Hillsdale Collegian 1.25.18

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Michigan’s oldest college newspaper

Vol. 141 Issue 15 - January 25, 2018

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

A student holds a pro-life sign at the March for Life. Madeline fry | Collegian

Hillsdale takes more than 100 students to March for Life By | Madeline Fry Culture Editor WASHINGTON — More than 100 Hillsdale College students gathered on the National Mall on Friday to participate in the annual March for Life. Tens of thousands of marchers, including the students and more than a dozen alumni, assembled to protest Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the United States. Junior Kathleen Russo, president of the Hillsdale Students for Life, organized the trip to Washington, D.C., for Hillsdale students, who rode there on two buses the night before the march. “At Hillsdale, we hear about all these big, important ideas like human rights. The march is an opportunity to apply what we learn to real life,” Russo said. “It also keeps students in mind of service. It’s not a pleasure trip. They don’t have much free time.” Before the march, as students congregated on the steps of the National Museum of American History, president of the March for Life Jeanne Mancini greeted protestors at

a rally. “You are part of the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world,” Mancini said. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence also spoke at the rally via telecast from the Rose Garden. Trump said his administration is committed to supporting the pro-life movement. “Today, I’m honored and really proud to be the first President to stand with you here at the White House to address the 45th March for Life,” Trump said. “You come from many backgrounds, many places. But you all come for one beautiful cause: to build a society where life is celebrated, protected, and cherished.” Trump reminded marchers that last year he reinstated the Reagan-era Mexico City policy, which blocks federal funding from going to foreign non-governmental organizations that offer abortion advocacy or referrals. Associate Professor of German Fred Yaniga, a co-advisor to Students for Life along with Professor of English Michael

Jordan, said the president’s presence, even remotely, inspired the marchers. “It’s good for the dynamic and the spirit of the crowd,” Yaniga said, “good to have an administration that backs the

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One that she held read, “A real feminist chooses life.” “It’s because life is life, and even in the womb, a woman’s life matters,” Briggs said. “You can’t just pick and choose based on location which life is

A Hillsdale student holds the college’s banner at the March for Life. Madeline Fry | Collegian

cause.” Yaniga said he worried the student attendance at the march would be smaller than

Pastor and professor dies at age 87 By | Katherine Scheu Associate Editor When former Hillsdale professor Charles “Chuck” Johnson poured cat food into the bowls lined up on his front porch, he always waved to his neighbors as they strolled by his E. Fayette Street home on warm evenings. After living a life full of love for felines and humans alike, he died at 87 years old on Monday at the MacRitchie North Skilled Nursing Facility in the Hillsdale Hospital. Johnson is survived by his wife, Madelyn, and two daughters. He was preceded in death by his son, Steven Johnson, who died in 2004. “He was kind-hearted and never said anything bad about anyone,” said Academy Headmaster Kenneth Calvert, one of the Johnson’s neighbors. “He was a sweet, beautiful man. He loved the Lord and was just so kind.” Madelyn Johnson currently is hospitalized at the ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital and is in touch with her family. She could not be reached for comment. Johnson started his career at the college in 1988, but he already had begun making an impact in Hillsdale two years earlier when College Baptist Church hired Johnson and

last year, but that wasn’t the case. “I love to see Hillsdale students motivated from words to actions,” Yaniga said. “It’s a fantastic group to be part of.” Junior Bobbie Briggs,

who attended the march last year, painted several signs for students to carry during their walk down the National Mall.

effectively as he had talked with his congregants, clients, and pupils. Student workers will see a “He was a pay increase due to a raise great preachin the minimum wage. er who alNolan Ryan | Collegian ways, always made sure the gospel was clear,” Calvert said. “That always impressed me.” Calvert, By | Nolan Ryan who witnessed JohnAssistant Editor son preach All Hillsdale employees many times, paid by the hour, including recalled how students, will see a raise in Johnsons their wages to $9.25 per hour often shared due to a final increase to the task Michigan’s statewide miniof writing Professor Charles “Chuck” Johnson died on Monmum wage. and giving day. He is survived by his wife, Madelyn Johnson. The Workforce Opportua sermon. Eagle Funeral Homes | Courtesy nity Wage Act was put into Jokingly, the effect in September 2014. his wife to co-pastor the two called At the time, minimum wage congregation in 1986. At the this technique a “ping-pong was raised to $8.15. Gradual college, Johnson served as a sermon.” One would begin to increases brought the hourly lecturer of sociology and a preach, and soon the other wage to $9.25 this month. counselor to students, faculty, would chime in. On they According to the Michigan and staff. He and his wife also would go until they reached Department of Licensing team-taught a course about their conclusion. and Regulatory Affairs, this love, marriage, and family, “Some people would think act “applies to employers in which many students still that crazy, but it actually Michigan that have two or enrolled here recalled fondly. worked quite well,” Calvert more employees age 16 and As a pastor, Johnson is said. older.” said to have spoken from See Johnson A2 Hank Prim, assistant directhe pulpit as personably and www.hillsdalecollegian.com

valuable.” Andrew Egger ’17, who attended the march as a reporter for the Weekly Standard, said

he noticed a positive attitude among the marchers. “I was sort of surprised that this event — which is about protesting a sort of grave evil that is sort of infesting our country — was such a hopeful and positive and even upbeat affair,” Egger said. “It’s a cause that’s just sort of fundamentally decent and vibrant and joyful, which is that life is worth celebrating.” The morning of the march, the House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill to require doctors to care for babies born alive during an abortion or an abortion attempt. Senior Ilsa Epling said when she heard the news, she felt the atmosphere around her shift. “Word about the passage through the House of the Born-Alive bill started to come through, and the already hopeful feeling in the air just got amped up beyond description,” Epling said. “The vibe at the last march was cautious optimism; this year, it was buoyant hope, and it was beautiful.”

Minimum wage increase boosts student employee pay tor of Student Activities, said this will only impact employees paid by an hourly rate. Students currently paid an hourly rate above minimum wage will not see an increase; this only affects workers who are receiving the current minimum wage. Hillsdale’s salaried staff, he said, will not be affected by the wage increase. Sometimes, however, college employers can choose to pay above minimum wage. “It’s all dependant upon the office that’s responsible for those student employees,” Prim said. “You have a minimum rate of hourly pay that you’re afforded as a student employee. Above that, individual student supervisors can opt for higher wages depending upon levels of responsibility or whether they

supervise other employees or if they have management responsibilities that are above and beyond what a normal, hourly student employee would make.” The college’s controller’s office and human resources departments set requirements and guidelines for campus employers to determine what responsibility looks like for an employee. The controller’s office is under the college’s financial affairs division, while human resources is under the administrative division. “HR handles the employment side, whereas the controller’s office deals with making sure whatever the pay and rules are, they are comporting with the law, federal, state or local,” Prim said.

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