4.5 the hillsdale collegian
TRANSCRIPT
The Students Against Cancer GOAL
Against Cancer Dance-a-thon” in the Knorr Family Dining Room on March 30. SAC student coordinator, junior Amelia Kerton, said the event drew more than 90 people and raised more than $600 for a local cancer care center.All proceeds from the Dance-a-thon
will be donated to the Hillsdale Commu-nity Health Center’s Infusion and Chemo/Hematology Center. The center provides an out-patient service for chemotherapy patients, in addition to other services.The infusion center, junior Nathan
Knapp said, will use the donated money to
chemo patients.Kerton said she created the event to
regardless of their feelings toward the American Cancer Society.
Internationally-acclaimed writer and pundit Mark Steyn spoke at Hillsdale College April
Myopia” denial of the country’s
America, we have outspent the entire planet,” Steyn said. Some 750 students,
professors, and friends of the college attended the lecture in the George Roche Sports Complex
Tuesday night. Steyn spoke for 45 minutes to
-tive shouts. His talk highlighted Ameri-
ca’s national debt and the entitlement think ing that contributed to it. Paul Moreno, associate professor of history, said the talk
any student of
States
history since 1945.
suicidal nature of the entitlement state, and nobody does it with
it.”Students and professors both
said his points paired humor with policy observations that were as funny as they were earnest.
and, as usual, what he had to say was serious,” said Professor
pointed out, we cannot continue to live beyond our means. Either we get our act together (which will be painful) or we go down.”Steyn directed many of
his barbs at current president -
gate spending. He said Obama
by using a language of rights.
human right unless someone else pays for it,” Steyn said.Students who attended the
talk said his section on the slew
large freshmen classes, Hillsdale College has started converting off-campus houses into men’s residences.In 2012-2013, two new men’s
dormitories will be added to the
Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house, and the apartments behind Simp-son Residence. Dean of Men Aaron Petersen
said 17 to 20 sophomores will move to the DSP house — which
— at least for the next year.
the house while leaving the feel and character of the building intact.
together to really build some community and study and have a good time.”Although the house is expect-
ed to return to DSP control in
on the fraternity’s actions.
House] is just full of so many
what its character is going to be like. But we’ve recruited some really great guys right now, and
spots.”For the apartment complex
behind Simpson called Park Place, Petersen hired junior Alex Tiren to be the head RA. The col-lege purchased the building after it was foreclosed on last year, and Petersen said he plans on moving 16 upperclassmen plus two RAs there next semester.
Ginni Thomas is an entrepreneur
and activist in the Washington, D.C.,
area. She has worked at The Heritage
Foundation, the U.S. Chamber of Com-
merce, and in numerous legislative and
associate vice president of Hillsdale
Jr., Center for Constitutional Stud-
ies and Citizenship, she founded the
as an information hub for citizen activ-
ists. She visited Hillsdale College this
week to orient upcoming interns on the
intersection of principle and practice
in Washington.
How did your relationship with
Hillsdale College begin?
Arnn are friends to my husband and me from when they were at Claremont.
opportunity to start here about 12 years
always been, and we are really excited about what he’s brought to Hillsdale. I came back and complimented him on the changes that are happening, the goodness that is happening here. You can see it architecturally and that means that development is going well. And kids are just thriving and growing and learning.
with the college?
Dr. Arnn asked me to join the Board
years. I loved interacting with them, but I told him that if he was interested
could help him more as a full-time staffer than on his board. I was getting more out of it than I was giving to the school. I loved helping them full time
-ber 2009, I looked out and saw these people. These are my people and I really connected with them. I love the mission of the school, but I really felt like the calling right now was to come to the service of the country in a more immediate, political way than in what Hillsdale was doing in a long-term academic way. I had to leave to start up my own political entrepreneurial web-site. And I loved doing that. I used the connections and the ideas that I found here at Hillsdale.
series with The Daily Caller?
Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel run
The Daily Caller, so it’s a fun, fun group of people. They talked with me about coming over. I video interview people who give hope and inspira-tion to the center right. It’s a lot of
to someone on the center right who I think is a leader and showing courage
It’s just a fun way to provide hope and inspiration to the right.
-itbart. I aired it two weeks before he passed away. I just did Mark Steyn this morning. One that I really loved was Reverend C.L. Bryant, who was
Vol. 135, Issue 22 - 5 April 2012Michigan’s oldest college newspaper www.hillsdalecollegian.com
B4
In News...
A5
B1
A6
TWITTER.COM/HDALECOLLEGIAN
FACEBOOK.COM/HILLSDALECOLLEGIAN
Senior Art
Shotgun
takes gold
Gingerbread
House
See A2
In Arts...
Spaces...
See A2
See A4
Q&A: Ginni Thomas
Houses to Dorms
Caleb Whitmer
Copy Editor
Dance-a-thon unites campus against cancer
Shannon Odell
Features Editor
Humor with a
dash of scathing
Marieke van der Vaart
Editor-in-Chief
Patrick Timmis
News Editor
New men’s residences to open Fall 2012
See story below
See A3
Steyn: “We’ve outspent the planet”
Hope for conservatism
Students danced the night away to raise money for a local cancer care center. The event was sponsored by Student Against Cancer. (Elena Salvatore/Collegian)
(Shannon Odell/Collegian)
(Alex Cothran/Collegian)
(Bonnie Cofer/Collegian)
GINNI THOMAS
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Student Fed denies Praxis
Emmaline EppersonCollegian Reporter
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Students for Santorum
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Leadership weekend draws ambitious prospectives
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Group of College Republicans campaigns in Wisconsin primary
Sophomore Melika Willoughby phone banks in Wiscon-
sin for GOP hopeful Rick Santorum over the weekend.
Willoughby was part of a group of students who cam-
paigned in the primary. (Courtesy of Ryan Bolyard)
NEWS A3 5 April 2012www.hillsdalecollegian.com
DSP united after weekend retreat
Marieke van der VaartEditor-in-Chief
The men of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity will write a chapter constitution this week as part of their efforts to rebuild the chap-ter, after two days of talks with campus and fraternity authorities this week, said the president of the Tau chapter, senior Daniel Loy. The 32-member fraternity met
with Hillsdale College adminis-trators, alumni, and the national fraternity’s leadership on March 31 and April 1 for almost eight hours in Curtiss Dining Hall.“It was a little strenuous but
we got it done,” Loy said. “The best part of this weekend is that we got everyone on the same page.”The sessions were led by
Jeff Reynolds, a DSP alumnus who was part of the Tau chapter during a similar crisis almost 30 years ago.Loy said one of the most
important tasks of the weekend was laying out expectations for the chapter, especially for under-classmen who will be working to regain the fraternity’s off-campus house.“[Dean of Men Aaron Peters-
en] said he wanted an exemplary chapter,” Loy said. “That seemed fair to ask.”Practically, that means ac-
creditation, Loy said, the national fraternity’s measurement of high standing. Sophomore Brett Miller said the chapter would try to climb what the national fraternity calls the pyramid of excellence.“They’re attainable goals that
we’re all striving for,” Miller said. “It’s going to take work, but if the work is put in, it’s not an overwhelming task.”Accreditation is a year-long
paperwork process that measures everything from grade point average, to volunteer hours, and chapter involvement on campus. Loy said in years past, the
-work to qualify.Before members nominate
and elect next year’s leadership,
they will write a constitution for the fraternity, a document Loy compared to a “DSP honor code,” for members to sign, “so everyone knows exactly what’s required of them.”
step in the chapter’s tumultu-ous struggle to restore itself on campus this year. In February, Petersen announced that the fraternity would lose its house next year for alcohol infractions and problems with membership dues. After many discussions, a petition to save the house, and a formal membership review by the national fraternity, Loy said this
relationships between chapter and administration.“The main objective was to
encourage the rest of the mem-bership who might not get to talk to Dean Pete or Jeff Reynolds, who might not get to see all the conversations behind the scenes,” he said. “That was good to hear and that gives accountability to both sides.”Miller said he was surprised
during last weekend’s conversa-tions to see the administration’s support for the chapter.“They’re not here to shut
us down,” Miller said. “The administration actually wants this to work.” Miller said he thought the
chapter’s plight came across as more extreme that it really is. “It’s not as bad as it was made
out to be,” he said. Only three members have
decided to deactivate, opting for alumni status this semester. Miller said he was one of the other students who considered deactivating in February. “I wish they would have stuck
out the process,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of hope for where this is going.” Loy said the chapter is not
discouraged. “If everything goes well and
we implement our new strategies and accomplish our goals, we can be back in the house in the fall of 2013,” he said.
CHI OMEGA SIGN ALMOST HOME
The sign in front of the Chi Omega sorority house has been missing since last semester. Within the next week, Chi Omega will be getting a new sign placed at the front of the path leading to the house. The Chi
to replace the vandalized sign. It will be similar in style to the old sign, reading “Chi Omega” and “estab-lished in 1924” with the sorority’s crest on it. It will most likely be of the same durable redwood oak as the last sign.
Junior and Chi Omega president, Ashley Heath, said the sorority will be giving the sign a “fresh face.”
Last semester the Chi Omega sign was torn down and stolen.
Heath said “[It] was one of those iconic parts of the outside of the
sorority.The sign was not in place for rush
at the beginning of the semester, and Heath said this “affects [what] parents, administrators, and potential students think about the school.”
According to Heath, the amount that Chi Omega’s insurance com-pany will pay to replace the sign depends on the outcome of this investigation, but as of right now the case is still open.
“We don’t have the rowdiest Greek system, so we don’t typically have to deal with this,” Heath said. “[We hope to] heal some old wounds and make a healthier Greek system.”
Heath added that the Chi Omega sisters “hold no contempt for anyone on campus” and “hope [others on campus] will return the sentiment.”
— Megan Showalter
Tiren said the goal is to give men who couldn’t get off cam-pus another option. Park Place, which will have a new name by next semester, is made up of suites with full bathrooms and kitchens, but will cost the same as the dorms.“It’s basically nicer than
the Suites for cheaper than the Suites,” Tiren said.Petersen said hiring Tiren,
currently an RA in Niedfeldt Residence, out of the dorm opened up the opportunity to
hire and train a new, younger RA in his place. In fact, Tiren’s move is one of a slew of changes for Niedfeldt, which will have an expanded staff next year, with four half RAs, one full RA, a head RA, and junior Greg Barry as the new house director.Senior Joe Hersey, the current
Niedfeldt house director, said moving to a system with more half RAs instead of a smaller number of full RAs allows the college to train underclassmen. It also gives younger students a chance to prove themselves be-fore moving to a more full-time position.“The one thing that we had to
deal with last year was we had [junior] RAs who literally were just doing nothing,” he said. “So the half RA seems like a way to see if people are doing well before you give them a larger [job].”Another incentive, Petersen
said, is that a good RA is usu-ally the type of person heavily involved elsewhere on campus, so at times the full RA job can become burdensome.“It’s just more hands on
deck,” Petersen said. “We get more guys involved in the lead-ership.”
NEW DORMSFrom A1
Students spread
science love
at Olympiad
Emily JohnstonSenior Reporter
On March 31, 28 teams of students competed in the an-nual Region 9 Science Olym-piad competition at Hillsdale College. Christopher Hamilton, assistant professor of chemistry and the regional Science Olym-piad director, said the competi-tion was again a great success.“This was the smoothest
Science Olympiad we’ve had. Sure, it’s work and there are headaches, but it’s rewarding
and fun,” he said.Division B winners were
Hudson Middle School and Emerson Middle School. Divi-sion C winners were Saline High School and Pioneer High School. Only the top two teams move on to compete at the state Science Olympiad competition.Hamilton said without the
120 student volunteers and 20 faculty volunteers, the event would not have gone so well.“It really tells what kind of
students we have at Hillsdale that they give up their time for
little more than a T-shirt and a pizza lunch,” Hamilton said.Senior Sean McDade, vice
president of the American Chemical Society chapter on campus, was responsible for coordinating student volunteers and ACS’s involvement in the events. “It’s very satisfying to be a
part of such a great event,” he said. “It’s good for the col-lege, good for the kids that compete and a lot of fun for the volunteers. Where can you go wrong?”
RED CROSS STRIKE POSTPONES BLOOD DRIVE
The Chi Omega/American Red Cross blood drive, sched-uled for April 5 at Hillsdale College has been cancelled due to a strike amongst Red Cross workers.
The American Red Cross Great Lakes Region was noti-
strike. This will be the third time in two years that union strikes have hit the Red Cross.
Slightly over 200 workers are participating in the strike. They stopped work for the Great Lakes Blood Services Region at 8 a.m., March 30. These Michigan strikes are occurring after more than 400 Red Cross employees in Ohio refused to work in February of 2012.
The union workers are accusing the Red Cross of unfair labor practices.They are also working on collective bargaining issues, health care negotiations, and pushing for better blood-safety practices.
The effect of the strike is far reaching, causing blood drives across Michigan to be cancelled and rescheduled. With already low amounts of blood donations in the Great Lakes region, the burden is
to up their blood collection to
from the Great Lakes region.A negotiation between
union representatives and Red Cross management is set for April 11.
— Kelsey Drapkin
Hillsdale volunteers help run
annual science competition
(Elena Salvatore/Collegian)
www.hillsdalecollegian.com NEWS A4 5 April 2012
KATE’S TAKE
KATEOLSON
Friends and LoversA question for the Masters
Dear Kate,I need some advice. I need some serious advice. I
Concerned Friend
Dear Concerned,
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MORENO TO RETIRE FROM DEAN OF FACULTYAssociate Professor of History Paul Moreno is stepping down as the
dean of faculty at the end of this semester.
“Paul Moreno has served as Dean of Faculty for several years now, and
Whalen said in an email to Hillsdale College faculty and staff. “Much as
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GINNI THOMASFrom A1
Website gets faceliftStudents contribute to
Hillsdale website revamp
Obesity is an extra-large problem in Hillsdale County.According to the Michi-
gan Department of Com-munity Health, Hillsdale County’s weight statistics place it on par with the state of Michigan, with 37.9 per-cent of its adult population
obese. Michigan, which has a 35.1 percent obesity rate, is the eighth fattest state in the U.S., as reported by the Center for Disease Control.Childhood obesity is also
on the rise in the commu-
2010, high school students in Hillsdale County reported a 36.1 percent obesity rate, more than double the na-tional rate of 17.4 percent.
registered dietician and
her 20 years at the Hillsdale Community Health Center.“I see junior high and
high school students with Type 2 diabetes, high cho-lesterol, and heart prob-
conditions like this until the last few years.”Many of these problems
will become life-long health concerns.
with these conditions for
high cholesterol in their 40s
early teens.”The high frequency of
obesity in both the county and the state are an enor-
mous weight on the econo-my. The estimated cost of caring for obese patients in Michigan was $3.1 billion. An obese person’s medical
more than those of a person
that, if trends continue, obesity-related healthcare will cost $12.5 billion in
2018.This issue has not gone
unnoticed by local health care professionals. In July, the Hillsdale Commu-nity Health Center joined a
the Healthy Food Hospital
The health center’s
healthy food choices at local
school functions and works
and their families. Another
teaching local families how to cook and eat healthy food on a budget.The local and state
also taken notice. Theresa Christner, director of health promotion and education for the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joeseph Community Health
obesity trend in Hillsdale County.“Education is one of the
most important things we can do to reduce obesity.” Christner said that the
the Community Health
“unpack the obesity prob-lem” in order to combat it
recent program was cre-ated to increase the number of women who breastfeed
“Breastfeeding has -
weight: The longer the child is breastfed, the lower the odds are of that child
Christner.Another program, called
the “Six Weeks to Well-ness,” aims to encourage
“Six weeks is about the amount of time it takes for people to form new habits,” Christner said. “Through this program, we hope to
participants and make a long-term impact on their future choices.”
The Hillsdale City Council
the operating hours of the city’s compost site back to the
the April 2 council meeting.After discussions about
and the 2012-2013 budget, the council turned their attention to the compost site.
down there all week — it’s ridiculous,” Councilor Brian Watkins said.Watkins suggested that the
site open only on Saturdays
to cut costs. The compost site is currently open Tuesday
-ing.“Once a week — once
people adjust to it — would be plenty,” Watkins said.While the city is preparing
-tions of State Street, Watkins said the council needs to seri-ously consider where it can cut costs.“We need money for
streets,” he said. “At the same time, if we’re going to be asking for money, we need to show we’re making cuts where we can make cuts.”
Keith Richards spoke at Mon-day’s meeting against cutting down on the hours the site is open.
a lot of abuse out there,” he said.Richards asked for the
committee’s understanding in
were to cut back on the hours, he said he foresees problems between city residents and the city.“You don’t understand what
it’s like,” he said. “People
getting into the compost site. It sounds funny until you get someone standing in your face literally threatening your life
Richards said the city has already cut down on the frequency of brush and leaf collection.Councilor Mary Wolfram
asked Richards what he would
said.“It just bothers me to think
we’re paying someone to stand out there and to wait until someone comes by.”
the site during the busier times of the year and installing an automatic gate, since the em-
ployee who monitors the gate gets paid close to $100 a day, Richards said. Richards also pointed out
that the costs of running the compost site last year were much more than normal be-
storm. Last year, bulldozers, as well as two wood chippers, were brought to the site to clear it out.Normally, wood chippers
four years. Bulldozers are also
years to grind up the concrete slabs from old sidewalks. But because of the excess wood from the ice storm, the con-crete could not be ground up.
So, they had to grind up the wood as well as the concrete in the same year.In addition to the annual
at the site — about $40,000 — the concrete grinders cost about $25,000 and the wood chippers cost about $7,500.“All the costs you see,” he
said, “that’s all rolled into what it cost to man that site last year.”Richards said the costs
year.“I think last year the costs
were more than any of the
and we can reduce those costs,” he said.
The following is a list of calls compiled and reported by the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Depart-ment.
Hillsdale City Police
April 2 A 35-year-old Hillsdale man was arrested on suspicion of felony as-sault. No bond was allowed.
Hillsdale County Sheriff’s De-
partment
April 2 The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department responded to three breaking and entering calls, two larcenies, two car-deer accidents,
one suspicious situation, and one animal at large.April 1
A 26-year-old Hudson woman was arrested on a felony warrant for larceny in a building and on
-tempt of court. A $10,000 bond and a $400 bond were not posted. The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department responded to one
disputes, two suspicious situations, and one car-deer accident.March 30 A 19-year-old Angola, Ind., man was arrested on two misdemeanor warrants for larceny. A $4,000 bond was not posted. The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department responded to one suspicious situation, one harassing communication, and one animal
March 29
The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department responded to one
disputes, one animal control of-
situation.March 28 A 39-year-old Jerome man was
with a suspended license and operating and maintaining a lab
allowed. The sheriff’s department re-
and one car-deer accident.
— Compiled by Sarah Leitner
CITY NEWS A5 5 April 2012 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Police Blotter
Sarah Leitner
Sports Editor
James Block
Collegian Freelancer
City council may cut hours of compost center
Obesity epidemic hits Hillsdale hard
Childhood obesity rates in Hillsdale are twice the national average. More
than 35 percent of Hillsdale children are obese. (Joelle Lucas/Collegian)
Those who attended Mark Steyn’s lecture in the Sports Complex on Tuesday night encountered something of a surprise: Standing out in front of
clad locals protested wind turbine
few minutes of his speech talking about them.The protesors were affiliated with
a group called the Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition, Inc., which attempts to focus opposition to projects such as wind turbines. The organization
former Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission for Lenawee County, Michigan. Martis says that “watching
-ing regulations [for wind turbines] got his attention.”
telling us, yeah, they’re 50 feet tall, but they’re a 1,000 feet away, so you won’t
When Martis’ term on the commis-sion ended, he reached out to others concerning what he saw as some of the drawbacks, such as “the noise, the disturbance of sleep, danger to wildlife,
Both Martis and fellow Lenawee County resident and coalition member Josh Vancamp said wind energy is im-practical. Martis said that “wind energy only exists with a $52 per megawatt
megawatt per hour for coal.”
According to Martis, Duke Energy Renewables, a part of Duke’s Commercial Businesses, is seeking to establish wind turbines in Reading Township, a nearby locality. Vancamp also says that the nearest of these wind turbines would be established “less
Complex.Gretchen Oberdick, a Reading
resident, was also at Steyn’s speech. She is a member of a group called
wants stricter zoning regulations for the windmills, citing concerns similar to those of Martis.“We’re a group of people with the
same goal: proper siting of the wind turbines. Duke has requested them closer to residences than our research suggests is safe,” she said.
Reading Township.”Another Reading resident, Walt
Sinzer, disagrees. He supports the project thoroughly.“There are a number of reasons I
support these turbines,” he said. “I like the looks of them, they’re big, majestic,
Whether or not global warming is true,
and gas into the atmosphere, and these
machine.”Sinzer also cited economic benefits
for the town.
and the school and the landowners re-
in Hillsdale County. Christine Bow-man, who used to promote Hillsdale’s
Committee has the wrong idea.
now there’s really not much going on here. What you need is money. I respect those people and their opinion, but I am disappointed.”
of Duke Energy Renewables. A fact
Duke Energy Corporate Communica-
energy. For example, in response to the charge that wind farms are harmful to humans, the sheet rebuts that “wind energy is a benign technology with no associated emissions, harmful pollut-ants, or waste products.”The official website of the project
says, “Community benefits include
community can count on year after year, a large number of construction jobs (and a smaller number of opera-tions jobs), and emission-free electric-ity generated locally.”
a Reading Township Council meeting on April 16, at which a discussion of the project’s merits are to be held.For now, this debate shows no
Wind farms create controversy in area
Jack Butler
Collegian Freelancer
The homeless in New York City aren’t eating enough
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OPINION5 April 2012 A6 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
THE COLLEGIAN WEEKLYTHE OPINION OF THE COLLEGIAN EDITORIAL STAFF
Newsroom
Advertising
Online:
Editor in Chief: Marieke van der Vaart
News Editor: Patrick Timmis
City News Editor: Betsy Woodruff
Opinions Editor: T. Elliot Gaiser
Sports Editor: Sarah Leitner
Features Editor: Shannon Odell
Arts Editor: Roxanne Turnbull
Design Editor: Bonnie Cofer
Design Assistant: Aaron Mortier
Web Editor: Sally Nelson
Ad Manager: Will Wegert
Circulation Manager: Emmaline Epperson
Copy Editors: Tory Cooney | Morgan Sweeney
Caleb Whitmer | Abigail Wood
Staff Reporters: Emily Johnston
Phillip Morgan | Teddy Sawyer | Sarah Anne Voyles
Photographers: Joe Buth | Elena Salvatore
Shannon Odell | Caleb Whitmer
Joelle Lucus | Sally Nelson
Faculty Advisers: John J. Miller | Maria Servold
The editors welcome Letters to the Editor but reserve
the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length and
style. Letters should be less 350 words or less and include
your name and phone number. Please send submissions
to [email protected] before Sunday at 6 p.m.
Education lies not
in argumentative
victory;; rather, it
is the successful
discovery of truth.
While I think most
people should
question things
more than they do,
those who don’t
are a lot better at
just living
This week the Collegian -
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THE GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING OUR HIPS
Sally NelsonWeb Editor
Bridget ErvinSpecial to the Collegian
Sarah LeitnerSports Editor
E. Garrett WestSpecial to the Collegian
Wes WrightSpecial to the Collegian
QUESTION LIFEAND LIVE IT
DIVING INTO THE DEBATE
WE NEED GOOD MEN
CONDESCENSION ON CAMPUS
SPORTSA7 5 April 2012www.hillsdalecollegian.com
“Wahoooooooo!”Sophomore Andrew Smith
could not contain his enthusi-asm. He was a national cham-pion.Smith is one of the seven
members of the Hillsdale Col-lege shotgun team that won the Division III Association of College Unions Interna-tional National Shooting Team Championship last week in San Antonio, Texas.A $15,000 endowment also
accompanies the prestigious title and will be used for the col-lege’s shooting program.Shooting coach Bart Spieth
started the program just one and a half years ago, mostly with members who learned the sport at Hillsdale. These members include senior Nate Oberholtzer, senior Kyle Jazwiecki, Smith, junior Blake Scott, and senior Dan Klimas. Freshmen Ed Tran-cik and Joe Kain were recruited to shoot for the college. Winning a national title this
soon into the program’s his-tory is rare and an admirable accomplishment for the college community.“Last year we did not take
a full team down, so that we could scope out the competi-tion and see what it would take to win,” Spieth said. “We came back with a plan and put it into place.”The national title came from
the accumulation of the top three individual places in each event throughout the week-long competition. The Chargers
event, where a shooter shoots
clays, which is out of 100 tar-
gets. They snagged second place in American skeet and interna-tional skeet, and third place in American trap and international trap, which were all out of 100 targets.Although individuals on the
team did well — especially Scott, who placed 12th out of 303 competitors in international trap — the national title came from a complete team effort and consistent achievement through-out the week.“Without any one of us, we
would not have won the champi-onship,” Jazwiecki said. The team will continue to
grow and depend on a well-rounded effort from all its shooters next year. Spieth plans to actively recruit the best and brightest junior shooters in the country. Three recruits are already coming in next year, and he said he is still working to recruit more.Heading into the competi-
tion, the Chargers were feeling -
vidual meet the week before in Arkansas, where they fared extremely well against world-class shooters. Despite this
when Hillsdale was in danger of losing the title.As the competition drew to a
close, the Chargers only led by a mere eleven targets. How-
with 1,402 targets, securing the outright victory and creating history in a new and inexperi-enced program.With the win in Division III,
the Chargers will automatically move up to Division II next year, where they will be chal-lenged by bigger teams with even better shooters. But Spieth
will rise to that challenge with
the support of the college com-munity.“Hillsdale College has taken
the shooting program seriously. Many other schools do it as an activity, but Hillsdale wants a championship team, and the support we get from the college is full,” Spieth said.The Chargers are excited
about the challenge and oppor-tunity, as has been the mindset of the dedicated team all year.
They are not settling with their title, as they look onto greater things.“We will have the nicest
facility and building in the country, bar none. As the facility and program grows, our success grows,” Spieth said. “Given another year’s work, I’m look-
year, possibly higher than that. In two-to-three years, I’d like a Division II national title.”
The Hillsdale College rugby squad came away from their road trip to Bowling Green State University with a 24-22 win last
Senior captain Gabe Bunek’s
remaining in the matchup put the Chargers ahead, and the team managed to stave off a last-ditch effort by the Falcons to score by keeping solid possession until time ran out. The Chargers were led by
tries from sophomores Jake Stratman and James Defontes, as well as senior Deuce Mor-gan’s try and two conversion kicks. But it was Bunek’s try that ultimately gave Hillsdale the lead, which the team defended tenaciously.“We were pushing the ball up
we shifted to more of a crash-ball approach, bulling our way forward,” Bunek said. “DeFontes
bit, and got high-tackled. I just picked up the ball out of the ruck and ran it in off the advantage.”
spring season for the Chargers,
over Bowling Green last spring. Hillsdale had been competitive in the majority of their games last year but had fallen short in the
“We’ve been on the losing end in the close games, but I thought the team showed a lot of character in getting over the hump and getting a win,” Bunek said. “We’ve been hanging tight in every game we’ve played, but now that we’re getting more
that we can hang on to win, which is huge.”The team is using a more
balanced offense, with a mixture of power play by the forwards and more distribution out to the backs. Stratman’s score to open the game was representative of the squad’s strategy. “[Senior] Christian Mull
dished off to me, I cut inside and dodged their fullback, and then broke a really long run,” Strat-man said. “For the most part, each team kept their possessions out of the rucks, and we were able to get the ball out to the backs.” Hillsdale’s tackling through-
out the game was outstanding, and although they gave up four tries, they kept the Falcons’ scor-ing to the corners, which made
conversion kicks nearly impos-sible for Bowling Green to make.The Chargers will face Grand
Valley State University next in an away game this Saturday in
Grand Rapids. “We know we can win, and
we’re optimistic going into GVSU,” DeFontes said.
Morgan Delp
Collegian Freelancer
David Gordon
Collegian Freelancer
Shotgun team takes DIII national championship
Rugby club defeats Bowling Green 24-22
Basic Shotgun and Basic
the most popular classes come registration time,
are able to click “submit.”Outside of the military
institutes, Hillsdale College is one of just a few colleges with a shooting range and classes that allow students to learn how to shoot safely. These classes, range
manager and lecturer Bart Spieth said, are generally
have little to no shooting ex-perience. He said the classes are oriented toward more inexperienced students to give them an introduction to gun handling and shooting in a safe environment.“I’ve never shot before,”
said freshman Carrie Blan-ton, a student in the basic shotgun class. “There’s not a shooting facility close to my current residence so I don’t have much opportunity to go shooting. But now I feel comfortable handling a gun.”After the introductory
classes, there are advanced
classes and the shotgun club team for students who wish to continue shooting.
that they love this sport and look for opportunities to take their shooting with them,” Spieth said. “Some have asked me for advice on gun purchases.”Current team mem-
bers who started shooting because of the class include junior Blake Scott, and se-niors Dan Klimas and Nate Oberholtzer.“They have become very
good shooters in just two to three years,” Spieth.The construction of
Hillsdale’s range began in 2008, on the 77-acre plot
event at the range was held on Sept. 19, 2009 in honor of Constitution Day.There are plans to add an
and a club house in the next few years.The guns at the range are
from Browning, Beretta, and Winchester, which have either been donated or pur-chased by the school from the manufacturers. Guns have been added annually as the program becomes more popular.
The Hillsdale College shotgun club won the Division III
national cwhampionship last week in San Antonio, Texas.
They will now be allowed to compete in Division II. (Joe
Buth/Collegian)
Shotgun classes teach gun handling and safety
Kelsey Drapkin
Collegian Freelancer
that Armstrong threw six in-nings against the No. 20 team in the nation. “I haven’t thrown in a high
Armstrong said. “Knowing their track record was nerve wracking but also a good test to see where I was against some of the nation’s best.” Theisen said that Armstrong
is one of the team’s better pitchers because he can throw his fastball where he wants it to go. “He more or less just at-
tacked the hitters without fear,” he said.
pitcher Kris Morris replaced Armstrong and shut down Grand Valley. “Shane got the win and Kris
got the save,” Lantis said. This past weekend, Lake
Erie College swept the Char-gers in a four-game series. The
Saturday 11-6. The Chargers opened the
game with a run when junior Scott Lantis singled to center
But Lake Erie batted in 8 runs in the second inning and Hillsdale was unable to regain the lead.In the second game, the
Chargers narrowly lost 8-6. The men gained the lead in
scored, unearned, after junior
-
error. They extended that lead into the sixth inning when
O’Hearn scored. The sixth inning proved
disastrous for the Chargers.
Vanchieri and Blanchard had two hits each. Lantis and Blanchard each had two runs batted in. Theisen said that the team
is focusing on the little aspects of the game. “We need to continue try-
ing to be perfect in the things that we can control,” he said.
“We talk about that a lot to our guys: taking care of the little things and letting the big things happen.” Hillsdale lost 3-0 in their
third game against Lake Erie on Sunday. No one on the team had any hits, except Lan-tis with two. And sophomore pitcher Colin Gerish struck out
Hillsdale started the fourth game when Blanchard scored
Erie countered that lead, though, with two runs in the
with a 4-1 victory. Breymaier and Lantis both
had two hits. Freshman catcher Sean Bennett had a hit and a run batted in. On Friday and Saturday,
the men play four games at the University of Findlay. Next Tuesday, the Chargers will play Grand Valley State University again in a double-header. “Beating such a good team
was a huge momentum builder for us,” Lantis said. “We hope to continue that momentum.”
BASEBALL
From A8
The Health and Wellness Club along with G.O.A.L Hillsdale Buddies Program held the “Day of Champi-ons” event in Hillsdale last Saturday. The triathlon was com-
posed of three athletic feats: a 750-meter swim, a 5-ki-lometer run, and a 20-kilo-meter bike ride. Men and women were both ranked separately and divided into three heats. Sophomore
among the women com-petitors while junior Doug
men.For Johnson, the competi-
tion was nothing outside of her athletic comfort zone. “It helps that I’m a swim-
mer. That puts me at an advantage. For the triathlon we had to swim 750 meters and I’m used to swimming
6,000 yards in practice,” Johnson said. Johnson swims the 50-
and 100-yard freestyle for the Hillsdale swim team. “The hardest part is get-
ting off the bike and starting to run. My legs get really wobbly. So that’s what I did to practice. But I do a lot of cross training for swimming anyway,” Johnson said. “I didn’t even really know my time last year, I competed just to see how well I could do.”Student Activities Board
President Michael Peters said that the money raised came from participants as well as local businesses.“All of these donations
went right to the Hillsdale Buddies. The triathlon itself was paid for out of the Campus Health and Recre-ation budget as well as the G.O.A.L budget,” Peters said.The “Day of Champions”
raised over $300 for the Hill-sdale Buddies program.
Bailey Pritchett
Collegian Freelancer
Triathlon raises $300
for Hillsdale Buddies
Seniors Gabe Bunek and Deuce Morgan bring down a
Bowling Green State University ball carrier. Hillsdale won
the game 24-22. (Courtesy of Ali Cervini)
driving Homan home and getting an RBI.In the second game, the Char-
gers couldn’t hold off the Lakers
“Grand Valley earned all three of their runs,” Abraham said. “We didn’t give them anything.”Even though Grand Valley
is one of the top teams in the nation, Abraham said all of the teams in the GLIAC are very competitive this year.“That’s the way the GLIAC
has been this year,” he said. “Lit-erally anybody can beat anybody. Grand Valley State is really, really good, but we played two close games with them.”Over the weekend, the Char-
gers went 3-1 in a series against Lake Superior State University
season.On Saturday the Chargers
defeated in the second 9-1.“We just didn’t hit the ball [in
the second game]”, sophomore catcher Mary Depner said. “The
GLIAC is a long-ball conference. If you’re not hitting well, you’re not going to do as well as you’d like.”But in Sunday’s doubleheader,
the Chargers came back strong and shut out Lake Superior State 4-0 and 2-0.
our eyes, and we knew what we needed to do,” Depner said. “Go-ing out there, we knew we were the better team.”Homan had another standout
pitching performance, throw-ing two shut out games over the weekend. And in Sunday’s 4-0 victory, she threw a no-hitter.
Depner said. “As a catcher be-hind the plate, I didn’t have to do a lot of work back there.”Depner said the atmosphere of
playing at home was also helpful.
fence and batting cages, a game-
an announcer, the team had a lot of fun.“It was different,” she said.
“We’ve never really gotten that kind of attention as a team.”The Chargers will face Ferris
State University in away games on Friday and Saturday.
SOFTBALL
From A8
Students enter with minimal experi-ence, leave with love for the sport
The Hillsdale College soft-ball team, led by senior Laura Homan’s strong pitching perfor-mance, split a doubleheader with nationally-ranked Grand Valley State University yesterday, bring-ing their GLIAC record to 8-4.The Chargers shut out the
Lakers, ranked No. 14 in the
Grand Valley came out on top in the second game 3-2.
game was how Laura pitched,” head coach Joe Abraham said. “She pitched her way out of a couple tough jams.”Homan said her pitching felt
right in last weekend’s series against Lake Superior State University.“I felt that in my pitching I
was hitting my spots,” she said. “I think it’s just an adjustment and it takes a while to get back on balance. I just clicked.”Homan also commended
freshman pitcher Katie Ardrey
on a strong performance in the second game.Homan also had a big game
offensively with three hits in four at-bats and two runs scored. Se-
had an outstanding game with three hits in four at-bats and two
also played solid defensively.Abraham said the team has
been batting in two to four runs a game. He said he hopes the team will improve its batting in prac-tice, while also noting the women have shown improvement in base running.“We ran the bases really well,
and we were aggressive, and that
game,” he said. “We played a very good mental game in both games.”It was the aggressive base
running that helped secure one of Hillsdale’s runs in the third
Jessica Guertin doubled, send-ing Homan to third base, and then kept running on the throw,
years, Hillsdale College’s base-ball team beat Grand Valley State University. “It was just one win, but it’s
a big win for us,” junior third baseman Scott Lantis said. The Chargers split a double-
header against rival Grand Valley on April 3. Though Hill-
they won the second 5-2. “We played with them the
in the second game,” freshman pitcher Shane Armstrong said. “That showed that we can play anybody if we put all of our skills together.”Hillsdale led Grand Valley
three times in the following innings.Lantis said the men made a
few small errors that cost them the game.
-er Chris Stephens, sophomore
and freshman shortstop Nolan
Grand Valley opened the second game with a run but Hillsdale responded with two
-ning, the teams were tied
scored off of Vanchieri’s single through the right side. Assistant coach Eric Theisen
turning point in the game.“We pride ourselves on
playing small ball and moving runners with bunts and steals,” Lantis said. “It’s something we’ve struggled with in the past. It makes such a big differ-ence when you can get a runner in a scoring position.”The Chargers cemented
their win when Lantis doubled
scored.
innings and three strikeouts. After he allowed two runs in
out the Lakers in the last four innings he pitched. Lantis said
BLAKE
SCOTT
Junior Blake Scott is studying international business and
-sion III national title.
Tell us about the national competition.
them to win the division title and we also won $15,000 of endow-ment money for the college. The best part of the team is that only two of us were competitive shooters before coming to Hillsdale. So we all started from scratch and have gone to a level where we can compete nationally and win a Division III title.
What is the format of the tournament?
The events are skeet, international skeet, American trap,
be well-rounded shooters in every event, and that’s why we do well. We’ve been with each other for two weeks straight, so it’s been a long trip. We had early mornings. We were up at 5:30 a.m. several days of the week. Sometimes the competitions last for
to go shoot right now.” And then you can take a break, but right after that you’re back into competition again, sometimes twice a day. We won the title by four targets. So every target mattered.
How did the team hold up?
amount of time.
What is the difference between events?
on the spot decisions. That’s a lot harder of a game. Other games require a lot more precision — you know where your target is going to be generally, but you need a lot of precision. The winner in that kind of event will be 100 out of 100. There’s a wide range of skills needed for these events.
How does competitive shooting compare to other sports?
So I chose something where I can compete on the same level.
-ented sport, it still requires a lot of practice. I think that it’s just as much of a commitment as any sport on campus, and I think that’s
want to compete.
— Compiled by T. Elliot Gaiser
The Hillsdale College men’s and women’s track teams trav-elled to the Toledo Collegiate Challenge in Toledo, Ohio, on
Coaches said the teams used the meet as a tune-up for the season ahead. Good perfor-mances were turned in by many athletes on the team, led by senior Jacob Secor’s win in the 3000-meter run. Secor’s time, 8:31.23, set
both the meet and stadium records in the 3000.
-kins, who also competed in the
of 8:40.97. Senior Jeff Wysong
Jones continues to do well in
third place in the event. Senior
the 800-meter run and ran close to a personal record, Forino said.
-
“He looked really strong in the home stretch and so did Wysong in the steeple, so when they are prime they should look great at conference.”
placed second in the javelin
have strong throws, Forino said.
meet are not all currently known. Women’s head coach Andrew Towne said those who managed the race did not do a good job. Towne emailed a race
results. “There are people who are
not in [the results],” Forino
who are not ranked.”According to the results,
senior Chelsea Wackernagel
for the Chargers. “Everything is hand-written
so it is a bad entry problem,” Forino said.
recorded incorrectly, Forino said that there was a slight delay because a hammer had hit one of the judges during the
delay, Senior Catherine Nass said that she was only able to have two warm-up throws.
meet of the season because I had an interview last week,” Nass said. “I had to let the fact that I didn’t have my normal amount of throws to warm-up get to me, but I was able to im-prove on each of my throws.”
a throw of 47.95 meters and sophomore Shannon Neby
of 45.89 meters in the hammer throw. Sophomore Grace Leu-theuser set a personal record in
meters. Forino said that she is making great improvements.
-
was named GLIAC Track Ath-lete of the Week last week for
Gold Invitational at Vanderbilt University. Towne said it is great she is being rewarded for the hard work she has put forth and she is becoming a great leader for the team.
and more aggressive,” Assistant
“She got out strong and you can tell when she is locked in because she gets this face that she is going to kill someone.”
said since this was a smaller meet, he wanted to use it as a tune-up for his runners.“It was a good week for
consistency,” Nass said. “There were not very many personal records set, but people were very close to them and showed that we are solid athletes.”
Sarah Anne Voyles
Collegian Reporter
Sports5 April 2012
Q & A
Hillsdale splits doubleheader with GVSUSally Nelson
Web Editor
(Caleb Whitmer/Collegian)
See Softball, A7
Sarah Leitner
Sports Editor
Homan shuts down GVSU hitters
Senior Laura Homan pitched three shut out games against Lake Superior State University and Grand Valley State University. (Joe Buth/Collegian)
Secor sets meet, arena record in 3,000
See Baseball, A7The baseball team played their first doubleheader at home against Grand Valley State University on Tuesday. (Joe Buth/Collegian)
Although few of the sixteen Hillsdale College art majors graduating this year plan on investing their futures solely in traditional art, most plan on keeping art as a part of their lives for personal en-joyment or to aid the pursuit of different careers.Among those continuing their art education,
seniors Nell O’Leary and Emma Curtis are attend-ing traditional art schools in the fall.O’Leary was recently accepted into Studio
Incamminati, a four-year intensive atelier program in Philadelphia. Only twelve students are accepted into the program each year.“The schooling is more intense than a grad
school, but I don’t receive a master’s degree. It’s strictly four years of painting,” O’Leary said. “The exclusivity is to allow for the very intense mentor-mentee relationship that the program of-fers.”In the future, O’Leary hopes to stick to
traditional art, but, unlike some of her fellow art majors, she does not share the same enthusiasm about a possible career in teaching art.“It’s especially hard to teach in the arts because
you have to see what the students see through their eyes. To them, they are trying to understand basically what art is. They have to challenge what they see versus what they know,” O’Leary said. “I would really just love to become a professional artist.”Curtis, like O’Leary, plans on attending an
atelier program but at Georgetown Atelier, a small traditional art school located in Seattle.“It’s a really small school, so it’s a little ex-
clusive. There aren’t many schools like it in the country,” Curtis said. “It focuses on very tradi-tional technique, which is a really good basis for anything I want to go into afterwards.”Curtis hopes to teach as a source of income
after attending Georgetown.“I’d like to teach art at the high school level,
but I’m not entirely sure. I know that I would love to have my own studio and do commission works,” Curtis said.Other art major seniors are taking a practical
approach to continuing their love of traditional art rather than an academic one. Senior Natalie Knud-
hopefully working with Associate Professor of Art Anthony Frudakis as an assistant or student at
his studio in Saline, Mich. Last summer, Knudsen interned with Frudakis, and worked on the Liberty Walk’s Ronald Reagan statue together.“I worked on the little details like the buttons
and the shoelaces of the Reagan statue,” Knudsen said. “It was a great experience. I feel honored and privileged to have gotten to work with him because he is an amazing sculptor and an even better human being.”In addition to interning, Knudsen hopes to
continue with her art business.
“I have an art business on campus, and I have my own website,” Knudsen said. “On campus it’s mainly airbrushing and wood burning. I do a lot of wood burning for fraternity and sorority crests for initiation. For airbrushing, I did a cape for the pep band leader, and I airbrush at fundraisers.”Knudsen’s passion, however, is teaching.“I would love to be an art teacher at some point
because of Professor [Associate Professor of Art] [Barbara] Bushey. She is just really awesome.”Knudsen recently had an interview with Hills-
dale Academy pertaining to an art teacher position for ages K-12 and hopes to start in the fall as an art teacher for them.There are also art majors who have decided to
pursue careers outside of art, but they intend on keeping art as a way of relaxing. Senior Anna Wi-ley, a double major of chemistry and art, will be
“Currently, chemistry is something I’m ex-cited about. I would love to work in the natural products industry in research and development or quality control,” Wiley said. “I guess long term I’m looking towards transitioning to a career in art. While doing research, you have a million problems, which can be really stressful, and art is a great way to relax.”Wiley believes her education in art will help
ability to pay attention to details, which is an es-sential skill in chemistry.”Whether they have the passion for becoming a
professional artist, teaching art, or even for a dif-ferent career path, the art majors are determined to use their creative talents in their everyday lives.“I owe everything that I have accomplished
to my Hillsdale career,” O’Leary said. “My time
arts.” [email protected]
Senior Natalie Knudsen works on her sculpture of a hunter killing a lion. Knudsen worked with Associate Professor of Art Anthony Frudakis last summer and hopes to work with him again this summer as an assistant. (Joe Buth/Collegian)
test of mettle and skill. The last hurrah of every art
“It is essentially our senior thesis,” senior Alyssa Morrin said. “I’m kind of nervous because I dabble, but I like it. It’s good to take account and see what I’ve done for four years.”The senior show acts akin to the comprehen-
sive exams in many other subjects, senior Nell O’Leary said. It requires you to pick the best of your work, in and out of class, as well as to show a well rounded skill set and also to be able to set up and show work under pressure.
their art has been shown to the general public;; for
art that, living far away, they hadn’t yet seen.“I’m excited, and I’m kind of stressed out
about it because I have German Comps the same
California,” senior Natalie Knudsen said.Four senior women are showing work in the
Morrin, Nell O’Leary and Theresa Whalen.“We’ve got some incredible power, and we’re
pretty diverse,” O’Leary said. “As a whole we’re a great representation of the Hillsdale Art Depart-ment.”One of Knudsen’s favorite parts of the show is
seeing the works of her peers from outside of the classroom environment.
are the ones artists do outside of class,” she said. “It’s kind of cool to see how they branch out how
senior shows. They are taking what they learned and going further with it.”
painting is her medium, and people inspire her.“People. People, faces and bodies because
people are so fascinating,” she said. “People are beautiful, I can’t help myself. They are my inspi-ration.”
abstract concepts.“I really like shapes and lines,” she said. “I
love high contrast things because they are black and white, and I really like color – like bright colors.” An art show is more than a room of creative
self-expression. It represents the artists own inspi-ration and perception of the world, which can be focused for the appreciation of others.“If you like to have professional people watch
you can do that through my paintings because you can stare at them, and they won’t stare back,” O’Leary said. “It’ another reason to come to an art
B1 5 April 2012www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Painting by Maxine D’Amico
Sculpting their futures: art majors after HillsdaleSamantha Scorzo
Collegian Freelancer
Teddy SawyerCollegian Reporter
1. The Prelude As an art major’s senior year approaches, so
does a gargantuan graduation requirement unique
senior art exhibit that displays the best work of their entire undergraduate careers.“They’ve been preparing for four years by pro-
ducing work,” Professor of Art Sam Knecht said.But that is just the beginning.“The show will highlight work done in the
program, but also include work done indepen-
the character of the art department as well as what they are doing independently that might lie outside of our scope.”Projects currently on display range from serene
landscapes and delicate portraits to a feathered black cocktail dress by senior Maxine D’Amico and hand-bound books by senior Megan McNeil.“Students get the professional experience of as-
suming primary responsibility for senior shows,” Knecht said. “The professors provide a good deal of coaching and cheering, but it’s entirely their project.” 2. Senior year All art majors take a senior capstone course
— ART-500, formally titled “Senior Exhibit and Portfolio” — to acquaint them with business practices of freelance artists, Knecht said. “This
the senior show.”In addition to designing a home studio on a
$5,000 budget (“That would be nice” muttered D’Amico) and a website, seniors also design busi-ness cards and write artist’s statements that are displayed at the show. Furthermore, they create online portfolios that represent their best works, generally corresponding with those displayed in the show.“It’s all about how to approach graduation and
continue to work as an artist,” D’Amico said.“That’s when we really begin to get our ideas
together,” senior Frances Anderson added.Over the course of the class, students learn
the gallery’s mechanics, including how lights are positioned, walls are moved, and works are hung, Knecht said.
placement of the walls down to the title card,” Knecht said. “We encourage them to think of their exhibit as one huge three-dimensional design problem.”Seniors should also begin considering adver-
tizing, the reception, and — most importantly — framing early on. All of these tasks have to be accomplished independently and are not covered in the capstone class.
for students. Knecht recommends art majors begin having their works framed as underclassmen “to avoid eleventh-hour panics.”Students can order frames online, have them
second-hand or craft stores, or make them from scratch.“But it’s really expensive and time consuming
no matter how you go about it,” D’Amico said. 3. The Mad Dash “We’re all going crazy,” senior Moriah Mor-
gan said. “Well, I am.”“But we have it under control,” D’Amico
added.“It’s just . . . busy,” Morgan said.“Seniors only get 48 hours to load in work, get
it all arranged, presented, and attached to walls,” Knecht said.In the two-day dash to assemble the exhibit,
walls, hang their pictures, and set the lights. They then add and adjust details ranging from title
“I remember seeing friends all stressed out over it,” D’Amico said. “So we’re working slowly and steadily, making the process of assembling everything much easier.”
Tory CooneyCopy Editor
ARTS
See B2
Senior Art ShowFrom Inspiration to Fruition
Second group prepares show
(Joe Buth/Collegian)
Above and below: Students from the first senior art show prepare their exhibition. The shows exhibits students to hang and frame art as well as their artistic abilities. (Joe Buth/Collegian)
ARTS5 April 2012 B2 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
IN FOCUSPATRICKTIMMIS
The value of DickensMocking Charles Dickens is a commonplace among the
commonplace. He is sentimental, they say. His prose is too
-
in the West.
-
-
-
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-
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the thickest glass of all. The
interest.
a time.
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crafting things.
trash into something that is not
recycling.
Abi WoodCopy Editor
A new kind of recycling
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ches, making any connection
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carcass.
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Motifs, repackaging them in
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seems to think the American
tricorn hat, a reference to the
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Nothing to see in this mirror
T. Elliot GaiserOpinions Editor
Junior Josh Rice uses a glass cutter to transform an old beer bottle into a stylelized drinking glass. His variety of handmade glasses are for sale. (Elena Salvatore/Collegian)
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in school.
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ence.
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SAUK THEATER HOLDS AUDITIONS
Emily JohnstonSenior Reporter
4. The Display
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of cake.
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ART SHOWFrom B1
The movement had its “hay day” from approximately 1820 to 1850.“It took a while for an
East coast trend to make its way into the boonies in Michigan,” Sam Knecht said.
traits of the architectural movement. The steep gables, for example, echo elements of gothic architecture from the Middle Ages.In 2006, the Knechts
added an art studio for Sam Knecht’s work. When building it, they attempted to mimic the style of the original building.“The major natural light
source has an arched top that echoes the windows in the main house,” Sam Knecht said.
the main window - not just the many paintings in the room - shows Sam Knecht’s careful handiwork.
collected in Hillsdale County,” Melissa Knecht said.The outside of the house required
close detailing and a tremendous amount
of work in order to restore the brick, porch, moulding, and so on. It took Sam Knecht an entire summer to repaint and redo each side of the house.
Mike Harner reminisces about dating, the origins of the Hillsdale Sigma Chi chapter,
and the difficulties of getting a couch onto the roof of a campus building
SPACES B3 5 April 2012 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
In Their EyesSarah Leitner
Sports Editor
Assistant to the President Mike Harner ’82 received a lot more than an education
when he chose to attend Hillsdale Col-lege because of what he described as a “fortuitous accident.”Harner said he had been planning
on attending the Air Force Academy, but after a visit to campus, decided to attend Hillsdale instead. Now Harner looks back fondly on Hillsdale as the place that gave him his wife, his educa-tion, his career, and his friends.“I trace every good thing in my life
from that point forward to my educa-tion here,” he said.An English major and history minor,
Harner said he thought the academics were just as hard then, though he said the demands of the core requirements have increased.“As an English major, I could spend
a lot of time taking English courses without having to take Bio 201,” he said.Harner pointed to two of his profes-
sors at Hillsdale that took an interest in him and pushed him to be the best he could be.“You should go into the Navy,”
one said to Harner. “You’re cut out for that.”And Harner was in the Navy for 20
years after that.“[Those professors] gave me a love
for the written word, and a love for this country’s history,” he said.Harner also met his wife at Hills-
dale. Harner said he noticed her the second or third week of school and
from then on was always aware of her presence.“Nancy, who’s that?” he asked one
of his friends.About a year-and-a-half later, Harn-
er said they were in a class together when he formed a plan.Harner was injured at the time and
on crutches, so he went down to Olds Dormitory to borrow notes. When he asked if he could stay in Olds and copy them — hoping to buy more time with her — she said she would come back for them later.“The plan didn’t go well,” he said.
“I wasn’t able to work my magic.”The following fall, Harner asked
her to a Halloween party. Although she couldn’t attend then, she suggested they try to get together another time.“That was all the encouragement I
needed,” Harner said.Harner said the way people date on
campus was different than it is now — there was no courting going on.“We actually went on dates back
then,” he said. “I’m of the opinion that most guys in Hillsdale [now] are idiots and the girls are just slightly smarter in this regard.”Harner said he has Hillsdale to thank
not only for his wife, but also for some of the best friends and the best men he knows.It was with some of those men that
he reestablished the fraternity Sigma Chi on campus. With a group of 11 men, Harner went to the administration and presented why they thought there should be another fraternity on campus.“The idea was we could do this a
little better or a little differently,” he said.So, they began the process of decid-
ing which fraternity they wanted to establish on campus. They reached out to friends at other schools in differ-ent fraternities. When they traveled to Evansville, Ill., to talk to the Sigma Chi chapter there, they brought out Hills-dale’s original charter. Harner said that Sigma Chi also seemed to match up with the ideals that they had discussed.“That kind of made it a kismet,” he
said.The Hillsdale chapter was chartered
in September of Harner’s junior year and welcomed 33 members. The house they lived in was not the current house but one across campus. They lived there one year and then bought the current house when the resident living in it passed away and the house became available through the estate. In order to buy the house, the members sold bonds to friends and family.Harner said the social scene really
revolved around fraternities when he went to school, though he said what students do for fun has really not changed that much.“The alums that say, ‘They don’t
have fun anymore,’ I’m not seeing that,” he said. “I’m just not seeing that.”Some changes that Harner said
he has seen on campus are the Greek system becoming less prominent — shrinking from about 50 percent of campus to 25 percent — and the music program expanding from only 50 students. Faith, he said, has also taken a much larger role on campus. When he attended school, he said the Catholic student group was about 30 kids, and InterVarsity had probably nine mem-bers.Harner said one thing that hasn’t
changed is the thrill of exploring “for-bidden” areas on campus. One building in particular, Worthing Hall, provided a temptation for students, he said. The building stood between where Central Hall and the Dow Science building are today. The school was planning on knocking it down and had removed the staircases.“They thought that was the solu-
tion,” he said. “But what it became was, ‘Can you get to the roof of Worth-ing Hall?’ Some industrious students actually got a couch up there.”Harner was also involved in several
other areas of campus during his time as a student. He was on the football team for two years and the golf team for three, he worked at Saga, wrote for the Collegian, and also worked as a student driver and bartender for the Dow Center.Harner said his total football experi-
ence consisted of three plays and he quit after getting injured. The team was not very good when he played, he said, but it got consistently better.“We had good talent,” he said. “It
was very young, and as it grew up it turned into a pretty good program.”Harner said his experience working
with the Collegian was also something he enjoyed. At that time, the staff had to go to Hudson, Mich., on Wednesday nights to set the typeface.“I can’t remember it ever not being
an early morning endeavor,” he said. “The paper is so much better now, but Collegian reporters are the exact same people that I worked with on the Colle-gian. The people who want to write for papers and do journalism — I believe that’s a type.”Harner said all of the activities he
was involved in on campus as well as the people he met and the classes he
-ence and made him love Hillsdale.“College is such a great experience
for most people that when you look back on it, you tend to revel in those things,” he said. “I’m sure bad things happened to me in college, but I can’t recall what they were.”
“ ”
Mike Harner, as pictured in the
1982 yearbook. (Courtesy of the
Winona)
plicity of papers.“How much better to have Hopkins’
own language bouncing around in your head,” she said.Despite her Ph.D., Condict loves
teaching high school students. She said even as she pursued her doctorate, she knew that she would stay teaching at the high school level at least part of the time. When asked why she liked high school so much, she said:“I’m probably just overly sarcastic.
That works brilliantly well with teenag-
I don’t necessarily recommend treating one’s class in the cavalier way I do.”She said one of the big differences
between college and high school is that college students are there because they want to be there. High-schoolers are required to attend class.“I have to earn their respect,” she
said. “It keeps me from getting compla-cent.”And earn their respect she has. Lantis
and Brady both admitted that the classes they took with Condict were challeng-ing, but the rewards were worth the work.“She makes it easy to love what
you’re doing in class,” Brady said. “She dares you to match minds with these
people you are reading. Her overwhelm-
do it, and somehow you do.”Brady remembered going through
“The Jungle” in high school. She said the book was grueling, but Condict encouraged the class to forge through despite that.“We didn’t read the last 20 pages be-
cause she said it was a socialist tract and not worth our time,” Brady said, “Even though everyone in the book was dying off, somehow we survived because of Miss Condict.”Once, a student who didn’t want to do
one of the assignments Condict handed out threatened to complain to the head of the Academy, Brady said.“[Miss Condict] replied: ‘Oh, please
do. Rage against the machine!’ And then she kissed him on the forehead.”Condict’s Ph.D. doesn’t change the
way she behaves in the high-school set-ting. In fact, she doesn’t like for her high school students to call her “Dr. Condict.” To the Academy students, she is simply “Miss Condict.”“She wants the focus to be on the
student’s education, not on hers,” Brady said. “Obviously [her doctorate] is an incredible accomplishment, but it is not
taught by Ellen Condict, whether she has ‘miss’ or ‘doctor’ in front of her name.”
CONDICTFrom B4
HOUSEFrom B4
(Sally Nelson/Collegian)
SPACES B4 5 April 2012www.hillsdalecollegian.com
LIVING IN A GINGERBREAD HOUSE
Hillsdale Academy teacher Ellen Condict discusses the poetry of
Gerard Manley Hopkins during an honors seminar held at her home.
(Shannon Odell/Collegian)
Sally NelsonWeb Editor
Hillsdale Academy professor challenges and charms students at both the high school and college levels
Artist and professor Sam Knecht and his family rennovated and now enjoy one of Hillsdale’s most unique houses
Art professor Sam Knecht did a painting of a white house with a red roof in the mid-1980s.
Now, Sam and Melissa Knecht - associate professor of music - live in that house on Union Street with their 10-year-old twin daughters Lydia and Katherine. Sam Knecht completed the paint-ing almost 20 years before he bought the house with Melissa Knecht.“I personally was enchanted by the house
long ago,” he said. “I like to call it capricious or whimsical.”The now green with red and yellow trim house
looks remarkably like a gingerbread house, with its gables, ornate trim, arched window frames,
and columns.“People in the town hall have remarked that
it’s the oddest, most interesting house in the city,” Sam Knecht said.The couple purchased the home in 1998 after
they were married. To the best of their knowl-edge, the house was built in approximately 1867.“It’s been owned by four families,” Melissa
Knecht said.“But by a series of MacRitchies, not just one,”
Sam Knecht said.After only a few years in the home, the
original owner decided to move south for health reasons. On the train, the owner met a member of the MacRitchie family. The men struck up a deal on the train and traded houses on the spot. “And that’s how the MacRitchies came up
from Georgia,” Melissa Knecht said.“Or so we’ve been told,” Sam Knecht said.
A few siblings were the last of the MacRitchie “dynasty” to live in the house. The Knechts said the siblings divided the house amongst them-selves and turned most of the closets into bath-rooms to keep their “zones” divided.The Wallace family moved into the house after
the MacRitchies moved out in the mid-1980s. Melissa said that the family “took back” the ceil-ings the MacRitchie siblings lowered and added
the 1990s.By the time the Knechts acquired the house,
Melissa Knecht said, most rooms were pink: bright pink, purple pink, orange pink, etc.“The master bathroom had a heart-shaped tub
with mirrors on the walls,” Sam Knecht said.Sam Knecht, as an artist and a handyman,
took the home to a new level with renovation and
restoration, Melissa Knecht said.Inside the house, the Knechts replaced the gau-
dy paint from previous owners with less obtrusive
original wood doors.Using his skills as a painter, Sam Knecht
simulated many materials through various faux
simulated the original burl wood veneers. Under-neath the living room mantle and in one of the bathrooms, he imitated the look of marble with his painting techniques.“The faux marble in the bathroom probably
took 40 hours,” Sam Knecht said.The plaster moulding in the music room is one
of the features that distinguishes the house as part of the Victorian Gothic architecture movement.
She met me at the door with her hair piled high on her head, mi-nus the few escapee curls that
had sprung down against her shoulders. Her dark glasses perched in a scholarly manner upon her nose. She welcomed me in, pointing me to
the green settee in her living room, and asked, “May I offer you some tea?”Beloved by her students, Ellen
Condict, a high-school teacher at the Hillsdale Academy, has the ability to teach at a college level, but remains in highschool because she loves inspiring students at that age.
“wretched,” and has an eye for interior design as evidenced by her tastefully colorful and eccentric little home. She talks faster than most people, and daily she inspires her students to love both literature and learning.Condict switched trajectories early
in life –– she didn’t always desire to spend late nights with her nose buried in books and student papers.She went into college to be a busi-
ness major, but switched to English halfway through her undergraduate degree because she realized literature was her passion. She didn’t think she would love
teaching, but was launched into the world of high-school education directly after graduating from college. Soon, she grew to love it. Condict entered graduate school
with the intention of getting her
masters, and ended up pursuing and achieving a Ph.D. in medieval English literature.She has lived all over the U.S., from
Alaska to Texas, and brings the scent of that variety with her to Hillsdale, where she has now lived and worked for the last four years.Sophomore Elizabeth Brady, a
former student of Condict’s, described
Hillsdale Academy.“It was just an average classroom,”
she said. “But she came in with her blue, satin pillow and set it down on her chair before she took a seat. She sits there with her teapots and teacups lined up on the desk in front of her and
teacher who ever really brought us into her world. She seemed to bring this kind of fantasy;; it was really enchant-ing.”This semester Condict started teach-
ing at Hillsdale college, beginning with a seminar on the English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. She brings the col-lege students into her world in the same way Brady described her welcoming the high-schoolers.
order of class is tea,” said junior Elizabeth Anne Odell, who is
taking the seminar.She described a typical class,
beginning with reading the poems and moving on to discussing the literature. Odell said Condict is always very pre-
pages of single-spaced, well-researched notes. But she also encourages students to voice their opinions and observations in class.“The way she presents the mate-
rial is so rich that you realize you have to be really serious about it to grasp everything,” Odell said.Freshman Heather Lantis, another
former Hillsdale Academy student, said Condict was indeed strict, but she had a way of inspiring students to rise to the challenge of her class. Condict requires her students, both high-school and col-lege, to memorize and recite portions of the literature they study. She prefers this to having students write a multi-
A love for literature and tea
Abi WoodCopy Editor
In 1998, Professor of Art Sam Knecht and his wife Associate Professor of Music Melissa Knecht discovered this little gem of a house in Hillsdale. They learned about its history,
scraped the pink paint off the walls, and lovingly transformed the house. Sam Knecht used his paintbrush to both restore various parts of the house, and to create faux finishes on
some parts of the house, such as marble in the bathroom. (R) He and his wife stand with their twin daughters in his studio in the house. (Sally Nelson/Collegian)
See HOUSE, B3
See CONDICT, B3