4.6.17 Hillsdale Collegian

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Culture www.hillsdalecollegian.com

B2 6 Apr. 2017

on campus this week . . .

‘The rest is silence’: ‘Star Wars’ defeats ‘Hamlet’ in movie- and drama-themed Mossey Madness works such as “A Streetcar By | Abigail Liebing Collegian Freelancer Named Desire,” “Raisin in the Sun,” and “A Man for All SeaWhile North Carolina cel- sons.” The movies ranged from ebrates its win over Gonzaga the great classics of “Casablanin the NCAA March Madness ca” and “12 Angry Men,” to basketball tournament, Hills- “Shawshank Redemption,” Aldale’s own March Madness fred Hitchcock thrillers, and just announced the winners. finally cult classics like “The The winner of this year’s dra- Princess Bride,” “Monty Pyma- and film-themed Mossey thon and the Holy Grail,” “Star Madness is the original “Star Wars,” and “E.T.” The struggle came down to Wars” trilogy, which triumphed over “Hamlet” in the the Final Four with “Hamlet” championship round. The stu- beating “Death of a Salesman,” dent bracket winners are se- and “Star Wars” winning over nior Noah Diekemper in first “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Secplace, senior Haley Talkington ond place winner Talkington in second, and freshman Josi- said she chose Hamlet as her final winner. “I was surprised,” ah Leinbach in third place. This year’s plays and mov- Talkington said. “It was my ies ranged from classic to first time to play. It’s funny cult classic. All the contes- because I work at Jitters, so tants were well-known, and getting second place means I most were cultural icons. In get money for a place I already the plays, there were famous get free coffee at. Does anyone Shakespeare plays, Ancient want to trade prizes?” Professor of English SteGreek tragedies, Oscar Wilde comedies, and more modern phen Smith said he comfort-

ed his Shakespeare class after “Hamlet”’s loss. “Hamlet has immortal soliloquies, sure, but [“Star Wars” has] lightsabers. Beginning middle end,” Smith said. “Besides that, Denmark had no real answer to Chewbacca. The Gravedigger may be an ‘absolute’ knave, but put that joker up against the galaxy’s favorite wookie? I don’t think so,” Smith said. Mossey Madness started two years ago, in March of 2015. “The first year I featured books that were or had been assigned in classes at Hillsdale College. Last year was authors, and this year is plays and movies,” Wade said. Anyone who is affiliated with Hillsdale College could participate by filling out a bracket. While the NCAA March Madness was full of upsets, Mossey Madness was calmer. Wade said there were no

The classic science fiction story won the yearly Mossey Madness challenge, announced Wednesday. Imdb

major upsets in her opinion, but there were some nail-biters that have were a real struggle. “People had a very hard time with ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ … ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Lord of the Rings,’ I think that was particularly evil on my part,” she said. Quinn Crago, a freshman and participant, said, “I was surprised that ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Shawshank Redemption’

lost so early.” Though the championship game was an odd matchup, Mossey Madness was rather calm and there were no surprising Cinderellas this year. The first place prize, going to Diekemper, was a $30 Amazon gift card, second place Talkington received a $20 gift certificate to AJ’s/Jitters, and third place Leinbach won a $10 gift certificate to AJ’s/Jitters. Mossey Madness was a fun

opportunity for any bracketologist. Freshman Nolan Ryan said he enjoyed the unique Hillsdale flavor of Mossey Madness. “I participated in the tournament because I thought it was really awesome that Hillsdale took March Madness and put its own spin on it,” Ryan said.

Part of the spread at the German honorary’s traditional Tuesday feast. Nolan Ryan | Collegian

Drums of Thunder rolls into McNamara Hillsdale’s percussion ensemble performs this Saturday By | Lillian Quinones Collegian Reporter Two of Hillsdale College’s most talented drummers will be featured this Saturday in the Percussion Ensemble performance, Drums of Thunder, at 8 p.m. in the Howard music building. Stacey Garrison-Jones directs the 12 students in the ensemble and two guest performers, junior Jacob Coonradt on guitar and sophomore Shadrach Strehle on bass. As indicated by the title of the performance, this

Sunny from B1

responding to their individual voice and their unique aspect that they start expressing through the music.” Senior Gianna Marchese has been taking lessons from Wilkinson since she came to Hillsdale. As the teacher’s assistant for the jazz department, Marchese said Wilkinson has helped her inspire other students to listen to and love jazz. Marchese will continue taking private lessons for her off-campus in preparation for the Hillcats’ upcoming CD. “She is just a fantastic musician. The biggest thing I took from her is leadership; I know how to effectively run a combo, to make sure my voice is heard and that things

year’s concert will showcase the drumset played by junior Dean Sinclair and sophomore Gill West. “We each have our strengths, but at the end of the day, we are both primarily rock drummers,” Sinclair said. Sinclair and West will each perform solos in a compilation of the English rock band Led Zeppelin’s songs “Moby Dick” and “Kashmir.” “We’re both writing our own story, stories that will be very different and very good. It’s not a competition, but at the end of the performance I

think the audience will be able to say, ‘I like this one better,’” West said. The percussion ensemble will play eight charts with a theme of rock ’n’ roll, featuring Sinclair and West throughout the concert. “I do my best to think outside the box when I perform,” Sinclair said. “For example, what’s running through my head is, ‘Would another drummer do this?’ and if they would, I don’t want to do that thing. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

are comfortable, and to sing from your heart because that’s where the true melody comes from,” Marchese said. “I’m so grateful for Sunny and for the experience she’s given me.” Wilkinson brought both curiosity for and direction on jazz to Hillsdale. “[She taught] how to open up, how to phrase differently, how to get away from the printed rhythms, how to syncopate, how to create jazz rhythms within the song, how to vary what they were singing … and the confidence to do that,” Music Director James Holleman said. “Improvisation is a lost art in classical music. Jazz helps bridge the gap. There should be more room for some freedom in classical music as long

as its intelligence, and she gave the intelligence.” Wilkinson worked with students of all levels as well as the entire choir on occasion. She played naturally with the Hillcats, many of whom she knew before and gigs with on a regular basis. Holleman said it will be challenging to fill her shoes. “She’s warm, she’s open, she’s caring, but she’s a real pro. So there’s the warm, caring, nurturing teacher, and then there’s the pro that’s had a lot of experiences and had some toughness from those experiences,” Holleman said. “We were lucky to have her here. It was a tremendous five years, and we’re going to miss her.”

Philos Project premieres new documentary about journalism in Gaza, Israel By | Jo Kroeker Opinions Editor Clips of the rubbled remains of Gazan suburbs roll next to correspondents from the Middle East coming forward with stories of intimidation and admissions of self-censorship in “Eyeless in Gaza,” producer Robert Magid’s newest documentary. The Philos Project, which has funded multiple Hillsdale College trips to Israel, teamed up with HonestReporting, a media watchdog for anti-Semitic journalism, to co-host screenings of this documentary, most notably one at King’s College, a New York-based journalism school. Both Philos and HonestReporting have similar goals: outreach toward non-Jews about Israel and Jewish issues. “We wanted to reach out to students who are not automatically Jewish,” HonestReporting spokeswoman Julie Hazan said. “This documentary is a typical example of how Israel is poorly portrayed in the media because nobody is talking about intimidation. It was the first time journalists in the Gaza strip were able to say ‘That’s true, there’s a problem, and we weren’t able to do our jobs.’” According to Hazan, this documentary keeps in line with HonestReporting’s plat-

form because it too seeks to expose aspiring journalists to the reality of one-sided media coverage. During a panel that followed the King’s College screening, CNN Middle East correspondent Linda Scherzer, film critic and journalist Alison Bailes, producer and Jewish community leader Morris S. Levy, and Professor Paul Glader, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and head of the journalism program at The King’s College. “The conversation about media coverage is something I have been having with the American Jewish community for the last twenty years,” Scherzer said. “I mean it when I say that I usually direct audiences to HonestReporting when they want to channel their frustrations into activism.” Magid includes with journalists who had reported in Gaza during the 2014 conflict to unearth instances of censorship and narrative control that Hamas had employed. Selected for two Jewish film festivals, the documentary reveals the struggle reporters face to maintain objectivity in a war-torn region under Hamas’ strict control. The producer said his intention in filming this documentary was to show how the

‘cogs and wheels’ operate in circumstances of war. “The media is not immune to what takes place in front of them and while seeing objectivity as a standard they invariably get sucked in and become participants rather than reporters,” Magid said in a press release. President of Students of Hillsdale Advocating, Learning, and Observing the Middle East (SHALOM) and senior Hannah Brewer said she plans on hosting a small viewing for around 15 students. While renting the film for a day costs $3.04, and purchasing the film costs $7.60, to host an official screening for 30 or more viewers, the club would need to submit an application and pay for the producer’s travel costs to the college. For Hazan, this documentary is timely in today’s media climate, plagued with inaccuracies in social media and amid accusations of “fake news.” “We wanted to inform journalists in the making about this documentary,” Hazan said. “Because we are in this era of fake news, this documentary is great because journalism is not dead like everyone is thinking. We still have a chance to do good journalism.”

Dienstagsschmaus: A tasty Tuesday tradition By | Nolan Ryan Collegian Freelancer Imagine a dinner table filled with sausage, currywurst, and cheese spreads, surrounded by a number of students having conversations with one another in their foreign language of study: in this case, German. This is what happens every other Tuesday as German-speaking students gather together for a night of feasting and great conversation in German at “Dienstagsschmaus.” Junior Finnegan Cleary, president of German honorary Delta Phi Alpha, hosts this meal twice a month at his apartment. “Our goal is to connect older students and professors with younger students who are starting to learn the language or have an interest in majoring or minoring,” Cleary said. “Typically, we’ll have a dinner and speak in German while we eat. This was our first semester with this event. It was my hope to create an event that would bind our honorary together with students and professors.” According to Cleary, Nina Weiland, an exchange student from Saarland, came up with the name “Dienstagsschmaus.” “The name ‘Dienstagsschmaus’ is a classic German composite bringing together Dienstag (Tuesday) and Schmaus (Feast),” explained Associate Professor of German Fred Yaniga, faculty advisor to the honorary. Yaniga said German dinners are not as elaborate as the daytime meals. They typically consist of bread and sandwiches, as well as cheese and vegetables. “Finn has done a nice job preparing sausages and Spätzele (German noodles) and other typically German meals,” he said. Yaniga said the meals have provided lots of laughter and another way for German stu-

dents to speak “Deutsch” with one another. The best part about the meals, he said, is that they have been a way to connect German students of all four classes with each other and the German professors. He said Finn Cleary and other officers in the honorary have done an amazing job of cooking special German food for the events. “I was amazed by how fresh and light most of our meals were. The standard American conception of German food encompasses the classics: sausage, mustard, large glasses of

German culture has a unique history of food, beyond that with which most Americans are familiar. As in all cultures, food is an important part for individuals to connect with each other. Meals are often ways for people to bond while enjoying good food. “Food is an effective way to connect Americans with German culture,” he said. “It acts as a medium for transmitting values about the way Germans think about consumption which can be more sensitive than here in the States.” A unique aspect of German food is its lack of preservatives, which is controlled by laws in Germany, according to Cleary. “The most famous of these kinds of laws would be the Reinheitsgebot, the law concerning what can and cannot be brewed in beer,” he said. “While the law dates back to early 16th century Bavaria, it continues today in a somewhat altered form. The philosophy behind this rests on German celebrations of tradition, efficiency, and modernization.” Freshman Patrick Farrell visited Dienstagsschmaus and said he especially enjoyed Cleary’s currywurst. “They say the best way to learn a new language is to expose yourself to it as much as possible, and that’s exactly what Dienstagsschmaus does,” he said. “It’s fun to be able to engage yourself in conversation with friends while also sharpening your German skills.” Freshman German students such as Farrell are able to see firsthand the benefits of being in DPA. “I would say that Dienstagsschmaus made me more interested in the Delta Phi Alpha honorary,” Farrell said. “The honorary does a great job in putting on events like Dienstagsschmaus, so if I were to continue on [with German], I would surely pursue joining Delta Phi Alpha.”

“The standard American conception of German food encompasses the classics: sausage, mustard, large glasses of beer. While those are present in Germany, there is a greater variety to the food and gusto for local specialties ... ” beer. While those are present in Germany, there is a greater variety to the food and gusto for local specialties,” Cleary said. “Most of the food I had while in the country was prepared fresh, from local ingredients, with minimal nitrates or preservatives. Our honorary wanted to help provide that experience to students here at Hillsdale.” Dienstagsschmaus even has received private donations. “The ‘Dienstagsschmaus’ has been made possible by a generous donation from Lucas Wegmann, a great supporter of our college and a friend of the German department,” said Yaniga. He said he hopes that Dienstagsschmaus that will continue to be a tradition for the German department in the future.

Students and professors gather for their twice-monthly German feast. Nolan Ryan | Collegian

Flamenco from B1 tends to be a little more on the sad, painful feel to it, because the gypsies have had such a rough time of it.” Since then, however, flamenco has grown popular throughout the world, especially in the United States and Japan. “I’ve seen flamenco twice in the past,” Tyne said. “It is very beautiful. There are a lot of pieces to it that show its distinct cultural influences.” Traditional flamenco combines singing, typically in a deep style, and guitar playing

with dance. The custom is well-known for long, ruffled skirts, flowers adorning hair, and the bullfighting costumes of the men. Tyne said holding an event like this one has been a dream of hers since freshman year when she started the Spanish club. Finding herself without the resources at the time, she said she is thankful to be able to finally make this dream a reality and stretching the honorary beyond the mealtime talks and an occasional movie showing. “I am looking forward to watching everyone’s reactions and seeing everyone enjoy the

performance and applauding this unique style of music,” Tyne said. Garcia said she looks forward to seeing flamenco for the first time in person. Having grown up in a town near the border of Mexico, she said she is familiar with Latin American folkórico dances but looks forward to experiencing a Spanish folk performance. “I hope people get a taste of Hispanic culture,” Garcia said. “It’s great exposure to something new and something you’ve probably never seen before.”


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