HHS graduate stars in potential super bowl ad Chris Pentzell was cast in a Doritos commercial which could air during the big game. A6
Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 139 Issue 13 - 28 Jan. 2016
mt. bental sea of galilee
nazareth
tel aviv jaffa
sderot
gaza
ein gedi
Living under the rockets Members of the Israel Defense Forces and a kibbutz bordering the Gaza Strip describe life and resilience in the midst of constant conflict. B
jerusalem dead sea
Return from Israel After travelling to Israel earlier this month, students examine the complexity of the nation’s geopolitics, its culture, and our shared heritage. A4
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Students reflect on Holy Land travels By | JoAnna Kroeker Collegian Reporter Earlier this month, 85 Hillsdale College students and faculty members returned from Israel with their political views challenged, their expectations exceeded, and their faiths renewed. The Philos Project and the Museum of the Bible organized the Israel trip that took place from Jan. 2-13 to give Christian college students the opportunity to learn about the modern state of Israel and strengthen their faith. The organizers said they hope students’ experiences will prompt them to advocate for the truth about Israel and be ambassadors for Jewish-Christian relations. In their itinerary, the sponsors emphasized Christian and Jewish sites, tours of cities and borders, and lectures, exposing students to multiple political perspectives. The complex political situation the itinerary reflected surprised students like senior Matalyn Vander Bleek, who expected a pro-Israel bias. “I was prepared to be filtering everything heavily, but then it turned out to be not necessary,” Vander Bleek said. “I think it was fairly presented, and everyone who spoke said their own story, their own point of view. Sometimes that
didn’t match up, but that just gave us a better and more true view of the situation.” Students met with a variety of speakers: Jewish and Palestinian journalists, a Jewish peace negotiator, an Aramaic Christian, members of the Israel Defense Force, a political science professor, and religious leaders. “I thought often when I was sitting there listening to people that if I had heard the same thing from a third party observer, some American making some statement about Israel, I would highly doubt what they were saying to me,” senior Marie Wathen said. “Everything has its own bias, but it was very clear that their biases
“I was hoping for a lot more answers but now I have a lot more questions.” were ‘I live this as my reality.’” Others said they expected the trip would emphasize the religious significance of Israel. Its modern cities paradoxically coexist and conflict with preserved ruins and redefine what a modern Christian pilgrimage looks like. “I was expecting to have a
really emotional experience trying to put myself back in the past and picture everything as it was,” junior Katie Kortepeter said. “After Nazareth, I decided I shouldn’t try to create an experience like that; I should take it for what it is, the modern and the historic. It helped my perspective a lot because I was able to come up with a love for Israel that Jesus probably had.” Senior Hannah Wolff said she expected Nazareth to be a preserved site, but what she encountered was “not the prettiest” modern city. “I was reading my Bible, and someone was talking about Jesus, and someone said ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ and I was struck with this fact that Jesus would have come from somewhere like that...To see a modern interpretation come out of that verse was really fascinating.” While some sites were poignant, others felt fake, students said. “I felt like a lot of the Christian sites were touristy, and I wasn’t expecting that,” Kortepeter said. “There were people everywhere, gift shops; it was very commercialized.” Despite the kitsch souvenirs, the sites still boasted 2,000 years of pilgrimage, a history that junior Sarah Reinsel said had “the biggest spiritual imp a c t ” See Israel A2
Hillsdale students visit the Sea of Gallilee in northern Israel. Anders Kiledal | Collegian
שלוםמישראל
New nonprofit to train Christian leaders
By | Macaela J. Bennett Editor-in-Chief When Rivekah Kidron, former adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noticed that most tourists in Israel mainly visit its holy sites and neglect many that define the modern state, she asked Netanyahu to change her title to adviser on Christian Affairs. Kidron made it her mission to provide a way for the next generation of Christian leaders to learn about Israel as a blend of sacred history and modern innovation. She connected two nonprofits, Museum of the Bible and The Philos Project, as partners in accomplishing her vision of educating the next generation of Christian leaders about Israel. The two groups worked together to organize and subsidize a Christmas Break trip to Israel for more than 150 college students. Students were chosen from schools selected for their likelihood to promote future leaders in religion and policy, and while the trip cost about $3,000 per person, each student paid only $500. The January trip was one of the first that the two nonprofits planned together. In the next few weeks, a new nonprofit formed by Museum of the Bible and Philos will be named with the purpose of organizing trips and following up with the participants afterward to continue developing them as leaders, said Scott Phillips, who will serve as executive director of the temporarily unnamed group. “We are strategically developing relationships with college presidents and faculty who represent a diverse spectrum of college students from future pastors to leaders in journalism and politics,” Phillips said. “Our ultimate goal is have an
See Philos A2
Supreme Court justice named 2016 commencement speaker
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will address the Class of 2016 at college commencement ceremonies in May. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States | Courtesy Follow @HDaleCollegian
By | Evan Carter Web Editor United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will address this year’s senior class in Hillsdale’s 164th commencement ceremony. The past five classes have also considered Thomas, according to Senior Class Adviser John Quint ’09. Thomas was born near Savannah, Georgia, in 1948; received an applied baccalaureate degree from Holy Cross College in 1971; and earned his juris doctor from Yale University in 1974. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by George H.W. Bush and officially took his post on October 23, 1991. “I was pretty ecstatic,” senior Randy Keefe said. “I couldn’t think of someone that I would be more excited about.” Keefe, who originally suggested former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said he now believes Thomas is the best choice. “Thomas was always at the top of our list,” senior class president Nick Brown said.
The selection process began at the end of the last academic year, when the senior class presented a refined list of candidates to the president’s office. Mike Rowe, the host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman were other names seniors suggested to give the commencement address. In late September, the senior class officers chose Thomas, and the president’s office extended Thomas the invitation. Thomas accepted earlier this month. “The role of the class officers was to go to the student body to hear their thoughts and hear who they wanted to bring to bring to campus,” Brown said. “Class officers then work together with the administration to find somebody that is going to excite students and that’s going to represent the Hillsdale brand well.” Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn, who knows Thomas personally, describes him as modest, funny, and very talented. “As a judge or justice he has written some of the most
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
insightful opinions about the meaning of the Constitution in many decades. I think they are serious achievements,” Arnn said in an email. “In Justice Thomas we find excellence.” Brown said he is confident Thomas can transcend politics with his speech even in the midst of a contentious election year. Some past seniors have expressed frustration with how political some commencement speakers have been. “Mostly what we heard from the senior class is that they didn’t want a politician, especially in an election year,” Brown said. “While some would think of Clarence Thomas as a politician, we think he’s more than that. He’s a statesman, and he’s dealing with topics that are affecting us today.” Senior Emily Runge said due to his position, Thomas isn’t allowed to be overtly political in his speech. “I know that the speech is not going to be overtly political in the sense of engaging in the political topics of the day,” Runge said. “The election and current cases or legislative issues won’t be discussed be-
cause Supreme Court Justices are not allowed to talk about those.” Senior Richard Caster said he hopes Thomas explains his dissenting opinion in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. In the June 2015 decision, the Supreme Court decided 5-4 that gay marriage is constitutionally protected the 14th Amendment and therefore cannot be denied by either the federal or state governments. “I want him to talk about human dignity,” he said. “I think if you read his dissent in the gay marriage decision, when he talked about how no government can remove the dignity of man and how no government can bestow dignity upon man, I think there is such uncomfortable truth in that that I would love for him to come here and explain those words.” Senior Dominic Restuccia is excited as Thomas rarely gives public addresses. “I think everyone is going to be hanging onto every word because he doesn’t speak often, so everything he has to say is worth listening to,” Restuccia said. Look for The Hillsdale Collegian