Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 142 Issue 8 - October 25, 2018
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Chargers football team ranked nationally for first time since 2012 By | S. Nathaniel Grime Sports Editor The Hillsdale College Chargers football team won its sixth consecutive game on Saturday, 28-9 against Walsh University. With the win, the team improved to 7-1 this season and 6-0 in the G-MAC. The win also propelled the team into the national NCAA Division II rankings for the first time, at No. 25. The national ranking is the first time the Chargers have been ranked since late October in 2012. With three games remaining this season, the Chargers have a chance to win 10 games for the first time since 2009. The Chargers also come in ranked seventh in their region this week, which has implications for the team’s playoff chances. The top seven teams from each of the four regions make the NCAA Division II playoffs at the end of the regular season. Hillsdale’s last playoff appearance was in 2010. Head Coach Keith Otterbein said the team’s chemistry has contributed to this year’s success. “Every year here, we’ve
been close. We do some player evaluations and get some feedback from our players
season ranked third in their conference. They’ve since defeated the conference’s two
both at home, where the team is 3-0. The Chargers have been close to cracking the top 25 rankings as the season has progressed, and Otterbein said the team was slightly surprised they didn’t receive the recognition after the win against Ohio Dominican. Nevertheless, senior quarterback Chance Stewart said the ranking is unrelated to the team’s ultimate goal. The Hillsdale College Chargers football team has been placed in the national “In the grand NCAA Division II rankings at No. 25. Ryan Goff | Collegian scheme of things it doesn’t mean a and their responses have favored teams, then-No. 12 whole lot,” Stewart said. “Our always been that this is a very Ohio Dominican University goal is a conference champiclose-knit football team,” Oton Sept. 15 and the University onship and that is what we’re terbein said. “But this particof Findlay on Oct. 6. working towards.” ular group I think is especially Both wins came on the Stewart is one of many close. There’s a very unselfish road, where the Chargers are seniors on the team who have attitude about this group.” 4-1 this season. Hillsdale’s never been on a Hillsdale The Chargers entered the last two conference games are team that has entered the
College considers adding classical education master’s program By | Abby Liebing Assistant Editor Hillsdale College is considering starting a classical education master’s program, but the idea is still in the brainstorming stages with no fixed plan, according to Hillsdale College Provost David Whalen and Associate Professor and Chairman of Education Dan Coupland. “Hillsdale doesn’t do anything unless it is pretty confident that it is going to do it well and it’s going to be an excellent program,” Coupland said. “So that is what we are talking about working on now. We don’t have a timeline. We hope it will be part of Hillsdale’s future.” The only concrete step that has been taken thus far was to see who, if anyone, would be interested in a classical education graduate program. “That has been extremely positive,” Whalen said. “And by positive I mean there appears to be a sizeable and enthusiastic group of people who would love it if Hillsdale got into this and are interested in residential and distance kinds of opportunities to pursue graduate degrees while they work.” But everything regarding a classical school master’s
program at Hillsdale thus far has remained at the theoretical level. “It would be unwise to talk of it as if it were a plan. It is not a plan; it is a conjecture,” Whalen said. Such a master’s program would not be Hillsdale’s first involvement in classical education. The school offers a minor in that field. “Hillsdale has been training teachers for schools for as long as it’s been open. And it has produced teachers that have gone into public, private schools. And we continue to do that,” Coupland said. “Around 2007 or so we realized that many of our students were coming from schools that shared the mission of Hillsdale College. We also realized that our undergraduates here were graduating and going to work in those schools as well.” Over time, as Hillsdale started the Barney Charter School Initiative and began hosting the Classical School Job Fair on campus every year, the college began to establish its name in the growing classical education movement. Within the classical education movement, though, there is a growing need for administration and leadership.
“One of the hardest things to find in the context of a classical K-12 school is to find administrators and leaders in general,” Coupland said. “Headmasters, assistant headmasters, and also dean of students department heads, lower school heads, those kinds of things.” Before Hillsdale had any sort of graduate-level program, people asked how Hillsdale was going to contribute to the growing classical education movement, said Coupland. The Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship has shown that Hillsdale can do graduate level education, and do it well, he added. Now that there is evidence of interest from the marketing analysis, the college might be able to take another step towards launching the program. For current students in Hillsdale’s classical education program, the prospect of a master’s program is exciting. Junior Zach Palmer, who is minoring in classical education, said he has a strong interest in this kind of program. “I have heard the rumors and would be very excited if it’s actually a thing,” Palmer said.
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Students, faculty weigh in on Michigan midterms By | Nic Rowan Columnist Midterms elections are less than two weeks away — and the Michigan governorship is up for grabs. Because incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Snyder cannot run for a third term, his seat will either fall to current Republican Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette or his opponent, former Democratic state legislator Gretchen Whitmer. At the same time, incumbent senator Democrat Debbie Stabenow faces Republican nominee John James, who is backed by President Donald Trump, in a much-hyped race that will help determine whether the Republicans will maintain their slim Senate majority. Meanwhile, all 14 of MichFollow @HDaleCollegian
igan’s congressional districts are looking at the prospect of upheaval. Following Trump’s surprising victory in the typically blue Michigan in the 2016 presidential election, the state has become a battleground, and many are looking to it as a test marker for how lasting the Republican surge really was. Professor of Politics Adam Carrington said the governor’s race is particularly tight, but he believes that Whitmer has the edge over Schuette. Right now, Whitmer leads Schuette by about nine points, according to a RealClearPolitics poll. “One thing Whitmer has done well is appeal to union voters, and she has tried to intentionally cultivate them, whereas the national Democratic platform has ignored that voting block,” Carrington said. “In a state like Michigan,
that’s important for success.” Carrington added that he believes it is unlikely that James will beat Stabenow, even with the Trump administration’s fervent support of him, and his military-turned-businessman background. According to a RealClear Politics poll, Stabenow leads James by a little more than 17 points. “In some ways, James is a very old-style Republican,” Carrington said. And that may be part of it: He hasn’t been able to excite the Trump voters who would have gone for Obama. And Stabenow, she’s just a decent and capable politician.” This particular Senate race could have been crazy, Carrington said. “I have always wondered
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national rankings or made the playoffs. Sophomore wide receiver K.J. Maloney said it is rewarding for the team’s veterans to be recognized in their senior seasons. “Me and a bunch of the other guys were definitely pretty excited about that,” Maloney said. “Some of the older guys, being able to see that ranking, it’s cool to see all of the hard work they’ve put in during the years and the hard work we put in during the offseason starting to pay off.” Otterbein’s message to the team this year after each win has been “this win makes the next one bigger.” The Chargers play Kentucky Wesleyan College at home on Saturday. “This win would make the next one huge,” Otterbein said.” The team’s final conference game of the season is the following week, against Tiffin University. Hillsdale and Tiffin are the G-MAC’s two undefeated teams against conference opponents, meaning the matchup could decide the conference championship. While the team has used a combination of an explosive offense and stalwart defense to beat opponents this season,
Stewart says the Chargers have yet to play their best football. “We’re really starting to hit a stride at the right time. We won some games early on that some people might say we lucked into,” Stewart said. “Right now, our team is clicking. This weekend is a great step going forward. If we start getting hot at the right time, we’re a dangerous team.” Otterbein said the team has been focused on the week to week process instead of looking ahead to what could come. “Hopefully we can concentrate on the task at hand and focus, and this is the kind of team that’s not going to look ahead,” Otterbein said. “They’re going to put together the game plan and play hard and get a win.” Hillsdale’s next opportunity is this Saturday. The Chargers defeated Kentucky Wesleyan last season, 56-0. Their final two opponents, Tiffin and the University of Indianapolis, are both nationally ranked. But now, so are the Chargers.
Hillsdale College’s Mock Trial team won their first tournament of the year at Michigan State University. Andrew Simpson | Courtesy
Mock Trial beats Penn State, takes first at tournament By | Alex Nester Assistant Editor
The Hillsdale College Mock Trial team swept their competitors with grace and class at their first tournament of the season. Two HCMT teams competed at Michigan State University’s Sixth Annual Red Cedar Invitational, facing giants like Pennsylvania State University and Case Western University. Team 1126, lead by Coach Jon Church ’11 and junior Captain Mason Aberle, won the tournament with a maximum score of eight ballots, winning each of the two judges’ ballots per round. Team 1127, lead by Coach Lindsey Church ’11 and sophomore mock trial team captain Sophia Klomparens finished the tournament winning four of the eight possible ballots. Jon Church said this team is “one of the most talented groups” he has seen. Team 1126 beat Michigan State University’s B team and Case Western Reserve’s B team in the first and second rounds, respectively. They took both ballots from each round, establishing a solid 4-0 lead in the tournament. Jon Church and Aberle commended the new members, including freshmen brothers Mattis and Jean-Luc Belloncle and sophomore Emma Eisenman. “The Belloncle twins are really something, they’re really sharp kids.” Aberle said. “And overall, it’s a really talented group of kids.”
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Eisenman performed as a witness during the trials. In the third round of the tournament, when team 1126 competed against Penn State, she played the compelling role as the wife of a murdered man. “She gets on the stand against Penn State, and as she’s talking about her dead husband, she literally starts crying,” Aberle said. “Full tears and everything. It was insane.” Hillsdale took both ballots in the round against Penn State, raising their score to 6-0. Since joining the team this semester, Eisenman said she has picked up on the closeknit nature of Hillsdale’s Mock Trial program. “It’s a team sport. It’s the people that make it,” Eisenman said. “There are so many inside jokes and the people are so good to each other. It’s very much a family.” Eisenman said the team’s composure during the tournament made a good impression on her. “When other teams were up, talking, and messing around before a round, we were all reading over things and preparing,” Eisenman said. “We were calm and cool and collected. And we were very classy.” HCMT team 1126 beat Case Western Reserve’s A team to win the tournament, winning both ballots in the round and sweeping their competition. Team 1127 took both ballots against Ohio Northern
University in the first round but lost to Penn State’s team in the second round. Lindsey Church said sophomores Conner Daniels and Jacob Hooper, who performed as attorneys, did well given the strength of their opponents. “It was their first time, and it was intimidating,” Lindsey Church said. “But they held their ground against quality opposition.” Team 1127 beat the University of Pittsburgh in the third round but fell to Case Western in the final rounding, ending their tournament 4-4. Jon Church said he was pleased with the team’s first performance. “A lot of times it takes a long time to develop the skills of a good competitor, but I was impressed by freshman,” Church said. “I was surprised by the amount of composure we had from new people.” According to Aberle, the mock trial program is a testament to the college’s ethos and the leadership of the coaches. “They don’t sugar coat things or let their kids off the hook, they are driving them to be better than they otherwise would be,” Aberle said. “Correcting with a gentle hand while still correcting is a hard thing to master, and they’ve got it down pat.” Hillsdale’s Mock Trial team will compete at the Case Western Spartan Throwdown October 27-28.
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