Collegian 10.16.2025

‘Crime of journalism’: Pulliam Fellow speaks on free press

By Christina Lewis Assistant Editor

Democracy requires a free and vibrant press seeking accountability and speaking truth to power, award-winning journalist Catherine Herridge said at a talk in Plaster Auditorium Oct. 2.

While on campus, Herridge taught a one-credit investigative journalism class and delivered her speech titled “The State of Investigative Journalism in the Area of National Security.” Herridge is this semester’s Eugene C. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Journalism.

“Just this week, the D.C. Circuit ruled against me and upheld a lower court decision that has ordered me to disclose confidential reporting sources in a series of national security stories I did at Fox News,” Herridge, a former reporter

for Fox News and CBS News, said. “I am so fortunate to have the support of Fox News, my former employer, in this fight to protect press freedom and the First Amendment. We’re living in a time where many corporate media outlets fold and would rather settle than fight for these principles.”

Herridge said 9/11 served as a turning point for a steady decline in the quality of national security reporting.

“But the problem with 9/11 is that there was this — and it’s not really a problem — but there was this tremendous unity the country felt at that time,” Herridge said. “We were on a wartime footing, but it made it harder and harder for journalists to seek accountability to speak truth to power, even in a wartime dynamic, and you felt that you ran the risk of being labeled unpatriotic if you questioned the de-

cision making of the administration.”

During Herridge’s time at CBS News, about a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, she was tasked with writing a story on the lab leak theory.

“No sooner was the story on the air that I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize, and it was somebody I worked with at CBS News, and they were just screaming hysterically at me that I had no business doing a story like this,” Herridge said.

Later, Herridge said she found out the person who called her was connected to an academic institution that takes a large amount of money from China.

Herridge said news companies faced a lot of pressure from advertisers, especially big pharma, on the stories they published. Many journalists fear that they will lose

access to key documents and places if they start asking tough questions, according to Herridge.

After Herridge got fired from her job at CBS in 2024, the company locked her out of her office and computer.

“My friends joked,” Herridge said. “They were like, ‘Oh my gosh, Catherine, you got fired for committing the crime of journalism.’”

CBS seized all of her reporting records, including handwritten notes, according to Herridge. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists labor union, Herridge received its support.

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Juniors lead campus in caffeine consumption

By Faith Miller Collegian Reporter

The Applied Math Club discovered that the average Hillsdale student drinks 1.7 caffeinated beverages daily, with caffeine intake increasing among older students and those with heavier courseloads.

“There’s kind of a correlation between how many credit hours you’re taking and how much caffeine you’re consuming,” said junior Christopher Dickinson, vice president of the Applied Math Club.

this semester and found that the junior class is the most caffeinated on campus. The study showed that seniors take an average of 15.5 credit hours and drink 1.8 caffein-

drinks, per day.

“The most interesting thing is that it steadily increases until junior year, both credits and caffeine consumption going up, but then the

Dickinson said.

The study also showed that a large part of campus doesn’t drink coffee, which came as a surprise to Elanor Dickinson, even though she herself doesn’t drink coffee.

The Applied Math Club conducted the survey earlier

ated beverages, including coffee, tea, pop, and energy

caffeine stays high for senior year, even when credits drop,”

“There was a large majority that didn’t drink coffee, really,” Elanor Dickinson said. “It was surprising because there was definitely a significant group of people that drank one to two cups of coffee every day, but a lot of people put zero, which was really surprising to me.”

City council orders closure of Camp HOPE

By Sydney Green Senior Reporter

The tent structure for the homeless at Camp Hope is slated for removal this week following a 5–3 vote by the Hillsdale City Council. Residents vacated the tent Oct. 15, with city officials planning to remove the structure on Oct. 16-17.

At its Oct. 6 meeting, the council deemed the structure unsafe for occupancy

“At

and cited concerns over zoning compliance, public safety, and the camp’s indefinite status. Ward 4 Councilman Robert Socha voted in favor of the removal of the tent and noted growing frustrations with the camp and its occupants.

“There seemed to be a lack of respect for their neighbors, and that frustrates me,” Socha said. “Camp Hope’s neighbors deserve to live in peace and not be anxious or have loud disturbances in the evening hours.”

The camp’s founder, Missy DesJardin, resigned last week from her role as executive director at Hillsdale Community Thrift to preserve the store’s reputation. Camp Hope is located behind Hills-

dale Community Thrift on 390 W Carleton Road.

“I didn’t want my actions at Camp Hope to negatively affect the thrift store,” DesJardin said. “So I decided to step down.” DesJardin pushed back on the complaints the shelter has received, saying the site is safe and well-managed.

“We are not hurting anybody here at all,” DesJardin said. “The complaints are not true. We are not loud, our

place is tidy, and we have had no major problems here.” Socha applauded DesJardin’s intentions but expressed concern over the shelter’s prolonged existence.

“I think Missy’s efforts are to be praised, but the original agreement was that this was just going to be a temporary thing — six or seven months, and in the spring of 2024, it would be gone,” Socha said. “But here we are, two-anda-half years later, and it’s the same. At some point, you have to enforce the law.”

Chargers to honor active duty and veterans

By Robert Matteson Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale College football team will honor military veterans and active duty members at its Military Appreciation Day game Oct. 25.

The Chargers will host military veterans Friday night at their team dinner and recognize them at their home game against the Lake Erie College Storm at 2:30 p.m.

“Come cheer us on, have a good time, and all the while support veteran and active duty military members,” said assistant football coach Rob Rardin. The team dinner is a special opportunity for Hillsdale College football players to get to know military veterans, according to Rardin.

“It

duty members, people who took time out of their lives to serve our country,” Rardin said.

Last year, more than 60 active duty and military veterans attended, up from about 10 in 2018, up from about ten in 2018, according to Rardin.

“Our players give veterans hope for the future,” Rardin said. “It is a pretty good tribute to Hillsdale college and the student body.”

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The mockup for the new “HOPE Harbor.” Courtesy | Missy DesJardin

English chair joins Robertson podcast on Genesis

By Christina Lewis Assistant Editor

Chair and Professor of English Justin Jackson recorded a podcast episode with members of the Duck Dynasty family in Louisiana last month.

“Look, I’m an academic through and through with regards to what I read and how I write and all of that stuff, but in face-to-face relationships, I’m not an academic at all,” Jackson said. “I’m a Hillsdale Fair kind of guy and we leave it at that, and they are too. And so it was wonderful.”

Hillsdale College’s Online Courses program partnered with the “Unashamed with the Robertson Family” podcast. Every Friday, the podcast features “Unashamed Academy,” in which hosts Al Robertson, Zach Dasher, John Luke Robertson, and Christian Huff talk about the Hillsdale online lesson they watched that week. Currently, they are going through Jackson’s course, “The Genesis Story: Reading Biblical Narratives.” Jackson started a Substack page to go deeper into his online courses. According to Jackson, the audience of “Unashamed Academy” is essentially his audience on his Substack page.

Substack.’ OK, I was floored, but that’s how good and charitable they are. And then they posted my Substack address on the video.”

People who take online courses don’t always have the opportunity to discuss

times it’s like, a little off, and your friend’s like, ‘Well, no, that’s not quite right.’ And so I think that helps fulfill that part of the learning process.”

The Robertson family is known for “Duck Dynasty,” their reality TV show,

“ I’m an academic through and through with regards to what I read and how I write and all of that stuff, but in face-toface relationships, I’m not an academic at all.”

what they learned with other people, like Hillsdale students do, so “Unashamed Academy” is a way of satis-

and Duck Commander, their duck call business. The “Unashamed” podcast has hundreds of millions of down -

Orthodox theology onto the course.

“Bring your tradition to this course, I just want to show them how narrative and poetry works,” Jackson said. “It’s pretty much what I do in my literature courses. I think the Bible just has a specific grammar to it, much like Homer does, much like Ovid does, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, you just learn patterns. And what are these authors doing? And then you go with it from there. And so that’s really what I tried to do.”

The fundamental principle of all of Scripture is exile and return, according to Jackson.

“If there’s one thing that could unite us, I would think it’s repentance, and I would say that is baked into biblical narrative in poetry,” Jackson said. “That’s all I try to bring out.”

The trip started with a Honduran breakfast, where Jackson and members of the podcast talked about the Bible and religion.

Jackson said he keeps in touch with Al Robertson, one of the hosts of the podcast.

“What a good dude,” Jackson said of his time recording the podcast episode. “We’re sitting there, and Al just goes, ‘Justin, tell them about your

fying this need, according to Hillsdale Executive Director of Brand Management Juan Dávalos.

“I think a lot of people that learn online miss that part of learning, which is one of the most fun parts of learning,”

Dávalos said. “And, obviously, this doesn’t replace that, but I think it helps people to sort of be part of that after class discussion, that after class conversation when you start sharing ideas, that some-

loads, while the “Unashamed Academy” series is on track to reach millions of its own, according to Dávalos.

“A lot of folks in the Unashamed network, the Duck Dynasty network, are interested in learning more about our country, and certainly learning more about their faith,” Hillsdale’s Vice President of Marketing Jon Hall said.

Jackson said he does not try to impose his Eastern

McIntyre takes second in volunteering hours

By Francesca Cella Collegian Reporter

Jackson said he teaches Genesis in a Great Books course not because Hillsdale is a Christian campus, but because Genesis is a great piece of literature.

“I value what the college has done for me in allowing me to do what I do in the classroom, which isn’t always part of a — one wouldn’t think — part of a Christian tradition, not a conservative tradition,” Jackson said. “Like what I do is goofy. It’s odd. It is. It just simply is. But I think it’s right, and it’s just simply trying to give people the tools that, when you enter into scripture, here are the things you can look for.”

Holy Ascension plants Orthodox mission in Hillsdale

By Faith Miller Collegian Reporter

The Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Albion, Michigan planted St. Olga of Alaska Orthodox Church as an outreach in Hillsdale in August 2024.

The St. Olga of Alaska mission rents the building of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, located in downtown Hillsdale. The timeline for its establishment as a permanent church is unknown, according to Rev. Joshua Frigerio, the priest at St. Olga of Alaska mission and Holy Ascension.

“Because the Orthodox came later to this country, we’re underrepresented here, but we’re growing rather quickly at the moment,” Frigerio said. “So, churches are getting fuller, and missions are popping up here and there in places where there didn’t used to be one.”

Until the church plant, Orthodox Christians in Hillsdale traveled to Holy Ascension Orthodox Church for worship, the closest Orthodox church to Hillsdale, according to Frigerio.

“All of the current Orthodox in Hillsdale come to my parish in Albion, essentially,” Frigerio said. “There are maybe 50 or so people from Hillsdale, I’m guessing, plus kids. Probably

about one-third of my parish is from Hillsdale.”

The drive from Hillsdale to Albion, about 35 minutes, can be taxing, according to Brent Cline, associate professor of English and faculty adviser for the Orthodox Christian Fellowship.

“The commute starts to wear on you, and it makes you double think going to some of the services that aren’t liturgies, because you just think, ‘yeah, that’s a lot of gas, and that’s a lot of time, and it’s a lot of money,’” Cline said.

“

“It makes it easier, at least for me, this is just a personality thing, that I am not stepping foot in a new community, this is actually a continuation of the community of Holy Ascension,” Cline said.

Although the mission does not have Sunday liturgies, they host other events during the week, according to senior Alexandra Laird, president of the Hillsdale College Orthodox Christian Fellowship.

“Our priest from Albion comes down to do Vespers every Thursday,” Laird said.

Churches are getting fuller, and missions are popping up here and there in places where there didn’t used to be one.”

St. Olga does not yet have liturgies on Sundays, so Orthodox Christians in Hillsdale continue to attend Holy Ascension, according to Frigerio.

“We don’t have space or a priest for Sunday mornings in Hillsdale,” Frigerio said. “We’ll have irregular Saturday morning liturgy, probably once a month.”

The Hillsdale Orthodox community has already been established in Albion, making it easier to transition to a new plant in Hillsdale, according to Cline.

ward at fwoodward@hillsdale.edu.

“Then afterwards we have either a Q&A session or catechism, which is how the converts learn about Orthodoxy.”

The Orthodox community has grown rapidly at Hillsdale and continues to thrive with this new mission, according to Laird.

“I came in here and it was a really good community, but it was very small. And now I’m president, and I’m a senior, and it’s tripled in size,” Laird said. “It’s really nice that we have St. Olga’s mission now, because we can do events there.”

The Orthodox Christian Fellowship hosts occasional events at St. Olga’s mission for students to become more ingrained in the Orthodox community, according to Laird.

“We had one event a few weeks ago that was ‘Meet the Orthodox Professors,’ because there are a lot of Orthodox professors on campus,” Laird said. “So, we had professors and students mix and get to know each other.”

The church may eventually break off from Holy Ascension Church and become its own parish, according to Frigerio.

“At some point we would need a different building, because the Episcopalians use their building on Sunday morning,” Frigerio said. “I don’t know when — someday — we would just switch to a Sunday morning service and actually split off our parish.”

A couple challenges would need to be met in order to establish St. Olga’s as a permanent church in Hillsdale, according to Frigerio.

“One is finding a space, and two would be finding a second priest because I can’t be in two places at once,” Frigerio said. “So those are kind of the two final hurdles to get the mission really off and running. But this is the preparatory stage.”

throughout the week.

“Anytime any of the girls are volunteering, we tell them to send a selfie of them volunteering with the caption ‘Volunteering Is Fun,’” Phillips said. “The whole week we had pictures of girls all over campus and all over Hillsdale sending in ‘Volunteering Is Fun’ pictures, which is really cute.”

Silfer said she felt motivated to spend time volunteering.

The women of McIntyre Residence volunteered more hours during homecoming week than any women’s dorm in Hillsdale College’s homecoming history.

Fifty-one McIntyre residents logged 217 volunteer hours in one week, averaging 4.27 hours per person compared to 2.75 hours in 2024, and McIntyre placed second in the homecoming volunteer hours competition, beating all other women’s dorms. In past years, McIntyre recommended residents complete two volunteer hours, according to sophomore and McIntyre resident assistant Maggie Phillips. This year, it was a requirement.

“We just made it an expectation that if you’re on the mock rock team, it’s a commitment you’ve made to two hours,” Phillips said. “Then we made it easy for them to get two hours by giving them opportunities.”

Many residents volunteered above and beyond the requirement, with several residents completing more than seven hours. Head resident assistant Mercy Franzonello logged 18 hours, volunteering in Buddy Olympics, the Red Cross blood drive, and A Few Good Men.

Phillips led the drive for volunteer hours, and said providing more volunteer opportunities increased participation.

“Communication with them was the biggest thing,” Phillips said. “I spent one to two hours every day communicating and texting and finding opportunities.”

Phillips said the dorm had a chat on GroupMe called ‘Volunteering Is Fun’ where residents sent photos of volunteer activities they did

Football from A1

Over the past 20 years, approximately 20 football alumni have gone on to serve in the military after their time at Hillsdale College, according to Rardin.

“We are very proud of all the athletes here at Hillsdale College who graduate and join the military,” Rardin said.

The festivities will continue into Saturday with a pregame tailgate for active duty and military veterans. Military veterans will also be honored before the game with a pregame ceremony.

Last year, Maj. Peter L. Jennings, a Marine Corps infantry officer for 13 years and current associate professor of leadership studies, served as the honorary captain for the game. This year, Marine Corps Vietnam correspondent and Hillsdale College

“There were a lot of reasons,” Silfer said. “I mean, volunteering is good, so there’s that. But also, there was a really nice community aspect with all the girls doing something together. It’s not like you were just doing something for yourself. Then there was also the pressure from Maggie Phillips. She was making sure we did our fair share, which we love her for.”

Freshman Emma Davis said the residents inspired each other to volunteer more.

“All the girls I was with were super motivated and had a lot of commitment,” Davis said. “They weren’t just like, ‘Oh, get our two hours in and make the RA’s happy.’ We were all pushing for more.”

Phillips attributed the spike in volunteer hours to the residents.

“This year’s special,” Phillips said. “They’ve been so welcoming to people. This year they’re self-starters. They just take the initiative.” Silfer said volunteer projects not only strengthened relationships in McIntyre, but helped bond the college community.

“The fact that everybody around campus was doing it together really helped create a community,” Silfer said. “Everybody’s pumped up getting their homecoming hours. We’re working against each other, but working with each other at the same time.”

Residents often volunteered because they wanted to do something fun with their friends, according to Davis. She donated blood, did yard cleanup, and helped with Buddy Olympics for her volunteer hours.

“Get out there and go do it,” Davis said. “Work as hard as you can. Choose things that you want to do, not simply because of the hours. You can think of it as helping kids or providing for people and having fun.”

football color commentator of more than more than 25 years Dan Bisher will serve as the honorary captain.

“It was an honor,” Jennings said. “It is always important to remind ourselves that our freedom was bought for us at a great price and pay our respects to those who served in our armed forces.” This year’s military appreciation game also is an opportunity for the entire Hillsdale community to participate in a Toys for Tots toy drive. Anyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy to the game will get in for free, according to Rardin.

All veteran and active duty military members are encouraged to attend the dinner, tailgate, and game, and are asked to RSVP to rrardin@hillsdale.edu if they plan to attend.

Justin Jackson on the “Unashamed” podcast. Courtesy | Juan Davalos

Freshmen Joclyn Schneider and Ella O’Grady volunteering. Courtesy | Ineka Pastermack

Hillsdale graduate student receives prestigious dissertation award

By Sophia Bryant Assistant Editor

A graduate of the Van Andel Graduate School for Statesmanship received a major award for his dissertation on global justice theory last month.

The American Political Science Association presented Stephen Goniprow, visiting assistant professor of politics, with the award for the Best Dissertation in American Political Thought.

“It’s a special feeling to know that your academic peers have recognized your work,” Goniprow said.

He received the award at the APSA’s annual convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 11. Kevin Slack, associate professor of politics, was Goinprow’s dissertation chair, and John Grant, associate professor of politics, and Tom West, professor of politics, served as readers.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Kevin Slack, Tom West, and John Grant for their contributions to this project,” Goniprow said. “It was Dr. Slack who introduced me to the topic of global justice theory, and it was Drs. West and Grant who in -

“I had never seen anything like this before,” Herridge said. “I’m so grateful for my union. SAG-AFTRA, that really stood up for the First Amendment and stood up for journalism. There was a public outcry over the seizure of the records. The union got involved, and eventually CBS News gave the records back to me, and I testified to Congress.”

Herridge said she felt that CBS News had diminished journalism by calling her reporter notes “work product” and treating them like expense reports.

“When the network of Walter Cronkite seizes your reporting files, it is an attack on investigative journalism,” Herridge said. “And I likened it to a journalistic rape, and I stand by what I testified.”

Herridge said she is hopeful that there will be a recommitment to the kind of investigative journalism she has done in her career, and a recommitment to the value of confidential reporting sources.

troduced me to the American foreign policy tradition. Without their guidance, this dissertation wouldn’t have turned out as well as it did.”

Goniprow completed his undergraduate degree at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. He attended graduate school at Hillsdale and completed his doctorate at the Van Andel Graduate School in 2024.

APSA, which is the flagship association for political science and political scientists, presents the award biannually, according to Slack.

“This is the most prestigious award for a dissertation in the field of American political thought,” Slack said.

Grant said that Goniprow deserved the award.

“Steve’s dissertation was exemplary, and it reflects great credit especially upon Steve, his first reader Dr. Slack, and the graduate program,” Grant said in an email.

The dissertation, titled “An Introduction to Global Justice Theory,” distilled an entire field of thinkers into its most important ideas, according to Slack.

“He wrote very carefully,” Slack said. “The writing was excellent, and it needed very little correction. So it was just

Senior Megan Pidcock took Herridge’s class and said she appreciated Herridge’s comments about putting good journalism first.

“To hear that that still should be the priority, to get back to more objective journalism and that investigative journalism still has a place, even in sort of almost a dying time,” Pidcock said. “A lot of people say journalism is dead, or print is dead, or whatever. That there is still a place for that is good to hear.”

Maria Pidcock, Megan’s mom, said she found it interesting to hear Herridge speak of current events.

“To hear the inside scoop of really how things happened and how we as citizens weren’t really given the truth at the time because of political reasons or what have you, and so that was kind of empowering to hear her say some things that I felt were truth at the time, but no one else would say that they were,” Maria Pidcock said.

an excellent dissertation.”

Grant said that Goniprow’s dissertation demonstrated “originality, depth, and clarity.”

intellectually rich, and precise argument ensured that I had a great experience as a reader.”

In the late 1900s, many thinkers proposed different

“Working with Steve was a great experience,” Grant said.

“He was a very fine student, and he really went to a whole other level in his work on the dissertation. His work ethic and care in crafting a cogent,

this problem on an international level.

“Steve’s description of 1970s international relations was very helpful,” Slack said.

“He includes a lot of historical information that helps explain some of the political divides of the time. I would say, one of the most impressive things about what Steve did was he was able to summarize.”

Goniprow said his dissertation was an analysis of global justice theory, not advocacy for or against the theory.

In the dissertation, Goniprow argued that John Rawls was a point of departure for global justice theory. In his book “A Theory of Justice,” Rawls tries to work out a theory that narrows the range of starting positions in a nation, according to Goniprow.

“Rawls is one of the thinkers in global justice that is cited very heavily,” Slack said.

gue for wealth transfers from the West to third world countries. They also advocate for open borders, and occasionally advocate for global political institutions to enforce wealthier nations fulfilling their obligations to less fortunate countries, according to Goniprow.

The theorists who write on global justice are animated by deep resentment over an unhappy fact, Goniprow argued in his dissertation.

The club collected its data through a survey posted around campus, according to senior and club president Elanor Dickinson.

“I got 180 responses, which is more than onetenth of the campus,” Elanor Dickinson said. “And then looking at the data itself, we have about equal parts from each class.”

The average freshman at Hillsdale takes 14.4 credit hours and drinks 1.5 caffeinated drinks per day. This rate increases to 16.6 credit hours and 1.9 caffeinated beverages per day by junior year.

“It seems like junior year is when people really start drinking caffeine,” Christopher Dickinson said. “I’d say going into my junior year, this is the most caffeine I’ve drank so far. So, I’ve hit probably about par for the course, and everyone else as well.”

The idea for the study came from curiosity as to whether all of campus consumed caffeine like the people closest to her, according to Elanor Dickinson.

“I know a lot of friends that drink a lot of caffeine, and I was kind of curious how consistent that was with the rest of campus,” Elanor Dickinson said. “I thought that Applied Math Club was the perfect venue to make a survey and then look at the data.”

The club used the survey to see if caffeine habits had any connection to the activities and interests of students, according to Kevin Gerstle, associate professor of mathematics.

“The club was interested in looking at various correlations, like do people who drink more caffeine share other similarities. For instance, do certain majors have more of a culture based around drinking coffee and such?” Gerstle said.

According to the study, coffee is the most popular caffeinated drink among students on Hillsdale’s campus.

“People drink coffee more than anything else, so that’s a good sign for all the coffee shops in town,” Christopher Dickinson said.

theories of global justice, according to Slack. Global justice theory claims that unequal starting positions, such as a family’s wealth, dictate an individual’s opportunities in life, and attempts to solve

“However, many of those citing Rawls are critical of Rawls, because he didn’t apply his own domestic theory of justice to a global theory of justice. And then what Steve does, it’s very interesting to me, is he talks about how Rawls’ views changed over time.”

Global justice theorists ar-

“We live in a world where one’s life chances are largely determined by something that’s arbitrary, the accident of birthplace, one’s nationality, and they think it should violate your sense of fairness that Americans have the unearned privilege of being born into material abundance, while others are sentenced to a life of near inescapable destitution through no fault of their own,” Goniprow said. “And so the overarching theme in the global justice literature is that we should move to a world in which an individual’s choices matter more to how their life goes and their nationality matters less.”

Jewish Mishpacha screens documentary about antisemitism

By Sophia Bryant Assistant Editor

Hillsdale College’s Jewish Mishpacha showed a documentary on Oct. 7 about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses after Hamas murdered more than 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Antisemitism is something that is very present, and we’ve seen this especially since Oct. 7, when it became more prevalent,” said Yahli Salzman, sophomore and president of the Jewish Mishpacha, which is the Jewish community on campus.

The documentary, titled “October 8th,” was directed by Wendy Sachs, and released on March 14, 2025. Among those interviewed in the film are Bari Weiss, CEO of “The Free Press” and recently appointed CBS News editor-in-chief; Mosab Hassan Yousef, author and former Palestinian militant; Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.; and Tessa Veksler, a 2024 graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara.

The film began by showing videos of the attacks on Oct. 7 and interviewing a survivor. In addition to the killings, Hamas took 250 people hostage. The last living hostages still in captivity were released on Oct. 13.

“The second I understood

the gravity of what happened and the barbarism, I thought that the entire globe would be in mourning,” actress Debra Messing said in the documentary. “And not only was it silent, there was jubilation.”

In the following months, pro-Palestine protests emerged across America. The documentary showed clips of protesters shoving and harassing Jewish people, crowds chanting that Jews are pigs, comments on social media saying “Hitler was right,” and protestors tearing down posters of Israeli hostages.

“The hate started flooding in almost immediately,” Veksler said in the documentary. Veksler and other Jewish college students shared their experiences of the protests. They were texting other Jewish students to ask if it was safe to go outside, hearing other students call for their death, and facing signs like “Zionist not allowed,” which was posted outside the UCSB multi-cultural center, according to Veksler.

“Students called it resistance, they called it justified, they began calling Zionist students racist,” Talia Dror, a ’24 graduate of Cornell University, said in the documentary.

A narrative of Israel as a racist, apartheid state committing genocide against Pales -

tinians allowed pro-Palestine protesters to justify antisemitism, according to the documentary. Although only 2.4% of the American population are Jewish, they are targeted by 55% of all religiously-motivated hate crimes, making them the most targeted minority in the U.S., according to the documentary.

“Standing up for being Jewish has gotten me more hate than all the things that I have said on social media and on my podcast combined, and I’ve said a lot,” actor Michael Rapaport said in the documentary.

Sophomore Kate Klein said she appreciated that the Mishpacha hosted the event, because it was important to inform people on college campuses about antisemitism.

“The documentary was an accurate presentation of antisemitism shown on college campuses,” Klein said. “It showed a compilation of all the photos and videos documenting it. It’s important to show on college campuses to inform people.”

After the documentary, Salzman reminded attendees that 48 hostages remain under Hamas’ control.

“I’m grateful I attend a school that is proud to have Jewish students, but it’s tough to see campuses so close in In-

diana, Ohio, and Illinois, that are places of learning, and Ivy League Institutions, that were once the top, come crashing down due to one day,” Salzman said.

After the hostages’ release, Salzman said that the hostages’ release was amazing and an answer to prayer, but there was still work to be done.

“I believe the hostages’ release is amazing,” Salzman said in an email. “For two years now, the Jewish people have been praying for the return of the hostages, and it finally happened, but it’s hard not to remember about how we ended up in this position. So many lives have been lost in trying to return the hostages to Israel.”

Sophomore Haven Socha said that although Hillsdale doesn’t have pro-Palestine protests on campus, students should do more to combat antisemitism.

“There’s a lot of silence even on a campus like ours,” Socha said. “There are no free-Palestine chants happening, but there’s not enough being done to combat antisemitism. We need to be louder. Israel is the promised land, where God redeemed a broken land, so we must support it.”

Spanish department hosts flamenco dance night

By Blake Schaper Collegian Freelancer

The Spanish Department partnered with Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish honorary, to teach students flamenco dancing Oct. 9.

Associate Professor of Spanish Kátia Sherman said she spent her teenage years living in Spain, learning about the culture through the flamenco dance and bullfighting.

“Instead of being a good, responsible student, staying in my room and reading my books, I did some of that, but I spent most of my time getting to know the ladies who did the laundry, most of whom were Gypsy, made friends with them and learned a lot about their culture,” Sherman said. “I had someone take me into their houses, where the heart of flamenco culture is.”

Freshman Andrew Griggs attended the flamenco

demonstration and said it felt like a country line dance, but more elegant.

“There’s a lot of arms, a lot of hips, which I thought was

ma Delta Pi, helped Sherman organize the night.

“We have a thriving Spanish community here at the college,” Stechschulte said.

fun,” Griggs said. “It felt very flowy. It felt very prideful, very elegant, sophisticated. I had a blast.”

Lecturer in Spanish Amanda Stechschulte, the faculty representative for Sig-

“And it’s really the professors who have been so generous with their time doing things like this, and a very active group of students, very generous with their time.” Stechschulte said Spanish

immersion events like flamenco dance night help invigorate student interest in Spanish culture.

“It makes people a little more excited about Spanish, learning about the culture and actually experiencing the culture,” Stechschulte said. “We’ve had students in Sigma Delta do things like order Iberian ham from Spain. And we go to Lansing to pick up Day of the Dead bread. We try to really get genuine Hispanic culture.” Sigma Delta Piu will host its Day of the Dead Trivia night on Oct. 30. Griggs said cultural experiences are not just for people who are living in other countries.

“It’s for people who want to broaden their minds, have fun, and enjoy other things that different people have created,” Griggs said.

From left to right: Kevin Slack, Stephen Goniprow, and Ronald Pestritto. Courtesy | Stephen Goniprow

Sherman leads students in flamenco.

Courtesy | Amanda Stechschulte

Caffeine from

Pulliam from A1

Opinions

Wake up to Nigerian persecutions

By Paul Bwamiki Collegian Freelancer

News

| Ellie Fromm

Opinions Editor | Caroline Kurt

| Alessia Sandala

City News

Sports Editor | Elaine Kutas

Culture Editor | Ty Ruddy

Features Editor | Megan Li Social Media Manager | Skye Graham

Circulation & Ad Manager | Frederick Woodward

Assistant Editors | Christina Lewis | Sophia Bryant | Elijah Guevara | Lewis Thune | Adriana Azarian | Gemma Flores | Christian Papillon | Jamie Parsons | Lauren Bixler | Grace Brennan

D.C. Correspondent | Tayte Christensen

Web & Puzzle Editor | Matthew Tolbert

To find love, throw a party

By Caroline Kurt Opinions Editor

My maternal grandparents met on a ski train from Kansas City to Colorado when my grandfather asked my grandmother for a light. They were married for 52 years. We wax nostalgic about the way things once were, especially in the realm of love and marriage. It’s hard not to feel as though our grandparents, and even parents, had an easier time meeting the loves of their lives. The world they paint when they tell their origin stories seems impossible to replicate: serendipitous connections at cocktail parties, crowded bars, or even on the street.

But this rich culture didn’t exist of its own accord. Our grandparents, as young people, put in the effort to host cocktail hours, game nights, and birthday parties that led to so many marriages.

As the days grow shorter and the weather colder, it’s easier than ever to retreat into our own little worlds. Our calendars are rife with excuses: midterms, projects, and essays. Yet we need to remember the bigger picture. Whether the social fabric frays or strengthens is up to us. Want to find love? Host a party.

Gen Z isn’t dating, or so we’re told. Even at Hillsdale, many who would like to get married still haven’t connected with Ms. or Mr. Right. Dating apps are one option, though many would prefer to meet a future spouse in person. Old-fashioned blind dates are another alternative. Yet on a campus where everyone knows everyone else’s business, such setups aren’t so simple: whether successful or not, they could end up feeding the campus rumor mill.

Enter parties: less pressure than a blind date, more productive than a “study session,” and more private

Gunmen attacked the Nigerian village of Yelwata in June, burning homes to the ground and killing as many as 200 people, most of them internally displaced Christians sheltering in a Catholic mission. The massacre speaks to a larger, shameful reality: Nigeria has become the deadliest country in the world to live as a Christian, despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.

More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere in the world. In the first seven months of 2025, a watchdog organization reported 7,087 Christians murdered and 7,800 abducted, averaging 30 killed and 35 kidnapped every day. Earlier data from Open Doors World Watch List 2025 recorded 3,100 Christians killed and 2,830 kidnapped, more than any other country worldwide. These statistics represent families torn apart, villages erased, and a church bleeding quietly in the dark. For believers everywhere, especially those who enjoy freedom of worship, this is not a distant tragedy to scroll past. It’s a call to pray, speak, and act. When one part of the body of Christ suffers, we are all called to respond. The cost of faith in one nation should awaken compassion, intercession, and conviction in another. It’s time for believers, Western

than a college-hosted event. A party can bring together people who really ought to meet, in a relaxed environment outside of the academic grind. A social environment has advantages over a first date in showing how that cute guy interacts with his friends. And if sparks don’t fly, there’s none of the awkwardness of turning down a second date — and all of the freedom to move on to the next witty conversationalist.

Hosting is an art form, and easy to learn. A great party is just the right mix of great drinks, background music at the right volume, too little floor space, a couple of seasoned flirts, and one would-be comedian. No occasion is too small: My off-campus house has been known to throw a huge bash commemorating a friend’s fictional tattoo.

Romantic possibilities aside, parties are the way to make your time at Hillsdale count. Freshmen, take note — four years fly by, and by the end you’ll be wishing you spent more time with friends. As a host, you get the benefits of curating the guest list: Invite interesting acquaintances, merge social groups, and dabble in the delicate art of matchmaking.

I owe my approaching marriage to a party that did just that. Though my future husband and I grew up knowing of each other’s families, we’d never met in person. That all changed when we sat together around a friend’s bonfire five years ago. Sometimes, we can become so backward-looking that we forget it really is possible to create the kind of future we want for ourselves. The first step might just be an email invite to 20 people you admire. Set the conditions for serendipity. Host a party.

Caroline Kurt is a senior studying English.

media, and human rights organizations to wake up and work to rescue Nigerian Christians. Multiple actors drive this persecution. Islamist militant groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province preach a vision of Islamic supremacy, targeting Christians for death or forced conversion. Fulani militant herders, often labeled “bandits,” launch raids on Christian farming communities, shouting religious slogans, burning churches, and seizing land. Local militias and criminal gangs further complicate the crisis, mixing ethnic conflict, poverty, and faith-based hostility.

The “Middle Belt” of Nigeria, where the Muslim-majority north meets the Christian-majority south, has become a war zone. Violence now spreads steadily southward, uprooting millions and threatening Nigeria’s fragile unity. During Lent and Holy Week this year alone, at least 170 Christians were killed across the Middle Belt. Clergy are not spared; within the past decade, 145 Catholic priests have been kidnapped, and many murdered.

The killers rarely face justice. Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, testifying before the U.S. Congress in March, lamented that Fulani herdsmen “enjoy total impunity from elected officials.” Nigerian authorities routinely deny that Christians are specifically targeted, calling such claims

“exaggerations” or “foreign interference.” But the patterns are unmistakable. When the state turns away, silence becomes complicity.

Coverage of Nigeria’s Christian persecution remains sporadic and deeply polarized.

Some Western commentators, such as Bill Maher, have called it a “Christian genocide,” citing “over 100,000 Christians killed since 2009 and 18,000 churches burned.” Others, including some Nigerian officials, warn that such framing oversimplifies complex ethnic and resource conflicts.

Both extremes miss the human reality: Entire Christian villages are being erased while the world debates semantics.

In the U.S., many believers barely know these atrocities are happening. Persecution feels far away: something to pray about briefly, then forget. But ignoring it diminishes our collective witness and weakens the global defense of religious freedom. When one part of the body suffers, all suffer with it.

Faith demands solidarity. We must join in prayer and support for ministries and relief organizations on the ground. Religious liberty is a universal principle; defending it abroad reinforces its strength at home. Policy can make a difference. This year, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act to sanction officials complicit in abuses. Mean-

while, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee has urged that Nigeria be redesignated a “Country of Particular Concern.” These are small but necessary steps toward justice. The massacre in Yelwata was not an isolated tragedy; it was a signal. Nigeria’s Christian communities are under sustained assault, and the government’s paralysis amounts to silent permission. The global Church and the watching world must refuse to look away. When faith costs your life, silence from those who share that faith becomes its own form of betrayal.

Desmond Tutu, a South African Anglican bishop and a leader in the nonviolent fight against apartheid, once said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Silence in the face of suffering is not an act of peace. To stay quiet when others are persecuted for their faith is to allow darkness to persist unchallenged. When worship itself becomes a death sentence, silence is no longer an option. Nigeria’s crisis is not just Nigeria’s problem; it is a test of our collective conscience. Will we look away, or will we act before an entire faith community is erased from the heart of Africa?

Paul Bwamiki is a junior studying biochemistry.

Hillsdale needs a TPUSA chapter

By Jayden Jelso Collegian Reporter

Charlie Kirk loved Hillsdale. The best way to honor his memory is to establish a Turning Point USA chapter on campus.

Self-governance is at the core of Hillsdale’s philosophy and way of life. In its mission, TPUSA states it exists “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” Self-governance lies at the center of each of these principles. A chapter here can train students — the up-and-coming leaders of the conservative movement — in fighting against the cultural decay propagated by the left.

Kirk’s drive to turn the tide in America’s culture made him

By Frederick Woodward Circulation & Ad Manager

President Donald Trump may have just built his most crucial wall yet. Project Firewall, the result of a Sept. 19 Presidential Proclamation, is an ambitious overhaul of procedures governing the application and entry of foreign skilled labor into the U.S. Project Firewall modifies the H-1B visa program, which has granted “temporary status with the ability to apply for citizenship” to most of its nearly half-million yearly applicants since its creation in 1990. American employers seeking foreign employees must now pay an application fee of $100,000 — an astronomical jump from the previous fee of $10. Many have rightly deemed this move aggressive. The question, however, is whether this aggression is justified.

The H-1B program has become a personnel pipeline for America’s tech sector. This conduit for importing highly skilled labor has the stated purpose of “helping employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of

a star at 18. He never went to college, instead founding one of the most significant political organizations in the country. Kirk set a strong example for the American youth to follow, building an empire from the ground up while modeling the values he preached.

Though the college’s mission aligns with TPUSA’s, we still don’t have a chapter. Students studying politics or economics would benefit from starting one.

Hillsdale already has multiple political clubs. But the difference between these clubs and TPUSA lies in their focus. College Republicans “champions faith, conservatism, and ordered liberty” among students. YAF helps “unite students to advance conservatism on the college campus.” Hillsdale College for Life

qualified individuals.” The reality, however, lies far from this aim.

Soon after H-1B’s creation, the system’s flaws became apparent. As Kevin Lynn, executive director of the Institute for Sound Public Policy, explained, “Beginning in the early ’90s, ‘outsourcing’ companies began importing cheap labor from India, ‘leasing’ those workers to Fortune 500 companies and then profiting on the wage arbitrage.”

While the original intent of H-1B was to negate such an effect by requiring applicants to have either a college degree or significant technical experience in their field, these conditions soon relaxed.

An analysis of H-1B metrics from fiscal years 2020 through 2023 by the Heritage Foundation’s Alexander Frei concluded that “an astounding 17.1% of approved applications did not have any information about the applicant’s registration, suggesting that the federal government has not adequately compiled data on the education status of one in six H-1B recipients.”

In addition, as Frei documented, more than 90% of approved applicants came from just two countries: India, with

promotes “the protection of the unborn.”

TPUSA equips students with skills to fight for cultural conservatism, specifically to prepare the youth to take the lead. Outreach is a fundamental part of the organization, especially on college campuses, and TPUSA provides students with debate and leadership opportunities to sharpen their rhetorical skills. It encourages thoughtful engagement with opposing ideas because, as Kirk believed, when people stop talking, violence ensues.

Some may say that college is a place for learning and forging good citizens as opposed to student-activism, but the action encouraged by TPUSA is not like the radical activism of the left. The organization promotes

73.7%, and China, with 16.4%.

The effect of H-1B’s enactment on native-born workers was devastating. Employers began to favor the growing population of cheaper, less-skilled foreign laborers in their hiring processes — understandably so, from a utilitarian perspective. Even with their decreased productivity and creativity measured against them, foreign workers cost their employers far less overall. As a result, according to Rutgers University economist Jennifer Hunt, “The native-born workers most like their H-1B visa-holding competitors were most likely to be the losers from the H-1B program.”

The program’s effect has ballooned. In fiscal years 2021 and 2022, a Lynn Institute survey found the highest incidence of rejected H-1B applications among the top 15 employers was a mere 6%, while the average rate hovered closer to 2%. This number represents an absurdly low threshold considering the sheer quantity of H-1B applications approved in just those two years — 407,000 in FY 2021 and 442,000 in FY 2022.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis highlighted another factor in

dialogue as opposed to thoughtless protest. How can students be expected to master self-governance if they don’t practice it in important ways, such as by advocating for their beliefs outside of Hillsdale? By equipping the youth for the battle against radical progressivism, TPUSA helps to preserve conservatism in America and form what Hillsdale should consider a good citizen. Hillsdale offers many wonderful opportunities for students to exercise freedom. But an option the college doesn’t have is a TPUSA chapter, something that would prepare students for the cultural turmoil ahead.

Jayden Jelso is a junior studying English.

Project Firewall’s favor. Following several announcements of tech sector layoffs, DeSantis wrote on X, “The H1-B visa program is a scam. It’s been used to import cheap foreign labor at the expense of Americans. That is not justifiable in any event, but it is especially galling when artificial intelligence is forecast to reduce a significant number of white collar jobs.” His observation is correct. AI’s mounting use will only compound the effect of decreased employment opportunities in Silicon Valley and across America’s tech landscape. Immigrant labor reforms can and should continue. Lynn’s suggestion to abolish the permanent labor certification is an excellent proposal that also deserves implementation. But today, Project Firewall is the answer we need. It protects American families by shielding their providers from an unjust threat to their occupations. As a result, the important work American tech workers do will continue — by Americans, for Americans.

Frederick Woodward is a junior studying political economy.

Christianize the Liberty Walk

Hillsdale should honor Paul, the apostle of Christian freedom

By Hugh Macaulay Collegian Freelancer

Hillsdale’s Liberty Walk is incomplete.

The current collection honors historic and contemporary advocates for freedom, among them Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan. Although the individuals enshrined in the Liberty Walk celebrate Hillsdale’s steadfast commitment to liberty, none embrace liberty’s deepest significance.

Only one man in history bestowed universal, eternal, and ineradicable liberty: the “everlasting man.” Jesus chose one spokesman in particular to articulate the meaning of this liberty — the Apostle Paul. His statue belongs on the Liberty Walk.

The college prides itself on its Christian identity. It should pride itself equally on cultivating its Christian image. To be sure, the Liberty Walk’s present composition features many Christians, but none whose Christian identity outshone their political prestige. They are statesmen first, and if Christian, Christian second.

among the Liberty Walk and testify to the “intelligent piety” of the college and its students while satisfying both Catholics and Protestants. It could stand appropriately near the entrance to Christ Chapel.

the framework of natural law and a transcendent moral order. That same liberty that St. John Paul II said “consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” It is this formulation

death. This freedom is not a temporal freedom from earthly oppression, such as that for which Douglass or Churchill labored. Rather, this is a spiritual freedom, transcending earthly freedom in dignity and consequence.

The Princeton Review ranked Hillsdale students as the No. 1 most religious students in the nation last year. It’s high time the Liberty Walk reflected the Christian commitments of the student body and college institution alike.

St. Paul’s presence would remedy the conspicuous absence of explicitly Christian figures

Paul deserves a statue because it is his distinct understanding of Christian liberty — rather than the neutral, libertarian notion of liberty — that animated the moral imagination of those currently memorialized on the Liberty Walk. Washington and Lincoln strove to preserve the kind of liberty that John Adams termed “liberty under law,” a liberty situated within

of freedom that St. Paul gives to the West and from which the greatest statesmen in the Anglo-American tradition derive their understanding of the concept.

The Pauline epistles identify the source of this true liberty: Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and miraculous resurrection, by which he freed mankind not only from the Old Law, but from the fetters of sin and

Trump memo endangers lawful opposition

By Emerson Goan Collegian Freelancer

President Donald Trump’s recent memorandum and executive order do not simply represent a new law-enforcement strategy but a turning point that risks undermining constitutional protections, eroding trust in democratic institutions, and shifting the balance of political power toward surveillance and coercion.

At first glance, the release of Trump’s memo, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” together with his executive order designating “Antifa” a domestic terrorist organization, appears not only reasonable but admirable. The aim of investigating and dismantling groups engaged in political violence is one we can all agree on. The government should address political violence in the country.

But the directive’s language is dangerously broad and vague. The memo targets anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-Christian ideas, as well as extremism on migration, race, gender, and hostility to traditional morality — issues on which millions of Americans disagree with Trump. Their ideological positions are not in themselves grounds for violent or criminal behavior. But under the order, speech that opposes government policy is relabeled as “targeted intimidation, radicalization, and threats designed to silence opposing speech,” even if entirely nonviolent. This blurs the line between dissent and terrorism.

The order empowers law enforcement and intelligence agencies to surveil, disrupt financial support networks, and target nonprofits or “funders” on suspicion of supporting political violence. Such powers are vulnerable to abuse, especially when criteria are vague. Nonprofit advocacy,

protest organizations, or activist networks could find themselves investigated or financially crippled simply for expressing unpopular opinions or associating with controversial causes. Legally, there are serious questions.

According to the Brennan Center, no current law grants the president the authority to label domestic groups as terrorist organizations or to exercise the powers that such a designation would entail. The memo itself admits that implementation must be “consistent with applicable law,” but fails to resolve the fact that First Amendment protections are strong, and vague statutes or directives tend to be struck down when they penalize speech.

This order sets dangerous precedents that extend far beyond its immediate intent. Throughout history, governments have expanded executive authority during moments of fear or crisis, promising that such power would be temporary or used responsibly. In practice, however, powers granted in the name of “security” rarely shrink once the threat subsides.

Financial investigations justified by “counterterrorism” could be applied to advocacy groups or charities critical of government policy. Once the mechanisms of surveillance and prosecution become normalized for handling domestic dissent, the boundary between lawful opposition and criminal subversion blurs.

What begins as an attempt to curb violence risks evolving into a framework for silencing discontent. Any future administration, regardless of ideology, could exploit this precedent to consolidate authority and weaken democratic accountability.

Americans should be concerned about selective enforcement of NSPM-7. Political alignment clearly matters. Early reports and commentary indicate

As Paul reminds the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free,” therefore exhorting them, “do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another.” To the Romans, Paul likewise explains, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.” Paradoxically, authentic freedom, according to Paul, means becoming “slaves of righteousness.”

In Christ, then, even those suffering physical persecution, enslavement, or imprisonment can attain freedom. Because as Paul teaches in Ephesians, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities. . . against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

To endorse St. Paul is not to neglect the accomplishments of James Madison, Winston Churchill, and company. Nevertheless, the Liberty Walk risks becoming sterile and superficial if it omits the fons et origo of liberty in the Western heritage — freedom in Christ.hrist.

Hugh Macaulay is a senior studying history. Illustrated by Maggie O'Connor.

The Free Press remakes media

By Moira Gleason Executive Editor

I will always love conservative journalism, but I doubt I would be pursuing a career in media were it not for a disaffected liberal and her Substack. The Free Press gave me hope for the longevity and relevance of journalism. Originally named Common Sense, the startup independent media company founded by former New York Times staffer Bari Weiss grew from a Substack to a multi-media platform with 1.5 million subscribers. Last week, Paramount bought The Free Press for $150 million. Weiss will now lead CBS News, owned by Paramount, as editor-in-chief while continuing her responsibilities as CEO and editor-in-chief of The Free Press.

I do not agree with everything I read in its virtual pages, but The Free Press is the only publication delivered daily to my mailbox that had me lying on my bed poring over a 6,000-word piece on free birth or laughing out loud in the airport as I read an 88-year-old writer’s reflections on aging in a digital world. “Things Worth Remembering” is the highlight of my weekend, and reading for my next class takes a backseat when Suzy Weiss publishes a culture column. When I first became interested in writing professionally, many journalists I met offered a jaded vision

for my future. The written word is dead, they said. AI will take over. Objectivity does not exist, and journalism should be activism. But one subscriber at a time, The Free Press showed there is still a place in the market for innovative reporting, nuanced takes, and long-form personal essays. And not only is there space — readers are starving for it.

Stories like Madeleine Kearns’ “How Catholicism Got Cool” and Kat Rosenfield’s “The Men Who Lost Their Babies” are the pieces I want to read and the kind of stories I hope to write in this field.

Readers can only hope The Free Press remains consistent under the canopy of CBS. Regardless, the success of the platform sets a new standard in the industry for journalistic integrity, writing quality, and diversity of perspective. The platform succeeded by giving readers what legacy media and much of conservative media did not: truth, nuance, and common sense. When the 2020s changed the playing field for legacy media, The Free Press changed the game. Whatever comes next, American journalism as a whole will be better for it.

Moira Gleason is a senior studying English.

that Trump’s executive order is being framed primarily around threats associated with left-wing activism, particularly groups identified as “anti-fascist” or “radical progressive.” The order’s language and examples rarely mention far-right militias, white nationalist organizations, or anti-government extremists, despite FBI and DHS data showing that right-wing violence has consistently accounted for the majority of domestic terrorism incidents in recent years. According to a 2024 DHS threat assessment, racially motivated violent extremists, especially those with white supremacist ideologies, remain the “most persistent and lethal threat” to the country.

By focusing enforcement on one side of the political spectrum, the order transforms what should be a neutral public safety issue into a political weapon. This selective lens not only risks injustice but deepens polarization, erodes institutional legitimacy, and fuels public distrust in both law enforcement and government itself.

While political violence deserves serious attention, Trump’s order on domestic terrorism trades clarity for breadth and suspicion for enforcement. It seems less a narrow tool to prevent violence and more a sweeping framework to surveil, punish, and silence political opposition. The bigger danger is not merely what this order does, but what it opens the door to: executive power divorced from accountability and democratic norms sacrificed in the name of order. The cost of “security” may be greater than many realize and harder to restore once lost.

as the co-president of the Hillsdale College Democrats.

Trump is right to target political violence

By Josiah Jones Collegian Freelancer

A recent surge in organized political violence is undermining the rule of law in this nation. A Presidential Memorandum signed recently by President Donald Trump offers hope for stopping it.

Charlie Kirk and former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman are dead. Other high-profile figures, such as Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, have barely survived assassination attempts. Since 2020, riots, looting, firebombings, arson, and attacks on police officers have engulfed cities, causing billions in property damage and multiple deaths. In July, a coordinated ambush on an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, left a police officer injured. A few weeks ago, a gunman killed and injured multiple people at an ICE facility in Dallas. Law enforcement personnel are being doxxed and threatened daily.

Repeated attacks and efforts like these do not come out of nowhere. Masses of people do not coincidentally decide to cloak themselves in black, brandish weapons, and attack law enforcement officials at the exact same time and place as one another. This requires organization, coordination, and funding. To deny this is to deny reality.

To address this reality, Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum titled, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” The memoran-

dum establishes a National Joint Terrorism Task Force ordered to “investigate, prosecute, and disrupt” not only individuals committing acts of terrorism, but also the “networks, entities, organizations” and “funding sources” that support them.

The president also ordered the task force to work with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Treasury Department, and the Internal Revenue Service to track down these groups and their sources of funding.

Trump has been widely criticized for this order.

Billionaire George Soros’s Open Societies Foundation released a statement condemning the task force. The Foundation characterized it as a politically motivated infringement on civil liberties. These concerns are understandable, but they are addressed explicitly in the memorandum itself.

The memo explicitly requires the task force’s actions to be “consistent with applicable law,” which includes protections for legitimate free speech and peaceful protest. It furthermore prohibits any existing statutes or agency authority from being overridden. All enforcement actions recommended by the task force would require action from the Department of Justice. Should this occur, accused individuals or groups would retain their legal rights, such as presumption of innocence until proven guilty before a court of law.

In the American tradition, free speech is a natural right, but it has never protected in-

jurious speech such as libel, sedition, threats, and incitements of violence. It also has never protected those who support and fund violence. These uses of speech infringe upon the rights, safety, and well-being of the American people. If our government is to be just, it must secure the American people’s natural rights through the rule of law. Without this, there is no liberty. It therefore cannot be passive in the face of the current mass violence.

The federal government has the opportunity to fight these wrongs by coordinating federal, state, and local agencies and authorities. Clearly, the federal government’s current approach isn’t working. Trump’s task force promises something new: By targeting the networks and funding that undoubtedly exist, it presents an intelligent and preventative strategy that may not have been tried before.

As with every exercise of state power, the public and press should scrutinize the task force’s actions. A healthy jealousy for our rights is necessary to keep the nation free, but it need not prevent our authorities from securing those same rights via the rule of law. Trump’s action against the horrors we are seeing unfold is needed. Hopefully, the creation of the task force will mark the beginning to the end of them.

Josiah Jones is a junior studying politics. He serves as the president of the Hillsdale College Republicans.

Emerson Goan is a sophomore studying political economy. She serves

City News

Councilman and former mayor to face off in Nov. 4 election

By Moira Gleason ExECutivE Editor

Matthew Bentley said he fled Ann Arbor in 2020 to escape the “twin tyranny” of COVID-19 and bike lanes.

Now, he’s running for mayor of Hillsdale.

Bentley, 58, currently represents Ward 2 on Hillsdale’s City Council. He grew up in Hillsdale and graduated from Hillsdale High School before attending the University of Michigan. After serving in the Army and working in the securities industry in Chicago, he returned to his hometown to assist his aging parents. His son, Adam Bentley ’24, graduated from Hillsdale College.

Now retired, Bentley said he would approach the office of mayor as a full-time job.

The councilman has received endorsements from Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Paladino and former mayor Adam Stockford. His opponent in the Nov. 4 election is former mayor Scott Sessions, who held the office 2013-2017. The candidate elected this November will serve a one-year term and have the option to run again in the August 2026 primary and November 2026 general elections to serve a full four-year term.

Bentley said he decided to run for city council in 2024 at the prompting of then-councilman Paladino.

and add bike lanes.

“All sides agree that the bike lanes are a farce,” Bentley said. “But the road calming proponents think that’s a sacrifice worth paying, and I do not.”

The Michigan Department of Transportation traffic calming plan would narrow Broad Street from four lanes to three, configure the middle lane as a two-way turn lane, and add bike lanes and extra parking. Advocates say the plan will improve access to downtown businesses and increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

The council passed the road diet plans over the summer and allocated $135,000 toward the project in August. Adding bike lanes helps Hillsdale qualify for a significant Transportation Alternative Program Grant through the MDOT to

override the council’s approval by collecting letters from a majority of property owners opposed to the special assessment. A group of citizens on Barry Street rejected the city’s special assessment in April 2025. The council would need to vote 7-1 to override these objections.

Sessions told The Collegian he is running for mayor to stop a negative culture in city politics toward city staff that he attributes to Bentley and Paladino. Five city officials have resigned since March, including the city’s engineer, zoning administrator, airport manager, and two public utilities supervisors

Bentley said he thinks this claim is false, and that he has a decent working relationship with most council members and will continue to cultivate those relationships should he become mayor. He said he only speaks to most city staff members during city council meetings, which are recorded.

“Paladino twisted my arm for 18 months to get me on council,” he said. “I had no interest.”

On the last day to file for candidacy, Bentley gave in. He and Paladino collected 25 signatures in one day to get him on the ballot. He ran unopposed and took the seat, hoping to give Paladino a hand.

“I just wanted to help out my buddy,” Bentley said. “So it seemed like a small pill to swallow to go be on council and sit there quietly. It turned out I couldn’t sit there quietly.”

Council members received an email after his first meeting that they had to reveal their anonymous votes for mayor pro tem, he said.

“Without getting into the Federalist Papers and the meaning of democracy, the farce of having a secret ballot and then exposing a secret ballot is ridiculous, so I wrote an email and made a stink on council that it was wrong,” Bentley said.

He said he decided to run for mayor to oppose the “road diet,” which would change the traffic pattern on Broad Street

By Alessia Sandala & Thomas McKenna

Hometown Hotspot in Hillsdale — home of Market House, Bigby Coffee, and Sharon’s House of Pancakes — and its Hudson sister location are now on the market for $5.5 million and $8 million, respectively.

“We are completely honored to be a big part of Hudson and a big part of Hillsdale for 85

fund the project. In addition to those funds, $250,000 will be provided by the Tax Increment Finance Authority — which collects revenue from downtown businesses — and Hillsdale Renaissance will contribute $10,000.

The elected mayor will have little leeway to stop the road diet now that it has been approved by the council, but Bentley said he will still prioritize road repairs. If elected, he hopes to reform the special assessment districts the city uses to fund road repairs. A hotly contested point in the race, SADs require individual property owners in a designated district to pay up to $5,000 to fund road repairs on their street. Bentley said he would like to lessen that price tag.

“If the council doesn’t take responsibility to reform the special assessments, then the residents of Oak Street and South Street in particular will take it upon themselves to show this is not a viable solution to our road problems,” he said.

Residents in a district can

The only negativity he brought to the council, he said, was directed at the road diet.

Bentley said he wants to encourage more accountability for public officials and engagement from the people of Hillsdale, which may entail disagreements.

“When those who would like to have more self-governance try to make that happen, it looks like negativity to many,” Bentley said.

Bentley has also expressed frustration with the limitations of the mayoral office as outlined in the Hillsdale City Charter. A full reform of the structure of city government is likely unrealistic, he said. But if elected for a full term in 2026, he said he would be open to initiating a review of the charter.

In the short term, Bentley said he hopes to reform the special assessments and improve the day-to-day operations of the council. Small changes, such as using better audio/visual equipment to record city council meetings, would make the happenings in council more accessible to the people of Hillsdale, he said.

Leading up to the November election, Bentley said he would be open to a debate with his opponent. He said he believes speaking openly would facilitate greater transparency from the candidates and engagement from potential voters.

“The people have the right to know who they’re voting for and why,” he said.

By Thomas McKenna Editor-in-ChiEf

Scott Sessions stepped away from city politics in 2017 after four years as mayor of Hillsdale. Now, he’s running for mayor again after the “political nightmare” and “toxic work environment” that he said some councilmembers, including his opponent, have created for city staff.

“I want to try and stop the negative culture that is inside the Hillsdale City Council,” said Sessions, 67, who has worked as purchasing manager at Hillsdale Hospital for nearly 20 years. “That is the reason why I’m running for mayor.”

Five city officials have resigned since March, including the city’s engineer, zoning administrator, airport manager, and two public utilities supervisors. Sessions blames Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Paladino and Ward 2 Councilman Matthew Bentley, his opponent in the Nov. 4 mayor’s race.

Whoever wins this election will serve a year-long term and could choose to run in the August primary and November general election in 2026 to serve another four years.

Sitting in an armchair at the Mitchell Research Center earlier this week, Sessions leafed through a set of papers and pulled out an August Collegian article that quotes Bentley, who said he’s pursuing “accountability” for city staff.

Sessions to hold the mayor’s gavel. His son, Michael, had won the mayor’s race in 2005.

The Hillsdale High School senior, at only 18 years old, became the youngest serving mayor in the country through a write-in campaign.

“I had to play catch-up, and he helped me,” Sessions told The Collegian in 2013.

Sessions will play less catch-up this time around if elected. During the interview, he pulled out highlighted notes to explain bits of city policy and tried to set the record straight where he feels his opponents have been unfair.

Bentley, his opponent, told The Collegian he entered the mayor’s race to stop the “road diet,” which would slim down Broad Street to one lane in

infrastructure, we, the city, will be at a cost of $135,000. So actually, the city is saving $115,000.”

Trying to stop the road diet would be even more costly, Sessions said.

“If they still try to fight it,” he said, referring to Bentley, “you’re still gonna pay the $250,000. Plus, you’ve got engineering costs on top of that.”

The city funds road repairs on deteriorating neighborhood streets by designating special assessment districts. SADs require individual property owners in a district to pay up to $5,000 to pay for repairs on their street.

Sessions said he would keep using SADs because the city still lacks the money to maintain streets without them.

“What I see is that by making them accountable, it’s contributing to the negative culture,” Sessions said. “Because, to me, they’re bypassing the city manager, and they’re going right to the staff.”

If Sessions were elected mayor, he said he would institute a chain of command.

All correspondence between council and staff should go through the mayor and the city manager, Sessions said.

“Right now it's a free-forall with the mayor pro tem and a couple of new members of the Hillsdale City Council,” Sessions said.

He said the council and staff “worked together very well” and “got a lot of things accomplished” when Sessions served as mayor from 2013 to 2017. When he first ran for mayor, Sessions focused on “fixing the crumbling infrastructure of Hillsdale,” The Collegian reported in 2017.

Scott became the second

each direction, add bike lanes on both sides, create more parking lots, and make other changes to traffic patterns downtown.

Sessions also initially opposed the project for “safety reasons.” But after the council approved the plan last month, Sessions said it is better — for financial reasons — to continue the project. Broad Street and Carleton Road, he said, are due for about $250,000 in repairs over the next two years. But adding the repairs to the road diet project would bring the city’s expense down to $135,000. According to Sessions, the road diet’s bike lanes qualify the city for a state grant. That funding would cover about half of the road diet’s $868,000 in total costs, bringing the city’s liability down to $395,000. In addition, the local investment board will pay $250,000, and the Hillsdale Renaissance project will cover $10,000.

“It’s about fiscal responsibility now,” Sessions said. “Instead of paying $250,000 for

“We still need them, because we still have to fix the streets,” he said.

“And the money surplus isn’t there.” Sessions said he would be open to exploring alternative methods of funding special assessments. But ending the use of SADs now would also be unfair to property owners who have already paid the fee for roadwork on their streets, he said.

“I do believe it’s discrimination if you go back now and change things,” Sessions said. “But at least you could form a committee to look at it.”

On homelessness, Sessions said he wants to prevent a return to the prior presence of the homeless in public areas.

“I just don't want to see the homeless go back out on the streets,” Sessions said. “Because that was the problem. I don't want to see them on the trails.”

The city council voted last week to remove a tent structure for the homeless at Camp Hope, leaving the future of the shelter uncertain. The tent, city officials said, does not meet city building code.

“That’s a tough one to me,” Sessions said. “They’re following the laws, which has to be done.”

Sessions said he would restart the Homelessness Task Force created in March 2020, which has been discontinued.

“Just looking at it and maybe coming up with ideas to help the situation, getting everybody together and trying to get some common ground, having everybody talk about it — that’s what I’d like to see happen,” Sessions said.

years,” said Brett Boyd, the owner of both Market House locations.

Boyd hopes to retire and spend more time with family, Brittany Ostrowski, a real estate agent from ERA Reardon Realty, told The Collegian.

“He doesn’t want to disappoint anybody, but he’s also looking out for his wife’s best interests, and they just want to enjoy their farm,” Ostrowski said.

Boyd hopes to sell the Hillsdale and Hudson properties to-

gether. The stores are doing well financially, with the exception of Hillsdale’s Market House, because of the saturated grocery store market in Hillsdale, according to Ostrowski.

“We’re searching for an openminded investor.”

“Hudson has been kind of taking care of Hillsdale for a long time, making money and pumping it back into Hillsdale, being creative, reducing

the footprint of the grocery,” Ostrowski said.“Trying to get it to be profitable, and with the competition, it’s been hard for them.” The properties are being sold with two liquor licenses, Ostrowski said. All of the businesses within Hometown Hotspot are part of the sale since Boyd and his wife,

Brandy, are the franchise owners.

“We’re searching for an open-minded investor who is willing and isn’t afraid to take on these other already-established businesses, outside of the grocery space,” Ostrowski said. Boyd said selling one or both of the properties would depend on the buyer’s willingness to continue their tradition of giving back to the community and to keep the current employees.

Ostrowski said she hopes a new owner will take over within the next year. While searching for a buyer, Boyd said he and his wife will continue to run the locations.

“We appreciate everybody’s business,” Boyd said. “We appreciate our employees, and we certainly appreciate the communities of Hillsdale and Hudson and look forward to full steam ahead at Market House in the meantime.”

Matthew Bentley represents Ward 2 on city council. Courtesy | City of h illsd A le

Scott Sessions served as mayor from 2013-2017.

Historic steam train returns to Hillsdale

By James Joski & Faith Senne Collegian Freelan C ers

People waited by the tracks for the rare sound of an old, roaring train whistle. For a moment, time reversed as the 1944 locomotive No. 795 chugged into view. Families waved from its cars, and attendees snapped photos.

The historic train stopped at 50 Monroe St. in Hillsdale Oct. 11. The train took passengers on a round trip to Crossroads Farms in Reading, followed by a block party, featuring live music and food vendors, in Hillsdale.

“Being on the train felt like time travel. It felt like going back to a different time in American life,” said Associate Professor of English Kelly Franklin, who was among the passengers.

Franklin and his family boarded the train to celebrate his daughter’s ninth birthday.

“She loves what she calls the ‘old-fashioned train,’” he said.

The Railroad Festival was a collaboration between Hillsdale Renaissance, the Indiana Railroad Experience, the Fort Wayne Historical Railroad Society, and the city of Hillsdale, according to Charlie Miggins, the event manager for Hillsdale Renaissance.

“We wanted to put together a time where people are downtown and celebrating together, and seeing live music, all kind of celebrating the life and history of Hillsdale with the big steam engines coming to town,” Miggins said.

Hillsdale was a train hub in the late 19th century. With the arrival of the Southern Michigan Railroad in 1843, Hillsdale became a central stop for Michigan settlers, according to the Hillsdale County Historical Society.

Kelly Lynch, vice president of the Fort Wayne Railroad, said the job of running a 1940s steam locomotive is hands-on.

“There are many facets to running a train — from the mechanical and operational

side to the preservation and interpretational side,” Lynch said. “There is a reverence in operating them because of the knowledge and skill it takes to operate not just these trains, but any piece of railroad stock. While many of our volunteers are veteran railroaders, many others are not — they do it for the love of history, or sharing a unique era of American innovation and other people.”

Miggins said he hopes the Railroad Festival will be an annual event.

“We would like to have the event every year in October or fall time of the year,” Miggins said. “Next time we will try to get this festival not on fall break for Hillsdale College, since we would like for students to be able to attend and experience this historical culture of Hillsdale.”

Radio Station General Manager Scot Bertram and his 12-year-old son Alex also attended the event.

Though he had ridden a train many times, Scot Betram said it was his son’s first

time riding one.

“It really was a great experience,” Alex Bertram said. “I had seen the steam train many times, and it was amazing to ride it.”

According to Lynch, the train experience is popular among people who have a personal connection to trains and those who have no experience with them.

“People come for many reasons, and many of them are personal — there is a family connection, a generational link, a memory they are paying homage to, but not everyone needs to have a deep legacy to enjoy themselves,” Lynch said. “There is a sense of adventure, you’re outdoors, you’re seeing the world from a different perspective, and yes, you’re traveling the way millions of people did every day in America did 80 years ago.”

Franklin said the increasing interest in old ways of life signals a move away from the superficiality of the digital world.

“I think it seems signifi -

Bill for homeschoolers in public school sports

Bellino seeks to promote educational alternatives

By Anna Broussard Design eD itor

Michigan homeschoolers would be allowed to participate in public school sports and other extracurriculars if a new bill becomes law.

Introduced on Sept. 26 by Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe, Senate Bill 589 would let homeschooling families paying local taxes participate in government-funded public school programs.

“Because of the way we fund education, these children should have an opportunity to play sports, even if they’re homeschooled,” Bellino said. “They’re paying for public schools, but they’re not getting any of the advantages at all.”

According to Bellino, who represents most of Hillsdale County, homeschooled students would be able to participate in the programs at their local public schools. The programs included are athletics, theater or drama productions, band, orchestra or other musical programs, and debate teams.

“With the way that my law is written, they can take a simple test to verify what grade they’re in, and then try out for the team, like everybody else does, and then play throughout the season,” Bellino said.

According to Republican

DesJardin said the camp was never meant to be permanent but became a necessity due to its ongoing need. “It was never our intention to do this fulltime,” DesJardin said. “We wanted to provide support while we waited for the other shelter in town to become a yearround shelter, but that still hasn’t happened, so that is why we are still going.”

Socha also highlighted the city’s liability risk.

“The city now has this place where people are dwelling that hasn’t been given that use,” Socha said. “So we have liability on the city side, and if something bad were to happen here, we need to make sure things are up to code.”

Rep. Jennifer Wortz, who represents Hillsdale and Branch counties, the challenge with legislation like this is the private entity regulating public school athletics.

Public schools join the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which requires high school students to be enrolled in two-thirds of the public school course load. For middle school students, the requirement is onehalf enrollment to be eligible to participate in the athletic programs. Homeschool families may have to choose between athletic programs or the personalized education homeschooling offers, Wortz said.

low homeschooled students to participate in public school athletic programs. Because the MHSAA governs school sports in Michigan, Wortz said the battle will begin with getting school district superintendents on board with the legislation.

“It’s going to take a mindset shift,” Wortz said. “The best thing we can continue to do is to promote that it’s really up to a parent to decide what’s best for their child. We all pay

“Hillsdale County is the homeschool epicenter for the whole state.”

property taxes and contribute to our local schools. So why can't our students have access?”

“As a former homeschool mom, I know that it becomes very difficult to spend time driving and going far distances for your kids to participate in athletics,” Wortz said. “It was one of the reasons we ended up putting our kids in high school in local public schools.”

Many states, including Ohio and Pennsylvania, al -

ants without permanent shelter.

Charlie Vallance, who is currently living at Camp Hope, said he does not know

Hillsdale College freshman Avery May, a distance swimmer from Tennessee on the swim team, was homeschooled and able to swim for her local club team, which was affiliated with the local public school.

“It was an interesting dynamic, because I swam with a lot of people from my age group,” May said. “The experience of having a team I really liked, having relays with your friends, and competing

the best thing I can do is put myself in a storage unit,” Vallance said.

DesJardin said the city council made a short-sighted

for the school was obviously different because it wasn’t my school, but it was still so fun.”

May, whose family recently moved to North Carolina, said her younger siblings cannot participate in local public school athletic programs.

“We don’t want to register through the school, but my brother has to if he wants to play a sport,” May said. “He wanted to play football, but he can’t. With football, I don’t see how you could go to college and play football without playing for a high school team.”

May credited her ability to swim on the collegiate level to her time on the club team and said that it was invaluable for her family to stay homeschooled and play for their local schools.

According to Bellino, this bill was inspired by families in Hillsdale County, in hopes of providing opportunities for these homeschooled families and promoting homeschooling across the state, because the public school system is failing to equip students academically.

“Hillsdale County is the homeschool epicenter for the whole state,” Bellino said. “And with what has happened to public schools the last 50 years, people should be taken out and flogged, because we’ve let it get to such a bad spot.”

discomfort,” DesJardin said. “They’re hiding behind the ordinance instead of doing what’s right for the people.”

DesJardin said the closure will leave more than 20 ten -

where he will live once the tent is taken down. “I’ve been walking around asking for help, and right now

decision.

“The council made this decision based on a small group of constituents and their own

cant that people like old-fashioned trains, old-fashioned cars, old buildings, retro and vintage stuff,” Franklin said. “The human soul and body will not be satisfied by anything but real reality. I think that if people are interested in riding old-fashioned trains, it tells us something we ought to pay attention to.”

Keefer House Hotel granted fifth extension

By Christina Lewis a ssistant eD itor

The Hillsdale City Council voted 7-1 at its Oct. 6 meeting to grant CL Real Estate Development until Dec. 31 to complete the Keefer House Hotel project.

This new deadline will extend a tax incentive under the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act to encourage the redevelopment of public buildings that are functionally obsolete. CL Real Estate has until the end of the year to acquire a use and occupancy permit to ensure the building is safe to inhabit. If CL Real Estate fails to meet this deadline, then it can apply for another extension from the council. Ward 1 Councilman Jacob Bruns voted against the resolution.

“When I was running for City Council, I committed to voting against it,” Bruns told the Collegian. “It’s been five or six times now, and we keep hearing about how it’s going to be the last extension, and that has not been true yet, and I suspect it won’t be true again.”

DesJardin also said that while the tent may be removed, her mission will continue.

“We’re not stopping,” DesJardin said. “If they come with a bulldozer, I’ll be standing in front of that tent, because that is the right thing to do.”

DesJardin said she is finalizing plans for the standalone nonprofit HOPE Harbor, which will convert the storage building behind Hillsdale Community Thrift into a permanent transitional living facility. DesJardin said she has received the blueprints for the building from the engineer and is prepared to bring the plans before the city’s planning board next month.

the Keefer Hotel in 2018, and construction to redevelop the property began in 2021. When completed, the hotel will have 34 rooms, including suite-style accommodations for longterm stays, according to CL Real Estate’s website. The hotel will also feature a restaurant and bar, along with an event space for meetings and weddings. The Keefer first opened in 1885 as a place where train passengers could stop for a meal or drink.

“It's been five or six times now and we keep hearing about how it's going to be the last extension.”

This is the fifth time the council has extended the deadline for the hotel’s construction, which the company said has suffered delays due to the pandemic, inflation, shipping delays, and unexpected repairs. The Keefer Hotel will be located at 104 N Howell St. in Hillsdale.

Nick Fox, vice president of construction and development at CL Real Estate, said the company got all the inspections it needed in the past few weeks.

“We’ve had a flurry of work,” Fox said. “You can barely walk through there today with all the drywallers and the electricians and carpenters and the mechanics, and it’s just been a great few weeks. We’ve made up quite a bit of time. So we’re on the right path now.” CL Real Estate acquired

“They did save a building from falling down,” Bruns said. “It might have otherwise fallen down. So I’ll grant them that. But at this point, it seems like the council is being tugged around on the issue. People are tired of it — of this continually coming up — and they’re ready to be done and to not sign up for projects like this in the future.” Fox said the weather should not be an issue when it comes to completing the project, unless something drastic happens. At the meeting, Ward 2 Councilman Matthew Bentley asked how long North Street would be closed due to the construction.

“I don’t want the road closed indefinitely, like Howell was,” Bentley said. “That’s what I’m getting at.” Fox said North Street should not be closed for more than a week.

Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Paladino said he voted in favor of the resolution to extend the OPRA deadline because the primary purpose of OPRA is to prevent private properties from becoming a public burden.

“I think they have already accomplished that,” Paladino said. “I am less concerned about the economic development aspect of that. I don’t think that’s the council’s primary concern. Our concern is making sure the building is not falling over, and they have accomplished that goal.”

Camp Hope from A1

Missy DesJardin looks at the posted order to vacate Camp Hope. Sydney Green | Colle G ian

A historic steam engine rolled into Hillsdale Oct. 11. Jame S Jo S ki | Colle G ian

Alex Bertram (left) and Tim Stockdale (right) with the train. Courte S y | S C ot Bertram

SportS

Cross Country

Aggressive race brings new bests

By Anna Stirton Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale men’s cross country team placed 13th and the women placed 23rd at the Louisville Classic Oct. 4.

Leading the Charger men, senior Gabe Phillips smashed his own personal record for an 8k race to earn 10th place with a time of 23:54.2.

“Gabe’s race was one of the better cross country performances in school history, if not the fastest,” head coach R.P. White said.

Phillips said his race was emotional.

“There was this idea in my head, like, ‘God, let me do this for the underdogs,’” Phillips said.

“I knew that, without a doubt, if you want something and you work hard enough, you can achieve it. That thought went through my head and just gave

me this burst of motivation.” Phillips said conviction kept him going.

“That last mile I was pretty much going lactic it felt like, and so I was just holding on for dear life telling myself, ‘OK, I just got to keep going,’” Phillips said.

Not only did Phillips set a personal record, but so did every other scoring runner on the men's team.

Senior Nathaniel Osborne finished 75th in a time of 25:04.0. Junior Caleb Youngstedt placed 97th in 25:19.3, followed by freshman John Richardson, who took 103rd place with a time of 25:20.1. Freshman Jefferson Regitz was Hillsdale's final scoring runner, crossing the line in 25:46.5 and taking 169th place.

On the women’s side, sophomore Ally Kuzma set a new personal record of 17:04.1 and took 12th place in the 5k race. Junior

Eleanor Clark also set a personal record, placing 135th with a time of 18:35.2. Freshman Grace Tykocki was Hillsdale’s third scoring runner, placing 171st in 19:05.0. Sophomore Victoria Stonebraker placed 220th in 19:34.1, followed by freshman Caroline Roberts, who finished in 225th place with a time of 19:37.7.

Phillips said both the men’s and women’s teams approached this race with an aggressive strategy.

“We wanted to get out really hard for the first two minutes and be uncomfortable, and then settle in and then try to recollect ourselves and finish well,” Phillips said.

Clark said the right mental approach is vital, especially when confronting intense competition and aggressive race strategy.

“I think being able to con-

trol your emotions and stress is huge,” Clark said. “Coach does a great job of emphasizing gratitude, just being grateful for the opportunity to race. Channeling that can be helpful to your mindset, just being excited for every race and ready to see what you can do for yourself and your team.”

Looking forward to conference championships, White doubled down on this attitude of gratitude.

“When it comes to opportunities to race, you always respect competition and you don’t take it for granted,” White said. “So really, conference will be no different than any other race. It’s literally just, let’s see what we’re made of.”

The Chargers will race at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships Oct. 25 in Midland, Michigan.

Golf Thompson leads team to top five

By Ameera Wilson Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale men’s golf team shot 871 and finished fifth out of 17 in the Doc Spragg Invitational at the Findlay Country Club in Findlay, Ohio, over the weekend. Junior Robert Thompson placed second individually.

Although he was sick during the tournament, Thompson fell one stroke short of the win, shooting 72-66-74=212.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel great coming into this tournament,” Thompson said. “I hit poorly in the practice round and had some kind of sickness during the tournament. Being sick sucked, it made me really tired especially on the 36-hole day.”

The tournament had some of the top teams in the region including the University of Findlay, the University of Missouri St. Louis, and Tiffin University.

“Tiffin has been playing well the last couple weeks so we wanted to go up against them again,” head coach Luke Kelly said.

Missouri St. Louis and Findlay tied for the win shooting 859. Tiffin followed with 863 as a team.

Junior Oliver Marshall also had a strong individual performance, finishing with a score of 72-7470=216.

“I felt good coming into the tournament especially after a good practice trip over

fall break,” Marshall said. “I was somewhat happy with the team's performance but definitely could have been better. We were very close to contending for the win as a team.”

Sophomore Jackson Piacsek also contributed to the Chargers’ score, tying for 43rd after scoring a 223. He was followed by freshman John Cassiday in 49th with a 224 and junior Ryan O’Rourke in 70th with a 228. Freshman Parker Stalcup did not contribute to the team’s

points, but had a strong showing tying for 34th with a 221.

Kelly said the team was prepared coming into the tournament and ready to improve on its performance from last week.

“I thought we took some positive steps in some areas and took a step back in other areas,” Kelly said. “Always things we can improve on and constantly fighting complacency. The team performed nice overall, but struggled on par-3s and around the greens.”

The Chargers will finish their fall season next week in the Nemacolin Intercollegiate at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington Pennsylvania, Oct 20-21. Nine teams will join the field, including the University of Findlay, University of Tiffin, and the top-ranked Grand Valley State University.

Women's Tennis Dannhauser wins four straight

By Sophia Douglass Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale women’s tennis team won 24 matches at Davenport University’s ITA Midwest Regional, with junior Ané Dannhauser making the longest run in team history with four straight wins in the top A bracket.

Dannhauser was initially the fifth seed in the top A bracket. One of her four wins included the 10th seed, before falling in the semifinals to the first seed.

“There were multiple shifts of momentum during all my matches,” Dannhauser said.

“But I managed to keep my cool and focus on one point at a time, and that helped me get through everything over the weekend.”

Sophomore Briana Rees also found success in the A singles bracket, defeating her competitor from the University of Illinois, Springfield, in two matches in the consolation bracket.

In the B singles draw, freshman Dimitra Papastavrou and sophomores Julia Zlateva and Emma Palus won seven matches. Papastavrou won her opening round match in the B draw in two sets over her competitor from Quincy University, before being defeated in the second round by the top-seeded player. Zlateva defeated opponents from the University of Illinois-Springfield, Davenport University, and even the third-seed competitor from Grand Valley State University, before losing in the quarterfinals.

two ships touch or intersect. The numbers along the border indicate how many ship pieces appear in that row or column.

“I definitely will work on my physical endurance,” Palus said. “We played a lot of matches and I could feel the soreness already on the second day, and I still had a couple more matches to play.”

In the C draw for singles, freshman Sydney Singh drew the top seed for Hillsdale. Although she lost her initial match in an upset, Singh won four straight matches in the consolation bracket.

“We bonded a lot at that tournament,” Singh said. “I feel like the team has become a lot more like a second family.”

For the A doubles bracket, Dannhauser and Rees defeated both a team from Grand Valley State University and a team from Saginaw Valley State University before falling in the quarterfinal round. In the B doubles bracket, both Papastavrou and freshman Esther Sura and senior duo Megan Hackman and Isabella Spinazze picked up at least one main draw win. Hackman and Spinazze won an 8-0 opening round match over a team from Davenport University before losing their second match against a team from McKendree University. Papastavrou and Sura made it to the quarterfinals. In the C doubles bracket, the pair of Zlateva and Palus won the main draw title for the Chargers after three intense matches. The tournament was the final event of the fall season. The Chargers will compete next on Jan. 31 at home against Michigan Technological University.

Palus lost her opening-round match in the B draw but picked up three straight victories in the consolation bracket by defeating her competitor from Michigan Technological University and two from Tiffin University, before losing in the semifinals.

Sapp: Hillsdale, Army, Olympics Senior

departs for elite marksmanship

By Elijah Guevara Assistant Editor

When Jordan Sapp started shooting at 10 years old, he was so small that his coaches would hold up the other end of the rifle to help him aim.

After starting with an air rifle and a .22 long rifle, he then moved to archery and trap shooting. Now, after competing as one of Hillsdale’s top shotgun competitors, Sapp has left the college to join the prestigious U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit with hopes of competing in the 2028 Olympic Games.

According to Sapp, his grandfather, a notable trap shooter, was a primary influence on him. But what made him really fall in love with the sport was a shotgun competition when he was 17 years old.

“It was one competition in Kerrville, Texas, that I shot, made my first final, and fell in love with it at that point,” Sapp said. “And it was there when it really hit me that I just hated not being first.”

That same year, Sapp then traveled to Lima, Peru, where he got second place in his first overseas match and world championship at the 2021 International Shooting Sports Federation Junior World Championship.

While at Hillsdale, Sapp competed both domestically and internationally, including recently helping the Chargers

win the 2024 Association of College Unions International and Scholastic Clay Target Program Team National title and garnering two All-American honors in the process.

Sapp also set a world record in Italy at the 2024 ISSF Junior World Cup by shooting a perfect 125 out of 125 as a rising junior. This was the first time the record had been achieved in the junior division and tied with the open world record.

But after he was offered a spot on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit this summer, Sapp decided to forego his senior year at Hillsdale to join the unit.

“When I got the call offering me a spot on the team, I was super excited because that’s something that I’ve wanted for the past five or six years,” Sapp said. “So I took that up just immediately. I knew that there was no other question about it, and I had to leave the college because of it.”

The Army Marksmanship Unit was founded in 1956 to promote the U.S. Army’s shooters in competitions worldwide, producing 20 Olympic medal winners to date. According to Sapp, the unit recruits new members to replace those who are leaving and mostly asks for four- to five-year commitments. During this time, members are enlisted soldiers in the U.S. Army and undergo the army’s basic training requirements.

Shotgun head coach Jordan Hintz said while Sapp’s acceptance to the unit was a first for a Hillsdale shooter, it didn’t surprise him that it was Sapp.

“We’ve never had a Hillsdale student on the Army Marksmanship Unit,” Hintz said. “It’s something that pretty much most of the serious Olympic-style competitors are always aiming for. So I’m not really surprised, given Jordan’s background, the success that he’s had, and just how skilled he is in Olympic skeet, that he was offered it.”

While Sapp is moving onto the unit, he said he will miss the shooting team he’s leaving behind in Hillsdale.

“I will miss them a lot because I’ve grown pretty close to them and I think they’ve grown pretty close to me as well,” Sapp said. “I don’t want to leave them, but I have to, and they understand that. I wish I were able to shoot another nationals with them and hopefully win.”

Junior Luke Johnson, who competes on the shooting team, said that while he’ll miss having Sapp on the team, he hopes to see him in the 2028 Olympic Games.

“Everyone reaches a time when they have to move on, and it has come for Jordan,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of the shooter he is and excited to see how he takes advantage of this opportunity.”

Marshall gets coaching from Kelly during match. Courtesy | Findlay Athletic Department

Team sees podium twice in two weeks

By Daniel Johnson Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale shotgun team won overall in the Association of College Unions International and Scholastic Clay Target Program Upper Midwest Championship, Oct. 3-5, and took second at the ACUI/SCTP Central Midwest Championship, Oct. 10-12.

In the Upper Midwest Championship, in Marengo, Ohio, the Chargers won decisively overall, taking first in four out of the six shooting categories and placing second in the other two. In the Central Midwest Championship, in Sparta, Illinois, the Chargers won the Super Sporting division and took third in Sporting Clays and Doubles Skeet.

At Marengo, the shotgun team took first in Doubles Trap, Super Sporting, Doubles Skeet, and American Skeet, placing second in American Trap and Sporting Clays.

in previous seasons.

“We were happy with second place,” Andersen said. “But yeah, we’d won that shoot all three years I’ve been on the team. This is the first year we got second, so it was kind of disappointing to not get first.”

According to Hintz, the team suffered from a lack of members, but came together to overcome the challenge.

“We only had 14 athletes out there out of the 17 currently on the roster, so that put us at a little bit of a disadvantage,” Hintz said. “But you’ve got the people you’ve got, and across the board people stepped up.”

According to Corbin, the Upper Midwest shoot showed encouraging progress in skills the team has been working on.

“Other

than college nationals, this was the biggest intercollegiate shoot of the year.”

Junior Madeline Corbin took first in the women’s division, followed by sophomores Taylor Dale and Marin McKinney, who rounded out the podium for the Chargers. For the men, senior and team captain Leif Andersen took third for the men.

In Sparta, sophomore Luke Johnson took third overall in the men’s division, while Dale and McKinney placed third and fourth in the women’s division. Shotgun competitions are scored on how many targets each shooter hits, with the top five on each team scoring in each event. The team’s score is a combination of the top five scores in each discipline.

According to head coach Jordan Hintz, the Central Midwest Championship was one of the biggest competitions of the year.

“Other than college nationals, this was the biggest intercollegiate shoot of the year,” Hintz said. “Nineteen schools were at the shoot.” Andersen said that the team was happy to take second at the match but had higher hopes after taking first

“It was a confidence booster on most of the disciplines,” Corbin said. “We’ve been working really hard on Sporting Clays and Super Sporting, and, especially in Super Sporting, our scores reflected that.”

According to Hintz, in addition to helping score and place overall, senior Davis Hay, freshman Zach Hinze, and junior Alex Hoffman had impressive individual performances.

“Hay and Hinze both shot a perfect hundred in American Trap,” Hintz said. “Another performance worth highlighting is Hoffman, who shot an 88 on Sporting Clays.” Andersen expressed confidence in the Chargers’ future after both performances.

“Pound for pound, I think we’re the best shooters in the nation,” Andersen said. “But being able to perform when the time comes to perform, I think we need to really buckle down on that.”

Oct. 20-21, the Hillsdale Shotgun team is going to San Antonio, Texas, for the National Sporting Clays Association Nationals.

By Megan Li Features Editor

Senior Hunter Sperling’s football career began with a lie to his coach. After he played a year of tackle football for the first time when he was 7, he decided he was never going to play again. Now, Sperling has been nominated as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy — the “Academic Heisman” award given to student athletes with outstanding football ability and exemplary leadership on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, according to the National Football Foundation website.

“I didn’t find out that I was a semifinalist until Hillsdale released it on X,” Sperling said.

Sperling is a defensive lineman majoring in economics and minoring in finance. He said his nomination as semifinalist is more of a testament to his fellow teammates than it is to him.

“There’s tons of guys on the team who are aspiring medical doctors, aspiring lawyers and still make time to get really good grades at a really good school, but also still make time to focus on football and try to go out there every single game on Saturday,” Sperling said. “There’s a ton of very high-achieving and high characters here that push me to be better and develop every single day.”

Sperling is a two-time recipient of Hillsdale’s President’s Scholar-Athlete Award, a fourtime recipient of Academic AllG-MAC honors, and a 2024 CSC Academic All-District recipient, according to the Chargers press release.

“Our coach always talks about compartmentalizing your life, being able to leave the academics up the hill,” Sperling said. “When you go to practice,

you can’t be thinking about the exam that you have the next day. You’ve got to be totally locked in on what’s going on in practice, and same thing goes for when you’re studying for an exam.”

Sperling’s favorite sport was baseball when he was young.

“At a baseball game, the old football coach who I had the past year asked me if I was playing again, and I was too afraid to tell him no, so I told him that I was playing again,” Sperling said. “Some time had passed, and he asked me, ‘When are you going to sign up?’ ‘I’m signing up soon.’ My parents didn’t want me to be a liar, so I ended up having to play another year, and ended up falling in love with it that second year.”

Sperling attended a small Christian school in Chicago for high school, and he said he knew playing college football would be a different challenge than high school. Sperling was set on a college five minutes from his house, but before committing, he decided to visit Hillsdale, who had reached out to him through email.

“When I was here, meeting the coaching staff, meeting some of the players, I absolutely just fell in love with the place and the emphasis that they put on forming good men, but also Christian men through football, that was something that was super important to me as well,” Sperling said.

Senior left guard Ryan Strasser, who was Sperling’s freshman year roommate, said Sperling has always been “a stand-up guy.”

“For the time that I’ve known him, he’s always been someone who just goes out of his way to make sure that you got everything you need,” Strasser said. “I remember when one of our teammates had something

drastic happen, and he went to go visit them all the way in Wisconsin for something they needed. He’s always been that guy that teammates looked up to.”

Head coach Nate Shreffler, who has known Sperling for the past five years and has coached him for two seasons, said Sperling is respected by everyone associated with the football program.

“His rare combination of size, speed, power, and technique, has allowed him to be a dominant defensive tackle,” Shreffler wrote in his recommendation letter for Sperling to the National Football Foundation. “Hunter’s intelligence, readiness, willingness, toughness and unselfishness have made him into the player he is today.”

Shreffler said Sperling is a natural leader who performs consistently at a very high level and serves as a mentor to his teammates.

“He is a great listener, shows patience, is direct, confident, and has a joyful personality,” Shreffler said. “At the conclusion of our pre-season camp, Hunter’s teammates honored him with the greatest sign of respect by voting him to be one of our team captains this fall and I cannot think of anyone more deserving.”

Strasser said Sperling is not the stereotypical, loud football captain, but his leadership lies in his humility and hard work.

“It’s just the work he puts in that exhibits his leadership around the other guys,” Strasser said. “If a guy messes up, he’ll let him know, but in a way that isn’t gonna shame the other guy.”

Sperling said as hard as Hillsdale is, working through the challenging classes and busy schedule was worth it.

“If anyone has told you that they never felt like they wanted to transfer or quit at some point they're probably lying; it is hard to be successful here, both as a football player and as a student,” Sperling said. “And so if you are feeling those feelings, trust me, you’re not alone, and if you do stick it out, it’ll be one of the greatest decisions you’ve ever made.”

While Sperling’s football career at Hillsdale ended with an ACL injury a few weeks ago, Shreffler said Sperling has not faltered in his responsibilities to the team.

“He is at practice, helps the younger players, travels to the games with the team, and continues to do everything he can to help us be successful,” Shreffler said. “Hunter is everything I could have ever asked for in a captain and his contributions have made Charger Football and Hillsdale College better.”

Swimmers dive into the new season

By Lucy Billings Collegian Freelancer

The Hillsdale women’s swim team kicked off the season by placing third out of five teams at an invitational meet hosted by Oberlin College, Oct. 10-11.

The Chargers wrapped up the meet with 794 points, finishing 332.5 points over the Oberlin College Yeomen and 570 over the Malone University Pioneers. They were defeated by Ashland University, who came in second with 924 points, and Case Western Reserve University, who placed first with 1299.5 points.

According to head coach Kurt Kirner, this meet was about establishing solid base times and remaining competi-

tive in technique.

“From there it was all about coming out saying it was our best effort. Our technique in starts, turns, and glides were above and beyond our opponents,” Kirner said. “Many of our freshmen had stellar performances for their first meet,” Kirner said.

Freshman Avery May placed first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:12:54 and in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:40:32. She also came away with second place in the 1650 free at 18:09:90.

“I knew I was feeling good in the water and that I was prepared,” May said. “I mostly wanted to give my best effort and be intentional about exe-

cuting my details during races.”

Freshman Kate Potwardowski won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09:29 and took second in the 200 IM at 2:16:27.

“I am really pleased with the work that I have been putting in the pool at practice and I think it already started to show at this first meet,” Potwardowski said. “I am looking forward to more fast racing and continuing to fulfill my part for our team.”

Other podium swims this weekend include junior Alyson Early’s second place finish in the 200 freestyle at 2:00:14 and freshman Sasha Babenko’s second place time of 2:08:50 in the 200 backstroke. The Chargers also took second in the 400 Medley relay with 4:01:06.

“All of our swimmers outpaced their seed times, which is a very good sign for this early in the season,” Kirner said. Performances at the meet rallied team spirit and left swimmers with increased drive and optimism.

“The team was amazing during the meet,” May said. “I loved how encouraging and uplifting everyone was. We were constantly congratulating each other after races.The meet gave me things to work on and motivation to keep up the hard work.”

The team is competing against Lindsey Wilson University and North Central College at Bethel University in Elkhart, Indiana, Oct. 25.

If you could invite any three people, living or dead, to Thanksgiving dinner, who would you choose, and why?

Jesus, he died for my sins and it would be nice to get to know him personally. My friend Andrew Polcik, he's always been a good friend of mine and I don't get to see him as often now that we are both in college. Elvis, because I ran out of people; it would mean a lot to my Grandma.

What is the fastest animal you could beat in a race?

In terms of speed, a turtle. For distance, anything but an Alaskan sled dog.

If you’re on a road trip and you stop at a gas station, what drink and snack are you getting?

AriZona Energy iced tea, Millville Chewy Dipped granola bar. I can get close to 500 calories in for less than $2.

Do you have any superstitious habits or routines before running?

I like to listen to certain songs and reread certain passages that help me keep my eyes on what is important, which is God's kingdom and his purpose for our lives.

Compiled by Robert Matteson

Photo Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

Sperling during a game for the Chargers.

Courtesy | Hunter Sperling

C harger S port S

Three sweeps in four games

By Grace Brennan Assistant Editor

The Hillsdale volleyball team swept both its games in Kentucky, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan College and Thomas More University Oct. 3-4. The following week the Chargers suffered a 3-0 defeat from rival University of Findlay Oct. 10 but beat Tiffin University the next day to place them 6-7 overall and 4-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

The Chargers won all three sets against Kentucky Wesleyan. Starting slow in the first set, they eventually got to an 11-5 lead, fighting their way to a 25-18 victory. In the second set, the Chargers trailed at the start but rallied to a 25-21 win. The third set was tight the whole way through, each team trading the lead until the Panthers had a 23-22 advantage. But the Chargers took over the match at the very end with three straight points, including back-to-back kills from senior Adi Sysum, ending the game 25-23.

Defeating Thomas More in a 25-18, 25-16, 25-23 victory gave Hillsdale their third win in a row and handed the Saints their first loss in the G-MAC this season.

Maddie Kanclerz said Findlay has been Hillsdale’s biggest rival since entering the G-MAC and is always a tough team to play. According to Kanclerz, this weekend's game against Findlay exposed the way Hillsdale receives the other team's serves.

“They did a great job of exploiting some of our weaknesses or things that we're working on,” Kanclerz said. “So they gave us a lot of opportunities to work on those things. For example, they are a super tough serving team, so they went after our serve receive — and we did okay with it — but it gave us a great opportunity to work on that and exemplify that.”

To end the weekend, the Chargers swept Tiffin in a 2522, 25-19, 25-21 victory. The Chargers were trailing 9-4 in the first set but seized control with eight kills from Fles, and sophomore Caroline Lanicek gave them their 25-22 set victory with four kills. In the second set, the Chargers never trailed past a 1-1 tie, ending with a 2519 victory. The Chargers had control over the majority of the third set with 20 kills, winning the set 25-21.

“We were playing together as one unit, which is what we have been emphasizing.”

During the game against the Saints, the Chargers benefited from the return of sophomore Ellie Fles, who had been off the court since their opening game against Anderson University. Fles led Hillsdale with 11 kills and 10 digs against the Saints.

“Last weekend it felt really good to be back out on the court again,” Fles said. “I wanted to take aggressive swings on the balls my teammates set up for me and that paid off.”

According to junior Emory Braswell, the Chargers played well as a team during their weekend in Kentucky.

“The energy in Kentucky was great,” Braswell said. “We were playing together as one unit, which is what we have been emphasizing. Everyone took care of their job, and although we did get in a couple of ruts, we were able to recover quickly and finish both games in three sets.”

The University of Findlay, now ranked 25th in Division II, defeated Hillsdale 3-0. The Chargers put up a tough fight in their home court but couldn’t keep up with the Oilers offense, losing the first set 25-15, the second set 25-17, and the third set 25-22.

Assistant volleyball coach

Fles got Hillsdale 21 kills throughout the match, along with 13 digs and two service aces. Lanicek chipped in nine kills, and Sysum added eight kills.

Fles said that the Chargers’ loss against Findlay made the team more dedicated to win the next game.

“I think our loss on Friday made us even more hungry to play and get a win on Saturday for each other,” Fles said.

Head coach Chris Gravel said the Chargers are excited to play opponents that aren't in the same conference, and are going to work hard to face them in the upcoming weekend.

“We’re gonna work hard,” Gravel said. “We’ve got our opponents, and they’re not in our conference so we’re going to watch some film on them, and then get better as a team.”

The Chargers will take on the University of Missouri - St. Louis and Wayne State University Oct. 17, as well as an opponent yet to be announced Oct. 18. Both teams on Saturday are in a different conference than Hillsdale with Missouri in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and Wayne State in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Hillsdale sustains a pair of losses

By Christian Papillon Assistant Editor

The Hillsdale football team suffered a 28-21 loss against Tiffin University Oct. 4 and a 16-14 loss against the No. 16 University of Findlay Oct. 11, moving its season record to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

“Our defense has been solid and playing hard all year,” head coach Nate Shreffler said. “We’ve had some guys step up and fill the voids created by some injuries, and the young players are getting better each week with the increased reps.”

Against Tiffin, the Chargers entered the second half with a 21-14 lead before allowing two quick touchdowns to the Dragons in the third quarter, both on long passes.

On their final drive of the game, the Chargers marched the ball as far as the Tiffin 17-yard line before the Dragons’ defense forced a turnover on downs.

“As a team, we have been through adversity,” sophomore quarterback Colin McKernan said. “We’ve been put in situations that we have learned from and have grown from. I’d say as a whole, we are playing good football.”

The game also featured an 86-yard kickoff return

touchdown by junior receiver Shea Ruddy.

“The kick returns that are most successful for us require extreme attention to detail and understanding of the scheme by everyone on the unit,” Ruddy said. “Once everyone understands it, it then takes great execution and extra effort. Returning a kick is not easy so we take great pride in it.”

After Findlay scored a touchdown on its first possession of the game, the Chargers answered with a touchdown of their own on a 58-yard run by freshman tailback Ben Ngishu.

Findlay led 16-7 at the half, but the Chargers scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter when junior defensive

back Colin Morrow recovered a fumble in the endzone.

Hillsdale had a chance to take the lead with 3:42 left on the clock after marching the ball to the Oilers’ 4-yard line but missed the 21-yard field goal attempt, allowing Findlay to run out the clock.

“We know we have the talent to beat good teams, but we just need to be able to play 60 minutes in all phases,” Ruddy said. “We know that we can win out the rest of the season. It will require great discipline, though.”

Shreffler said the team is maintaining a positive mindset heading into the second half of the season.

“The team isn’t letting the

outcome of one game affect the next and we are preparing and playing with outstanding effort,” Shreffler said. “It’s important to them and they care about each other – you can see that in how they play.”

McKernan said he is excited for the second half of the season.

“We are looking to come together and play some high level ball at the end of the year,” McKernan said. “I’m looking forward to playing in Muddy Waters, and with this team for the last few games.”

The Chargers will return home to play Northwood University Oct. 18.

Action Shooting

Chargers triumph, support veterans

By Christian Papillon Assistant Editor

Hillsdale action shooting team athletes fought through injuries and setbacks for individual placements at a sectional match in Indiana Oct. 5. Outside of competition, four athletes attended a veterans fundraiser in North Carolina.

The Chargers competed in the Limited, Limited Optic, and Open categories at the Indiana Sectional, a United States Practical Shooting Association match, Oct. 5.

Freshman William Grohs took first in the Limited Division, followed by juniors Clara Bozzay and Jianna Coppola in fifth and sixth respectively.

In the Limited Optic Division, in which competitors have extra sights on their guns, junior and team captain John Beecher placed 20th, followed by U.S. Army veteran and senior Joseph Grohs in 22nd.

According to Beecher, the team didn’t get every result it wanted but showed consistent resilience.

“Even though I think a lot of us were disappointed in how we shot, we had a lot of things that we did really well,” Beecher said. “The way the team responded camaraderie-wise, attitude-wise, was pretty impressive.”

Team captain and junior Kayla Mullin placed 21st in the Open Division, though she normally competes in the Limited Division.

“They did an equipment check and found that one of my magazines was too long,” Mullin said.

Despite this and other unexpected challenges, Mullin said the competition showcased the team’s mental toughness through adversity.

“Something that was unique about this one was that the stages were really long,” Mullin said. “But I was really proud of how the team handled themselves, even just mentally staying focused for the entire day.”

Coppola added that Mullin and Bozzay stayed focused despite injuries. According to Coppola, Mullin’s forearm ligaments were hurt and Bozzay’s

foot was in a boot.

A week later, four action shooting athletes traveled to Gryphon Group Security Solutions in Maxton, North Carolina to attend the Memorial Valor Foundation’s eight annual Memorial 3 Gun competition Oct. 10-12.

Joseph Grohs, a team member and U.S. army veteran, shot at the fundraiser, while the other three athletes volunteered.

According to Grohs, Memorial Valor honors several veterans with a ceremony each year before giving money to their families. This ceremony is accompanied by a fundraising shoot and a variety of family-friendly activities.

“The whole thing is about remembering the fallen, honoring them,” Grohs said. “They’ll honor ten people each year. Every year they raise $100,000 to give $10,000 to each of the honorees.”

Grohs said that the foundation supports Gold Star families after government support slackens.

“This foundation fills a large

gap that’s needed to be filled for some time,” Grohs said. “Overall you’ll have about two months where they get all the resources thrown at them, and then it just seems like they fade into the background.”

Grohs added that the Gold Star Family Shoot off allowed active-duty military personnel and other supporters to engage in friendly competition alongside Gold Star family members.

“They’ll pick one person to represent the family, then they’ll pick two of the competent competitors to shoot with them,” Grohs said. The action shooting team partners with Memorial Valor to support both programs, Grohs said.

“There’s about a two hour ceremony at the end, where, if the families are there, they’ll come up with a speech about their brother, son, or husband,” Grohs said. “It’s very powerful. There’s not a single dry eye in the whole building.”

Action shooting competes next at the Georgia State Championship from Oct. 15-19.

Freshman Ben Ngishu flips over Findlay player during Oct. 11 game.

Courtesy | University of Findlay Athletic Department

Culture

Scrapbooking: Memories on paper, not online

By Elaine Kutas

Pinterest girls will know: scrapbooking, junk journaling, bullet journaling, and any form of physical crafty media are making a comeback as popular forms of creative expression.

“The first time I made a scrapbook was my junior year of high school,” junior Jacqueline Roth said. “I wanted to make a nice gift for my friend to show I really appreciated her. I loved it because it was so fun to figure out how to put things together in such a unique way that’s not a normal

To her, making the physical scrapbook is more important than just having photos on a phone to look back at.

“I always have loved physical copies of things and I think there’s something really special about seeing photos outside of a screen. With a scrapbook, you can try and capture what

In an effort to keep memories from becoming just a photo lost in an Instagram feed, many people, specifically young women, have returned to the time-consuming art of scrapbooking.

card or photo album since you can combine a whole bunch of different elements.” Roth said she is finishing a scrapbook of high school memories and plans to make one to reflect her college years.

the event was like, the different funny moments or quotes, or the overall ambiance of the whole experience with the pictures and paper and stickers that you can bring into it,” Roth said. “It adds a whole

other level of appreciation for the event that you can look back and remember it and how it felt.”

Junior Kayla Mullins took her step into creative journaling with bullet journaling during the coronavirus shutdown and hopes to lean into another method of memorabilia collecting: junk journaling.

Bullet journaling involves creating a planner in which a crafter can include schedules, lists, calendars, and reminders, with the freedom to be as maximalist with designs and styles or as minimalistic as the creator wants. Junk journaling is similar, but this practice is much less structured, providing an outlet for the crafter to add any “junk” they want into a journal to document important moments in their lives.

“I’m very type A and love being organized and having my planner,” Mullins said. “Bullet journaling was such a fun way to make it pretty and be artistic about it, too. For junk journaling, I’m very sentimental, and I hate throwing things away, so I think it would be super fun to have a diary, but of my semester with receipts and concert tickets, and things like that. I save everything I can.”

Scrapbooking and junk journaling provide a creative

outlet that can be as structured or randomized as the creator wants and can be an outlet to preserve little scraps of memories. Mullins keeps confetti from a Forrest Frank concert she attended in the back of her phone case in hopes of adding it to her junk journal someday.

Junior Elizabeth Schlueter said she made a scrapbook this summer for the first time to remember her study abroad experience in a way that seemed more special than just looking at the photos on her phone.

“Scrapbooks enable us to relive beautiful moments in a beautifully rich way that social media simply cannot compare,” Schlueter said. “As I was going through my photos from Rome and Poland, I found myself reliving random moments with friends, encounters with God in prayer, and mundane moments that aren’t captured by merely looking at a picture on Instagram. There’s simply something about having the photos printed out that makes the memories come alive in a different way.”

Mullins said the fact that the spreads are physical adds to the importance of creating something like a scrapbook or junk journal.

“I just like the fact that it’s permanent,” Mullins said. “You

can’t decide: I don’t like that picture anymore, I’m gonna go delete it. It’s a snapshot of your actual life at that point and what you enjoyed.” Roth said scrapbooking and junk journaling are accessible to anyone with a desire for a creative outlet.

“I totally think anyone could pick this up,” Roth said. “The wonderful thing about scrapbooking is that it’s not a cookie-cutter way of doing something because everyone has some form of creative expression, and applies it in a way that is meaningful to them or their lives. They can just portray the way that event in their life was to them, living it on paper so that they can look back or show other people, and it’s kind of like a little snapshot into their life.”

Schlueter said the time commitment is worth the result and thinks everyone should try this hobby.

“Scrapbooking takes time, but that’s what makes it so meaningful,” Schlueter said. “It offers you an opportunity to dive back into an experience, relive and process it, and then create something beautiful that you can use to share and relive your experience with others. Plus, it’s also a lot of fun.”

By Martha Kennedy Collegian Repo Rte R

Changing leaves, Meckley’s trips, pumpkin muffins and wool sweaters — this is Hillsdale in the fall. Naturally, weekend movie nights must follow suit.

When I arrived on campus freshman year, I had hardly seen any of the fall classics, so my friends set out to remedy it. The remedy came in the form of baked goods, piles of blankets, a makeshift sheet and projector setup, and too many friends crammed into a 9x13 room in Olds Residence, ready to conquer the ever-expanding list of fall movies. We’ve kept this tradition and list with us every fall, returning to our favorites, and constantly adding new movies that capture the season on film.

Some movies on the list are autumnal simply because they are set in autumn, but others fit the category because of their color scheme, academic aura, spookyness, fashion, and overall warmth. And of course bonus points if they star Meg Ryan or Robin Williams.

Our tried and true favorite is “The Dead Poets Society.” This is perhaps the most quintessential fall movie with its dark portrayal of academia, fall colors, and a haunting, yet inspiring, story.

A Hillsdale College student is honorable in conduct, honest in word and deed and has

probably compared Hillsdale in the fall to the aesthetics of this movie at least once during their time here.

“Good Will Hunting” is another classic that stars Robin Williams in the role of a mentor.

The story follows the self-discovery of Massachusetts Institute of Technology janitor and genius, Will Hunting (Matt Damon), under the guidance of therapist Sean Maguire (Williams). While this movie is a must watch at any time of year, the cold Boston streets, wood-paneled studies, and bittersweet story add to its appeal for any fall movie night.

But not all fall movies must embrace academia and the gloom of fall. “When Harry Met Sally” combines classic ’90s rom-com elements with the fall foliage of New York City. The main characters, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), navigate the question of whether men and women can be friends, often while wandering through the leaf-covered streets. Crystal’s comedic timing makes this the perfect lighthearted choice while the wool blazars, corduroy pants, and knit sweaters add

a warm, cozy atmosphere.

If you’re looking for cozy bookstores, coffee shops, red scarves, and a little bit of comedic mystery, “You’ve Got Mail” is another perfect fall rom-com. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks star in this modern rendition of the timeless Christmas movie “The Shop Around the Cor-

tures of the March girls — Meg (Emma Watson), Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Beth (Eliza Scanlen) and Amy (Florence Pugh) — through all seasons, but the fall is especially aesthetic. The New England landscape and homey scenes around crackling fires makes it a great choice for when you want a cheery com-

ner.” However this ’90s remake strays from the black and white, leaning into browns, oranges and the warmth of fall, making it a great choice to watch with friends on a chilly evening.

The 2019 version of “Little Women” is a fall family favorite. The story follows the adven-

fort movie — unless, of course, you think the romantic pairings at the end place it closer to a tragedy.

Another fall essential that is best watched with baking and blankets is “The Princess Bride.” In this classic adventure, Billy Crystal makes a re-

turn as the comedic character of Miracle Max but trades his wool sweaters for the garb of a medieval peasant. Perhaps even more autumnal than New York City are the adventures of Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes) across chilly seas, rolling hills, and colorful landscapes. This story of true love and comedic gold is the perfect blend of whimsy and warmth, making a great movie for any cozy movie night. In the spirit of football season, “Remember the Titans” is another must-watch. The inspiring story, which was based on the true story of integration in a football team in the South, is an incredible choice for sports lovers and non-sports lovers alike. Watching the team’s intense early morning practices will give any Hillsdale freshman the motivation to conquer the fall semester orientation cadence run. If you’re looking for a fall movie with a bit of mystery and intrigue, “Knives Out” is an excellent choice. As someone who gets jumpscares from Pixar movies, this classic who-

dunit movie is the closest thing to a horror movie on this list. Perhaps it is the spooky mystery in an old mansion, or the dark leather and wood, but this movie pairs excellently with the smell of cinnamon or pumpkin baked goods.

If you’re looking for a study break this fall, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is the essence of fall delivered in the form of a 25-minute childhood classic. If you’re the type of person to celebrate Christmas before Halloween, consider taking a lesson from Linus and asking for presents from the Great Pumpkin instead of Santa. No list of fall essentials would be complete without mentioning “Gilmore Girls.” The show combines preppy academia with rustic coffee shops and a sweet mother-daughter relationship. If you’re craving another cozy study break this fall, the hour-long episodes are perfect instead of committing to a movie. Also, if you’re wondering where most of the guys on campus get inspiration for their outfits, Luke’s signature backwards hat and flannel may be the source.

This weekend, whether you’re returning to a favorite or watching a classic for the first time, embrace the season, light a candle, bake some pumpkin muffins, and settle down with a blanket, friends, and some of these classic fall movies.

Spo Rt S e dito R

Junior Jacqueline Roth keeps a scrapbook of high school memories. Courtesy | Jacqueline Roth

Sophomore Katie Kennedy, and juniors Martha Kennedy and Evelyn Shurtliff watch “When Harry Met Sally.” Elaine Kutas | Collegian

The D4vd controversy: Can we separate the art from the artist?

By Lauren Bixler assistant editoR

I’ve listened to his music before — you can probably still find it in a few of my old playlists. But his song “Romantic Homicide” has taken on a whole new meaning after his 15-year-old alleged ex-girlfriend was found dead Sept. 8 in the front trunk of an impounded Tesla registered to him.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there is no official link between 20-year-old David Anthony Burke, also known by his musician name, “D4vd,” and Celeste Rivas Hernandez. But down the internet rabbit hole, sites like the New York Post and LA Times have reported connections between the two.

The first of these connections is one of D4vd’s unfinished tracks which leaked on Soundcloud in December 2023. In the song, titled “Celeste_Demo unfin,” D4vd professes his love for a woman named Celeste — the name of the victim. The two also allegedly had matching tattoos.

This all raises two important questions: Can we separate art from the artist, and can we ignore or repurpose the meaning behind songs which might be morally questionable?

Boycotting music because it does not uplift our spirits is a much different question than boycotting the music of someone known for committing

heinous actions. There should be a clear distinction.

Even though there is no official link between him and Hernandez, he is still involved in this case, and that should turn us away from consuming his music.

D4vd wrote “Romantic Homicide” three years ago. Now, it is his No. 1 listened to song on Spotify, with more than 1.7 billion streams. For comparison, Britney Spears’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time” has around 1.2 billion streams, and that’s over a time span of 26 years. This demarks some kind of cultural significance.

The music video for the song depicts a young woman in a white dress on a white bed with blood splattered on and around her. During that scene, he sings, “In the back of my mind, I killed you / And I didn’t even regret it / I can’t believe I said it / But it’s true / I hate you.”

In a 2022 interview, D4vd said people on the internet have provided meaning for those lines — the thing being killed could be a past self or an addiction. But he did not explicitly say that was his interpretation of the lyrics. He just stressed that the killing done was not actualized.

“It’s all in the mind, because that’s the most secure place you can be,” D4vd said. “So if you can expel that thought from your mind, then everything else will just come together.”

The potential ambiguity of this song, however, is made more perplexing by the fictional lore behind D4vd’s storytelling. Such as, “IT4MI,” a character who serves as an antagonist alter-ego. D4vd first described this alter-ego in a 2023 YouTube video.

“The character you see here today is named ‘Itami’ which means pain in Japanese,” D4vd wrote in the video’s description. “He wears a blindfold for the sole purpose of not being held accountable for the pain he causes.”

Read in context of the Hernandez situation, the character known for causing pain and being blind to the pain he causes, poses a unique juxtaposition against the theme of a romantic homicide. In fact, the character of “IT4MI” was featured in the music video for “Romantic Homicide,” depicted as a blindfolded D4vd standing over the bloodied body of a young woman. This juxtaposition should feel unsettling.

Music cannot be wholly separated from the musician because their mind and spirit are written into the notes and lines. Depending on the settlement of the Hernandez case, this character could be more than just a character.

Music brings us together, and can be the center of community. Sometimes a slightly scandalous song like “Baby Got Back” can speak more to the everyday human

experience than Beethoven. The words you sing do matter, and you should pay attention to them, but sometimes it is okay to just dance to the beat and have fun with it. There is a line, though. Cardi B, in the overtly pornographic music video for her song “WAP.” Lil Nas X, when he lap dances on the “Devil” during the music video for his song “MONTERO.” How can you unsee that? How can you listen to that the same way and claim it is enjoyable? We would need to become so disconnected from reality and ourselves to deem

such a thing worthy of our time and ears. In the case of D4vd’s “Romantic Homicide,” that line cannot be fully drawn yet. If, like he pointed out, the “death” and “killing” in the song represent the letting go of a past self, addiction, or mistake, the message could be potentially beautiful. But that would be an overly romanticized reading of the lines. The title of the song, and the images he depicts in the songwriting and music video, are much more violent. The blindfolded “IT4MI,” who D4vd says is “not being held

This week in reviews...

Swift returns to pop in new album

By Martha Kennedy Collegian RepoRteR

Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” features shallow lyrics but delivers some catchy tunes for those hoping to expand a “songs to sing in the car” playlist.

Swift’s 12th album comes on the heels of her Eras Tour, the highest-grossing tour of all time, and her engagement to tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. It also arrives a little over a year after her 11th album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department.”

Swift co-produced this album with Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster, professionally known as Shellback, with whom she worked on some of her greatest hits like “Shake it Off,” “Blank Space,” and “22.” To those who were hoping that “The Life of a Showgirl” would continue the lyricism of “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” prepare for disappointment. Lyrics like “a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse” and “Everybody’s so punk on the internet… / Every joke’s just trolling and memes” often feel forced and cheesy rather than beautiful and poetic.

ments, including the album cover, the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia,” and songs like “Wood.” And unfortunately, even the more wholesome songs on the album feel lyrically limited. However, the overall message of the album shows a more wholesome interior to the showgirl’s life, delivered through fun, upbeat music.

The first track of the album, “The Fate of Ophelia,” encompasses the transition from the melancholic poet to the life of a showgirl, beginning with soft piano but fading into upbeat

nerable on her albums, continues this theme. In “Eldest Daughter,” Swift sings about her commitment to the vow of marriage. She confesses, “When I said I don’t believe in marriage / That was a lie,” because, as she sings later, “I thought that I’d never find that.”

In “Wi$h Li$t” Swift sings about wanting love rather than the coveted Hollywood lifestyle: “I just want you, / Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you.” While she sings about this desire through upbeat music surrounded by fun, flirty lyrics, the underlying message is less “showgirl” and more “homebody.”

In a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Swift described “The Life of a Showgirl” as the opposite side of her persona from her previous album.

“[The Tortured Poet’s Department] was the character of the poet and this I wanted to be the character of the showgirl, which is other aspects of a person’s personality where you’re funny, feisty, having a blast, flirty, sort of tongue-incheek and a little scandalous,” Swift said.

The album has plenty of scandalous and raunchy mo-

synth. Swift sings, “And if you’d never come for me / I might’ve drowned in the melancholy.” Saved from her melancholic era by a happy relationship, Swift enters the era of a showgirl.

But in the next track, “Elizabeth Taylor,” Swift discusses the disconnect between the glamorous side of her life and wanting to find happiness with another person. Swift muses: “oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me” after a series of ruined relationships. She sings, “Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it’s forever? / In the papers, on the screen, and in their minds,” seemingly addressing the speculations that marriage in stardom doesn’t last.

The fifth track, which is known for being the most vul-

Yet, the album is still about the life of a showgirl, and that is especially evident in the lack of songs that the majority of her fan base can relate to. Even love songs like “Honey” and “Wi$h Li$t” are framed in the context of her extreme stardom.

Swift has always written songs about her personal experiences, but in her earlier days of fame, that experience was more similar to her fan base’s experiences. But in this album, it is almost impossible to separate the singer and her music. Now, friends who were once high school classmates become “cloaked in Gucci and in scandal” in her song “CANCELLED!”

Despite what seems to be a lyrical disconnect, “The Life of a Showgirl” is thematically and musically cohesive. Perhaps, as Swift sings in the album’s title track, “[we] don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe / And [we’re] never, ever gonna.” But Swift’s newest album gives listeners a glimpse into the life behind the sequins while also delivering a few bops along the way.

accountable for the pain he causes,” is standing over the girl’s dead body in the video. These are pungent images, and even more so if D4vd is found guilty in connection to Hernandez’s death. If D4vd is guilty of romantic homicide, which was committed in real life instead of the mind, we cannot give airtime to any music connected with his spirit. You cannot divorce a song like that from its implications, nor the rest of the artist from the musician. For now, the jury is still out and onlytime will reveal the verdict.

‘The Smashing Machine’ fails

By Caroline Kurt o pinions e dito R

“Show, don’t tell,” is the basic rule of high school creative writing. Unfortunately for A24’s latest drama, it also applies to cinema.

Posters for “The Smashing Machine,” directed by Benny Safdie, sell the movie as an emotionally powerful and unforgettable story. The biopic follows the career of Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson), a mixed martial arts fighter who becomes addicted to opioids.

“Winning is the best thing there is,” Kerr proclaims while smashing an opponent’s head into the ground to a peppy soundtrack. He relishes the fact he has never lost a match, so much so that Kerr describes winning as a “high” and draws a blank when a reporter asks him to imagine losing. The setup is promising: the eerie contrast of smiling music and a smiling man with the black havoc which bubbles just out of frame. Yet the execution falls flat, and more’s the pity.

constantly choppy lines are less of an intentional artistic choice and more the fault of poor scriptwriters.

Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) is the worst character of all.

A longtime friend and trainer of Kerr, Coleman goes on to fight him professionally, while allegedly maintaining their friendship. Though the audience is told numerous times this is the case, we see very little to prove a deep bond remains between the two men. On paper, Coleman gets some of the

Kerr and Staples instead feels rushed and cumbersome, simply because the audience hasn’t had time or reason to start to love them.

Some of the best-executed moments in the film occur as the couple spirals together. Staples is a master manipulator, her machinations fascinating, if not pleasing, to watch. “Just get over it,” she tells Kerr, dismissing a major loss for him. He punches back — or rather, doesn’t, by instead shutting Staples out of his life, though he is all she has.

Set in the ’90s and early 2000s, the story alternates between Phoenix, Arizona, where Kerr resides, and moody Tokyo, Japan, where he spars in an early version of UFC tournaments. As one might expect from an A24 film, the cinematography is beautiful: smart angles, masterful color grading, and a sensitivity to time and place. Yet even the best cinematography cannot make up for a bad script and poor acting.

At first, the flat and stilted dialogue feels appropriate to a film about an unmentionable problem in a sport with brain damage. But only five minutes in, it becomes apparent that the

most touching moments in the film, but the acting and the script leave the audience with furrowed brows rather than teary eyes.

The audience gets just a brief glimpse of a family scene with Coleman, his wife, and his young kids. Even a minute or two with the Colemans could present an enchanting, alternate vision of life as a fighter akin to “The Cinderella Man,” while the intentionally childless Kerr spirals out of control.

Though Emily Blunt’s acting is notably better than Bader’s, her character, Dawn Staples, is also a disappointment. What could be a pivotal, heartbreaking scene in the movie between

The ending sequence raises more questions than it answers, particularly when the plot jumps from a major fracture between Staples and Kerr to their “happy ending” without giving any clue as to the growth and forgiveness they undertook.

The project “The Smashing Machine” embarks upon is a worthy one. Sports dramas become cliche when they give the impression that winning is “all there is,” as Johnson puts it. The film starts where most dramas like it end — with victory — and ends where most start — with a kind of loss. But to successfully subvert this genre, the movie needs an interior drama with enough clarity and depth to be compelling. Here Safdie fails.

We need good films that do what “The Smashing Machine” attempted: remind us that the highest-performing bodies in fact have souls, and to neglect one is to soon ruin the other. A24 is capable of truly powerful sports dramas, as director Sean Durkin proved with “The Iron Claw” in 2023. But “The Smashing Machine,” true to its title, stays at the level of clanky mechanics.

Some have drawn links between the murder and D4vd’s song “Romantic Homicide.” Courtesy | Spotify

The poster for “The Smashing Machine.” Courtesy | IMDb

“The Life of a Showgirl” is more pop than poetry. Courtesy | Taylor Swift’s Instagram

features

Galloway men in the trenches: Volunteers restore historic park

By Anna Northcutt Collegian Reporter

During the homecoming season, you may find groups of Hillsdale students all over town accumulating service hours. This year, a horde of 40 Galloway residents honored the history of Hillsdale by cleaning up Mrs. Stock’s Park.

“It was almost 150 yards of trench that we cleaned out,” said sophomore Benjamin Roche, a Galloway resident assistant who oversaw the project. “The trench was 20 feet wide, so it ended up being a lot larger of a project than we were expecting it to be.”

Galloway discovered the opportunity through Nathan More, a freshman who does part-time maintenance at the park.

“Even if I took a couple summers, I wouldn’t have been able to do half the job we’re able to do in a day,” More said.

The students also picked up trash, trimmed back foliage around the park fences, and completed various other small jobs, More said.

“All the Galloway guys loved the projects,” More said. “They kind of adopted the park, and they’re like, ‘Hey, we want to come back here. If we’ve got more service hours, we’ll come back here and make the park look nicer.’ They all loved Mrs. Miller, and we all wanted to help.” Dianne Miller, master gardener for the park and member of the Hillsdale Garden Club, said the family who originally cultivated Stock’s Park also operated Stock’s Mill, located just across the street. Before Wilhelmina Stock transformed the park, it was little more than a swampland, according to the Hillsdale Historical Society.

“Mrs. Stock got busy and hired gardeners and cleaned it up,” Miller said. “The plant-

ings and the trees and such were sent over from England. Now there’s just one pond, but I think originally there were five.”

“You couldn’t stand here at the front entrance and see the back of the park,” Miller said. “It was overgrown with shrubs.”

“The Garden Club was just a social club of people that were interested in gardening,” Miller said. “They got together and drank tea and ate cookies,

As time went on, however, the mill transferred ownership, and the park once again fell into a state of neglect.

The Mill Race, a long trench that used to be filled with water in case of fire in the mill, gradually became overgrown.

The town used to sponsor boat races through the Mill Race, More said.

“That was a big town thing, After that all died off, it just got overgrown,” More said.

“The Mill Race became a trash pile for anybody who lived on Broad Street.”

Miller said she remembers the park as being open to the public but very neglected when she and her husband came to Hillsdale in the early 1970s.

In 2003, the Hillsdale City Council approved the formation of a committee to restore the park, according to the Hillsdale Historical Society.

“I got interested because I like gardening and wanted to see some plantings done,” Miller said.

Miller said she became interested in gardening because of her father.

“We had a garden when I was a kid, and I was my dad’s shadow. I was always with my father, following him around. After working all day, he would tend to a garden,” Miller said.

At the time of Stock’s Park’s restoration, Miller said she recruited the local Garden Club to help her.

ing, and trying to maintain the park’s beauty, Miller said.

Miller said the city pays for mowing, but much of the rest of the park — such as the stones lining the flowerbeds, the spacious gazebo in which free concerts take place during the summer, or many of the trees and flowers — was funded through private donations and organized by people such as Miller and the Garden Club.

Unfortunately, More said, Miller and a few other dedicated women without many resources for manual labor mainly care for the park.

“Mrs. Miller was giving me a tour of the grounds, and she was like, ‘Yeah, here’s this little pile of bark dust that needs to be moved, or here’s this other thing. And then I was looking

and I said, ‘I got a project for you.’”

Today, the Garden Club still meets in the park for several hours every sunny Thursday morning, weeding, plant-

Don’t mess with Texas — even in Hillsdale, Michigan

By Robert Matteson Collegian Reporter

Austin Gergens ’21 does not ride a horse to work. He never played football under the Texas Friday night lights. He does not even have “Texas” on his birth certificate. But he sports boots, a jacket, and a bolo tie every Tuesday and encourages others to do the same.

Gergens, now a second-year graduate student in the Masters of Arts in Classical Education program, gained an appreciation for the culture of the Lone Star State when he taught at a charter school in Texas for a year before returning to Hillsdale. When Gergens returned to Hillsdale, he wanted to bring a bit of the Lone Star State back with him.

“The summers are pretty brutal, but the barbecue is very good, and the people are very good as well,” Gergens said. “There’s definitely a distinct ethos to Texans that was fun to be around.”

Gergens began the phenomenon that has come to be known as “Texas Tuesday” last fall.

“I really enjoyed my time in Texas and thought it would be fun to transplant that in a certain context,” Gergens said. “So, I started dressing as yeehaw as I could on Tuesdays.”

He began dressing like a cowboy, spreading the word, and passing out Texas pins.

“Pretty early on, my gradu-

ate cohort caught on and was like, yeah, it’s Texas Tuesday,” Gergens said.

Kevin Franco, a second-year master’s student in the MACE program, refers to Gergens as “the sheriff.”

“On my jacket, I don one of the multiple Texas Tuesday lapel pins, available as designated and distributed solely by the sheriff,” Franco said.

The participants who sport Texas Tuesday attire stand out on campus.

paid special attention to his scorpion bolo tie.

“My sixth graders were kind of scared of the scorpion one, so it was kind of fun to deploy it from time to time,” Gergens said.

Texas Tuesday has also caught the attention of Josh Underwood, a junior and founder of the Lone Star Society, a student club started last year. Though the Lone Star Society and Texas Tuesday are two separate initiatives, Un-

“I wish you could also have a revolver, but sadly, we’re not in Texas.”

“Men usually sport a pin and a coat,” Gergens said. “Ladies sometimes wear a coat with the pin, but often wear some sort of summer dress. Boots are usually sported by all.”

Gergens also has a collection of bolo ties that he rotates through to top off his Texas Tuesday outfit.

“I have a raccoon one, a couple that have a giant ‘A’ or a giant ‘G’, a turquoise one, but the scorpion one is my favorite,” Gergens said. The scorpion bolo tie that has been passed down through Gergens’ family is one in particular that people are not used to seeing every day. Even Gergens’ students in Texas

derwood participates in both because they share similar values.

“Texas Tuesday is about importing the culture we love up north and then immediately sharing it with others in simple things like pins, clothing, boots,” Underwood said. “It’s an easy way to show state pride. That’s why we started the Lone Star Society in the first place.”

While it appears as a dressup day to outsiders, the Texas pride that flows on Tuesdays breeds resilience within its participants, according to Franco.

“Tuesdays are usually my busiest day, and the knowledge that every Tuesday is

Texas Tuesday, however trivial it may seem to the non-adherent, instills me with a degree of delight and purpose that affords me the resilience to meet the trials of an otherwise daunting second day of the week,” Franco said.

Professors too have begun to take part in Texas Tuesday.

Assistant Professor of Education Timothy Green even thinks that the college could do more to support the movement in the spirit of Texas.

“If we really want to commit, I think the college should arrange to serve Blue Bell Ice Cream from Brenham, Texas — the best ice cream in the country — in the cafeteria every Tuesday,” Green said.

“Furthermore, on Tuesdays, all professors should allow students to use the word ‘y’all’ in class and in their written work as well.”

The Blue Bell, the boots, the belt buckles, Buc-ee’s, and the bolo ties all contribute to the Texas pride that Gergens said is very real.

“Especially being here, I’d never encountered state pride, but then I moved to Texas, and it was like, oh, this is a whole different volume of state pride,” Gergens said.

Texas Tuesday is something Gergens plans to take with him post-Hillsdale, and he hopes it continues at the college long after he is gone.

“And I wish you could also have a revolver, but sadly, we’re not in Texas,” Gergens said.

and a lot of invasive plants.”

Roche said it was special to see how many people appreciated the work he and his fellow students were doing.

“There were a couple of elderly people in the community that obviously spent time in the park and were bothered that the Mill Race was overgrown,” Roche said. “They had probably been around long enough to where they had seen it clean, maybe not working, but at least clean.”

More said his most memorable interaction was when he asked Miller to come check in on their progress.

“Looking at her face and seeing the feeling of relief and surprise at what could be done when she has to work so hard each week with the small crew and the tools she has to do a little bit each day — it’s a very consistent, thankless task,” More said. “For us to be able to come in and do something for them and also for the community was a really amazing experience.”

More said he believed volunteer work, Christian service, or just being a good neighbor is crucial to reviving the slogan written on almost every sign coming into town: “Welcome to Hillsdale: It’s the people.”

at the Mill Race, and the park is very beautiful, but it looks maintained and also not maintained at the same time,” More said. “The Mill Race itself was infested with all kinds of stuff

Quick Hits

from B6

What was your first car — did it have a name?

The first car my sister and I had at college was an orange Chevy Vega. We named it Sputnik, not after the Russian satellite, but because it would sputter when trying to get up the hill to the college.

What is the best gift you’ve ever received?

My son.

Do you miss anything about California?

Good, authentic Mexican food. And the town of Pacific Grove, where my grandmother lived during my childhood.

What is the coolest thing in the library?

I am a bit biased, but I think having the original works of Jacques Necker here in Mossey Library is pretty darn cool. Necker has been simultaneously credited and blamed for starting the French Revolution. His publications at that time were a big deal, and to find a collection of them sitting on a shelf in the Dow Room when I started was amazing. Coffee or tea?

Both? I like a nice cup of cof-

“I think the backbone of Hillsdale isn’t that we can just put more money into things and make them better. I think it’s the people here,” More said. “If you have a little thing like this, it just brings everybody a little closer. It gives them a little more hope. It reminds you that it’s not the College on the hill and the community over here. We’re living together. The students don’t come here to just stay on campus. They come here to be in the community.”

fee (not Starbucks), but I also like a nice chai tea, or Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea with lemon.

What is something you’ve always wanted to learn more about but haven’t yet?

I love to study things; do research. I have often said I would have liked to be a scientist studying volcanoes, or planets, or dirt, even. Lately, I’ve been spending hours researching ancient Greek coins. I love doing research.

What is the best advice you ever received?

During my undergraduate days, when I was stressing over how many papers and such I needed to get done, the library director told me to focus on one at a time. Don’t think about the totality of what I needed to accomplish, just focus on one thing, get it done, and go on to the next item on the list.

How did you end up as an archivist at Hillsdale?

I wanted to live closer to my son, who lives in Ferndale, near Detroit, so I started applying for every job I could find and got lucky with Hillsdale. Do you have any fun collections at home?

Hundreds of vintage knitting needles and an entire room full of vintage yarn.

The men of Galloway pose in Mrs. Stock’s Park while volunteering during Homecoming week. Courtesy | Benjamin Roche

The volunteers cleared out leaves and debris in 150 yards of trenches at Mrs. Stock’s Park. Courtesy | Benjamin Roche

From Meijer to Madrid: Students make the most of fall break

By Ty Ruddy Features Editor

When the readings just keep coming, the papers begin to pile up, and beautiful Hillsdale, Michigan, begins to look a little “same old,” fall break provides a day or two of relief. This year, some students used the short break to reorganize, reset, and take a much-needed trip to Meijer or Detroit — while others braved lakeshore wind, hiked deserts, and conquered Spain, metaphorically.

Sophomore Thatcher Debowski helped lead a three-day excursion in northern Michigan with the Outdoor Adventure Club.

“A trip up north is actually a longstanding tradition of the club,” Debowski said. “Usually we go to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which is a beautiful place.”

This year, an adventurous group of 15 left Hillsdale mid-morning on Thursday and made the four-hour drive to the Platte River campground in Glen Arbor, Michigan. Debowski said their site gave them numerous options for hikes and shopping.

“What’s really nice is that the Platte River campground is pretty central. It’s only about a five-minute drive to Lake Michigan and not far from other spots we wanted to see, so that gave us some options,” Debowski said.

The crew ate well, too. Debowski said the club charged a fee from each person who went, and the leaders were able to buy

and cook good meals during the weekend. When they arrived at camp on Thursday, they ate chili and cornbread and watched the sun set over Lake Michigan.

On Friday, their only full day, they ate breakfast and drove north to hike Pyramid Point, a twomile-round trip that takes hikers from farm fields to the top of a dune. From the place the group stopped on the dunes, Debowski

ers split up. Some explored the historic town of Glen Arbor. Debowski said the consensus favorite was Cherry Republic, a quaint store known for its Michigan-made cherry products. The others did a hike on Alligator Hill, according to Debowski.

“That hike was beautiful because it set off the lake a little bit. It was beautiful to see the dunes from a distance,” Debowski said.

said, they could see halfway across Lake Michigan.

“We saw the Fox Islands, which we realized when we pulled it up on Google Maps was halfway across the lake,” Debowski said.

“It’s one of the more narrow parts of the lake, but it was cool to see how clear it was.”

After another hike, the camp-

The hikers met the shoppers in town and they headed back to camp together for a chicken dinner, which Debowski said proved more of a challenge than they thought it would be.

“We had one person slicing, one person wrapping the chicken in foil and one person cooking, but the fire didn’t cook as well as

Quick Hits with Lori Curtis Features

Compiled by Martha Kennedy Collegian Reporter

In this Quick Hits, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Lori Curtis discusses the crowning of Charlemagne, Pacific Grove, and Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea with lemon.

What is something you’ve recently learned that surprised you?

How much it costs to have doctors do absolutely nothing when you fracture your wrist.

What is your favorite place you’ve ever traveled?

Israel, 45 years ago. I traveled around the Mediterranean for about six weeks back in 1981. I visited some amazing places, but it was Israel that stayed with me. As our group was crossing the border between Israel and Egypt at El Arish, I remember looking back toward Israel with the heart-wrenching feeling that I was leaving home. It didn’t help that we had to get off the bus on the Israeli side of the

crossing and walk across this no man’s land lined with Egyptian soldiers, who stopped me every five feet or so, until we got to the Egyptian side.

What’s a moment in history you wish you could have witnessed firsthand?

The crowning of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, A.D. 800. This was such a pivotal point in history — was it extralegal or illegal? Yes, the pope did not have the authority to make Charlemagne an emperor or king. But look at Europe’s history after that mo-

mentous day. I would like to be able to say, “I was there.”

If the year was only one season, which would you choose?

My first thought is to choose spring, especially here in Michigan. I moved her in mid-November, and when spring hit for the first time, I was stunned. Everything was so green! Almost too green. I came from Southern California, where there was no water and everything was universally brown year-round. But I also love fall: leaves are changing color, you get to wear sweaters.

What’s an accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Raising my son, although I really can’t take any credit there. We sort of grew up together. He is now an absolutely amazing man, and I can take credit for him not dying on my watch.

we thought it would, so it took much longer than we had hoped,” Debowski said. “At that point it was a race against time, because we wanted to see the sunset.”

But the crew made it to the beach when the colors were still in the sky, and they started a fire under the stars despite the wind’s best efforts to suffocate it. The crew baked bread with their fire and stargazed.

Vehicles in Dubois, Wyoming, over fall break. He said the group he went with had the chance to see more than 250 combat vehicles from World War II through the War on Terror.

“Most of it was tanks and transportation vehicles but we also saw some boats from Normandy,” Smith said. “The coolest thing we saw was a Black Hawk helicopter.”

“We saw the Milky Way clearly, and I was able to see the blurry outline of the Andromeda Galaxy through my binoculars,” Debowski said. “I thought the stars were good in Hillsdale, but head a little bit north and they are magnificent.”

Senior Tommy Smith visited the National Museum of Military

They also used their short time in Wyoming to visit Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park.

“It was an awesome experience. Not only seeing all the history and vehicles, but also getting to see Wyoming as a state for the first time was quite an experience — breathtaking,” Smith said.

Last Tuesday after classes,

sophomore Caitlynn Roiseland drove to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and boarded a flight for Chicago. She flew from Chicago to Europe to kick off a whirlwind tour of Spain, where her sister is studying abroad for the semester.

After Roiseland arrived in Madrid on Wednesday afternoon, she and her family drove six hours to Barcelona. The next day, they visited La Sagrada Familia, a basilica designed by Antoni Gaudi. On Friday, Roiseland and her family rode the cogwheel train to Montserrat, where a thousand-year-old monastery and basilica sits on top of the mountain.

She also said her family took a wine tasting excursion at the Oller del Mas while they were on the mountain. The winery has remained in the same family for 36 generations.

“The whole mountain was beautiful,” Roiseland said. “And it was full of rich history.” That night, the Roiselands made a four-hour drive to Valencia where they took family pictures and explored the town.

“In Valencia, we experienced firsthand the warmth and hospitality of the Spanish people through meeting my sister’s host family,” Roiseland said. Her trip was a whirlwind but she said the experience outweighed the exhaustion.

“We packed in as much as possible for the four days I was there, and even though the time was short, the memories I made were invaluable,” Roiseland said.

The Outdoor Adventure Club camping group makes its way down Pyramid Point trail. Courtesy | Thatcher Debowski

Caitlynn Roiseland smiles with her sister Emma before Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Courtesy | Caitlynn Roiseland

Curtis in 2007. Courtesy | Lori Curtis

Students on the Outdoor Adventure Club camping trip watch the sun set over Lake Michigan from Empire Bluff.

Courtesy | thatcher Debowski