George Nash speaks on Buckley’s legacy
By Gemma Flores Collegian Reporter
Historian George Nash said American politics changed under the work of William F. Buckley, a man many consider to be the “patron saint of American conservatism,” April 8 in Plaster
“He changed minds, he changed lives, and he labored successfully to change the direction of American politics,” Nash
Nash is a scholar, historian and lecturer specializing in
the history of Herbert Hoover, Ronald Reagan, and the history of American conservatism. He has published multiple books, including “Conservative Intellectual Movement in American Since 1945,” and served on the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science for three years after presidential appointment.
The National Review Institute partnered with Hillsdale’s history department to host Nash’s talk as part of a lecture series NRI is hosting across the country in honor of Buckley’s centenary.
Buckley wrote more than 6,000 articles, essays, and columns during his 60 years in the public eye, according to Nash.
Perhaps most importantly, Nash said, Buckley gave conservatism a new face.
“He was a character, in addition to everything else. A character who was worthy of caricature, of imitation,” Professor of History Wilfred McClay said in his opening remarks. “He made conservatism interesting. He gave it a sort of glamour.”
By Charles Hickey Collegian Freelancer
Hillsdale auto dealers said although President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs are causing uncertainty within the industry, they are necessary to ensure fairness in the global economy.
Trump implemented a 25% tariff on all imported cars and light trucks April 3. The same day, Stellantis — the multinational owner of American brands Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram — announced it would temporarily close factories in Canada and Mexico and lay off 900 American employees, according to Scott McKinney, a sales consultant at Cronin Hillsdale JDCR. McKinney said the layoffs are a “short-term solution” while the auto industry evaluates the tariffs’ impact, which is still “up in the air.”
See Tariffs A6
Campus icons battle at Simpson
By Cassandra DeVries Collegian Reporter
Sophomore Luke Waters won this year’s Simpson Smackdown wrestling competition as the Raging Bull, but Chair and Professor of English Justin Jackson told Waters he was coming for him next year in a displayed video at the wrestling match’s finale.
“I destroyed every single one out here on the mat tonight, and
if Dr. Jackson or anybody else has a problem with that, they can meet me on the ring next year,” Waters said. Simpson Residence hosted the second annual Simpson Smackdown, “an action-packed wrestling showdown featuring Simpson’s finest wrestlers, special guests, and non-stop entertainment” April 4 in the Simpson courtyard. Students, professors, and
campus personalities staged wrestling fights in the ring, complete with breaking tables, flying cereal, and inflated sumo wrestler costumes.
Junior Jonathan Williams organized the event and junior Paden Hughs created hype videos and story points for the performance. Sophomores Alex Buehrer and Joe Vankat helped write the script. Waters played the Raging
Bull, complete with a leather jacket, cigar, and temporary tattoos.
“Luke was just an electric personality in Simpson Smackdown last year, so we knew he was going to come back this year,” Williams said. “Then we tried to think of big people we could get to be cameos.”
Williams said they immediately thought of Gate Guy — Dennis Cooke — and reached out to recruit him.
“I got his number but Gate Guy was originally on the fence,” Williams said. “But we showed him some videos and roped him into it, and he loved it. He came up with most of the ideas for his match and really bought into it.”
Williams said once they recruited Waters and Cooke, they decided they were missing someone.
“We realized that we should complete the Jodel trifecta and get Max as well,” Williams said. “That was a funny nod to campus culture that we were able to put together.”
Sophomore Max Cote dressed up in lederhosen with a large yodel horn as the Yodeler.
The first flowers of spring defy the April snow. Courtesy | Makayla Hanna
Luke Waters won Simpson Smackdown. Cassandra DeVries | Collegian
George Nash wrote a book on the history of conservatism. John J. Miller | Collegian
DeYoung speaks on importance of having children
By Gemma Flores Collegian Reporter
Author and pastor Kevin DeYoung offered a biblical perspective on declining birth rates across the globe in his April 7 Drummond Lecture in Christ Chapel entitled “Family, Civilization, and the Church: The Christian Case for Getting Married and Having Children.”
“The most significant thing happening in the world today is quite likely the thing not happening in the world today: men and women are not having children,” DeYoung said. “The human race seems to have grown tired of itself.”
DeYoung is on the Gospel Coalition council and is a senior pastor of Christ Covenant
Church in North Carolina. He is the author of several books, including “Crazy Busy: A Mercifully Short Book About a Big Problem” and “What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality?” DeYoung serves as an associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte.
DeYoung cited the data that tracks the Total Fertility Rates of women in different countries. The TFR is the total number of children the average woman from a certain country will have in her lifetime. DeYoung said as long as a country’s TFR is around 2.1, the country is considered to be at a good rate of replacement.
“As recently as 2007, the
Catholic Society to finish women’s lecture series
By Francesca Cella Collegian Reporter
Catholic Society Women’s Outreach will host the final part of a three day Lenten Mini-Retreat Series featuring reflections on female identity Saturday, April 12.
The mini-retreat will begin with 8 a.m. Mass and adoration at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church followed by a talk at Rough Draft titled “Woman as Sojourner” by former Associate Professor of Politics Ali Cortes.
The retreat series began March 22, featuring a talk on “Woman as Daughter” by Jessica Franklin, wife of Associate Professor of English Kelly Franklin, and continued March 29, with a talk on “Woman as Sister” by Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy Allison Postell.
“A lot of girls have said, ‘We get a lot of vocation talks and those are great, but some of us are freshmen or sophomores; we’re not dating. It’s kind of frustrating to hear all this talk about getting married all the time, or about being a wife and mother,’” said senior Clare Oldenburg, head of Women’s Outreach. “Those are beautiful things, but they’re not always pertinent to a college culture.”
Women’s Outreach asked each speaker to discuss womanhood from a different perspective, exploring a woman’s identity as a daughter, sister, and sojourner through the retreat series, according to Oldenburg.
“We wanted to work with the traditional daughter, sister, bride, mother, and we wanted to reframe that to daughter, sister, sojourner to meet college women where they’re at,” Oldenburg said.
Sophomore Evelyn Freedman, a member of Women’s Outreach, said she suggested the group host an event addressing the struggles women face.
“Men’s talks at Hillsdale’s campus are much more practical and relevant to instilling virtue or to get the guys to change their lives,” Freedman said. “Women’s talks can tend to be more fluffy, and I think that Hillsdale women can take more than that. There are so many areas that we need to grow in and we need some direct, practical advice for.”
Franklin opened the retreat and said a woman’s identity as a daughter inherently means being loved.
“To be a daughter is to be
United States had a TFR of 2.1, while the European Union had 1.6. But since then, the U.S. birth rate has fallen by 20% — as low as 1.73, according to some estimates,” DeYoung said.
The United States is now far below the rate of replacement, according to DeYoung, meaning that unless something changes, the country’s population will begin to shrink.
“At no time in human history have human beings been having fewer children than they are now,” DeYoung said. “In most countries, the number of births per woman is well below the replacement rate. In fact, unless you are in Africa, you are most certainly in a country with a replacement rate that is not being met by
the current fertility numbers.”
The answer, DeYoung said, is not to start having as many children as possible with whomever is willing and able. Instead, DeYoung said, it should be to place an emphasis on building stable families that are able to flourish.
“Humanly speaking, there is nothing more important for personal well-being, positive social behavior, and general success in life than being raised by one’s biological parents committed to each other in a stable marriage,” DeYoung said.
In today’s culture, DeYoung said, getting married young is often discouraged. DeYoung said this has catastrophic effects on the culture, including fewer children. DeYoung emphasized
how a marriage can grow with young people and can be a sanctifying experience for both man and wife.
“Recall that the Bible never says ‘Thou must finish all of your graduate degrees before marriage’ or ‘backpack through Europe before marriage’ or ‘make time to binge watch Netflix before marriage,’” said DeYoung.
Not only is having children good for society and for the individual, DeYoung said, it also carries on one’s legacy and leaves an indelible mark on the world.
“It is not just an act of dogged obedience to have children, or even simply an act of faith,” DeYoung said. “It is an act of transcendence.”
The talk struck a chord with
several students at Hillsdale such as freshman Sophia Bryant.
“It’s a good reminder of values I’ve held my whole life and why I hold them,” Bryant said.
Freshman Ross Phelps said the talk made him rethink what he wanted his future family to be like.
“When you grow up with one or two siblings, you see yourself having one or two kids,” Phelps said. “You don’t think you’re going to expand upon much more than what your parents had. I’d say if anything convicted me from the lecture, it was that maybe I should expand my horizons when it comes to my expectations for the number of children I’ll have.”
Documentary class to premiere films on Hillsdale sports legends
By Ty Ruddy Assistant Editor
wanted,” Franklin said. “The probability of you existing is one in 700,000 times 1,000 times 60 times 24 times 365 times 60 times 10 to the 23rd. Somebody wanted you to be here.”
Franklin drew from a children’s illustrated Bible, comparing its description of God rejoicing over creation like a “new dad” to his delight when he sees his daughters.
“Think of your reaction to your favorite aspect of creation: what a gift,” Franklin said. “To be a daughter is to be a gift.”
Postell spoke on woman’s identity as a sister and said women find meaning through pursuing the good of another in sisterly friendship.
“Christ’s call is to say that if you want to be happy, the twist is not to never think of yourself but to attach your good to thinking about how it is that you can serve other people,” Postell said. “When they do that in return, what you’ve got is a really good friend.”
Seeking another’s good does not mean living altruistically, but also requires allowing them to love you, according to Postell.
“If you want to will the good of another in a well-ordered way and if it’s appropriate for them to help you, then to love them means to let them help you,” Postell said. “It’s a kind of selfishness or even rooted in pride to say, ‘I’m self-sufficient.’ No you’re not. None of us are self-sufficient, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We’re meant to be in community.”
Freedman said the retreats have provided mentors and fellowship that stimulate spiritual growth.
“The retreats did a really great job to provide that direct, practical encouragement and really challenge women to heal wounds, correct vices, and explore the inner workings of their hearts with a more serious tone than I’ve encountered yet at Hillsdale,” Freedman said. “This is a format and a space that could be beneficial and stand to grow as a whole.”
College is a good season for women to understand who they are and grow in sanctity, Oldenburg said.
“There’s lots of deep work that can be done with regard to our identity,” Oldenburg said. “Your life doesn’t start when you get married. Your journey to holiness does not begin when you get married or when you join a religious order. It starts now.”
Students in the documentary filmmaking class will premiere two films about Hillsdale sports legends along with shorter student projects April 15 at 7 p.m. in Plaster Auditorium. The films are “The Year of the Charger” and “The Legend of Jack Gohlke.”
The night will begin with “The Year of the Charger,” which will tell the story of the 1985 Charger football team — the only football team to win a national title in school history.
Junior Sydney Green worked as an assistant editor on the project along with senior Carly Moran, sophomore Skye Graham, and junior Eleanor Whitaker, who directed the project.
“The other film students and I have been working hard to share both of these untold stories and are very excited for their premiere next Tuesday,” Green said. “I think it’s important to remember that even though these are both sports documentaries, these are ulti-
mately films about people and we hope to capture that in both of our films.”
Course instructor and Lecturer in Journalism Buddy Moorehouse said the class chose the topic because this year marks the 40th anniversary of the national championship. The class also noticed another bit of fascinating historical symmetry as the project developed.
“We realized eventually that the national championship back in 1985 was the 30th anniversary of the famous Tangerine Bowl dilemma,” Moorehouse said. “These two stories are part of a great legacy in Hillsdale football.”
In 1955, Hillsdale College was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl with the stipulation that its black players would not be allowed to compete. The team voted unanimously to decline the invitation.
Following the premiere of “The Year of the Charger,” the filmmakers will hold a brief panel to answer questions from the audience about the film and how the story came
together. Moorehouse also said some players from the 1985 national championship team plan to attend the premiere.
“That could be a good full-circle moment,” Moorehouse said. “It will be fun for them to relive part of their career at Hillsdale.”
The class will also premiere “The Legend of Jack Gohlke,” a story about the Hillsdale College basketball player who graduated in 2023. He had one more year of NCAA eligibility and became a March Madness hero after leading the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies in an upset victory of the Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of last year’s tournament.
“The idea of the film came from a goal to capture important Hillsdale figures,” junior Joe Johnson, an assistant director for the film, said. “Gohlke is one of those figures. He’s a Hillsdale man who should be remembered and celebrated for his accomplishments.”
Johnson said the students each took on a different role that played to their strengths.
“We learn how to research and conduct in-person interviews with key sources,” Johnson said. “From that we built an outline of the historical story, which ultimately is revamped and polished in the editing room.”
For “The Legend of Jack Gohlke,” students interviewed Gohlke in March, when he was playing for the Detroit Cruise, the G-League team under the Detroit Pistons organization. Johnson and junior Jacob Beckwith, the director of the film, drove eight hours to Gohlke’s hometown of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, to interview the basketball player’s parents and a former Hillsdale teammate who was in the area. Juniors Carolyn Spangler and Emma Verrigni also worked on the film as assistant editors.
“We found a ton of really high quality b-roll, and we were super lucky to be so close to him to set up an interview,” Moorehouse said. “We wanted to jump on this before ESPN did, and I think it’s really special that Hillsdale College students get to tell Jack’s story.”
Pastors describe Biblical adulthood
By Alessia Sandala Assistant Editor
Young adults should take the time to try new things and practice independence, while also relying on the wisdom of their family, according to two local pastors at an Equip Ministries lecture April 4.
“We don’t want to raise children that end up thinking they are so independent, they’re so self-sufficient under God,” said Bob Snyder, an associate pastor at Countryside Bible Church. “They need no one. They need their parents in the sense that there’s encouragement and value for counsel. Seek it. Honor your parents.”
Matt Davis, student ministries pastor at Pine Ridge Bible Church, said it is essential for young adults to use their 20s as a time to balance independence and reliance on their parents.
Simpson from A1
Williams also recruited associate professors of English Jason Peters and Brent Cline, and Associate Professor of Philosophy Ian Church.
“I knew Dr. Peters and Dr. Cline so I talked to them, and I think the big selling point for them was being able to beat up the other guy because they’re good friends, but also to tease
“There are two elements,” Davis said. “One is we’re going to ask you to do the things of an adult. We’re going to expect certain things of you. Then there is proving your adulthood. You see that play out in Christ’s life.”
When a person turns 18, they do not automatically become, in a spiritual sense, an adult, according to Davis.
“You become 18 and you aren’t necessarily given the respect that you feel like an adult should get,” Davis said. “There’s this period of time, this proving period, that you see even with Jesus.”
Sophomore Luke Myers said the pastors’ advice gave him a different outlook on what it means to become an adult.
“It provided me with a clear understanding of how to navigate parental guidance in a way that aligns with Scripture as I transition into adulthood,” Myers said.
each other,” Williams said.
Williams said the professors did a great job keeping their appearances a secret to their students.
“We approached Dr. Church because given his large and muscular presence, he was definitely a guy that we wanted to be a part of it,” Williams said.
Church said the Simpson men came to his office asking if he wanted to throw someone.
Snyder said he encourages young adults to give up “childish things,” especially video games, if they hope to be treated as adults.
“Your time of playing games is done,” Snyder said. “Seriously, quit it. I want to encourage you to move beyond playing games. There is so much more. There are so many responsibilities and so many things that need addressing. So many needs in this world that require your gifts.”
Another problem facing young adults, according to Snyder, is a different concept of a successful life.
“They define adulthood as getting settled in love and settled in work,” Snyder said. “Both of those are idealized by your generation. You say: ‘I’m gonna get a soul mate, I’m gonna marry my best friend, and I’m gonna have a dream job.’ Those are unrealistic ideals.”
“I was hesitant at first, but I was assured a waiver was signed, so I was happy to do it quickly,” Church said.
Church also gave out extra credit to any of his students who attended the event.
The idea for Smackdown began when the Suites Residence offered its excess dormitory money to the dorm with the best event idea in a version of campus Shark Tank last spring,
Snyder said these impractical desires lead to an unhealthy, continually changing way of life, but there is also time to figure out the right course of action.
“I see your 20s as a time period of testing and experimenting a little bit,” Snyder said. “When I see the savior of the world was OK building houses all through his 20s I think, ‘Apparently, you’re in no rush.’” Junior Joy Li, who helped organize the event, said she heard Snyder discuss the topic at a weekly Bible study and thought it was something Hillsdale students in particular could benefit from.
“We thought it was a really great topic for Hillsdale students to hear about because we are obsessive sometimes with thinking through what our plans are and what our future is going to be like,” Li said. “But we have to commit that to the Lord.”
where Simpson won $300 for last year’s event. Simpson pitched a combination of World Wrestling Entertainment and campus celebrities and won the event money.
“We didn’t really know how it would go last year, but people loved it and it’s really grown, especially with the professor cameos that we had this year,” Williams said.
Political scientist explains American counterterrorism
By Gabe Themar Collegian Reporter
America’s presence in the Middle East traces back to the 1930s and is just one example of the multifacets of counterterrorism, Raphael S. Cohen said in a lecture hosted by the Alexander Hamilton Society.
Cohen is the director of RAND School of Public Policy’s National Security Program, Strategy and Doctrine Program, and Project Air Force, with an extensive background with U.S. defense, foreign policy, and counterterrorism.
A Harvard B.A. and Georgetown M.A., Cohen served on the 2018 National Defense Strategy Commission. He was also a lieutenant in the military intelligence branch and a colonel in the Army Reserve. Cohen participated in two combat tours in Iraq from 2005-2006 and again from 2000-2008.
Cohen’s lecture provided explanations for whether counterterrorism is a strategy, America’s reasons for fighting in the Middle East, and the approaches America has tried and whether or not they work.
Cohen said in the 1930s, the United States found an oil well in Saudi Arabia, leading to the initial U.S. presence there. Tensions along the borders drawn by Britain and France often produced internal turmoil.
“Weak, unstable, and corrupt governments lead to revolutions,” Cohen said. “Revolutions give way and devolve into terrorist groups.”
Cohen said Cold War politics played a big role in Middle East relations because it was a political fault line, with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan all being United States allies at the time, while Libya, Syria, and Iraq all sided with the U.S.S.R. Cohen said several terrorist attacks had the most significant impact on our relations with Middle Eastern countries, such as the
Tehran hostages, Operation Eagle Claw, the Hezbollah bombings, Gulf War I, and infamously, Sept. 11, which later led to the Global War on Terrorism.
Cohen explained the different ways the United States approached counterterrorism, noting that counterterrorism is less of a battle strategy and more of a form of policing, similar to the domestic war on drugs and crime.
Cohen said the U.S. has tried a multitude of responses, ranging from one-off retaliations to full invasions to “decapitating” groups by eliminating their leaders, buying off local and public support, and simply shrugging off the attacks. However, the results of each approach have yielded mixed results.
According to Cohen, America has not experienced a 9/11 caliber act of terrorism on U.S. soil in 25 years, most terror leaders have been killed, and ISIS no longer controls any territory. But on the other hand, terrorism very much still exists today.
“Counterterrorism has been a longtime issue, and it is still ongoing,” Cohen said. “We have made many advances, but there are no silver bullets to end terrorism altogether.”
Junior Malia Thibado, president of the Alexander Hamilton Society, said she appreciated the range of topics Cohen covered.
“I like how he elaborated on different strategies used to counter terrorism, and how, like the war on drugs and crime, it is cyclical,” Thibado said.
Junior Levi Mendel said he believes counterterrorism is a serious issue.
“It is often pushed to the back of our minds, and I think it’s valuable to listen to someone with a different viewpoint,” Mendel said.
Student bands to battle for CHP
By Abigail Leigh Collegian Freelancer
Eight student bands will compete for a chance to open for the headlining guest band at Centralhallapalooza during the Student Activity Board’s CHP Showdown tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight.
“Showdown is a great way for students to be introduced to different student bands,” Student Activities Board Media Team Member and junior Emma Kate Mellors said. “The three bands who receive the most student votes are the bands chosen to perform at CHP.” CHP Showdown will be held in the Old Snack Bar and each band will perform 30 minute sets. Junior and lead singer for the student band Runaround Daniel Doyle said the competition at CHP Showdown is fierce.
“It’s competitive because everyone really wants to play CHP,” Doyle said. “It’s always hard to pull the winning vote at Showdown because there’s always a new band, and always the well-known upperclassmen bands, and everyone is extremely talented.”
The array of talented stu -
Lutheran pastor encourages unity across denominations
By James Joski Collegian Freelancer
Understanding how to converse with Christians of varying denominations is key to enjoying life to its fullest, Rev. Michael Frese said April 3 in a lecture titled “Unity in Diversity,” hosted by the Lutheran Society.
“I believe it to be an important topic on how we dialog with other Christians,” Frese said. “Understanding that is the key to living in harmony with those who are left and to our right — to our neighbors — and I think it is also the key to happiness, to enjoying who you are and then enjoying who the person is next to you.”
Frese serves as the wing chaplain for the 122nd fighter wing in Fort Wayne. Before this he worked as a part-time pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and served as an active duty U.S. Army chaplain from 2006-2012. Frese’s daughter is a freshman at the college.
Raised in the Lutheran tradition, Frese said his choice to transition to an Army Chaplain proved challenging at first and compared it to being thrown out of a comfortable home.
“Being tossed out of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, where I was a pastor in my incubated wonderful environment, into a pluralistic, ecumenical, but even anti-Christian world helped me to formulate the importance of what I believe and what I hold,” Frese said. “It caused me to see others in a more compassionate light, that it’s not just us Christians versus them, non-Christians. Jesus died on the cross for the whole world.”
Frese said Christ himself desired unity as he prayed in John 17:20-23: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
This passage served as the backbone of Frese’s lecture.
“The unity of the Christian church of the disciples of Christ is founded upon the unity that Jesus shares with the Father, and we can expand that using other Bible passages to the unity that is integral to who the Trinity is,” Frese said. “It is that unity which gives us the picture of Christian unity.”
Frese said Christians should want to dialogue with others out of love for other humans and should prioritize loving others over theological disputes.
“We want to share this joy that has been given to us, this hope that has been given to us in Jesus Christ in the dialogues. We don’t want to merely have an argument for argument’s sake,” Frese said. “It might make you feel good for a moment, but once you realize what you’ve done, it won’t make you feel good if you just picked a fight with a fellow Christian just to poke their differences instead of rejoicing in what you share, namely Jesus Christ and the atonement.”
Frese emphasized the importance of core doctrine over denominational differences, warning against talking just to prove a point.
“If someone says ‘I am a Christian,’ that should be the starting point,” Frese said. “But in a dialogue there are questions, and hopefully you are listening for answers instead of just thinking of your next little jab.”
When it comes to a game of jabs, Frese said it’s usually just about having read something that the other person hasn’t. He emphasized the importance of
being an active listener and giving an honest confession of your faith.
“You don’t know what that good confession can do, and it might not do anything. It might not do anything next month, or next year,” Frese said. “But you don’t know how the Holy Spirit can use your own confession to that person to work on their heart, and something completely detached in their life could bring them back to words you used in that discussion.”
Senior Hannah Simpson said Frese’s message resonated with her.
“Some of my closest friends at college have not been Lutheran, and I know that definitely my freshman year, even into my sophomore year, the conversations could be kind of combative,” Simpson said. “I’m always interested to hear about ways to talk about differences while still loving people.”
City of Hillsdale resident Rob Olson, who has sent three kids to Hillsdale, said the answer simply lies in the Christian fundamentals we share rather than the doctrinal differences we have.
“We can agree on the most important things,” he said.
Faculty warn against tariffs
By Malia Thibado Collegian Reporter
President Donald Trump’s tariff plan opposes both economic and legal procedures and destabilizes the average American’s finances, according to some Hillsdale professors.
“This is an unforced error by the Trump administration,” Associate Professor of Economics Charles Steele said. “Trump is making a big mistake.”
On Wednesday April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on higher tariffs on most countries while keeping the 10% baseline tariffs announced last week, but raised China’s tariffs to 125%, according to ABC News. Since the beginning of March, Trump has implemented global tariffs on steel and aluminum, autos and auto parts, and other imported items, leading to large fluctuations in the stock market and international retaliatory tariffs.
ronmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Some of the leading obstacles to doing any kind of manufacturing, mining, and any other type of manufacturing in the U.S. are the EPA, OSHA, and many other bureaucracies that block the development of all different types of products in the U.S.,” Steele said.
Steele said he would understand the tariff plan more if it were being used as a bargaining tool to make other countries come to the table about their own tariffs, but if it’s meant to “re-industrialize” America, it won’t work.
Douglas Johnson, associate professor of business, said Trump’s actions show he thinks the States are better off forcing domestic production.
changes in the stock market.
“I am of an age where I’m beginning to think about my retirement,” Johnson said.
“The last week has not been good for that. That volatility, at a personal level, is going to affect how I spend my money and what long term purchases I’m going to make.”
In some cases, American labor costs are so high that manufacturing overseas in places like Asia, even with the significant tariffs, is still a better option than the cost of moving and manufacturing in America. Companies that are forced to return to America will likely have to cut employment to keep up with their expenses, Johnson said.
statute that he’s invoking,” Postell said. “Other statutes do give him the authority — he would have been better off citing them.”
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which gives him the ability to regulate foreign imports, according to Postell.
“This has generated a pretty big legal controversy because it’s never been used to impose tariffs,” Postell said. “It doesn’t say explicitly that presidents can use tariffs. Usually they’ll freeze assets under the law. This is actually a relatively questionable legal basis.”
dent bands sets Hillsdale apart, Doyle said, and he urges all of campus to come to CHP Showdown to support all of them.
“This event is part of the Hillsdale experience, and part of what makes Hillsdale like no other school,” Doyle said. “For a school our size to have so many talented student bands is unique. CHP is a huge event, and it all hinges on Showdown.”
Students who attend CHP Showdown vote on their favorite bands by placing rocks into baskets representing each band.
“I would totally recommend coming for the entire set in order to hear every student band possible,” Mellors said.
Performing in order will be Immigrant, Big Mac, Crisis Actors, Jay Jameson and the Car Bombs, Schizmatics, Runaround, Heretics by Proxy, and Warm Christian Biscuits. Centralhallapalooza is scheduled for Saturday, April 26. Recent headlining acts have included The Back Country Boys, DWLLRS, Arlie, Jukebox the Ghost, and the late Aaron Carter.
Though Trump may be attempting to minimize the trade deficit, Steele said, he should instead focus on industrial regulation and tax policy in offices like the Envi-
Buckley from A1
Buckley was born in 1925 to a wealthy conservative, Catholic family. He went on to attend Yale University, where he graduated in 1950. Though he succeeded at Yale, Nash said, Buckley had serious concerns about the state of the university.
“He was appalled by the rampant secularism and collectivist economic teachings that he discerned inside and outside the classroom,” Nash said. “He was also offended by the Yale administration’s apparent indifference to these trends in the hallowed name of academic freedom.”
Nash said Buckley’s dissatisfaction with the Yale administration prompted him to write an exposé entitled “God and Man at Yale.” The book attracted national attention, Nash said, and more than 70 years after its initial publication, is still in print.
“With an unintended assist from what’s called Yale’s apparatus, a star was born. A conser-
“Right now the uncertainty of the policy is having as much of an effect as the actual policy,” Johnson said. “Nobody is going to be able to pull the trigger on anything because they don’t know how serious and committed we are to this strategy.”
Johnson said the tariffs have come at an especially bad time for him, due to the
vative star who was both young and debonair,” Nash said.
According to Nash, the American right was divided in the 1950s between more intellectual conservatives and their strictly libertarian counterparts. This was due in part to the lack of a serious weekly conservative journal or newspaper. Nash said Burkley sought to remedy this with the founding of National Review magazine.
After Buckley publicly criticized the leaders of the John Birch Society, a popular rightwing group, in 1962, National Review lost a significant number of subscribers, Nash said.
“But with conspicuous support of rising conservative luminaries like the Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan, Buckley and his journal survived the storm and emerged as the principal gatekeeper of the conservative movement,” Nash said.
Buckley’s influence extends beyond the foundation of National Review, Nash said. It was at Buckley’s home in Sharon, Connecticut, that 100 students
“We have supply chains that have emerged over the last 30 years in response to what we thought would be the trade patterns with Mexico and Canada,” Johnson said. “To bring those facilities back into the states will not be cheap and will take awhile.”
Associate Professor of Politics Joseph Postell said he is concerned about the legality of Trump’s actions.
“I think the president does not have the legal authority to issue the tariffs under the
formed Young Americans for Freedom in 1960. Buckley also hosted a popular talk show called “Firing Line” that ran from 1966 to 1999.
Nash said Buckley was also a trusted friend and key advisor to President Ronald Reagan.
“On more than one occasion, Reagan acknowledged his intellectual debt to the man he called the conservative Galahad, ready to take on any challenges in the critical battle of point and counterpoint,” Nash said.
Despite his busy professional life, Nash said, Buckley maintained an active social life. He was an avid sailor and piloted yachts across the Atlantic several times. He was also fond of classical music and could play the harpsichord at a near-professional level.
“He was by and large a cheerful controversialist, and in the process, a collector of an incredible gallery of friends,” Nash said.
Though he led such an influential life, Nash said, many
If a district court rules Trump’s interpretation of the IEEP Act illegal, then he would likely appeal and take it to the Supreme Court, Postell said.
“Assuming this is an emergency and we can do whatever we want, the Supreme Court has made it clear that you can’t do that,” Postell said. “You can’t take a statute and just discover that it gives you the authority that no one has ever found. You can’t teach an old law new tricks.”
young conservatives may not know about Buckley.
Freshman Pierce Leaman said he was familiar with Buckley because he grew up reading National Review. He did not know, however, what Buckley had done other than start the magazine.
“I’d always suspected that Buckley wrote a lot besides political history, but I did not know what specifically,” Leaman said.
Nash said he hoped his talk would help students rediscover the relevance of Buckley’s life and legacy.
“His life was a reminder to his generation, and now to ours, that the conservative cause requires minds as well as voices to be successful,” Nash said. “To his enduring credit, William F. Buckley Jr. had both, and I suspect that for those conservatives who now discover or rediscover him, he will prove to be a maestro for years to come.”
Opinions
The Collegian Weekly
The opinion of the Collegian editorial staff
Hillsdale celebrates diversity
Editor-in-Chief | Jillian Parks
Managing Editor | Isaac Green
Senior Editor | Michaela Estruth
Outreach Director | Olivia Pero
Design Editor | Ally Hall
News Editor | Catherine Maxwell
Opinions Editor | Caroline Kurt
City News Editor | Thomas McKenna
Sports Editor | Jacob Beckwith
Culture Editor | Colman Rowan
While it’s natural for people to judge others who are different from them, understanding how to get along and be friends with those people is part of what makes the human experience fuller and more real.
Being concerned that associating with those who might be perceived as strange or quirky will somehow sabotage one’s own social status is something Hillsdale pushes its
Hotness sells women short
'Make America Hot Again' movement leaves beauty behind
By Moira Gleason and Caroline Kurt D.C. Correspondent and Opinions Editor
Every woman wants to be likened to Audrey Hepburn.
She’s elegant, classy, and kind — an emblem of femininity. But the movie star’s beauty goes beyond her figure and iconic style. A humanitarian who spent the last decades of her life working in the poorest communities of Africa, Asia, and South America, Hepburn was beautiful for her character as much as her appearance. She died at the age of 63 of cancer that she left untreated in order to continue her service to the poor.
Hepburn would be disgusted by the Make America Hot Again coalition.
The phenomenon arose last year on the internet and in popular culture in Make America Great Again circles. The conservative women’s online media platform Conservateur sells hot pink hats with the phrase emblazoned on them. Conservatives flirt at dating events under the title in New York City. Influencer Raquel Debono launched a website with the motto: “Dropping facts while saving democracy is hard work, and hot girls have opinions too. Look effortless and iconic while reminding the world you’re unapologetically right.”
On its face, the popular right-wing sentiment responds to the exaggerated body positivity of the left on the one hand, and modesty culture of the far-right on the other. But promoting “hotness” as a virtue is juvenile and shallow because it purposefully confounds conventional ideas of what is attractive with authentic beauty.
Promoting hotness as virtue, especially to young women, encourages a mindset of consumption — making yourself a marketable, consumable object to men. Hotness is conventional, and its standards come and go with low-rise jeans. Authentic beauty is not limited to sexual desirability. The woke left’s attack on
womanhood threatens the internal character of femininity, not just conventional ideas of attraction. A culture that says men can be women and promotes abortion on demand, defines femininity only by appearances. This same culture tells women they can be free only if they are not tied down by the demands of marriage and motherhood. Make America Hot Again is just as shallow because it elevates aesthetics over character. A more mature and Christian response would counter the left with a standard for beauty rooted in love and charity. Appearances matter because they can reflect an inward disposition. A woman who dresses well and cares about her appearance communicates respect for herself and for those around her. The ordering principle of authentic feminine beauty is charity, not consumption.
Make America Hot Again misses the mark. When members of the new right make “hot” the defining aesthetic of the conservative movement, they are bound to alienate many women. Any girl who survived eighth grade can testify that the cultural standards of hotness lead women to pursue desperate, unhealthy ways of achieving a desired appearance. The idea will also isolate millions of young women who feel they will never fit into the rigid conventional beauty standards of the models who feature in Evie magazine. The right needs to grow up and find a more convincing narrative on feminine beauty, one built on charity and character rather than sex appeal. That’s not to say attractiveness and beauty never overlap. They often do — again, see Audrey Hepburn. But a well-ordered and loving soul presents a timeless standard for beauty. Hotness does not.
Moira Gleason and Caroline Kurt are juniors studying English.
students to see beyond.
With a population of around 1,400 students — consisting of everyone from athletes to artists to academic achievers — students differ in the groups with which they spend their time. What they all have in common, however, is the college and its rigorous academic program.
The social poise Hillsdale students develop along with
their classical education sets them apart in the workforce because of their appreciation, respect, and understanding for others’ differences, an adaptability which makes it easier for them to mesh with a variety of co-workers.
From the moment students arrive as freshmen, the required core classes unite students of all areas of interest in the classroom and expose them to a
common language of Western history, philosophy, literature, and science. On-campus jobs, clubs, and associations like Student Federation or the various student religious groups also bring students together.
Along with their intellect and many talents, Hillsdale students offer society an example of how everyone should treat each other, even those who differ most from them.
Master AI, and the future is yours
By Sarah Katherine Sisk Senior Reporter
The most critical divide of the modern technological era isn't between those who hate AI and those who don't. It's between those who can use AI wisely and those who cannot. AI is not a great equalizer. It's a magnifier of existing human capabilities. The most talented individuals don’t just use AI — they direct it, transforming it from a simple assistant into a powerful ally.
Contrary to utopian — and all too common— narratives, AI doesn’t democratize excellence: It stratifies it. Those with the intellectual agility to understand AI's nuances, to prompt it effectively, to critically evaluate its outputs, and to synthesize machine-generated insights with human creativity dramatically outperform those who treat AI as a shortcut. The key to success in the modern world, then, isn’t coding skills or technical knowledge. It’s the kind of deep, cognitive flexibility that a liberal arts education cultivates.
One study from Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers reveals AI tools boost worker productivity by 14% while improving both output quality and job satisfaction. More significantly, however, research published in Science shows these tools don’t level the playing field; they amplify the talents of those who know how to infuse them with expertise and good judgment. Rather than using AI to do their work, those who experience the largest benefits know how to make AI work for them.
This mirrors what I've witnessed in classes in which AI is permitted for paper writing. Far from diminishing ac-
ademic rigor, these tools enable deeper engagement with complex ideas by helping students efficiently analyze vast amounts of research and zero in on relevant sources. Just as online search engines once expanded research beyond physical library walls, AI now amplifies our ability to discover and digest information.
Calculators didn’t eliminate the need to understand mathematics. Similarly, AI doesn’t replace critical thinking — it elevates it. After all, giving someone who doesn’t understand calculus a calculator won’t magically make them a brilliant mathematician any more than giving someone AI tools will make them a skilled analyst or writer.
When online research first emerged, many feared it would erode academic standards. Instead, the internet democratized access to scholarly resources.
Still, it didn’t democratize outcomes. Just as before, students who could think critically and construct a compelling argument excelled. What changed, however, was that the gap between strong and weak analysis widened, as those adept to navigating the internet could conduct more comprehensive and rigorous research.
Professors began expecting more thorough analysis, knowing students had unprecedented access to global academic databases. AI represents a similar inflection point in productivity.
Historically, new technologies don’t just improve existing production — they shift the entire production frontier outward. The steam engine didn’t just make factories more efficient. It fundamentally expanded what was economically possible.
AI can’t replace human ef-
fort. What it can do is exponentially expand our collective capabilities by allocating human potential more strategically, creating possibilities that were previously unimaginable.
While the question of adapting to AI while preserving academic integrity remains a broader challenge in education, the stakes extend far beyond the classroom.
Forbes reports employers increasingly seek graduates who can work effectively alongside AI systems. The emerging job market demands not just technical proficiency but the wisdom to deploy these tools both ethically and effectively.
Companies are choosing AI-savvy rookies over seasoned veterans who can’t navigate these tools. In fact, according to Microsoft and LinkedIn’s 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report, 71% of leaders would rather hire someone with less experience who has AI skills than a veteran without them. Experience alone doesn’t cut it anymore.
Yet Cengage Group’s 2024 Employability report found that while most employers want candidates who understand AI tools, more than half of recent graduates say their schools never taught them how to use them.
Drop a powerful AI tool into the hands of someone who can’t think critically, and you’ll get mediocre results dressed up in perfect grammar. But give it to someone who knows how to ask the right questions, challenge its assumptions, and process information, and they will consistently outperform their peers. AI doesn’t make average thinkers brilliant; it makes brilliant thinkers more effective.
This new reality aligns with Hillsdale’s mission of pursuing
truth and developing human excellence. The value of AI — like that of every tool — depends on the wisdom and virtue of its users. By thoughtfully incorporating these technologies into our education, we can better prepare students for their future careers and to be thoughtful leaders in a tech-reliant world.
The Stanford Digital Economy Lab’s research suggests the greatest benefits of AI go to those who combine technical proficiency with strong foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills: precisely the combination a liberal arts education cultivates. As we navigate this technological transition, we must resist the knee-jerk rejection of AI. Instead, we should embrace it while maintaining our commitment to classical education. The question isn’t whether students will use AI in their future careers. They will. The question is whether their education will prepare them to use it effectively and ethically. By maintaining high academic standards while incorporating AI tools, we can ensure that Hillsdale graduates continue to lead in an increasingly AI-augmented world. The AI revolution isn't a threat to human potential. It's a ruthless meritocracy that will separate those who can think deeply and strategically from those who cannot. The future doesn't belong to those with the most advanced technology but to those with the wisdom to wield it.
Sarah Katherine Sisk is a sernior studying politics.
Letter to the Editor
Trump's tarriffs are fundamentally flawed
Guest Writers
President Donald Trump’s new “Liberation Day” tariffs are framed as economic patriotism but a closer look reveals their fundamental flaws.
First, tariffs are taxes — and taxes suppress growth. The government cannot tax imports without taxing Americans. By raising costs on imports, these measures will primarily burden American consumers, just as the 2018 China tariffs did. Studies show nearly 100% of such costs are passed to U.S. households, eroding purchasing power without stimulating productivity.
Second, the policy misdiagnoses trade deficits as losses. Dollars spent on imports don’t
vanish — they return as foreign investment in U.S. assets, from factories to U.S. Treasury bonds. If reducing trade deficits is the goal, fiscal discipline, not trade wars, is the only solution. Third, while tariffs as a means of forcing others to drop trade barriers could make sense, tariffs for “re-industrialization” do not. Claims of a “hollowed-out” manufacturing sector ignore reality. U.S. factory output has roughly doubled since 1970, and while jobs have declined, automation — not offshoring — is the primary driver. The American manufacturing sector as a share of the economy has declined from roughly 13% to 11%, but this simply means other sectors have grown even faster than manufacturing.
Meanwhile, America dominates the world in exports of services and agricultural products. What is the real obstacle to expanding manufacturing? Government regulation, which cost the economy $2–3 trillion last year — far exceeding trade deficits. Punitive tariffs won’t fix this; they’ll distort markets and alienate allies. Israel, for example, scrapped its U.S. tariffs expecting reciprocity, only to face a 17% rate. Even the U.K. — with whom the U.S. runs a trade surplus! — was hit with 10% tariffs. Trade should be governed by economics, not political theatrics. These tariffs will tax Americans, stifle investment, and ignore the true levers of growth.
Sincerely,
Roger Butters, associate professor of economics
Michael Clark, associate professor of economics
Christopher Martin, associate professor of economics
Ivan Pongracic, professor of economics
Charles N. Steele, associate professor of economics
Abel Winn, associate professor of economics
Gary Wolfram, professor of economics
Leonidas Zelmanovitz, visiting professor of economics
Qianying (Jennie) Zhang, associate professor of finance and economics
Live the lore: attend some live music this summer
By Grace Brennan Collegian Freelancer
Before I saw Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit perform in concert, they were already one of my favorite bands — I would have gone on loving them without ever seeing them perform live. But since seeing them in person, whenever “If We Were Vampires” comes on, I’m flooded with memories of being crushed inside Atlanta’s famous music hall The Tabernacle, couples in their 40s knocking into me just to cover me in beer while my friends laughed and sang around me. It’s changed my entire listening experience: To this day, I can hear the band’s energy on stage and feel the emotion of the crowd.
Going out to see live music is one of the best ways to make summer memories. The internet grants listeners in -
stantaneous access to music — whatever kind and as much of it they want. We can stream the music our parents had to search vinyl stores for on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, and play new albums the instant they’re released. Yet even with so much at our fingertips electronically, music fans still want live shows.
According to The New York Times, the top 100 tours worldwide made a record-breaking $9.2 billion in 2023, a 65% increase from 2019. Electronic streaming services have greatly advanced the music industry, increasing artists’ profits and generating more interest in live performances.
But because music has become easily accessible, some people would rather save their money than attend a concert.
No matter how much like a main character young people may feel sitting on the floor of their rooms listening to Pink Floyd or The Smiths while the rain flows down the window, or driving 20 over the speed limit listening to Tom Tom, they’ll never have a story worth telling until experiencing their favorite bands perform live.
Part of the appeal of live music is the company. Not only does it unite friends and families, it also bonds fans with the musicians they love. Spotify or Apple Music will never match the experience of hearing your favorite songs performed with the passion that musicians have only in the heat of the moment, soft or blazing lighting to fit the mood, and a whole crowd singing along. Tribute concerts bring music back to life that
You're the reason for the remake
By Brennan Berryhill Collegian Freelancer
Disney’s 2025 film “Snow White” marks the media giant’s 20th live-action remake of a beloved animated original. The list includes “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King” — those movies alone netted $2.1 billion at the box office.
Moviegoers rightfully decry the end of creativity in Hollywood. Over the past five years, 30 of Disney’s 38 feature length films have been sequels, prequels, remakes, or part of an established universe. According to British director John Boorman, “originality has become the enemy” of producers. Viewers accuse media companies like Disney of nixing original ideas in favor of shameless money grabs.
The people have a point. The Creative Artists Agency found that original films compose a much smaller portion of box office hits today than they did in the 1990s and early 2000s. Don’t we deserve something better than the 7th iteration of “Cinderella”?
No — you don’t. You deserve whatever version of “Cinderella” comes next, just like you deserve the 35th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are many reasons why Hollywood doesn’t produce original movies like it used to, but the core of the crisis is not lazy producers.
You are the problem.
Before you bristle at the accusation, I won’t shirk my culpability either. I’ve forked over hundreds of dollars to watch “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Spider-Man 3,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Spider-Man:
Into the Spider-Verse,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” and I enjoyed almost every one of them (looking at you, Andrew Garfield). Movie producers, like anyone else in business, create what they think will earn the most money. The overwhelming number of remakes and sequels does not point to the death of creativity. It is an indicator of where we’re spending our money.
Take the top 10 highest grossing movies in America in 2024. Each one was a sequel. The only exception was “Wicked,” which isn’t truly an exception because it adapted a popular Broadway musical with a strong brand name.
Many of my friends went to see “Gladiator 2” when it came out last November because they wanted to compare it to the original. Of course, they bashed it afterwards. But the only thing that mattered to Hollywood is that they paid the price of admission. According to The Numbers, the top five highest grossing original films of 2024 hauled in only $673 million, while the top five franchise films of the year netted a whopping $5.8 billion. People’s wallets proved what they wanted to watch.
We cling to well-known intellectual property like our favorite childhood stuffed animal. Asking Hollywood to invest in original films is the same as asking it to derail the gravy train. America is a capitalist country: If we want to see an increase in original, ground-breaking movies, then we need to start thinking in terms of supply and demand. There are still more original movies released than franchise movies, and many of them are worth watching.
Some directors, such as
Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, have made their names into brands and receive funding for original blockbusters, like the critically acclaimed hits “Inception” and “Arrival.”
The increased availability of media technology has allowed smaller studios like A24 to release lower budget but quality films to the big screen — an example being the 2025 movie “Death of a Unicorn.” Streaming platforms such as Max or Netflix also produce many non-franchise films.
The number of movies available today is unparalleled in the history of cinema. The amount of data and analytics that media producers have about their audience is likewise unparalleled. What remains is the question people ask their friends when they plop down in front of the TV: “What should we watch?”
I love “Mission Impossible 7.” I love the fourth “Avengers” movie. I also love Christopher Nolan’s original films “Interstellar” and “Oppenheimer.”
Hollywood produces many lazily thought-out and executed movies, but it isn’t right to say that all modern films are “trash,” or that there isn’t original media coming out today. Before complaining about the end of original films or the death of creativity, consider where you’re shelling out your cash. If you aren’t pleased with the quality of cinema, you should work harder to find and support the excellent original movies that you’ve neglected. Buy a ticket for “Mickey 17” or “Novocaine” instead of “Captain America: Brave New World.” Check out the kid’s flick “Dog Man” instead of the “Snow White” remake. When you steer your popcorn bucket to a different theater, you steer Hollywood with it.
Brennan Berryhill is a sophomore studying English.
Illustrated by Maggie O'Connor.
hasn’t been performed in years.
Going to the heart of Atlanta to hear new artists collaborate to bring back the sound of the queen of jazz Billie Holiday and soulful Amy Winehouse caused me to fall further in love with these two classics. I will never forget that night. The concerts I’ve been to consist of some of my favorite memories with friends and have heightened my appreciation for the artists I love. It’s exciting to watch talented people do what they love, and do it well.
My parents have passed down stories of the bands they saw in concert — Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and Bruce Springsteen. Attending live music events allows me to contribute to this tradition:The concerts I’ve attended have now become
the focal point for stories I can pass down to my future family. Go to a concert this summer, if only to hear your favorite song played so loud that the rest of the world melts away.
Brennan is a freshman
Good news for the Easter Vigil
By Thomas McKenna City News Editor
There's good news for the hundreds who will attend St. Anthony’s Catholic Church for its Easter Vigil Mass. The service will be packed as usual this year. But new changes announced recently will add chairs to the parish hall and end the uncharitable practice of seat-saving. Rules over seats for worship may seem trivial or even cold, but reasonable guidelines can curtail our less considerate instincts.
"Our goal is to make the Easter Vigil accessible to as many people as possible, while honoring the solemnity of the night’s liturgy," said Rev. David Reamsnyder, pastor of St. Anthony’s, as he announced the changes before Sunday Masses March 30.
Last year’s service was crowded. That's a great problem to have. Congregants were hip-to-hip and filled the whole sanctuary out to the back narthex, into the side gathering space, and all the way down the hall to the bathrooms. Many churches across the country will have trouble filling the pews to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection. St. Anthony’s will not.
But Mass attendees who arrived early last year got a stiff welcome. When I arrived at the church more than three hours before Mass, I walked into an almost-empty sanctuary. But
not one seat was available, because a coat or purse had saved every spot. I sat halfway back in the side gathering space, but others near me — too late to grab a chair — stood for hours before Mass even began. They watched others come in to take their saved seats in the sanctuary up until the service’s start. What’s a church to do with fewer seats than congregants? St. Anthony's is adding overflow seating to the parish hall, which means fewer attendees will stand for the hours-long service. The parish will also not allow attendees to save seats. That’s the right thing to do. Instead of allowing seats to be blocked by belongings, those places will go to those who are willing to sit and wait. Another new change: The church will open and allow the congregation to take seats two hours before Mass. Of course, most pews in the sanctuary will be reserved for the 24 candidates joining the church, along with their sponsors and guests. Bravo to Reamsnyder and the parish. The guidelines will return the congregation’s focus from frustrations over space to the festivities on the altar.
Thomas McKenna is a junior studying political economy.
Enough with the momfluencers: children need privacy
By Tayte Christensen Assistant Editor
Children are a sign of a healthy society. Ancient peoples had gods of fertility. Even today, large families are often seen as a blessing. But a society in which parents post images of their children online for profit is sick.
Thousands of families make a living with videos ranging from day-in-the-life vlogs to play-by-plays of extravagant vacations. They seek millions of followers. And they keep creating more content to earn a stable income.
Many accounts revolve around small children. Audiences fawn over their cuteness and enjoy watching them grow up. But when these children do finally grow up, they find the public life their parents chose for them as infants is the only path left. Many resent their parents’ choice to publicize their childhoods, finding it difficult to live a “normal” life afterwards.
Cam Barrett, a 25-year-old former child social media star, now advocates for the legal protection of influencer children. Barrett said her experiences have led her to receive disturbing messages and attention from strangers online from the digital footprint she “never asked for.”
The rising generation of young parents should take a cue and change. Rather than exposing every aspect of their childrens’ lives to the world, parents should instead grant their children the dignity of privacy.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law March 25 that would require influencer parents to give their kids a portion of the money made from content featuring the children and make it easier for adult children to remove content they appeared in as minors. Cox signed the law in part due to the scandal surrounding former YouTuber Ruby Franke.
Franke and her husband
Kevin started the channel “8 Passengers” in 2015 to document their seemingly picture-perfect life with their six children. The channel blew up, amassing 2.5 million subscribers and over 1 billion views.
But viewers began to sense that something was wrong with the Frankes. The children, at first eager to be featured in videos, slowly began to ruin the image of a “perfect” life. As time went on, they became visibly weary of living for a camera. To produce the kind of videos her audience wanted to see, Franke decided her children must be obedient — or else.
In one video released in 2020, Ruby jokingly revealed to the viewers that her oldest son had lost the privilege of having a bedroom and had slept on a beanbag in the basement for the last seven months.
The move brought strong criticism. The channel saw a massive decrease in subscrip-
tions and viewership, tanking the family’s paychecks — which at one point topped $100,000 per month. Soon after, the family ceased posting content on “8 Passengers,” and eventually deleted the page.
After Ruby’s media quest for influence failed, counselor and business owner Jodi Hildebrandt provided another avenue for prestige. The two began a parenting podcast in 2022, the same year Ruby Franke separated from her husband Kevin, retaining custody of the four youngest children.
A year later, law enforcement discovered the Frankes’ youngest son emaciated, with duct tape wrapped around rope lacerations on his ankles (among other injuries), near Hildebrandt’s home. The youngest daughter was later found in an empty room in Hildebrandt’s mansion with her head shaved and similar wounds.
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested and convicted
of six counts of aggravated child abuse. This year, both were sentenced to serve up to thirty years in jail. Following Ruby’s arrest, Kevin filed for divorce, finalized last month.
As the family now grieves its broken relationships and the children’s flawed upbringing, Kevin Franke laments the decisions he and his wife made for their YouTube channel. He said he wants to prevent other families from making the same mistake.
“Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,” Kevin told lawmakers. “Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day.”
The Franke family’s story is not the story of every influencer family. Yet they exemplify why families should keep their daily lives, and especially their children, off the internet.
It’s one thing for a parent to post an image or video on Facebook for close friends and
relatives to see. It’s another to center a family’s entire life on a social media presence. Instead, families should capture memories their kids will cherish recalling for years to come. But it’s not just the influencers — the market needs to stop, too. Rather than spending hours scrolling through an influencer’s Instagram, viewers should spend time with friends and neighbors. Put the screen down and prioritize face-to-face interactions. Children need to see their parents’ faces. But when a parent is consumed with filming every second of their child’s life, they trade a deep relationship for a life of acting perfect for the cameras. If children truly are a “heritage from the Lord,” as Proverbs 22:6 says, influencers ought to treat them as such. Keep the kids out of cyberspace.
Tayte Christensen is a junior studying history.
Grace
studying the liberal arts.
Illustrated by Maggie O'Connor.
City News
City engineer steps down, cites ‘negative culture’
A councilman told Acting Mayor Joshua Paladino to ‘consider resigning’
By Sydney Green Collegian Reporter
After two officials stepped down from city management in the past month, Ward 1 Councilman Greg Stuchell told Acting Mayor Joshua Paladino to “consider resigning.”
Hillsdale City Engineer
Kristin Bauer announced on April 4 her resignation from the position after five years of service. At the April 8 Hillsdale City Council meeting, Stuchell said Bauer was not treated fairly.
“I am just sick of the fact that we lost two excellent managers and both of their reasons were the same. I’m going to end this with you mayor pro tem,” Stutchell said, referring to Paladino. “I’m going to ask you to consider resigning your pro tem position.”
Bauer’s resignation is the second city staff resignation in recent weeks, closely following Hillsdale Municipal Airport Manager Ginger Moore’s retirement announcement March 13. Both staff members cited a negative work environment.
Paladino said he is sad to see Bauer leave, but is confident the council did not act impulsively.
“It is unfortunate that the city engineer resigned, as the council is a setting for open, free, and respectful discussion,” Paladino said. “The allegations of impropriety have no substance because the city’s policies have not changed on a whim, and the attorney has not indicated that the city has violated its charter of ordinances.”
Mike Braman, a sales consultant with the Frank Beck Chevrolet Company, said it is uncertain whether dealerships and customers will face the full 25% price increase, as major corporations like Ford and Chevrolet may choose to absorb some of the cost.
“We are waiting to see how the auto industry responds, whether they come out with incentives,” Braman said. “Anything that could bring the cost down.”
He said the duration of the tariffs is an important factor to consider.
“If Trump keeps the tariffs up for the rest of his presidency, as opposed to just a couple of months, that will definitely affect the business,” Braman said. Eric Hoffman, president of Stillwell Ford, declined to comment.
Trump also announced plans to levy an additional 25% tariff on imported auto
Bauer said she enjoyed her time as city engineer, but chose to leave due to the council’s distrust of city staff.
“It has brought me immense joy to be a part of the projects and processes that have been built over the last five years to improve the failing infrastructure that had been left to deteriorate prior to 2020,” Bauer said in her resignation letter. “I prefer not to work with these elected officials who are willing to change voted policies on a whim to suit whatever complaint comes to them and I hope that soon the city’s residents will recognize their efforts are not for the betterment of the city.”
Bauer praised Councilmembers Stutchell, Will Morrisey, Bob Flynn, Robert Socha, and Gary Wolfram for their “leadership and guidance.”
But Bauer said the remaining members — Paladino, Matt Bentley, and Jacob Bruns — influenced her decision to resign.
an after Monday’s meeting that he was not certain what ordinances Bauer was referring to. Paladino said Bauer could be referencing the new special assessment district policy, which was passed unanimously in February to reduce road repair costs for homeowners.
“I’m assuming it’s about the SAD policy, that’s my best guess,” Paladino said. “It’s the only discussion that she has participated in, but even then the engineering department doesn’t have anything to do with the SAD policy, except insofar as road funding gives the engineer work to do.”
The resignations come as Paladino aims to make the airport financially self-sufficient and decrease the cost of special assessment districts,
me questions. I’ve got grandchildren. I want to just enjoy life. It would be nice if there were more positive mentions out there, but instead, they love the drama of the negative.”
City Manager David Mackie said at the meeting that the city council should reconsider how city staff members are being treated.
“This is the second staff resignation in recent weeks and I believe it points to a deeper issue that deserves reflection,” Mackie said. “When city staff are treated with distrust, targeted criticism, and hostility, it becomes more than a workplace issue. It creates a culture that is damaging, demoralizing, and ultimately unsustainable.”
“I am just sick of the fact that we lost two excellent managers and both of their reasons were the same.”
“The current negative culture being developed by the remaining city council members has forced me to make this tough decision,” Bauer said in her letter. “The creation of distrust toward city staff and the complete disregard of the city charter and ordinances make it difficult to execute my position effectively and ethically.”
Paladino told The Collegi-
parts such as engines, transmissions, and electrical components no later than May 3.
McKinney said Americanmade vehicles often use large numbers of foreign components.
“Take a Grand Cherokee, for example, that’s assembled right here in the Detroit area,” he said. “The final assembly is on the Monroney label, which says parts, content, and information. Fifty-nine percent of the components of this car were built either in the U.S. or Canada, and 23% of the parts are from Mexico. The country of origin for the engine is Mexico, and the transmission is from Germany.”
which require homeowners to pay up to $5,000 each for road repairs. The council voted last month to increase airport hanger fees and reduce the SAD fees.
Moore, the airport manager, told The Collegian last week she wanted to spend more time with her family.
“It gets old,” Moore said. “Everywhere I go, people ask
completely unaffected by the tariff.
“All the manufacturers have parts from other countries,” McKinney said. “An American model like the Jeep Wrangler, which has always been assembled in Toledo, uses almost 20% Mexican auto parts.”
“One of our concerns is that used car prices will go up like during COVID.”
Don Hawkins, owner of Hawkins Motor Sales, said factories in the U.S. and Canada have grown accustomed to shipping auto parts back and forth across the international border multiple times during the manufacturing process, due to decades of free trade agreements like the North American free trade agreement.
McKinney said no car assembled in America will be
According to Mackie, Bauer’s absence leaves a gap that will be difficult to fill, and the city council should reflect on how to maintain its staff.
“This will have real immediate consequences for our city,” Mackie said. “If this pattern continues, I am worried we will see more resignations.The future of this city and the services we provide to the people of Hillsdale depend on retaining and supporting professional and capable staff.”
Paladino said he is grateful for Bauer’s work.
“I am trying to find new revenue streams, this is very
are made in Canada by a Canadian manufacturer, then brought across the bridge to Detroit, where it’ll have work done to it, electronics and chips. Then the dash goes back over to another Canadian manufacturer to finish it, and then back over here for more work,” Hawkins said. “Then finally, back to Canada. So if it goes across the bridge four times, and if it gets tariffed every time, it’s going to be much more than the old price.”
common sense stuff,” Paladino said. “We have all been perfectly courteous and respectful. I have no problem with any of these people because, as far as I can tell, they’re doing a great job. We are having policy discussions up here, there are no personalities involved.”
In another discussion about a SAD proposal to repair Barry Street, former Hillsdale mayor Scott Sessions said Paladino’s efforts to lower special assessment costs for people on Barry Street are unfair to Hillsdale residents on other streets who are not in Paladino’s ward.
“It would be a matter of discrimination by this city council if the relief that is being proposed is not being given to the rest of the residents that have already been paying the special assessments,” Sessions said.
City Assessor Kim Thomas said she received many questions regarding which properties in Hillsdale are tax-exempt. The city, county, hospital, churches, and various nonprofits are among the properties that are exempt.
“Approximately one-third of our total value is exempt from property taxes,” Thomas said. “Of that, a little over 50% is owned by the college, which is no surprise to anybody, just looking at the types of buildings that they have and the value of those buildings and that their buildings are newer than everybody else’s.”
City board suggests pay raises for council
By Thomas McKenna, and Alessia Sandala City News Editor & Assistant Editor
Acting Mayor Joshua Paladino said he opposes a proposal by the Officers Compensation Committee to increase the pay for the mayor and members of the city council.
The Hillsdale City Council will vote April 21 on the recommendations, which would raise the mayor’s pay from $3,000 to $25,000 per year and the salaries for members of the Hillsdale City Council from $1,000 to $10,000.
“I’m opposed to the pay raise for the mayor and council,” Paladino said in an online post.
The compensation board voted 3-2 on Thursday to recommend the changes, which would be the first increase in 10 years.
In discussions at the city council meeting April 7, the chair of the committee, Russell Richardson, said salaries should rise to allow residents who make less to serve on the council.
“Right now, it’s only open to people who can afford to take the time off of work,” Richardson said. “We want to make public service accessible to everyone and that means it needs to be something that is paid.”
supply decreases, prices will go up. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens with that.”
Hillsdale auto dealers emphasized their resilience, citing a long history of hardships overcome by the auto industry.
Hawkins said the price of used cars could also rise, and added that this would depend on the scarcity and price of newer options.
“Parts of a Ford dashboard
“The last time we were short of new cars, during COVID, the price of used cars got really high,” he said.
“If these tariffs stay up for long, something similar will happen.”
McKinney also said there is a possibility of a surge in used car prices.
“One of the concerns is that used car prices will go up like during COVID,” McKinney said.
“You’ve artificially taken new cars off the table for a lot of people because of the 25% markup in price. So that would obviously drive more people to buy used vehicles to try to save money, and if
“People have been selling cars for 100 years. We’ve been through COVID-19,” McKinney said. “We went through the recession in 2008, when General Motors and Chrysler both filed bankruptcy and it was just crickets and tumbleweeds at that time. We survived the oil embargo in the 1970s.”
Braman said his experience in the auto industry gives him confidence.
“In my life, I’ve gone through the 50s, the 60s, the 70s, and all the things that went on then and affected the economy. But as I look outside, there’s still people driving cars. And they’re always going to be driving cars, no matter what. We’ve been through stuff like this before, we always come out OK,” he said. “As a dealership, it always initially impacts us, but we work a way through it. We’ll find a way.”
Despite the economic tumult brought by the tariffs, Hawkins said he believes in Trump’s ability to handle the burgeoning trade war.
“I trust Trump to pull this off and see us through safely,” Hawkins said. “He’s the right person for this job. The U.S. is definitely going to win big time on this.”
Trump’s handling of the economy in his first term is a reason to trust him now, according to McKinney.
“I am willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, personally,” McKinney said “What choice do we have as a business? Not much. But I definitely am, because I watched it play out positively eight years ago. A level playing field would be all anybody could ask for. And you can’t say that things have been a level playing field for a long time. There are changes that need to happen, and this is the most immediate, most direct way to make it happen.”
McKinney also said the tariff will encourage American companies to move industry back to the U.S.
“They made more money for their shareholders by shipping jobs overseas than they would have trying to build their widget here,” he said. “But it’s not just about a company’s bottom line. When the bottom line becomes the only line, we all lose.”
Chevrolet, which has a dealership in Hillsdale, is weighing how much to raise prices due to tariffs. Charles Hickey | Collegian
Tariffs from A1
The price of used cars at Hawkins Motor Sales in Hillsdale could rise. Christina Lewis | Collegian
GOP bill would double funding for Hillsdale roads
By Skye Graham Collegian Reporter
State funding for Hillsdale County roads would double under a $3.1 billion road repair package advanced last month by the Republican-led state House to the Democratled state Senate.
The legislation would provide $17.5 million in revenue for Hillsdale County’s roads, in a boost from the previously allotted $8.8 million. Senate Democrats have yet to take up the bill or outline an alternate proposal beyond a broad outline Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer offered earlier this year, according to Bridge Michigan.
“This will get a lot more money into Hillsdale County,” said state Sen. Joseph Bellino, a Republican who represents part of Hillsdale County. “It will give a lot more money for locals to do their own work in Monroe and Hillsdale counties. It will give them more projects they can do on their own and save them a lot of money.”
we give to big businesses to draw them here. It doesn’t do a thing for us.”
Rep. Jennifer Wortz, a Republican who represents Hillsdale County, agreed with Bellino that funding should be allocated away from big corporations and toward local roads.
“The bill is a package that takes money that’s already in the budget and reappropriates it for local roads,” Wortz said. “The bill gets rid of some funding that was used for big corporations and makes them pay a fair credit like every other
marijuana, but you legalize something and then turn around and tax where the margins are already very slim,” Wortz said. “She will not generate the revenue that she thinks she’s going to by doing that. You’re going to have huge amounts of closures and then you’re going to have marijuana imported from out of state.”
Wortz said she believes the governor would have a difficult time getting people on board with her plan due to the major tax increases, and that the governor and senate need to be willing to negotiate with House members on road improvement.
“It will give them more projects they can do on their own and save them a lot of money.”
business in the state. Then we are able to use the funding that was not really being utilized and put it toward roads.”
The funding proposal, led by Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, would eliminate tax credits in order to increase Corporate Income Tax revenue. The revenue generated would be allocated toward cities and small towns to improve road quality.
“Speaker Hall’s idea won’t raise taxes,” Bellino said. “I want to get rid of the millions
Whitmer has outlined a proposal of her own, which increases taxes on corporations and marijuana sales to raise revenue for improving local roads.
“The governor’s plan will make sure that corporations pay their fair share and rebuild roads proportionally to the damage they cause,” Whitmer’s office said in a press release.
Wortz said she opposes Whitmer’s plan due to the tax increases it would entail.
“I’m not a huge fan of
And all the cows said, ‘Amen!’: Sophomore Stephanie Surmacz sips a Coke at the new Chick-fil-A in Jackson, Michigan.
Bellino criticized Democrats in the Michigan government for their opposition to the bill, which he said removes local control.
“The Democrats have really hurt locals in the last couple years by taking things away from them,” Bellino said. “They will gladly take local control away because they think they know more than everybody else.”
House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, criticized the plan for not bringing new money into Michigan’s state budget.
“Robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Puri said in a press conference. “It’s not the way to do it.”
The bill has yet to be passed by the Democrat-controlled Senate and signed by Whitmer before becoming law.
Alessia Sandala | Collegian
Child airlifted after car accident near Hillsdale
By Gemma Flores Collegian Reporter
A child was airlifted after a car accident just west of Hillsdale last month.
While traveling north on Bunn Road in Hillsdale Township in the afternoon of March 29, a driver struck a child who ran out in front of her car, according to the police report.
The victim and his stepbrother were looking for a spot to fish and went to a neighbor’s property but were told to return home. When they were crossing the road to go home, the stepbrother
reported that the victim did not look both ways and was struck by the driver.
An off-duty hospital employee, Lindsay Buelow, told the sheriff’s office she saw the driver hit something, which she thought was a deer. The victim flipped a couple of times before sliding to the other side of the street. After she recognized it was a child, Buelow stopped and tended to the victim until paramedics arrived.
In her report to the police, Buelow said she did not notice any poor driving on the driver’s part. The driver appeared to Buelow to be fol -
lowing the speed limit and driving on the right side of the road. “She was emotionally shaken up,” Officer Trevor Kornak said of the driver. “She said she did not have any time to react. She immediately pulled her vehicle over and ran to the kid. Someone then called 911 and she waited for the police to show up.” The victim was transported to St. Vincent Hospital of Toledo, where he was treated for a broken femur and other injuries. The child’s family informed police that he is in stable condition and progressing.
Buggy safety concerns rise after two Amish die in crashes
By Francesca Cella Collegian Reporter
Two Amish residents of Michigan died from cars colliding with their horse-drawn buggies in the past month — and now local officials are spending federal funds in an effort to improve buggy safety.
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is using a $70,000 federal highway safety grant to improve buggy safety by increasing law enforcement and implementing reduced speed zones in Amish school areas. The three counties are home to 30% of Michigan’s Amish population.
From 2016 to 2023, 261 similar crashes have occurred, causing 18 fatalities, according to the Michigan State Police. Branch, Hillsdale, and St. Joseph counties saw 78 crashes and four deaths in these years, which accounted for 30% of Michigan’s vehicle-buggy accidents and 22% of buggy accident deaths.
Michigan State Sen. Jona -
than Lindsey, R-Coldwater, said legislation for buggy transportation is challenging, as the majority of the Amish population is concentrated in small areas of the state.
“Handing the topic of the safety with buggies and Amish transportation in our communities is something that is a tricky balance between state and local government,” Lindsey said.
Professor of Philosophy and Culture Peter Blum, who studies the sociology of the Amish community, said restricted technology is one of their community principles.
“The principle has to do with the idea of being a visible witness, of doing things differently and living in a different way,” Blum said. “They see that way as anchored in their understanding of what it’s like to be Christians.”
Martha and Emmanuel Yoder live in St. Joseph County and are members of the Centreville Amish Community, which contains 16 church districts and 2,000 people, ma-
king it Michigan’s oldest and largest Amish settlement. The Yoders said driving a buggy helps them maintain a quieter lifestyle.
“It’s just to keep a slower pace of life,” Martha Yoder said.
Emmanuel Yoder said driving vehicles would incline them to misuse their freedom to travel.
“Once we had vehicles, we’d probably use them for other purposes than we should,” Emmanuel Yoder said.
The government, Lindsey said, must be careful to preserve the religious rights of the Amish while ensuring safe transportation.
“Government should be there ultimately to protect the rights of the citizens it’s serving,” Lindsey said. “Where that becomes challenging is when you have what could be perceived as competing rights. The Amish certainly have a right to religious liberty, and on the other hand, protecting people’s property or their physical safety is part of the
reason why it can be appropriate for the government to get involved in things like traffic laws in the first place.”
The Yoders said they feel safe riding in their buggy and try to accommodate other vehicles on the road.
“Everybody is very respectful, but I feel we need to be respectful too,” Martha Yoder said. “If there’s room to get off the road, that’s what I feel we need to do if there’s a highway.”
Emmanuel Yoder said he drives on the shoulder of the road whenever he can.
“I always try to get off on the shoulder if it’s at all possible,” Yoder said. “Because it’s our responsibility to cooperate.”
Blum said the Amish do not use technology such as motor vehicles or electricity because they are concerned with how it will alter their communal lifestyle.
“A lot of people assume that the Amish think of modern technology as evil and that they want to avoid it,” Blum said. “It may be that some Amish talk that way, but the principle is more that they want to preserve a certain kind of community. What they’re interested in is controlling the influence of modern technology so that it does not have a negative impact on their community.”
The Amish view advanced technology as a threat to their tightly-knit communities and slower pace of life, according to Blum.
“They’re afraid that the more that modern technology becomes a part of what they’re doing, the more it has its own kind of logic that could run away with what they want to preserve about a community,”
Blum said. “They want things to be locally controlled. They want a church community that is small enough that everybody knows everybody else, and they want a pace of life that is not fast and not oriented primarily toward efficiency.”
Martha Yoder said she doesn’t mind traveling small distances in the buggy and hiring drivers to bring her on longer trips to visit her family in Indiana.
“I actually enjoy it,” she said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Branch County Road Commission Chairman Bob Mayer said legislation to regulate buggies is necessary for safety.
“In Branch County, we’ve talked to the bishops,” Mayer said. “We’ve met with them and until it’s mandated by the state it’s not going to change.”
The Yoders said practices for buggy lighting vary between communities.
“We aren’t all the same. Some are quite more conservative than we are,” Martha Yoder said.
Amish communities even differ in neighboring counties, according to Emmanuel Yoder.
“There’s communities in Branch County and further over in the Kinderhook and Reading that don’t have lights on their buggies,” Emmanuel Yoder said. “But I feel that is for our safety as well as the safety for vehicles, because if you don’t have lighting — very dangerous.”
Mayer said reflectors do not make buggies visible enough to other drivers.
“I have had instances where I have been driving down a road and all of a sudden you see a light flashing back at you, and they’re waving a flashlight
to let you know they’re there,” Mayer said. “That’s not safe. If it’s mandated for a car not to have a broken taillight, it should be mandated for a buggy to have lighting.”
Martha Yoder agreed it is not advisable to drive a buggy without lights.
“We have blinkers plus lights,” Yoder said. “Most buggies in this area are very well lit.” Lindsey said the government must be cautious in enforcing regulations.
“For the most part, I think the bigger danger here is the state of Michigan potentially stepping in and trying to take liberties away from a particular community,” Lindsey said. “That’s always the danger with government. Everything starts with a good idea, but implementation of laws usually involves the tradeoff that the government’s going to control one more aspect of people’s lives.”
The Yoders said they are content with the safety of buggy transportation.
“I feel they consider our ways and I’m happy how it is for us,” Martha Yoder said.
According to Emmanuel Yoder, current regulations for buggies have been effective in most situations.
“I feel if we have lighting and respect the traffic, the traffic 99% of the time will respect us,” Emmanuel Yoder said. The Yoders said they realize that accidents are bound to happen, no matter what precautions they take.
“There will always be somebody that might be having a bad day,” Emmanuel Yoder laughed. “We’re all human.”
Amish communities in Michigan use buggies instead of vehicles for religious reasons. Courtesy | Wikimedia
Women's Tennis
Conference rivals end win streak
By Tayte Christensen Assistant Editor
Charger women’s tennis fell to two conference rivals on the road this weekend.
On Friday versus the 10th-ranked University of Findlay Oilers, the Chargers fell 4-0.
Nationally-ranked Charger duo sophomore Ané Dannhauser and freshman Briana Rees picked up the only win of the weekend, winning 7-3 in a 6-6 tiebreaker. The duo moved from 34th to 22nd after defeating Findlay’s 14th-ranked pair.
“The doubles match was absolutely amazing and definitely a highlight,” Dannhauser said. “Briana and I did a great job of working together even when the pressure increased, and we managed to come out on top against a highly ranked team.”
At No. 2 singles against the Oilers, senior Libby McGivern fought through three rounds, ultimately falling 3-6, 6-2, 1-6.
Against the Tiffin University Dragons on Saturday,
the Chargers lost 4-0.
The Chargers failed to claim a point, despite a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles from junior Bella Spinazze and senior Libby McGivern.
“Libby and I played really well against Tiffin, and we made some adjustments from Findlay that allowed us to play lights out,” Spinazze said. “It was awesome.”
At No. 3 singles, Rees came close to a victory, sitting at 5-5 in the third set, before the Dragons sealed the victory and all competition halted.
“In all of the matches, we were out there and competed extremely well,” Dannhauser said. “There were a few kinks that could have been better, but I think that now we know what to expect from these teams and we will just come out stronger.”
The two losses bring the Chargers to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
The Chargers will face prospective conference title contender the Northwood University Timberwolves at home this weekend.
Sports Feature
Students find hobby in pickleball
By Skye Graham Collegian Reporter
Pickleball is a popular hobby on campus and recently has its own club, less than two years after Hillsdale College’s Campus Rec hosted its first tournament dedicated to the sport.
Junior Joshua Mistry and sophomore Nathan Furness have started a pickleball club on campus, which was officially approved by the Student Federation two weeks ago.
“When Nathan and I got back from summer break, we talked to our friends and a lot of people were super interested in a pickleball club,” Mistry said. “We made a GroupMe, got about sixty people in it, and began playing two to three times a week.”
Mistry said that club pickleball aims to remove barriers to entry for students who are interested in pickleball, including removing financial concerns with the cost of equipment.
“We know there are students here who want to play,” Mistry said. “The big -
Each row, column, and bolded 3×2 region contains one each of 1–6. Difficulty:
Noughts and Crosses
Difficulty:
The numbers around the border indicate the length of the longest runs of consecutive noughts or crosses in that row or column (a zero means that symbol does not appear in that row or column).
Battleships
If
gest thing we hear is that they don’t have equipment, and they don’t have people to play with. So we provide both of those things.”
Club pickleball is hoping to host its first official tournament towards the end of the semester, as well as provide opportunities for parents and students to play pickleball during parents’ weekend this Fall.
Pickleball is a paddle sport that resembles tennis, where players hit small plastic balls across a low net. According to USA Pickleball, Joel Pritchard named the sport after pickle boats, which was a name for the slowest and least competitive boats in sailing competitions.
Senior Nathan Stanish said that he likes the ease of pickleball compared to other sports.
“Pickleball is discount tennis,” Stanish said. “It’s like what mini golf is to real golf. You can feel athletic and talented more easily because the game is played slower and on a smaller court. It’s the perfect sport for elderly people and unathletic young people.”
Softball
Freshman Noah Woo agreed and said even someone who has never played can start quite quickly.
“It’s a lot more accessible compared to other sports,” Woo said. “The barrier of entry is much lower. There’s not as much equipment or training required, and it’s a really simple concept. It’s pretty easy for people to pick up a racket and start playing, and even people who are less athletic can have fun with it.”
Woo plays pickleball frequently, both non-competitively and in Campus Rec Intramural tournaments.
Woo said there are many reasons why people might enjoy playing pickleball on campus.
“I like to stay really active,” Woo said. “I played sports in high school, and I think this is just a low-commitment way of continuing those athletic endeavors.
Playing pickleball through Campus Rec isn’t as high a commitment as, say, joining a club, but it’s enough to stay active and have fun with my friends.”
Campus Rec has hosted numerous pickleball compe -
titions and tournaments in recent years, with high attendance. In response to student interest in pickleball, Pi Beta Phi is hosting its own pickleball tournament to raise money for philanthropy on Saturday, April 12.
“Pickleball is definitely growing in popularity on campus,” junior Rebekah George said. “I feel like it got really popular in general over this past summer, and a lot of people have brought it to campus this school year in particular.”
Mistry said that pickleball is a good way for Hillsdale students to fit athletics into their busy academic schedules.
“It’s just another opportunity for students to get out of the library and take a break from studying,” Mistry said. “We just want to provide a way for students to get outside, be active, and get rid of any barrier possible between them walking onto the court and playing.”
Chargers split series against defending G-MAC champs
By Ellie Fromm Assistant Editor
Charger softball went 1-1 over the weekend, tying the weekend series with the defending Great Midwest Athletic Conference champions the Northwood University Timberwolves.
The Chargers’ Saturday games against the Malone University Pioneers were postponed due to weather. On Sunday they beat the Northwood University Timberwolves 4-0 in the first game and lost in the nightcap 3-1.
“I think in that second game we just fell a couple runs short, but I think we’ve seen improvement each week,” head coach Kyle Gross said. “We're gonna get those second games. We're gonna break through and get those games when it matters.”
Junior Anna Chellman said the Chargers are looking to focus on their at-bat
performance after their games with the Timberwolves.
“I think we just stopped getting as aggressive at the plate,” Chellman said. “I think we just kind of got a little too comfortable with what we had done in the first game, and so we just need to get a little bit better at being more aggressive and having more of an offensive approach at the plate.”
Lately, the Chargers have faced the toughest competition in the G-MAC, according to Gross.
“Our last three conference teams have been the top three teams in our conference, and we've split each one,” Gross said. “And so that's nothing to shake your head at. But if we could have stolen one of those games, it would have meant a lot as far as rankings and things like that.”
The Chargers will face the Thomas More University Saints on April 12 away
at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. They will then play the Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers on April 13 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Junior Mackenzi Maxson said she is proud of the team’s work this season.
“We've improved so much defensively and offensively from the beginning of the season, it's awesome to see,” Maxson said. “I think being able to keep on working on that because again, we're gonna have opportunities to work out things and work through kinks and just being able to get that kind of all squared away before we play some of the more competitive teams in the conference.”
“We've got to win that second game, so we’ve got to work hard this week and make sure that we're winning both games of the series,” Gross said. “Go Chargers!”
Junior Anna Chellman fields a grounder. COURTESY | Tiffany Treppa
Popplewell adds track as third sport
By Ellie Fromm Assistant Editor
A joke turned senior Marilyn Popplewell into a threesport varsity athlete.
“I just happened to be in the weight room lifting at the same time that the throws team was in there on a Sunday, and I was just doing my own thing,” Popplewell said. “The throwing coach jokingly asked me if I wanted to go to their javelin practice on Tuesday and see if I liked it. I just laughed at first. And then she was like, ‘if you actually want to do it, you can come and try it out.’ I had nothing to do that day at that time, so I was like, ‘why not?’ I just went out there, and it was kind of fun, so I stuck with it.” Popplewell is now an outside hitter for the Chargers volleyball team, a forward on the basketball team, and throws the javelin on the track and field team for Hillsdale. She was recruited to play volleyball, playing middle hitter in high school before transitioning to outside hitter for the Chargers.
the American Volleyball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American, twice named to the AVCA’s All-Midwest Region team, once named to the National Association of Collegiate Di -
As her volleyball career came to an end, Popplewell decided she wanted to play basketball again, a sport she had not competitively played since she was 18.
“My grandpa coached me
“It does develop a lot of different coordination, with situations and balance, and I think it's really beneficial when they do finally decide on one sport to play multiple sports, even for injury prevention,” Gravel said. “They're using muscles that they normally wouldn't use from one sport to another. It can only be healthy.”
Head women’s basketball coach Brianna Brennan said she was initially excited to add an experienced collegiate upperclassman athlete to her roster and found that Popplewell was a strong contributor to the team and its success.
ment,” Brennan said. “Every week, she was doing at least three individual workouts on top of our practices. She was watching film on top of her practices on her own or with a coach. And so again, she was just really hungry and willing to do anything we needed to help the team.”
The women’s basketball team had its best season in 16 years, and it was only the fifth time in its history that a team had won 20 or more games in a season. Brennan said Popplewell largely contributed to the team’s success. Popplewell’s success is not unique to her athletic career, according to Brennan.
ter what she does, she really does it with the utmost excellence — that’s the best way to put it.”
Despite her short time training Popplewell, track and field associate head coach Jessica Bridenthal said she has already noticed her dedication.
During her four years on the volleyball team, Popplewell was twice awarded
Club Sports
rectors of Athletics’ All-Midwest Region team, and was named to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference’s First Team All-G-MAC. “I got here, and I played middle for like two weeks, or like in one of our scrimmages, and then immediately my coach was like, ‘No, you have to learn a different position, because this is not going to work out for you,’” Popplewell said. “And I totally understood. I was a little bit undersized to play middle here, so I transitioned to the outside. It took a lot of work to get to the point where I even felt confident just hitting the ball.”
in basketball. It was more of a family oriented sport, like everybody in my family knows basketball and it’s just something that we can all connect on,” Popplewell said. “I chose to play basketball this year just because I missed it and I genuinely just wanted to experience the sport again, I guess.”
She began practicing, and then playing, with the basketball team a few days after her volleyball season ended. Head volleyball coach Chris Gravel said he supported her decision to play basketball and thinks that there are benefits to athletes playing more than one sport.
“We actually had an injury down the stretch, and she was able to step into that position and honestly help us tremendously as we made
“Off the court, she's always striving for excellence,” Brennan said. “And you know, of course, that carries on to the court. But whether
“You can tell that she has trained at a really high level athletically for a long time,” Bridenthal said. “I think she's very deliberate in how she works out and the amount of effort she puts in, I think that's really evident. There's not very many people who could dual sport, let alone do three sports in college. That's obviously someone who is really good at committing to a high level of intensity.”
Popplewell took first place in her field debut in the javelin throw with a throw of 33.63 meters at the Hillsdale Outdoor Invitational on April 5. “I'm excited to see how far she can throw that javelin. Just because it's not my sport doesn’t mean I don’t still have high expectations of what she can accomplish,” Gravel said.
the conference tournament and then the NCAA tourna -
it's in the classroom, whether it's relationships, no mat -
Club Wrestling competes at nationals, Riehle places fourth
By Jacob Beckwith Sports Editor
The Hillsdale College Wrestling Club finished in the top third of collegiate club programs after the team traveled nearly 1,000 miles to Shreveport, Louisiana, over spring break to compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association national championship.
Eight wrestlers represented Hillsdale in various competitions this spring break, which
doubled the number that competed last season and marked a significant step forward for the growing club.
The team competed in three meets during the spring semester before attending a regional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, where freshman Stephen Petersen and junior Matt Riehle qualified for the national tournament. Sophomore David Gregory also qualified for the championship via an at-large bid.
“The NCWA national championship overall is a very professional, well put together event pulling in over 500 very high quality wrestlers from around the country,” Hillsdale Club Sports Director Ryan Perkins said.
Perkins made the trip alongside Dean of Men Aaron Petersen and club coach Carter Ballinger, who is also head wrestling coach at Jonesville High School.
According to Gregory, the tournament is the largest college wrestling tournament held in the nation and is formatted as a massive double-elimination event, featuring schools ranging from large universities — some transitioning between NCAA divisions and temporarily ineligible for NCAA championships — to technical and trade schools.
“Liberty University, for ex-
ample, is a huge school with a bus just for wrestling, and they compete in the NCWA and always bring a ton of guys,” Riehle said. “Some apprentice or trade schools also compete in the league because they aren’t in the NCAA.”
Despite being one of the smaller squads, Hillsdale finished 27th out of 85 teams. Gregory went 4-2 in the 149-pound division, finishing in the top 16. Petersen posted a 3-2 record in the 197-pound bracket, also earning a top 16 spot. Riehle, competing at 174 pounds, reached the semifinals undefeated before dropping two tough matches to finish fourth overall with a 4-2 record.
“It really shows how exceptional of a wrestler Matt is to be able to not just compete with but stand out among the crowd in the tournament,” Per-
kins said. “It’s always exciting to watch him compete.”
With a growing roster and continued success on the mat, the Hillsdale Wrestling Club is hoping to attract more students to join their ranks, according to Riehle. They offer a flexible, balanced approach to the sport, aiming to reignite the passion for wrestling that many student-athletes leave behind after high school.
“Our biggest obstacle is that
in high school, wrestling is just so intense, so guys are still burnt out from high school and don’t realize it is a totally different college experience,” Gregory said. “It is so much more manageable.”
“If you want to show up every day and wrestle really hard and drill then you can,” Riehle said. “But if you only come occasionally, or miss some days because of a paper, that’s fine with us as well.”
Evyn HumpHrEy, Track & FiEld Charger chatter
What superhero ability would you not want?
I would not want telepathy because I'm not sure I would want to know what thoughts people have in their heads.
How would you describe your tolerance for spicy food?
I have a light tolerance for spicy food. Salsa and bell peppers are the spiciest foods I can tolerate.
Compiled by Charlotte Knobloch
What do you think construction should tackle next?
Although it would be a huge project (and perhaps not possible), it would be nice if Hillsdale had a system of underground hallways, like the hallway connecting Lane and Kendall, that students could travel through during days of inclement weather.
Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department
Popplewell in a volleyball game against the University of Findlay Oilers in the fall. COURTESY | Austin Thomason
Popplewell and senior Kendall McCormick in a basketball game against Ursuline College. COURTESY | Tiffany Treppa
Freshman Stephen Petersen, junior Matt Riehle, sophomore David Gregory, and coach Carter Ballinger. COURTESY | Caleb Steele
Riehle competes at nationals over spring break. COURTESY | Caleb Steele
Charger Sports
Action Shooting
Shooters earn top three finishes
By Jamie Parsons Collegian Reporter
Charger action shooting
secured three first place finishes and swept the podium in two divisions as it hosted a United States Practice Shooting Association match April 5.
In the Production Division, the Chargers secured the top three places, with junior Jonah Kirstein placing first, senior Alexander Vietor placing second, and sophomore Luke Sempsrott placing third.
In the Limited Division, the Chargers also won the top three spots, with senior team captain Taylor Chen placing first, sophomore Clara Bozzay second and sophomore Kayla Mullin third.
Chen said he is always motivated to perform to the best of his ability, but in this match specifically he was motivated because it was his last home match of his career.
“The chances that I will step foot again on the range that defined my college career are low, and that realization struck me during the match,” Chen said. “I knew that to make my last home match the most memorable, I had to put down a perfor-
mance that was worthy of remembering.”
In the Carry Optics Division, junior John Beecher placed second, and in the Limited Optics Division, junior Joseph Grohs placed fourth.
Bozzay said Grohs’ performance was notable because the Limited Optics Division is super competitive.
“It’s competitive because a lot of people are in it, it's a little more difficult to get into and it's expensive,” Bozzay said. “Grohs is the only one who shoots in it.”
Grohs said he was drawn to Limited Optics specifically for the challenge it offered and wanted to be pushed more to improve his shooting speed between targets.
“Going into a more competitive division means stepping up your game and having less room for error,” Grohs said. “This is just a great way to push yourself
forward as a shooter.”
Bozzay gained Hillsdale its third first-place finish by landing at the top of the podium in the women’s overall category, with Mullin placing third and sophomore Jianna Coppola placing fourth. Beecher took sixth among all competitors.
The Chargers are hitting the road this week to compete in the Blue Bullets Alabama State USPSA Championships April 10-12. Chen said he hopes to finish well in the meet and has been working on consistency and quick transitions.
“Shooting well in practice is one thing, but applying it under the pressure of competition requires focus,” Chen said. “Alabama has quite a competitive field of Limited shooters, but I hope to podium.”
Chargers take series at home
By Elaine Kutas Collegian Reporter
The Chargers won three of four during their home series against the Lake Erie College Storm on Saturday and Sunday.
The Chargers came out with an 8-3 win in the first game on Saturday but lost the nightcap 2-1. On Sunday, the Chargers won the first game 7-6 in the 10th inning and the second game 8-3.
According to Associate Head Coach Ryan Van Amburg, the Chargers had a successful weekend thanks to standout performances from freshman Will Lehman and sophomore Rocco Tenuta. Lehman had six hits on his 15 appearances at bat this weekend with six RBIs and two doubles, as well as a three-run home run during the first inning of the first game. Lehman said that despite losing the second game,
Track & Field
the Chargers were able to keep morale high for their second day of competition.
“We were able to play for each other and the guys on the bench did a great job rallying behind us to keep the energy levels up,” Lehman said. “Even when we fell behind, we were able to take competitive team at-bats which sparked our offense and is what ended up winning us the series.”
Tenuta also had a strong weekend with six hits during his 15 at-bats with three doubles and three RBIs. His RBI in the bottom of the fourth inning during the first game propelled the Chargers to a 7-0 lead, and he was two for three on hits during the second game Saturday, contributing to the Chargers’ overall four hits of the game.
On Sunday, Tenuta was sent out to second base as the automatic runner in the top of the extra inning, and was
brought home on a sacrifice fly by senior Augie Hutchison for the win.
“When I was on second, I was just trying to not do anything stupid and get picked off,” Tenuta said.
“Zak Kent did a good job getting his bunt down and Augie Hutchison was very clutch getting that sacrifice fly in the air for me to score. Overall, it was a really good win.”
According to Van Amburg, the pitchers during all four games performed well, especially senior Drew Erdei, who pitched two innings in the first game without allowing a hit or a run and fellow senior Brandon Scott, who pitched the first five innings of the fourth game of the weekend and allowed two hits and three runs.
The Chargers are now 10-6 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. According to the G-MAC standings, this is
the third best record out of the G-MAC teams, behind Northwood University and Ashland University.
“The conference tournament berths are determined by conference records and head-to-head results in conference series, and the toughest competition we’re facing in the conference right now is Northwood and Ashland, who sit ahead of us with Northwood at 16-0 and Ashland at 14-2,” Van Amburg said. “Both series will be competitive and challenging, but ultimately, our success will depend on executing our game and staying disciplined to our approach.”
The Chargers will next play the University of Findlay Oilers on Saturday and Sunday in an away fourgame weekend series.
Hillsdale finds continued success outdoors
By Joshua Mistry Collegian Reporter
Senior Ben Haas won his fourth Great Midwest Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week award after setting a new Hillsdale record in the hammer throw at the Hillsdale Outdoor Invitational meet.
Haas won the hammer throw with a mark of 66.58 meters, beating the previous record of 66.39 meters set by Jason Stomps in 2010.
Other Charger athletes competed at the VertKlasse Meeting at High Point University on Friday.
Junior Lucy Minning placed third in the 100-meter dash at High Point University with a personal best time of 11.96 and fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.4.
time of 55.94 seconds. Sophomore Zoe Burke placed eighth in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:16.17.
"The team generally enjoys outdoor more than indoor — the sun and fresh air make a huge difference in mindset after spending all winter indoors," Burke said.
At the Hillsdale Outdoor Invitational, freshman
son because we don’t have to run italicized anymore, like we do on the tight indoor curves. Although, now we have to deal with some treacherous weather," Overlease said.
Sophomore Nola Hipkins won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:08.51. Freshman Gianna Lodice placed second with a personal best
PRs across all events, which is huge. We are waiting for good competition to run our 4x4 relay, which we’ll have at our biggest home meet, the Gina Relays on April 17," Burke said. "We’re looking for a big national provisional mark that meet, and we’re super optimistic about that goal."
time of 1:08.66.
"Luckily over the weekend it was very warm at High Point but I was definitely feeling fatigued from the heat. I was happy with my race time, but there's a lot more I can improve with my start," Minning said.
Senior Josee Behling placed third in the 400-meter dash with a personal best
Baelyn Zitzmann won the 100-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 15.53.
Junior Anna Lamoreaux won the 100-meter dash with a personal best time of 12.57. Lamoreaux also won the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.05. Zitzmann placed second with a time of 26.71. Freshman Evelyn Overlease won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.57.
"I love the outdoor sea -
Sophomore Whitney Wilkinson won the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:30.69. Sophomore Eleanor Clark won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:35.46. Freshman Victoria Stonebraker placed second in the 5,000-meter run with a personal best time of 18:46.39.
"These past two weeks we’ve had many amazing
Senior Averi Parker won the hammer throw and discus with marks of 52.46 meters and 38.45 meters. Senior Marilyn Popplewell won the javelin throw with a mark of 33.63 meters. Zitzmann won the high jump with a mark of 1.64 meters. Senior Grace Chen won the pole vault and triple jump with marks of 3.35 meters and 10.84 meters. Lodice won the long jump with a mark of 5.26 meters.
"I think the team is very excited for this season. We did very well indoors and have had a lot of PRs which is great considering how early it is," Minning said. The Chargers will compete next at the Calvin Knight Invitational at Calvin University April 12.
Senior Augie Hutchison at the plate over the
Tiffany Treppa
Sophomore Anna Stirton, sophomore Emilie Santoso, and senior Kayla Loescher compete at Hayden Park. COURTESY | Reva Ludwig
Junior John Beecher.
Senior Taylor Chen.
Senior William Hudson. PHOTOS COURTESY | Kenneth Gaudet
C U L T U R E
Labors of love are not lost in Mauck
By Austin Gergens Collegian Freelancer
performance in Slayton Arboretum on April 4.
Diener’s performance as Lord Berowne elicited compliments from Franco, who said her British accent matched her impassioned character.
“This practice both added dimension and enhanced the comedic effect of her perfor-
“Basically it’s this play about Hillsdating, where these four lords get together and decide they’re only going to fast and study and pray and never talk to women,” freshman Alethia Diener, who performed in the play, said.
This year, the 16-member Hillsdale student cast presented “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” one of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies, which began in the Arb on Friday, before weather forced it indoors to Mauck Dorm for both performances.
Senior Katrin Surkan, who directed the play, was joined by seniors Libby Gannon, Zelda Gilbert, Peter Gilchrist, and Parker Reed performing in “Love’s Labor’s Lost.”
Kevin Franco, a first year classical education graduate student, attended the production for the first time but has witnessed other outdoor Shakespeare productions.
“I find particular delight in such productions because of the degree to which the thespians, who by performing in nature, surrender a reasonable ability to implement sets and props beyond those which are portable and master their stage as the good Lord and a few landscape architects designed it,” he said in an email. “The company of ‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’ certainly accomplished this.”
One of the principal lords, Diener, who grew up in Hillsdale, said she was excited to perform in Shakespeare in the Arb after watching it for years, and that the play addresses other characters who begin falling in love.
“It’s all about sacrificing what your expectations were to find more of a happy and fulfilled life than you thought you could have,” she said.
Diener highlighted her character’s struggle and how the play raises questions about staying true to your word.
“He’s caught in this inner turmoil and conflict because he doesn’t want to go back on his vow to not talk to women,” she said.
mance,” he said. “Whether or not Diener’s practice was intentional, it is but one example of the nuances, many of which we in the audience rarely recognize, that comprise theatrical arete.”
Franco said the scene in which the lords emerged dressed as Muscovites was the most striking and included an entire stage change due to the rain, resulting in the lords entering from the rear of the Mauck solarium.
“Amidst a well-timed pause in the dialogue, the lords proceeded to the front of the room dressed as anything but Muscovites, three of whom each donned a random and quite un-Muscovite hat, among them a cowboy hat and a flat cap. The fourth fellow, meanwhile, was masked and caped like a Mexican wrestler,” he said. “This scene elicited more laughter than any other from the performance.”
Surkan shared the importance of watching Shakespeare live, and not just reading it alone.
“Shakespeare’s English is beautiful, but watching people take the words written on the page and present them physically in space gives them life and a more practical meaning,” Surkan said. “I find it especially important for comedies, as Shakespeare loved visual humor, which can be hard to communicate through just the words.”
Franco said the performance was enjoyable and demonstrated “Hillsdalian camaraderie” between cast and audience.
“Their presentation of Mr. Shakespeare’s quest at portraying the absurdity of men swearing off women (at least permanently) appeared effortless, and their desire to partake and share in this quest, authentic,” he said. “The audience too, executed their role in receiving the performance. Heads turned, eyebrows rose, and applause ensued.”
Seniors present portfolios in final show
By Cassandra Devries Collegian Reporter
Senior Joy Hanes had never created her own artwork until her freshman year. Last week, she presented 38 pieces in her senior art show.
“My parents took us to art museums growing up, and I always loved looking at art, but it was just something that felt so beyond me and so beyond my comfort zone,” Hanes said. “So when I was randomly placed in Drawing I, and I thought ‘I’ll just see what happens.’”
Hanes, and seniors Rachel Moeller, and Raegan Coupland opened their art portfolios this Friday, April 4 in the Daughtery Gallery.
Hanes said she named the exhibit “Putting the Pieces Together” because her time at Hillsdale has been a variety of lectures, projects, and moments.
“These are the little pieces that we as students receive and then have to put together in order to learn more of the full picture of what it is to make art and how we can do that with the most
her work is meant to draw out the beauty in the mundane.
“I think that’s where the power of art really lies — revealing those things that we forget to step back and appreciate,” Hanes said.
Hanes said one of her favorite paintings displayed in the art show is of her sisterin-law flipping pancakes.
“I was lucky and got a really good candid photo of her while we were chatting, and it ended up being one of my favorites to paint because of all the different textures and colors.”
Another of Hanes’ favorite paintings was her master copy of Andrew Wyeth’s “Cranberries.”
“That was the biggest watercolor that I did,” Hanes said. “I just love the original, and I’m pretty happy with how my painting turned out. That one also sort of goes with the theme of appreciating the beauty in the mundanity of a simple bucket of berries under windows.”
Coupland changed her major to art after a drawing class her sophomore year. “The class pushed me in all the ways I
was a fun play on words because the exhibitions are not just one person but a group of seniors who all literally bring their art pieces together to make up the whole gallery.”
Hanes said Drawing I was challenging, but it ultimately set her on a path to her senior art show.
“It was the first thing I ever experienced that, the more it frustrated me, the harder I wanted to push myself to work at it,” Hanes said. “So I took that as a sign, and it opened up a whole new world for me.”
Hanes said she first and foremost wants her artwork to glorify God by painting the things she loves.
“I think of all the people that I love, the themes of childhood, nature, and my favorite places,” Hanes said. “My theme for oil paintings this year is home life, American life.”
According to Hanes,
ed to be pushed coming to Hillsdale,” Coupland said. “So I never stopped taking art classes.”
Coupland presented five mediums at her show: photography, sculpture, drawing, oil painting, and watercolor.
One of her favorite works is an oil painting of the Bridge of Sighs in Oxford, England.
“When my family and I visited for a week, I knew I wanted to capture Oxford in one painting,” Coupland said. “That painting is the culmina-
plemented with a couple of graphite and charcoal drawings and watercolor paintings.
tion of what I’ve learned as an art major and made me put all my skills to the test and push my boundaries with color.”
Coupland said she will miss the late nights in the art building with her peers.
“I love how I’ve just gotten to know my fellow art majors,” Coupland said. “We’ve all been on this journey together for the past few years, and now we’re all doing our shows together. The camaraderie of it is so wonderful and something I’ve come to appreciate so much.”
Moeller said she also started her career in painting late and on a whim.
“I signed up for a drawing class my sophomore year of college because I decided I wanted to give drawing one more try after a bad high school experience,” Moeller said. “But I almost dropped the class because I wasn’t sure I would like it.”
Moeller loved the class and said she fell in love immediately.
“I really believe it was the hand of God,” Moeller said. “God wires every individual to be creative, but some people just have an impulse to create physical works of art.”
Moeller specialized in oil paintings, which were sup -
“I think each artist starts to find a medium that connects with them personally. When I went into my first oils class, something clicked,” Moeller said.
She said she primarily paints people she knows, and her paintings often revolve around people significant to her life, including her closest friends and housemates. Moeller’s favorite painting is one of her Latin professors.
“Sometimes I pick people because I love their presence,” Moeller said.
Moeller said she loves to see the detail in the little things in the world that often go unnoticed.
“I like to paint things like just a plain laundry room, which can be so beautiful, but we often just pass by everything we interact with regularly,” Moeller said.
Moeller explained how she has learned the meaning of art throughout her time at Hillsdale because of the title of the art show.
“Art is about putting together the pieces, the color, and temperature together in a way that says something new and original,” Moeller said.
“An impression of the world that people can resonate with but they haven’t necessarily interacted with before.”
A band of bard imitators portrayed Hillsdating in action in the recent, annual Shakespeare in the Arb
Rachel Moeller, Joy Hanes, and Raegan Coupland showcased their self portraits in Daughtery Gallery. ANNA BROUSSARD | COLLEGIAN
Collection of Coupland’s artwork Anna Broussard | COLLEGIAN
Moeller’s piece ‘Master Copy of John Singer
Sargent’s Miss Helen Duinham Anna Broussard | COLLEGIAN
Collection of Hanes’ artwork Anna Broussard | COLLEGIAN
Shakespeare in the Arb presents “Love’s Labor’s Lost” COURTESY | Alethia Diener
Three finalists named in playwriting competition
By Elijah Guevara Collegian Freelancer
Sharing one’s work is the most intimidating part of the playwrighting process, said senior Emily Griffith, one of this year’s playwriting finalists.
“The more you write, the more you learn about yourself in the process,” Griffith said. “In a way, it’s scary because you bear your soul when you write something, and it feels like you’re opening your heart.”
Christopher Matsos, chairman and professor of theatre, announced Griffith, senior Grace Bryant, and junior Moira Forrester as the finalists for the theatre department’s inaugural playwriting competition, April 1.
The three one-act plays will be workshopped by student actors and performed back-toback as staged readings April 26 at 2 p.m.
Matsos said a panel of judges will review the plays and announce the winner, who will receive a prize of $1,000.
“I maintain that Hillsdale students are the best read students anywhere,” Matsos said. “It seemed like a natural thing that maybe Hillsdale students are great playwrights, so we decided to launch this competition and feature it at the end of the year.”
Bryant said she has spent most of her theater experience behind the scenes as either a dramaturg or stage manager.
Bryant’s play, “Pebble Cove, Maine,” reflects on the theme of change. The play takes place in Maine and centers around a character named Frederick.
“Frederick is trying to get over the death of his late father, who was an artist, and to learn how to cope with the changes in his life that his new stepfather is putting out,” Bry-
ant said. “They are planning to move to Boston, so his stepfather can be a curator at an art museum, and Frederick struggles with trying to leave Maine.”
According to Bryant, the play’s setting in the Maine landscape represents the timeless theme of change.
“There’s a lot of imagery of these certain fictional cliffs that the main character identifies with a lot,” Bryant said. “He talks about how little they’ve changed, even if life around him has changed.”
Bryant said she experimented with having multiple settings onstage at once, which she said she felt she could do after learning the basics of playwriting in Matsos’ classes.
“There’s a kitchen, a bedroom, the beach, and the cliffs, which are all on stage simultaneously,” Bryant said. “The characters are all in dif-
ferent areas of the stage, even if they’re not talking.”
Forrester, who has been a stage manager and was recently the assistant director of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” wrote her play, titled “Dear Foreigner,” about two sets of friends on a day trip.
Cultural differences, comedic timing, and bad puns between the two groups create a light-hearted and eye-opening story of the Asian versus American experience, according to Forrester.
“It’s honestly just a small little story about my two backgrounds coming together, and I love it dearly,” Forrester said.
Forrester said her favorite part about writing the play was showing it to her family after completing the first draft and getting their feedback on it.
“They received it very well, and my dad especially, who is also a playwright, said the
jokes and dialogue reminded him of his own writing,” Forrester said. “Like father, like daughter, I suppose.”
Forrester said she struggled with thinking it had to become the next great American play.
“I spent way too much time thinking I had to write a colonial or patriotic masterpiece,” Forrester said. “But after office hours with Dr. Matsos and discussion with fellow playwrights, I realized the main goal was to create a truthful piece.”
Matsos’ guidance in class went a long way in honing her skills and inspiring her passion for playwriting, she said.
“I hope to keep doing this for a very long time,” Forrester said.
Griffith’s play, “I’m Not A Mourning Person,” is about a girl named Penny who learns about death and comes to terms with it throughout her life.
Although she had other ideas for what to write her play on, Griffith said she chose the topic of the truth of death because it was the most personal to her.
“The idea of the truth about life and death was what spiraled into my play,” Griffith said. “I was able to write about it authentically and enjoy it, and it was almost therapeutic in a way.”
Matsos said although all of the playwriting entries were impressive, the committee was especially drawn to the messages of the finalist works.
“It was a really stiff competition,” Matsos said. “All of the entries were great. And in the end, I think the committee selected the finalists on what we hope the ethos of this competition will be in the years to come.”
Students choreograph pieces Lady Gaga returns to pop
By Carly Moran Senior Reporter
The student will become the teacher this weekend, as the Tower Dancers present student-choreographed pieces. The Hillsdale College Tower Dancers will perform their annual spring concert in Markel Auditorium, with shows at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 13. Admission is free, and no tickets are required to attend.
“The rewarding part of
first composition class and creating just a solo work for themselves, to moving on to advanced composition class, where they’re all working on creating a group dance,” Assistant Professor of Dance Holly Hobbs said. “We have several seniors who will be unfortunately leaving this year, so it’s always bittersweet.”
Student choreographers include seniors Abi Pionk, Olivia Rome, and Sophia Rome, along with juniors Ashley DeVore, Hope Huisman, and Faith Niekamp. Three guest
Weibel in modern and Megan Wiggers in contemporary. Hobbs and Lecturer in Dance Sean Hoskins also contributed to choreography.
The student pieces being performed this spring were chosen through a competitive process last semester.
“Only a select number of the dances actually moved forward,” Niekamp said.
Niekamp’s dance is a Western ballet that runs for more than 11 minutes and is the culmination of eight months of preparation.
directing a dance company and program is we see development from taking their
choreographers assisted the dancers: Samantha Shelton, instructing in ballet; Jovita
“It’s telling the story of an outlaw who comes into this little Western town, and the townswomen are like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is horrible, and we need somebody to save us,’” Niekamp said. “So they hire a cowboy, and the cowboy comes in and saves the day. That’s the very broad, cliché storyline that’s being followed.”
By Charlotte Knobloch Collegian Freelancer
Lady Gaga has reinvented both herself and pop music since her emergence 16 years ago. “MAYHEM,” her March 2025 release, takes listeners back to her early days of synthheavy, dance-pop music. She may not be young anymore, but her newest album deserves a place in Gen Z’s playlists.
Lady Gaga’s release last year, “Harlequin,” was a collection of jazz and traditional pop songs. Although it highlighted her vocal ability in a new genre, it deviated greatly from her bold, unapologetic image. “MAYHEM” recaptures the dark, heavy sound of her older works. Containing elements of her 2009 album “The Fame Monster,” this album brings synthy 2000s dance-pop into the 2020s.
“MAYHEM” opens with “Disease,” a track diagnosing her lover’s sickness and promising the ability to heal. As the song’s subject is tortured by metaphorical illness, the bridge’s intensity builds. She launches into the chorus, claiming suggestively: “I can cure ya/ cure your disease.”
“MAYHEM” draws on artistic elements of powerhouse 2000s artist MARINA and current artists, such as Ava Max
and Dove Cameron. She also isn’t afraid to break barriers.
On “Abracadabra” Gaga blends nonsense words seamlessly into the chorus. “Abracadabra” hit #1 on Billboard Hot Dance/ Pop Songs chart and #13 on Billboard Hot 100, an incredible feat for an aging artist.
“Garden of Eden” echoes Gaga’s pattern of religious symbolism in music. Her Catholic background weaves into her work through Christian imagery. Gaga’s 2011 album “Born This Way” contained religious themes in many of the songs, such as “Judas,” “Bloody Mary,” and “Black Jesus + Amen Fashion.” She continues that trend 14 years later. “Poison apple, take a bite,” Gaga entices the listener in “Garden of Eden.”
Gaga’s familiar theme of conflict and identity is explored in the ninth track, “How Bad Do U Want Me.” She says the
man “like[s] the bad girl I got in me,” but deep down desires a “good girl.” Though drawn to her dark energy, the man is torn. She alternates between ideas of “good” and “bad,” illustrating her lover’s indecision. The 14-track album closes with “Die With A Smile.” The single, released ahead of the album in 2024, became a trending TikTok audio, secured a nomination for Best Song of the Year and won the Grammys’ Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Bruno Mars takes the lead with his emotional tone, passionately dreaming of lifelong love. In contrast to “Disease,” Gaga closes the album in tenderness. Fans didn’t seem to mind.
The softer undertone of the album’s ending could set the tone for her future works. Personally, I hope she sticks with her synth-pop roots. If “MAYHEM” tells us anything, it’s that her music continues to be young and fresh, despite Lady Gaga’s ascent to middle age. Through each line, she reclaims her place in pop. Her fast-paced verses and powerhouse vocals contribute to the music’s masterpiece. “MAYHEM” embraces disorder, duality, and identity in Lady Gaga’s new chapter.
By Ty Ruddy Assistant Editor
Disney’s live-action “Snow White,” remake is stuffed with modern tropes and devoid of the original charm of the animated film that launched Disney to national acclaim in 1937.
The film got off to a rough start almost three years ago when Rachel Zegler, who plays the title role, denigrated the story of the beloved 1937 version and hinted that the studio should do away with the prince (and any symbols of traditional gender roles in fairy tales, for that matter). Pushback against the studio’s decision to cast people with dwarfism as the dwarves led to recasting. Negative reviews on the first trailer forced lengthy reshoots. Personal political tensions within the cast over the Israel-Palestine conflict tanked the press tour only a few months before its premiere. This week, the movie finally snuck into theaters with a quiet opening, as was expected after such issues in production. Despite the disasters, there
were sprinklings of wonder in the film — but nothing that justifies the movie’s $209 million production budget.
The music is improved from the original, thanks in large part to the voice talent of Zegler. This new take on “Snow White” at least allows for some impressive set pieces. Such practical effects were not possible with the technology of the 1930s. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul collaborated to put out a few originals on this new soundtrack and to spin some of the classics for new audiences.
Snow White’s first number, “Waiting on a Wish” is the most notable original song to come from this movie. It frames the princess as a sympathetic orphan who needs to become the heroine and reclaim her kingdom. The movie abandons that nuance almost immediately, but Zegler does her part. Pasek and Paul’s take on “Heigh-ho,” the song that introduces the dwarves, gives some interesting character development. Of course, the character development stops there, but the musicians did their part.
Now, the positives end. The real problem with this movie was that it wasn’t “Snow White.” Aside from the names of the characters and the title of the film, the movie bears very little resemblance to the animated version as a piece of interpretive art. The production designers leaned into the Grimm Brothers aesthetic for at least the first part of the movie, but that’s where similarities to the story end.
The writers strip the story of its morals by doing away with the simply written characters that the first movie relied on. The Evil Queen isn’t evil. The dwarves aren’t hard working. The Prince has been replaced with a common thief. Even the kingdom is afraid to be a German kingdom, with a population that looks less like a 16th-century provincial village and more like modern Germany.
The movie is supposed to tell the story of a young girl who grows into womanhood. Unfortunately, Disney gives a backward rendition that features a woman who acts more like a girl. Take the first scene
with the dwarves as an example. In the Grimm brothers’ fairytale and in the animated Disney classic, Snow White and the dwarves clean the house together, and each one of them learns a little more about maturity from working as a team. But in the live action version, Snow White acts as supervisor for dwarves who do very little cleaning.
Even the ending changes. While the Evil Queen forfeits her kingdom, as a result of her own pride in the animated movie, Snow White becomes a revolutionary who overthrows the kingdom in Disney’s newest rendition. Her tactic? She knows the names of a few guards because she used to work in the queen’s castle as a slave. It’s a silly ending from an artistic perspective. But it’s more offensive inasmuch as it completely
disregards the original story.
The movie also fails on some less noteworthy technical grounds. On the whole, the movie looks cheap. Character
especially
not be at fault for assuming Disney’s costume
supplier was Amazon. Finally, the production team far too often resorts to using CGI. Audiences will not find it hard to spot the scenes they shot practically and the scenes for which they built an enchanted forest on top of a green screen. It is glaringly obvious. The acting quality is a distraction, particularly from Gal Gadot. She looks the part for the Evil Queen but struggles to give a performance that amounts to anything more than “rude.” And her singing leaves much to be desired.
Disney has made a beloved princess fairytale into a failing heroine story that trips constantly over a sluggish plot and is weighed down by needless additions.
Snow White trades in magic for a message, and forgets that wonder carries a story a long way.
design
fails, and viewers would
Tower Dancers performing in the 2024 Spring recital. COURTESY | Michael Bessom
“MAYHEM”
“Snow
Hillsdale Grocery a spring s vey
(12-
Celcius Energy Drink (12oz) Cinnamon Toast Crunch (16.8oz )
(Garden Salsa, 7oz) (16oz)
College students and Hillsdale locals have even more options when it comes to grocery shopping than we did last September: Hillsdale Market House, Kroger, Meijer, Aldi, and Walmart e Collegian visited Grocery Store Row along Carleton Street on April 9 to collect the data on the prices of popular items from Hillsdale’s ve grocery stores.
From Ritz crackers to a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, look no further than e Collegian for the 4-1-1 on Hillsdale grocery shopping.
Compiled by Kamden Mulder | Design by Ally Hall
Kombucha
Hillsdale
By Caroline Kurt Opinions Editor
Instagram posts, wordof-mouth, and diamonds on left hands: The news travels quickly when Hillsdale students get engaged. The “ring by spring” phenomenon doesn’t apply only to seniors, though. At least a dozen junior couples are engaged, with some planning to wed before graduation.
While some might assume “ring by spring” emerges from a strong cultural pressure to tie the knot — or at least pop the question — engaged junior couples say otherwise. They trace the timing of their relationships to months or years of discernment, rather than peer pressure.
Juniors Aidan Christian and Catherine Graham, who got engaged over spring break in Graham’s hometown, disagreed about whether Hillsdale students are influenced by “ring by spring.”
“There is no ring by spring culture,” Christian said.
“There totally is,” Graham said.
Christian felt the phrase is more slang than actual practice — students are not basing their decisions around the phenomenon.
“I wasn’t influenced by it,” Christian said. “I’m just making decisions based on what’s going to be best for our relationship and for our future family.”
Though Graham said she didn’t feel pressured and made the decision to get engaged after evaluating what made sense for her and Christian, her single friends are worried they won’t be getting married shortly after college.
“Women my age feel very pressured to at least be in a very serious relationship before they graduate,” Graham said. “As a woman, nobody wants to say it, but your life plan is so much more contingent on marriage than it is if you’re a guy.”
According to Christian, too small a portion of campus gets engaged before the end of senior year to call “ring by spring” a culture, but rather it is just a symptom of the Hillsdale experience.
“It’s definitely a phenomenon that happens here and not many other places,” Christian said.
Christian traces this annual trend to the way Hillsdale students tend to grow up fast.
“It’s weird for a senior to be so different from a freshman
features
junior couples say ‘Ring by Spring’ isn’t a thing yet many students decided to get engaged anyway
that it’s almost hard to have a conversation,” Christian said.
“That happens here a lot. We grow up fast and we’re forced to, and that’s the nature of our education.”
Graham agreed, saying Hillsdale tends to attract people with independent personalities, who take life seriously and plan to become functional adults.
Christian said he initially didn’t want to go to college, believing it would be another four years of childish adventures on someone else’s dime. What he found instead — especially since buying Graham’s engagement ring — was an adventure of a different kind.
“Since I’ve had the ring in my room, I just had a really hard time doing anything childish,” Christian said. “Learning how to love Catherine has been my adventure at Hillsdale College.”
Juniors Jacob Beckwith and Olyvia Oeverman, engaged Feb. 22, began their own adventure of love through the Hillsdale College Roundnet Club.
The two met in the fall of their freshman year through roundnet, also known as Spikeball.
“I would just go outside to the quad and play Spikeball all the time,” Oeverman said. “So I think the first time we met was one of those days in the sunshine on the quad.”
While Beckwith may have stood out to Oeverman in the Spikeball club, his name did not.
“There was a Jacob, another Jacob, and two or three Jakes,” Oeverman said. “I was like, ‘There are too many of you!’”
The two went on to play on the same intramural volleyball team, and their friendship grew.
“I was probably interested first,” Oeverman said. “It was pretty mutual though.”
As the couple got to know one another better, Oeverman began going to Beckwith’s club soccer games with her sister.
“We’d refer to him as the orange cleats guy,” Oeverman said. “He bought a new pair of cleats. They are still orange.”
Oeverman and the orange cleats guy started dating later that semester. Fast forward two years, and Beckwith was planning his proposal — and misleading Oeverman was part of the plan.
“We were planning on getting engaged at some point, but he had totally made me think that it was going to be
right before the summer, maybe the beginning of the summer,” Oeverman said. “The soonest I thought was Easter weekend.”
According to Oeverman, the couple talked about engagement rings the week before he proposed.
“He made it sound like he hadn’t even started the process of trying to figure out which ring,” Oeverman said.
So when Beckwith proposed the following weekend, Oeverman was caught off guard.
“I could not have been more surprised,” Oeverman said.
According to Oeverman, the culture at Hillsdale hasn’t accelerated the pace of their relationship.
“I think Jacob and I, to be honest, were pretty serious right from when we started dating,” Oeverman said. “He was very much always a think-to-the-future guy.”
Oeverman said the Hillsdale community has welcomed the news of their engagement.
“People have been, at least at Hillsdale and at least to our faces, so excited,” Oeverman said. “People just share a joy.”
Beckwith and Oeverman plan to get married around the New Year. They follow in the steps of two of Oeverman’s older sisters, who have married men they met at Hillsdale.
“My parents, who have five daughters, have already had two other daughters married in the past year and so they’ve been through it, and they love it, but it’s crazy,” Oeverman said.
According to Oeverman, marriage has been on her and Beckwith’s minds earlier than for other couples in part because they have been surrounded by Oeverman’s sisters, one of whom met, got engaged to, and married her now-husband in the time Oeverman and Beckwith have been dating.
“They progressed in their relationship way faster, which in a way is hard,” Oeverman said. “We had to just know ourselves and know what God was calling us to.”
Before Beckwith popped the question, junior Ezra Phillips had proposed to sophomore Madison Risner over Christmas break when the couple was in their hometown in Nashville.
“I took her to a state park that we’ve been to a lot,” Phillips said. “We walked the en-
tire loop, and somehow she didn’t realize I had the ring box with me. It was so obvious to me.”
Risner said she was surprised when he got down on one knee by a lake at the end of the loop.
“I knew the proposal was going to happen,” Risner said. “But I didn’t know he’d asked for my parents’ blessing yet.”
The couple met through their youth group years before they came to Hillsdale.
“We saw each other multiple times a week,” Risner said. “I started liking him way before he did. Eventually, I wrote him this note saying, ‘Do you like me?’”
Phillips laughed.
“I did not know that note was a, ‘By the way I like you,’” Phillips said. “I thought that note was a, ‘You’re acting weird, stop it.’ I know better now.”
The pair started dating several months later, while Phillips was a senior in high school and Risner a junior. They cite the influence of their youth pastor in instilling a sense of intentionality in their approach to relationships.
“When we began dating, it was less of a, ‘This is for fun, we will see where it goes,’” Phillips said. “It was that, but also neither of us were going to start dating if we couldn’t see ourselves eventually getting married.”
Phillips and Risner said they weighed the support of their friends and family as well as financial concerns in determining their wedding date.
“When I talked to my parents, they were very supportive of it,” Phillips said. “The main thing is just being cautious. We want to know that we’re both going to graduate, that we’re not dropping out for financial stuff. We’ve both experienced a lot of provision from the Lord in terms of providing for us next year, which in my mind is just confirmation.”
After they get married this summer, Phillips and Risner said they plan to move into their new Hillsdale housing early and work on finding steady local jobs.
Another junior getting married this summer is Claire Lashaway. Lashaway said she always thought she would meet her future spouse outside of college, but had no expectations of getting married before graduation.
“I think I just came in with the idea that I would do
school,” Lashaway said. “If I found someone here, bonus, but I wasn’t expecting it. In fact, I had the idea I wouldn’t find anyone here. I always figured I’d marry someone I knew from home, and the Lord did bless me.”
Lashaway plans to get married this summer to Caleb Bowers, a childhood friend who is training as an electrician. The couple got engaged over spring break.
“I don’t ever remember not knowing him,” Lashaway said. “We grew up together, went to church together, my siblings and I played together with him.”
After Bowers’s family stopped going to their church, Lashaway said she didn’t see him for years.
“Then at the beginning of last semester, he started coming back to our church again,” Lashaway said. “From there, it’s history.”
Lashaway said it didn’t take long for the two to see they wanted to be together.
The couple, both of whom are from the Hillsdale area, plan to get married at Hillsdale’s United Brethren church.
“The youth pastor there is marrying us because he’s just been so instrumental in both of our lives,” Lashaway said.
Lashaway said her parents are supportive of the wedding.
“They knew it was wiser for me to marry now and finish school together than to continue trying to split myself in two ways, school and still seeing him,” Lashaway said. “My dad told me, ‘I highly agree with you, as long as you finish school strong, because you finish what you started when you’re a person of your word.’”
Like Lashaway, junior Noah Northon is planning to marry someone from home. He proposed to Emma Den Braber on Valentine’s Day: the anniversary of the day he first told her he liked her, as a sophomore in high school.
“We were pretty young, and she was playing hard to get,” Northon said. “We didn’t start dating until November of my junior year.”
Northon said it was over winter break that he decided he wanted to propose soon, after a period of prayer and discernment.
“I know we’re compatible emotionally, and we’ve seen each other in a lot of phases of life,” Northon said. “We’ve moved through that well, we communicate well. But I was like, ‘How am I going to provide for her?’”
Northon described sometimes feeling stuck at school, not able to see what his future would hold.
“Finishing the first semester of junior year, having a decent semester, gave me that little bit of encouragement, of consolation,” Northon said. “I was talking to Emma a lot about it, and having those conversations again lit a fire in my heart.”
According to Northon, he snuck home one Saturday after winter break to get his future father-in-law’s blessing. He attempted to disguise the trip from Den Braber by telling her he had a shooting class.
“That was a great conversation, we just talked for hours,” Northon said. “But Emma saw my location. I thought I had turned it off, but I didn’t turn it off.”
When Den Braber asked about his location, Northon said he couldn’t cover it up. Yet the exact timing of his proposal remained a surprise. He visited her on Valentine’s Day, for what Northon said he hoped she would assume was a normal Valentine’s date.
“I also mentioned going to the lakeshore, since I’ve never seen the lake frozen, and it’s been a really long time since she’s seen the lake frozen,” Northon said. “That’s where I ended up proposing.”
The couple plan to get married in the summer of 2026, after Northon graduates. According to Northon, he has benefited from conversations with his friends in discerning the timing of his relationship, but never felt pressure from the Hillsdale community one way or another.
“We just do our own schedule, our own thing,” Northon said. “Frankly, we weren’t influenced at all by Hillsdale’s ring by spring culture.”
According to Northon, Hillsdale students are right to be flexible, not seeing an early marriage and a career path as directly in competition with one another. Yet Northon also said students can prize marriage so much they inadvertently hinder themselves from building serious relationships.
“I think people can maybe get, not necessarily too eager, but automatically assume that, ‘Oh, we’re getting married,’ or ‘We’re not getting married,’ on the first date,” Northon said. “You still have to be open to a sort of playfulness in the discernment process.”
Couples Ezra Phillips and Madison Risner (left), Olyvia Oeverman and Jacob Beckwith (middle), and Aidan Christian and Catherine Graham (right) decided they didn’t need to wait until senior year to get engaged.
Courtesy | Madison Risner, Olyvia Oeverman, and Catherine Graham