Visiting Writer to speak on Campus Sanders, Trump win Hillsdale County In the Michigan presidenPoet and professor of English Maurice Manning tial primary Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Republican frontrunto give a public reading and a lecture on figures ner Donald Trump scored double-digit victories in Hillsdale County. A7 of speech March 14-15. B1
$ Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 139 Issue 19 - 10 Mar. 2016
Baseball off to best start ever Chargers sweep weekend to move to 9-2 on the season. A10
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Minimum wage increases, again
^ $9.25 ^ $8.90 ^ $8.50 ^ $8.15 ^ $7.40 January 2018
January 2017
How wage laws affect students’ on-campus jobs
By |Natalie C. McKee Senior Reporter Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the Michigan minimum wage raised from $8.15 per hour to $8.50 per hour, causing the college to change certain pay incentives for student workers. Before now, supervisors could increase students’ wages by 10 cents per semester as “longevity increases,” if they returned to a department, in order to reward loyalty and hard work. According to an email sent to supervisors b y
January 2016
September 2014
Early 2014
Fi-
nanc i a l Affairs Controller LeAnn Creger on Feb. 25, the college is suspending future increases “until the wage rate levels off.” The first wage increase started Sept. 1, 2014, and in-
creased the wage from $7.40 to $8.15. In January 2017, the wage will increase again to $8.90, and by January 2018, it will level off at $9.25 per hour. In other words, over a fouryear period between 2014 and 2018, the minimum wage will increase by $1.85 per hour. Creger said since the minimum wage started increasing, students have seen an increase of $1.10 in their wages. This wage hike negates the need for longevity increases, Creger said.
“Minimum wage increases are a little liberal — too liberal.”
“The college values student employment, and we don’t want to harm them in any shape or form,” Creger said. The good news for the 600 students employed by the college is that supervisors still may offer pay increases in other ways. For example, supervisors can increase student wages by 20 cents per hour for undesirable hours up to $9.40 per hour, 10 cents per hour for weekend hours up to $9.30 per hour, and 50-75 cents per hour for “supervisory” jobs — any job that requires greater
responsibility, leadership, decision-making, accountability, or acquired skills — up to $9.95 per hour, according to a document sent to supervisors in Creger’s email. Creger said supervisors do not have to give students those raises, but they can, if they want to reward an employee. Senior Meg Prom said she started working in security on the first day of her freshman year. She worked from 8:30 p.m. until midnight and also a midnight to 2:15 a.m. shift. She has worked other shifts since and now works dispatch. “I never got a raise, as far as I know,” Prom said in an email. “Often the permanent members take shifts through the night, but I don’t think that affects their pay. So no bonuses, no raises.” Bon Appétit Management Company, not the college, determines the pay for A.J.’s Café workers. Prom said A.J.’s did give raises. She worked there freshman and sophomore year, quit, and then rejoined senior year. “I think our hourly rate went up 10 or 20 cents every semester we stayed on,” Prom said. “Honestly, I’m less torn up about nixing the longevity raise than I am about A.J.’s not allowing employees to take tips. That was always our ‘bonus.’” Creger didn’t have data regarding how many students make close to minimum wage and how many make close to the $9.95 per hour maximum wage, but she said it was prob ably See wage A3
Flint the winner at Democratic debate By|Nicole Ault Collegian Reporter
Flint, Mich. — If sympathetic publicity counts, Flint, Michigan, may have been the real winner of the CNN-sponsored Democratic presidential debate Sunday, March 6. News networks focused national discussion on Flint in the days ahead of the debate. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton challenged Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to a debate in Flint after the news broke that high levels of lead had contaminated the city’s water. CNN invited members of the press via email to join them in distributing water bottles throughout the city from 8 a.m. to mid-afternoon on Saturday. “In response to the community’s need, CNN has partnered with Convoy of Hope,” said CNN Vice President of Communications Matt Dor-
nic in the email. “The network has committed to a five-week donation of 500,000 bottles of water that will be distributed at four locations throughout the city.” On the day of the debate, the Flint-focused atmosphere continued into the media center, located in the University of Michigan — Flint’s campus recreation center, separate from the debate hall. Local Flint businesses sold concessions around the perimeter of the large room, and posters in the bathroom stalls raised awareness of the crisis. Just outside the doors to the media center, protesters from the Fight for $15 beating drums and waving blue cardboard water drops also drew awareness to the water crisis. “We work, we sweat — write 15 on our checks!” protesters shouted. They also waved blown-up images of of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s head, with devil
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Hillsdale scores tickets to GOP Detroit debate By | Macaela J. Bennett Editor-in-Chief Although tickets to last Thursday’s GOP presidential debate in Detroit, Michigan, were scarce, Hillsdale College students, staff, and faculty didn’t have a problem finding their way into the audience. Days before the debate was set to be held at the historic Fox Theatre, about 21,000 people had applied for tickets to the event, but the Republican National Committee announced only 50 would receive them — with the rest going to Michigan GOP officials and activists. Through several connections, however, more than 15 Hillsdale College representatives received tickets to the March 3 debate hosted by Fox News Channel. Seeing the candidates in person changed some of their opinions. “I’m pretty sure my wife became a Cruz voter that night,” said John Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program. Miller scored his tickets from Emmaline Epperson ’14, a social media producer for the
Fox Business Channel, and attended the debate with his wife and son — who voted for his first time Tuesday in Michigan’s presidential primary. Experiencing behind-thescenes moments that TV audiences did not see made an impression on the Millers. “My wife liked seeing Cruz play ring-around-the-rosy with his daughter — I think that really charmed her,” he said. When lights dimmed for a commercial break after Ohio Gov. John Kasich rejected the opportunity to bash businessman Donald Trump, Miller noticed Trump point at Kasich and say, “Thank you.” “I’ve never seen Trump thank anyone,” Miller said. “I’m not sure what to make of it, but he did it there, and what does that mean?” Six students also attended, including two from the Collegian, with tickets acquired from Career Services. While coordinating an upcoming Republican Leadership Initiative training program on camp u s , See Detroit A3
Creating a personal brand on social media Advice from Ericka Andersen of National Review
By | Jordyn Pair Collegian Reporter Former Michigan Senator Don Riegle endorses Democratic presiEricka Andersen, a social dential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., ahead of CNN’s debate media and communications in Flint, Michigan on March 6. Nicole Ault | Collegian guru, is the digital director for National Review. A mother of horns and red eyes, particular- quential attention to Flint oc- one currently living just outside ly emphasizing the tension that curred during the broadcast of the Washington, D.C., area, she persists in the city. the debate itself. Flint residents also runs a popular lifestyle, Perhaps the most conse- m a d e running, and food blog. AnSee Flint A2 dersen spoke to journalism students Tuesday, March 1 about having a social media presence and creating a personal brand online. Why is social media By|Vivian Hughbanks that issues with accuracy and branding important? completeness raised by colNews Editor Social media branding is leges not included in the ScoreThe College Scorecard re- card should be addressed. important because it distinleased by the Department “There were some concerns guishes you from others in of Education last September about the Scorecard that had your field. It helps you gain a may need some improvement, been raised by various colleges reputation for your work. It’s Michigan Democratic Sen. and universities that I think we great for networking and creGary Peters said. certainly need to take a care- ating foundational relationThe Scorecard is a tool de- ful look at that,” Peters said ships for whatever it is you signed to help prospective stu- Sunday at CNN’s Democratic want to do in the future. dents across the nation com- presidential debate in Flint, How do you get more folpare colleges and universities Michigan. lowers, and how does that and determine which school is “I think it’s important,” Pe- change across different platthe best fit for them. Although ters said. “We’ve got to make forms? the education department sure that the Scorecard is an There are different stratadded 700 schools to the so- accurate reflection of what’s egies to get more followers, called “comprehensive” Score- actually happening at the col- depending on what platform card in January, Hillsdale Col- leges.” you’re talking about. The way lege, Grove City College, and Acting Education Secretary you get valuable followers is Patrick Henry College remain John B. King Jr. last week said to start engaging in the comabsent from the database. the Department of Education munity. You can’t look at social Peters said in an exclusive media as a chore or something interview with the Collegian See Scorecard A3 to check off your list. You have
Peters declares Scorecard needs work
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., speaks with reporters in the media filing center at the DNC debate in Flint on March 6. Peters told the Collegian that the Department of Education’s College Scorecard should accurately reflect school activity. Nicole Ault | Collegian
Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich on stage at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, for Fox News’ debate on March 3. Kasich came in third place in the Michigan republican primary on Tuesday. Brendan Miller | Collegian
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to start loving social media as something you really actually enjoy doing; you actually get to know people for who they are — it’s not just part of a business plan. How do you stay consistent across platforms without simply repackaging the same content for different outlets? Well, you do repackage the same content in different ways. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for every separate thing, but there’s going to be different ways to promote on different mediums. What is the best way to compose a tweet to get maximum feedback? Don’t make it too long. You want to keep it so that it’s something that someone can read very quickly. Obviously, people are speeding through people, and the minute that it seems like it’s too complicated to read or understand, they’re just going to skip it. So something that is simple, something quick, and something with an image attached to it. You want to use a hashtag. Depending on what you’re tweeting about, make sure you’re using the appropriate hashtag. Sometimes it’s appropriate to say “retweet if you agree.” Giving someone a call to action is always a good practice See Social A2 Look for The Hillsdale Collegian