every Saturday morning at 106 N. Broad St. “My love language is food so it’s just been really fulfilling for me to be able to feed the community and share my family and my traditions,” Green said. Other vendors included Black Dog Meadows Flower

Farm, Clexo Paintings and Graphic Design, SGB Bakes, and Zoe Ray Designs. Hillsdale College swim coach Zoe Tracy represented her homemade earring company, Zoe Ray Designs. She started making earrings and selling them at the farmers’ market as a quarantine project. Each week the earring boards are completely sold out. They are a huge hit among Hillsdale women, Green said. “Zoe Tracy’s earring business is amazing. I found the perfect pair of earrings for President’s Ball,” attendee and junior Rachel Kookogey said. SGB Bakes offered gluten-free baked goods. Kaitlyn Dear of Clexo Paintings and Graphic Design scans and digitizes her watercolor paintings to put on items like mugs, face coverings,

and sweatshirts. Hillsdale Collegiate Assistant Professor Catherine Kuiper said the market has a lot to offer.

“There are some very talented people in this town. And then there are people like me, unable to walk past a display of flowers without

buying a bouquet.”

Below, a vendor sells her jewelry at the market. Andrew Dixon | Collegian

City News

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

February 18, 2021 A7

Hospital combines COVID-19 and rehab care as cases decline By | Hannah Cote Assistant Editor With cases going down, the Hillsdale Hospital is now able to serve both COVID-19 and rehab patients through full recoveries. Last November, the hospital renovated the entire McGuire short-stay rehab center into a Care and Recovery Center for COVID-19 patients. As of Feb. 15, they have converted a portion of the center back into a rehab unit, with 12 CRC beds and seven shortstay rehab beds. Hillsdale Hospital was originally one of two CRCs in the state of Michigan last fall, but now that new CRCs are opening up, the hospital is able to serve both COVID-19 and rehab patients in their center. “As cases have gone down across the region and the state, the need for CRCs has decreased a bit,” said Rachel Lott, Hillsdale Hospital director of marketing and development. “Plus the number of CRCs has increased since we opened ours.” The hospital initially applied to the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services to create the CRC, providing information about their plan for staffing, floor plans, and resources. The hospital had 19 short-stay beds converted

A Hillsdale Hospital employee consults a guest. Courtesy | Hillsdale Hospital

into CRC beds. Early in the pandemic, nursing facilities and rehab centers around the state, including Hillsdale Hospital’s rehab center, adopted policies to not admit any patients with confirmed COVID-19 to protect their other patients. However, many patients recovering from COVID-19 were not able to remain in the hospital for a full recovery. “When a patient was doing well enough to leave the

A group of skaters. Courtesy | Stadium Roller Rink

hospital, but not quite ready to go home, it was difficult to find a place that could provide the care they needed and would actually accept them as a patient,” Lott said. Many patients were not provided with the complete care that they needed, and Hillsdale became one of the first hospitals to step up and create a CRC, Lott said. “When we understood how many patients were falling through the cracks, having nowhere to go for

Stadium Roller Rink makes the most of limited capacity By | Alexis Daniels Senior Reporter

Stadium Roller Rink recently reopened to the public with limited capacity after being shut down since October due to the pandemic. Owner Doug Ingles said the rink, which at the beginning of January could accommodate up to 50 people, filled up almost immediately. “When we opened in January, we started with Saturday night from 6 - 9 p.m., and that met the capacities,” Ingles said. “In other words, we sold out during limited capacity.” The roller rink had not been open to the public since October after the business tried to reopen in September. Prior to September, the rink had been closed since March 2020. Since January, however, the roller rink has been open to the public on Saturdays from 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. and has been sold out every single week when it was only allowed to admit 50 people. Now, new rules allow for 80 people to skate at a time. Ingles said he has worked hard to be able to open back up while the lockdown was in effect. “I was cleaning, fixing and getting ready and planning and trying to figure out everything I could possibly do to help,” Ingles said. “I write letters, I make phone calls, reach out to the leaders in our community. I talked to other rinks, I talked to other businesses. I set my plan. When I went to the health department, they actually said that this was so good, it looks like it could be the template to open up a new

Thursday

Snow likely, Cloudy, with a high near 24. Chance of precipitation is 60%

business.” Because of this, Ingles said one of the good things to come about from the shutdown was the improvement in the level of safety and cleanliness to the rink. The rink now takes a few more precautions, such as asking people to stay home if they are sick and to wear a mask when they are interacting with their friends or other groups outside of skating activities. The rink also developed a new cleaning routine. “That was one of the things during the shutdown that I got organized with, was the cleaning process. It’s really enhanced,” Ingles said. “If someone feels uncomfortable, my advice is that it isn’t time for you to come skating. I’m not trying to be all things for everybody. I’m trying to provide a safe environment that customers feel good about, that they can have some community activity, something to do.” Ingles said the response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, calling it “good for the customers and good for the business.” He said he realizes that not everyone can enter the roller rink if it is at capacity, and that is why he has a system of private pods, in which groups can call him and book a time for them to come in alone outside of the Saturday hours. The pods got started in April when he could not open fully to the public, and the group sizes range from ten to 35. “Everybody really likes to be out with family and friends that they feel comfortable with,” Ingles said. “And so I came up with this idea of doing small-size skating, and I decided to call

them pods, so when somebody comes in and rents one of the private pods, they have the whole rink to themselves. It’s just them and their friends.” Ingles said when each business owner has to evaluate how to move forward in the pandemic, they should have their “own unique set of conditions.” “I would encourage business owners to try and find ways to be creative,” Ingles said. “Be open.” He added that he loved seeing the community show support and come together to spend time at the rink. “I appreciate the fact that we’ve got a community that allows me the opportunity to be here,” Ingles said. “The smiles that I see in the family, in the thank yous that I get as a leader, really mean a lot. And so I’m trying really hard as much as I can to provide a good outlet for everybody.” Rosalee Osten, a resident in Hillsdale, said her family and friends have been going to Ingle’s rink every weekend during the open skate; it has been one of the few activities available to them. “We have something to do, something to get the kids’ energy out; with the cold weather, it’s not something they like to do,” Osten said. Brendan Deasy, another frequent customer of the roller rink, said he goes with his fiancee and two children a few times a month. He echoed Osten’s sentiment, calling the rink a “very safe place to go.” “We’ve never had an issue, and it is very professional. And it always provides another fun family atmosphere for the community,” Deasy said.

to offer support so that we can get through this together and return to normal as soon as possible.” The Hillsdale CRC served both Hillsdale residents and residents from counties across the state. “Initially, we had more out-of-area patients because there were so few CRCs in the state,” Lott said. “Hospitals looking to discharge patients who couldn’t be discharged to home would learn through the state where the CRCs are located and then families have the option to choose where to send their loved ones. We also sent information out to all the nursing homes in Michigan.” Across the state, there are now 24 CRCs providing care for COVID-19 patients. Hillsdale will now be able to use their center for both COVID-19 and rehab patients. Although the guidelines for separation and spacing are strict, the hospital has been able to follow all regulations. “The CRC and short-stay rehab area are separated by a set of double doors that remain closed at all times,” Lott said. “Even though they’re on the same floor and are typically operated as one unit, we are able to split them into two in order to apply our strict infection control measures and keep all our patients safe.”

the care they needed after being hospitalized with COVID-19, we had to step in and help,” Jeremiah J. Hodshire, president and CEO of Hillsdale Hospital, said. “We knew we had the appropriate space, staffing levels, protocols, and measures in place to be able to successfully care for these patients.” According to the MDHHS, the hospital had to follow numerous guidelines in order to be approved

as a CRC. An entire wing, unit, or separate building had to be designated for the CRC, and artificial walls or barriers could not be used to form two distinct areas. The MDHHS sent out statements to COVID-19 patients with an update on the CRC plans that they were experiencing firsthand. “We need to do things differently right now,” said Kate Massey, Medicaid director, in a letter to the MDHHS. “We will continue

By | Callie Shinkle Study Break Editor

remodels will be completed in the next two to three weeks. In addition, Ingles declared that a blinking light will be installed at the intersection of Bakers Road and M49. The city commissioner also revealed that Lewis Emory Park is now taking summer rental reservations for its community center and outdoor pavilion. Ingles next reported that Michigan’s approval of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be extended through Feb. 2021. According to Ingles, Households eligible for food assistance program benefits

will receive these additional benefits, which are available at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The council also discussed the language that will be on the upcoming street improvement millage ballot. Before the conclusion of the meeting, City Manager David Mackie reminded Hillsdale residents that cars must be removed from the street when there are four or more inches of snow on the ground. It is both an inconvenience to the car owner who will be plowed in and a safety hazard to snowplow truck drivers, Mackie said.

both saw his Facebook post and reached out to offer their buildings for meetings. Brent Steel, minister at West Street Church of Christ, said that he saw Mayor Stockford’s post, thought it was a great idea, and immediately offered his church building for the meetings. The church holds up to 100 people. “Right now, I don’t think we have nearly the controversy the bigger police departments have,” Steel said, “but any time that the police are willing to come out and make inroads into the population, it takes away a little, ‘Oh, crud, the cops are here.’ It can replace it with, ‘Oh good, the police are here. There will be some resolution.” When he was a council member, Stockford himself offered regular “Coffee with Council” meetings. Often four of five people would arrive with questions. Current councilmen, however, no longer offer this service. “We don’t do them with the police either. The only interaction people have with police is if they have a complaint or they have been through something traumatic,” Stockford said. “It’s not a typical Q&A session. It’s someone who has done

something criminal or is paying a ticket. This seems like a good opportunity to give your average citizen an opportunity to converse with police.” Both Stockford and the police get a lot of minor complaints about speeding on specific streets, noise, and an increase in the homeless population. According to Stockford, it is redundant to have multiple people contact the police about each of these small incidents. A neighborhood meeting would provide a regular arena to field questions and alleviate these small concerns without taking undue amounts of the police department’s time. Stockford also pointed out that the police department has petitioned for another full-time officer, a request that the council preemptively prioritized fulfilling. “It seems like if they get their officer, this is something they can give back to the community,” Stockford said. Violent crime has also increased in Hillsdale County, according to Stockford. “People are concerned so giving them access to the police couldn’t hurt things,” Stockford said.

Council discusses upcoming town events Few braved Monday night’s snowstorm to attend Hillsdale’s city council meeting. As many residents and councilmembers attended virtually, the short meeting focused on upcoming city events. County Commissioner Doug Ingles reported that the Farmers Market at the courthouse has been approved to return this upcoming May through October. Vendor applications are available on the county website. He also announced that the probate courthouse

Mayor Stockford works to create neighborhood meetings with police By | Elizabeth Bachmann Features Editor Mayor Adam Stockford’s latest Facebook post idea for garnering trust and friendship in Hillsdale will turn into regular neighborhood meetings between the police and Hillsdale County citizens. “I actually had the idea when I was watching TV. I can’t remember the show, but they were having a neighborhood meeting,” Stockford said. “An officer was standing in front of the crowd in the church or community center and he was taking questions from people in the neighborhood.” Though still in the works, his vision includes a regular time and place for the Hillsdale County citizens to meet their police force and voice questions and concerns. “The police department is the biggest part of our budget and they are a great force,” Stockford said. “But it is a point of pride to have a city where officers and residents know each other by name or face.” Stockford hopes to hold an inaugural meeting by late spring or early summer of this year. West Street Church of Christ and Sozo Church

Hillsdale Seven-Day Forecast: Snowy with a Side of Sunshine Friday

A 20 percent chance of snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 24

Saturday

Partly sunny, with a high near 21

Sunday

Monday

A 30 percent chance of snow after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28

A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32

Tuesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 37

Wednesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 36

Information courtesy of the National Weather Service

A8 February 18, 2021

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Science & Tech

How has COVID-19 impacted the environment? By | Genevieve O’Gara Collegian Reporter

Biologist Sean B. Caroll calls the extinction of dinosaurs the mother of all accidents. Pixabay

‘God is no longer necessary’ prof says

Chance governs nature, not God, evolutionary biologist argues

By | Aubrey Gulick Collegian Reporter The entire universe and our very existence is all due to a fortunate series of chance incidents, said the author of the new book: “A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You,” Sean B. Carroll. Carroll spoke to Hillsdale students and faculty during a virtual event on Tuesday, Feb. 9, about the impact chance has had in the development of the world as we know it today. Carroll is an evolutionary developmental biologist, author, professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a film producer. He has written such books as “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” and “The Serengeti Rules.” As the executive producer at Tangled Bank Studios, which is a branch of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Carroll has been involved in the production of several documentary films. Carroll’s talk focused on the impossible accidents and life-changing events that happen at just the right time in just the right place. “What a difference just 30 minutes can make. It’s sobering to think about what a thin line there can be between life and death,” Carroll said. “As we probe human biology and the factors that impact our individual lives, we’ve caught

chance red-handed, reigning over that thin line between life and death.” As humans we attempt to search for the cause of the effects we see around us, Carroll said. “Everyone wants everything to make sense, but it’s

asteroid impact is what I call the mother of all accidents,” said Carroll. It is only because of this extinction, a product of chance, that humans exist today, he said. Humans themselves are the product of chance. Two fertil-

“Chance is the source of all innovation, all beauty, all diversity in the living world.” actually healthy to understand that not everything is going to make sense,” said Visiting Lecturer in Biology Angelica Pytel. Carroll pointed to examples of times in world history where chance has governed over some of the most influential events. One example is the extinction of dinosaurs, an event that depended on an asteroid hitting a specific place at a specific time for maximum impact. “Three quarters of all plant and animal species, including dinosaurs, went extinct. This

ized human eggs will never be the same. From just two individuals, there exist more than 70 trillion genetically distinct combinations. This number does not include the possibilities of genetic mutations. “What this means is that we are each a one in a 70 trillion event, and that means fertilization is the accident of all mothers,” he said. Genetic mutation itself is the product of flickering keto and enon forms of DNA. In 1/1000 of a second, DNA can flicker from its stable keto form to its rarer enon form

general. Of the 545 surveyed, 86% said they normally take vaccines, and 50% normally take the flu shot. Freshman Joey Spoelstra is electing not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He listed a number of concerns, most notably a distrust of the speed with which the vaccine has been produced. “The long-term effects and symptoms haven’t been properly recorded because it’s such new science,” Spoelstra said. “I really don’t think we should be putting that in our bodies.” Spoelstra also said he believes fear was a major motivator for the production of this vaccine. “I don’t think fear is a proper motivator to rush a process like this,” Spoelstra said. “We can’t just fear everything our whole lives.” He said people should have the freedom to choose whether to get the vaccine. Sophomore Carson Brown also said he is hesitant about the speed at which the vaccine was developed, and questioned the motivation behind the vaccine’s production. “I have been unimpressed by the rhetoric and societal manipulation performed by big science and business, causing me to be distrustful of the true purpose behind this pandemic and vaccine,” Brown said. Brown said he expects

things to go back to normal once the vaccine is more widely distributed, but hopes it will not cause long term health effects on its recipients. Professor of Biology Silas Johnson, a virologist who is

which differ by one hydrogen atom and therefore bond to different acids which code for proteins. If this flickering happens during DNA copying, the wrong base can be transcribed, and a mutation can occur. “This tells us that chance is the source of all innovation, all beauty, all diversity in the living world. Kind of hard to imagine,” said Carroll. It is only in the last 50 years that this idea of the role of chance in the development of our world even became a feasible idea, Carroll said. “We only know what we know, we don’t know what we don’t know,” Pytel said. “That bit we don’t know is huge and vast and not insurmountable in pieces, but as a whole, it’s insurmountable.” If chance occurrences are the source of all beauty and diversity in the world, then the traditional ideas behind cause and effect are challenged, Carroll said. Quoting R.C. Sproul, who rejected the existence of chance, Carroll claimed that if chance exists, then God is no longer necessary. “God is not in the conception business choosing the winning sperm and egg, nor the genetic engineering business designing DNA, nor the weather-making business, nor the cancer business, nor, as it turns out, the pandemic business,” he said.

The protective measures people are taking to keep themselves safe from COVID-19 may be harming the health of the environment. The coronavirus has worsened the problem of plastic pollution, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In June 2020, the Solid Waste Association of North America reported that on average American cities produced 15-25% more waste since the coronavirus outbreak, with some cities as high as 35%. Bon Appetit General Manager David Apthorpe said the dining hall has been using disposable dishes and utensils in obedience to the Michigan Health order requiring togo options for diners. “We love to be as sustainable as we can, but this crisis has taxed our ability to provide expedient service,” Apthorpe said. Because the disposable dishes the students use are contaminated with food, Bon Appetit is unable to recycle any of these materials. They are also required to minimize high-touch areas, meaning fruits such as apples and pears must be washed and bagged before being set out. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, since the outbreak of COVID-19, the production and use of plastic-based personal protective equipment— such as face masks and gloves—has increased worldwide. “The increased use of plastic due to COVID-19 is necessary to help keep people safer,” Professor of Chemistry Christopher Hamilton said. “Some plastics cannot be recycled, like the syringes used to deliver COVID vaccines or the gloves used by

healthcare workers.” Because the coronavirus can exist a day on cardboard, and up to three days on plastics and stainless steel, the sudden rise of hazardous waste has become a significant challenge to local waste management authorities, the NCBI said. Recycling is an effective way to prevent pollution and conserve natural resources, but concerns about transmitting the virus have hindered recycling efforts. Nearly 46% of American cities had restrictions on recycling programs during the pandemic to protect workers at recycling centers, the NCBI said. With travel restrictions to slow the spread of the disease, the demand for petroleum collapsed, causing oil prices to drop. This means manufacturing virgin plastics from fossil fuels is less expensive than recycling. “Some plastic waste ends up in the environment. I’m sure everyone has seen a disposable mask on the ground recently. These can end up in sewers and drainage systems, which can clog things up and cause problems,” Hamilton said. “They can end up in waterways and slowly breakdown, but some plastics break up into tiny pieces called microplastics.” Microplastics present a threat to aquatic life, as fish and other animals consume the plastic. This can eventually lead to small amounts of plastic in the food humans eat, Hamilton said. “Trying to reduce the amount of waste you generate is one way to help,” Hamilton said. “Instead of grabbing disposable forks and spoons when you get carryout, use the flatware you already have. Skip the straw if you don’t need one.”

Majority of students prefer not to get COVID-19 vaccine Survey from A1

Smith said he had multiple reasons for electing to receive the vaccine. “I’ve just been wanting to do anything I can to be active and out in society around people again,” he said. “I wanted it for mobility purposes, to be able to be around the people I love.” Smith has an elderly grandfather, as well as a close friend with cancer. He said he would like to be around them while preserving their comfort. Additionally, he said he has hope things will go back to normal eventually. “My area of expertise is the 19th century, so there were the great cholera epidemics, the great yellow fever epidemics, and things bounced back pretty fast,” Smith said. “I think there will always be consequences, but I hope that doesn’t mean we won’t get back to normal. One thing you realize is once people get a taste of what they once had, they want more of it.” 27% of participants who did not want to take the vaccine said they were distrustful of this particular vaccine. Another 26% said they believe they are not in a high-risk category for contracting COVID-19. Additionally, 23% were concerned about potential side effects. Only 5% said they were against vaccines in

currently on sabbatical researching COVID-19, said the vaccine is designed to work like all vaccines — to create an immune response. “Like all vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccines are

Do you normally take vaccines? 79

466

Yes

Do you plan to take the COVID-19 vaccine? 86 225 94

140

Already received

Yes

Undecided or declined to answer

The Collegian surveyed 102 faculty members, 103 staff members, and 340 students. Cal Abbo | Collegian

designed to elicit a protective immune response against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, without causing the disease,” Johnson said. In other words, the COVID-19 vaccine does not infect a recipient with the virus, nor does it change the recipient’s genetics. “No, the vaccine does not change your genetics,” Johnson said. “This is the most common type of misinformation I hear about the vaccines. It is demonstrably false.” He also addressed some other common fears about the vaccine. “The vaccine is not dangerous and people should not be afraid of it,” Johnson said. “That being said, no vaccine is 100% risk free. Adverse events occur with all vaccines, but they are extremely rare.” Johnson also weighed in on the speed of the vaccine’s production. “The first studies which set the groundwork for our current mRNA vaccines were carried out in the early 1990s,” Johnson said. “The first human clinical trials for mRNA vaccines were in 2008. The current COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are the most promising mRNA vaccines developed to date.” Johnson said he hopes to see a drastic reduction in the transmission of the virus once the vaccine is more wide-

spread. Junior Anna Cannon is not only open to the coronavirus vaccine, but has already taken it herself. “I work in healthcare back home, so I was in one of the first rounds of people to get it,” Cannon said. Even if she had not received the vaccine, Cannon said she would have gotten it anyway. “I didn’t get it because I was worried about my health. I just wanted peace of mind and not having to worry about it if I’m visiting someone,” Cannon said. Cannon also said she hopes things will get back to normal and more businesses will open up once the vaccine is more widely distributed. “I think it’s good for old people to have it so they can visit their family and live normal lives,” Cannon said. Freshman Elizabeth Speck is also in favor of getting the COVID-19 vaccine. “I believe if we would like to establish herd immunity, the vaccine is the best way to go,” Speck said. “I also have family members who are very high risk and I would like to keep them and myself safe.” Speck said everyone who is able should get the vaccine to help the number of community-transmitted cases decrease significantly.

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Women's Tennis

Sports

February 18, 2021 A9

Chargers sweep Panthers 4-0 for second win By | Ryan Goff Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale College women’s tennis team swept the Davenport University Panthers 4-0 at home on Sunday in the Biermann Athletic Center. The Chargers start off the season 2-0 after last week’s 5-0 sweep of Saginaw University. After sealing up the doubles point with match wins on all three courts, the Chargers secured the next three points in under two hours. The straight set singles wins were secured by senior Hannah Cimpeanu, sophomore Canela Luna, and junior Sophia Spinazze. The No. 1 doubles team Cimpeanu and junior Sarah Hackman finished off their

set 6-2 and freshman Julia Wagner and sophomore Ellie Chawner won 6-0 at No. 3 doubles. Spinazze and Luna came together to win their set 6-1 at No. 2 doubles, which Spinazze said was a product of their net play. “We were all really focused on moving towards the net, trying to get volleys, and just doing what we do well,” Spinazze said. “Canela and I did a good job of keeping it consistent and in until we could take advantage at the net or make them make a mistake.” In singles, Luna defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-2 on the No. 2 court. After a tough week of practice, she said her mindset allowed her to play well. “The biggest difference for me was playing with that calm

Junior Sophia Spinazze celebrates with sophomore Canela Luna after winning a point. Courtesy | Summer Fields

Men's Tennis

Tennis begins season 2-0 By | Luke Morey Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team won both matches last weekend, beating Lawrence Tech 4-0 on Saturday and Davenport University 4-2 on Sunday in the Biermann Center. Freshman Brennan Cimpeanu won in straight sets in the No. 2 singles spot, 6-1, 6-3, and freshman Sean Barstow won the match for Hillsdale by winning 6-2, 6-7(5), and 6-1. Head coach Keith Turner said he wasn’t surprised by how well the freshmen played. “I knew they were good players coming in,” Turner said. “They’ve impressed me from day one of practice in the fall. They all have extensive junior tournament experience so they are used to playing players of the level they saw this weekend.” Sophomore Tyler Conrad beat Alexander Tammaro in his first match in the No. 1 singles spot 3-6, 6-0, and 6-2. The Chargers won all three doubles matches on Saturday, 6-4, 6-1, and 6-2 respectively. On Sunday, the Chargers

beat Davenport 4-2, with both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles fighting back from 5-4 to win 7-5. Turner said winning the doubles matches are very important. “The winner of the doubles point usually wins the vast majority of the dual matches,” Turner said. “The team knew Davenport was a tough in-region school that we needed to beat.” Cimpeanu won 3-6, 6-2, and 6-3, while Barstow won in straight sets to bring the Chargers closer to winning. Junior Brian Hackman finished the match by winning 6-3, 6-2, capping off an undefeated weekend for the Chargers. “I was really happy with what I saw this weekend,” Turner said. “The biggest thing we need to work on is being able to execute a plan B if the original game plan isn’t working.” Cimpeanu also mentioned the importance of adapting in the middle of a match, citing an example from Sunday against Davenport. “Instead of my usual aggressive tactics, both Coach Turner and Ivanhoe Lissanevitch told me to switch up my strategy and last longer in

the points,” Cimpeanu said. “It ended up pulling out the victory for the team.” Turner said the outcome of the MRI’s on senior Lissanevitch and sophomore Bodgan Janicijevic both showed torn labrums. Janicijevic suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder, requiring surgery that will cause him to miss the season. Lissanevitch tore the labrum in his hip, also requiring surgery, but it is possible for him to return for this season. “He may play a few doubles matches for us, but that’s it,” Turner said. One thing Turner said he wants to improve on during the year is recognizing opponents’ weaknesses and finding ways to exploit them, and Cimpeanu agreed with him. “I want to focus on increasing my accuracy and consistency with my serves, as well analyzing the opponent fast enough to switch strategies that play to his weaknesses,” Cimpeanu said. The Chargers will travel to face Purdue Northwest on Saturday Feb. 20 at 1 p.m., and Wayne State on Sunday Feb. 21 at 1 p.m.

mindset instead of trying to worry about ‘I gotta get this next point’ or ‘Oh, no, I lost this point,’” Luna said. “I just said every point is a new point, I just gotta move on and keep going forward.” Spinazze’s 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles was a continuation of the earlier doubles match momentum, she said. “I tried to keep that same mentality and do what I do well, stay consistent to force the error, move the ball around as much as I could,” Spinazze said. “Once it got started and I saw the momentum from the other courts, it made me want to keep pushing and finish it out as strongly as possible.” Cimpeanu’s 6-1, 7-5 victory over Davenport’s No. 1 helped the Chargers wrap up the match before the 4, 5, and 6

singles matches were completed. After a strong showing early in the season, Spinazze said the team is looking ahead to the next challenge in a spring season that could be shaken up by a fluctuating lineup and a focus on being able to perform well no matter who is where in the lineup. “We don’t like to dwell on good or bad ones,” Spinazze said. “We just think about who’s next and think that the competition will keep getting tougher throughout the season.” Competition ramps up Saturday when the Chargers travel to Indiana to play Purdue Northwest University. The match is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. CDT.

Softball

Hillsdale goes 1-3 in Georgia By | Megan Williams Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale College softball team flew down to Dahlonega, Georgia, last weekend to play two doubleheaders against top Division II teams. The Chargers split with the University of West Florida, and lost both games to the University of North Georgia, finishing the weekend 1-3. “We were very grateful for the opportunity to play this weekend,” junior team captain and outfielder Reagan Gensiejewski said. “But this weekend doesn’t show what we can do as a team, and I think the rest of the season is going to be more reflective who Hillsdale softball actually is.” Kicking off the competition with a win against West Florida, the Chargers demonstrated the strength of their defense and pitching staff. Senior pitcher Dana Weidinger finished the game with no walks and won the 33rd game of her career, which moves her into a tie for sixth place in Hillsdale history for career pitching wins. Weidinger explained the excitement she felt this week-

end after having to wait 388 days since the Charger’s last game. “It’s almost like you’re a kid that is trying to steal cookies off the top of the fridge,” Weidinger said. “As soon as you get that cookie jar, you’re just through the roof about it. Getting to step foot on that mound and be surrounded by my teammates was exhilarating.” Despite the excitement of finally getting to play, the Chargers lost the last three of their games. Head coach Kyle Gross said they struggled with defense and allowed runs early in the game. In the midst of these challenging games, Gross said he reminded his players to focus on their game, and their game alone. “I told them to take the scoreboard out of it. We need to have our bats, do the things we need to do to improve, and remain positive,” Gross said. “We took the good things away and learned from the mistakes we made, and now we get to play again this weekend. And that was our message this past weekend: we get to play.” The Chargers are travel-

ing to Rosemont, Illinois to compete in the Dome Tournament, where they will be playing five games between Friday Feb. 19 and Sunday Feb. 21. Weidinger said that the team is maintaining an encouraging, positive attitude going into this weekend and cannot wait to see more opponents. “We’re looking forward and having that positive mindset going into these games, no matter who is on the other side of that field,” Weidinger said. “It’s about knowing that we can do this and play these five games against tough opponents because we’re one of the best teams out there.” With the results of this past weekend behind them, Gensiejewski explained that those losses are now motivation for the Chargers going into this weekend. “We were frustrated, and I think that’s a good thing because if you want to be a successful college team, you have to think about your sport 24/7,” Gensiejewski said. “So that’s in the back of our minds, now we’re going to go show everyone what we can actually do.”

Men's Basketball

Tharp earns 450th career win By | Luke Morey Collegian Reporter With head coach John Tharp’s 450th win, and a career week from senior guard Connor Hill, the Chargers finished 3-0 on the road to push their win streak to 13 games. Hill scored 21 points against Malone on Thursday, and followed it with 23 points against Walsh on Saturday, each new career highs. Along with a career-high in scoring, Hill dished out nine assists between the two games and shot more than 77% combined from the field. “He’s got one of the best pull-up games I’ve ever seen,” Tharp said. “It was really just Connor being Connor to be honest with you, I was super proud of the week that he had.” Malone entered Thursday’s game on a five-game win streak, averaging more than 85 points per game over that stretch. This didn’t phase Hillsdale, however, as the team gutted out a 75-69 victory. The Chargers stepped up to the challenge on both ends of the floor, holding Malone to just 69 points while keeping them under 40% shooting from the field. Hill’s stellar offensive play was matched by three other Chargers who also scored in double figures. “Thursday was a really good team win, a lot of different guys stepped up,” Tharp said. “It was really important to us that we shot the ball well from the free-throw line. Our

defense, especially in the second half, I thought did a really good job.” Sophomore forward Patrick Cartier shot 100% from both the field and the freethrow line, but scored just 14 points and grabbed only two rebounds. It marked the first time that Cartier scored under 15 points in a game since the Chargers’ win over Malone on Jan. 10, as four personal fouls held Cartier to just 24 minutes in the game. “I definitely got into some foul trouble, and coach Tharp has really gotten on me about my rebounding numbers. I’m not living up to what I can do on the glass,” Cartier said. “Foul trouble obviously played a part. A couple of calls didn’t go my way and then a couple of stupid plays made me not play my usual minutes, but I was really happy with the way that guys stepped up down the stretch and helped us pull out the win.” From the tip to the final two minutes, Hillsdale never led by more than 10 points. With under two minutes remaining, Malone’s Bryce Butler hit a tough three to cut the Chargers’ lead to two. From there, it was Cartier and Hill’s eight combined points in the final two minutes that closed out the Pioneers. “For Connor to come in scoring like that and get more recognition, I think is awesome,” Cartier said. “He definitely deserves that. I think if he keeps scoring the way he is, we’re gonna be really really tough to beat.” The Chargers followed their win over Malone with

a dominant showing against Walsh, using their bench’s redhot shooting from outside to grab a win on the road, 89-68. Four Chargers scored in double figures again, led by Hill and Cartier, who combined for 45 points including four threes. Sophomore guard Cole Nau led the way for a bench that scored 18 points. “The difference in that game was our bench. Our bench absolutely dominated, they played great,” Hill said. “Cole Nau, Jack Gholke, Kyle Goessler, Noah Applegate, Peter Kalthoff, they all came in and either scored or provided us with some sort of spark. The bench kind of carried us in that one.” Tharp honored the same five bench players for their outstanding play, saying he was proud of the team’s efforts. After making only three threes against Malone, the Chargers bounced back, shooting more than 48% from deep. Three of the team’s 12 made threes came on a 13-2 run with eight minutes left in the second half. The Chargers used the run to grab a 20-point lead and put Walsh away for good. Eight of those 13 points came from bench players. Hill was the Chargers’ leading scorer, this time with 23 points on 9-11 shooting. “I scored a lot but I wouldn’t call myself the primary option. All four of those bigs are all so talented,” Hill said. “We’ve talked about it all year, how some games, it’s gonna be Austen or Tavon, this weekend it just happened

to be me, and next weekend it’ll probably be somebody else. We’re so hard to guard because we always have five guys on the court that can score the rock.” That was true of the Chargers’ win over Ohio Dominican University on Wednesday night, which was Tharp’s 450th win. The Chargers used double-digit games from four of the team’s five starters to take down ODU in a hardfought game on their home court. Cartier led the way with 19 points, and Yarian dished out a season-high eight assists as they fought past ODU, 65-54. “We’re just making sure that we don’t look too far ahead, and I don’t think that our guys do either, they understand what’s going on,” Tharp said. “We just have to focus on getting better as a team. I know that’s coach talk, but it’s the truth of the matter, we’ve got things to get better at here if we want to continue to win.” The Chargers will return home on Saturday for a rematch with Ohio Valley University, who they beat 10676 back in December. On Feb. 24, they’ll travel to take on the Tiffin Dragons. “I’m excited that we put ourselves in the position that we’re in, and where we want to be; to win the conference,” Hill said. “Hopefully we can just keep playing together as a team, like we’ve done all year, and hopefully pull out these last couple, we’re just taking it one game at a time and not looking ahead.”

Connor Hill celebrates during a game versus Findlay on Feb. 6. Courtesy | Anthony Lupi

Charger

A10 February 18, 2021

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Volleyball

Van Wienen celebrates 1000th kill By | Hannah Cote assistant Editor

This past week the Hillsdale College volleyball team came out victorious against both conference and non-conference teams, maintaining endurance in the first three-game weekend of the season. Senior middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen made history both offensively and defensively this week as she hit her 1000th career kill, and won her first ever G-MAC Defensive Award of the Week. “1000 kills is a huge testament to the skill of the people around me,” Van Wienen said. “The only reason I even had 1000-plus opportunities to get a kill was because my teammates were constantly making great plays that allowed me to get those kills. I wouldn’t even be close to where I am today without any of them.” The Chargers’ victorious streak led them to receiving the No. 1 DII rank for the first time in Hillsdale history, though this doesn’t change anything about their energy or work, head coach Chris Gravel said.

“The ranking has no to little effect,” Gravel said. “It’s important to realize rankings are about what you have done in the past. Today is a brand new day, and whether we are No. 1 or No. 21, the approach is the same. We respect our opponent and allow them to make us better as a team.” The combination of both in and out of conference game-play allowed the team to experience a variety of competition, Van Wienen said. “This past weekend was a good test against some non-conference teams,” Van Wienen said. “The more teams we are able to play against, the more variety we get to face, the more prepared we can be for future competition.” Senior setter Lindsey Mertz said that playing three matches in one week for the first time all season has helped them prepare for the intensity of future tournaments. “To win the conference, regional, and national tournaments, you must play exceptionally well three times in a week,” Mertz said. “This week we had an opportunity to practice competing for three matches in one week, and it helped us to mentally and

physically be better prepared for our conference tournament this year and for any other post-season tournaments we might have this season or in the future.” The team was able to gauge exactly where they’re at not only in the conference, but in the entire region, Mertz said. The team is reaching new milestones with different individual and team achievements, and they are looking forward to more intense competition this weekend. The Chargers will compete against No. 13 Findlay University, the fourth-straight G-MAC regular season champions, on Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.. They will also play Tiffin University on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. “Everyone is excited heading into the weekend,” Van Wienen said. “Findlay is one of our better known rivals which brings out more of our fiercetype energy. This week we’re going to focus on improving our game from last week, taking those little steps every day to adjust a few things that need work and to keep getting better at the things we have been doing well.”

Senior middle-hitter Alyssa Van Wienen prepares to serve in a game last week. Courtesy | Hannah Cote

Track and Field

Chargers break two more records By | Meghan Schultz Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale men’s and women’s track and field teams broke school records, earned Division II national provisional qualifying marks, and set new personal bests at Friday and Saturday’s meets. At Friday’s competition, Grand Valley State University’s Big Meet, senior Kajsa Johansson, sophomore Dakota Stamm, freshman Shura Ermakov, and junior Alanna O’Leary broke a fiveyear old 4x400m relay school record last set at the 2015 DII Indoor National Championship. Their new time of 3:47.83, the third fastest time of this season., received a qualifying mark. “We were talking about making the school record all week,” Johannsson said. “Because that’'s been a goal of ours, so that was a fun thing to accomplish.”

Johansson also broke one of her own school records for the second week in a row. She set a new 20060- meter dash time of 24.50 seconds and won another qualifying mark with the third fastest time in Division II so far this year. “I think the year has been so uncertain that it’s rewarding to see a lot of hard work pay off,” Johansson said. Freshman Jamahl Burke, freshman Sean Fagan, sophomore Benu Meintjes, and sophomore Ian Calvert, the men’s 4x400m relay team, added to the growing list of qualifying marks when they took fourth in their event at 3:14.98, the tenth best time this season. Fagan said while the team didn’t get the mark at the previous week’s meet, they still knew they were on the right track. “It was really exciting,” Fagan said about qualifying

on Friday. “We’ve been going after it.” Burke, Fagan, and Meintjes all broke their previous personal records. Iin the 400 meter dash., Burke took fourth at 48.80 seconds, in the second-fastest time set by a G-MAC runner this season. In the third-fastest time of the 60 meter hurdles this season, Fagan finished in fifth place with a time of 8.27 seconds. Both runners were close to winning qualifying marks for their performances. Meintjes came in fifth in the 400 meter dash with a new personal best of 49.26 seconds. “I’ve been stuck in the 8:30s all season, so I was really happy to get to 8:20s,” Fagan said. Freshman Micah Vanderkooi and junior Adam Wier joined their teammates in breaking previous personal bests. Vanderkooi ran 1:54.75

in the 800 meter dash, and Wier finished at 15:05.68 in the 5000 meter race. Junior Claire McNally won the first qualifying mark of her career when she ran 17:18.62 in the 5000 meter racerun, placing eighteenth. Senior Christina Sawyer followed her in twenty-second at 17:26.63 and sophomore Meg Scheske in twenty-fifth place at 17:46.48, a new personal best for Scheske. Senior Maryssa Depies, already a Division II qualifier in the 3000 meter race, finished the mile in sixth at 4:54.4, setting a new personal best and earning another qualifying mark. Senior Calli Townsend raced ran the 800m run and finished in 2:14.48,17:18.62 in the 5000m race, finishing in eighteenth place and coming just short of a provisional mark. “I was really excited about the results this weekend,”

Depies said .in a text. “I went into the meet hoping to run faster in the mile than I previously have this year. Being able to do that was a huge accomplishment for me, and it gave me hope that I may be able to run even faster to qualify for nationals in the future!” At Saturday’s Oiler Invite at Findlay University junior Nikita Maines claimed two first-place titles in the shot put with a mark of 13.92m, and the weight throw with 16.83m. Freshmen Jossee Behling and Elizabeth Wamsley took first in their events. In the 400 meter dash, Behling finished at 59.61 seconds and sophomore Judith Allison came in third at 59.98 seconds. In the 5000 meter run, Wamsley ran at 18:08.98, and with senior Lauren Peterson placed in second at 18:19.18. The men’s team won three

individual titles at Findlay. Senior Adam Wade finished the 400 meter run at 51.23 seconds, freshman Alex Mitchell ran 4:21.92 in the mile, and junior Ben Raffin won the pole vault with 4.90m. Setting new personal bests, senior Mark Miller and sophomore Dylan Palmer took second and third in the 800 meter run at 1:56.73 and 1:57.78. “We’re continuing to make progress,” said head coach Andrew Towne in a text. “This weekend was our best meet to date. We’re looking forward to the next two weeks, as all of our goals are still accessible.” The next competition will be Saturday’s Hillsdale TuneUp meet on Feb. 19, which is the Chargers’ last meet before the G-MAC Championship at Cedarville University on Feb. 26 and 27.

Baseball

Baseball season to begin Saturday By | Calli Townsend Sports Editor

Freshman Chad Stevens in the Blue-White Scrimmage last Fall. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletics

The Hillsdale College baseball team is heading south this weekend to kick off its season with a series of exhibition games. The Chargers will play three games against Milligan University, an NAIA school based in Milligan, Tennessee. “We’re looking forward to playing, it’s been a long time,” head coach Eric Theisen said. “We’re confident and we’re excited to see our guys compete. We’re looking forward to getting on the field and let the guys have some fun competing out there.” More than half of his team has yet to play a full season of college ball, but he said he’s still confident in his players’ talent. “We’re young, but we think we’re pretty talented,” he said. “Our offense has been a strength for a number of years now and we’re rounding out that with some talented pitching.”

Leading this talented group of pitchers will be senior Andrew Vebrugge who returned for his fifth year after missing out on last season. He’s been a starting pitcher on the Chargers’ staff since his freshman year and will provide solid leadership for the younger pitchers. “We’re all feeling pretty good. I think we have a lot of talent this year, not saying we didn’t in previous years but this year is a little different,” Verbrugge said. “Being here for a fifth year now, I think this is one of the best teams we’ve had training wise and talent wise.” The Chargers also welcomed assistant pitching coach Travis Pant this fall, and according to Verbrugge, he has already made a large impact on the team. “He’s helped us a lot with technique,” he said. “He’s certainly helped me in my growth a lot as a pitcher.” Pant comes from Petersburg-Summerfield High School where he led the team to the Division

4 MHSAA title in 2019. Theisen said Pant brings a lot of experience and a much more analytical approach to coaching. “He’s done a lot for us in terms of being able to dive into our data and analytics on the pitching end,” Theisen said. This weekend’s exhibitions will replace the exhibitions the Chargers normally would have played in the fall. Verbrugge said they haven’t been able to get out on the field either, so this weekend will be the first time the Chargers have played outside of their practice barn in a long time. “We didn’t get to play much in the fall,” Verbrugge said. “So this will be a good intro to the season, we’re getting ready to go.” Saturday’s exhibition games start at noon and 3 p.m. and Sunday’s game will be at 3:30 p.m. The Chargers will begin their season with their first series of games next weekend in Missouri.

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

February 18, 2021

Mary Ewers’ home in Hillsdale. Courtesy | Mary Ewers

Buena Vista: How one house became a home for many By | Hannah Cote Assistant Editor

Years ago, it was an ordinary home. But for Mary Ewers, driving by the home was like love at first sight. The moment she bought the house was the magical moment that The ‘Buena Vista’ home was born, right on the streets of Hillsdale.

Throughout the entire renovation process, Ewers redid the entire kitchen, renovated five bathrooms, tore down and rebuilt the garage with a merlot-colored roof, and put in a completely new terracotta driveway and back patio. Though most people look for open floors plans, Ewers said, she loved the separate and unique spaces throughout the house. She saw the poten-

interiors, she loves taking an unconventional sort of twist on things,” Lundberg said. This was Lundberg’s first big interior artistic venture, and who better to tackle it with, Lundberg said. Lundberg would often go to the house to paint, many times in the middle of the night after a full day of classes, and would even stay the night at Buena Vista. The project lasted

Ewers has painted all of the ceilings in the house. Pictured is the ‘Red Room,’ which took multiple coats of metalic paint. Courtesy | Mary Ewers

Ewers, director of parent relations and the President’s Club, bought the Oak Street house called Buena Vista in 2003 and worked on different renovations, creative projects, and additions to the house up until 2019. The house was built in the 1940s in the New Orleans style, and Ewers was immediately drawn to it. The house had six sets of french doors, a double balcony, turquoise shutters, and a pink roof, but it had a good foundation for a future home, Ewers said. “It needed a lot of work, but it had good bones,” Ewers

tial of what the house could become and set to work with multiple projects in mind, all while adding her own creative style. “It really wasn’t about my creativity as much as the house just screamed for it,” Ewers said. Through the first set of french doors, Ewers quickly noticed that the walls of the house would be a blank canvas for her. She set out on a painting escapade, but not by herself. Ewers reached out to Kate Lundberg ’10, a Hillsdale fine arts student at the time, and asked for her help with

Kate Lundberg ’10 assisted Ewers in painting the home, including Van Gogh-esque sunflowers in the kitchen. Courtesy | Mary Ewers

said. “I had done a lot of renovating in my life, so this was not my first rodeo.”

painting the walls. “Mary is a very visual person, and when it comes to

all the way until Lundberg’s graduation, and was a perfect experience to have under her belt for a post-college career. “Kate is just marvelous, and of course I got to love her more deeply than I already did during that time,” Ewers said. “Watching her creativity was very inspirational to me. I chose what she was going to do, but she would always add her flair.” During the entire process, Ewers was never afraid to use bold, dynamic colors. In each room, Ewers wanted to paint the walls with colors from her thick, Persian rugs that lined every floor to compliment each other. She even matched colors with the deep, dark oak floors. The different spaces had combinations of metallic silver and aquamarine, violet and copper penny, and especially red, Ewers’s favorite color. Almost every surface was covered in paint — even the ceilings. But the metallic paints in particular were a painful process for Ewers because the chemical process of the paint wouldn’t adhere to the ceilings. But after many coats, and many tears, Ewers was finally satisfied with the beautiful, metallic coloring. Kate also decorated certain walls with Van Gogh-esque sunflowers and big, decorative bible verses. Inside the kitchen, just above the sink, Ewers requested Isaiah 49:16: “See I have inscribed you in the palm of my hands.” “Between the two of us, it was magical,” Ewers said. “The sunflowers were glorious, and Kate did it all freehand too.” In another hallway, Psalm 73:25-26 rests on the top of the walls: “Whom have I in heaven but thee? There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” “God is the central point of my life,” Ewers said. “I don’t

know where I’d be without God. He has been beside me the whole time.” Lundberg echoed Ewers’s sentiment of her faith, and said that Ewers’s strength and the way she carried herself inspired her daily. The Buena Vista home was a tangible display of Ewers’s faith, and if someone were to walk into the house, Ewers’s character, thoughtfulness, and love for the Lord would be evident, Lundberg said. “The house would say that this is somebody who is bold and willing to take bold risks and choices in interior design in order to express themselves more fully,” Lundberg said. “Both her and her house are whimsical. Mary is unashamedly and unabashedly herself.” Ewers’s daughter, Natalie Holt, made the move into the Buena Vista house during her eighth grade year and had to adjust to the new space. The renovations began immediately, but Holt was used to Ewers’s energy and passion for creating a house, and still felt right at home. “It was a different phase of life, so it was hard but it also became a home very quick,” Holt said. “It was like a storybook house. It’s such a sweet little house and it became

before they bought the property, and the amount of times Ewers wished the house would go up for sale. “She would drive me to school, and she kept saying, ‘I want that house so bad if it ever goes for sale.’ And then one day, it went for sale,” Holt said. After that moment, the house became their home, and their home became the storybook that Ewers had wished

together and share cups of coffee in the morning before heading out to work. “I would work with Mary to do training with her, but then to come to her house with a group of people doing the same thing — the camaraderie there was fabulous,” Molloy said. “You really got to know the people you’re working with so much, it’s just such a warm, welcoming environment.” Ewers offered her home many times as a space Several walls in the house are for parents helping inscribed with Bible verses. Courtesy | Mary Ewers with the phone-athon, creating an environment of vibrant conversation and peaceful decompression after a long day at work, Molloy said. “Mary never quits,” Molloy said. “She is just on fire for Hillsdale and she knows all things about Hillsdale. She is just absolutely engaging, and then you go to her house and you get to see that creative, energetic side of her.” Once inside the home, the character of Mary is evident, Molloy said. “When you walk in, you know who she is,” Molloy said. “She’s a woman of faith, a strong Christian woman, and she’s passionate about life and her home. I think the house totally speaks to for for so long. her, and it is fun to find out Once her kids moved out what drives them when you of the house, Ewers began go to their house.” renting it out to families for Now, Ewers has moved to Parents Weekend and differNashville to be closer to her ent events. Since Ewers often daughter and grandchildren. travels for her job, the Buena She still plans to keep the

Mary Ewers relaxes in Jacksonville, FL. Courtesy | Mary Ewers

home quickly.” Ewers added many details to the home that truly made it into a storybook of a home. Holt remembered bunnies painted all over the kitchen walls, and the bold, heavy colors that Ewers would incorporate into every room. Before moving to Hillsdale, Ewers would make the drive from Brooklyn, MI for her work and her kids’ school. Holt remembered driving past the original Buena Vista house

Vista house became a home not just for her, but for guests as well. “You feel like you’re at home. Not her home, but your home,” said Kati Molloy, a Hillsdale parent. Molloy has stayed at the home multiple times for the phone-a-thon and Parents Weekend. She has stayed in every room of the house, but her favorite room is the kitchen. Often the women who stayed there would get

house and continue renting it out to families visiting Hillsdale. Though she won’t live in the house anymore, Ewers is forever grateful for the time she had there. “God gave me that house,” Ewers said. “I had nothing, and He gave me the house. I did not deserve it, but He gave it to me anyway. It was such a mark of His loving kindness and favor.”

B2 February 18, 2021

“Fixer Upper” couple Chip and Joanna Gaines launched the preview of their new Magnolia Network on Jan. 4. |Facebook

Wikimedia Commons

By | Calli Townsend Sports Editor When Chip and Joanna Gaines previewed their new TV network in April, I thought 2020 was saved. The husband-wife duo from the HGTV show “Fixer Upper” hasn’t slowed down since starting in 2013. They’ve flipped hundreds of houses, built the Silos and several stores and restaurants, started a magazine, and revived their hometown of Waco, Texas with all of their endeavors. “As I watched the business evolution occur with the magazine, it became pretty clear to me that we could translate this to a 24hour cable network,” Chip said in their network announcement video. “When we see these stories, we’re like, ‘This is gonna work.’” Michigan was still under quarantine when the fourhour preview of the Magnolia Network premiered. I finally had something other than a Zoom class to put on my calendar — and it did not disappoint. The preview included sneak peaks of some of the new shows that would be introduced to television in October. Though the network’s new launch date is scheduled for July 15, the pilot episodes of the show launched on the Discovery Plus app on Jan. 4. The Magnolia Network is their company’s latest project, and this time they’re bringing more than a dozen small business owners from across the country along with them with the goal of telling their stories. “There are so many people out there that have these stories that need to be told,” Joanna said in their network announcement video. “When you come to this channel, you leave going, “I wanna go do something. I’m inspired to go risk, I’m inspired to go do something I’m passionate about.’” The Magnolia Network captures the stories of ordinary people doing unique, fun, and meaningful things. From the college dropout who started a restaurant that now has a waitlist with thousands of names, to the retired college football player who trains and inspires other people in his own gym, these people are chasing the American Dream and proving it’s still possible. Since then, I’ve been making my way through all of these episodes, and each time I finish one, I realized Joanna was right. I was so inspired by the stories they tell. So far I’ve made my way through “The Lost Kitchen,” “Restoration Road,” “The Fieldhouse,” and “Super Dad.” I love that these shows include people from all over the country. Each of these four episodes tell stories from different people in different states: Maine, Idaho, Texas, and Colorado. They include every little corner of America, showcasing what makes our country so great as a whole. These shows are entertaining, funny, and in-depth. You get to really know the people as people, not just what they do — you’ll learn about their

families, their pasts, and their future goals. Tyler Calmus is incredibly creative, Erin French is a tough and resilient Mainer, Justin Bane is a big man with an even bigger heart, Clint Harp is eager to learn and teach about the history he discovers, and Chip and Joanna’s relationship is still as adorable as ever. “The Lost Kitchen” is about Erin French and her restaurant, The Lost Kitchen, in Freedom, Maine. Her kitchen is staffed with all women and it is only open from May to

“Hearing these stories of risk, failure, and eventually success encouraged me to believe I can chase my own dreams too.”

October. The best part: reservations are available only by post card. Each April, French “opens” for reservations, which means people can send in a postcard that tells their story of why they want to dine at The Lost Kitchen. Then in May, French and her team sort through the requests and pick who will be their guests that summer. The Lost Kitchen is in an old barn restored next to a waterfall. It’s secluded, homey, and a dream destination for the thousands of people who mail in their postcards each year. Beyond the restaurant, the show tells the story of French’s resilience. After dropping out of college, she began hosting dinner parties from her Airstream as a single mom, and later went on to open her own restaurant. Her story is incredible, as is the way she incorporates her local farmers into the food she prepares. Through her, you’ll catch a glimpse of her genuine desire to serve more than just delicious food — you’ll see how she serves everyone in her community as well. In the age of female empowerment and toxic masculinity, “Super Dad” is just the show we need. Taylor Calmus is an ordinary dad to two kids and one on the way, and he’s made a career of DIY projects for his children. Now he’s helping other dads do the same. In the episode I watched, Calmus helped a single dad build an incredible playground with a skatepark in his backyard for his kids. He’s a great example of a present father who loves his kids and does things to surprise them. He also uses just about every power tool imaginable to create some amazing things. “I’m stepping out of my own backyard to help other

dads bring their kids’ dreams to life and become their heroes along the way,” Calmus said in the show preview. “Any dad can go out and buy something, but to actually put in the time and effort to make something really special, that’s next level. That’s a super dad.” These are only a few of their featurettes on others, and there are also three shows featuring Chip and Joanna themselves: “Fixer Upper Welcome Home,” Joanna’s cooking show “Magnolia Table,” and “The Courage To Run” about Chip’s first marathon race inspired by Gabe Grunewald. “Fixer Upper Welcome Home” is just like the original show, but instead of meeting clients in her front yard, Joanna brings them to her beautifully designed office with fancy color samples and tile squares. The way they’ve maintained their show is a testament to Chip and Joanna’s down to earth nature and humble character. Watching Joanna cook in the kitchen in her new show made me feel like even I could cook, and that is really saying something. She “guesstimates” sizes and amounts, spills things, and even has trouble using her mixer, but at the end of the show she puts together a beautiful meal that she shares with her family. She’ll make you hungry and make you laugh all at the same time. And in “The Courage to Run,” Chip tells the story of how he found joy and purpose in running — the very thing he thought he’d never be able to do. He also tells the story of Gabe Grunewald, a professional runner who died of cancer nearly a year after coaching Chip through his first marathon. The show takes viewers through their serendipitous meeting in Central Park to Grunewald traveling to Waco, Texas, to cheer Chip on through his race. This wasn’t an ordinary race — Chip and Joanna hosted it in their hometown to raise money for Grunewald’s “Brave Like Gabe Foundation.” It is simultaneously the sweetest, saddest, and most inspiring story I’ve heard in the world of running. Next on my list to watch is “Home on the Road,” the story of Abner Ramirez and his wife Amanda as they take their band, Johnnyswim, and their young family on a threemonth journey across the country. After watching any of these shows, my mind started racing with ideas. Hearing these stories of risk, failure, and eventually success encouraged me to believe I can chase my own dreams too. These people are so real, so genuine, and just love what they do. They’ve turned their passions into careers, and they’ll inspire you to do the same.

Paul and Adam Lindauer performed together at Concert on the Quad. | Facebook

Student starts campus yoga club By | Alexa Robbins Collegian Reporter

‘Fixer Upper’ couple launches new network to tell ordinary stories

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Hillsdale College student Jade Juniper is leading yoga classes, hoping to create a place for students to destress together and cultivate a community of meditation and relaxation. Juniper, a junior, recently obtained the 200-hour requirement to be officially certified as a yoga teacher this past summer. Juniper has been doing yoga for the past five years, and became committed during high school. As her workload at school became more demanding, she sought out yoga as an outlet to release her stress and balance her academic life. “I wanted to bring that skill to campus because I felt that there was a limited amount of spaces for students to decompress in a high-stress school setting,” Juniper said. One of the students who has been attending her classes, Hannah Neukom, said, “Taking time to focus on something other than classes and homework has been really nice.” As a psychology major, Juniper recently started a research project that draws upon her background in yoga. Her interest in yoga inspired her to study the connection between meditation and its effect on anxiety. She said that yoga, unlike other therapeutic remedies, is often easier for those who are not very verbal or have social anxiety. Things like talk therapy can be intimidating because one might be foisted right into problems, whereas meditation encour-

ages one to observe them physical wellness. as opposed to engaging in “Yoga is very personal, them. so it helps you appreciate “You are letting things your own natural abilities,” come to you,” Juniper said. Juniper said. “It also requires Juniper’s class begins a level of discipline and with introductions, then a consistency, that help renew 25-30 minute flow sequence, the body.” followed by a 15-20 minute Meghan Koepke is anothmeditation or discussion of er student who has attended yoga philosophy. sessions. Juniper said she teaches “I thought it was so much “restorative yoga,” which encourages holding postures for long periods of time. “This is so you can focus on releasing tension in the body and then it will be easier to release tension of the mind as well,” Juniper said. She also wants to integrate games and other activities that will make the class fun and engaging. The class’ Junior Jade Juniper recently participants a campus yoga club. said they en- started Courtesy | Jade Juniper joy its health benefits. more special to practice in “I love the combination of that community setting,” yoga and guided meditation Koepke said. “I’ll definitely because it really helps with be coming back.” the stress of the week to relax Juniper holds classes on me,” Neukom said. Mondays from 4:30 p.m. to Juniper said she seeks 5:30 p.m. in the George C. feedback from those who Roche Sports Complex dance attend the club so that she studio on the second floor. can tailor it to the needs of Sign ups are through the Stuher members. She hopes to dent Activities Office email. foster a relaxed environment for people of all levels of

Junior begins photography career at Hillsdale College

By | Josie Cuddeback Collegian Freelancer

tunity to get a job in his newfound area of interest. Fast forward to spring 2021 and he’s making his talent profitable by working for both the marketing and sports departments, shooting events from basketball games to a forum with former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. He’s now even exploring the possibility of internships and a career, which he largely credits to his friend junior Stephen Edelblut, who encouraged him

Feet shuffle, fans roar, and a man in Hillsdale blue-and-white leaps for an impressive dunk — Hillsdale is up two points, and the crowd goes wild. In the excited uproar, everyone missed a small ‘click’ from under the basket. Junior Anthony Lupi says the moment was “the most surreal feeling.” As a photographer for the sports and marketing departments, he could not have been in a better place at a better time. He checks his camera roll, and there it is. His perfect shot captured the perfect shot. At this time last year Lupi would not have told you that he was going to be a usual sight on the sidelines of any sports game or large school event, camera in hand. He hadn’t yet discovered photography, which he now describes as one of the few things he’s most passionate about. He first began photography last February, borrowing a camera from Junior Anthony Lupi is now a a friend and fellow photographer for the marketing and sports departments. Courtesy | Anthony Lupi Alpha Tau Omega brother while in to consider his newfound Tempi, Arizona. interest as a profession. “It was just a hobby that “He made me underI was sort of interested in, stand that it’s actually a and I ended up buying that viable career path,” Lupi camera from him,” Lupi said. said. Edelblut describes his The hobby had grown friend as someone who into a passion by the time excels when he has a purhe arrived back on campus pose, and who goes all out in the fall, and he sought once he sets his mind to out more opportunities to something. practice his new talent. He “I knew that if he had a started shooting games for target to run at, he would the Hillsdale men’s socdo a really good job, and cer team, which is largely obviously he has because made up of his ATO brothhe’s killing it right now,” ers. He also did practice says Edelblut. photoshoots with friends Lupi’s marketing boss for fun. When he heard the Andrea Weir also sees his marketing department had passion for photography, an opening for a photograsaying he is always excited pher, he seized the oppor-

to take on events, prioritizing his availability to the marketing office. “He usually just says yes, and then asks me what it is,” said Weir, laughing. Lupi is busy juggling a Hillsdale homework load, a political economy major, managing ATO’s public relations, and leading the ATO Bible Study. Balancing all these duties is hard, he says, but still feasible because he finds meaning in what he does. “Everything that I do is very fulfilling.” he says, “I think that’s the most important part of it.” For Lupi, who is not otherwise particularly artistic, photography is a creative outlet that energizes him and actually helps him recharge from other activities. While he enjoys taking pictures on the job, he also loves to take photos for friends and generally doing it for fun. Finding fulfillment in his work is what keeps him going, but he also thinks it’s very important to make time to just be with friends, and says exercise and good sleep are key to maintaining equilibrium. Will anything come out of this hobbyturned-student-job? Maybe, Lupi says. Lupi says he’s been in contact with several alumni who have helped him scope out a variety of internships and positions in sports photography. He’s seriously considering applying to photograph NFL training camps this summer, and has been in contact with alumna MaryKate Drews, who takes photos for many major sports teams in Chicago, including the Chicago Bears. Lupi says his continuation of this pursuit is simple. “I love doing sports photography. It’s one of the very few things I would say that I’m passionate about,” he said.

Features

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

A noble instrument for a noble space

February 18, 2021 B3

House sweeps concerto contest

The Halfway House girls celebrate after the competition. Hannah Cote | The Collegian

By | Hannah Cote Assistant Editor

By | Aubrey Gulick Collegian Reporter Despite its vaulted ceilings and ornate columns, when Christ Chapel first opened to the students, faculty, donors, and the public, it was missing something. It lacked an instrument that could dazzle the ears with a range of dynamics, could support a choral rehearsal, and could accompany the wide variety of instruments to perform solos. While the beautiful, new organ certainly would be effective in these respects, one of the most common, and yet most distinct and classical, instruments was vacant. That hole in the musical fabric of Christ Chapel was filled doubly by the majestic 9 foot Steinway D piano and its smaller sister, a 7 foot Steinway B, both the generous gifts of donors of the college. In May of 2019, college trustee Ron Nolan and his wife, Phyllis, reached out to Hillsdale college with an offer. They wanted to donate a piano capable of filling Christ Chapel, an instrument suitable for student, faculty, and guest recitals. A noble instrument for a noble space. They also wanted their friend Stanislav Ioudenitch, who is a professor of piano at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and an international concert pianist, to help select the piano, and to perform at Hillsdale when the piano is dedicated. In January of 2020, James Holleman, chair of the music department, and Brad Blackham, director of keyboard studies, met the Nolans and Ioudenitch in New York for a

Organ from B4

ma, the organ is in nearly pristine condition, which makes it unique among organs from its era. “We think it is special because nothing’s been done to it, and it basically looks and sounds exactly like it did in 1929,” Ourensma said. “A lot of times churches get impatient with organs, and organists want new fads and new trends. And so they add on, or they throw it away and build something new, or really alter it in some way. But St. Anthony’s is a quiet, conservative, easy-going parish. Call it luck or providence, but they never messed with it. So it’s really a simple little workhorse of an instrument.” Hillsdale’s community has fancier organs, but St. Anthony’s uniqueness comes from its simplicity. It isn’t meant to be its own show or to perform complex musical works. “It was designed basically to accompany chant in the Latin service, but with a little

The Steinway in Christ Chapel was hand-selected from the New York Steinway showroom. Andrew Dixon | The Collegian

two-day trip to search for the right piano. “That’s a totally unique experience and most likely a once-in-a-lifetime thing for myself and probably most pianists. You just don’t get many opportunities to go to the Steinway factory to choose an instrument,” Blackham said. The Steinway brand was chosen since it is the international standard of concert pianos, and also because Ioudenitch insisted on a Steinway — a proposition the college accepted full-heartedly. “We did go back and forth on the possibility of a German Steinway versus a New York Steinway. At one point the idea was to fly to Hamburg, Germany, and pick up an instrument. It was just logistically impossible.” The German instruments are known for their Austrian technique and approach to sound, somewhat similar to the Bösendorfer piano currently housed in Conrad Hall. The American versions tend to have a bold and upfront sound, Holleman said. The final day of the trip included a tour of the Steinway factory, located in Astoria, New York. The tour not only included the chance to pick out the perfect instrument, but also a visit to the storied Steinway vault, an invitation-only, secured safe which contains seven of Steinway’s most notable instruments. The seven pianos were each placed on their own stages and showered with colored lights designed to best show off the particular varnishes on the pianos. “One of them had images from Mussorgsky’s “Pictures

at an Exhibition,” imagery based on the piece and the artwork depicted in the piece. There are also a couple of instruments with veneers that wouldn’t be used typically, like Santos Rosewood and Macassar Ebony, for example,” Blackham said. “It’s very much like pulling back the curtain to find the wizard, à la the Wizard of Oz.” While the visit to the Steinway vault was a unique experience, the most important part of the tour was the choice of pianos. The seven 9 foot Steinway D’s were arranged in a climate-controlled showroom. “Mr. Blackham just went down the row and played all seven different nine-footers. He picked his two favorites, then Stanislav went in and played, and he picked his two favorites,” Holleman said. “It just so happened they picked the same two.” “It was like driving nine different Ferraris,” Blackham said. The two pianists narrowed down their choice, focusing on action and sound production, finally selecting the piano that now lives behind the sanctuary in Christ Chapel. When the piano arrived in February of 2020, it did so in time for senior Anne Ziegler’s March 5 concert, during which she performed the first movement of the Saint-Saens piano concerto no.2 in G minor. “It is no easy task to present such a beautiful and awe-inspiring instrument, and I wanted to do it justice. When I performed, though, I was overjoyed to have such an experience. Steinways are, and always will be, close to my heart,” Ziegler said. The smaller, seven-foot

Steinway model B was also the result of a gracious donation to the college. “The process of getting the 7-foot grand was much less pomp and circumstance than the 9 foot, mostly because it was donated to us and it happened in the summer, though we were just as happy to learn that we were getting such a lovely piano,” Blackham said. The beautiful, woodstained piano originally resided in the home of Marjorie Stroud in Leelanau Michigan before she donated it for use in the chapel in the summer of 2019. While the smaller piano does not command the chapel in the same spectacular way that its more magnificent sister does, it fulfills an important role. “Stroud wanted it to go into the chapel, and she wanted it to play sacred music,” Holleman said. Thus, the wood-stained piano now supports the choir in its rehearsals which have taken place in Christ Chapel since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is used in student events and has been featured in orchestra concerts as well. The vacant spot originally felt in Christ Chapel has been more than filled with instruments that point to the purpose of the chapel: to lift minds and hearts to God. “When I hear the warm tone of the Steinway fill up the white and marbled space of the chapel hall, I am overflowing with joy. I can’t help but smile and thank God for the beautiful gift of music that orients my soul towards him,” said Ziegler.

bit of work on the part of the organist, it can make enough sounds that you can play some other kinds of music for more of the singing that the whole congregation does now in the Catholic Church,” Ourensma said. In Schmitt’s view, the organ is worth restoring to its original condition despite the time and cost it will demand. For one, doing so will ensure the use of organ music in St. Anthony’s for another hundred years. It will ultimately be more economical, as a new electric organ would still cost over half what the renovation would, and only last for half the time. Though St. Anthony’s also has a piano, which can be used when the organ is acting up, it doesn’t invoke the same reverence as the organ. The sound of the organ echoes across 1,200 years of Christian history, having first been introduced to the Western rite when Emperor Charlemagne requested one for his chapel in the year 812. For centuries, it was the

only instrument allowed to accompany the Mass aside from the human voice. The Second Vatican Council wrote in the document “Sacrosanctum Concilium” in 1963 that the organ should “be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.” Schmitt said that the organ is necessary to maintain this sense of tradition in liturgical music. “I’ve seen a real revival in people’s love of traditional music,” she said. “I see it in this parish in the way they sing the Latin Mass parts and the hymns so well. The reason we’re here, the reason we are actually created on this earth, is to worship God. So it’s very important to me that our worship is always reverent and beautiful. And so for me it’s important to maintain the tradition of the organ.”

In addition to continuing the musical tradition of the Western Church, the organ connects the past and future parishioners of St. Anthony’s in particular. “The use of the organ in our day has been quite diminished,” Ourensma said. “We now have praise bands and other instruments and that’s all fine, but then there are churches like St. Anthony’s that have basically been using an organ since the day the church opened.” There isn’t yet a set plan for how and when the restoration will be carried out, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. Schmitt is confident that the community will see that what needs to happen, will happen “I’m confident that with the generosity of our parish, we will be able to historically restore the organ. If we do that, it’ll be good for another 100 years. We’ll all be gone, but what a gift to leave to this community.”

Tucked away on Oak street, concealed from the road by multiple houses, lies the Halfway House – a hidden house of authentic community, contagious laughter, and lots of music. Halfway House is home to seven senior women, all who have known each other since freshman year. The community of the house sprung from their love for each other, and has been strengthened by their passion for music. This past weekend, four of them competed and won awards in the concerto competition. Though they continuously compete alongside one another, their friendship has allowed them to grow closer with one another as they pursue music. Although an obvious divide between coffee and tea sparked the early morning conversation, pianist Anne Ziegler – the only coffee-drinker in the house – and sopranos Zsanna Bodor and Michaela Stiles, both with tea mugs in hand, all piled onto the living room couch to share their story. “We really just love welcoming people into our home,” Bodor said. Bodor won the Aria competition with her rendition of “Prendi” by Donizetti. “There’s a certain atmosphere here that is very rare among friend groups. We just love having people over and joining our community.” Halfway House is home to many different musical interests and passions, including voice, piano, violin, viola, and even harp. Stiles even bought a $40 piano off of Facebook to have in the house. “There’s always music in our house,” said senior Emma Dawe. Dawe sang her way to victory with a selection from Handel’s “Rinaldo.” “Every single one of us is involved in music to some degree. It’s such a love for all of us that there’s always someone listening to music, or often it’s someone singing to themselves, or playing our out-of-tune piano.” Ziegler often practiced her winning performance of Gershwin’s Concerto in F on those very ivories. Music has shaped the culture of the house, which offers open invitations to music nights and house concerts throughout the semester. “We’ve all seen each other as musicians, and so we all know each other really, really well through music,” Ziegler said. “We’ve seen each other grow and get a lot better, both personally and musically.” Though music has been a centerpiece of the house, many of the women saw themselves giving music up and only pursuing their intended academic major. “I thought I was giving music up by coming here,” Bodor said. “I tell people this a lot, but I thought by choosing Hillsdale I was not going down the path of music because I came here primarily for the academics and for the community.

I never thought I would become a music major and spend the majority of my time here doing music.” Whether the women are performing solos, joining each other in duos or trios, or accompanying one other, the spirit of celebration and inspiration beats out any natural competition. “We celebrate each other a lot,” Stiles said. “It’s like we’re competitive in a very uplifting space where we want everyone to perform well.” Stiles competed and won with a piece by Gimènez. The day after the concerto competition, the women loved and admired seeing each other win awards, but also felt the difficulty of seeing others not win. “In a sense, the competitiveness has grown, simply because, as musicians, we spur one another on,” Ziegler said. “It’s just inspiring rather than competitive. It feels natural to keep in step with your friends. Friendship comes first and always will come first.” At nearly every concert, the women of Halfway House and their friends are a constant support for everyone’s performances. “It felt less like I was competing against my friends than like I was just going and doing this thing alongside them,” Dawe said. “We were all so excited to be there for each other in that.” Throughout the dozens of recitals on campus, there is always a group of friends in the audience with flowers and applause ready to cheer each other on. “At the end of the day, you spend so much time in a practice room and you just want to share your music,” Bodor said. “You just want to share the gift because it’s supposed to be a gift.” Stiles agreed with Bodor, and said that this mindset of gratitude and gifting music has deepened her own faith. “We pray for each other a lot, and I think for a lot of us when we approach music it’s from this mindset of giving a unique gift,” Stiles said. “Even though we’re competing in the same competition, I always know that we’re all praying for each other.” Music is so powerful in that way because it helps us realize our humanity, Stiles said. Our end is to be with God and through music we provide a platform of beauty that words cannot express, Ziegler said. “God is the Artist, and we get to participate in that through our art, we’re co-creators in a way,” Bodor said. “I would say one thing for me that’s grown in my view of music is that I see this artistic aspect of sharing in God’s beauty, and it blows my mind.” Through every celebration, performance, and conversation, the women of Halfway House have created an everlasting culture of music that will carry them far through every musical venture they have in the future.

Features

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

February 18, 2021

Anne Schmitt plays St. Anthony’s historic organ. Virginia Aabram | The Collegian

Pipes, please: Church restores historic organ By | Virginia Aabram Assistant Editor Anne Schmitt’s fingers move deftly over the stacked keyboards. Though her motions are sure, the notes that emanate from the organ’s pipes make her keystrokes sound clumsy and garbled. She releases a key, but the sound continues until she adjusts the stops, cutting off the flow of air to the pipes entirely. It might be that the recent bitter cold has seeped into the instrument’s 92-yearold bones, but more likely it needs to be completely restored — no small undertaking for this particular organ, which has remained nearly unchanged since it was installed in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in 1929. “Our church is a historic building in a historic town. This is a historic organ that’s a big part of the church, so it’s important to preserve that,” said Schmitt, who is the music director for St. Anthony’s. “To restore it in its simplicity and its beauty, I believe would be the most reverent and respectful thing

to do.” St. Anthony’s purchased the organ from the Casavant Freres Company in Quebec, which furnished churches and concert halls across the world with their innovative organs. This one was bought “off the rack,” according to Schmitt, and it doesn’t conform to the choir loft the way a custom organ would. It’s essentially a box with pipes lining the front and oak paneling on the sides. Its simple exterior conceals a complex interior. The apparatus that sends the signal from the keyboard to the pipes to make a sound is called a “tubular pneumatic” system. In this design, lead tubes connect the console to the valves to produce sound instead of electric signals or mechanical levers. It was a design popular at the beginning of the

20th century. Tubular pneumatics last about 100 years between major restorations — double the lifespan of the best electric organs. “That’s what’s different

any help, hun?” Community Thrift was also the busiest of the thrift stores I visited. Children were running up and down the aisles laughing, people had to push past each other with their bulky goods in the small space, and the line for checkout was considerably long. On a Saturday morning, this was apparently the place to be. If you’re looking for goodies to decorate your off-campus house or dorm room, Hillsdale Community Thrift is where to go. The store has the best home decor and eclectic nicknacks, as well as the best glassware. Vases are $1.29 each. There’s also a shelf full of creepy dolls and a wall decorated with the cheesiest paintings, but that’s what makes the store fun. “I love it here. Best prices and best thrift store in Hillsdale County,” Hannah, the clerk, said. She’s worked at Hillsdale Community Thrift for the past year. Hannah’s right about the best prices. Every article of clothing is $5 and under. In fact, I bought a pair of mom jeans, two graphic T-shirts, Chinese Laundry heels, and a glass vase for $10 total. This also probably has something to do with all clothing being 50% off currently. So if you’re on a tight budget, stop reading. Hillsdale Community Thrift is the one

for you. Our next stop was Salvation Army, which my companion Gillianne described as “less grody” than our last stop. This store is much, much bigger than Hillsdale Community Thrift. Its clothing selection is also four times that of Community Thrift. The clothing is organized by size, color, item, and gender—making it that much easier to shop. Another big plus is that it has two changing rooms, meaning that if you go with a friend, you’ll be in and out in no time. “You can always find name brand stuff here, which I really like because I would never just go buy a random T-shirt at a thrift store,” sophomore Annie Niednagel, who I ran into thrifting, said. “But if it’s an L.L. Bean or an Eddie Bauer, I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m getting this.’” Niednagel’s fellow thrifter, sophomore Kate Pipher, also told me that many Hillsdale students drop their used clothing at this Salvation Army, so there’s a lot of good finds from college donations alone. “There’s stuff that would be here that you wouldn’t expect in small town Michigan,” Pipher said. Salvation Army’s prices were a bit higher than Hillsdale Community Thrift, as

from the ones that came before it and the ones that came after it,” Schmitt said. “It makes it a little more complex because a lot of organ builders don’t know how to

Tubular pneumatic organs last twice as long as electric organs. Courtesy | Casavant Freres Company

work on tubular pneumatic organs.” “When you actually see it, it just looks like a rat’s nest of a tube for every key,” said John Ourensma, the director of music at Hillsdale’s First United Methodist Church. He previously worked for an organ making company, and does freelance organ tuning and repair. He helped clean and restore some of the pipes in St. Anthony’s organ. The problem is that the interface between the keys, air-pressure system, and pipes involves 90-year-old leather parts that are starting to fail and are negatively affected by changes in temperature and humidity. As a result, the pipes keep producing sound after the organist has stopped pressing them. “It’s very disconcerting if you’re the organist,”

Schmitt said. Junior Clare Kearns plays the organ during most Sunday morning Masses at St. Anthony’s, and has experienced the problem. “It’s definitely gotten a lot worse since it got really cold and dry, but mainly the keys have just been sticking a lot,” she said. “I’ll be playing and just some of the notes will keep sounding way after I released them, and so it just sounds like I’m playing all the notes at once.” If the problem doesn’t abate with the return of warmer weather, then it’s likely the entire tube system will have to be replaced in a months-long restoration process. Schmitt is working with J.L. Weiler, Inc., an organ repair company in Chicago, to perform the restoration. “They call it historically informed restoration,” Schmitt said. “It’s not like they necessarily only use materials that they had in 1929, but they do their best to restore it to the way it was back then.” According to Ourens-

See Organ B3

Deals in the ’Dale: A thrifting adventure

By | Victoria Marshall Science & Tech Editor Growing up in Los Angeles, I witnessed people thrifting to buy a personality. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that in the entertainment industry, there are no stable personalities. I never liked this. You should pick clothing based on your personality and what you like. And thrifting makes this so easy, as you can buy a whole closet-worth of clothing for a fraction of its normal price. So not only is thrifting great for highlighting your personality, but it is also utilitarian. Despite being a seasoned thrifter and also a senior at Hillsdale College, I have never been to any of the thrift stores Hillsdale boasts. I set out to change that this weekend when a friend graciously agreed to drive me to Hillsdale Community Thrift, Salvation Army (or “Sal Val,” as the locals call it), and Hot Deals. Our first destination was Hillsdale Community Thrift, the smallest of the bunch, but closest to campus. I’d say this store had the old-townhidden-gem-vibe, which made the place endearing and cute. The employees there were also the nicest, coming up to me from time to time and saying, “Need

blouses and sweaters were $5 and up. I still came away with two blouses and two sweaters, all good quality and in excellent condition. The only downside to Salvation Army is the book selection (tremendously lacking), as well as the home decor. If you’re looking for books or trinkets, go to Hillsdale Community Thrift. If you’re looking for a new wardrobe, Salvation Army is your best bet. Our last stop was a store I had never heard of until I was blessed with this assignment. Hot Deals, located on Hudson Road, was the least user-friendly of the three stores my companion and I visited. The clothing section was basically nonexistent. And most of the items for sale, to put it delicately, were junk. I have to say that Hot Deals did have the best DVD selection of the other stores we visited. And I would call that feature its only asset. All in all, I had a very successful thrift store outing, as I came away with seven articles of clothing, a pair of shoes, and a glass vase all for $30. So far, the clothing has held up and I haven’t experienced buyer’s remorse on any of my purchases (I have yet to wear my Tacky Jack’s graphic tee). If I had to rank the thrift

Victoria Marshall tried the shoe section at Hillsdale Community Thrift. Victoria Marshall | The Collegian

stores in Hillsdale, my ranking would be as follows: number one, Salvation Army; number two, Hillsdale Community Thrift; and number three (I really feel that this is quite generous), Hot Deals. If you feel the need to buy

a new personality, or a new sweater for strictly utilitarian purposes, give Hillsdale’s thrifting scene a try. Even if you don’t come away with anything at the end, it’ll be worth it just for the experience.