Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 137, Issue 15 - 6 Feb. 2014
Hillsdale wins in 4OT
Average ACT Score 26
2002 27.5 2008
31
[goal by]
2014
2018
84% 2002 65% 2008
30%
29
49% 2014
2018
[goal by]
Acceptance Rate
Boosting our stats Casey Harper Spotlight Editor
against Malone University on Thursday, Jan. 30. Hillsdale came out strong against the GLIAC South Division leaders, winning 8569. While Malone was able to tie Hillsdale twice during the game, they never were able to take the lead. “It was one of our best team performances,” Mock said. Hillsdale had four players – sophomore Kelsey Cromer, Landherr, Berry, and Lowery –
Officers urge seniors to give Alex Anderson Web Editor The college’s 2014 senior class officers have officially kicked off a three-year student giving campaign for the senior class. Senior Class President Josh Andrew explained that the campaign is an effort to increase the percentage of alumni donations given to the college. “Historically, people who graduate from Hillsdale don’t seem to give back very much,” Andrew said. “This impacts our rankings. If people gave back $30 over three years, it will drastically impact our rankings for the better.” The idea for this three-year campaign began last year with the class of 2013. During the course of their campaign, 40 percent of the class signed a pledge to support the college over a three-year period. Colleges across the nation continually seek to increase their alumni giving rate. U.S. News & World Report publishes an annual report of the top 10 colleges with the highest two-year average
percentage of alumni donations. According to U.S. News and World Report, the college with the highest alumni giving rate was Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., which averaged 63.7 percent. Hillsdale College Director of Alumni Relations Grigor Hasted explained that the senior class campaign is part of an effort to increase the college’s alumnigiving rate, which has remained at 25 percent. “Fifty percent is a good level for some of the best schools in the nation. We are among those schools, but our alumni giving rate is not commensurable with that,” Hasted said. “If you wait to cultivate that type of alumni support after the students graduate, even within the first two years, it is very hard to reach them.” In an effort to increase student participation in the campaign, the senior class officers are exploring new marketing efforts. “Last year, the officers really restricted their marketing to sitting at a table above Saga. We thought that as long as people know about the campaign they
make at least two 3-pointers. As a team, Hillsdale was 60 percent on 3-pointers and 80 percent on free throws. Hillsdale continued its winning streak on Monday night with its first win at the University of Findlay since 2009. Hillsdale started
h) Smit
See Admissions A3
In the longest, highest-scoring game in NCAA Division II women’s basketball this season, Hillsdale College defeated Walsh University 106-105. With 22 ties and 24 lead changes, the game was a battle from the beginning. At the end of regulation, Hillsdale was ahead 66-64 until Walsh tied it up with 28 seconds left. “I was thinking, ‘Oh great, here we go,’” sophomore Madison Berry said. However, the Chargers would not be taken down so easily. “I felt like we lost the game 25 times but won it 26 times,” assistant coach Jon Mock said. In the third of four overtimes, Walsh scored a 3-pointer to take a 98-95 lead with eight seconds left. The Chargers got the ball to junior Kadie Lowery, who scored her own 3-point shot to tie the game with two seconds left, sending the Chargers into overtime number four. “They refused to lose the game,” Mock said. Hillsdale played much of the fourth overtime with a new lineup due to three starting players – senior Angela Bisaro, Berry, and redshirt sophomore Ashlyn Landherr – fouling out. Junior Megan Fogt, who earned her fourth GLIAC South Player of the Week award, played a crucial role in the game, especially during the fourth overtime, when she made one jump shot and four of her five free throws, including the final free throw with one second left, to end the game. “Honestly I’m pretty sure I was solely running on adrenaline through all of the overtimes,” Fogt said in an email. “As I’m sure many of the other girls on the team were, too.” Fogt played 58 minutes of the 60-minute game. She had a career-high 41 points, and 24 re-
bounds, the first 40-20 game in school history. “I’m so proud of how we came together as a team and wouldn’t quit,” Fogt said. Fogt and Berry were the only Chargers to shoot free throws, going 28-32 combined. Berry also scored 32 points, a career-high. “It was the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of,” Mock said. “When you play four overtimes, you don’t really forget. Especially when you come out on the winning side.” Hillsdale went into the game against Walsh after an important win
gan of Lo
If Hillsdale were to meet that 30 percent rate, it would fall easily into the top 100 most selective schools in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report’s ranking for the fall of 2012. Hillsdale is already the most selective private school in Michigan, and schools that Hillsdale is often compared to, such as Thomas Aquinas College and Grove City College, have acceptance rates of 80.6 percent and 84.2 percent respectively, according to U.S. News and World Report. Hillsdale’s numbers have not always been as impressive. In 2002, Hillsdale had an acceptance rate of 84 percent and an average ACT of 26. The ACT score of 31 would tie Hillsdale with the University of Michigan. “Right now, we’re the best liberal arts school, we have the best academic profile of any liberal arts college in the state of Michigan,” Lantis said. “The University of Michigan reports a 31 ACT, so if we can raise our standards that high, we will be able to be as good as any school in the state.” Lantis said the college is increasing its web and social media outreach, strengthening its base of parent and alumnae volunteers, and increasing its mailings as ways to
Monica Brandt Collegian Reporter
rtesy (Cou
Hillsdale College plans to be the most selective school in Michigan within five years. As part of the Rebirth of Liberty and Learning campaign, admissions plans to increase its applications by about 40 to 45 percent and raise the average ACT score to 31 by 2018. “A lot of schools, a lot of private liberal arts colleges in the state of Michigan, simply want to fill their class and that’s their goal, and they have a hard time reaching that goal,” Director of Admissions Jeffrey Lantis said. “We have no problem reaching that goal.” Currently, the college averages 2,100 applications for a freshman class of about 370, with an acceptance rate of about 49 percent. If they achieve their target 3,000 applications by 2018, that would put the acceptance rate at about 30 percent, well below the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor’s 37 percent acceptance rate. “We want it to be a demonstrable statistic that we’re the most selective school in Michigan, period,” Associate Director of Admissions Fred Schebor said.
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Cold Walker Mulley Collegian Freelancer
Photos by Ben Strickland
out t h e game well, Mock said, but fell into a lull partway into the first half, and didn’t come out of it until the last eight or nine minutes in the game. “We were all super tired and
See Basketball A7
Heavy snow, in addition to high winds and frigid temperatures, has challenged the city of Hillsdale’s winter maintenance crew this season. “It’s by far the most intense winter since the `70s,” said Keith Richard, Hillsdale Department of Public Services director. DPS Working Foreman Roger Paynes said the crew’s work is never finished in weather like this. “You get the streets open and then the wind blows them back shut,” Payne said. So much snow is accumulating that plow drivers are running out of space to store it at the side of the road, Richard said. While the department mainly uses plows mounted under their trucks, it has resorted to using front plows, which push snow higher, in order to push newer snow over old piles. Normally, warm spells throughout the winter prevent such accumulation, but no reprieves have occurred this season. In addition to finding somewhere to shovel old snow, the crew is having problems melting new snow and ice due to the consistent, sub-zero temperatures. “The cold makes salt less effective,” Richard said. The crew has since resorted to spreading sand on roads as well, to provide some sort of traction for drivers. DPS has separate budgets for winter maintenance on major roads, local roads, and the section of M-99 within city limits, called the trunk line. When the last budget figures came out on Jan. 1, DPS had used 22 percent of its $83,840 budget for major roads, 22.5 percent of its $47,840 budget for local roads, and 45 percent of the trunk line’s $22,785 budget. The trunk line budget is set by the state of Michigan, but the other two are set by the city.
See Cold A6
See Giving A3
Don Tocco Phillips Auditorium Feb. 12th, 2014 7pm
Tocco Funding for Campus Organizations
The top Fraternity, Sorority, Athletic Program, and Club in attendance will each receive $1,000, and the second place organization in each category will receive $500. To register your student organization, please email David Wilhelmsen at DWilhelmsen@Hillsdale.edu. Deadline for registration is February 9th.