Collegian 11.02.2023

The first snow of the season fell on Halloween evening.

Erik Teder | Collegian

Vol. 147 Issue 10 – November 2, 2023

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Alumna releases book on Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX

War in Israel

Michigan’s oldest college newspaper

DOJ awards Hillsdale County grant to combat domestic violence

By Elyse Apel Digital Editor The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women awarded Hillsdale County a grant to improve its criminal justice response to domestic violence.

The nearly $500,000 grant will include funding for Domestic Harmony’s legal advocate program, and allow Judge Megan Stiverson of the 2B District Court to establish a Domestic Violence Court.

Domestic Harmony is a local domestic violence shelter that provides housing, counseling, and legal counseling to Michigan residents in need.

“We have to have a coordinated community response to domestic violence,” said Hannah Jordan, executive director of Domestic Harmony.

“I’m really passionate about that because change will only happen when you’ve got the whole community on board.”

The grant is for the next four years and will allow for a closer handling of domestic violence cases in the county by hiring a dedicated probation officer and case manager for domestic violence, stalking, and misdemeanor-level sexual assault crimes in the county.

See Violence A6

By Sophia Mandt Collegian Freelancer Alumna Elizabeth Bachmann ’21 released her debut book in September about the FTX cryptocurrency scandal.

Bachmann cowrote “Crypto Crackup: Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, and Bankman-Fried’s Weird Island Empire” with Ash Bennington and Artur Osiński. The book explores the rise and fall of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who managed a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange with his company but was arrested in the Bahamas last year on charges including wire fraud and money laundering, according to CBS News.

“It was really crazy to spend the first couple of weeks doing so much research about crypto, Sam, and FTX and what crypto trading even is,” Bachmann said.

While at Hillsdale College, Bachmann majored in English and minored in journalism and was the features editor of The Collegian. After graduating from Hillsdale, Bachmann became a writer and editor for First Things magazine before starting her current position as director of production at Encounter Books.

Associate Professor of English Dwight Lindley said he thinks the skills students like Bachmann develop at Hillsdale prepare them well for the real world.

“I remember working with her on writing papers and she really enjoyed thinking through long theoretical lines of inquiry, so much that I remember thinking ‘is she going to be an English major or a philosophy major?’ She ended

up being an English major, but she has a philosophical mind,” Lindley said.

John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program and one of Bachmann’s former professors, said he remembers her as a great writer who continued to improve after graduation.

“I wasn’t surprised to see her name on a book cover, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly,” he said. “Elizabeth has a bright future in journalism and publishing, and the release of this new book makes it even brighter.”

Bachmann said the book tells the stor y of Bankman-Fried chronologically through straight journalism.

“I didn’t think I was going to find this as interesting as I did, but Sam Bankman is this really crazy character,” Bachmann said. “He grew up on the Stanford campus and his parents were professors.”

Bachmann said she believed Bankman’s upbringing influenced his actions as the CEO of FTX. “His dad is a professed utilitarian and his mother was a consequentialist and a determinist, and he grew up with utilitarianism as his religion in a sense,” Bachmann said.

“I think he’s guilty, but I think that a lot of his motivation to start out was truly altruistic.”

Bachmann said the book examines Bankman-Fried’s move toward effective altruism and his attempts to make as much money as possible.

Effective altruism, Bachmann said, is a philosophy developed from the writings of Australian philosopher Peter Singer in the 2000s, which says you have an obligation to help others with the goal of

net quantity of happiness.

“He was trying to create a secular morality essentially built around rationality, and so he’ll say things like ‘it’s morally wrong not to kill a child that has a disability,’” Bachmann said.

Elizabeth Bachmann ’21 majored in English at Hillsdale College.

Courtesy | Elizabeth Bachmann

Bachmann said Bankman-Fried was motivated by these principles from a young age.

“In high school, he wrote all these blog posts about how he was utilitarian and how he wanted to maximize happiness in the world,” Bachmann said.

Bankman-Fried demonstrated the principles of effective altruism through his early work for animal welfare, becoming vegan and donating 50% of his salary to animal welfare causes after graduating from MIT, according to Bachmann.

“The thing about Sam Bankman-Fried is that I think he started out with genuinely good intentions but those intentions became corrupted through fame and power,” Bachmann said.

Bachmann said Bankman-Fried focused later in his career on a philosophy within effective altruism called long

termism.

“It says rationally there’s going to be more people alive in the future than there are now,” Bachmann said. “If you want to help the most people you need to be thinking about all of the future generations and not the people who are currently alive.”

This shift of philosophy marked a shift in Bankman-Fried’s career, according to Bachmann.

“He’s following the secular morality where the only barometer of good and evil is pleasure or pain. That’s what effective altruism comes from,” Bachmann said. “It goes to show you that, even for people with the best intentions, without God, without following some higher transcendent law for what is good and evil, human beings get lost.”

The book concludes with Bankman-Fried on house arrest in Palo Alto, California.

Bachmann said she found being a co-author challenging.

“I ended up having two co-authors at the end of the day,” Bachmann said. “And we had very different visions for the way the book was going to be written. That was hard but it taught me a lot about collaborative writing and to be very sure that you know what your coauthor’s vision is.”

Bachmann said the process taught her a lot.

“I feel like I’m a different person after the book than I was before I wrote the book,” Bachmann said. “It taught me to check my pride about how good a writer I was and realize that as good of a writer as you are in the journalistic world, you have to get stuff right in the first place.”

Junior Jack Cote, Hannah Cote ’23, and freshman Max Cote (left to right) pose for a photo.

Courtesy | Hannah Cote

By Elizabeth Troutman Editor-in-chief Hillsdale College legacies do not benefit from priority admissions, Senior Director of Admissions Zachary Miller said.

“We do not weigh someone’s application differently because they’re a legacy,” Miller said.

“It is truly on the merits of the student’s application without any consideration or ranking for that.”

Though siblings, children, and grandchildren of Hillsdale alumni enrich the student body, Miller said, the admissions department does not give them an advantage over other candidates who seek to get past the college’s 20% acceptance rate.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of racial preferences in college admissions. Soon after, a civil rights group filed a lawsuit to challenge legacy admissions at

Harvard University. Since then, debate has raged over the fairness of favoring applicants with family connections.

If a court prohibits legacy admissions in the future, as in the affirmative action ruling in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v.

UNC, it would not affect Hillsdale, Miller said.

“You have to take into consideration simply the student and their fit, their accomplishments, and what they bring to

concerns for Passages trip

By Elyse Apel Digital Editor

in order to be consistent with the values that are taught at Hillsdale, the admissions process should be as objective as possible.”

Freshman Max Cote is the fourth sibling in his family to attend Hillsdale. Mason Cote graduated in 2019, Hannah graduated in 2023, Jack is a junior, and their mom, Shanna Cote, has worked for the college for almost seven years.

“Definitely having three siblings going to Hillsdale helped me understand some of the application process and even why to apply early decision,” Cote said.

Sophomore Sophia Widmer agreed having two sisters connected to the college made her admissions process smoother.

Her sister Emma is a senior and Sam graduated in 2021.

“Since Hillsdale recruits based on such different qualities, it was really helpful to have two older sisters who went through it and also were already acclimated to the campus culture,” Widmer said.

The Passages student trip to Israel is still planned for this winter — even as war continues to rage in the region — but organizers warn it won’t happen if intense fighting continues between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces.

“Safety is paramount,” said Jeffery “Chief ” Rogers, associate dean of men and a trip organizer. “I do not think it will go because the IDF has said that this incursion into the Gaza Strip is going to take some time, and we aren’t going to have people on the ground while that is going on.”

The trip is sponsored by the Philos Project and the Museum of the Bible Foundation. Since 2015, Passages trips have taken hundreds of Hillsdale students to Israel, visiting sites such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Sea of Galilee.

“The Passages trip is a wonder,” said Paul Rahe, professor of history and another trip organizer. “It is an inexpensive way for Christian college students at Hillsdale and elsewhere to visit the Holy Land and to get a read on Israeli-Palestinian relations.”

Rahe also said he doubts the trip will happen.

“In my opinion, the trip planned for this year will not take place,” Rahe said.

“Things may settle down a bit by the end of December, but the danger will be great.”

Rahe said his daughter, who attends the University of Chicago, was supposed to spend the winter in Egypt.

“I have told her to withdraw,” Rahe said. “Now is not the time for Americans to travel in the Arab world.”

According to the latest Passages update, leadership believes Israel will be safe for travel by the end of the year.

“There is growing consensus in the Israel Defense Forces briefings that Israel’s operation in response to the Hamas terror attacks will last approximately one month and that Israel could be safe again for educational travel near the end of the year,” said Harrison Kone, Passages’ director of recruitment.

“We remain optimistic for a quick end to the war.”

Don Westblade, assistant professor of religion and a trip organizer, said some students have chosen to drop out of the trip. He added he will trust Passages’ decision.

See Legacy A2

See Passages A2

Hillsdale admissions does not take family connections into account the table as a potential student for Hillsdale College,” Miller said. “Other schools might have different priorities, and that’s up to them. But we want to create the best class of students regardless of where they come from, regardless of their background.”

Miller says the rejection of legacies seems to have increased over the past five to 10 years.

“That’s again what makes it really hard, because we’re not growing the enrollment, and we have more and more applications,” Miller said. “We have to say no to a lot of those. So it seems like every year there’s a lot of those cases that are hard letters to send, hard phone calls to take.”

Though senior Caroline Holmes’ younger brother was rejected by admissions, she said she is glad the college does not consider legacy status in the application process.

“I am a firm believer in the blind admissions process and think that every student should be admitted based on strict merit as opposed to family status, money, race and gender, etc.,” Holmes said. “I think that

raises safety

A2 November 2, 2023

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Mossey Library updates furniture over fall break Pulliam Fellow speaks time, they’re all being used, so it’s a good thing they brought on Hunter Biden’s laptop them in.”

By Christina Lewis Collegian Reporter The story of Hunter Biden’s laptop is like a Russian doll: Just when you think you’ve come to the end of it, you peel off another layer, and it gets crazier, journalist Miranda Devine said in an Oct. 26 speech.

Devine is this semester’s Eugene C. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Journalism. While on campus, she taught a one-credit investigative journalism class and delivered her speech, “Hunter Biden’s Laptop from Hell,” in Plaster Auditorium.

“This was the story that the American voters deserved to know before the 2020 election and it was kept from them,” Devine said. “The American people deserve to know that despite all his professions of ignorance during the 2020 election campaign, Joe Biden was intimately involved in his family’s influence-peddling scheme around the world that garnered them millions of dollars from America’s adversaries.”

Devine said she received a text from Rudy Giuliani that said he had approximately 40,000 emails, at least 1,000 texts, and hundreds of photographs and videos involving Hunter Biden.

Devine went through all the files in Biden’s laptop that was abandoned in Delaware.

She broke the Hunter Biden story in the New York Post on Oct. 14, 2020. In the article, she explained how a corrupt Ukrainian energy company had been paying Hunter Biden $1 million per year to sit on their board when Joe Biden was vice president. After Joe Biden ceased to be vice president, Hunter Biden’s salary was cut in half.

“I only talk to people who tell the truth because they’re the only people worth talking to,” Devine said.

Devine said government agencies pressured social me-

Legacy from A1 “Understanding the Hillsdale culture was helpful in the application process and also in making my final decision.”

Max Cote said having a sibling at the college has made his transition easier.

“My transition into freshman year has been super easy, especially since my older brother Jack currently attends here,” he said.

Miller said he enjoys having families like the Cotes and Widmers at the college.

“It’s really cool to see some families who have had three, four, or five generations or three, or four, or five siblings come, and those are cool stories that we do get to tell,” Miller said. “So it does happen. And I think it’s very neat, and it can enrich us in a lot of different ways.”

Miller said legacies are often more likely to know more about Hillsdale than other applicants, making them naturally a stronger fit.

“When we look at our pool, we’re interested in the merits and the abilities and the strength of the application,” Miller said. “We want to make sure that it’s the student and what they bring to the table and not anything on the outside of that.”

Advocates of legacy admissions have argued it helps foster personal relationships between alumni, students,

dia outlets to censor her article before the 2020 presidential election.

“When the social media companies censored the New York Post, they were not doing that alone. They were doing it at the behest of the FBI,” Devine said. “The FBI had basically shaped them before the election, warning them about Russian disinformation, so the minute they saw our story, they were suspicious. They were primed to be suspicious.”

Freshman Megan Li took Devine’s one-credit class and said she enjoyed learning from Devine.

“Every time I hear the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop, I am continually surprised by how many people are involved and how large the scale of the operation is in our own government,” Li said.

Devine credited Americans for standing firm in their founding ideals.

America is alone in the world, Devine said. America’s DNA from the founding and the Constitution push back against tyranny when the rest of the world pushes toward it by encouraging free speech and education.

Freshman Alessia Sandala said her biggest takeaway from the speech is the amount of corruption in the government.

“A lot of the corruption happens behind closed doors,” Sandala said. “You don’t see any of it and you don’t hear of it. A lot of times, it seems kind of hopeless that nobody’s really trying to fix it, but just seeing Miranda trying to go after it is an inspiration.”

Devine said America is the seed of pushback against tyranny.

“At Hillsdale you’re creating or forming the young people that are going to have to rescue these institutions,” Devine said. “You’re equipping them with the tools they need to do that, to replenish the moral capital that’s been squandered by their forebears.” and the college and loyalty to the school.

“Institutional trust, in other words, requires intergenerational continuity, the kind that comes from family traditions,” James Hankin, a Harvard professor, wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “Change and innovation will always be necessary, but the most successful reforms are built on a basis of trust and loyalty.”

Widmer said Hillsdale appealed to her because of the stories her sisters told her about it.

“I probably wouldn’t have considered Hillsdale if I didn’t know the dynamics on campus and the culture from an insider’s perspective,” she said. “Although similar in many ways, my sisters and I have very different interests, and I’ve found that I’ve been able to have a completely unique experience even at such a small school.”

Widmer said she recommends more people attend the same school as their siblings.

“People think that going to college with family will mean they can’t be themselves or that it will be too much like home, but that’s definitely not true,” she said. “You can make your own friends and be involved in completely different things, but having someone who knows you beyond a friend connection for four years is so helpful in college.”

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Mossey Library added six new tables and 28 new chairs to the library over fall break.

Carly Moran | Collegian

By Adriana Azarian Collegian reporter Mossey Library has added more tables and chairs to the building’s study spaces and removed worn furniture.

Library Director Maurine McCourry said the library discarded a damaged table and chairs, replacing them with six new tables and 28 new chairs throughout the building over fall break.

“We have more students every year, and more students who are serious about their

studies, so they’re spending a lot of time here,” McCourry said. “We were just running out of space for people to study.”

According to McCourry, these are the first furniture additions to the library in nearly 30 years.

“The library was last fully renovated in 1994, so it’s been a while and even then a lot of furniture from the old library came over to Mossey in 1971, when Mossey was built, and some of that stayed in the library,” McCourry said.

Library Technician Colleen Ladd said the new furniture matches the rest of the library’s style.

“It’s consistent with what we already have, we try to make it look the same,” Ladd said. “It’s pretty top quality furniture. I mean, it’s not cheap.”

Freshman Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell, a student worker at the library, said the furniture was a necessary addition and is well used by students.

“I see a lot more people sitting at the tables now,” she said. “When I come in each

Tritchka-Stuchell also said she thinks the furniture adds a nice touch to the look of the library.

According to McCourry, discussion with administration about a potential library renovation and expansion is increasing, though there are no official plans currently. She said the new furniture “can provide as many study spaces as possible” in the meantime.

“The library is a cozy space students enjoy coming to,” Ladd said. “It’s nice that we’re able to accommodate more students.”

McCourry said more worn furniture remaining in the library could be replaced or repaired as the need arises.

“I do want to encourage students to talk with me when they have concerns about the furniture and space needs in general,” McCourry said.

“We’re compiling a wish list for the administration of what we think needs to be added, and we’ve talked with students on a regular basis, but I would love to hear more. If students have comments, they should come talk to me, I’ll add it to our wish list most likely.”

Chi Omega to host annual Make-A-Wish fundraiser

By Olivia Hajicek Science & Tech Editor The women’s sorority Chi Omega will host its annual Chi O Coffeehouse fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation tomorrow, featuring performances from student musicians and comedians as well as coffee and doughnuts.

The event will run from 7:30-10 p.m in the Chi Omega sorority house. Admission is $5, and proceeds will benefit MakeA-Wish, Chi Omega’s national philanthropy.

“It’s always a big hit across campus and it’s open to all of campus,” said Chi Omega’s

community service director junior Ruth Kirsch.

Senior Mary Ann Powers, Chi Omega’s former community service director, said some of the students who perform at the event wouldn’t necessarily perform at bigger events like Concert on the Quad.

“This is a smaller, more intimate event,” Powers said, “so I think it’s been cool to see those different people kind of come out of the woodwork.”

Powers said one of her favorite parts is the stand-up comedy routines.

“The stand-up performances that people have done over the years have been surprisingly

Shavit Rootman ’20, an Israeli citizen, volunteered for service in Israel after visiting the country for a friend’s wedding.

Courtesy | Shavit Rootman

Passages from A1 “Passages has better access to better sources of information about the security situation in Israel than any of us who have to rely on the mainstream media,” Westblade said.

“I will trust their assessment of the safety of the trip. They will not make any decisions that endanger the safety of the students and staff who participate.”

Senior Fernando Bravo said he looks forward to traveling to Israel as soon as it is safe.

“We have a unique opportunity and responsibility to support the Jewish community through prayer and meaningful conversations to fight antisemitism,” Bravo said. “As soon as students have the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, I highly encourage everyone to do so.”

The war erupted when Hamas soldiers invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7.

Since then, fighting has killed more than 1,400 Israelis, according to the ABC News. At least 32 Americans have also been killed.

Israel responded to the attack by targeting Hamas forces in Gaza with airstrikes, and promising a ground offensive into Gaza.

Hamas said on Oct. 31 the death toll in Gaza was more than 8,000, but the group has been known to falsify claims before, according to the New York Post.

Senior Luke Hollister, who went on the most recent Passages trip, said it was a oncein-a-lifetime experience that has helped him better understand the current conflict.

“Speaking with both Isra-

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really well done and hilarious,” Powers said. “You walk around your peers and you’re like, ‘oh, yeah, it’s a funny person,’ but you don’t expect them to actually be a really talented stand up comedian, so I think that’s been super fun to be able to laugh and celebrate people’s talents.”

Make-A-Wish uses donations to grant wishes for children with critical or terminal illnesses. Powers said the proceeds from Chi O Coffeehouse will go to benefit children in Michigan.

“Different sisters in Chi Omega have had family members who have benefited from Make-A-Wish, and they’ve

been able to give a witness to just how powerful of a charity it is,” Powers said.

In addition to Chi O Coffeehouse, Chi Omega puts on two other philanthropy events each year, a carwash and a pancake breakfast.

“I like Coffeehouse in particular because it’s something that all of Chi Omega gets involved in volunteering or helping out with,” Kirsch said. “We have a lot of sisters that perform and a lot of people from across campus, so I think it’s a good way to see what the entirety of campus has to offer and get to know more people as well, and it’s always fun.”

elites and Palestinians during my trip impressed upon me how complicated the situation is,” Hollister said.

Junior Joy Hanes agreed it helps to have context for the news.

“In light of the recent events, I am all the more thankful that I was able to go to Israel in January because I have an understanding of the current events,” she said.

Students organized an ecumenical service to mourn the innocent lives lost. All students, faculty, and community members are welcome to attend the 7:30 p.m. service in Christ Chapel on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Shavit Rootman ’20, an Israeli citizen who was in Israel for a friend’s wedding when Hamas attacked, said he decided to stay and volunteer his services, even though he lives in the United States.

“Since I am unable to work closely with the military, I am volunteering and working with the special ops units of the police,” Rootman said. “I’ve been working with the police to prevent terror attacks and arrest those who might be an issue.”

Rootman, serving in Judea and Samaria, said it has been an unbelievable experience to be in a country at war.

“I went to visit friends a few days ago and at one point while we were in the middle of the road, there was the rocket siren,” Rootman said. “We saw seven or eight rockets flying from the Gaza Strip about 1,000 feet over our heads.”

Rootman said as the rockets started to dive toward the ground, he watched the Iron Dome, Israel’s air defense system, intercept them right above their heads.

“It is insane,” Rootman said.

“To see the rockets and hear them was a crazy reality.”

Rootman said Israelis have been devastated by reactions from many around the world to the conflict.

“People are very strong, very united, and very devastated from all the hostages that are still held captive in the Gaza Strip,” Rootman said.

“Also, the amount of antisemitism and anti-Israeli calls and protests all over schools in America are so scary and hateful.”

According to the New York Post, at least 10 kidnapped Americans are still missing, while hundreds of Americans are trapped in Gaza.

Hanes said she prays for the safety of those she met on the trip.

“My mind immediately went to the father of a family of young kids that the Hillsdale group met,” Hanes said.

“He showed us around his neighborhood which was located only a few steps from the wall to the Gaza Strip and told us about what it is like living in constant threat of rocket strikes. He and his family live in Netiv Ha-asara which is about eight miles from Sderot where one of the first attacks from Hamas took place. I pray that they are safe.”

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Charger football hosts veterans for military appreciation weekend

By Malia Thibado Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale College football team recognized veterans and active duty military members at its annual military appreciation events last weekend.

“The reason we are able to come out and play instead of worrying is because of the service and sacrifice of our veterans,” Air Force veteran and alumnus John Williams, ‘66, said.

More than 40 veterans and active duty members attended a Friday night pregame dinner and more than 70 went to the football game against Lake Erie College on Saturday. Under head coach Keith Otterbein’s leadership, the football program has held military appreciation events annually since 2017. Otterbein credited the growth of the annual event to assistant coach Robert Rardin, a former U.S. Marine.

“Early on, I think it was very informal,” Otterbein said. “It was more word of mouth around Jonesville, Reading, and Hillsdale.”

Players met Friday with former and current military members at the team’s pregame meal.

“This dinner gives our guys the chance to get to know people who volunteered their lives to serve our country,” said Rardin, a former U.S. Marine.

Rardin and Otterbein said they believe the football program is not only about the sport but also about individual character growth.

“We got to talk a lot to them, listen to their stories, connect with them on a personal level,” junior Ty Williams said.

Senior Mike Harding helped greet and direct veterans during the meal.

“This is the biggest turnout we’ve ever had,” he said.

“Hearing their stories was something special.”

Otterbein said the pregame meal on Friday night is his favorite event of the whole weekend.

“That event gives the veterans the opportunity to see how much the young people in our football program really appreciate their service,” Otterbein said.

Otterbein and Rardin said they agreed the personal interaction between veterans and the citizens they have volunteered to protect encourages veterans and active duty members about the future of the U.S. On Saturday at noon, the football program and Metz Culinary Management collaborated to provide veterans, active duty members, and their families with cookies, burgers, and beverages at the tailgate party.

“It’s interesting because we’re getting to mingle with some veterans I don’t know and getting to meet new people,” said former Army combat medic Josh Campbell from the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.

People stood in groups, telling combat stories and laughing at jokes.

“This is the first time we’ve been here, but there are a lot of people and it is really well organized,” veteran Thomas “Sniper” Merkle said.

Attendees received custom Hillsdale Charger caps with an American flag on them.

Before the game began, several representatives from local and national veterans organizations and affiliates lined up on the field as the announcer recognized and thanked them on behalf of the college for their bravery and dedication to the country. The American Legion Post 195 of Jonesville served as the color guard during the performance of “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Williams was selected as an honorary football captain and participated in the pregame coin toss. The Hillsdale Chargers subsequently defeated the Lake Erie Storm 52-21.

“I’m really glad we got a win in front of the veterans,” Harding said. “It’s good to show them a victory here.”

College to host CCA on ‘Great Economists’

By Gray Turner Collegian Reporter Hillsdale’s next Center for Constructive Alternatives will survey a history of the world’s great economists, including lectures on Ludwig Von Mises and the public choice theories of James Buchanan.

“I think it’s a very exciting CCA,” Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram said.

“These are very top notch people that have come in.”

The event will run from Nov. 5-8 with speeches from economics professors Mark Skousen, Bruce Caldwell, Benjamin Powell, Jeffrey A. Tucker, and Randall Holcombe. British journalist Nicholas Wapshott will also present at the conference.

Senior economics major Phoebe Johnston works with student attendance for the CCA office, and said she thinks the CCA will be informative and well-structured, as well as applicable and digestible for all students regardless of their background in economics.

“I think it’s great that the CCA office is bringing at-

tention to such a key area of study within the college,” Johnston said. “I’m particularly excited for the speakers.”

Wolfram said the lectures will not require a comprehensive background in economics to be understood.

“These lectures are geared toward the average person,” Wolfram said, “and you don’t have to be an econ major to grasp the fundamentals of the argument. But you do need to grasp the fundamentals of the argument to figure out where you need to be in the realm of political philosophy.”

Wolfram said all of the speakers are well established in the study of Mises and the free market way of allocating resources.

“If you want to create wealth for the masses there’s only one system to do that and that’s market capitalism, and that requires a political philosophy where you say ‘okay, we’ve got to have limited government, freedom, equality under the law’, and all the authors are well informed on that and are experts in that field,” Wolfram said.

Hillsdale College Security to keep residence doors locked

By Sydney Green Circulation Manager Students now need ID cards to enter residence halls at all hours, in a new policy adopted by campus security last week.

“Hillsdale College is a very safe campus, and we strive to do everything we can to keep it that way,” Director of Security and Emergency Management Joe Kellam said. “We strive to keep a balance every day between an open campus and a totally locked facility.”

Kellam said the decision had already been planned, but was prompted following the recent security incident with Joseph Bruneau, who was seen on campus and later arrested on a warrant for domestic assault.

“After putting his picture

out to campus and receiving multiple responses of his interactions with students in the week prior, we decided to limit his potential access until he could be located,” Kellam said.

“There were a couple of other additional concerns from events around the world that had us extend the locked status through the weekend as a precaution.”

Sophomore Jonathan Williams, a resident assistant in Simpson Residence, said the decision to leave campus doors unlocked is understandable as they are more open to the community. He also said he thinks the new system makes dorm access more difficult, but that it is an understandable security measure to take.

“Residence buildings being locked down does create

an inconvenience in needing to always have your ID, not being able to get into another dorm when needed, or simply going in and out of the dorm,” Williams said. “However, I do appreciate that security and the college is taking our safety seriously enough, and I think they don’t have any other goal in mind but the safety and well-being of the students.”

Students currently use their physical student ID to gain access to residence buildings. But Kellam said the college is planning on releasing a new system where students can gain access with their phone ID. “The plan was to lock the doors as soon as the new phone app ID access was launched at the end of the year, but this incident just stepped up the time frame,” Kellam said. “The

new phone ID is in the final hardware and software phase and we, along with the IT department, are testing it now for planned implementation during the spring semester.”

Assistant Professor of Medieval History Charles Yost said he thinks these precautions are reasonable and still allow for the community to move freely.

“There is this sense of security at the college that I’ve never seen anywhere else, but it is understandable that during certain times we have to take special security measures,” Yost said. “I’m so glad that we’re not using this incident, though, as an excuse to put ourselves behind extreme layers of security, rather than continue to rely on the strength of this community of people that love each other.”

Mock trial teams split for tournament weekend

By Tayte Christensen Collegian reporter Two of Hillsdale College’s three mock trial teams placed in tournaments this weekend.

The teams that placed, Scary Decisis and De Novo, competed in Boston at Tufts University’s Mumbo Jumbo and Michigan State University’s Red Cedar Classic Tournaments, respectively.

“We went up against four teams. The first was Harvard, and unfortunately, we lost both ballots to them,” said Nathan Emslie, sophomore member of Scary Decisis. “But then we swept all our other opponents, which were Wesleyan, Penn State and then Boston University.”

The team placed fourth overall, winning six ballots and losing two, Emslie said.

Considering their competition, the team members are happy with their placement.

“It was a tough field with a lot of worthy competitors,” freshman Scary Decisis member Campbell Collins said. “We’re all pretty pleased about our placement.”

Emslie said the competition was new to the team and its members had to work hard to earn their place.

“It was an invitational that we hadn’t been to before,” Emslie said. “And maybe by some considerations, it was a step above invitationals we’ve been to previously, at least certainly than

I was as a freshman last year.

So we didn’t think we were entitled to a place. We thought it was a possibility that we’d have to work hard for and it worked out.”

The De Novo team made team history as the first freshman team to place in a tournament, placing third overall, said junior team captain Natalie LeBlanc.

“I was so proud of the team because they put in so much work,” LeBlanc said. “After the Penn State Happy Valley tournament, we had practice and multiple people came up to me and asked for extra practices throughout the week, so we practiced extra.”

The team won five ballots, lost two, and tied one, LeBlanc said.

Individuals from each team were recognized for good performances, with both De Novo

senior Justin Lee Scary Decisis senior Curtis Herbert receiving outstanding attorney awards with 19 ranks.

Outside of competition, LeBlanc said the tournament was a good bonding experience for the team.

“We really bonded as a team as well, which was exciting,” LeBlanc said. “We started making fun of each other, which was great and some of our poor teammates were heckled at some points. But in a very loving way, of course.”

For their next tournaments later this month, Scary Decisis will go to South Carolina for Soda City Trials, De Novo to Wisconsin for the Badger the Witness tournament, and the final team, Rekt Judica, will go to Harvard’s Boston Tea party.

All fall tournaments for the teams are preparation for the spring competition season,

which has more on the line, junior Scary Decisis team captain Abby Davis said.

“The fall season is the Invitational season, that’s like schools just hosting tournaments,” Davis said. “You go, you compete, and you try to place and you just get to know the case that the American Mock Trial Association has released for the year. And then in the spring, that’s the competitive season. So that’s when their official tournaments are sponsored by the American Mock Trial Association, and those are elimination tournaments.”

These tournaments lead to the national tournament, according to Davis.

Overall, the teams are happy with their placements from the weekend and team spirits are high.

“I love my team so much and I’m so proud of them,” LeBlanc said.

Team Scary Decisis poses at Tufts University in Boston.

Courtesy | Chloe Noller

Fight the New Drug screening addresses porn addictions

By Caroline Kurt Collegian Reporter Several Hillsdale students had tears in their eyes in the final minutes of the film “Brain Heart World” as young adults talked about healing from pornography addictions.

“The compassion I saw in the video was really touching,” sophomore Clare Horvath said. “The way we’re going to help people is by showing compassion and giving them hope.”

Eighty students packed into a basement classroom in Lane Hall Oct. 30 to watch the third part of a documentary about the harmful effects of pornography. The screening, organized by the Hillsdale College Catholic Society, was followed by a Q&A with Hillsdale faculty, their spouses, and campus ministers.

The event was the last of three successive Monday evenings dedicated to a showing of the three-part documentary made by Fight the New Drug, an anti-pornography, non-religious nonprofit.

Junior Charlie Miggins said conversations about pornography in Professor of Philosophy and Religion Nathan Schlueter’s Love, Sex, and Marriage class, which he took as a sophomore, inspired him

to organize the series.

“This has always been something I want to attack and help others attack,” Miggins said. “I hope these screenings spread awareness and start conversations. I hope students walk away with some ammunition to help their battle and their friends’ battles.”

The video series focused on how pornography can change individuals through altering their brain chemistry, then examined the negative impact of pornography on relationships, concluding with a look at the influence of the pornography and human trafficking industries on individuals.

After discussing the way pornography negatively affected their lives, the young adult subjects of the documentary concluded on a hopeful note. The documentary emphasized how, according to neuroscience, the brain can heal from a pornography addiction.

“It wasn’t me that was bad, it was the porn,” one speaker said.

The victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation interviewed in the final segment of the documentary attested to the healing power of relationships.

“I’m more free than I ever

thought I would be. I never thought anyone would want me after everything that I have been through,” said one survivor, pictured with her husband.

The panel offered advice and hope to students dealing with pornography in their own lives or in relationships with others.

Elizabeth Schlueter, wife of Nathan Schlueter, stressed the biological impact of pornography on the human person.

“I think it can’t be emphasized enough how this is not just a moral issue,” she said.

Dean of Women Rebekah Dell advised students to find support in edifying activities, particularly when dealing with a friend or partner’s pornography issue.

“Make sure, no matter what your struggles are, that you have mentorship and community, and that you’re engaged in healthy activities outside of your relationship,” Dell said.

Dean of Men Aaron Petersen stressed the value of levity in dealing with the sensitive topic of pornography use.

“In struggling with these things, you just get mad and beat yourself up,” Petersen said. “I’ve learned through years of spiritual direction to

have a warm humble smile.

This is human nature. These are human struggles.”

Nathan Schlueter advised students to learn about the nature of addiction when helping friends and partners overcome a pornography problem.

He said the accessibility and anonymity of the internet exacerbates pornography addiction.

“There’s way too much of a stigma, and too much shame,” Schlueter said. “Become more educated about the reality of pornography usage and try not to contribute to the stigma.”

Senior Robert Anderson said he appreciated the levity with which the documentary and speakers treated the issue.

“I think the sense of humor was a key part of the video,” Anderson said.

Associate Professor of Theology Jordan Wales said students need to do more than merely cutting themselves off from pornography consumption.

“Pornography hijacks and distorts a fundamentally relational capacity that we have,” Wales said. “The path of healing is not simply to stop doing something, but to cultivate one’s capacity for authentic human relationship.”

A4 November 2, 2023

Opinions (517) 607-2415

Online: www.hillsdalecollegian.com Editor-in-Chief | Elizabeth Troutman Associate Editor | Logan Washburn Senior Editor | Maddy Welsh Design Editor | Alexandra Hall Digital Editor | Elyse Apel News Editor | Isaac Green Opinions Editor | Claire Gaudet City News Editor | Lauren Scott Sports Editors | Olivia Pero Culture Editor | Jillian Parks Features Editor | Michael Bachmann Science & Tech Editor | Olivia Hajicek Political Correspondent| Micah Hart Social Media Manager | Cassandra DeVries Circulation Managers | Sydney Green & Emma Verrigni Ad Manager | Nathan Stanish Photography Editor | Claire Gaudet Assistant Editors | Moira Gleason | Carly Moran| Kamden Mulder | Thomas McKenna | Jane Kitchen | Linnea Shively | Michaela Estruth | SK Sisk | Alex Deimel | Beth Crawford Faculty Advisers | John J. Miller | Maria Servold The editors welcome Letters to the Editor but reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity, length, and style. Letters should be 450 words or less and include your name and number. Send submissions to the Opinions Editor at mgaudet@hillsdale.edu before Saturday at 3 p.m.

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Devil’s Advocate with Claire Gaudet Work out for your health, not just your body image There’s a common misconception that body issues stop and start with eating disorders.

In my personal experience, all the problems I had with my looks were in regards to working out.

I worked out six days a week in high school — for four hours a day — to maintain my emaciated physique.

I’d lose my mind whenever the scales tipped higher, moving me out of my underweight Body Mass Index.

What’s worse is, the only reason I stopped exercising that much was because I herniated three discs in my spine, causing fleeting paralysis and

sciatic nerve damage. It took losing feeling in my legs to get me to reexamine the intensity of my lifestyle.

Pushing yourself to the limit because you hate yourself negates the healthy parts of going to the gym. Now, I weigh more than I ever have in my entire life — and I feel OK with that.

I’ve realized that a life sustained solely by raw eggs, whey powder, and days spent in the gym hurt me much more than it helped me, and I’ve seen it hurt others. Former athletes, I’m talking to you.

Your muscles may look super toned — which is awe-

some — but I’d encourage you to examine your motivations.

If going to the gym or dieting is part of some negative feedback loop, consider the possibility that your body isn’t the problem — your brain is.

I’m not trying to make exercising and dieting into some evil boogeyman. All I’m saying is, for the first time in my life, I want to work out to improve my health rather than my body image, and it feels amazing. And, based on some of the conversations I’ve heard around campus, I don’t think I’m the only person here who’s struggled with their appearance in this way.

Go to the gym because it’s fun to exercise. Go because it makes you feel good about yourself. Go because you’re sick of feeling winded when you walk up the hill — not because you think a life with a little pudge is a life not worth living.

If my newfound stretchmarks and cellulite have taught me anything, it’s that life doesn’t end when you’re .8 BMI overweight — a lesson that seems important on the cusp of Thanksgiving gorging.

Claire Gaudet is a senior studying rhetoric and journalism.

Attack on Israel exposes American higher education

By Thomas McKenna Assistant Editor

The only proper response to this month’s attack on Israel was a condemnation of terrorism and antisemitism.

But that was too much to ask of students and faculty at what used to be our finest academic institutions.

That the West’s elite colleges and universities have become morally and intellectually corrupt is old news to Hillsdale folk. A lack of trust in our country’s esteemed universities is what drove many of us to this college.

But some Americans have tried to carry on as if these institutions were not rotting but were instead still solid, still trustworthy. For years, they brushed off the rising focus on equity over merit, the sometimes violent student opposition to conservative speakers, and the administrative attempts to shut down non-progressive speech on campus.

They even ignored it when a federal judge — a week after he spoke at Hillsdale — was shouted down by stu-

dents at Stanford University law school and scolded by its associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion. After all, these were just kids, they said.

If there is any good that can come from a terrorist attack, it is the moral clarity that separates the decent from the depraved.

Our once-great universities showed how many of their students and faculty fall into the latter category.

Take the response from our fellow students on campuses across America.

While many appropriately condemned the attacks, an alarming number of students and faculty did the opposite.

More than two dozen student groups at Harvard University said in a letter that Israel was “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” More than 50 student groups at the University of California Berkeley stated their “unwavering support for the resistance in Gaza.”

At George Washington University, a crowd associated with the group Students

for Justice in Palestine projected slogans onto its library, proclaiming “Glory to our martyrs” and “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” — a call to extinguish the Jewish state. Students at more than 100 colleges and universities across the country planned walkouts supporting Palestine last week.

The FBI arrested a Cornell University student Tuesday who allegedly threatened to kill any Jewish student he saw on campus and “shoot up 104 West,” a university dining hall that mostly serves kosher meals.

Hamas killed more than 1,300 Israelis on Oct. 7.

More Jews were killed that day than any other since the Holocaust, and students at America’s once-respected universities blamed the Jews.

All the while, Ivy League administrations struggled to publish statements condemning terrorism and antisemitism. Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, issued her first, mild statement a few days after the attack but did not mention the student

group letter. In her second statement, she merely said the student groups did not speak for the university as a whole. Even after a third comment — and many more interviews — the president has yet to condemn the statement that blames the victim.

The best that can be said of administrators is that they did not praise the terrorists on their first try. The bar is low these days.

The teachers aren’t much better. A Cornell University professor called the Hamas attack “exhilarating” and “energizing” earlier this month — he is now, conveniently, taking a leave of absence. A Columbia University professor described the massacre as “a major achievement of the resistance.” An art professor in Chicago said after the attack that Israelis were “pigs.”

She has since apologized via Instagram. One Berkley professor offered field trip credit to any student who attended a pro-Palestine protest — pro-Israel students hoping to bump their grade need not apply.

More than 1,700 sociologists — including hundreds of professors — signed a letter last week condemning Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians and its defense minister’s use of “racist and dehumanizing language” when he called the Hamas terrorists “human animals.” And this message was brought to you by taxpayer-funded tenure.

This timid equivocation and gross antisemitism was enough to shake the donors who fund these schools.

Former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner decided he’d had enough. His foundation, which has donated more than $42 million to Harvard, announced earlier this month it would cut ties with the school.

Businessman Marc Rowan said his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, does not “seem to be able to find its voice with respect to antisemitism.” He said he would not add to the $50 million he has already donated unless the school’s president and board chair step down. Businessman and former diplo-

mat Jon Huntsman Jr. also said he would halt donations to university.

This backlash is a victory for common sense and the integrity of higher education.

Conservatives and old-fashioned, classical liberals have watched for decades as our elite universities collapse from the inside — and it seemed like nobody noticed.

But every once in a while, an evil great enough to awaken the West’s dormant moral compass forces us to pick a side. The students who chanted for a Jewish extinction and the professors who egged them on have marked for the rest of us just how far academia has fallen.

This is a wake-up call for the willfully ignorant. Pure, abhorrent evil is still alive, and our academic institutions are rotting with its apologists.

Thomas McKenna is a sophomore studying political economics and journalism.

There’s more to learn in the kitchen than how to roast a turkey

By Mark den Hollander Collegian Reporter

Warm turkey just off the bone, cranberry sauce from Norman Rockwell’s “Turkey Feast.”

Courtesy | Artnet.com

a canned tin, and corn pudding in a white porcelain dish remind us of Thanksgiving dinner. These dishes bring us back to our childhood and

the years that we have spent being surrounded by family and friends for the joyous occasion.

In honor of these good

memories our families create for us during the holidays, college students should offer to help their parents prepare the Thanksgiving meal.

The preparation of the meal is just as enjoyable as the meal itself. There are many things to learn from your parents, and this is the perfect opportunity to unite over a shared tradition.

You will remember more of Thanksgiving if you set aside time to be involved in the process.

One of the first times I made pumpkin pie, the crust got burned. My older sister had the nerve to confirm my observation with a cynical remark, “You burned the crust.” My mom scolded her for doing so and told her it was okay because this was my first time. The vivid image is burned in my memory. Baking is a learning process.

The preparation of food is a lot of work, and many parents appreciate it if their children offer to help. Food preparation is one of the best ways to help because there are many different family recipes to learn.

Your mom’s apple pie is special because she adds just

the perfect amount of sugar.

One day she won’t be able to make pie for you anymore, however sad this may be.

You can take this opportunity to learn her special tips and tricks which will never be written down unless you take the time to do so.

Helping in the kitchen is such a wonderful way to connect with parents because you can bond in a unique way. From peeling the hand-picked apples from the orchard down the road to mashing potatoes over the stove, each moment is an opportunity to connect. You can ask them about what they did with their parents on Thanksgiving, and they can let you vent about how hard your classes are at college. These conversations come a lot easier when you are doing an activity instead of just sitting on the couch together.

There are many different steps that go into making the meal that you might not have thought about before. They decide whom to invite, what to make, where to go for ingredients, and how to clean up the messy house. All of this takes a lot of effort, and

it is easy for something to go wrong. One day you will use what you have learned to host family and friends.

Some parents might say they do not want their kids in the kitchen. This is understandable, but you should still offer to help.

For students who might not have good relationships with their parents, something like cooking together could seem quite daunting.

You might give each other a chance by communing around the festive holiday spirit. Thanksgiving should be a time when you can be thankful for the things that you have and not only be thinking about how distance grows between you.

Food brings people together. Memories are more vivid when they involve action, and this Thanksgiving season can be one you will never forget.

Mark den Hollander is a junior studying English.

Opinions

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A Professor’s Opinion

November 2, 2023 A5 The Hillsdale College faculty gave Jilly Beans resounding approval.

Courtesy | TripAdvisor

Compiled by Quinn Delamater

“Where’s the best coffee in Hillsdale?”

Christopher Busch, English “My favorite coffee place is Jilly Beans for the great mochas, friendly staff, and sunny front windows. For takeout, it would be Biggby- all the same reasons, but the sunny windows are in my car, of course.”

Brita Stoneman, Rhetoric

Kelly Franklin, English

Kristi Matson, Music

“Not Jitters because they rarely have half and half. Jilly Beans, however, has great coffee (and half and half)!”

“My favorite place to get coffee is from my favorite slightly-beat-up Yeti mug.

First thing in my kitchen every day.”

“I am not a coffee drinker- I prefer a sweet drink or a yummy scone or muffin, and I am partial to Jilly Beans, especially the Hillsdale location, because it is centrally located between the college and my neighborhood.”

Halloween is out, Christmas is in Sexism isn’t

Halloween decorations overtaken by Christmas trees in department store.

Courtesy | Reddit

By Ameera Wilson Collegian Reporter

Now that we’ve had our first snowfall — I’m referring to the afternoon dusting on Tuesday — I’m ready to start celebrating Christmas.

I know that might offend a lot of people. We’re sup-

posed to save the Christmas songs and movies, the trees and lights, and all the fun stuff for when it is “truly” the season.

I get it. Everyone wants to save all the special feelings so they don’t get overused.

There are only so many songs and if we start playing them

in October, no one will want to hear them in December.

Well, I’ve already watched four Christmas movies this fall.

The excellent women of Benzing Residence started watching them the day after Fall Break.

I started singing Christmas music in September and have been listening to it in sporadic bursts since.

I like Christmas, and I believe in the American values of life, liberty, and pursuing happiness by belting Mariah Carey at any point of the year.

Nobody has to string up lights right after Halloween.

But if I do, no one can tell me to take them down.

I refuse to listen to anyone who tries to condemn my celebration of the savior Jesus’ birth. He came for me in September as well as December.

Especially when students are away from home, enjoying early Christmas festivities should not be discouraged.

Everyone has to learn how to deal with homesickness, and Christmas is as homey as you can get. Nothing reminds me of home more than a good Christmas song.

Missing your family? Enjoy some Michael Buble. Feeling down? Make a gingerbread house. I guarantee immediate stress relief.

So don’t judge those enjoying some early Christmas celebration.

It’s cold enough that I don’t feel bad at all about singing “Let It Snow,” though I didn’t feel bad about it when it was sunny either.

In my opinion, ‘tis the season to celebrate all things Christmas.

Ameera Wilson is a sophomore studying the liberal arts.

based or trad

By Therese Boudreaux Collegian Reporter I’ve never considered myself a blue-haired feminist.

I didn’t see “Barbie.” I like wearing dresses and I enjoy going to the traditional Latin mass.

But I’m tired of sexism on this campus. I had never encountered anything like it before coming here. Like most conservatives, I would scoff at people who argued that sexism is still a problem. “What world are they living in?” I thought. “No one thinks like that anymore.”

Sadly, I have been proven wrong. I don’t think the majority of Hillsdale students have fallen into this delusion, and I’ve never felt unsafe or threatened here – but I do get annoyed. Here are a few examples worth mentioning.

A male classmate unironically argued that the recent predator on campus should be freed from jail because “sex offenders aren’t a big deal.”

I’ve witnessed multiple guys make derogatory and demeaning jokes about women — repeatedly and in public. This has twice happened in front of a friend who suffers PTSD from childhood sex abuse and manipulation.

I’ve even heard several women seriously argue

that women are intellectually and creatively deficient compared to men. It’s not my business if you want to live under that mindset, but monopolizing conversation at a Saga table to state it as objective fact is just bizarre.

The unholy resurrection of this mindset has unfortunately stemmed from several prominent conservative figures, such as Candace Owens, who are understandably frustrated by the cultural attack on men.

But while they diagnose the problem correctly, they arrive at the most incorrect conclusions possible. Sorry to break it to you, but propagating the most tired rhetoric in human history is hardly a novel or revolutionary act.

Sexism and the degradation of women isn’t “based” or “trad.” It’s asinine and disgusting. And I would hope that any Hillsdale student — especially a Christian — would know better.

Let’s not prove the leftists correct that conservatives are a sexist bunch. At the very least, keep those conversations out of Sunday brunch.

Therese Boudreaux is a senior studying politics and journalism.

Finding grace and salvation in one of America’s scariest series

By Susannah Stonebraker Collegian Cartoonist

I grew up with a rare condition that meant I could never sleep.

Since I can remember, every night after my family went to bed, I would creep downstairs into a world of my own. I’d tiptoe through my house as if it were an abandoned palace, armed only with a notebook and a bag of chocolate chips.

I heard voices echoing all around me, clearly human but just beyond recognition.

My walls seemed to vibrate with swarms of insects crawling under the paint. I was claustrophobic and impossibly small, surrounded by wonder to the point of suffocation. Aching with exhaustion to my very bones, I dragged my heavy feet even as my hands shook. Desperate to hide my worsening illness, I spent these hours — nearly half my life — alone.

I had endless free time and I wanted to do some-

thing important with it. I had vague ambitions of learning languages, memorizing poetry, or making a scientific discovery. That was what the notebook was for, I think, but I ripped up every page after I had written on it. Instead, I would curl up on the couch with a mountain of blankets and a mouth full of chocolate, and stare at the television until the sun came up.

After 2 a.m., there were two things on cable: horror movies and trashy reality shows. I tried to avoid the horror at first. Sure, I watched the occasional scary movie, but mostly I tried to find something interesting in real housewives and celebrity wife swaps. I had just turned 8 years old when I encountered “The Shining,” and from then on I was hooked.

Horror became a haven in my house of waking dreams.

It was comforting and gross, and I let it wrap its arms around me like a warm and bloody hug. My life of constant awakeness often felt

like it would never end, and I could feel the lack of rest draining my body and soul. I had no idea what would happen to me, but the prospects weren’t great.

Horror acknowledged my fears that maybe everything wouldn’t be all right. Sometimes a character would survive — the odd final girl or exorcism subject — but usually they were careening toward a terrible and terrifying death. The value they hold in the story isn’t determined by how they end up.

Horror stories don’t rely on resolution; they are about process. I’ve seen characters be ripped apart, perverted, and destroyed in almost every way possible, but I don’t watch for the bodies left behind. Horror takes care of the doomed. It honors the hopeless. The characters scream and run and fight with every scrap of strength in their bodies. It goes nowhere, but we still watch it because it matters somehow.

When I was 9 years old, I watched the movie “Saw,” the first in a franchise about torture. Occasionally it will put up a façade of plot or insight, but people usually go to those movies to see complex traps rip apart sacred human bodies like meat.

Still, those bodies fight and die, so I watched.

It was dark, and I had moved my blanket fort to the floor, inches away from my TV. Having not yet built up my truly legendary tolerance for gore, I was shaken.

I was also mesmerized by the characters’ furious struggle against their circumstances, so I didn’t turn it off. I don’t remember which trap, which act of cruelty finally did it.

Maybe I was feeling sicker than usual. For a moment, my secret world looked less like a palace and more like one of the traps on screen. I felt my helplessness deeper than ever before, and I cried.

But I was a child who went to Sunday school — so I knew of one person’s story

that didn’t fit into the mold horror movies seemed to follow.

I’ve thought it over so often I’m no longer sure, but I think I felt the Holy Spirit then. The metal torture device in front of me seemed suddenly like a cross — a symbol originally of dehumanization and cruelty. It wasn’t a dream, and it wasn’t a hallucination. It was a moment of deep recognition.

I looked at that trap, and I knew I had seen it before.

In front of me at that moment was Christ, the only person to ever win the battle.

I was doomed to lose, but he had escaped the bloody trap forever. I began to pray as the screaming from the television went silent.

Humans fight, even if it would be less painful to submit. We hate death, and we hate torture. That we fight is a profound statement about how we think things should be. In horror, struggle is good, not because it will lead to survival, but because life is

worth fighting for.

When I was a kid I didn’t know if there was a point to my struggle. Horror stories taught me that my struggle mattered for its own sake, and reminded me that my unusual circumstances didn’t actually make me exceptional — all our stories end in death.

Horror movies pointed me to the cross, and suddenly I wasn’t afraid of fighting a losing battle, because I understood that I didn’t have to win. Because the battle had already been won, my struggle was enough.

We are all living in a haunted house. We are all trapped with an alien on a closed ship. But we have all been given a piece of the greatest victory ever won.

Christ shared his triumph on the cross with me. I first understood that at 9 years old, while watching “Saw.” Susannah Stonebraker is a freshman studying the liberal arts.

City News A6 November 2, 2023

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Coffee and pizza shop opening in January

By Moira Gleason Assistant Editor A coffee shop and pizza shop will open in downtown Hillsdale in January.

Ad Astra Café and Roastery and St. Joe’s Pizza will share a newly-renovated space at 92 N. Broad St. to create a European-style restaurant, according to Joshua Mincio, a former Hillsdale College student and member of the Kehoe Family Initiative for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Mincio will partner with Patrick Whalen, owner of Ad Astra and operations assistant to the president at Hillsdale College.

“Patrick and I are each bringing our skill sets in to form a robust menu and experience,” Mincio said. “I am the bakery and pizza guy, and Patrick knows coffee better than anyone else around, so we are collaborating to bring all of these things

together in one restaurant.”

From the same counter, customers will be able to order coffee and baked goods all day, as well as pizza at lunch and dinner, Mincio said.

Whalen has owned and operated Ad Astra Coffee Roasters, Hillsdale’s only local coffee roaster, for five years. The company currently operates an online store and provides coffee to the Knorr Family Dining Room.

“Our new cafe will invite folks to experience the freshest coffee in town,” Whalen said.

“You’ll be able to sip an expertly roasted and brewed single origin coffee while sitting near our bright red 3 kilo Mill City roaster as it roasts another batch.”

According to Whalen, Ad Astra is focused on ethical sourcing and the craft of coffee.

“You can trust the coffee you are drinking came from a small farm or co-op and has been sample roasted until we’re

confident we are unlocking all the potential in the bean,” Whalen said. “What we are not is a distant, anonymous, industrial roaster masquerading as socially-engaged in order to sell more crummy coffee. We’re veteran-owned, we all live in Hillsdale, and we take a craftsman’s approach to our trade.”

While Ad Astra has been in operation for years, Mincio will launch a new business when he opens St. Joe’s Pizza. With years of experience working in bakeries and pizzerias across the country, Mincio has been building his new business for the past two years.

The name of the pizzeria combines the patronage of Saint Joseph with a nod to a local landmark, the Saint Joseph River.

St. Joe’s will be the only wood-fired pizzeria in the area and will source ingredients locally, according to Mincio.

“We’ll have high quality pizza, we’ll have high quality coffee in a really beautiful space,” Mincio said. “The goal is to combine the integrity of the products we have – dough made fresh, naturally fermented sourdough, sourcing vegetables from local farmers – with a really beautiful space right downtown.”

Mincio said he has been working with Luke Robson ’17, who owns Hillsdale Renaissance LLC, to renovate the space in preparation for the opening of the businesses.

“The college does beautiful things and builds beautiful buildings, but my goal was to try to do that for the town as well,” Mincio said.

According to Mincio, he and Whalen met when they both worked at St. Martin’s Academy, a Catholic boarding school for boys in Fort Scott, Kansas.

“He had his coffee business operational,” Mincio said. “I

worked in the kitchen there.

I baked bread for the school, so we already had a history of working together. I knew his work ethic, and he knew mine.”

Mincio said he and Whalen formulated the idea of a European-style coffee shop and restaurant four years ago, inspired by author Ernest Hemingway.

“Hemingway would sit in these Parisian cafes and read and write, write about the people he sees and write his novels,” Mincio said. “‘A Moveable Feast’ is a memoir he wrote. It’s about himself. He wrote it toward the end of his career, but it’s about him getting started, so he’s a young journalist. He would basically sit in a cafe and drink a lot of vermouth and write.

We wanted a space that’s not the college, not Rough Draft, where you can buy good food and spend the day if you’re an aspiring writer.”

Because the hours of operation for a coffee shop and a pizzeria don’t necessarily overlap, Mincio said sharing the space and combining their two businesses made sense both financially and in terms of dividing labor.

Ken Koopmans, executive director of Career Services, advised Mincio during his time in the Kehoe Initiative and throughout the process of building his business.

“I think both Patrick and Josh have an eye toward localism, and I think they’re probably good business partners in that way,” Koopmans said. “I think they are two guys with high character that are looking to run a business in a way that aligns with the Kehoe entrepreneurship program but also just aligned with the college and how we want our graduates to run a business.”

Gelzer’s Furniture celebrates 100 years in Hillsdale Activity center to host

By Tayte Christensen Collegian Reporter Hillsdale’s hometown furniture store is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year.

H.J. Gelzer, the original owner, purchased the building in 1923, and the store still resides there today.

Andrew Gelzer, the greatgreat grandson of H.J. Gelzer, said the leadership of Grant Baker, H.J. ‘s grandson, and his wife, Catherine, allowed the store to navigate the economic turmoil of the 2000s.

“It was really Grant’s wife Catherine who really got the furniture store through the Walmart era, through the recession, through the 2008 market bubble crash,” Gelzer said.

The Gelzers also own Gelzer’s Hardware.

“My family has been in hardware since the 1800s,” Gelzer said. “They came to Southern Michigan in 1919.

Before that, they were in Delta, Ohio, where they sold hardware. They left that area in 1918, because they saved German immigrants from a lynch mob and were essentially chased out of town.”

Even as consumers today lean more toward online shopping, Scott Gelzer, son of former CEO George Gelzer, said the store is continuing to prosper.

“Gelzer’s has seen Sears come and go, Montgomery Ward’s come and go,” he said.

“Numerous other department stores that sell other things: the rise of specialty antique

and gift shops, and Walmart to the extent it offers, yet Gelzer’s has persevered and been successful.”

Being a small business with a rich history has its benefits, Andrew Gelzer said.

“We have business relationships and business history going back a century now,” he said. “The relationships that we’ve been able to form over the years with our man-

azon.”

Stockford also said being downtown allows Gelzer’s to be more involved in the community.

“Gelzer’s is located right downtown and that really lets the store see the Hillsdale community,” he said.

“Residents will come into the store to get a new mattress or recliner, or will just come in to chit chat.”

“Being a family-run business allows for us to give back and to be involved in the community. We offer unique customer service and promote the culture of a small town in many ways” ufacturers, with our vendors, with our partners, allows our pricing to be competitive, even though we’re a much smaller operation.”

Mayor of Hillsdale and Manager of Gelzer’s Furniture Adam Stockford said its presence downtown does not increase the price of its furniture.

“Just because we are downtown does not mean our prices are more expensive,” he said. “Our prices are as good as Walmart or Am-

Scott Gelzer credited the longevity of the store to it being a small-town business that values its customers, despite technological advances.

“Gelzer’s has persevered through all of that,” he said.

“The store still offers the basics: walk in, talk with a knowledgeable person, have a conversation, look at some items, read the boxes. Hold the item in your hand if it’s possible, sit in the chair.”

Andrew Gelzer said its size allows Gelzer’s to provide

a personal customer service experience.

“Every business is going to tell you that they give great customer service,” he said.

“To a degree I’m sure that’s true with every business in the world, but with our business in Hillsdale, Michigan, it’s not just good service. It’s good service from someone that you know—you actually physically, personally know someone there.”

Stockford said in addition to great customer service, Gelzer’s is able to give back to the community in ways bigger stores would not be able to.

“Being a family-run business allows for us to give back and to be involved in the community,” he said. “We offer unique customer service and promote the culture of a small town in many ways.”

Andrew Gelzer said one way the business supports the community is through its genuine care for customers.

“We’re not out for the short sale. We’re in it for the long haul,” he said. “The community has figured out that we keep our word, and we’re very proud of that fact.”

The store will be celebrating 100 years with a centennial sale happening later this year, Andrew Gelzer said.

For now, Scott Gelzer said this is a time to appreciate the work put into the store’s life up to this point.

“The 100 year mark gives us a chance to really applaud longevity and sustainability and the quality of the store operation,” he said.

skate night for community

Doug and Sheri Ingles, former owners of the skate rink, skate.

Courtesy | Facebook

By Olivia Hajicek Science and Tech Editor The Well, a faith-based gym and activity center, is hosting a family skate night for the community on Nov. 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The event is free for fulltime members but is open to the whole community. Participants can pay at the door.

The cost is $4 for an individual, $10 for a family of three to five and $15 for a family of six or more. Participants must bring their own skates.

Matthew Kovacic, operations manager at The Well, said they got the idea because the facility used to be a skating rink.

“We’re bringing it back for a night because we’re trying to do more things for the community and families,” Kovacic said. “We’re a family-oriented facility, so we’re trying to do different events throughout the year to give families something to do outside of going to a movie, which is super expensive nowadays.”

Kovacic said they tried to make it affordable for families.

“We just thought it would be something simple to do and something fun for families to do,” Kovacic said.

He said The Well tries to be a place where families can come together.

“One of the big things about The Well is we want to be a spot where families can come and do stuff,” Kovacic said. “We don’t want to be your typical gym where you have to be a certain age to come or if you’re under the age you have nothing to do.”

Kovacic said that if the event goes well they might host another skate night in the future. Chelsea Brown, cafe manager at The Well, said they hope to do more family activities in the future.

“One of the main goals of The Well is to be family-focused,” she said.

She said they want The Well to be a place where people can find community.

“The main focus of everything is to help our community be more healthy — spiritual health, physical health, all the different kinds,” Brown said.

Pregnancy resource center expands its hours

By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter Hillsdale’s only pregnancy resource center has expanded its hours of operation.

“There is great need for material support, relational encouragement, and generally life-affirming resources in Hillsdale County,” said Bryce Asberg ’21, executive director of Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center. “By God’s grace, we have the staff, volunteers, and funding neces-

sary to open up additional hours.”

The center offers free pregnancy tests, consultations, and ultrasounds.

Helping Hands is now open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Fridays, the clinic is open by appointment.

Emelie Randell, office coordinator at Helping Hands, said the decision is about increasing overall accessibility.

“Our main goal was to align our hours with the needs of our clients,” Randell said.

“We had noticed that clients were requesting appointments on Wednesdays so we decided to make the switch.”

This change was preceded by the addition of ultrasound services in 2022 which were aimed at reshaping the center’s impact.

“We now have the ability to provide a picture of the life growing in the womb, which is truly a game-changer for

the moms that we serve,” Asberg said about the center’s new licensed sonographers, supervised by their medical director.

Already this year, Helping Hands has assisted 137 clients, distributing 8,781 diapers and 3,838 baby clothes — the result of steadfast support from the Hillsdale community, Asberg said.

As a nonprofit, Helping Hands relies on donations from individuals, churches, and organizations, notably

including the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, among others.

“This community is incredibly generous to support us in our efforts to serve women and families of Hillsdale County,” Asberg said. “As a private nonprofit we rely entirely on donations to keep our doors open. Hundreds of individuals and organizations across this county give monetary gifts and material donations or support with their time and prayers.”

Helping Hands also engages with its clients and volunteers through surveys designed to enhance services and training programs, according to Randell.

“We will keep innovating and expanding our suite of services to serve more clients more effectively and to continue providing life-affirming services to Hillsdale County,” Asberg said.

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Church to host 21st annual quilt show

By Eleanor Whitaker Collegian Reporter Quincy United Methodist Church will host its 21st Annual Quilt & Craft Show on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m to 3 p.m.

Debbie Zakrzewski, an organizer of the event, said the quilt show is an integral part of the church’s community outreach to Branch County and surrounding areas.

“We have a quilting group in our church that has met for probably three years,” Zakrzewski said. “We make lap quilts for people of Branch County in nursing homes, and we make baby quilts. It’s the quilting ladies who have taken over the show and continued to have quilting remain in the community for others to view.”

This year, a highlight of the show will be the “Quilts for Heroes” display, she said.

Donna Sharp will show her quilts that she made out of patches worn on military uniforms, according to Zakrzewski. The project is a part of a larger plan by Sharp and other women to sew quilts for veterans and military personnel who are deployed overseas.

Rachel Labram, pastor at QUMC, said in a press release the colorful sanctuary filled with quilts showcases the craftsmanship of the community “It is amazing to see all of this hand-crafted artwork,” Labram said. “To think of the hours and skill each quilt took to create is very moving.”

Violence from A1 Stiverson emphasized the importance of the court being “approachable” for victims.

“Approaching this Domestic Violence Court holistically and creating a coordinated community response will lead to better outcomes, from fast-tracking domestic violence cases, to increasing victim support and communication, and increasing offender accountability and supervision,” she said in a press release from Domestic Harmony.

Across the last 15 years, the number of domestic violence victims in the county has been slowly trending down yearover-year, according to Michigan State Police data.

From 2012 to 2022, the percentage of domestic violence victims to total criminal offenses in Hillsdale County have decreased from 20% to 8%.

In 2012, there were 321 domestic violence victims and 1,576 total criminal offenses in the county.

In 2022, the most recent year available, domestic violence victims had dropped to 252, while total criminal offenses increased to 3,252.

In 2007, there were 462 domestic violence victims.

The lowest year since that was 2019, when there were 155 victims. The number increased during the COVID pandemic, spiking at 270 in 2021, before decreasing again in 2022.

While the numbers have dropped over the years, Jordan said Domestic Harmony’s services are in just as high demand as ever.

“We have six rooms and all of them are full,” Jordan said. “As soon as one family leaves, there’s another family in there.”

Jordan said it has been

Zakrzewski said she is always impressed by the variety of quilts displayed.

“One year we had a quilt that was from the Civil War era,” Zakrzewski said. “We never know what we are going to receive. The quilts come from the whole community, sometimes from out of state, but we receive about 100 quilts each year.”

For a cash-only admission ticket of $5, an attendee may browse rows of quilts while reading a souvenir book that describes the story behind each one. Zakrzewski said attendees enjoy learning more about the individuals who quilt in their community.

“Each person who brings in a quilt tells us a little story about their quilt,” Zakrzewski said. “So we compile it all into a book, and so when you come in and you can say, ‘Oh quilt number one, this is the story of who made it or how they received it.’ So that’s a really interesting thing that people enjoy.”

Downstairs from the Quilt Show, the church will host craft vendors selling items such as Christmas wreaths, stained glass, and wood creations. Lunch will also be available for purchase, in addition to baked goods and nuts.

“This event celebrates the generations of women who passed down this artform and the bonds of friendship ‘stitched together’ over the quilts,” Labram said. “We hope others are blessed and inspired by it.”

like this consistently all year.

Sometimes, they even have more families needing shelter than they have room for.

“We don’t have a waitlist,” Jordan said. “If someone needs shelter, we are going to make it work, or at least help get them to a safe situation.

November 2, 2023 A7

Farmers market ends, winter market begins Sophomore Tayte Christensen and junior Ruthie Chinery enjoy the farmers market.

Erik Teder | Collegian

By Carly Moran Assistant Editor Although the Hillsdale Farmers Market has ended for the season, the community can look forward to the winter market beginning soon.

The winter market will open Nov. 11 at Hillsdale Brewing Company and will run every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until the outdoor market returns in May. Hillsdale residents now have a platform to sell their products and monetize their hobbies year round, something that was more difficult before the inauguration of the winter market.

Lisa Trenary, owner of Trenary Products, will continue operating her venue during the winter market. She started her shop during COVID-19 after reevaluating a career of working in machine shops.

She went on to sell her various skincare products and baked goods at the market this year, inspired by a family history of producing skin ointments with her grandma growing up.

“I have the recipe from her book,” Trenary said. “She wrote everything down by

hand. It was a fun thing for us to do when I was younger together. We’d spend weeks at a time every day after school, when the crops were ready, and we pressed all of our oil by hand with all the flowers from her garden.”

Her family skin salve recipe features all-natural ingredients, including flaxseed oil, vitamin E, and beeswax. She said the tradition has even been passed down to a fourth generation: her children.

“Now my kids helped me with everything,” Trenary said. “The bonding experience is being passed down, the knowledge is being passed down, so that it won’t ever be left to be forgotten.”

The family business not only creates happy memories, Trenary said, but it also heals the rural community.

“As farmers, we end up either with chapped skin in the winter or cuts and scrapes on our hands from baling hay, working with the farm equipment and the animals,” Trenary said. “So that’s definitely been my best seller at the farmers market.”

Ashlyn Neveau ’18 has been running her small business, Hillsdalian Goods, for

three years. She has been at the market for five years total, including two years of running another small business as a college student. She says she looks forward to continuing her business at the winter market.

“For the first year of Hillsdalian Goods, I was working full time in the Student Activities Office,” Neveau said.

“Now, I stay home full time with my toddler, so my business has really become both my creative outlet and the way I connect with the community.”

Neveau shares her designs on instagram, where she frequently posts the moniker “It’s the People.”

“It’s been especially fun to see the increase in students attending the market over the past few years,” Neveau said. “I love hearing the way people respond to seeing ‘It’s The People’ on my products. I get a wide range of comments about the slogan and it’s always pretty entertaining.”

Reading resident Tamara Bontrager and her family decided to sell products from their small farm for the first time at the market this year.

They sell beef, pork, and eggs.

They also bake small batches of goods as The Little Kitchen Co. Bontrager said they enjoyed the experience so much that they are considering joining the winter market this year as well.

“I love good, homemade food, and I love a good challenge,” Bontrager said. “Some of the recipes I use are ones that my family has used for a long time and some are ones that I’ve struggled through and flopped many times before I mastered it. My sourdough is all made from a starter I made two years ago when I decided I needed a new challenge in the lulls of winter.”

The Bontrager Family Farm will continue to sell at the winter market as well as on their property in Reading.

Besides operating the farm for a living, Bontrager’s husband is a truck driver.

“With this being our first year at the market, we felt very welcomed,” Bontrager said. “I loved seeing the commitment the community has to shopping small and local.”

er services.”

Judge Stiverson said with the minimal resources Hillsdale County currently has to address domestic violence, she hopes the new court will make a huge difference.

“Rural innovation is necessary when dealing with issues

[also] going on in the home,” Upton said.

Upton also said she is also hopeful the court will be able to better serve families with its more specialized focus.

“Childhood trauma is a real thing, and witnessing domestic violence can affect children

same people in court over and over again and ultimately have fewer victims.”

Wisniewski said in many communities there would be multiple different services assisting families and victims, while Hillsdale only has Domestic Harmony.

majority of the domestic violence cases in the county are of “intimate partner violence,” which is what Domestic Harmony specializes in.

Wisniewski said while intimate partner violence is a big problem, she thinks Hillsdale County has a unique problem because of the number of multi-generational families.

“It’s not always violence between partners,” she said.

“You hit the domestic violence criteria in a lot of different situations. The assumption is that it is intimate partner violence, but there can be so many other situations.”

Jordan said she’s had many cases of the victims returning to their abusive partner, which is very common, especially in intimate partner situations.

“It’s a cycle of violence,” she said. “It’s hard for people when they do love someone and they hope they will change, but they don’t.”

Wisniewski said that she sees the same thing in her experience.

“We have a lot of people with limited means, meaning they are limited in if they can leave the situation,” she said.

“We see the same victims over and over again.”

Jordan said that, even in situations where they have worked with the family before, they are always willing to help the next time the victim decides to act.

“We understand that going back is a part of domestic violence at home,” Jordan said.

“We just hope they remember for next time that we are right here.”

Readers can contact Domestic Harmony at (888) 439-1454. The program is always looking for additional volunteer help and has a list of needs.

City of Hillsdale Chief of Police Scott Hephner and the Hillsdale County Sheriff ’s Office could not be reached for comments.

Red silhouettes were displayed on the court house lawn to honor victims of domestic violence in October.

Courtesy | Facebook

We’ll even refer them to shelters in Coldwater, Jackson, or Adrian if we don’t have room.”

Jordan said many of the women and children that end up in Domestic Harmony are in the lower socioeconomic sphere, meaning they often don’t have the resources to leave abusive situations.

“It’s a mountain to climb, but if you are in that situation, give us a call,” Jordan said. “You don’t just need to come in for shelter either, we also offer counseling and oth-

of violence in a community where funding, services, and other resources are at a minimum in comparison with other parts of the state,” she said.

Heather Upton, executive director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Hillsdale, said her organization often finds domestic violence is involved when children are removed by social services.

“Most of the cases we have, the removal is due to substance abuse issues, but oftentimes domestic violence was

in the same way as if they were the ones being abused,” Upton said. “I think it [the court] could help a lot of families in our communities.”

Jamie Wisniewski, chief assistant prosecutor for Hillsdale County, said she believes the court will have a positive impact on addressing the root issues of domestic violence.

“I think it will be an amazing resource for the community,” she said. “This program should be a step in the right direction so we stop seeing the

Jordan said some of the biggest issues facing victims in a rural county like Hillsdale are the lack of transportation, housing, and policing.

“There are some places in the county that you might call the police, but it is a 45-minute drive before anyone could get there,” Jordan said.

Jordan said this is especially hard because often victims will wait until the very last minute to call.

According to a report from the Michigan State Police, the

A8 November 2, 2023

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Sports Shotgun

Chargers face back-to-back travel competitions

By Carly Moran Assistant Editor The Hillsdale shotgun team has had a busy past few weeks, competing in Sparta, Illinois, Oct. 13-15 and San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 21-29.

The ACUI/SCTP Fall Central Midwest Conference Championships in Sparta ended with Hillsdale winning the highest overall team score. In San Antonio, at the National Sporting Clays Championship, team members earned high scores across the board.

“We had Columbus, Sparta, and San Antonio in three week-

ends,” sophomore Leif Andersen said. “It was a lot. I'm behind on my class work by quite a bit, but slowly catching up.”

The World Shooting and Recreation Complex hosted the Midwest conference championships, where Hillsdale beat longtime rival Lindenwood University. Twenty-four colleges and more than 300 athletes competed in the largest collegiate clay target match of the year, with six separate rounds of American trap, American skeet, sporting clays, trap doubles, skeet doubles, and super sporting.

“The worst part about Sparta

is that it's basically in the middle of nowhere,” head coach Jordan Hintz said. “There's no lodging, there's not much for places to eat. The facility itself is massive, it's arguably the biggest shotgun shooting facility in the country. This is the biggest conference championship that they've ever had for collegiate shooting.”

Sophomore Davis Hay earned first men’s highest overall with a score of 433/450, while fifth-year senior Ida Brown earned first women’s highest overall with a score of 428/450.

“Traveling with the team has

been great,” freshman Madeline Corbin said. “I was really excited to go to Sparta. It is such a huge shooting complex.”

In San Antonio, Hillsdale athletes scored high in the main event category. The National Shooting Complex hosted 1,822 shooters respectively.

“I really enjoy the weather and the targets in San Antonio,” Andersen said. “It is always 90 degrees and sunny. The target setters do a really good job of setting very difficult courses. I don't like the sand though. Everywhere you go is sand, sand, sand. I can't imagine how anyone could live or grow stuff on

that god-forsaken sand.”

Hintz broke 239/250 targets in the master class category, while junior Josh Corbin hit 234/250 in the AA category.

Andersen scored 232/250 in the B category, and Hay hit 236/250 in the C category.

“I felt that I didn't perform exceptionally well in Texas,” Andersen said. “We shot five courses, and I feel that I did well on two of them. I think the whole team was a little disappointed in our performance, but we were all pretty tired and worn down from the constant travel. It was a great opportunity for us, and I think we got

some very good practice in Texas.”

In the women’s division, Brown broke 211/250 targets, while senior Jessica Strasser hit 209/250.

“I don't know that we will be able to do things much different than we have done this fall,” Hintz said. “We've shown at back-to-back competitions that the strategy that we're using is not hurting us. There's not really much to go against in trap and skeet, but there definitely is always room to improve in sporting clays.”

Swim

Swimmers beat Albion at senior day home meet

By Maddy Welsh Senior Editor At its only home meet of the season, Charger swim celebrated its senior day Oct. 28 with a commanding win against Albion College 135-66.

“Despite the weakness of Albion, we swam as great as I have ever seen in a dual meet with numerous best times and two pool records broken in the 400 medley relay and Megan’s performance in the 200 fly,” head coach Kurt Kirner said.

“Spirits were very high with it being senior day and parents weekend.”

The 400 yard medley relay was the first event of the meet and the winning team comprised senior Caroline Holmes and juniors Joanna Burnham, Megan Clifford, and Lucia Ruchti who finished in 3:59.44, a second faster than the previous record. Clifford’s new pool record in the 200 yard butterfly (2:06.33) was a second faster than her swim at last year’s Albion meet around the same time in the season and only about five seconds short of the time that made her an All-American in the spring.

Kirner said these were “confident” performances.

“In the first event, the 400 medley, those four came out

and set the standards for the meet, inspiring everyone on our team,” he said.

Junior and captain Emma Dickhudt said she was pleased

point in the year,” she said.

“We’ve been looking back on last year and we’re a lot faster so that’s really exciting.”

Dickhudt won the 200 yard

the 50 free, which is always exciting, and then in the 200 breaststroke I won the event and I did the same time I did last year at GMACs last year, so

three senior members of the team: Holmes, Sarah Pataniczek, and Phoebe Johnston.

“It was really sentimental and I'm glad it was over par-

Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn poses for a picture with the Chargers at the home meet.

Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

with the results of the meet.

“We’re at a tough point in our training, but our times have been really good for this

breaststroke in 2:26.90 and placed third in the 50 yard freestyle.

“I went a lifetime best in

that’s a pretty big deal,” Dickhudt said.

The home meet also served as an occasion to celebrate the

ents weekend because my family got to be there,” Johnston said. “It's a little bittersweet to be a senior because I am so

thankful for everything this team has done for me and the ways it has helped me grow, but I also think Hillsdale has really equipped me to launch into the next phase.”

Dickhudt said she’s enjoyed her time on the team with the class of 2024.

“They’re all very influential on our team and team culture so they’ll be missed for sure,” she said.

The home meet was well-attended — even College President Larry Arnn made an appearance.

“It was really nice of him to show up and support us,” Dickhudt said “He wanted to meet each of us and he was asking a lot of questions like, ‘what event is this?’ and ‘how do you swim it?’ and things like that, so that was really kind of him.”

This weekend, the Chargers will compete twice: first against Indiana Wesleyan University on Friday and then against Malone University and Davis Elkins College on Saturday.

“It will be primarily a sprint weekend with a lot of shorter events to focus on our race mentality of just getting up and firing off a good performance,” Kirner said.

Rugby

Hillsdale heads to Franciscan University for league finals

By Luke Waters Collegian Freelancer The Hillsdale club rugby team secured its fifth win of the season, defeating the Grove City College Wolverines 75-0. This resounding victory took place during a home game at Hayden Park on Saturday, Oct. 28.

With this victory, Hillsdale's club rugby team advanced to the Allegheny Rugby Union semi-finals, and they are now preparing for the ARU League Championship. A win against the Penn West Cal University Vulcans at Franciscan University would open the pathway to the regional championship in Saint Louis, Missouri, and potentially the national championship.

The first half of the game set the tone for a lopsided contest, with Hillsdale racking up an impressive 45-point lead. The Wolverines struggled to counter Hillsdale's relentless offense, with the first try of the game scored by senior and former Chargers offensive lineman

Noah Parlee.

"We were willing to play with a lot more physicality," Parlee said. "This is an 80-minute game, and by minute 60, if you've been hit in the mouth repeatedly, it gets exhausting, but our guys just pushed through.

We just took it to a different level than they were willing to take it."

Sophomore team captain Elijah Pangrazio showcased his skills with an impressive 35-yard run, breaking through five tackles. Sophomore right wing Kellan Pollack contributed with two tries in the first half.

“At this point, I still had completed no tries,” sophomore left wing Ezra Phillips said. “So I looked at him and was like ‘I’m going to catch up to you.’”

As the game progressed, the outcome became increasingly clear. Senior front row hooker Liam Martin, known for his formidable defensive tackles, contributed to the offensive effort. His brute force attack and forward crash furthered Hillsdale's

lead.

“Within 10 minutes we knew they couldn’t beat us.

There was no way,” Phillips said.

Head coach and junior Robert Brandau said mid-

stay,” Brandau said. Hillsdale maintained a 45-0 lead, and the second half continued with remarkable plays.

S econd row lock and freshman Luke Jones and Martin made notable con-

The Hillsdale club rugby team beat Grove City 75-0 at home Oct. 28.

Courtesy | Jessica Phillips

way through the game, he reminded the team it needed to play all the way to the whistle.

“Score ever ything you can, don’t disrespect the other team, and show everyone at home that rugby is here to

tributions. Pangrazio passed the off to Pollack, who went down, but not before passing back to Pangrazio. Pangrazio ran about 40 yards, shook off three to five players, putting the ball in the middle of the try. Jones picked up the ball

and punched it in 10 yards from the line. Senior Flanagan Anderson chipped the ball to himself then handed it off to Martin, who punched it in for a try. Phillips picked up the ball for another successful try in the second half.

“Phillips is such an incredible athlete that when the Grove City guy dove for the tackle, Ezra wasn’t even there,” praised Anderson.

Toward the end of the half, Martin made a successful try as freshman flanker Jonah Kirsten pulled him aside, insisting the team would feed him the ball. They tossed the ball to him as three forwards got behind him and pushed him into the try zone for his first-ever successful try.

The road to victory showcased the team's dedication and adaptability. Brandau highlighted the application of set plays, a somewhat unusual approach in rugby.

These set plays allowed the team to apply structured strategies in the midst of the dynamic game.

“This is somewhat unusual in rugby, and especially in

our league because rugby is such a fluid, spontaneous, and ever changing game, but my guys were able to apply set plays in the midst of all the action,” said Brandau.

Brandau credited the team’s journey to success to its recent experiences against strong opponents.

“Prior to Grove City, we played the State University of New York at Fredonia. We only won against them 65-0, and they were a worse team,” Brandau said.

“We just applied everything that we learned at Notre Dame and John Carroll, brought that into Fredonia, and gained confidence there.

From there we could blow out Grove City, who was by far the better team.”

With its victor y over Grove City, Hillsdale's club rugby team is faced with a significant decision.

“We're struggling to decide if we want to travel to St. Louis, just because we're tight on funds,” Brandau said.

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Volleyball

November 2, 2023 A9

Hillsdale secures 20th win this season

By Ty Ruddy Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale volleyball team beat Kentucky Wesleyan University in three sets Oct. 27 and Trevecca Nazarene University Oct. 28.

The Chargers first traveled on Friday to play Kentucky Wesleyan and started the weekend strong with a win, dominating the first set, 2515. Wesleyan rallied in the second set, but Hillsadale

prevailed, winning 25-20.

The visitors did not relent in the third, pushing the game into extra points. Hillsdale won the last point, taking the set, and the match 29-27.

Senior Middle Hitter Megan Kolp led the charge for Hillsdale, posting twelve kills in three sets. Junior libero Alli Wiese added two service aces and helped round out the match on defense with sixteen digs.

“Kentucky Wesleyan did

make a run against us late in the third set, but we were able to hold them off and beat them in three,” said Allyssa Van Wienen, an assistant for Hillsdale College.

Van Wienen said the team made the six hour drive to Kentucky Wesleyan the day of the match, which she said is always a gamble.

“Fortunately, we were able to focus in mentally and grind it out against the Panthers,” Van Wienen said.

Hillsdale dug up the same result in its second game of the weekend, traveling to Trevecca Nazarene to fight and finish the Trojans in three. Hillsdale took care of business handily in the first set, winning 25-15. The Trojans made a push in the second set, but Hillsdale escaped with a 26-24 victory after the set was sent to extra points.

The Chargers finished their successful weekend on a 2522 win in the third set over

Nazarene. The win was Hillsdale’s twentieth this season.

Popplewell led Hillsdale against Trevecca. Fourteen points came from kills by Popplewell. Defensively, she posted fourteen digs and three blocks. Other Chargers also contributed in big mome nts.

“We had some key players of our own step up in crucial times and that is what made the difference in the match,” said Van Wienen. “Audrey Ri-

ley, our 5th year senior who is a trained defensive specialist, ended up in the front row due to a lack of substitutions and put away two kills to get the advantage in the game and then the win.”

Hillsdale will play at home next, taking on Malone University Nov 3. They play Walsh University the following day, Friday Nov. 4, for senior day.

Feature

Kalthoff '23 seeing success in Slovakia

By Jamie Parsons Collegian Reporter When Peter Kalthoff ’23 stepped onto the court for his first professional basketball practice, he was overcome with excitement. Peter looked around at his new teammates who he had met just 15 minutes earlier, itching to practice with them. The smell of freshly opened uniforms, new sneakers, and leather reminded Peter of the latest phase in his basketball career. He was no longer in his hometown of Hillsdale. He was in unfamiliar territory. The next few hours would be crucial for Peter to make an impression on the team and learn his strengths and weaknesses.

Peter decided to continue his career in basketball when he finished college, signing a professional contract with the Slovakian team Basketbalový Klub Iskra Svit to play in its 2023-2024 season. The con-

tract was complete with benefits that accommodated both him and his wife.

“Overall, I have really liked it,” Kalthoff said. “It is a wonderful opportunity and a blessing to put the ball through the hoop for a living, and so it's been a fun way to think about going to work each day.”

Kalthoff ’s life as a pro athlete is fully packed. He said his days start by waking up at 7:30 a.m. and heading to his first practice. During practice, they focus on either skills, shooting, film, or weights, followed by a team lunch and a few hours of rest. Later, he has a second team practice and team film.

Peter said he finishes the day by eating dinner with his wife at home, reading a book, or calling his family.

According to Kalthoff ’s father, dean of Faculty and professor of history Mark Kalthoff, his son broke his hand during winter break his fourth year at Hillsdale, causing his season to

end unexpectedly. Dissatisfied with how his season ended, Peter decided to take a fifth year.

“Summer came, and it wasn’t clear what his senior year would be [like] given his junior year,” Mark Kalthoff

“He was a tremendous athlete, he just needed to get a little stronger,” Tharp said. “I am not sure if he would have had this immediate success if he had only been at Hillsdale for four years.”

Hillsdale alumnus Peter Kalthoff plays professional basketball in Slovakia. Courtesy | Peter Kalthoff

said. “But he worked really hard over the summer and continued to improve.”

John Tharp, Kalthoff ’s coach at Hillsdale, said he thought it was a good decision for the athlete to take a fifth year.

As a person constantly striving to improve himself, Kalthoff reached out to an agent at the end of his fifth year to help him find a pro basketball team to play for in Europe.

Tharp said he was very hap-

py and proud when he found out that Kalthoff was interested in playing pro basketball.

Mark Kalthoff and Tharp credit Kalthoff ’s success to his hard work and diligence to the sport. Both agreed that Kalthoff is his own greatest competition, working to be the best possible version of himself.

“He practiced hard every single day,” Tharp said. “He gave maximum effort on the floor.”

According to the Hillsdale College Athletic Department, Kalthoff finished his 20222023 season as a first-team All G-MAC player, ranked second on the Hillsdale men’s basketball team in scoring 13.9 points per game.

“He is one of the best, if not the best athlete I have ever coached,” Tharp said.

Kalthoff ’s success continues as he hones his craft in Slovakia. Kalthoff said Peter scored 16 points, made 15 rebounds,

and blocked four shots during his game against BKM Lucenec Oct. 7.

Kalthoff said people looking to play their sport at a professional level should continue to work hard and put extra hours in at the gym while you’re young and while your body can still take it.

“Spend a little time watching some European basketball,” Kalthoff said. “I would recommend watching the EuroLeague or EuroCup Basketball and Basketball Champions League.”

Mark Kalthoff and Tharp said Kalthoff ’s humility and kindness make them especially happy to see him succeed in Slovakia.

“He defines what it means to be a true Hillsdalian,” Tharp said. “He is an example to every student athlete of what hardwork and patience is all about.”

Charger chatter Phoebe Johnston, Swim Compiled by Quinn Delamater

If you could choose one

If you could perform

song to play every time

with any musician, who

you walked into a room,

would you pick?

what would you choose?

Post Malone, Noah Kah-

“Hey Ya” by Outkast.

an, or maybe Pitbull.

How

What made you want to

has

swimming

helped you grow in your

pursue swimming in col-

personal life?

lege?

By shaping my perspec-

I thought it’d be cool to

tive that if I can sur-

say I was a college ath-

vive college with good

lete to my kids one day

grades, a social life, and

and exaggerate how

swim, then anything that

challenging it was and

comes next seems easy.

how good I was. If my

Would you rather fight

kids ask, I was an Olym-

100 duck-sized hors-

pian.

es or one horse-sized

What’s the last thing

duck?

you watched on TV?

One horse sized duck

Gossip Girl. Chuck Bass

because I would feed

is the most amazing

him and then befriend

character, and I stand by

him, and he would fight

that.

my battles for me.

Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

Charger

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

A10 November 2, 2023

Football

Chargers dominate Lake Erie Storm 52-21

Redshirt freshman running back Bobby Hoth made his debut in the game against the Lake Erie College Storm Oct.28. Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan

By Alex Deimel Assistant Editor The Hillsdale Charger football team won its third straight matchup this season against the Lake Erie College Storm in an offensively dominant 52-21 game Saturday, improving to a 4-5 overall record this season, as well as a 4-3 conference record.

After redshirt freshman linebacker Jacob Vance recovered a Lake Erie fumble on the first drive of the day, senior running back Michael Herzog continued his dominant season with a 27-yard run to get the Chargers in the red zone, and then he gave Hillsdale an early 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run.

Herzog finished the day with three touchdowns and

156 rushing yards, surpassing 1,000 total rushing yards this season for the first time in his collegiate career. Herzog became the 10th Charger football player to ever accomplish that feat.

“I was only able to get to 940 last season, so I’m pretty excited,” Herzog said. “Today was a special one because if you look at my yards after contact it’s pretty low, so I have to give a big thanks to the big men up front for making that 150-plus game possible.”

Herzog won his second G-MAC offensive player of the week award this season with his performance. His total of 1,002 rushing yards is the most of anyone in the conference and eighth in NCAA DII through nine

games. His 16 rushing touchdowns also leads the G-MAC, and is tied for third in NCAA DII. “You can’t stop the MOG train,” senior quarterback Jake Burger said, in reference to Herzog’s nickname.

Offensive superiority became key for the Chargers throughout the rest of the game, putting up 201 rushing yards in the first quarter alone, including a 71-yard run from Herzog at the end of the quarter. Senior kicker Julian Lee recovered an onside kick which set Herzog up for a touchdown. Sophomore tight end Josh Lee blocked a punt which redshirt freshman defensive back Colin Morrow returned for a touchdown.

The Chargers took a 35-0 lead before the quarter finished.

The Chargers finished with 505 total yards against Lake Erie, with 359 of them on the ground. In addition to Herzog, senior running back Caden Goggins had 54 total rushing yards, which was a season high for him.

Senior Garrit Aissen got the start at quarterback, but he only had four throwing attempts before getting subbed out by Burger. Aissen completed three of his four throws, including one for a 34-yard touchdown to freshman receiver Shea Ruddy.

Hillsdale had a total of four quarterbacks play in the game, including sophomores Gordie LaFontaine and Reid Schumaker, who both got reps in the fourth quarter.

“It was really awesome to see the younger guys get in at

the end of the game,” Aissen said. “We spend every day at practice with these guys and they don’t get the credit they deserve so it’s really cool.”

Burger saw a few more passing plays than Aissen, completing five of his seven throwing attempts, including a 49-yard pass to sophomore receiver Joe Schmidt, and a nine-yard touchdown pass to Lee in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Chargers played their best half of football so far this season, holding Lake Erie to only seven points in the first half. The blocked punt, two fumble recoveries, and interception by junior safety Sam Zemis were some of the defensive highlights of the day. Zemis’ interception was his third on the year and his second in

two games.

“Defensively, we just have a different mindset than earlier on in the year,” Zemis said. “We had to clean up a lot of stuff earlier in the year, just making mistakes, missing tackles, but we’ve definitely been able to right the ship and rally together and perform much better.”

The Chargers look to extend their three-game win streak against their G-MAC rival the Walsh College Cavaliers Nov. 4 on the Cavaliers’ home turf in North Canton, Ohio. Walsh brings a 1-6 conference record and a fourgame losing streak into their matchup against Hillsdale where the Chargers are 4-1 in their last five games.

Men's Basketball

Hillsdale opens season with MSU exhibition

By Moira Gleason Assistant Editor The Chargers fell to the Spartans 85-43 in East Lansing as a new Hillsdale men’s basketball starting lineup challenged No. 4 ranked Michigan State University in exhibition play Oct. 25.

“Anytime that you get an opportunity to play against a great team like Michigan State, you kind of get exposed with your flaws and things that you don't do correctly,” head coach Keven Bradley said. “They punish you for them.”

After graduating six seniors last year, the Chargers had only one returning starter in the contest, junior forward Joe Reuter. Reuter was joined in the starting lineup by sophomores Ashton Janowski, Walt Mattingly, CJ Yarian, and senior Charles Woodhams.

Mattingly led Hillsdale in scoring with nine points, including two baskets from behind the arc for three

each. Reuter scored seven points and led the Chargers with eight rebounds, and junior guard Cole McWhinnie added seven points, three rebounds, and three assists.

The Chargers fell behind 3-20 early in the first half as the Spartans dominated the game on both ends of the court. The Chargers came up short in the remainder of the half to trail by 27 points at halftime.

“Our transition defense was pretty poor,” Bradley said. “That’s a huge credit to them, what they do, and how they play. They put so much pressure on you to get back on defense, every single play. And so we gave up about 20 points on dunks and layups just in transition.”

Reuter said the team adjusted their offense heading into the second half.

“In the locker room, we realized that we had to set better screens within the motion, and I think that’s something we really did

Junior forward Joe Reuter grabs a rebound in the Michigan State Univeristy game.

Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan

well was run offense better for that first stretch of the second half,” Reuter said.

According to Mattingly, offense in the second half improved but still wasn’t enough against a Division I team.

“We we re d oi ng ou r screening and hitting bodies like coach was telling us to, but overall it was a tough game,” Mattingly said.

Hillsdale shot 25% from the floor and 16.7% from the 3-point line in the contest, compared with Michigan State who shot 55% and 34.8% from deep. Despite the loss, the Chargers showed strength in their rebounding, having 42 total rebounds, including 17 offensive rebounds.

The entire dressed roster saw playing time, with ten players scoring for the Chargers.

“We have a lot of young guys who haven’t been exposed to a lot of playing time yet,” Reuter said. “I kind of look on that as a

good thing because they’re malleable. They’re open to change, and they’re open to learning.”

The Chargers will begin their regular season against the Warriors at Wayne State in Detroit on Nov. 10 before facing the Saginaw Valley Cardinals at home on Nov. 12.

“It was a great experience for our guys, but we also know that we’ve got a long ways to go and this is a process,” Bradley said. “Our goal week to week is to get a little bit better than we were the week before. We’re going to continue to keep working and keep thinking about those things we weren’t very good at against State and then try to improve those going into this week.”

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

November 2, 2023 B1

Seniors dress as characters from “The Wizard of Oz.” Linnea Shively | Collegian

C U L T U R E

Best costumed: Students slay Halloween

By Linnea Shively Assistant Editor As midterms wrap up and October comes to a close, students emerge from the depths of the library and face a new challenge: finding a last-minute Halloween costume. Some go above and beyond to make their character come to life. Some throw on a sports jersey and claim it’s good enough. As I celebrated Halloween last weekend in my La Croix costume, I took note of some of what I believe to be the best costumes.

Most artistic costume: Claude Monet was seen showing off one of his masterpieces this weekend due to the artistic talents of sophomores Sophia Widmer and Katie Villa. Monet and “a Monet” won the most artistic costume on two fronts.

“We painted a ‘Water Lilies’ painting on a T-shirt for the costume,” Widmer said. “I’m not sure why we thought it’d be easy to recreate a Monet on a T-shirt with acrylic paint, but it was a lot harder than we expected. We

spent almost four hours painting it and it surprisingly turned out really well!”

Best Seasonal Costume: Christmas arrived a few days early with the Grinch, Max and Cindy Lou Who. Junior Erika Mogelvang, senior Taylor Royston, and sophomore Lauren Wetzstein embodied the Christmas spirit of their characters over Halloweekend.

Best Details: Snake necklaces, bracelets, and rings transformed senior Maggie Wackenhut into Medusa, topped with a dramatic headpiece.

“I’ve always loved Greek my-

thology and sympathized with Medusa,” Wackenhut said. “I wanted to make her alluring and beautiful, not dark and scary. I also already had a sparkly dress in my closet.”

Most Classic Group Costume: Every Halloween has characters from the classic “Wizard of Oz” in attendance.

Senior housemates Emma Widmer as the Scarecrow, Mary Ann Powers as the Cowardly Lion, Lindsey Cool as Dorothy, Grace Hearne as the Tin Man, Elizabeth Troutman as Glenda

the Good Witch, and Caroline Beall as the Wicked Witch of the West committed to their role, complete with a stuffed Toto in Cool’s basket.

Best Movie Reference: Fans of the Disney movie “Ratatouille” would be shocked to see the resemblance between Linguine and sophomore Thomas McKenna. With a chef ’s hat on his head, plastic rat on his shoulder and wooden spoon in hand, McKenna looked like the animated character in real life.

Best Couples Costume:

Sophomores Anna West and Sam Swisher channeled their love for hockey into their hockey player and Stanley Cup costume.

“I found the idea on Pinterest and thought it was perfect because Sam is a hockey player,” West said. “The only issue is I didn’t have a silver dress, so I ended up finding one at Walmart 20 minutes before getting ready to go.”

Best (Cinematic) Sports Costume: Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa put aside their rivalry for the night to celebrate Halloween. Senior Noah Par-

lee dressed-up as Rocky, junior Dravyn Spies as Apollo, and sophomore Patrick Hamilton stepped in as a referee to ensure they remained civil.

“Being able to go and dress up with friends is way more enjoyable than doing it by yourself,” Parlee said.

Best Disney Group(s): Disney’s animated characters of Peter Pan faced-off with the intergalactic characters of Star Wars in a competition for Graceland’s best group costume contest.

While the lightsabers that juniors McKayla Faust, Owen Gerth, Gavin Listro, Bella Dix, and Isaac Green carried added a dramatic effect, the commitment to Peter Pan characters made them the winners in my book.

I apologize to all the Barbies and “Kiss, Marry, Kill” costumes I saw, but I saw too many of these groups for them to make the cut. At least they didn’t fall into the worst costume category: anyone wearing a cowboy hat with jeans.

Students dress up and celebrate the Halloween weekend.

Linnea Shively | Collegian

New Scorsese film is a tragic beautiful masterpiece

By Ameera Wilson Collegian Reporter Going to the theater to watch “Killers of the Flower Moon,” I expected beautiful directing, excellent acting, and left-wing propaganda. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie depicts the conflict in the 1920s between the Osage Native American tribe and the white men who murdered them and stole their money. I expect any movie now that centers on racial themes to shove a leftist mes-

sage down viewers’ throats.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” avoided politics. It wasn’t about race, it wasn’t about white privilege, and it didn’t condemn anyone in the modern day. It simply told a tragic story about men and women and the depths of evil in the human heart.

It was a story about people — the innocent, the evil, and the naïve.

Based on the best selling novel by David Grann, “Killers of the Flower Moon” follows Ernest Burkhart, played

by Leonardo DiCaprio, a soldier coming to the Osage land in Oklahoma to work for his uncle William Hale, played by Robert De Niro, and Ernest’s Native American wife Molly Burkhart, played by Lily Gladstone.

The Osage Indians had become extremely wealthy due to oil found on their land.They became targets for fortune hunters with a string of suspicious deaths benefiting Hale.

The movie tells the story of the creation of the FBI, but mainly focuses on the rela-

tionship between Molly and Ernest.

With a three-and-a-half hour runtime, I wouldn’t say it was a fun watch, but I don’t think it was trying to be.

It is masterful. William Hale is an extremely interesting character, manipulative and twisted. Molly is tragic, and we see through her a desperate strength in a silence that does not mean acceptance.

One major theme of the movie is posed in the form of a question: Where are the wolves?

Early in the movie, Ernest reads a picture book about Osage history and in it there is a page that asks the reader to “find the wolves in the picture.”

The large cartoonish wolves are obvious and stark on the page.

The wolves are here, they are everywhere, and they are not hiding.

Evil is clear. The atrocities committed on the screen were obvious and yet no one could or would stop them from happening.

The history portrayed by the movie is dramatic, but

important. The story teaches about human nature and shows what man can do. It shows the importance of not simply identifying the wolves in the picture but choosing to stop them.

Yes, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is long.

No, it isn’t exactly cheerful.

But it made me think, and that is an accomplishment most modern movies cannot boast.

Take three-and-a-half hours of your time and watch it.

Film and Production Club produces two student scripts, uses student actors

By Elizabeth Crawford Assistant Editor The Film and Production club wrapped up filming last Saturday for its latest production project titled “Act Shun,” written and directed by senior Kenton Baer.

The film stars Jacob Carson ’23, senior Claire Gaudet, junior Jillian Parks, senior Trevor Cekander, senior Jack Leatherwood, and senior Brooklyn Little.

“Act Shun” is a fictional, comedic script about six actors who perform six self-written monologues, hoping they will not be “shunned,”or voted off the show. In the fashion of a typical reality TV show competition, there is a host, cutto interviews throughout the action, and drama written between participants.

“The contestants all prepare original monologues, and by

the end of it the host deduction before the end cides to ‘shun’ one perof the semester. son,” Baer said. “It’s all “Last year, ‘What is a pretty satirical.”

Fundie?’ was released in Baer said before this the middle of hell week project, he had never on reading day,” Kjos worked with a group said. “It seemed to serve quite like this before. as a good break for peo“I wrote the script, ple, and that was in the and submitted it and TV room in the union. presented it to the club, Hopefully we will do and then they liked it something similar this and then we had a ton year, if possible.”

Student directors, actors, and producers gather in Plaster Auditorium to of meetings and then we film on Saturday.

Kjos said this year the produced it,” Baer said. Courtesy | Joshua Burnett Film and Production “I haven’t edited it yet.” club has been trying to Sophomore Joshua expand its audience.

Burnett said he was responsible “The Film and Production from other people.”

“This year the goal has been for determining what the film club has gotten a budget from Baer said he normally uses to expand across campus and needed for production. the Student Federation for iPhones for his projects. get a lot of other people in“I was trying to determine some equipment,” Burnett said.

“This is the highest produc- volved, so that we can help what cameras we need, what “We have a couple of cameras, tion thing I’ve ever directed be- other people make films that lighting we need, what location a few lights, a few mics, but cause we had actual cameras they want to and make their we need,” Burnett said, adding film’s expensive, so we are al- and lights and mics,” Baer said. dreams come to life,” Kjos said. that he had to outsource pro- ways looking for more. I used Senior and president of the The best part of filming duction equipment because of some of my equipment that I Film and Production Club day for Baer, however, was the its expense. have accumulated, and we also Truman Kjos said he hopes to food. borrowed lights and cameras have a showing of Baer’s pro-

“The most enjoyable part of the day was when Little Caesars arrived,” Baer said. “Everyone was really hungry.”

The Film and Production Club is also working on another film this semester with sophomore Joe Johnson, Kjos said. The working title of the film is “A Peculiar Set of Stairs.”

“I would anticipate this one being more about visuals and getting the production right,” Kjos said. “But it’s still in pre-production right now.”

Kjos encouraged students across campus to pitch their ideas to the Film and Production Club.

“If anyone has an idea for a film they would like to make, feel free to reach out and email me,” Kjos said.

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

C U L T U R E B2 November 2, 2023

Students and parents fill up pews in Christ Chapel.

Erin Osborne | Collegian

Taylor Swift reclaims her birth year with her rerelease of 1989

By Rachel Downey Collegian Freelancer

Orchestra puts on first concert of season

By Erin Osborne Collegian Reporter

“Conducting at Hillsdale felt like being handed the keys to a luxury vehicle,” professor and interim conductor Mark Douglass said.

The Hillsdale College Orchestra performed its inaugural concert of the 2023-2024 season Oct. 28 in Christ Chapel.

Douglass conducted the orchestra for the world premier of his own composition, “Fanfare for Orchestra,” at the beginning of the concert.

The orchestra also performed Gabriel Pierné’s “Concertstük for Harp and Orchestra,” Alexander Glazunov’s “Concerto in E-flat Major for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra,” and Antonin Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9 in E Minor ‘From the New World.’”

“The opening piece was Dr. Douglass’ own fanfare,” senior bassoon player Joseph Sturdy said. “It’s a piece that he wrote, which is a very vulnerable place to put yourself in as a conductor and as a composer. It’s an excellent piece, and I’m really glad that we got to play it.”

The fanfare included inspiration from Douglass’ family life.

“He arranged the pieces to represent his sons when they were born,” sophomore Alba Padrón said.

Douglass said he enjoyed watching his piece come to life during its world premiere.

“The premiere was a thrilling because the orchestra was exceptionally accommodating, which isn’t always the case with

new music and orchestras,” Douglass said. “They played with genuine enthusiasm, and I am sincerely grateful for their commitment to performing this new piece.”

Douglass agreed that it was a vulnerable act.

“It was also a bit scary because the composition was deeply personal and transparent,” Douglass said. “Fortunately, it seemed to resonate well with the audience, especially given the context of parents’ weekend.”

Senior Annie Brooks said the piece balanced a contemporary musical style with a high standard of execution.

“The fanfare was beautiful and interesting,” Brooks said.

“You could follow what Douglass was trying to do with the piece with the notes in the program, which was fun.”

Typically, Professor of Music, Choirs, and Orchestra James Holleman conducts orchestra concerts, but Douglass is acting as interim conductor for the semester while Holleman is on sabbatical.

“My favorite aspect of the concert was the unwavering confidence exhibited by the ensemble,” Douglass said. “The musicians were exceptionally well-prepared, understanding their roles and executing them with confidence. The collective hard work paid off, and I could feel their assurance emanating from the orchestra. It was a delightful experience to work with the dedicated, talented, and adaptable students, and I cannot overstate how gracious

everyone was throughout the entire journey.”

Sturdy said working with Douglass was a valuable experience.

“It was really awesome to get to work with Dr. Douglass,” Sturdy said. “He is an amazing talent and we are extremely lucky to have him. His conducting technique is phenomenal and the care he shows for all of the students is unmatched.”

Brooks described Douglass’ conducting style as precise.

“It’s fun to watch Dr. Douglass conduct,” Brooks said. “All conductors have their quirks, and you can tell that he’s a percussionist by the way he conducts.”

The concert featured two concerto competition winners, junior Magdalena Shaltanis on harp, and senior Lydia Magyar on saxophone.

The concerto competition happens every spring, and the winners have the opportunity to play their concertos in the coming concert.

“It was interesting that I could actually hear the harp,” Brooks said. “The timbre of the instruments that it was usually paired with while playing in the concerto allowed the harp to be audible and blend into the orchestra.”

The saxophone concerto combined a traditional jazz instrument with a classical context, Brooks said.

“The saxophone concerto was incredible,” Padrón said.

“Lydia was fantastic, and blew the concerto out of the water.”

on the beat. Some of my less streamed songs on the original album like “Welcome to

Taylor Swift announced the releas e date of her album “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on Aug. 9 to a sold out crowd at SoFi Stadium after months of teasing her fans with hidden messages ranging from Instagram captions to elevator buttons in music videos.

The album was officially released on Oct. 27.

Courtesy | Instagram “ 1 9 8 9 ,” named after Swift’s birth year, signified a symbolic New York” have jumped out rebirth of her artistry as she to me because of this change. transitioned from country They almost seem brand new. pop to synth pop. Chopping In addition to the origiher curls and leaving Nash- nal 16-song tracklist, Swift ville behind for New York City, she also reinvented her image and position in the music business.

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” remains a pop masterpiece in 2023 which has only grown in status since its original version, released in 2014.

As an avid fan of pop music, I have been waiting for this album release since Swift announced she released five new tracks would be re-recording her “From the Vault” — songs first six albums in 2021. I was she wrote in 2014 that did not disappointed. not make it on the original Listening to my favorite album. Produced by Jack AnTaylor Swift album for the tonoff, the vault tracks emit first time anew was exhilarat- a warm tone that transports ing as it was the soundtrack the album from the bustling of my childhood. streets of New York City to My first impression of the crashing waves of a Los “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was Angeles beach. the difference in production The new songs are mostfrom the original album. ly upbeat, with lyrical referSwift’s vocals sound clearer ences to the rise and fall of a and the musical elements are past relationship. Swift’s persharper with more emphasis formance in “Now That We

Don’t Talk” is my personal favorite, as it captures the struggle of cutting ties with a person you once cared about paired with a catchy beat that makes you want to dance around your dorm.

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” has been a long time coming as Swift prematurely dropped her version of “Wi l d e s t Dre ams” and “This Love” in September 2021 and May 2022, but those were not the only surprise drops linked to this album. Released on the morning of Oct. 27, “Bad Blood (featuring Kendrick Lamar) (Taylor’s Version)” remains the sole featured track on Swift’s fifth studio album.

“Sweeter Than Fiction” is another track that was re-released separately, but it is only available on the tangerine vinyl variant sold exclusively at Target.

While I am a biased fangirl writing this article, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is an instant classic that emphasizes Swift’s lyrical talents as well as her love for her fans, whom she addresses in her written prologue to the album.

“You, who saw that I reinvent myself for a million reasons, and that one of them is to try my very best to entertain you, you, who have had the grace to allow me the freedom to change,” Swift writes After reclaiming her birth year, the only things are left for Swift to take back are her reputation and her name.

“While I am a biased fangirl writing this article, I truly believe that ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ is an instant classic that emphasizes Swift’s lyrical talents as well as her love for her fans.”

Professors’ Picks: Lee Ann Fisher Baron, professor of chemistry

From the minds of Hillsdale’s professors: the song, book, and movie everyone ought to know Baron completed her undergraduate degree from Wittenberg University in 1977.

Courtesy | Lee Ann Fisher Baron

“Firmly I Believe and Truly” by John Henry Newman - 1865

“The song I would pick is actually a hymn. The words are from John Henry Newman’s poem, ‘Dream of Gerontius.’

Not only is the hymn a beautifully written profession of faith, but it speaks to a belief in the grace and mercy of

“The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A Kempis - 1427

“As far as books, there are so many great ones that they cannot all be listed here. However, my current read is quickly becoming one of my ‘must read’ picks. The wisdom in this book about how to live one’s life and follow Christ is truly inspiring.”

“The Jesus Revolution” - 2023

“Recently I saw the movie called ‘The Jesus Revolution.’

Based on true events, it recounts a time when many were looking for meaning and all the wrong places and how the power of God brought healing, hope, and true meaning.

Personally, I remeber the two Time Magazine covers (Is God Dead? and The Jesus Revolution) and the excitement about the rapid spread of Christianity knwon as the Jesus Movement. Overall, it is an uplifting story of how anything is possible for God.

Compiled By Joshua Mistry Collegian Reporter

Features

November 2, 2023

QUICK HITS with

Mark McClay

By Christina Lewis Collegian Reporter

What’s your favorite class to teach?

Any Greek or Latin language class. Particularly Greek since that’s my specialty, particularly Homeric Greek.

Why did you become a classics professor?

It’s just an enthusiasm I developed when I was in undergrad, and I just kind of kept pursuing it. I’m fortunate that it worked out. It’s a great deal to be paid to read books and talk about books with your students.

Why should students take a class in the classics department?

I think all of our classes are different ways to open yourself up to so many things other than just what the course is about. If you study Latin or Greek, you’ll find the world of Greek or Roman antiquity, which is interesting in itself.

Students find home away from home McClay’s dream vacation is a trip to Egypt.

Courtesy | Hillsdale College

But you’ll also find all sorts of connections with words you’re familiar with in the English language, with concepts we’ve inherited. They’re both valuable subject matters in themselves and they’re also tangled up with all sorts of other things that are very close to the big questions you can deal with on a day-to-day basis.

What’s your take on audiobooks?

It depends. There are some audiobooks that I really like. There are some books that work well for audiobooks and others that don’t.

I actually like audio books especially for plays and some poetry because it brings out the performance element that’s appropriate to the text. But other types of books I find hard to follow in audio books. Just a couple of years ago, I was listening to an audiobook, “Paradise Lost,” which is fantastic, but I found other plays like Shakespeare which don’t work as well in an audiobook. Its reasoning is too intricate and it’s difficult to follow.

If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would they be?

Assuming they would agree to have dinner with me, I think Socrates. I don’t think there would be any problem keeping the conversation going if he was at the table. I would say Nietzsche, but I think he would fight with Socrates too much. But I’ll go with that.

And maybe Roger Scruton.

He died a few years ago. I never got to meet him, but he’s a great philosopher. So I think he would probably be a good peacemaker.

What’s your dream vacation?

It’s always good when you can spend a length of time in a place and kind of get to know it. I’m a classicist, so I like to see old stuff. I’d love to visit the antiquities in Egypt. I’ve never been to Egypt. Really anytime I have an excuse to travel back to Greece or Italy, I’ll take it.

Meet Mossey’s new mascot, Mossey Ladd adopted Mossey in late September after finding him outside the library.

Courtesy | Colleen Ladd

By Olivia Hajicek Sceince & Tech Edtior Mossey Library has a new mascot: an old orange and white cat named Mossey.

About a month ago, Mossey was sitting outside the library and didn’t move for 24 hours.

“The cat was outside, just a foot from the wall of the outside of the library. He was pretty emaciated-looking — very friendly, but very weak,” said Colleen Ladd, library circulation technician.

Ladd went into the library, grabbed her coat, wrapped the cat up, and took him home during her lunch hour.

“I have a converted chicken coop that is my cat house, so I put him inside there with some food,” Ladd said.

When Ladd called to make an appointment with a veterinarian, they asked for the cat’s name, but she hadn’t thought of a name.

“I thought, ‘OK, I found him by the library; I’ll call him Mossey,’” Ladd said.

The veterinarian said Mossey was at least 10 years old, but Ladd said she thinks he’s at least 15. Ladd said she thinks Mossey is deaf and probably has arthritis, but the vet gave him a clean

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bill of health. Now Mossey is eating well and happy in his new home, Ladd said.

Ladd doesn’t know where Mossey came from, but he was fixed when they found him, so she suspects he had a good life at some point.

“I can’t imagine him hurting the hair on anybody’s head,” she said. “He’s just so kind — and very loving apparently.”

Ladd said Mossey occasionally disappears and is very hard to find even though he’s mostly white. But he always returns and meows for attention.

“This is the most animated he’s been,” Ladd says, as Mossey leans into the petting. “It’s only been two weeks. I think it takes cats a little while to get adjusted.”

Ladd said the library staff are happy to have Mossey for their mascot.

“She came over and told me that she was going to go outside and check out the cat the students had found,” said Library Technician Lori Kirby, “Periodically throughout the weeks that she’s had him, she’s been giving us updates on how he’s doing.”

Kirby said she is a cat lover and has seven of her own.

“We’re all animal lovers around here,” Kirby said.

Library Director Maurine McCourry said the library likes having Mossey for a mascot even though he’s not actually allowed inside the building.

“I think it’s great,” she said.

“There’s kind of a long tradition of library cats.”

McCourry said in the past some libraries have adopted cats, although most have stopped due to allergies and local regulations.

“There’s a book about a cat named Dewey — you know, for the Dewey decimal system,” McCourry said.

The book, “Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World,” by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, tells the story of a rescued cat named Dewey who brightened the lives of people in a small town after being abandoned at a library.

“I just think it’s kind of neat,” Ladd said. “I’ve never got to just find one like that — that really needs a lot of help, and to be able to take him home and to help get him back on his feet again. So I’m just glad that I was the one that was approached so that he could be taken care of and loved.”

A record number of students participate in College Baptist’s adopt-a-student program

By Michaela Estruth Assitant Editor When students arrive at college, they probably don’t expect to find new families, but members of College Baptist Church have “adopted” more than 100 students this fall, a record number since the start of the program.

“Being a part of an adopted family through College Baptist has been one of the biggest blessings in my time at Hillsdale,” senior Ingrid Dornbirer said. “The Maxwells are intentional about checking in, leaving me unexpected gifts, praying for me and inviting me and my adopted siblings over to their house. Their home has become such a safe space for me. I can’t imagine my Hillsdale experience without the support of the Hillsdale community through the adopt-astudent program.”

The adopt-a-college-student program has been a part of College Baptist’s outreach for decades, according to Rachel Cuthbert, head of the program and wife to pastor Ben Cuthbert.

“The adopt-a-student program is a more intentional way to connect College Baptist families with students that intend to make CBC their home church while at Hillsdale College,” Cuthbert said.

“It matches families and students, but what the program looks like specifically can differ depending on families and students’ schedules and interests.”

This year brought a record number of students and families into the program: 118 students were adopted into 39 different families. In comparison, four years ago, about 70 or 80 students were adopted, Cuthbert said. To account for the increased interest, some families have adopted multiple students.

“We have some families that take on one or two students, but this year we have a couple families with eight or nine,” Cuthbert said. “Every year, I stress about having just the right number of family spots for all the students interested, and every year it works out by God’s grace.”

The adopt-a-student program can be whatever the family and students make it, Cuthbert said. Many families have their college students over for meals or drop off care packages. Hillsdale students

also support their younger adopted siblings by babysitting, playing together, or attending sports competitions and theater shows.

“We’ve developed a couple traditions that we try to do every year,” Cuthbert said.

“We always have our students over for dinner and pumpkin carving in the fall. We try to have them over right before Christmas break, for the Superbowl, and we always open our home for anyone who is around for Easter.”

While the program technically only lasts through college, the relationships it creates often last for years afterward. Cuthbert described

“They have benefited from having adopted big brothers and big sisters over the years, and that has had a deep impact on their lives and their faith.” the joy of attending weddings of their adopted students and even becoming “adopted grandparents.”

Some students who remained in Hillsdale have assumed the role of parents adopting college students.

“We currently have families and individuals adopting students in our church who were adopted at one point when they were students at Hillsdale,” Cuthbert said. “I know a lot of lifelong friendships and relationships that have developed through this program.”

Brock Lutz, director of health services at Hillsdale College and an elder at College Baptist, said the program has greatly blessed his family over the years.

“We have loved over the years serving as adopted families for students,” Lutz said. “We feel it is a very important part of being able to serve the college and its students and have been privileged to know many students in that capacity. Many of them we still keep in contact with from over a decade ago.”

While the program is oriented to support students in college, the support often circles back for the families, Cuthbert said.

“This past year, I’ve gotten to watch how an adopted family stepped up in a big way for a student going through a challenging time and how a group of adopted students stepped up to serve a family who was going through significant health challenges,” Cuthbert said.

Lutz said he has seen the impact his adoptive students have had on his own children.

“They have benefited from having adopted big brothers and big sisters over the years, and that has had a deep impact on their lives and their faith,” Lutz said. “We are so grateful for that.”

For many students, leaving home for the first time, missing family and especially younger siblings can be hard to adjust to. Often, fitting into a new family is a comfort in that change, and the kids love it.

“Our kids love having college students around,” Cuthbert said. “They’re incredible Christ-like role models for our kids. We get to see and catch up with them week by week and they are a joy to be around.”

With the growth in the program, more and more students are inheriting not only adopted younger siblings, but fellow student-siblings who they may not have met otherwise.

Freshman Lucy Hicks now shares the same adopted family at College Baptist as Dornbirer.

Hicks said the program has helped her through her freshman year.

“I think the adopt-a-student program gets college students involved in the life of the church and the community,” Hicks said. “They get to learn from older folks and they have a family away from home. It really benefits the students and it also gives a sense of commitment to a church for the students.

Hick’s adopted parents have been a great role model, she said.

“I have been really blessed by the Maxwell’s through prayer and meals! It’s been helpful in my transition to have parental figures here if I need it and to have younger siblings to invest in.”

Dornbirer (center, back ) enjoys fellowship with her College Baptist mom Stephanie Maxwell and the rest of her adopted family.

Courtesy | Ingrid Dornbirer

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November 2, 2023

F E A T U R E S

Left: A crowd memeber boos Stockford’s opponent, Victor Petrov, as he waves a Russian flag.

Right: Stockford takes out Petrov moments before the crowd errupts in cheers.

Courtesy | Lucy Potter

Mayor Stockford knocks out the competition A play-by-play of Stockford’s Halloween fight with Championship International Wrestling

By Colman Rowan Collegian Reporter Mayor Adam Stockford pinned his pro-Russia opponent Victor Petrov, the referee slapped the ground, and the Hillsdale County Fairgrounds erupted with cheers and applause.

Championship International Wrestling returned to Hillsdale Oct. 28, welcoming Stockford to the fight for a second year in a row.

This year’s Halloween themed event, “Haunted Havoc,” boasted six matchups, a children’s Halloween contest, multiple raffles, and even wrestlers autographing pictures.

Before the fight, the Modfather, the handler of Stockford’s opponent, bet Stockford the office of mayor for 30 days and the keys to the city.

After knocking Petrov to the ground, Stockford gave words of warning: “Any other Cossack Commie that comes to Hillsdale can count on a flying clothesline.”

A flying clothesline is when a wrestler springs off the ring’s ropes and hits the opponent with an arm bar. Stockford said he was not sure the move would work.

“Those ropes are really tight,” Stockford said. “You do get some spring off of them. But yeah, I mean, I just went and put both of my arms out and hoped for the best.”

Before the fight, Petrov came out waving a Russian flag and circumvented the ring while glaring at a crowd who responded with resounding boos.

As Petrov got into the ring, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” filled the arena and Stockford entered to cheers while he greeted fans, gave hive fives, shook hands, and kissed a baby.

When Stockford entered the ring, chants of “USA” drowned out any boasting Petrov attempted.

During the fight, the rivals each took each other down at least once.

“Come on Mr. Stockford, you got this,” one boy shouted while holding a sign that said “Good job Mr. Mayor!”

The fight turned against Stockford’s when a fighter from earlier in the night, Frank Isaac Anderson (F.I.A.), and his manager, Mr. Stubbs, unexpectedly entered the ring.

Anderson smacked Stockford with a briefcase.

“I hate every single one of you people here in

Hillsdale,” Anderson said after winning a fight earlier that night.

Despite the number’s advantage, Anderson’s hatred for Hillsdale combined with Petrov’s hatred for America

did not prove strong enough to take down Hillsdale’s mayor.

Defeating his opponents and laying the Russian flag to rest on top of the Modfather, Stockford raised his arms in triumph as victor.

Stockford said he loves CIW’s style of wrestling.

“You just got to be willing to fall down on your back,” Stockford said. “You know it’s not rocket science, but you could seriously get hurt. There are ways to land, and I Stockford knocks out wouldn’t do two opponents at it if I was 60 once with a flying years old. But clothesline attack there’s an art off the rings to it.” ropes.

Stockford Courtesy | said he exLucy Potter pected to win the fight since p ortions of it were orchestrated, but there were surprises that threw him off. When Anderson, and Mr. Stubbs joined the fight, Stockford had to improvise even more.

“That’s not what we had planned out,” Stockford said.

“We’re “But you know, when they do gonna go that stuff it adds even more reahead and get mov- alism to it.” ing as soon as we get rid of this Stockford said he loves the garbage in the ring,” the emcee excitement of the fight and his said after the fight, referring to favorite part is seeing the authe flag drapped over the loser. dience and the kids loving it.

Stockford said he particularly appreciated one fan named Travis, who has Down Syndrome.

“He’s always up right by the ring, he knows all the wrestlers, and he’s just totally into it,” Stockford said. “You can really see just how excited he is.”

Last year Travis even got the chance to pin Stockford’s opponent after the match, Stockford said “Travis pinned the guy that me and my partner beat afterward,” Stockford said. “It’s stuff like that which is my favorite part of it.”

Stockford will continue to fight in the ring as long as he is young enough, he said.

“This year and last year, my wife was always rolling her eyes like, ‘What do you do this stuff for?’” Stockford said. “But you know, I’m in my mid-40s now So when there’s opportunities for me to do fun stuff like this, I take them. I won’t be able to forever.”

Equestrian club gallops into another year of horsmanship

By Sydney Green Circulation Manager When November arrives, many Hillsdale students feel they are running at full gallop to end the semester — and some literally are.

After taking an elective course on horseback riding, senior Brianna Bertsch, now the president of the equestrian club, restarted the club her sophomore year.

“The club had been pretty popular in years past but then was inactive for a while,” Bertsch said. “I took the equestrian class my freshman year and my coach asked me if I could help her restart it and I said I would.”

The equestrian team originally formed in 2011 but has struggled to stay consistent.

“It’s a hard club to keep people involved in because it’s a weird time commitment so people will go back and forth in being active,” Bertsch said.

“I think we have a really good group this year and it’s been fun working to keep it together over the past three years.”

ber Claire Horvath, participants compete by a random draw on a provided horse.

“You don’t know what horse you are going to be riding until you draw a name from a hat right before your event,” Horvath said. “You will also get a word of advice on how

“You don’t know what horse you are going to be riding until you draw a name for a hat right before your event.”

The club competes in hunter/jumper, a type of English-style riding and is affiliated with the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association. According to sophomore mem-

to ride the horse like, ‘Use a light hand’ or ‘Will chase other horses.’”

The rider and horse have had no prior interaction, so the rider is expected to adjust promptly to their new horse during compeition, according to Horvath.

“Once you get in the ring you are immediately judged,” Horvath said. “It really teaches you to learn how to adapt well and quickly.”

Bertsch said she plans on having four or five shows per semester with some being double weekend shows.

“The show days are the biggest part of the time commitment because you have to get up and leave really early Saturday morning,” Bertsch said. “Then you are there for basically the whole day and get back in the late evening.”

According to Bertsch, members of the club are encouraged to take the one-credit equestrian class offered by the college partly because the lessons are more cost-effective for students enrolled in the class.

“We are encouraging the people who are in the show team to take the class as well,” Bertsch said. “That way they get weekly practice in riding, more experience with the coach, and the fees for the lessons are cheaper.”

The members train at a barn in Parma, Michigan, a 45-minute drive from campus. Freshman member Sarah Morris said both the barn and horses are kept in great condition, making for an enjoyable riding experience.

Morris riding in a hunter/jumper style compeititon.

Courtesy | Sarah Morris

“It is so refreshing and nice to see all of the massive pastures and horses that are all so healthy and well taken care of,” Morris said. “Our coach is very intentional about making sure the animals are fit to ride.”

Bertsch said her time on the team has equipped her with skills applicable to life outside of riding.

“I have gained more confidence through riding and also a sense of letting go,” Bertsch said. “I feel like a lot of times it is so easy to get busy on the academic side of things and not let go and enjoy things when you do have the time. I have found it easier to enjoy the things at hand through my time on the team.”