Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 138 Issue 11 - 20 November 2014
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Jillian Melchior back from Iraq Morgan Delp Editor-in-Chief
Iraqi area, the people were proAmerican and very welcoming to her. She said many felt let down by America, and she agreed. “It morally bothers me that a commitment was made by America, and then we abandoned them,” she said. Melchior recounted with great passion stories of traumatized children who only speak and draw pictures of the return of ISIS to their communities, and men who cannot sleep with-
After being captured, raped, and beaten by ISIS, 19-year-old Amshed escaped to Kurdistan with her 2-year-old son, but her husband was likely killed recounted the horrors of her torture and escape to National Review correspondent Jillian Kay Melchior `09, but when she tried to speak about the loss of her husband — the love of her life — she broke down and could not speak. “It’s too painful,” Amshed’s friend said. On Monday evening, Melchior shared with Hillsdale students and faculty the personal stories of Amshed and other refugees she encountered during a 10-day reporting trip in September to Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. By traveling there, Melchior sought to tell the stories of the individuals affected by ISIS and the plight of Christian refu-
Jillian Melchior `09 spoke to students on Monday about her personal experiences as a journalist in Iraq. (Courtesy of Jillian Melchior)
gees, as opposed to the grandiose political outlook upon which most coverage of the situation focuses. “People tend to become statistics, not individuals,” Melchior said.
Melchior spoke to the religious persecution Christians and Yazidi Iraqis face at the hands of ISIS, and voiced her disappointment in America’s handling of the situation. She said in Kurdistan, a relatively safe part of the
their heads. However, she spoke of moments of hope and triumph of spirit of the Iraqi people as well. “Whenever I travel, I always buy honey for my mom, because it is supposed to taste different everywhere you go,” she said. “The honey vendor from America. He said, ‘Say hi to Obama for me! Thank you for the airstrikes!’” As an accomplished world traveler with a strong sense of
wanderlust, Melchior has traveled to China and Ukraine, writing about religious persecution and political situations in both areas. Before Melchior transferred to Hillsdale, she partook in a media tour through Japan and Korea for a few weeks. This whet her appetite for world politics and allowed her to focus on her passion while at Hillsdale, where she majored in politics and edited the Opinions page of the Collegian. Her favorite courses at Hillsdale were Professor of Politics Will Morrissey’s American Foreign Policy and Comparative Politics, where she enjoyed learning about different world dictators. “Some students go through college and take assignments as objects in an obstacle course, to get over and to get to the next step. She really came to college to learn,” Morrissey said. “For example, she would read
See Melchior A3
Hillsdale: Is the debt worth it? Hillsdale’s student debt is nearly $4,000 below the Michigan average
Kate Patrick Assistant Editor Hillsdale College students should graduate with more debt than most colleges because Hillsdale is a private institution and therefore more expensive, according to national statistics and dozens the trend. The Student Debt Project by The Institude for College Access and Success released its ninth annual report Nov. 13, announcing that now in six states, the average college student graduates with more than $30,000 in student loan debt. According to the data, only one state — New Mexico — averages less than $20,000 in student loan debt per graduate, with the national average of student debt per graduate at $28,400. According to a 2013 Student Loan Affordability report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “there are more than 38 million student loan borrowers with over $1.1 trillion in debt.” Michigan is the state with the eighthhighest average amount of student debt, reporting $29,583 per graduate. This in-
cludes public and private institutions. While Hillsdale ranks about $4,000 lower than the state average, among private institutions alone it ranks even lower. Calvin College and Hope College claim an average debt of $34,978 and $30,289 respectively, according to the report. Because private colleges’ costs of attendance are higher than the costs of
public institutions, students who graduate from private institutions — like Hillsdale College — are more likely to have in paying off their debt, negotiating payment plans, and applying for home mortgages. Director of Financial Aid Rich Moeggenberg said the average amount of
Student debt per graduate $30,000
Michigan average including public and private
$29,583
National average including public and private
$28,400 Hillsdale College
$25,502
$25,000
debt per student in the 2014 graduating class was $25,502, which is lower than the average student debt per student of most private institutions. “Our purpose is to make a Hillsdale education affordable. It is part of the recruiting process,” Moeggenberg said. “We’re unique. We’re one of three schools in the country who doesn’t accept federal aid. If you look at tuition costs compared to other private colleges, we’re very competitive.” Hillsdale graduate Will Wegert `12 majored in marketing and now runs his own business, Cold Collar, which assists job seekers with resume building and job hunting. Wegert said he believes students should choose to take out loans only if they truly believe in the education they are to receive. “Few people consider how much it’s of that is,” Wegert said. “My biggest concern is that people never seem to think about the value in it, they just do it because everyone else is doing it. In our parents’ generation, if you got a college degree, you could move forward. In our generation, it can help, but it also [might]
Husband of college employee dies Morgan Delp Editor-in-Chief A Hillsdale County man and husband of a Hillsdale College employee was killed in a singlecar crash yesterday morning on a road near Hillsdale. Brian Gillette, 67, of Osseo, Michigan, was the husband of Claudia Gillette, aide to the athletic director of Hillsdale College. Gillette was a retiree of Hillsdale Tool, and is survived by three children, Megan Pauken, Matt Gillette, and Michael Gillette, and one grandchild, Elliot Pauken. Yesterday was Gillette’s birthday. “He was just a very loving man. He was a wonderful man. We know he’s gone to heaven,” Claudia Gillette said last night. “We appreciate everyone’s prayers. Our Hillsdale College family means the world to our family.” Gillette was driving a 2006 Chevy Equinox eastbound on Reading Road near Foust Road just after 9 a.m. when he lost control, drove off the road, and struck a tree, according to a Michigan State Police press release sent last night to the Collegian by Lt. Mardella Horhn. Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched to the scene. Gillette was wearing his seatbelt according to police and pronounced dead at the scene. Yesterday, moderate amounts of snow fell throughout the area and some roads were slippery. Many in the athletic department grieve the Gillette family’s loss. “They are such a part of the Charger family and our heart hurts for them,” Head Women’s Tennis Coach Nicole Walbright said last night. The Hillsdale Rural Fire Department, the Woodbridge Township Fire Department, the Reading Township Fire Department, and the Reading Emergency Unit also responded. “Remind everyone that you love them so much,” Walbright said. “Claudia means so much to everyone in the athletic department. We’re here for her in this time.” The incident is still under investigation, the state police report said.
See Debt A3
Bon Appétit partners with local farmers
ing toward people who appreciate it.” After turning down a position to work in Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s New York restaurant, professional chef Ezra Bertakis and his wife Mary moved back to his grandparents’ farm with hopes for a “more country life.” “We wanted a more wholesome life that had meaning and where we could reach more people,” Mary Bertakis said. “It
Macaela Bennett City News Editor
In six minutes SAB sold 100 tickets for the new Hunger Games movie. On Tuesday, freshman Dugan Delp set up a table in the Grewcock Student Union and prepared to sell students $1 tickets for the movie, playing Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Premiere Theatre in Hillsdale. “We just wanted to offer the students a way to see the movie for a cheaper price,” Director of Student Activities Anthony Manno said. (Photo Courtesy of Anthony Manno)
To accomplish its goal of primarily using locally-grown ingredients, Bon Appétit is partnering with Hillsdale farmers like Ezra and Mary Bertakis, owners of Chef’s Way Organic Farms. Located at 5788 Cole Road, Chef’s Way is a 112-acre farm 15 minutes from campus, and it will soon provide Bon Appétit with all-organic ingredients as part of Bon Appétit’s Farm to Fork initiative. Before choosing to partner with farms like Chef’s Way, Bon Appétit General Manager Jeffrey Every and Executive Chef Steve Hickman visit the potential farms and tour the plots of land from which they’d purchase food. After meeting the Bertakises and tasting some of their vegetables, Hickman looks forward to using their ingredients at Hillsdale.
Chef’s Way farmers Jim, Ezra, and Mary Bertakis. (Macaela Bennett/Collegian)
Hickman said. “That’s amazing that we have this [Chef’s Way] in Hillsdale’s backyard. They’re knowledgeable, passionate, and excited like us. We know they’re putting their hearts in the vegetables, and that’s the same thing we’ll do when we cook them.” The Bertakises’ eagerness to
partner with Bon Appétit matches Hickman’s excitement to use Chef’s Way ingredients. “Bon Appétit is pretty picky with what food they take, and we want to work with people who have high standards,” Mary Bertakis said. “It’s rewarding for us to know our food will be go-
Yorkers, and Ezra always had a call to come back to the farm. Now, we want to set the bar for how to do professional organic farming.” Former owners of the farm land, Ezra Bertakis’s grandparents also believed in the importance of natural growing and never used pesticides or chemicals on the land. The Bertakises want to use this focus on organic growing coupled with Ezra’s culinary background to grow top-notch produce for chefs like
See Farmers A6
INSIDE Bright students abroad Update on Hillsdale’s Fulbright scholars. A3
Heap of history Piles of historical Hillsdale
Men’s basketball shows promise in season opener against the University of Michigan. A8
The Misanthrope arrives The Tower Players opened their new show Wednesday and it will run through Saturday. B1
City approves fiber optics contract Hillsdale City Council approved a contract between BPU and ACD.net Monday. A6
B3
(Courtesy of Scott Galvin)
(Elena Creed/Collegian)
News........................................A1 Opinions..................................A4 City News................................A6 Sports......................................A7 Arts..........................................B1 Features....................................B3
Greek life Students weigh the pros and cons of going Greek. A5
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