Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Vol. 147 Issue 14 – January 17, 2024
Hillsdale College finished electrical work for the new athletic stadium at Hayden Park during the break. Erik TEder | Collegian
Sexual assault lawsuit threatens Hillsdale’s Title IX exemption Campus By Elizabeth Troutman convert them from the pur- tion of sex to include “sexual and institutions far from the reacts to Editor-in-chief suit of goals to compliance orientation and gender iden- educational field, because evwith rules, rules made for tity.” If Hillsdale was forced to eryone should push for their A sexual-assault lawsuit other purposes than those of comply with Title IX, it might independence,” Cato Institute remaining filed last year could threaten the charity,” Hillsdale College have to permit male students Senior Fellow Walter Olson Hillsdale College’s religious President Larry P. Arnn told to use female bathrooms and told The Collegian. by placing its pol- The Collegian. “Our goal is to play sports with either sex. Hillsdale General Counsel presidential freedom icies under the authority of help young people grow to be Title IX’s religious exemp- Bob Norton warned that all the federal government, legal excellent people through high- tion would still apply to Hills- nonprofit organizations could say. er education. The Department dale, but an ongoing case is be subjected to administrative candidates experts Two women, a current ju- of Education has a thousand challenging the right of insti- regulations that would change
Karol
By Eleanor Whitaker Collegian Reporter
By Moira Gleason Assistant Editor
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are most likely to win the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, according to many students and faculty. “This election is about one man, and his name is Donald Trump,” freshman Bradley Haley said. “However, the determining factor of Trump’s success or failure in 2024 will be his ability to shift the focus away from himself and onto the state of the nation under President Biden.” Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram said he was surprised by Biden’s choice to run for reelection. “I had thought that Biden would step down after one term,” Wolfram said. “He is the oldest sitting president in history at 81 years old and would be 86 if he finished his second term. A recent poll found that 75% of voters think Biden is too old to effectively serve a second term.” Trump won the Iowa Caucus with 51% of the vote on Jan. 15. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Former South Carolina Gov. and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley were far behind with 21% and 19% of the vote respectively. Trump has been charged with 91 criminal offenses, which some states argue disqualifies him from the ballot, a decision the Supreme Court has agreed to review. Wolfram said he thinks Trump’s overwhelming lead in the polls, despite his criminal charges and absence from debates, is shocking. “You have a former president who was one of only three presidents to have been impeached, and the only president to have been impeached twice,” Wolfram said.
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nior and a former member of the class of 2024 who has since transferred, claimed that students at Hillsdale face “an unusually high risk of sexual assault” because the college does not comply with Title IX, which seeks to prohibit discrimination based on sex. “This is no accident: Hillsdale does not accept government funding in a misguided and ineffective attempt to avoid its obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,” reads the lawsuit, filed on Oct. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. The lawsuit claimed that Hillsdale’s tax-exempt status is a form of federal financial assistance. The plaintiffs’ accusations mischaracterize Hillsdale’s culture, policies, and procedures, according to a statement from the college, which also insists that it is exempt from the regulations of Title IX because it does not accept federal funding. “Subjecting Hillsdale and all charities to comprehensive federal regulation would
goals other than this, some of them contradictory to this.” If Hillsdale loses the case, the federal government will become the ultimate authority on a number of issues, according to Mary Margaret Beecher, executive director and vice president of the Napa Legal Institute, a public-interest law firm that focuses on religious freedom. Even though the lawsuit against Hillsdale does not specifically target a religious issue, Beecher said it concerns who has authority over Hillsdale’s governance. “The lawsuit’s fundamental question is, ‘Who’s in charge here?’”Beecher said. “Is the government in charge? Or are religious institutions free to govern themselves in accordance with their beliefs?” The Obama administration altered Title IX guidelines in 2011, compelling schools to adjust their procedures, making it more likely that students accused of sexual assault would be found responsible for their alleged actions. In 2021, the Biden administration expanded the defini-
tutions to govern themselves according to their religious beliefs. In Hunter v. U.S. Department of Education, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project, an LGBT activist group, is suing to prevent students from using tuition grants, student loans, and any other federal financial assistance at schools exempt from Title IX that operate according to traditional beliefs on sexuality. REAP’s self-proclaimed mission is to prevent religion from “serv[ing] the interests of white Christian supremacy” and make it “contribute to human flourishing, affirmation of LGBTQ+ youth, and racial and reproductive justice.” A ruling that places Hillsdale under Title IX’s jurisdiction could reach far beyond rural Michigan. Other religious institutions, from higher education to secondary and elementary schools, would risk losing their religious freedom. “What Hillsdale is fighting for here is a principle that is very important for institutions all over the rest of the country,
with each presidential administration. “This is not a partisan issue; any nonprofit organization would be affected,” Norton said. “This would be at best, onerous and costly for nonprofits, and at worst, it would destroy them. One of the greatest strengths of American society is that we as citizens retain the latitude to solve our problems together, outside of government interference. This civil society and our very freedom of association as Americans is at risk.” Whether Title IX applies to schools that do not receive federal financial aid was put to the test in Buettner-Hartsoe v. Baltimore Lutheran High School Association. Beecher’s Napa Legal Institute represented the defendant. “These cases are kind of motivated by an interest in having the federal government oversee religious institutions, even the way they’re living out their religious beliefs,” Beecher said.
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The Hillsdale College Chapel Choir stayed on campus until Dec.12 to film and record a selection of songs. (See A2) Austin Thomason | Hillsdale College
Markowicz named Pulliam Fellow Karol Markowicz of the New York Post will visit Hillsdale College for two weeks in March and teach a one-credit class on persuasive writing as a Eugene C. Pulliam Distinguished Fellow in Journalism. “My class will include how to make your opinion writing factual, effective, and interesting,” Markowicz said. “I hope the students will learn how to take brave stances, even when they are unpopular, and learn to articulate their ideas to a wide group of people.” Markowicz is a columnist for the New York Post and Fox News and host of the podcast “The Karol Markowicz Show.” In 2023, she cowrote her first book, “Stolen Youth: How Radicals are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation,” which addresses targeted indoctrination of children in schools, media, and elsewhere. “Karol has been on our radar for a couple of years as a powerful voice in journalism for freedom and families,” Dow Journalism Program Director John J. Miller said. “As a newspaper columnist and a radio host, she also combines print and audio, just like the Dow Journalism Program.” The Dow Journalism Program and External Affairs collaborate to select the Pulliam Fellow each semester. According to Vice President for External Affairs Douglas Jeffrey, Markowicz was an easy choice. “I was previously unaware of her, but when I and my colleagues looked through her work she seemed an excellent choice and someone who would be of great benefit to students in the journalism program,” Jeffrey said. In addition to her class, Markowicz will give a public lecture titled “Erasure of Innocence” in Plaster Auditorium March 26 on the same subject as her book.
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