Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 137, Issue 19 - 6 March 2014
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Frats, dean develop alcohol policies Hannah Leitner Assistant Editor
Hillsdale College’s Delta Sigma Phi fraternity may get its house back this fall. If they do, the house will be dry. “Now, we are just trying to make sure that we are complying with the national and Hillsdale standards when it comes to the drinking policy,” DSP chapter president senior Joe Snyder said. “Having a house will just make every aspect of the fraternity better.” DSP is one of four fraternities on campus that abides by different regulations regarding alcohol use. Each fraternity operates under its own individual alcohol policy, which depends on factors such as academic merit and national fraternity policy. Each policy, however, resides under the umbrella of the dean’s “I’m moving forward with office campus-wide alcohol polthem returning to the chapter icy, as listed in the student handhouse, and I am presuming a book. strong accreditation score,” PeIn DSP’s case, dry houses are a tersen said. “There will be 10 nationwide policy for the fraternito 15 guys that I’ll move into ty, which was instituted in the past the house. There are going to be several years. some restrictions and expectaOf the three current college frations, and we’re going to work ternity houses, only Sigma Chi has together on those details.” house-alcohol privileges, although Snyder said his work with Pe- no liquor is allowed in their house. tersen was productive. The other two fraternities, Alpha “The focus was on getting the Tau Omega and Delta Tau Delta, house back and setting a good once had wet houses but no longer score,” he said. “After the meet- do for disciplinary reasons. ing, all the officers sat down, and Dean of Men Aaron Petersen we all made a plan, and, as long said the alcohol policy in fraternias we accomplish that, then we’ll ties depends on four factors: the get the house back.” behavior of the members of the Snyder said aspects of that fraternity, the college policy, the plan include service projects, fraternity’s national board, and the philanthropy events, increased local alumni association. recruitment, increased fraternity Within each house there are GPA average, and alumni en- designated officers that are elected See DSP A3 by the fraternity to maintain the
DSP: Road to home
(Caleb Whitmer/Collegian)
Evan Brune News Editor
Delta Sigma Phi fraternity lost its house more than two years ago due to a range of violations, including possession of alcohol. Now, the men of DSP are on their way to reclaiming their home. An agreement between Dean of Men Aaron Petersen and the chapter states that an accreditation score of 80 or higher will allow the college to move forward with a plan to return the house to the fraternity. The accreditation is done by the national fraternity. “We want to see a strong accreditation score from them,” Petersen said. “We need to see that they can sustain strong effort and performance, which is something we’ve talked a lot about. What we’ve been after
with them is to improve the heart of their chapter. We want them to continue being serious about fraternity, and making a strong positive influence on this campus and in the community.” In the past three years, DSP has gone from an accreditation score of zero to a 72, according to junior Paul Wendt, future chapter president. “We have made a lot of improvements over the last two years,” Wendt said. Fraternal accreditation is determined by a number of factors, including participation in philanthropy projects, alumni events, and national conferences. Part of those improvements included attending a conference of the national Delta Sigma Phi fraternity in Indianapolis, Ind., in January. “The Indianapolis conference
Off-campus permission rates dropped for men Morgan Delp Sports Editor
In an effort to convert Niedfeldt Residence back to a male dormitory for next school year, and due to the female-dominated rising junior class, the administration has allowed fewer men to move off campus and increased the girls’ allowance from last year. As of Feb. 28, 51 men and 106 women were newly permitted to leave campus housing, joining the 109 men and 48 women who will return to off-campus housing this fall. This equals 314 Hillsdale students that are projected to live off-campus next year. This number could change, depending on the number of admitted freshmen in the fall. “The end variable is the admissions number,” Dean of Women Diane Philipp said. “There are usually slightly more women than men, by our projections. We have to house the freshmen, and 10 bodies make a difference. Sometimes in May we ask if students want to live off-campus, and it seems as if the office is disorganized, but really, we accepted a few more freshmen, and we need to house them.” Off-campus status is determined by the number of Hillsdale College credits a student holds. The deans’ office, in cooperation with the registrar’s office, ranks students in order of most credits to least, in an effort to honor seniority. If students turn down the op-
INSIDE
tion to live off campus, the administration notifies the next students in line that they are granted permission. Because of this and fluctuations in admitting the freshman class of 2018, the process of notification could go on until May. Philipp said it has never been a problem for seniors to live off campus. Not all juniors and sophomores are always allowed to leave college housing, even if they were granted permission the previous year, or one of their potential housemates was granted permission. However, for college-owned houses, she said that returning residents may choose underclassmen to move in with them. “The key to housing is making sure friends can stay with friends. All residence halls are different, but as long as we can keep friends together they seem to be happy,” Philipp said. Niedfeldt Residence was converted from a men’s dorm to a women’s during the 2012-2013 school year, when the number of freshmen girls far outweighed the number of freshmen boys. The deans said they feel that men need another dorm option on campus, in addition to Galloway and Simpson Residences. Koon Residence, which houses about half as many students as Niedfeldt, will return to housing women next year. The late L.A. “Red” Niedfeldt and his widow, Phyllis Niedfeldt, donated the funds to build
satisfied one of our requirements for accreditation,” Wendt said. “We got 20 guys down there in contact with our national headquarters, and before, we hadn’t really had much contact with the national fraternity.” Wendt said the conference focused on recruitment tactics and philanthropy ideas, as well as a number of team building exercises. Petersen and Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers also attended the conference. “Dean Pete kept the ship running and let the national fraternity do their job,” Wendt said. Upon their return to campus, a conversation began about how fraternity members could return to their house. Petersen and Chapter President senior Joe Snyder developed a plan that put the men of DSP on track to return in the fall 2014 semester.
The Freedom Fund
Freedom Quest
Founders’ Campaign
1976-1980
1987-1996
2001-2012
$32 M
$202 M
$635 M
Alex Anderson Web Editor
avoid dependence on state and federal aid, struck a chord with the national media, dignitaries, and thousands of individual donors. Hillsdale’s Goliath: the threat of Title IX In October 1975, the Board of Trustees published a resolution which openly resisted The Higher Education Amendments of 1972, an act signed into law by President Richard Nixon. The trustees’ resolution stated that the new restrictive regulations imposed by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare were an attempt to impose Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 on colleges and universities. The regulations reclassified independent colleges and universities as “recipient institutions.” This classification meant that any independent institution with enrolled students who received government financial aid was obliged to comply with regulations of Title IX.
1976-1980 Raised: $230 M Goal: $470.2 M
Title IX mandated that no person could be excluded from participation, denied benefits, or discriminated based on sex under any educational activity supported by federal assistance. Despite the college’s historic non-discriminatory mission, “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary and scientific education,” Title IX threatened the college’s autonomy by attempting to regulate college athletics, admissions, and activities. Hundreds of media outlets including Time, The New York Times, the New York Daily News, and The L.A. Times covered Hillsdale’s battle for academic autonomy, elevating the college’s national profile. Numerous articles compared the college’s faith and moral courage to the Biblical account of David and Goliath, such as one written by John Hiner of The Jackson Citizen Patriot. “Hillsdale is known as the Da-
vid that kept Goliath government off its back,” Hiner wrote. In March 1976 a letter sent by Martin Gerry, acting director of the Office for Civil Rights, informed Hillsdale College President George Roche III that students enrolled at Hillsdale College were participating in a number of government funded programs. Gerry concluded that such participation would require the college’s compliance with regulations outlined in Title IX, should they keep accepting funding. “There is no question but that the regulation as it stands does cover colleges such as Hillsdale,” Gerry wrote in the letter. Contrary to Gerry’s opinion, Roche sought to challenge The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s accusation. Roche argued that the college did not have to comply with the specified regulations because the direct re-
Outstanding Seniors
Swimmer goes to nationals Thirteen track and field athletes qualify to compete at nationals on March 14-15. A8
Read Mary Proffit Kimmel and Viktor Rozsa’s speeches from parents’ weekend. A5
Q&A: State rep candidates Fifty-eighth district state representative candidates present platforms and why they deserve a vote. A6 (Carsten Stann/Collegian)
Rebirth of Liberty & Learning Campaign
College has raised $1.1 billion in capital campaign fundraisers since 1976
Keeping the streets clean The city of Hillsdale works to keep the roads plowed for residents. B4
Sun lamps The Health and Wellness Center is using vitamin D lamps to help combat winter depression. A3
See Alcohol A3
Campaigning for capital
Hillsdale College has raised $1.1 billion since it began its 40year fight against state and federal regulations. Three completed capital campaigns, led by Presidents George Roche III and Larry Arnn, have successfully endowed the security of Hillsdale’s academic liberty. This past October, the college launched its fourth campaign, The Rebirth of Liberty and Learning, intended to raise $472 million over the next 10 years. The first capital campaign, “The Freedom Fund,” was launched by the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees in 1976. Symbolized by the Victory Bell, which now sits enshrined next to Central Hall, the campaign successfully raised more than $32 million in less than four years. The purpose See Off-Campus A3 of the campaign, which was to
Q&A Actress Mitzi Gaynor talks about love and life after her CCA presentation on the making of “South Pacific.” A2
standards of the chapter. Petersen said that the main difference between residence halls and fraternity houses is the fraternities’ privilege to establish their own rules within the boundaries of the school and national fraternity policies. “It really is an experiment in self-government,” Petersen said. Through these students, the dean, and local news reports, the national fraternity is able to keep tabs on the campus chapters. Periodically, a representative will come to check in on the fraternity. Petersen said that if a singular issue of alcohol violation arises, the school and the local alumni board typically come up with the punishment. However, if the issue is reoccurring, the national fraternity may step in. “It is supposed to be left to the fraternities to self-govern,” Snyder said, “but obviously, if there is a problem, then the college is supposed to come in.” Consequences from the dean can range anywhere from temporary renunciations of alcohol privileges to the loss of the house. If the national fraternity chooses to act, consequences can include the revocation of the chapter from the campus. After its rechartering in 2009 and moving into a house in 2013, Delta Tau Delta fraternity is a dry fraternity but Chapter President junior Rossteen Salehzadeh said the fraternity is looking into petitioning the dean in order to have alcohol at requested events. “The actions from the past have definitely help shaped our attitudes in the house now as to what we can and can’t allow,” Salehzadeh said. Alpha Tau Omega Chapter President Dan Vandegriff said he
(Walker Mulley/Collegian)
News........................................A1 Opinions..................................A4 City News................................A6 Sports......................................A7 Arts..........................................B1 Features....................................B3
See Campaigns A3
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