1.19.17 Hillsdale Collegian by The Hillsdale Collegian

The life and times of Tel Aviv The bustling Carmel Market in the modern Israeli city of Tel Aviv is a microcosm of the vibrant life of the country. A9

Michigan’s oldest college newspaper

Snapshots of Israel See a photo spread of some of the beautiful sights in the Holy Land.

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Vol. 140 Issue 14 - 19 January 2017

The first mural Tsameret Zamir painted on the wall between Mshav Netiv Ha’asara and the Gaza strip in Israel with “Path to peace” written in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

Students encounter new views in Israel By | Nicole Ault Collegian Reporter For 43 Hillsdale College students and two professors, 10 days in Israel jam-packed with bus rides, museum visits, hikes, and lectures did not quite constitute a restful winter break. But the trip was life-changing, Assistant Professor of Religion Don Westblade said, though it’s going to take a while to process what happened. “I’m sure I’ll get transformed, but I think the process is going to take a long time before the transformation sets in,” Westblade said. “There’s just so much to chew on, and we were fed so fast.” The trip, which took place Dec. 31 to Jan. 11, was organized by Passages, a group committed to sending Christian college students to Israel to explore modern-day Israel and the roots of their biblical faith. It was the third time Passages invited Hillsdale students on the trip. To better understand Israel’s biblical history, students navigated the narrow, windy streets of Old Jaffa to Simon the Tanner’s house, cruised the Sea of Galilee, visited a first-century synagogue in Magdala, and enjoyed quiet time in the lush gardens on the Mount of the Beatitudes. A few days in Jerusalem included a wet march through King Hezekiah’s underground tunnels, which carried spring water into the Old City of Jerusalem, and a walk through crowded streets along the Via Dolorosa to the traditional site of Jesus’ death and burial. “Spiritually, it was powerful,” senior Jared Eckert said. Eckert said spending time in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where Jesus prayed before being taken to trial was one of the most meaningful experiences for him. “It’s cool because one, you’re in the Garden of Gethsemane and two, you’re thinking about the incarnation, and then you’re thinking about the human aspect of the incarnation,” Eckert said. “It really became real for me. He didn’t just come here; he was just like me. It was incredibly tangible in that moment.” But Eckert said witnessing the political situation in Israel provided the most eye-opening experiences of the trip. To enhance their understanding of Israel’s political situation, students traveled to sites overlooking the Gaza, Syrian, and Lebanese borders. They explored a playground made of bomb shelters in a town where residents have 35 seconds to take cover

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By | Breana Noble News Editor Moshav Netiv Ha’asara, Israel — When it comes to the closest Israeli town to the Gaza Strip, a town hit with many rockets, the last thing a person would expect to see is hope. But that’s what Tsameret Zamir — a 16-year resident of the moshav, an agricultural collective in which people own private property — said she sees in her hometown, where three people have been killed by attacks from Hamas in Gaza, Palestinian territory in southwestern Israel overrun by the terrorist organization. “We’re the closest town, but it doesn’t feel like it anymore,” Zamir said. “We don’t live in fear.” That partially comes from the message of peace Zamir said she is trying to spread with her Nivet Wall mural project, in which she invites commu-

The modern Ben-Yehuda Shadi Khalloul and Aramaic Christians revive the language of their ancestors. A10

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Finding hope on the Gaza border

nity members and visitors to glue small ceramic shapes onto three murals she painted on the walls hiding the moshav’s homes, which sit as close as 33 yards to the border, from Gaza. A group of 43 students and two professors from Hillsdale College visited Zamir Jan. 5 at her home pottery studio as part of their 10-day trip to Israel through Passages, a program of the Philos Project and Museum of the Bible Foundation that sends Christian students to encounter the Holy Land and learn about Israel’s geo-political situation. The group heard from Zamir about living in the moshav, and the participants glued ceramic pieces of their own onto the wall. “In the moshav, there’s beautiful gardens and homes,” said junior Hannah Brewer, who helped lead the Hillsdale group as a Passages fellow on her second trip to the Holy Land. “It’s a weird juxtaposition, be-

ing so close to something so sad. It makes the beauty of the moshav more beautiful.” Zamir, who grew up in another agricultural community not far from the moshav, said the town is her home and she wants to see her neighborhood’s children move into the collective, as they have in the past, despite the threats. Many near the Gaza border, however, do not have a choice to leave, because property values have diminished from the attacks. Zamir recalled a time when she sent her four young children to the school bus stop. In her kitchen, she heard the warning sound signaling a rocket attack. She didn’t run to the bomb shelter in her home. She ran outside toward the bus where dozens of children were crying and screaming at the sound of an explosion not far. Although traumatized herself, Zamir said she knew she had to remain brave for the

children: “I don’t know where it over. It’s time to go to school.’” came from, but this voice came But with each attack, Zamir out of me, saying to the kids, said, it ‘Calm down. Relax. It’s OK. It’s is al- See Mural A5

Tsameret Zamir, a 16-year resident of Moshav Netiv Ha’asara in Israel, painted a mural on the walls between her community and the Gaza strip. Breana Noble | Collegian

Visiting professor makes his mark Markman selected as chief justice of Michigan Supreme Court

By | Evan Carter Web Editor In 1993, Professor of Politics Mickey Craig received a letter from George H.W. Bush’s outgoing U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. It was Stephan Markman wanting to know if he could teach Constitutional Law at Hillsdale College. “He wrote to us, I can’t remember to whom he wrote, and it ended up on my desk, and I said, ‘Yeah, we’d love to have him teach Constitutional Law for us,’” Craig said. After teaching the class every fall for 23 years, Markman, who has served on Michigan’s Supreme Court since 1999, was selected as chief justice Jan. 6. Markman will serve for two years, after which he can be reappointed. Markman said he’s looking forward to the challenge offered by the new position. “I’m just honored to be selected by my colleagues,” Markman told The Collegian. Craig said Markman’s legal rulings align with Supreme Court justices like Clarence

Thomas and Antonin Scalia, sticking to interpretation of the law instead of legislating from the bench. Craig called Markman’s understanding of constitutional law “extraordinary.” Markman first learned about Hillsdale, while serving

as counsel for the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. He was working on the Supreme Court case Grove City College v. Bell. The high court ruled in favor of Grove City, stating Title IX, which

Stephan Markman, distinguished visiting professor of politics, was selected as the chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court on Jan. 6. Michigan Supreme Court

mandates equal treatment of men’s and women’s sporting programs, only applies to colleges and universities that accept federal funds. “I was introduced there to the efforts of Hillsdale College and to a small number of other education institutions to maintain their independence,” Markman said. “I’d worked with Hillsdale administrators and officials at the time, and at least temporarily, we prevailed in that dispute.” As a professor, Markman has also inspired many of his own students. Alumnus David Viviano ’94, who is now a colleague of Markman’s on the Michigan Supreme Court, took his Constitutional Law course, while in school. “He and his brother were former students, and they were some of my best students,” Markman said. “I’ve been blessed over the years to have taught a great number of Hillsdale students, many of whom have gone into the law.” And after tagging along with his father when he came to teach, Markman’s son, James, attended Hillsdale, graduating

Board of Trustees fills vacancies By | Breana Noble News Editor Hillsdale College announced this month that it has elected two new members to its Board of Trustees. The board approved Tobias Buck and Ronald Nolan in September to fill two vacancies on the 35-person governing body. A position became available after the now-late Hazel Hare resigned from the board Feb. 16, 2016, after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS. “They are both experienced entrepreneurs and businessmen,” said Rich Péwé, chief administrative director and secre-

tary for the Board of Trustees. “They’re both staunch supporters of Hillsdale College and its missions and freedom and liberty and higher learning. They’re perfect matches.” President Larry Arnn suggested names to the board’s nominating committee, which then made recommendations to the board in its entirety on which to vote. Buck is the founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Paragon Medical, which works to create solutions for surgical instruments, implantable components, and design and development services to the medical device marketplace at its 11 international facilities.

Buck has received numerous awards and recognitions, including Indiana’s Entrepreneur of the Year award for small manufacturing firms from Ernst & Young Global Limited in 1998 and 2004. He graduated from Purdue University and completed The Harvard Executive Development Program and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Birthing of Giants program. He is also a member on the Board of Advisers to Purdue’s biomedical school and, in the past, served as a trustee for Trine University. Buck has been married to his wife for 39 See Board A2

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in 2012. Working with Markman has allowed many of the professors to know him professionally and personally. Craig said over the years, he learned Markman is a huge Detroit sports fan. “We were in Florida doing [an event], it had to be late September, October, when the Tigers won the Pennant,” Craig said. “I got to see Justice Markman jump up and down like a teenager when [Magglio] Ordóñez hit a homerun to win the Pennant.” Sophomore Ross Hatley, who took Markman’s Constitutional Law class in the fall, said he enjoyed the course, though it was difficult and eye-opening. “It’s an exceedingly challenging course that gives a great foundation on what the actual interpretation of the Constitution is in the modern day and throughout time,” Hatley said. “After the first day of class, I left with a different view of the Constitution than I had after years of reading it.” Provost David Whalen said the college is pleased Markman h a s See Justice A2

Tobias Buck was elected to Hillsdale College’s Board of Trustees to fill one of two vacancies. Hillsdale College | Courtesy

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Everett speech contest topic selected By | Joe Pappalardo Video Editor

Under the authority of Provost David Whalen, the rhetoric and public address department announced the topic of the Edward Everett Oratory Competition this week. Participants will respond to the prompt, “Is the Supreme Court the Final Arbiter of the Constitution?” In the competition, students write and perform a speech based on the topic in an attempt to win prizes of $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 made possible by an endowment from the Saul N. Silbert charitable trust. Undergraduate students will be able to apply online beginning Jan. 30. Professor of Rhetoric and Public Address Kirstin Kiledal said a committee of faculty decided upon the topic unanimously. “We believe that this topic is timely, avoids becoming limited to the current political moment, and that it affords the competitors numerous avenues for the development of their speeches,” she said. Last year, Digital Content Manager Kokko Tso improved the online application process for the competition, and he is working on the current one, Kiledal said. It will be accessible on the college website’s Rhetoric and Public Address page. Sophomore Josh Hoover, who placed third in last year’s competition, said he encouraged students to participate in the contest. “I realized that not only had I prepared something for a competition but developed and solidified my own beliefs on the subject matter,” Hoover said. The application deadline is Feb. 9.

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Mauck-over Residents return to the newly renovated 1927 dormitory

By | Thomas Novelly Editor-in-Chief After more than nine months of renovations, Mauck Residence reopened to residents this week. The nearly 80-year-old building now features more modern amenities, while still maintaining its classic antique feel. “It was a complicated and challenging renovation, given the age of the building,” Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé said. “It is a very lovely

environment now. It’s what I hoped it would be like, when it was all done. I think for a long time it will be very desirable to live there.” Hillsdale’s renovation project added new floors and paint colors to the dorm’s prolific solarium and grand hall, a new full-size kitchen on the main floor with kitchenettes for every hall, community-style bathrooms, new furniture throughout the building, and two new dorm rooms. Forty-three women now live in

Mauck, just a few residents shy of the 53-person limit. Dean of Women Diane Philipp and Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell worked closely with contractors to find a balance between modernizing one of the oldest dorms on campus, while still keeping its vintage charm. “It was a back and forth with the architect until it fit the vision, aesthetic, and personality of the residence hall,” Dell said. We were able to factor in the personality of Hillsdale women and the type of environment they seem to enjoy.” New and old residents alike said they enjoyed seeing antique pieces from the old building pop out on a new canvas of pastel colored walls and updated furniture, such as maintaining the reading nook on the second floor but updating it to have a television and new couches.

“It was like ‘Extreme Makeover, dorm edition,’” junior Brigette Hall said. “They managed to keep the retro, vintage, ’30s feel in those rooms.” House Director senior Deborah Stevenson has lived in Mauck since 2014 and said she has fond memories of the old problems Mauck had, such as the occasional bat in the bathroom or the outdated steam-powered heating system, which would shake walls, now replaced by a new heating and cooling system. “We called it the trolls in the pipes, the moles, or even the ‘dragon in the pipes.’ And, in a way, I miss that,” Stevenson said. “But it’s so much more peaceful now. I’ve been with this old building for a long time. It was amazing to walk in and see all the changes.” But more than just the physical changes, several of the residents said that the renovation is a chance to improve stereotypes that the quiet and isolated dorm fostered. “This really changes the stereotype of a ‘Mauck girl,’” Res-

ident Assistant junior Danielle Ruedisueli said. “This isn’t just some hideaway where people go just to study and sleep anymore. It’s not the introvert house; it feels like a new place.” Dell said renovations such as the community laundry and bathrooms and other additions such as the fitness room in the basement will help make it a more social place. Péwé said the college has completed almost all of the updates in the dorm. “The only thing we may do over time is some of the actual doors, we didn’t replace those,” Péwé said. “So in time we might replace those, but it’s pretty comprehensive.” Dell said she can’t wait for future women to live in the newly renovated dorm. “Mauck has always been that hidden treasure for the campus,” Dell said. “After all the renovations and additions, now it’s not just this hidden treasure. Now it’s a shining gem on our campus.”

(Behind) The renovations done on Mauck Residence create clean corridors in the dorm, Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé said. (Above) The residence hall received a completely new kitchen. (Right) Sophomore Juliette Asbell and Theresa Boyd chat, while sitting on the floor of a newly renovated room in Mauck Residence. (Below) Mauck’s grand hall got a fresh look and new furniture. Madeline Barry | Collegian

made time to teach his Constitutional Law class in the midst of his busy schedule. “Student feedback is highly positive,” Whalen said. “And he’s not only a man of real legal expertise, but his wealth of practical experience and the depth of insight that that has given him really benefits students with the perfect balance of theoretical and practical wisdom.”

A.J.’s installs new soda pop machine By | Jordyn Pair Assistant Editor Whether you call it pop, soda, or coke, there’s a new way to get it in A.J.’s Café. A new Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountain installed during winter break offers more than 100 options of beverages to students. The new machine, the first of its style in the area, raises the price of soda by 11 cents, though customers can still get free refills. “You can add flavors, so there’s cherry coke, vanilla coke,” said senior Anna Goodwin, student manager at A.J.’s. “Every flavor you could imagine.” Although the machine increased the price of soda, the A.J.’s management team is thinking of ideas to keep the drinks inexpensive. One idea is to offer a souvenir cup students can purchase to use for refills all semester long. “We’re still talking about that,” Bon Appétit Manage-

ment Company Service Super visor Lisa Beasley said. “We still need to do some research. There’s a good possibility that Senior Jared Eckert fills up his cup at A.J.’s Café’s will hap- new Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountain. pen. We s u c h Jordyn Pair | Collegian just don’t know how soon.” as the A.J.’s employees said that in Coke Freestyle smartphone addition to increasing the op- app, which allows users to save tions, they hope the machine customized drinks and make will make their jobs easier. them again later by scanning a “We don’t have to get the QR code on the machine. soda ourselves, which gives The fountain also displays us a lot more time to do other calorie information on the things,” Goodwin said. “The touchscreen. drawbacks are, right now, that “Just in general, it’s nice it took over our entire soda ma- to have more options,” sophchine, meaning that we don’t omore Abigail Allen said. “I have an ice dispenser or water think [students] want to be dispenser on our side of the able to have choices on camcounter.” pus and like to see those sort of The update from the innovations. I like to see those eight-option soda fountain innovations, personally.” brings other bubbly perks, too,

Board from A1

kered more than $2 billion in assets and handled more than 100 transactions. Nolan graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He is an avid bird hunter and a high-performance track-car driver residing with his wife on a farm in Louisburg, Kansas. “Thank you to the Board of Trustees, Hillsdale’s president, Dr. Arnn, and all who welcome me to the college,” Nolan said in a news release. “I look forward to helping serve the college’s mission to pursue truth and defend liberty.”

years, and they live in Warsaw, Indiana. They have four children and nine grandchildren. “I am proud to join Hillsdale College’s Board of Trustees,” Buck said in a news release. “I look forward to serving this great college and its students, faculty, and staff members.” Nolan is the founder of Nolan Real Estate Services, a full-service acquisition and management business specializing in the hospitality sector. He has bought, sold, and bro-

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Ronald Nolan was elected to Hillsdale College’s Board of Trustees in September. Hillsdale College | Courtesy

Theater department offers chance to study in Europe By | Chandler Lasch Collegian Reporter Instead of only reading about Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre or Commedia dell’Arte, Hillsdale College students will have the chance to experience British, French, and Italian theater live this summer. Hillsdale’s theater department is providing the opportunity for students, faculty, and alumni to travel to Europe with a special offering of History of Theater II, one of the options for the upper level literature core requirement. Theater department chairman George Angell began planning the trip, after looking for an opportunity to provide something meaningful to Hillsdale College before his retirement. “The idea is to use theater to look at Renaissance history, culture, and religion,” Angell said. “We will visit a lot of the principal sites Theater 215 talks about.” Participants will have backstage tours of theaters, view multiple productions, and visit important historical sites and museums in London, Paris, and Rome. The class departs from Detroit Metro Airport on June 4, the beginning of the second summer session, and returns June 18. The cost of the tour is approximately $5,800, which includes airfare. The trip is open to 20 participants. Interested students, faculty, and alumni should contact Angell with questions or to reserve a

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spot. Beginning in London, travelers will go on backstage tours at two of the most important English theaters and visit the Albert and Victoria Museum and Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born. Participants will see performances in the Globe Theatre, a show by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, and a medieval biblical drama in York. Paris features more backstage theater tours and a trip to the Louvre and Versailles. From there, students will travel to Rome to see the Vatican and other significant historical sites. They will attend a performance of an opera or Commedia dell’Arte. Although the theater department has travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland, it has never planned a trip of this magnitude, Angell said. Junior Glynis Gilio said she is considering attending the trip. “I would love to see the monuments and buildings that we cover in Theater History II in real life,” Gilio said. “It would really enrich the learning experience within this course.” Senior Dani Morey has seen “Henry IV” parts I and II and “Richard III” at the Globe, which she referred to as a “sacred space.” “It was so cool,” Morey said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had another theater experience where I was that close to the action. I was ducking to avoid the

swords.” Morey said the experience reflects that of seeing a play in Shakespeare’s day in that the use of scenery appears minimalist to the modern audience. “For a Shakespeare lover, it’s a beautiful experience,” Morey said. “I would go every day, if I lived there.” Although Angell said he has visited many of the sites on the itinerary, this will be his first time visiting the Opera Bastille and Opera Garnier in France as well as seeing a play in the Globe. “I’m quite looking forward to that,” Angell said.

A performance of William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” at the Globe Theatre in London in July 2016. Philip H. DeVoe | Collegian

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innocent people exist on both sides of israeli borders Newsroom: (517) 607-2897 Advertising: (517) 607-2684

The answer to Trump’s sexism: more grace, less grime By | Madeline Fry Columnist Days after footage of Donald Trump bragging about his unsolicited sexual advances was released, women gathered in front of Trump Tower, rallying against his inappropriate behavior and vulgarity. They weren’t going down without a fight: They were going to “grab back.” In light of Trump’s impending presidency, our responsibility as women — and all those who find his attitude toward women offensive — is not to respond to his lewd speech with vulgarity of our own. If we are to argue against his derogatory perception of women, we must approach the conversation with a more sophisticated vocabulary. The day following Inauguration Day, more than 100,000 protesters plan to join the Women’s March on Washington. They won’t accomplish much if the best they can manage is this level of discourse. It’s clear that the future commander-in-chief respects women as well as you’d expect from a former reality TV star who marries and remarries models and actresses. Trump implied in August 2015 that Megyn Kelly’s menstrual cycle diminished her performance as a moderator during the first GOP presidential debate, and before that, he retweeted a post calling Kelly a “bimbo.” In 2006 Donald Trump said Condoleezza Rice may have been a “lovely woman,” but not an effective secretary of state. But Trump is not the only one to employ crude language to press a point. Last March, Indiana resident Laura Shanley was so infuriated with Governor Mike Pence that she incited a slew of mass prank calls to the future vice presidentelect’s office. After Pence signed a bill that placed restrictions on abortions, Shanley launched a Facebook page called Periods for Pence, which encouraged women to call the governor’s office and spell out the details of their menstrual cycles to protest

the law. His phone lines were so beleaguered that they shut down, which Shanley announced triumphantly on the page. During the vice presidential debate, the trend resurrected, with women tweeting him messages like, “Watching #VPDebate & thought you’d want to know that my menstrual cramps are rather severe tonight.” The Periods for Pence page, now expanded to Periods for Politicians (so not to limit its vitriol to the vice president-elect), has more than 91,000 likes on Facebook. But pranking politicians isn’t exactly a win for women, or any group for that matter. Policy opinions aside, this sort of protest amounts to nothing more than raising a feeble middle finger. The offending politicians might hear the voice of the people, but will they listen? Repeating vulgarity or discussing menstruation for the sake of the ick factor will make a point, but neither will change a point of view, and rather than presenting an alternative, it merely reinforces defining women in merely sexual terms. When we resort to shock factor to make our case, our argument relies less on the strength of reason and more on the pungent force of a cheap shot. That’s good news for the opponent: It’s easier to fixate on an ill-mannered method than to debate an argument. Instead of embracing this type of language, we should call out his language for what it is—base, offensive, and lazy—and demonstrate a higher form of rhetoric. We may never engage in important discussions— such as abortion policy and punishments for rape or workplace harassment— unless we can openly discuss these subjects rather than attacking our opponents and wallowing in slime. As we face Trump’s upcoming presidency, let’s not adopt reactionary language that sinks to his level. Let’s elevate our speech.

The opinion of the Collegian editorial staff

From the other side of the Atlantic, Americans often attempt to render the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict black and white. We pit hawks against doves, Islamists against Zionists, aggressors against oppressed, Israel against Palestine, dangerous divisions which lead us to label erroneously good people as evil simply because they fall on

the wrong side of a literal line in the sand. When we quickly take a side, we dehumanize innocent people. When you stand a stone’s throw from the Gaza Strip, it becomes impossible to vilify every single person that lives on the other side of the colossal wall. Likewise, when you talk to those closest to the situation — who hear the rockets

fired from hospitals and know the schools terrorists use for cover — you see that there are good people on both sides of that wall, terrorized by those with no regard for their existence. The good and innocent people living within every political boundary complicate our justification of violence in the Middle East. While the

desire to simplify the war, to partition good and bad using political boundaries, is understandable, it is an urge which must be fought, by taking time to conduct careful research and engagement with diverse perspectives before forming an opinion. For it is the good and the innocent in all nations whom we must uphold.

Israel is America’s best hope for fighting Islamic extremism By | Jared Eckert special to the collegian Given the rise and persistent threat of terrorism, America’s primary interest—and the West’s interest more generally—in the Middle East should be defeating Islamic extremism. Recent history has proven that monetary support and armed occupation are ineffective methods for curbing the Middle East’s blood thirsty extremists, perhaps the most prominent example being America’s involvement with post-Hussein Iraq. Despite more than eight years of military occupation, support, and $1 trillion in aid, the United States’ support of the Maliki government ended with its reversion to a despotic regime. No amount of America’s hawkish accountability or charitable bargaining with Iraq’s leader could have prevented the tyrannical consolidation of the country’s central government at the hands of Maliki, a man motivated by extremist sympathies, as was clear from his past involvement with the violent Dawa party. The failed attempt at sustained peace was not the result of poorly organized political structure or even the

lack of national unity. The failure was in the deformed affections of a man, the result of a failed moral education. Unfortunately, such a failed moral education is not uncommon in the Middle East. Islamist regimes disseminate anti-Semitic, hate-filled propaganda and are hostile not only to Israel but to international trade — because of the potential exposure to Western culture — and democracy more generally. During Hillsdale’s recent trip to Israel, Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli Arab journalist who has met with leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, shared with students how inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are convinced by Hamas’ propaganda that Jews train rats to eat Arabs and Muslims. Such propaganda instills only fear and hostility and stifles the voice of reason. If there is any hope in providing long term change in the extremist-ridden Middle East, a deeper change must occur in the hearts and minds of the people who inhabit the region and are governed by Islamist regimes. To counteract the character deformation Islamic extremist propaganda causes, moral and political re-education is needed. Effectively molding hearts and

minds depends on both cultural influences (fashion, fads, and media) and education (political, religious, and moral). Yet, the United States, without occupying territories in the Middle East, cannot re-educate people and combat the areas of Middle Eastern culture that are infected by the propagandists' lies. Additionally, given the ineffective attempts at providing monetary or military support like it did for Iraq, what is America left to do? America can support the only truly democratic people and commercial power in the Middle East: Israel. Because of its stable democratic government and free market economy, Israel is arguably the most significant nation in the Middle Eastern theater when it comes to bringing an end to Islamic extremism. Israel’s democracy gives the state the resources to educate, and therefore shape, people to democratic equality, which leads to a practice of and respect for individual freedom. Israel’s economy supplements this political education. It exposes people living under Islamist regimes to different ways of life, tempering people with strong religious convictions with a respect for trading partners with different convictions. As a

By | Chandler Ryd special to the collegian This fall, I had a crazy idea. I approached the Philos Project — the nonprofit that just sent its third group of Hillsdale students to Israel — and gave them a proposal. If Philos paid my travel expenses, I would explore Israel with this year’s group from Hillsdale and film them a promotional video. They said yes, and we signed a contract within the month. At first, the video was simply a way to get me to the land of the Bible, but once I began filling up an SD card with footage of TelAviv at sunrise, I realized that filming in Israel would be a gift in itself. It resolved for me, to a large extent, the tension that every artist feels between their art and their life. Does the art serve life, or does the life serve art? Before we left, I was worried that filming would be a distraction. I had thought that

while my friends wandered in reverence through the gardens, churches, and ruins, I would fiddle with my camera and walk briskly between cinematic vantage points, observing and yet not experiencing. This has been my predicament before. I often film SAB events as part of my job in the marketing department, and during some of them, like Centralhallapalooza, I find myself wishing that I could set the camera down and join the crowd as a participant rather than an observer. The camera can seem like a wall. The first day in Israel, I found this to be true. I know what kinds of shots are useful when editing this type of video: a wide shot of the building, a slow-motion over-the-shoulder walking shot, a close-up of a smiling face. These comprised my mental check-list for each location, and by that afternoon, it became rote. I was filming because I was on contract, not because I was moved by the images before my eyes.

Werner Herzog, a renowned documentary filmmaker, compares this sort of work to garbage collecting. Turn on the camera, set focus, press record, then collect the church, toss the people into the bag. Herzog believes that filmmakers ought to aspire to more: “We are not garbage collectors,” he says. “We are thieves.” The best ads, like the best films, are not piles of garbage but treasure stolen from beautiful and frightening places. I was in a beautiful and frightening place, yet I was collecting mundane footage. What changed that week was not really the type of shots I was filming, but the attitude I had toward my camera. It can be a wall, but it can also be a window. Instead of assembling a mental check-list for each location, I decided that I would let my eye wander until I found an image that moved me, then film it. I was compelled by the rhythm of the Mediterranean crashing around a woman’s ankles, the slow

result, the Israeli socio-political climate is one that softens mores and gives rise to a jealousy for liberty. As Montesquieu and Tocqueville both noted, commerce and political freedom are unstoppable forces. Should Israel succeed in the political education of its people and maintain a strong free market, it is only a matter of time before these people of softened mores, inclined to the political freedoms of democracy and the economic benefits of free trade, spread to the rest of the Middle East. Insofar as America, and the rest of the West, want to see the end of Islamic extremism both at home and abroad, and insofar as sustained social change in the Middle East can only come about through educational methods and cultural change, Israel — the only Middle Eastern country which, by virtue of being the only stable democratic state and burgeoning center of international trade, possesses the political, moral, and cultural resources with which to effectively combat extremism — must be supported. Mr. Eckert is a senior studying philosophy.

Honoring the Holy Land on camera

movement of a hand touching the Gaza border wall, the swirling of a flock of birds on the Galilee. My friends around me were having meaningful experiences, and through filming them, I was able to honor their experience. I was no longer filming because I was on contract, I was filming because I was an artist. As we traveled Israel, I continued to think about how I could honor the locations, my friends, and Israel with my footage. To relieve the tension between art and life, I embraced art as a mode of experiencing life. I’m convinced that a meaningful experience requires apprehension and then participation. It’s not merely enough to see or hear something; we then must act, even in a small way, like starting a conversation the next day, writing down our thoughts, or, in my case, turning on my camera, setting focus, and stealing Israel. Mr. Ryd is a junior studying English.

Don’t let a church divide the Church

By | Don McChesney special to the collegian For 1,700 years, travelers have finished their pilgrimages at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, honoring Christ’s sacrifice. The church centers around a tomb filled with the light and gratitude of innumerable Christians thanking God for the life that He granted them there. While the church stands as the most important site in Christianity, it also reveals the tragic division that separates the Body of Christ. This division shone clearly during Hillsdale’s recent trip to Israel. But although this was my most anticipated site, it became one of the saddest moments on this very emotional trip. The first division is between Protestants and Catholics. While the church is the traditional site Ms. Fry is a junior studying of the tomb, many Protestants French and journalism.

propose the Garden Tomb as the site, including my own denomination, Anglicanism. During the trip, students visit both the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb. On both of Hillsdale’s trips, these sites divided students by denomination. The Protestants expressed their skepticisms of the Holy Sepulchre’s claims and the Catholics did the same at the Garden Tomb. Instead of a unified church praising Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, we squandered our time arguing over locality. Regardless of denomination, the sight of thousands of pilgrims praying, singing, and crying at the site where they believe Christ died and resurrected should pull believers to their knees to worship with their brothers and sisters. This divide doesn’t exist solely between Catholics and Protestants. The relationship

between the six different movements who share the church, including Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Armenian Orthodox, is so marred by fighting and tension that the groups gave the duties of locking and unlocking the church to two Muslim men. A ladder outside of the dome has stood in its same spot since 1854 because there is a long-running argument over which group owns it. In 2008, Israeli police had to storm the church to break up a violent fight between groups of monks. Here, in the spot that should be the most protected, cherished, and sacred place in the world for Christians, clergy are brawling over service times and territorial disputes. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands as an alltoo-accurate symbol of the state of the Church. It is an incredibly beautiful memorial

commemorating the ultimate act of love that Christ accomplished at Golgotha. Yet instead of appreciating its beauty and coming together in thanksgiving as the bride of Christ, the Church is divided between Protestants who have abandoned it for their own site and Catholics who brawl over its altars and fail to practice Christ’s love and grace. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands as memorial to Christ, who suffered and died for sinners who struggle to pause their arguments long enough to contemplate the extent of His sacrifice and join together in thanksgiving for the grace and mercy freely given to His children that is both completely undeserved and desperately required. Mr. McChesney is a senior studying religion and Greek.

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Students stood on Mt. Bental in the Golan Heights to see Syria in the background. Breana Noble | Collegian

The view of Jerusalem at Dominus Flevit Church on the Mount of Olives in commemoration of the place where Jesus wept when he foretold of the city’s destruction. Breana Noble | Collegian

Seashells that make up of the shores of the Sea of Galilee at Tabgha, where Jesus is believed to have appeared to the Apostles after his resurrection. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

Sounds from Syria By | Breana Noble News Editor Mt. Bental, Israel — Standing in a huddle to keep warm against the mountain wind Jan. 4, Hillsdale College students listened to their tour guide describing how Israel had miraculously defeated the Syrian military during the Yom Kippur War in the field below. Then two booms echoed throughout the valley. “Those,” guide Jeremy Collins said, “are gun shots from the Syrian Civil War.” The group fell silent for a moment. The 43 students and two professors on the 10-day trip to the Holy Land sponsored by Passages, a program of the Philos Project and the Museum of the Bible Foundation that sends Christian students to Israel, looked out to the land of Syria on top of Mount Bental. Large storm clouds loomed to the north, making the bordering country mostly dark compared to the Israeli land. Earlier, according to local reports, the Syrian Arab Army

had seized several sites from jihadi rebel forces in the Barada Valley near Damascus, less than 40 miles from where the students stood. “I didn’t realize the Syrian Civil War was so close to Israel,” senior Anthony Ferraro said. “It’s one thing to talk about these things, but to see and experience it made it more real.” Further exploration of the mountain top led students underground into former Syrian barracks that Israel had taken after winning its war against Syria in 1973, despite being outnumbered 10:1 in tanks. Eventually, Israel had only seven tanks left, but it continued to attack, causing Syria to retreat with the belief that Israel had reinforcements coming. The reinforcements were actually tied up on the Egyptian border. “Last time I was here, we didn’t hear the war, so I was surprised how close the Syrian war was,” said junior Hannah Brewer, a leader of the Hillsdale group as a Passages fellow who is partaking in the trip for a second time. “You could

hear the explosions, the gun fire, and the Israeli helicopters nearby. It gives you a meaningful connection to the situation.” Some students also took the time to say a prayer and read scripture on the mountain, facing Syria as they rested on their knees. Senior Kathryn Lewis read from Psalms on the mount, though the verse she said she kept thinking about was from Luke 12:46: “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.” “So much has been given to me,” Lewis said. “I don’t want to live in this abundance, when so much brokenness is there.” Soon after hearing the initial noises echoing from Syria, the clouds creeped over and covered the mountain, becoming too foggy for the students to see the country bordering Israel to the north. “I’ve been keeping up with news,” Lewis said. “The photos I was seeing, I was just grieving...I’ve been praying for Syria but actually seeing it definitely really hit me.”

A street in Old Jaffa. Nicole Ault | Collegian

The view of a rainbow appearing over the Jezreel Valley from Mt. Precipice outside Nazareth. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

A sign warning about the possibility of land mines across the border in Jordan at the Dead Sea. Breana Noble | Collegian

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The Mediterranean Sea at Jaffa at sunset. Breana Noble | Collegian

when missiles are shot over the Gaza border and visited Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, where Israel was declared a state in 1948. Students also heard from political officials, an Arab pastor living in the West Bank who was beaten for sharing the Gospel, and a woman whose town had suffered numerous rocket attacks. “The best part of the trip for me was the information about modern Israel and its complexity,” Westblade said. “I knew it was complex, but I didn’t understand the complexity.” Westblade said he also appreciated the opportunity to see the physical roots of his faith, an experience which he said is especially valuable for Hillsdale students. “It’s a wonderful place for a school that has terms like ‘Judeo-Christian’ in its mission statement to see the roots of that Jewish and Christian heritage,” Westblade said. “We

call it the Holy Land, because many of those events of Judaism and Christianity happened in this land. So seeing the land helps us see that those roots are in some actual soil and not rooted in some abstract mythology.” Senior Cheyenne Trimels agreed: “As far as religion goes, the trip made me a lot more excited and appreciative of my faith. Going there and seeing where Jesus was and where all these miracles happened was incredible.” Eckert said he came away from the pilgrimage “floored” and wanting to go back to further research the country. “Life there isn’t safe and cushy, and I think I walked away from Israel realizing that I don’t really live as boldly as maybe I should,” he said. “Going to Israel was also a call to action — really evaluating here’s what we heard was going on in Israel and what are we going to do about it?”

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Snapshots of Israel

A crow sits on the rocks at Masada, the location of the last stand of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans, in view of the Dead Sea. Breana Noble | Collegian

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Hillsdale students sit together on a promenade railing in front of the Mediterranean Sea in Jaffa. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

Grace DeSandro | Collegian Vectormaps.com

but they said his knowledge was even more impressive. Collins moved from England to Israel in 2007. Even after graduating college with a degree in Middle Eastern history, Collins spent two years in training before receiving certification to be a tour guide. He said it’s easy to remember so much information about a subject he’s passionate about. “For me, Israel is home,” Collins said in a message. “In a spiritual sense, it’s the place that as a Jew I feel I belong. Life is all about purpose, and here I can say that I am a part of something larger than myself, and that is a great feeling. Jerusalem is such a melting pot of cultures and a powder keg of competing histories. There’s never a dull moment, and it’s

ways a surprise — she and her neighbors never get used to them. That showed when a larger projectile hit her neighbor’s home, demolishing the second floor of the home. Although no one was in the house, Zamir said it scared her and her husband. They traveled north to Tel Aviv to stay with family, but Zamir lost her voice for a week from fear following the attack. “It was hard to have my children see me like that,” Zamir said. “I try to be so strong for them.” The family returned shortly afterward to the rural and typically quiet moshav. “It took weeks for me to

Hillsdale College students walk though a street market in Jerusalem. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

the best place to be a guide!” Senior Christian Allison said Collins brought his own Jewish faith into the trip but added plenty of Christian context, as well. “I liked that he was Jewish. It was really helpful to me to get his perspective on the Jewish culture and how it relates to Christianity,” Allison said. “He had a perspective on Israel that I’d never heard before. He was extremely knowledgeable about Christianity, too, and all of the holy sites we visited. He was also really funny with his Jewish jokes, and he kept the atmosphere light.” Collins gives plenty of different kinds of tours but spent 10 days with Hillsdale, accompanying the busload of students and professors. He would explain the surroundings while riding on the bus with Hillsdale, ate with them,

and even slept in the same hotel many of the nights. Although he said he was sad to be leaving his wife and two children for 10 days, he said he loves his job. “Is there a better job in the world? I get to show off the city I love, meet interesting people, walk around outdoors (as opposed to being stuck in an office),” Collins said. “It’s a real honor to be a representative of my country to the world. Oh, and I get to eat falafel every day!” He said he sometimes has to reign in his natural inclination to use swear words, sticking to “oh my guide” instead — a phrase that occasionally catches on with tourists, according to Collins. Although he gives tours every day, he said he never tires of it because it’s always different to see the country through new eyes.

“Seriously, the ability to put a smile on people’s faces is really rewarding,” Collins said. Junior Gina Hawersaat, who visited Israel last year, said Collins was an important part of the trip for them as well. “He was really informed about everything,” Hawersaat said. “He always gave both sides of every story and allowed you to choose which was more plausible. He would explain both the traditional opinion and any new research. And he was funny.” Collins invites everyone to come experience the culture he loves. “There are real people here with real stories, fears, and loves,” he said. “Come and meet them, and you will never be the same again.”

The Garden Tomb, a proposed location of Jesus’ burial. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

Students float on a boat, while birds fly over the Sea of Galilee. Breana Noble | Collegian

Mural from A1

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open the door and stand in my garden that I love again,” Zamir said. Nevertheless, many Hillsdale students said they were in awe of Zamir’s bravery. “I was weeping,” junior Emily Rinaldi said. “I don’t think I would have stayed. She seems so happy and knows what’s best for her family. She’s so strong.” Zamir said she has turned to her pottery, making bowls, dishes, and other creations to sell to visitors of the gated community. “Creating the flowers and butterflies, it feels like healing,” she said. Five years ago, she began painting murals on the walls separating the moshav from Gaza. Her first depicts a dove with the words “Path to Peace”

written in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. It faces Israel. Another mural has bright colors in shapes of trees, flowers, houses, and more. The word for peace in Arabic, salaam, is also found there, facing toward a town in Gaza that is visible. “I don’t like violence,” Zamir said. “I don’t like hate, war. I just want peace.” It was the strength Zamir said she saw in her community that inspired her to start the project. “The wall was gray and very dark and scary, and I wanted to vanish that atmosphere of fear and create one of joy and hope, which we have in our hearts and which helps us to pull through in the hardest times, overcome obstacles and give our children a warm and happy environment,” Zamir

People visit the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, to mourn the loss of the Jewish temple that once stood in the Old City of Jerusalem. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

said. Since then, hundreds have visited the moshav, picked a small ceramic shard that Zamir has painted with bright colors and made into animals and other shapes, and stuck the pieces to the wall. “I thought it was unreal,” sophomore Sammy Roberts said. “I’m playing with dogs with two Israeli Defense Forces soldiers in between the walls of Gaza with a mural painted on one. The conflict will come, but it’ll be that hope that rebuilds that community.” That’s what Zamir said is her goal: “We love our homes. I want to bring back the happiness to this place.” Remains of rockets at Tsameret Zamir’s house that were shot over the Gaza border into Moshav Netiv Ha’asara. Rachael Reynolds | Collegian

City News

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Smoker’s Club Beer and Wine during the December demolition. Mary Wolfram | Courtesy

After Smoker’s Club was demolished, operator Joe Tomina relocated to a Carleton Road strip mall and rebranded as Smokin Joe’z. Philip H. DeVoe | Collegian

Smoker’s Club demolished to make way for two apartment buildings

Beer, wine, and tobacco retailer moved to Carleton Road strip mall and rebranded as Smokin Joe’Z after demolition By | Philip H. DeVoe City News Editor Smoker’s Club Beer and Wine was demolished in late December 2016 to make way for two apartment buildings for senior citizens, a project undertaken by current owners Excel Realty and supported by the city of Hillsdale. Joe Tomina, who operated Smoker’s Club, moved the store to Carleton Road, next door to Hungry Howie’s, under the name Smokin Joe’Z. Center City, the name of the new apartment complex, will contain 40 one- and two-bedroom apartments and offer rent at rates under the average for the Hillsdale County market area. Tenants must be more than 55 years of age and make under 60 percent of the medi-

an family income. These conditions stem from the property’s status as a tax credit program, a Michigan State Housing Development Authority scheme that gives a financial break to properties fulfilling a need in a certain area. According to Excel Realty Accounting Manager Debby Olsen, a MSHDA study of the Hillsdale market conducted in 2011 found a two percent growth in that demographic in the Hillsdale area. “Center City will address the growing demand for affordable senior housing,” said Excel President and CEO Peter Jobson. “This will be a modern affordable senior independent living community, and a great addition to Hillsdale’s downtown area.” Excel broke ground on the

A view of the three-story Center City apartment building from Manning Street. excel realty | Courtesy

two buildings of Center City after demolition of Smoker’s Club, in early January 2017. Jobson said he and Excel are excited to begin constructing the building, which won’t be the company’s first in the Hillsdale County area. The Cleveland-based realty development company also built the Armory Arts apartments in Jackson and Heritage Lane in Jonesville, which is how they became interested in investing in Hillsdale. Mary Wolfram, director of economic development for the city of Hillsdale, said she worked with Excel to find available property for potential development and eventually settled on Smoker’s Club, whose owner, Casey Suwaiz, was willing to sell. Excel reached an option agreement

— conditional upon Excel securing MSHDA tax credit program status — with Suwaiz in March 2015 and completed the purchase by the end of 2016. Wolfram said the city was supportive of Excel’s intention to turn the property into homes providing needy seniors close access to downtown Hillsdale. “We said ‘Yes, this is a good idea for our city,’ especially considering we didn’t need to financially support it, as it would all be private investiture,” Wolfram said. Center City is not Section 8 or government subsidized housing, so all tenants must pay their own rent, but the rent will be decreased exponentially according to each tenant’s income and the Hillsdale market area average. Fifteen of the

Most of the members of the Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities and the Airport Advisory Committee are not residents of the city of Hillsdale, even though residency is a requirement under the city’s municipal code. Four out of the five members of the Hillsdale BPU board of directors do not live in Hillsdale, according to public records. Sections 3.1 and 5.1 of Hillsdale’s city code state that to be eligible for an elective office, a person must be a Hillsdale resident. This same standard applies to anyone appointed to the Board of Public Utilities. “Each person appointed as a member of the Board of Public Works shall possess the qualifications required by this charter for elective officers of the City,” the city code states. Only BPU board member Berry Hill lives in Hillsdale. When asked about the discrepancy, BPU director Mike Barber said he was not familiar with the details of the city code. “Board members are chosen by those who currently sit on the board, and then their pick is decided by the mayor

After Excel purchased the Smoker’s Club property at the end of 2016, Tomina began plans to relocate to an empty building in the strip mall containing Hungry Howie’s, on Carleton Road. He said the name change has to do with his relationship with his customers. “Nobody called Smoker’s Club by its real name; most people just called it Joe’s or Joe’s Smoke Shop,” Tomina said. “So I and some others decided it would make sense just to call it Smokin Joe’Z.” He moved into the building Monday and said business has been steady, with many of his regular customers returning despite the change.

A view from the south of the new apartment building on the former Smoker’s Club property. excel realty | Courtesy

Majority of BPU, airport committee members live outside Hillsdale city limits despite city code requirements By | Thomas Novelly Editor-in-Chief

apartments will be reserved for those at 30 percent of the median family income, 10 for those at 40, six at 50, and 19 at 60. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Hillsdale market area is $650 and $719 for two bedrooms. The highest rent possible — the rent charged for the highest bracket — set at $580 for the one-bedroom and $695 for the two-bedroom. “I think it’s filling a real need. One one hand, for housing, and on another, it’s providing a nice set of consumers living downtown, within walking distance of shops,” Wolfram said. “Some people in the country do want to downsize and move into the city, and this will give them a great opportunity to do that.”

and the city council,” Barber said. “In regards to how that works with city codes and charter, I’m not a part of that.” Barber said BPU board members are paid $25 for attending their monthly meetings, adding many of them donate the money to local charities and community causes. City Manager David Mackie said that because BPU board members are paid, it renders the residency requirement in the charter pointless according to Michigan State statute 15.601. “The statute language indicates that no residency requirement can be placed upon a public employee,” Mackie said in an email. “Thus, Hillsdale’s City Charter residency requirements do not apply to BPU Board members. State statutes supersede city charters.” Mackie said this is just one of many examples of revisions that need to be made to the city charter. “Could the charter be changed? Yes,” Mackie said. “There are a number of things that could be changed. It hasn’t been changed in a very long time. So that is something that we need to look at and update the language for the clarity of

the city.” BPU board members help with logistics, planning, and finances required to provide more than 6,300 residents and nearly 4,000 homes and businesses with electricity and water. While not paid members like the BPU, according to a 2014 city council resolution members of Hillsdale’s Airport Advisory Committee are also required to be city residents or active users of the municipal airport. “Members shall be residents of the City of Hillsdale or users of the City airport and shall include individuals with knowledge and experience in the fields of aviation and business,” the resolution states. Currently, of the six members on the AAC, only the board’s chairman Richard Péwé and committee member Robert Flynn live within the city limits. Only one of the other members is also an active pilot. According to Péwé, who also serves as Hillsdale College’s chief administrative officer, he interprets the resolution more liberally and thinks anyone who wants to dedicate their time to improving the airport should be involved. “My interpretation of the

language in the resolution is that it applies to anyone who uses the airport for any purpose. That’s probably vague here,” Péwé said. “If this is an issue, council just needs to rewrite the language so it’s what they want.” Many of the members of the AAC are not pilots either, which Péwé said he sees as a benefit. Péwé said making the airport a marketable and relevant location in Hillsdale, takes more than just the expertise of aviators. “Today it’s hard to find people that are willing to serve the council because there really isn’t anything in it for them, except that they’re trying to be helpful,” Péwé said. “I don’t think you need to be a pilot. I look at it as a bonus.” Filling positions involved with the city council has been a continuous struggle, with numerous vacancies due to illness, resignation, and general lack of interest since before 2014. Typically, council discussions regarding board and committee appointments go unchallenged. Pewe said he does not want interested people to be dissuaded from helping out. “If the language needs to be clarified, we should just do that,” Péwé said.

Historical marker remembers legend of Baw Beese By | Anna Timmis Collegian Reporter Over a year ago, Dan Bisher, member of Hillsdale Rotary Club and author of “Faded Memories: Examination & Profiles of Hillsdale County’s Pioneer Period,” submitted a request to the Michigan Historical Commision to have a historical marker placed on Sandy Beach at Baw Beese Lake. The Michigan Historical Commission held the last meeting on Nov 17 before approving the installation of the sign. The historical marker will be a reminder of Hillsdale’s Native American heritage. One side will tell how Sandy Beach came into existence, the other, how Baw Beese lake got its name. “They’re really starting to place value in our history,” said Michelle Loren, director of Hillsdale city recreation. The local folklore holds that a small tribe of Potawatomi was ruled by its chief, Baw Beese, who extended friendship to the first settlers, who arrived in 1827. He aided the settlers during the first winter, helping them to survive. The tribe camped on the shores of the lake, where there was abundant fishing and hunting

on hand. Even after the tribe had gone from Baw Beese, history still played out on its waters. Tragedy struck when, in the late 19th century, a crowd from a local church took an excursion on the lake. The boat sank, and 11 people drowned in the wreck. In spite of the tragic history, Baw Beese lake has been a place of many happy memories for local residents and outsiders alike. By the early 1900s, a hotel was built on Baw Beese Lake, and visitors at the resort slid down a waterslide into the lake. “It was a recreational park,” said Lori Zeiler at Mitchell Research Center. “People rode the train there and spent the day.” Sandy Beach was made into a recreation beach in 1955. Just this past year, the Rotary Club put in paths, a concession stand, basketball and volleyball courts. Students and residents still enjoy the beach, play volleyball on the shady lawns, and swim during the summer and early months of autumn. A place of rich local history, Sandy Beach on Baw Beese Lake continues to be a place of happy memories.

Grants awarded to District Court and Police Department By | Kaylee McGhee Assistant Editor The city of Hillsdale was recently awarded several grants amounting to nearly $80,000 through the Hillsdale County Community Foundation. According to Sharon Bisher, the president and CEO of the HCCF, the non-profit organization accepts grants a couple of times a year, and then asks local organizations what their needs are. “We look at what the effects of these grants could have and then weigh that against the critical needs of the community. Our role is that of the funder,” Bisher said. This year, the Hillsdale County District Court, the

Hillsdale Police Department, the Hillsdale Historical Society, the Hillsdale County Juvenile Court, and the Hillsdale College G.O.A.L. Program all received grants from the HCCF. The City of Hillsdale’s Police Department received $10,000 for the purpose of purchasing body cameras for officers and two vehicles with fully equipped video systems, according to Chief of Police Scott Hephner. Hephner said the police department has applied for grants in the past for body cameras and video systems, but last January was the first time they have been approved. The police department will purchase 14 body cameras and two video systems to install

within vehicles. “The philosophy behind it is maintaining the city’s trust,” Hephner said. “It’s two-fold: if the police do something wrong, it’s on video. If someone in the city does something wrong, it’s on video.” Many states are beginning to require local police departments to purchase body cameras, according to Hephner. “There’s been a lot of negative media attention toward law enforcement. We’ve felt the fall-out even here in Hillsdale,” Hephner said. Through this grant, Hephner hopes that Hillsdale’s Police Department will be ahead of the game here in Michigan, where body cameras are not yet mandatory. Their purpose is simply not to lose the pub-

lic’s trust, according to Hephner. “This is not a Big Brother step,” Hephner said. The Hillsdale County District Court also received $25,000 for the implementation of a Drug Treatment Court. Judge Sara Lisznayi began the process of applying for this grant in Oct. 2016, and is finally beginning to see the fruit of her labor. Mary Wolfram, director of economic development, said the District Court received the grant in large part because of Lisznayi’s personal intervention. “She came up with the grant and its application, and the HCCF obviously helped her,” Wolfram said.

According to Bisher, the HCCF was happy to fund the implementation of the Drug Treatment Court, because it will treat long-term issues. “Drug problems have been in our community for years, and we have struggled to find solutions,” Bisher said. “This is one way we can begin to do that.” According to Wolfram, Hillsdale received these grants because of the people who have worked hard to earn them. “These grants don’t just come to you,” she said. “They don’t just send you a check and you get it in the mail.” In applying for a grant, extensive research is required, according to Wolfram. Each application requires the applicant to pull together data and

really make a case as to why they would be a good recipient in order to receive a grant. “You have to care about your job and you have to care about your community,” Wolfram said. Hillsdale also needs these grants, according to Wolfram. She believes it will go so far as to help boost the labor participation rate, which is currently at 56 percent — an all-time low in the state of Michigan. “Employers can’t get employees to pass drug tests here,” Wolfram said. “This Drug Treatment Court is really, really needed in Hillsdale.”

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CHARGERS AT FULL STRENGTH AS FINAL STRETCH APPROACHES By | Nathanael Meadowcroft and we really made it difficult for them,” said junior guard StSenior Writer edman Lowry, who scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. “We After struggling through needed that one. That was just injuries in December, the a big win.” Hillsdale College men’s basSophomore point guard ketball team is healthy and Nate Neveau led Hillsdale with ready to make a push for the 23 points and 12 rebounds. postseason. The Chargers made 53 percent At the halfway point of of their field goal attempts and their conference schedule, the were 13-of-13 from the free Chargers are 3-7 in the GLIAC throw line. Defensively, the and 7-9 overall. The Chargers Chargers allowed the Oilers lost their first five conference to shoot just 44 percent from games in December but have the field overall and 27 percent rebounded with three wins in from beyond the arc. their past five contests. Two days after completing “We got injured and sick one of their best defensive perand we just weren’t good formances of the season, the enough as a program to han- Chargers suffered their worst. dle that. We’re starting to play The Ashland Eagles shot 63 a little bit better right now,” percent from the floor overall head coach John Tharp said. and 50 percent from 3-point “We knew we were going to go territory in an 86-76 win over through some difficult times the Chargers on Saturday. with this team until we figured “Our team defense was some things out, but we have a terrible,” Tharp said. “They full roster now and we’ve been put you in some one-on-one doing some good things.” situations with how they play Sophomore guard Harrison and we allowed some of that Niego, a transfer from Indiana to happen by not helping our University, missed Hillsdale’s teammates.” first four conference games. Hillsdale led 66-64 with Niego has averaged 8.5 points 6:49 remaining but Ashland per game and 2 assists per finished the game on a 22-10 game since his Hillsdale debut. run. Junior guard Ryan Badowski “That’s a game we should missed six games in Decem- win. We’ve just got to defend,” ber and January due to illness. Lowry said. “We’ve got to be Badowski is averaging 12.5 there to help each other. If you points per game on 47 percent get beat off the dribble you’ve field goal shooting. got to help your guy and someBadowski returned to ac- one in turn has to help you. tion on Jan. 12, when the We’ve just got to get back to Chargers put up their most our principles defensively.” impressive conference win of The Chargers played well the year. Hillsdale knocked offensively, shooting 52 peroff the GLIAC South Divi- cent and committing just 8 sion-leading Findlay Oilers turnovers. Four players scored 80-65. It was the Chargers’ first in double figures. win over the Oilers since 2014. “Our offense was good,” “We played the best defen- Lowry said. “We always are resive game we’ve played. They ally good when we have a balhave some really talented guys anced attack like that.”

Hillsdale’s defense will be tested again tonight when they host the Walsh Cavaliers (12-4, 5-4 GLIAC) at 8 p.m. in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. Walsh senior guard Zac Carter leads the GLIAC in scoring with 25.4 points per game and senior forward Trey Fletcher is third in the GLIAC, averaging 19.8 points per contest. “They have two big-time, just unbelievable scorers,” Tharp said. “They can score in a lot of different ways.” As the Chargers prepare for Walsh, they also have to readjust to a stricter schedule as Hillsdale’s spring semester begins. “It takes a little bit to get back into the routine. So you’ve got to be careful from the mental fatigue part from this point on,” Tharp said. “This place is not the easiest place, and so you’ve got to make sure that they’re mentally and physically fresh.” With 10 games remaining, Hillsdale is two games out of playoff position in the GLIAC. But the Chargers aren’t looking beyond tonight’s clash with Walsh. “Every day we’re trying to get better. There’s a lot of pride in this program and we’re trying to make improvements and keep fighting,” Tharp said. “We know that it’s one day at a time, one week at a time. Whatever happens at the end, we’re trying to write our own chapter here.” After this weekend, the Chargers will play five of their final eight games on the road. “Everybody’s beating everybody,” Lowry said. “We’re right there. We really have to get these two at home this week, and then we’ve just got to take it game by game. We can’t look too far into the future.”

After missing four conference games, sophomore guard Harrison Niego has averaged 8.5 points and 2 assists per game. Brendan Miller | Collegian

Chargers meet provisional marks against D-I competition By | Jessica Hurley Collegian Reporter

Ty Etchemendy achieved his second provisional mark of the season in triple jump at the Simmons-Harvey Invite. Evan Carter | Collegian

This weekend the Hillsdale Charger track and field teams were the smallest fish in a big pond. Regardless, they made quite a splash. The Chargers traveled to the University of Michigan on Saturday to compete as the only Division II school at the Simmons-Harvey Invite. The Simmons-Harvey Invite is new for Hillsdale’s schedule — head coach Andrew Towne decided to take his squads to the University of Michigan because Hillsdale was invited and he wanted his athletes to experience a facility similar to where the conference meet will be held. The Division I competition didn’t intimidate Towne. He did say, however, that elite competition has served as a source of shock to his athletes in the past. This year, his athletes seemed unphased which, according to Towne, is a sign of how the program has evolved. The tough competition actually pushed many Chargers to better marks. Sophomore Sergio San Jose Lorza placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.97 seconds. Junior Colby Clark ran a 49.91-second 400 meter to win the event. Sophomore Tanner Schwannecke also placed third in the 800 meter, running it in 1:56.92. The men’s four-by-400 relay

came in second overall with a 3:21.79. In the pole vault, junior Jared Schipper took third and made his first provisional mark of the season, jumping 16 feet, 4.75 inches. He has competed in every national meet of his college career and is currently ranked sixth. Because Schipper has had difficulty in practice the past couple weeks, he admitted battling nerves prior to the meet. Warm-up didn’t go well, he said, but the pressure of being at a Division I meet ultimately led to a breakthrough performance. “I practiced wrong mentally and everything started feeling wrong,” the previous All-American said. “I’m not where I want to be but this meet was definitely a big step in the right direction.” Schipper said this mark should make it to nationals, but he expects to be back to where he was last season with a goal of just over 17 feet. Senior captain Ty Etchemendy achieved his second provisional mark of the season in the triple jump. He placed second overall with a jump of 47 feet, 5 inches. Etchemendy is ranked No. 13 nationally for his performance at the first meet of the season at Saginaw Valley State University. On the women’s side, the four-by-400 meter relay placed third, running a time of 3:59.07. Senior Alex Whitford reached her second provisional mark in the pole vault this season with a vault of 12 feet,

1.5 inches. Whitford sits at the No. 3 spot on the national list for her performance at the first meet. Sophomore Tori Wichman earned her spot on the national list with her performance in the 400-meter dash this weekend. Wichman took third at the meet running 57.75 seconds. With the conversion factor of running on a banked track she is ranked No. 14 nationally. Though Wichman said she was happy with her provisional mark, she wasn’t fully satisified with her performance. “Those athletes above me are most likely to peak, but I believe that I am going to peak more and improve my time just as much if not more, and if it’s God’s will, I will be able to go to nationals in an individual event for the first time,” Wichman said. Wichman had surgery for compartment syndrome in August and was out for three and a half months of fall training. Overcoming this unexpected setback was no easy task. “I had to keep reminding myself that God was in control and have faith that everything would fall into place at the right time,” Wichman said. This weekend, against Division I competition, proved to be the right time. Wichman said other people don’t affect how she performs, but mentioned how much her teammate, senior Allison Duber who occupies the No. 12 spot

on the national list for the 400 meter, has helped her focus this season. Senior captain Dana Newell won the weight throw this weekend with her first provisional mark of the season. She threw 58 feet, 10.25 inches and is ranked No. 12. Newell had a strong mindset going into the meet. “My expectations are always to get the best out of myself and regardless of what anyone else was throwing try to do the best I can do,” Newell said. According to Newell, the level of competition didn’t intimidate her, though she admitted she thought it would be more challenging. The way her training is structured, she is set to peak at nationals, where she placed eighth last year. She is hoping to improve on this mark and repeat her attendance at the national meet. “Right now my chances are OK, but I definitely need to throw farther,” Newell said. Newell’s teammate and fellow All-American junior Rachael Tolsma also threw a provisional mark of 54 feet, 2.75 inches and is currently ranked No. 20. Charger track and field has a weekend off to focus on training and recovery before resuming their indoor season at Grand Valley State University on Jan. 28.

OREN EARNS RUNNING SPONSORSHIP WITH OISELLE Oren becomes third Hillsdale alumni in five years to secure running sponsorship By | Evan Carter Web Editor Less than a year after the end of her successful collegiate running career, Emily Oren ‘16 has earned her first professional sponsorship. The nine-time NCAA division II national champion signed with women’s active-wear company Oiselle in December, officially becoming a member of its team on Jan. 1. Oren is the third Hillsdale runner to be sponsored in recent history, with alumna Amanda Eccleston ‘13 being sponsored by Brooks running wear and alumna Kayla Caldwell ‘13 being sponsored by pole vault company Ust Essx. Oren said she is excited

about the sponsorship and that earning it has done a lot to validate her decision to run post-collegiately. “To be sponsored by a company like Oiselle that seeks to empower women is great,” Oren said. “I’m happy to have something to help me through this next stage of my running career and help me take off.” As a part of her sponsorship, Oiselle will send Oren clothes to train and race in, as well as pay for her to travel to and enter meets. In return, Oren will wear Oiselle gear exclusively during competition and training, give feedback on the clothes they send her, and will promote the brand on social media. “I get a lot of free clothes,

which is awesome,” she said. “It’s just women’s active wear, which is kinda nice, because then I can wear any shoes I want.” Oren doesn’t receive any stipends from the company and plans to continue working in the college’s admissions office for the time being, but said her ultimate goal is to be able to support herself completely through running. Another part of Oren’s sponsorship is her inclusion in the company’s Haute Volée Team, which includes upand-coming female runners from throughout the country. Oren said she hasn’t spoken at length with any of her new teammates yet, but said she’s raced against a lot of them

over the past couple of years. Oren said her goal this season is to make the US Indoor Track and Field Championship in the 3K. And she doesn’t only want to make it to the meet, she wants to make it to the final in her race. “I feel like I need to compete against these women who I’ve idolized,” Oren said. Oren will open up her indoor season with a mile this Friday at the Gladstein Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana. Hillsdale alumna Emily Oren, nine-time NCAA division II national champion, earned a running sponsorship with Oiselle. Oiselle | Courtesy

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Sports

Follow @HDaleSports for live updates and news

Women’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball THURSDAY, JAN.

Hillsdale

Findlay

80 65

Upcoming

StatS Nate Neveau Stedman Lowry Nick Archer Rhett Smith

SATURDAY, JAN.

Thursday, jan. 19 vS. WalSh 8:00 pm saTurday, jan. 21 vS. tiffin 3:00 pm

Hillsdale

Ashland

Hillsdale

Upcoming

Findlay

16 ptS, 8 reb, 1 blk 13 ptS, 1 reb, 1 Stl 12 ptS, 2 reb, 1 aSt 10 ptS, 6 aSt, 3 reb

Track and Field

Maddy Reed Morgan Blair Allie Dittmer Allie Dewire

Hillsdale

16 ptS, 5 reb, 3 aSt 13 ptS, 6 reb, 3 aSt 12 ptS, 10 reb, 2 aSt 11 ptS, 5 reb, 2 aSt

Results

Jan. 13 Hillsdale-111 Ashland-111 Hillsdale-151 Malone-71 Hillsdale-149 Urbana-48

Jan. 28 Mike Lints Alumni Open Allendale, MI 1:00 PM

Ashland

66 85 Makenna Ott Allie Dittmer Allie Dewire Brittany Gray

Women’s Swimming

Upcoming

StatS

Nick Archer Ryan Badowski Stedman Lowry Nate Neveau

SATURDAY, JAN.

Thursday, jan. 19 vS. WalSh 6:00 pm saTurday, jan. 21 vS. tiffin 1:00 pm

76 86 73 56 StatS

23 ptS, 12 reb, 4 aSt 19 ptS, 4 reb, 4 aSt 13 ptS, 2 reb 10 ptS, 4 reb, 3 aSt

THURSDAY, JAN.

Jan. 14 Hillsdale-123 Ashland-88 Hillsdale-91 Saginaw Valley-140

16 ptS, 3 reb, 3 Stl 14 ptS, 6 reb, 3 aSt 12 ptS, 5 reb, 5 aSt 11 ptS, 5 reb, 4 Stl

Upcoming

Jan. 21 vs. Case Western, Ohio Northern at Cleveland, Oh.

Women’s basketball battles for winning record over break By | S. M. Chavey Features Editor The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team challenged some of the best Division II teams in the nation over break, and they met the challenge 5-4. Head coach Todd Mitmesser said the whole roster has shown improvement over the last month. “I’ve been really happy with the progress that the team is making. The players have grown quite a bit in their individual games,” Mitmesser said. “They’ve also had a lot of adversity because at one point everybody’s been injured on the team, one way or another. The girls had to face some adversity and come through that, and we’re a better team because of it.” One of the biggest games for the squad was against rival Grand Valley State, ranked No. 16 in the country. The Chargers outrebounded the Lakers 53-35, but the game was close until the final minute. Junior center Allie Dittmer grabbed a rebound and made a layup with just 47 seconds left in the game to give the Chargers a 48-47 lead which led to a 5447 win. Dittmer led the team both in rebounding and points with 14 of each. “Grand Valley is always kind of a big game and we were happy to win that one,” junior guard Maddy Reed said. Following the excitement of the GVSU game, the Chargers pulled off a 75-63 win two days later against Ferris State. Hillsdale entered the fourth quarter with just a six point lead. With four minutes to go, the Chargers were up by only two. From there, the Chargers pounded a 17-5 run to secure the victory. With 15 steals, the Chargers set a season high. Senior guard Morgan Blair played aggressively against her younger sister Riley Blair, ending with 10

points and five rebounds. The team also faced adversity off the court. Each Charger had to take her finals in just two days before heading to the Upper Peninsula for a pair of games before Christmas. In the first game against Michigan Tech, the Chargers had a strong first half, led by sophomore guard Allie Dewire who made all six from the field and totaled 16 points in the half. The team lost its lead while struggling through the second half and could never quite get it back. Still, Dewire set a career high for herself and a season high for an individual on the team, with 27 points. Following the rough second half against Michigan Tech, Hillsdale had a challenging first half against Northern Michigan that weekend, trailing the Wildcats 35-9 at the half. Though they outscored them in the the third and fourth quarters, the Chargers couldn’t overcome the deficit. “That was kind of a tough way to end before we went back for break,” Reed said. Next year, when it switches conferences, the team won’t have to travel to the U.P. again. After a seven-day break, the team returned for two days of practice, followed by another away game at Indianapolis. The Charger starters, Ott, Dittmer, Blair, Dewire, and Reed, played all but 17 of the 200 minutes and scored all but four of the points. The Chargers led by one with four seconds to go, and Reed hit two free throws to end the game with a 68-65 Chargers win. “We came back and had two days of practice before they played at Indy, and we played probably one of our best games. That was really great, especially because we were coming off the two losses and coming off break,” Mitmesser said. On Thursday, January 5, the Chargers struggled defensively against Northwood with 30

rebounds to Northwood’s 50. The Timberwolves outscored the Chargers by 13 points in the third quarter, leading to a 71-61 loss for the Chargers. Dewire led the team with 15 points and Blair scored 12 for the second game in a row, matching her season high. Two days later, Blair beat her own record with 13 points and five assists against Lake Superior on her 22nd birthday. The Chargers were much stronger defensively, beating Lake Superior in rebounds and committing just 10 turnovers to Lake Superior’s 21. Blair, Dewire, Ott, and Dittmer all scored in the double digits. Last Thursday, Hillsdale beat Findlay for the first time since 2014. The Chargers outrebounded the Oilers by 9 and had 15 assists to Findlay’s four. The teams were tied going into the fourth quarter, but the Chargers outscored Findlay 23-9 in the final quarter leading to a 73-56 win. Last Saturday presented one of Hillsdale’s toughest games of the season when the Chargers faced Ashland, the No. 1 ranked Division II team in the nation. Ashland has been scoring over a hundred points and beating many teams by 50, but the Chargers fought hard. “We started the game really strong and I think we messed with them. We played completely different than we normally do, changed our defense, and did a lot of things that they hadn’t seen in the film. We came out with a lot of energy and played really well and I think as they started to see what we were doing the adjusted and started scoring,” Blair said, “I’m excited to play them again. I think it will be a close game again when they come here in two weeks.” Ashland scored nine fewer points than its average, and Hillsdale pulled away with four more than Ashland usually allows. “We just played the No. 1

Sophomore guard Allie Dewire goes up for a layup against Northwood. Against Michigan Tech, Dewire set a career high for herself and a season high for an individual with 27 points. Brendan Miller | Collegian

team in the country and we got beat by 19, but they are such a powerful team. We were beating them at the end of the first quarter, and we played it tough,” Mitmesser said. “It was nice to compete against the

best team in the country, and we’ve got them at home next time so hopefully we can give them a better game.” This weekend, Hillsdale will face Walsh and Tiffin at home. “It’ll be a battle,” Mitmess-

er said. “Walsh is very athletic and play in an unorthodox style, and same with Tiffin. It’ll be a challenge this weekend. Every game’s tough in the GLIAC.”

Charger swimming utilizes break for training and competition By | Morgan Channels Collegian Reporter

During winter break, the Hillsdale College women’s swim team spent 10 days in Florida training and competing. Emily Shallman | Courtesy

Members of the Hillsdale College women’s swim team spent winter break training in Florida and competing in three meets. After training at home for two weeks, the squad spent 10 days in the Sunshine State. According to freshman Danielle LeBleu, the team spent a lot of time working both in and out of the pool. She added that together the team swam a total of miles equivalent to the distance from Hillsdale to Nashville, Tennessee. “We had doubles almost every day and lifting on top of that,” LeBleu said. “It was a fun, rewarding trip, but it was anything but a relaxing vacation at the beach.” Senior Emily Shallman said although the trip was difficult, it was an excellent bonding experience for the team, filled with bright moments. “I loved training outside; we don’t get the opportunity to do that very often in Michigan, so that was pretty cool, especially when we had late practices and

the moon was out,” Shallman said. Sophomore Anika Ellingson said the team attitude during the entire trip was positive and inspiring. “No athlete was left in a slump and it helped uplift all of us during our hardest practices when our motivation sunk and our bodies were exhausted,” Ellingson said. In competition, the team made a splash on Jan. 8, defeating California University of Pennsylvania, with a final score of 429.5-339.5. Strong individual performances included first places by both LeBleu and Shallman. Head coach Kurt Kirner said he’s proud of his swimmers who have displayed strengths in an array of races, and that the freshmen have come a long way. “Some people have been emerging. Let’s just say that,” Kirner said. After returning to Hillsdale, the team turned right around and traveled to Canton, Ohio on January 13 to compete against three teams. The Chargers trounced Malone Univer-

sity 151-71 and crushed Urbana University 149-48. Hillsdale tied with Ashland University 111-111. During the meet, Shallman took first place in the 200-yard IM race. LeBleu, freshman Taylor Steyer, and sophomore Suzanne DeTar joined Shallman and won the 200-yard free relay race. Sophomore Tiffany Farris placed first in the 100-yard backstroke race, and Ellingson also won the 100yard breaststroke race. The next day, Hillsdale traveled to Ashland for a rematch with the Eagles. This time, the Chargers pulled out a win 12388. Kirner attributed the victory over Ashland to placing swimmers in their strongest races and adjusting the lineup from the day before. They did, however, lose to the Saginaw Valley State University with a final score 140-91. Next Saturday, Jan. 21 the squad will jump back into competition, travelling to Cleveland, Ohio, to take on Ohio Northern University and Case Western Reserve University.

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Katie Scheu | Collegian

History, Hebrew, hummus, and chutzpah: Hillsdale takes in the Holy Land Yesterday, today, and tomorrow: Israel is a place of living history By | Stevan Bennett Assistant Editor

An ancient port city and a modern metropolis seem to be strange bedfellows. In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, however, the two stand side by side, as steel skyscrapers cast shadows on harbors that have been in use since the Bronze Age. The contrast and coexistence of Tel Aviv-Yafo is a paragon of the Israel’s blending of ancient and modern, which leaves a story to be told and history to be learned with every step. In one morning, you can find yourself exploring the excavation of the City of David and trekking through ancient water ducts before standing in the middle of Jerusalem’s Technology Park, which hosts prominent high-tech companies such as Intel, IBM, and Medtronic. In fact, Israel boasts more companies on the NASDAQ stock exchange than any country outside of the United States and China. But it is easy to forget this fact when standing at the edge of the Sea of Galilee or looking down through the layers of civilization at Tel Megiddo. “It’s impossible to go nearly anywhere in Israel without seeing some vestige of the past,” sophomore Sammy Roberts said. “The multiple historical layers were so prevalent that we began to joke whether the McDonald’s on the corner had been built on either a Crusader or a Byzantine McDonald’s.”

Jeremy Collins, who moved to Israel with his family over 10 years ago, guided a group of Hillsdale College students who travelled to Israel over winter break. Throughout the trip, Collins described the cultural, spiritual, and political ramifications of the amalgamation of the old and the new throughout Israel. Collins explained that for the people of Israel, the fusion is more than an intriguing photo opportunity. Instead, the ancient is seen as an intricate part of who they are, while the modern is a sign of achievement and growth from whence they have come. According to some of the students, experiencing the prevalence of the long history of the region provided an insight into the modern dilemma of the land. Roberts said while he understands that sorting out the ruins often leads to conflict between involved parties’ stakes to the land, he also believes a better understanding of the ancient and old could help lead to a more stable present. “Rather than a seed of conflict, the bones of Israel’s past can serve as a reflection on civilization’s temporality and the importance of securing peace in our own time,” he said. With a better understanding of the Israeli people’s commitment to both their past and their future, perhaps the backdrop of skyscrapers and ancient harbors shouldn’t seem so strange, after all.

By | S. M. Chavey Features Editor

In Israel, there’s no “Hi, how are you?” There’s just “Hi.” Israelis simply don’t care to ask a stranger or mere acquaintance how they’re doing only to hear “I’m fine” in response, according to a young Israeli citizen. That’s because Israelis have chutzpah. The dictionary definition of that characteristic is “shameless audacity;

Collegian Reporter

Brightly colored fruits and vegetables sit temptingly close to the edges of cart shelves; shawls and dresses flutter in the breeze; vendors yell out their wares and argue over prices; spices and roasting meat permeate the air with mouth-watering scents. This is the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, an overwhelming feast for the senses nestled among quiet residential streets. It’s crowded here on this narrow street, but vibrantly so—the market is a spectrum of life, of creation. Originally a neighborhood market that opened in the early 1920s, Shuk HaCarmel, as it is called in Hebrew, has become the largest shuk—or openair market—in Tel Aviv. It’s mainly located along HaCarmel Street, about a half mile long, but it sprawls into nearby sidestreets. Consisting of openair or tented vendors as well as indoor shops, the market offers everything from clothing to coffee, kebabs to cakes. Cheap tourist trinkets clutter some market stalls, but there are plenty of locally-produced foods, wood carvings, and other crafted items to satisfy those seeking more authentic goods. In a way, the market is a microcosm of Israel, whose survival and resilience is something of a miracle. In

Israel and in HaCarmel, life goes on—thrives, even—under the shadow of death and terror. Only in a land of peace can people haggle over prices and make a living by stuffing pitas. Only people who do not fear death can busy themselves with the most ordinary activities of life, shopping and selling, cooking and creating. For all its liveliness, the market is not immune to death. It was the site of sniper fire during the War of Independence in 1948 and a Palestinian suicide bombing in

“Israelis are so straightforward that they don’t even have a word for ‘subtle’ in their language.” impudence,” and Israelis live that out in the best way possible. They’re gutsy, bold, assertive, and sassy; and they don’t wait in line. Israelis are so straightforward they don’t even have the word “subtle” in their language. Americans might stand in line at a shop for several minutes thinking they’re up next, but unless they walk straight up to the counter to order, they might never get out of line. They also don’t follow traffic rules. Our tour guide warned the Hillsdale group, “Be brave, but not stupid.” If you wait until the driver slows down, you’ll never cross the

time. Shoppers push past each other, prodding at produce to test its freshness; stall-tenders laugh together, and one man shouts over the din to explain the brik—a fried egg pastry stuffed in pita—that he’s making for us. We felt out of place, waiting in the narrow street in a lineturned-gaggle for the brik, because people do not wait in the Carmel Market. Life here isn’t patient. It swarms, pushing, yelling, smiling, eating. A woman squeezed by on her bike to test the cabbage lined up on the edge of the brik vendor’s cart. Another woman crowded up behind her, poking the cabbage with her cane and firing questions at the vendor in Hebrew. We awkwardly shifted about; there was really no place here for bystanders, for people not moving. Even the man behind the cart was in perpetual motion, frying dough, grabbing pita, stuffing it, serving it, starting again. He was here last year, a friend said; maybe he’d been doing this every day for years. This was his life. For a few minutes, we were caught with nothing to do but observe people living. And if anything, this is living, here at the market. Beautiful and ugly, there is life here displayed in its fullness, defying anyone who dares to threaten it. This is a miracle.

“In a way, the market is a microcosm of Israel, whose survival and resilience is something of a miracle.” 2004. Its nation is surrounded by enemies, its city only miles from a terrorist regime in the Gaza Strip. But the bustle of ordinary life within it belies any fear or tragedy. On display at HaCarmel is the best and worst of humanity: creativity and greed, friendliness and deceptiveness. Here a woman yells at us, trying to make us pay for more tea than we want to buy. Here an old man dances to music blasting from a younger man’s iPhone while bystanders clap hands to keep

Israel and elsewhere

street, but if you go too quickly, you might be killed. Political correctness is foreign to Israelis, and sometimes polite manners are a bit foreign to them as well. One Israeli bar sold a drink called “Isis,” “because it will blast your head off,” according to the bartender. It’s bold and straightforward, but customers can leave saying, “I finished off Isis tonight.” Instead of saying “Cheers” when drinking, Israelis say

“L’Chaim,” meaning “to life.” Chutzpah means living life to its fullest with character and sincerity. The music exemplifies chutzpah, too. The refrain of one popular song is loosely translated “You’re great, you’re cute, you’re greatly cute,” and another one says in English, “I’m your beauty / You’re my beast / Welcome to the Middle East.” The first one shows the assertiveness, and the second the charisma. Their lust for life is summed up in one word, meaning everything from “Fine” and “I understand” to “Great!” and “Super!”: “Sababa!”

Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market: Microcosm of a thriving Israel By | Nicole Ault

Music strikes chords of hope in

“Sababa!”: The electrifying energy of Israeli social culture

By | Hannah Niemeier

Culture Editor “This one starts with a real longing, a from-the-guts call for peace. And by the end, the music earns it.” This uncharacteristically poetic description from our tour guide introduced the song that woke me from my mental fugue state after a few days of international travel. He held his smartphone to the microphone and said, “Bear with me. It starts slowly, but I promise it’ll wake you up.” The song opens with Mosh Ben Ari’s clear tenor voice introducing the refrain in the rich sounds of a language I had loved from the day I had first been immersed in it in Israel. It’s simple and natural to express pain and longing in Hebrew, the throaty, melodic language of a people who have been calling for peace for a few thousand years. “Od yavo shalom aleinu,” sings the popular Israeli pop/ folk artist: “Peace will come upon us.” The rest of the lyrics are just as simple, repeating the call for “shalom”—or “peace”—and sharing this hope with a world that has resisted this tiny country’s very existence for hundreds or thousands of years, depending on one’s definition of Israel as a political entity or people fighting for peace in their Promised Land. The song gathers speed and power as it translates its message into the language of one of its longstanding enemies: “Salaam” is the Arabic

word for peace. We stumbled through the words a few times, humming the melody and clapping to the Middle Eastern rhythms, mumbling and mangling the lyrics to one another for the rest of the day. And while greeting the Sabbath at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem Friday evening, we found a group of women who proved that the call for peace was spreading. “It’s our song!” I shouted, and my American Christian friends and I were drawn into the fray of Jewish women dancing in a circle, joyful with the promise of a peace that is long in coming. But that is the mindset of Israel; peace has not yet come, but the promise and the joy (and the music) are with us. A British-Israeli tour guide teaches his American students a song that has become a Jewish anthem for peace throughout Israel. And the message of the song is just as universal as those who sing it: this is the music of “Salaam,” peace for Israel that will come “Aleinu ve’al kol ha olam”: “Upon us and upon the whole world.” “Salaam” lyrics: Od yavo shalom aleinu (Peace will yet come upon us) Od yavo shalom aleinu, ve’al kulam (Peace will yet come upon us and upon the whole world.) Salaam, aleinu ve’al kol ha’olam, (Salaam, upon us and upon the whole world.) Salaam, salaam.

CULTURE CORNER Hillsdale students share their favorite Middle Eastern foods Graduate student Sarah Onken: I loved that most (if not all) of the food we ate was fresh, rarely processed. Because we ate all sorts of fresh vegetables and lean proteins, we could have our fill of fresh bread and feel no shame.

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If I had to single out one new food, though, it would be zaatar, a spice mixture. Mix that stuff with olive oil, dip some bread in it, and enjoy Mediterranean spice to the max. So delicious.

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Senior Jared Eckert: Let’s just say I’m going back to the Tel Aviv market, specifically for that wonder of a kebab stuffed pita at Shmuel. WikiCommons

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Senior Rachael Reynolds: Freshly made pita because there is nothing else that can fill your soul so full except, you know, Jesus. Facebook

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Sophomore Katarina Bradford: Falafel! They are one of God’s abundant blessings to mankind. Facebook

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Compiled by Hannah Niemeier

A10 19 Jan. 2017

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Resurrecting a languishing language and culture Shadi Khalloul is working to revive the Aramaic language. Rachael Reynolds | Courtesy

By | Brooke Conrad C e a e e On Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset passed a bill allowing Aramaic Christians to register for free as their own ethnicity in Israel. Previously, Aramaic Christians had to pay a cumbersome $400 to register in the Israeli state. But now, according to Shadi Khalloul, the founder of the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association, this bill not only makes it much easier for Aramaic Christians to register, but also will help the state of Israel to recognize the Aramaic Christian community as separate from their Arabic Muslim neighbors. Khalloul belongs to a group of about 10,000 Maronite Christians who live in Israel. The Maronite Church dates back to A.D. 350 and was set

apart largely because its members continued to speak Aramaic, which many believe to be the language of Jesus. In northern Israel, close to the Lebanese border, the ruins of Kfar Baram, an old Maronite Christian village, stand to tell the story of how the sect today is fighting to retain its culture. In 1953, amid danger on the Lebanese border, the new Israeli government told Christians in the village to evacuate their homes and move to Jish. The Christians returned later and found the buildings were destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces. Khalloul said this was because it was difficult for the Israeli government to distinguish between the Aramaic Christians who used to live there and their Arabic Muslim neighbors,

many of whom aim for Israel’s destruction. Khalloul worked for 10 years up until now to pass a bill that would establish Aramaic Christianity as a distinct ethnicity, and he hopes to continue strengthening Christian-Jewish relations. “Your fathers are our fathers,” he said on behalf of his community. “We are proud to be sons of the same race … and we hope that God will save the Jews from persecution.” In addition to preserving his people’s ethnicity, Khalloul is also helping to revive the language of the Maronite Church, Aramaic. One way his community in Jish does this is through Aramaic summer camps for children. On their January trip to Israel, 42 students and two professors from Hillsdale vis-

ited Kfar Baram and recited the Lord’s Prayer together in Aramaic while standing inside the old stone Church of Maria. The language is close to Israel’s national language, Hebrew. According to Khalloul, the two languages enrich each other and share similar words. Khalloul said he wants to see a revival of Aramaic among Christians similar to that which occurred with Hebrew among the Jews over the past 100 years. “If the Jews succeeded, we can succeed,” Khalloul said. Hillsdale’s tour guide on the trip, Jeremy Collins, suggested two different possibilities for the language of Jesus: some claim that he spoke Hebrew, since many works and letters from Jesus’s time were written in Hebrew, and the language was possibly spo-

ken up until the fifth century. Others, including the pope, suggest that he spoke Aramaic. Several Hillsdale students said they enjoyed getting to meet Khalloul and hear about the work he is doing there. “I think it’s really cool he’s reviving an old language,” sophomore Calvin Kinney said. “It’s also cool to see his persistence since his village has been destroyed.” Christians make up only about 2 percent of the Israeli population, and there are only about 10,000 Maronite Christians currently living in Israel. While there is certainly danger for Christians in living in the Middle East, Khalloul said he is thankful to live in Israel. “Christians in Israel feel safe and protected because of Israel’s strong military,” he

said. “If this would be weakened, we would have problems. If Israel is strong, we as Christians are strong and safe as well.” Sophomore Katarina Bradford said Khalloul’s situation demonstrates that Israel is an anomaly in the Middle East. “I asked him what life is like as a Christian in Israel,” she said. “He said it is wonderful. It is the only place in the Middle East where he can have lunch with a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, a homosexual, and an atheist, and have a peaceful meal … Christians are such a minority in the nation of Israel and you think they would be marginalized, but it’s the only place where you can live in the Middle East and thrive.”

‘The real stories, fears, and loves’: A tour guide’s perspective By | S. M. Chavey ea e

Jeremy Collins spent 10 days with the Hillsdale group in Israel as its tour guide. Rachael Reynolds | Courtesy

“Wakey wakey!” The first time Jeremy Collins used that phrase during the trip was on the three-hour bus ride from Mount Bental in the Golan Heights to Jerusalem. Though he’s a tour guide in Israel, Collins grew up in Liverpool , Engand, and many of his phrases are much more British than Israeli, including “swimming costume” and “smashing.” But the Hillsdale students fixated on “wakey wakey,” even asking Collins to record it on a speaker to use as an alarm clock. Collins first met current Hillsdale students in 2016 when he worked as a guide for one of the Hillsdale buses that visited Israel last year. From that trip, Hillsdale got

a reputation as the “smart school,” and Collins told the most recent group that he requested the Hillsdale bus this year. Though Collins said this year’s bus was “not as wonderful as Michael Lucchese,” (a junior who went on the trip last year), he befriended every student who went on the trip. “I just liked how personal he was,” Senior Jared Eckert said. “I also really liked his story about why he decided to come to Israel after seeing Poland and Auschwitz. He wasn’t just a flat person, there was a lot more to him. He also knew how to have fun, which is important in the midst of learning about serious issues,” Collins’ funny phrases and witty sense of humor captured the attention of the students,

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Jeremy Collins was born in Liverpool, England, but moved to Israel in 2007 and trained for two years before becoming a tour guide there. Rachael Reynolds | Courtesy

Israeli Scarves By | S. M. Chavey

I picked this scarf because it wasn’t as gaudy as some of the others we saw, and I loved its intricate floral pattern. I also love wearing grey and other neutral colors, so I knew a blue scarf could accent those well. ~Sarah Onken

In all honesty, I bought the scarf for my mom because I thought it was pretty and it had a logo on it that says “Gift from Jerusalem” so it would be a souvenir for her, but then I decided to keep it for myself. ~Hannah Brewer

S. M. Chavey | Collegian

JoAnna Kroeker | Collegian

Madeline Fry | Collegian

This scarf is from my friend who went on the trip last year. I really appreciated that she thought of me while she was there, so I got five scarves when I was in Jerusalem and they’re all gifts for people! ~Kathryn Lewis

This scarf is technically a headdress. The guy in the store almost convinced me not to buy it but then he showed me I could wear it as a scarf too. He also gave me ropes, but I couldn’t figure out how to wear them so I left them at home. ~Hannah Fleming

It was really stressful choosing a scarf becasue there were so many pretty patterns. ~Breana Noble

My grandma gave the scarf to me when she traveled in Israel and I brought it back. The scarf kept me warm while the winds of spiritual change blew through my soul at the Garden of Gethsemane. ~Hannah Niemeier