Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 147 Issue 9 – October 26, 2023
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Hillsdale alumnus appointed next solicitor general in Ohio By Emily Schutte Collegian Reporter The 11th Solicitor General newly appointed in Ohio is a Hillsdale College alumnus, Elliot Gaiser ’12. Appointed by Attorney General Dave Yost, Gaiser is set to begin his appointment on Nov. 20. “Elliot is a great son of Ohio,” said John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. “He always wanted to go back to Ohio and be in that community as a leader. And he talked about politics and serving in high public office, and now he’s back and doing that.” David Azerrad, an assistant professor and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship, mentored Gaiser during his internship with the Heritage Foundation in 2013. “The three things that stand out about Elliot is that he has a sharp, clear mind,” Azerrad said. “Second is he’s really a young man of impeccable character. And third, he’s the kind of conservative who’s willing to do the right thing and fight for the right issues, even if they’re unpopular with the New York Times and the elites.” Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Gaiser said his experience as a speech and debate student in high school began his development of valuable skills for becoming a lawyer.
“It helped me learn how to research and write because you’re writing arguments in advance,” Gaiser said. “You’re reading a lot of material that’s pretty complicated for high schoolers, not just news articles, but research reports.” Gaiser said the speech studies program inspired him to become a double major in political economy and rhetoric and public address. During his time at Hillsdale, he wrote and edited for The Collegian, which he said helped him progress in the arts of storytelling and persuasion. “When you write a brief as a lawyer, you’re making an argument, but you’re also telling a story,” he said. “There’s a narrative component to all persuasion. Human beings are narrative creatures; we tell ourselves stories, and we interpret the world through not just logic, but also narrative. And so learning the structure of a good narrative rooted in the facts was essential.” Gaiser, who was opinions editor for The Collegian during the 2011-2012 school year, said he loved the conversations the page started around campus. “I really wanted the opinions page to be a place where students on campus could talk to each other about issues out in the world and also on campus,” Gaiser said. “My favorite thing was going to Saga at noon on Thursday after The Collegian came out and overhearing students in the line debating the subjects that had been printed in the opinions
page.” After graduation, Gaiser attended law school at University of Chicago. Gaiser clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; served as an appellate attorney for Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP; a clerk for Judge Neomi Rao on the D.C. Circuit; and an appellate attorney at Boyden Gray PLLC. Gaiser also served as a U.S. Supreme Court clerk for Associate Justice Samuel Alito and is currently an associate at Jones Day’s Columbus Office. Each of these positions have, according to Gaiser, provided him with a range of judiciary experience such as building a reputation in D.C., working with federal appeals for Judge Jones, and handling administrative law for Judge Rao. As Ben Flowers, current solicitor general of Ohio, prepared to retire, Gaiser decided to interview for the position. “I interviewed with the attorney general and others in his office. When the attorney general offered me the job, I was just so excited about it, I could barely contain myself,” Gaiser said. “There’s really nothing that sounds more attractive and invigorating than the awesome responsibility of being able to stand up in court and say, ‘this is Elliot Gaiser for the state of Ohio.’” Gaiser said since the American legal system requires due process, people have a right to a notice of claims against them
Elliot Gaiser ’12 served as a U.S. Supreme Court clerk for Associate Justice Samuel Alito. Courtesy | Linkedin
and a right to be heard. Dissatisfied parties have a right to appeal to the intermediary Court of Appeals. “Those opportunities extend not just to the initial hearing, which is in the trial level,” Gaiser said. “It also includes intermediate appellate review, and usually discretionary review by the Supreme Court of Ohio or the Supreme Court of the United States. And so appeals begin once the trial concludes.” As the solicitor general, Gaiser said he will be respon-
sible for representing the state when it has an appeal. Azerrad is hopeful that as solicitor general, Gaiser will be a strong public defender. “If he’s going to genuinely represent the interests of Ohioans,” Azerrad said, “he will run up against the establishment, against the Democratic establishment, the Republican establishment, the media, the intellectual establishment. And I trust that Elliot will have the courage to defend the interests of Ohioans.”
As Gaiser prepares to begin his new appointment, he stands firm in the role of a defender of justice. “I think a lot about the verse in the book of Amos, the biblical prophet, which was paraphrased and quoted by Martin Luther King Jr., ‘Let justice roll down like a mighty flood,’” Gaiser said. “I think that lawyers at their best, when they live up to their ethical standards and have the highest character and integrity, assist in the deliverance of justice. They help justice roll down.”
Provost office creates new Keefer House project delays raise questions about its future Logan Washburn since 2005. But CL Real Estate meet the new deadline despite tion in 2021. Institutional Review Board ByAssociate Editor entered a purchase agreement challenges with the building’s The MEDC is a state agenthat its purpose at Hillsdale won’t necessarily be the same as those at larger institutions. The provost’s office has “If you go up to Ann Arestablished the Institution- bor, you’ve got research labs al Review Board to oversee working on the latest cancer projects that include human treatments,” Negus said. “You participants. know, ‘sign this thing here “Its purpose is fairly sim- that says you understand the ple — it’s to assure adherence risk and you’re willing to give to ethical standards at any re- it a try, and we’ll put you in a search project that uses hu- trial group and report on the man subjects,” said Samuel results.’ That’s what IRBs do Negus, director of program at big research institutions, review and accreditation at and at some small colleges Hillsdale College. like this, where on a much The IRB will be concerned smaller scale, research of that with research on partype goes on. But no ticipants outside research of that the campus’s type happens administrahere.” tive jurisI n diction Hillsbut cond a l e’s ducted case, the by colIRB will lege fach av e a u lt y or special students, Ian Church is a member of the new responsiNegus said. Institutional Review Board. bility to “ I f i t’s Courtesy | Hillsdale College Archives o v e r s e e on campus, res e arch within the campus comthat could elicit psychologmunity, then the instructor ically intrusive or overly perof record for that course is sonal questions from particconsidered sufficient to over- ipants. see that,” Negus said. “If you “If a student doing a rewant to go downtown and search project for their senior start asking people stuff on thesis wants to conduct a surthe street, or you want to go vey asking about traumatic over to a local school and do experiences in childhood and some interventions with kids how that shapes the way peoin a classroom, that would ple behave later in life, they have to go in front of the could ask questions that are IRB.” pretty personal,” Negus said. Negus made clear that IRBs might be involved in a See IRB A2 wide range of research, and By Jackson Casey Collegian Freelancer
The company behind the Keefer House Hotel renovation has extended its estimated completion date — again — to next summer. The project began with a city agreement in 2018 and was supposed to finish by 2020. “I had personal gentlemanly guarantees this property would be done this fall, no more excuses. I took those guarantees seriously,” Mayor Adam Stockford said. “I would bet a Frosty it won’t be done in spring of next year, or any time next year for that matter.” The historic Keefer House Hotel, built in 1885, has sat vacant in downtown Hillsdale
in 2018 through Keefer House LLC, planning to finish restoring the 34-room hotel — including a restaurant, bar, and retail and event spaces — by November 2020. CL Real Estate has extended the project’s deadline repeatedly, most recently to “early summer 2024,” according to Andrew Gelzer, chairman of the Tax Increment Finance Authority, a board that redirects tax dollars that would normally go to the state toward local projects. Gelzer, also the chief operating officer of H.J. Gelzer and Son Inc. and general manager of Gelzer’s Hardware, said he thinks the project is on track to
structural integrity. “The world threw all sorts of delays and roadblocks at them, which they have stuck through and overcome,” Gelzer said. “While it’s taken a lot longer than any of us ever wanted – myself included, and CL Real Estate and Keefer House LLC – they’re on track.” The Keefer project’s construction cost for CL Real Estate has reached close to $9.3 million, with the total cost reaching $15 million, according to a Sept. 28 memo from the company obtained by The Collegian. The project also secured a $2 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corpora-
cy that uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize economic development. CL Real Estate Development Associate Brant Cohen ’18 said in an email that the Keefer is a “challenging but worthy project.” “When completed, its economic and transformational impact on Hillsdale will be tremendous,” Cohen said. “Projects of this complexity are not easy to pull off, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to the city that we will open this hotel.
See Keefer A6
College responds to lawsuit about sexual assault procedures By Elizabeth Troutman Editor-in-chief Accusations made against Hillsdale College in a federal lawsuit filed yesterday mischaracterize Hillsdale’s culture, sexual assault policies, and procedures, according to a statement from the college and first released to The Collegian. “Hillsdale College takes the safety of its students very seriously and strives to educate students about sexual assault, answer frequently asked questions about sexual assault, and detail the procedures for contacting appropriate persons at the college, Hillsdale Hospital, and Hillsdale City Police,” the news release reads. “Hillsdale also, however, understands the importance of maintaining the
rights of the accused as the process of investigation and remediation is carried out.” Two women, a current junior and a former member of the class of 2024 who has since transferred, claim in the lawsuit that students at Hillsdale face “an unusually high risk of sexual assault.” Both say they were raped by peers at Hillsdale but were “met not with support, but with sham investigations, arbitrary decisions, and punishments” after reporting it to the college. “When they reported their rapes to Hillsdale, seeking support and accountability, they instead faced phony investigations, retaliation, and blame for being raped,” the lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of
Michigan says. The lawsuit is seeking certification as a class action. The suit says Hillsdale has a “deficient” sexual misconduct policy which leaves students “vulnerable to sexual assault from their peers.” The college statement said Hillsdale “promptly and thoroughly investigates” all sexual assault allegations, including the ones detailed in the lawsuit. “Hillsdale also offers assistance to the alleged victim and implements necessary interim measures, whether supportive or protective,” the statement reads. Hillsdale’s sexual misconduct policy, published on its website, “prohibits retaliation against any person who, in good faith, reports sexual
misconduct, participates in an investigation or sanction for sexual misconduct, or otherwise assists in combating sexual misconduct on the Hillsdale College campus.” The news release said the college has established procedures for dealing with misconduct allegations outlined in resources provided to all students. “Over the past decade, Hillsdale College has worked with expert third parties to ensure its policies and procedures regarding investigations of sexual assault are exceptional with respect to ascertaining the true nature of the alleged incident,” the statement reads, “while also protecting the rights and reputation of both the accused and the alleged victim.”