Republican presidential

candidate Rick Santorum

will speak on campus Mon-
day night, Hillsdale College
administrators and represen-
tatives from his campaign
confrmed.Students have also
invited Newt Gingrich, Ron
Paul, and Mitt Romney to
speak at what could be the
college`s frst presidential
candidate symposium. At press
time, their campaigns had not
committed to the event.
Santorum said he was
looking forward to visiting
Hillsdale to participate in the
Iorum.
I am excited to share my
vision Ior a brighter America,
and the life experiences that
have helped shape those posi-
tions, Santorum said.
The Hillsdale College
Constitution Symposium, a co-
alition of students representing
campus groups, is sponsoring
the event which will take place
at the Jesse Phillips Arena.
College President Larry
Arnn said the administration
approved of students plans to
bring candidates onto campus.
We have agreed that this is
a good thing to the extent that
it does not disrupt the work of
the college, Arnn wrote in a
statement. 'OI course the col-
lege takes no position on who
should be elected president.
Senior Elliot Gaiser,
president of Students in Free
Enterprise and chair of the
Constitution Symposium, said
he approached Santorums
campaign over Christmas
Break to gauge the former
Pennsylvania senators interest
in coming to campus before
the Michigan presidential pri-
mary on Feb. 28.
Forums such as this are a
great way for voters to learn
where
the can-
didates
stand,
San-
torum
said.
Stu-
dents
from the
Hillsdale
College
Republi-
cans, the
Classical
Liberal
Orga-
nization, and SIFE are col-
laborating to put on the event,
Gaiser said.
My hope is this will
shine a bright light on what
candidates believe about the
Constitution, and infuence the
presidential race to focus on
the document we expect our
next president
to protect and
defend, Gaiser
said.
Before last
semesters Her-
man Cain event,
Hillsdale had
never hosted a
presidential can-
didate, College
Historian Arlan
Gilbert said.
Although
both Ronald
Reagan and
Theodore Roos-
evelt visited Hillsdale, neither
of them was a candidate for
the White House at the time,
Gilbert said.
Sources close to candidate
Ron Pauls campaign indicated
that the Texas congressman is
not likely to attend Mondays
event, due to scheduling logis-
tics. Almost 199 students and
alumni have signed an on-line
petition asking him to come to
Hillsdale.
The campaigns of Gingrich
and Romney would not com-
ment on their plans.
Gaiser said the event will
play an important role the
Michigan primary, which in
turn could signifcantly aIIect
the presidential race.
The Michigan primary
is like the Gettysburg of the
campaign, Gaiser said. 'A
victory here could be deci-
sive for Super Tuesday just
seven days later. Additionally,
Michigan could be in play for
the GOP this election cycle, so
the strength of a candidates
victory matters.

Spend an afternoon at the
Roche Sports Complex and
its clear the athletic programs
are in desperate need of more
space. The men`s basketball
team occupies the hardwood
court, the football team runs
sprints and does plyometrics off
to the side, and runners charge
around the track dodging shot
putters. The baseball, women`s
basketball and volleyball teams
as well as non-athletes who
want to work out round out
the competition Ior space.
Every time we come around
the track we have to yell,
freshman runner John Wierenga
said. 'There have been a couple
times where people just got
pummeled.
The college is responding to
the high demand for use of the
sports complex by planning to
build a 75,000-foot track and
tennis building. The building,
which will include a 200-meter
track and four tennis courts will
be constructed to the northwest
side of the sports complex, next
to the baseball feld.
For mens head track and
feld coach JeII Forino, the
building will alleviate sev-
eral problems and create more
opportunities for one-on-one
instruction, recruiting, and fun-
draising with events like high
school track meets.
'It`ll be great, Forino said.
Itll mean that we can practice
on a regular basis and not try
to have to practice with other
people standing around. It`ll
also increase the safety of the
practice.
Vice President Ior Admin-
istration Rich Pw said the
college originally estimated that
the building would cost $5.7
million.
The estimation was a bit low.
Id love to keep it under $6
million but its probably going
to be more than that, Pw
said.
That money all has to be in
the bank before the administra-
tion sets a date to break ground.
'A lot oI schools get
themselves into debt to build
Iacilities, Pewe said. 'We`ve
been trying to raise it and get it
in hand.
The college has already
purchased steel for the build-
ing. Construction should take
roughly nine months and Pw
said he wants to see things
move Iorward.
If we wait too much longer
the price will go up, Pw
said.
The college began conceptu-
alizing and fundraising for the
project Iour years ago. In that
time, plans have shifted from
the creation of an intramural
sports building to a tennis and
track building. There are also
plans for renovations to the
sports complex, and eventu-
ally the construction of a turf
building.
Pw feels the current plan
will better serve the needs of a
larger student body.
The components of the IM
building are in this plan, Pw
said.
Renovations to the sports
complex include the removal
of the track, the addition of two
basketballs courts and their
reorientation to face east and
west. The college also plans
to add an additional 13,000
to 15,000 Ieet oI space with
the creation of a second story
mezzanine on the north side of
building, which will include ft-
ness equipment, a smoothie bar,
additional locker rooms, and
possibly a lounge.
It has the effect of everyone
getting what they need from
a physical standpoint without
compromising their time,
Pewe said.
In the meantime, Pw said
the biggest concern is to bal-
ance the site, consider retain-
ing walls, and lay plans for the
building in order to optimize
space, space that every coach
will welcome.
Itll be really good for the
whole program, Forino said.
Vol. 135, Issue 16 - 16 Feb. 2012
Michigans oldest college newspaper www.hillsdalecollegian.com
A8
In Spaces...
A5
A5
B4
TWITTER.COM/
HDALECOLLEGIAN
FACEBOOK.COM/
HILLSDALECOLLEGIAN
Marieke van der Vaart
Editor-in-Chief
I am excited to
share my vision for a
brighter America, and
the life experiences
that have helped shape
those positions.
GOP candidate
Rick Santorum
More CPAC
coverage
Campus
Chic
Weddings
In News...
In Arts...
Trees are felled by the Roche Sport Complex in prepara-
tion for a future intramural building. (Schuyler Dugle/Collegian)
Preparations underway for new track and tennis building
Conservatives from across the nation
gathered Ior the 2012 Conservative Politi-
cal Action ConIerence at the Wardman Park
Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C., this past
weekend.
The three-day conference, which was
occasionally interrupted by Occupy D.C.
protesters, saw more than 10,000 people fll
the hotel to hear speeches by leading con-
servatives including presidential candidates,
congressmen, pundits, and others.
The theme of the conference was taken
from author and constitutional scholar Mat-
thew Spaldings book We Still Hold These
Truths. Speakers rebuked the current ad-
ministrations policies and called for a return
to Constitutional principles.
Hillsdale College sophomore Melika Wil-
Constitution reigns at CPAC
Morgan Sweeney and
Caleb Whitmer
Copy Editors
See A3
Students plan presidential symposium
Santorum
coming to town
See article below
Gingrich
Paul
Romney
Santorum
CONFIRMED
Phillip Morgan
Senior Reporter
(Caleb
Photo courtesy of Rick Santorum for President Facebook
There was no shaving cream
or pickup truck motorcades this
time. But it wasnt Waterman Tea
either.
Fraternity pickup this semester
combined the spirit of clamorous
motorcades in years past with the
formality of recently established
ceremony.
We tried to combine the
energy of old traditions with the
solemnity of the new ones, said
senior and Interfraternity Council
President Victor Tenbrink.
This past Sunday, Feb. 12,
15 men pledged fraternities in
a recently reworked ceremony
designed to show the fun of
brotherhood and the seriousness
of pledging.
Delta Tau Delta fraternity
picked up four students. Sigma
Chi fraternity picked up six
not including four men who
were unable to activate last fall
for various reasons, and Alpha
Tau Omega Iraternity got fve.
Delta Sigma Phi fraternity did not
participate.
There where 35 guys who
rushed, said Associate Dean
of Men Jeff Rogers. Out of the
four fraternities at Hillsdale, only
three were allowed in the rush
process.
In comparison, 30 men
pledged fraternities last spring.
Sigma Chi picked up seven and
ATO six, while DSP did not
participate. Delta Tau Delta, how-
ever, picked up 17.
Out of the three fraternities
that rushed, Delta Tau Delta
picked up signifcantly Iewer stu-
dents this semester. Scott Rode,
junior and fraternity president,
said the fraternity looks for qual-
ity not quantity of men picked up.
We dont have a goal num-
ber, Rode said. Were looking
for guys wholl be leaders in the
school. Overall, we picked up
four quality guys. Were excited
about what they can bring to the
fraternity.
He said that some years people
are just not as interested in the
Greek system as they are in other
years.
Some students have theorized
that the smaller rush numbers
stem from a feeling on campus
that the administration is trying
to stife or eliminate the Greek
system.
Fraternity members them-
selves, however, do not think that
impression of the administration
is accurate.
Its easy to make the situa-
tion out to be a debate or power
struggle of some sort, said
sophomore David Wilhelmsen,
ATOs public relations chairman.
Its really important to realize
that the administration cares very
much about the Greek system
and the Greek system very much
respects the administration.
Members agree that many
different elements affect who
rushes, from who attends the col-
lege, to how the Greek system is
portrayed when students frst set
foot on campus, to how fraterni-
ties recruit.
There are so many differ-
ent components that its hard to
pinpoint one, said Sigma Chi
President Ethan Smith, a junior.
I think its a combination
of things. With all the fraternity
troubles last year and this year,
there have been a lot of things
happening, said DTD senior
Josiah Hersey. Its not that the
entire system in trouble. Guys are
just waiting.
Students who pledged this
semester participated in the rush
process, which started on Feb. 5
with an interfraternity round table.
The next day, men attended open
houses for each fraternity.
Guys have to go to each
house during open houses to
demonstrate that theyve evalu-
ated each one equally, Tenbrink
said. This helps eliminate dirty
rushing and false impressions of
particular fraternities.
Since Delta Tau Delta cur-
rently does not have a house, the
brothers hosted their open house
in the Formal Lounge of the
Grewcock Student Union.
The kind of guys that were
looking for are not disenfran-
chised by the fact that we dont
have a house, but attracted to the
fact that we are spread across
campus, Rode said.
Rogers said that fraternities
can develop strong bonds but that
shouldnt be based on a physical
house. They should be bound by
something greater. He encourages
men to look beyond the walls of
their houses.
I want you to uphold the prin-
ciples of your fraternity across the
hall, down the street, and around
the world. I may not be around
the world to watch you do it but
youve given your word, Rogers
said. Thats an old school idea.
Saying what you will do and
doing what you will say. How
novel.
Once the men attended
open houses, fraternities hosted
invite-only preference parties for
students they were interested in
picking up.
After that point, fraterni-
ties vote which of the rushees to
extend bids to, Tenrbink said.
Over the weekend, students
turned in their bid cards, fraterni-
ties made their choices, and the
deans played matchmaker.
Pick-up on Sunday started
when students were brought from
their dorms by fraternity mem-
bers. The day concluded with
a formal ceremony in Phillips
Auditorium.
[An Interfraternity Council]
decided to switch up the format
a little, Smith said. Before the
fall of 2010, we used to just do an
informal pick up. Last year, in the
fall, they made it more formal.
The formal ceremony included
speeches from Rogers, Tenbrink,
the presidents of each fraternity,
and John Lovinger, who is a local
lawyer and Sigma Chi alumnus
from the University of Arizona.
The rush process this year is
better, Rode said. The speeches
and the ceremony were all great.
Rogers said he wanted to use
his speech to remind the men that
they both chose their brothers and
were chosen by them. That, he
said, is a great luxury.
I am expecting results, not
excuses. The Greek system is
a system that works when men
come together and push toward
their noble principals that make
their particular fraternities shine,
Rogers said. I admit what I said
was sobering, but what did you
expect? I wanted them to see the
serious side of [fraternities], in the
light of the current environment.
The goal of fraternities is to
pursue the truth as their missions
statements say, Rogers said.
Youre pledging yourself
to be a man of noble character.
24/7, he said. In the classroom
and out of the classroom.
NEWS
16 Feb. 2012 A2
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Fraternities pick up 15
Sally Nelson
Web Editor
Of all the seniors walking the
stage this May, 17 will be honors
students. That means almost half
of the honors students of the origi-
nal class of 12 will not complete
the program.
The Hillsdale College Honors
Program admits 30 students each
fall plus a four-person waiting list,
said Richard Gamble, associate
professor of history and head of
the honors program.
Gamble said the college ex-
pects some attrition because of the
rigorous standards of the program
honors students must maintain
a 3.4 GPA and because of vari-
ous personal reasons.
There is going to be a certain
type of attrition that maintains the
standards of the program, Gamble
said. The attrition rate usually
speeds up as seniors start having
to make hard life decisions. This
is certainly something we want to
improve on. My goal is to keep
students in the program. Wed like
to see all 30 complete the program
each year.
To accomplish this goal,
Gamble said he is going to work
on building the right ethos and on
communicating the benefts more
effectively.
Attrition
This years small honors class
size seems to be a recent trend. In
2009, the honors program gradu-
ated 15 students. It graduated 20
both in 2010 and 2011.
Senior Trevor Anderson of-
fcially dropped the program this
past fall, even though he said he
started thinking about dropping it
after his freshman year.
Anderson said he dropped be-
cause of the calculus and advanced
science requirements.
I was intimidated by the
academic rigour, he said. Now
I think that was a foolish thing to
do.
Andersons strongest incentive
to stay was the quality of people in
the program.
The program could be better,
he said, by fostering its distinctive
community more. The highlight
of Andersons time in the pro-
gram was the bonding experience
provided by the freshman honors
core classes.
We are considering some addi-
tions to the program that will help
with retention, Gamble said.
Gamble said he could not men-
tion specifc additions and changes
but said decisions are weeks away.
He said he wants to make sure
students are committed to the
program from the beginning and
said the annual fall retreat seems
to be successful in that regard.
In addition, he said he wants to
communicate why the program
deserves retention.
The honors program is com-
pletely voluntary and does not
include any additional scholar-
ships. The program does boast
other benefts though an annual
spring break trip, a trip to Turkey
for juniors, community service
projects, and weekly meetings.
Gamble said he wants to com-
municate these benefts more
effectively.
Senior honors student Kirsten
Block remained in the program
because oI these benefts. Even
though she did not go to Turkey,
Block said she stayed to fnish
what she had started freshman
year.
I loved being integrated into a
community of peers right away,
she said.
The benefts oI community
were not enough to keep senior
David Gordon in the program. He
dropped out his freshman year.
'I don`t think I ever really ft in
with other people in the program,
Gordon said. I enjoy learning, but
Im not particularly academic.
Gordon said he decided to
major in fnance while most oI the
other honors students decided to
major in the humanities.
The program catered to a dif-
ferent kind of student than I am,
he said.
Another factor in Gordons
decision was his grades from fall
semester. Gordon said he needed
to drop something for the spring
semester, especially since he
wanted to play rugby.

The Senior Thesis
The biggest challenge to gradu-
ating students from the honors
program seems to be the honors
thesis, Gamble said.
Some seniors tend to drop out
of the program at the beginning of
the spring semester. When they are
10 weeks away Irom the frst oral
presentation, reality starts staring
them in the face, Gamble said.
Senior Michael Blank dropped
the program this year because of
the thesis requirement.
I was planning to complete
the program, Blank said, but the
thesis was a big component. The
honors program has been disorga-
nized. I didnt start working on my
thesis until senior year and even
then there was no pressure.
Blank said by the time he
decided on a topic, there was not
enough time to research, write,
and complete his normal academic
coursework.
To help overcome this obstacle,
Gamble said he plans on helping
students start their thesis early.
He would like to have students
solidify their topic and committee
by the end of their junior year. This
should help improve retention and
create a better overall experience.
Honors students who need to
complete theses for their major
have a hard decision. To stay in
the program, they would need to
write two theses. Gamble said he is
willing to work with these students
to create some overlap on a case
by case basis.
But just how much overlap is
allowed depends on each depart-
ments requirements. Gamble
works with each department to
make sure the honors thesis does
not interfere with departmental
requirements.
In the past, some students have
been able to simply expand their
major thesis and do a second pre-
sentation to complete their honors
thesis; however, some students
have had to write two completely
separate theses.
Block said writing the honors
thesis was actually an incentive to
stay in the program.
I wanted to be able to write
a thesis and it wasnt required in
my major [Greek], she said. I
wanted a capstone project. I want-
ed to tackle something I wanted to
research and to be my own director
of a project.
Increasing Retention
Gamble is adding organiza-
tion, Blank said. Youre not go-
ing to see the mass drop outs you
do this year in the future.
Block said she advised against
eliminating requirements from
the the program to make it more
attractive.
If you got rid of the things
that make students leave, Block
said, you wouldnt really have an
honors program. Its all part and
parcel of the program.
Instead of subtracting, Gamble
seems to be restructuring.
This year, the weekly honors
meetings, or forums, have fol-
lowed up on the As You Leave
this Place project from last year.
Last week, Professor of History
Mark Kalthoff shared on one of
his additions to the book project,
Chestertons Orthodoxy. Earlier
this year, Associate Professor of
Art Barbara Bushey discussed
one of her favorite books, Mat-
thew Crawfords Shop Class as
Soulcraft.
One of our goals is that profes-
sors model the life of the mind,
Gamble said. This is especially
effective when they share about
something outside of their area of
expertise.
Gamble said it is diIfcult
overseeing over 100 students in a
single program.
Often why [students] leave
is out of the hands of any direc-
tor, he said. I try not to guilt trip
them.
For Gordon, the honors pro-
gram served its purpose his frst
semester by helping him meet new
people on campus.
The program could appeal
to more students by being more
practical, he said.
Gamble said more changes
are coming but he took this year
as a learning year, watching and
observing so that he can base his
actions next year on experience.
I think [Gamble] is going to
do great things for the program,
Anderson said.
Honors retention rate drops
Emily Johnston
Senior Reporter
Hillsdale Honors students pose near Troy, Turkey this summer. Four seniors
dropped the program in the last months, bringing the tally of graduating honors
students to 17, almost half of the original 30-member class. (Bonnie Cofer/Collegian)
Top: Delta Tau Delta picked up four men last week. (Courtesy of Jonathan Laliberte)
Bottom: ATO picked up five men (Courtesy of Jacob Mueller)
Changes planned to accomodate students
Low turnout a result of changing traditions, other factors
Phvllis Schlav is a lawver,
svndicated columnist and a leader
in the pro-familv conservative
movement. She was named one of
the 100 most important women of
the 20th centurv bv LadiesHome
Journal. She is also the author or
editor of 20 books including 'The
Power of the Positive Woman,`
'Feminist Fantasies,` and 'Kiss-
inger on the Couch.` She served
on the Commission of the Bicen-
tennial of the U.S. Constitution
under President Ronald Reagan.
What do you think about
Obama and the Health and Hu-
man Services mandate?
I think its not only wrong, its
dumb, and I think his political
advisers must be telling him that.
But it proves that the feminists are
in control of the Obama admin-
istration. They demanded it, and
they wont let him retreat. And
what he announced yesterday is
not a compromise. He calls it an
accommodation, which really
doesnt get us anywhere, or get
him anywhere. He has alienated
a lot of people. Its a religious
liberty issue. But its also an issue
that shows if you let government
control health care, theyre going
to tell you what you get and what
you dont get.
Years ago, you fought very
strongly against the Equal
Rights Amendment. Why did
you oppose that and how are
todays feminists connected with
it?
Well the Equal Rights Amend-
ment is a big subject, and it had
absolutely no beneft Ior women,
so it was a fraud. In 10 years of
fghting, they were never able to
show any beneft that it would
give women whatsoever. At the
same time, it was a big takeaway
of rights women then had. At the
time it came out of Congress we
had a military draft, we were in a
war, and I had sons and daughters
about 20 years old. They thought
it was the dumbest thing they ever
heard that you say youre giving
women a new Constitutional
amendment and the frst thing is
they have to sign up for the draft
like their brothers. If the Equal
Rights Amendment had been rati-
fed, we would have had same-sex
marriage 25 years ago, because
the word in the amendment was
'sex, it was not 'women.
The feminists, as Harvard
proIessor Harvey Mansfeld has
written, are anti-men, anti-mas-
culine, anti-morality, and anti-
motherhood. In their peculiar view
of society, they think American
women are second-class citizens
because theyre oppressed by the
patriarchy. One oI the examples
of oppression is that mothers are
expected to look aIter their babies.
That should be a societal respon-
sibility. Thats why theyre for
government-fnanced daycare.
Do you believe that children
should be raised in a traditional,
Judeo-Christian, one-man,
one-woman family, dedicated
for life?
Thats certainly the best plan,
that children will be raised by their
own mother and father, married to
each other.
What was behind the baby
boom, the marriage boom, and
the decline in the divorce rate
that happened in the 50s?
A lot of us attribute that to the
change in the income tax laws.
That was not due, in one way or
the other, to the New Deal. The
good income tax change came in
1948, passed by the Republican
Congress over Harry Trumans
veto. It gave the joint income tax
return, which treated the family as
a unit. If the husband was the prin-
ciple money-earner and his wife
was a full-time home-maker, they
could fle a joint income tax return
as two people because the family
was treated as a unit. That was a
great pro-Iamily tax change in the
income tax law. It may or may not
be a cause, but it was a beginning
to the so-called baby boom.
In the panel at CPAC, you
PHQWLRQHGKRZVFDODQGVRFLDO
conservatism cannot be sepa-
rated. Is the family essential to a
well-working economy?
The main reason for that is that
you have to ask, What are we
spending the money on? Why do
we have these defcits, and why
are we piling up the debt? What
are they spending it on? Well,
were spending nearly a trillion
dollars a year on the problem of
broken marriage of marriage
absence. It used to be that the
husband and father supported
his family. Well, if youve got 21
percent illegitimacy in this coun-
try which we do now the
mothers are going to look to Big
Brother government to support
them. The government is support-
ing the children the illegitimate
children and, well, its terribly
costly. You simply cant separate
the fscal problem oI the money
that our country is putting out for
fatherless children. It is a tremen-
dous issue.
If you had one piece of advice
for young conservatives, what
would it be?
Well, I think, work marriage
into your life plan. Unfortunately,
in the womens studies courses
and all the courses that the girls
take in college, theyre encouraged
to plan a life that has no space for
marriage and family. Ten years,
20 years later, theyre sorry. They
cant live their life over. And, of
course, the guys arent planning
marriage either. But marriage is a
wonderful way to live. Sure, its
got its problems, so does every-
thing else.
And women can still achieve
a lot in the political and working
world?
Yes, of course. Of course.
When I got married, all I wanted
was a dryer, so I didnt have to
hang up my diapers. And now
everybody has washers and dryers
and dishwashers and all kinds of
conveniences which makes
the work in the house very limited
compared to what it used to be,
even 20 to 30 years ago. But be
careful who you pick for a wife.
Dont pick a feminist. Feminists
are the source of most problems
today.
Mitt Romney won the straw
poll at the Conservative Political
Action Convention (CPAC) last
week, but the integrity of the win
has been questioned.
Of the 3,408 straw poll votes,
38 percent went to Romney, 31
percent to Rick Santorum , and 15
percent to Newt Gingrich.
Politicos Jonathan Martin
confrmed by a Republican
source that Romneys campaign
purchased tickets, and used their
straw poll ticket to food the
poll. The New York Times Jeff
Zeleny reported that the Romney
campaign also bused students in to
support their candidate.
On Thursday, Feb. 9, there
were virtually no Romney fans to
be seen, said the Hillsdale students
who attended the conference. It
was the Santorum fans, rather, that
had fooded the Marriott Wardman
Park Hotel with stickers, signs,
and other campaign material. On
Friday, groups of Romney fans
showed up, but stayed together in
tight groups.
'I noticed that the frst day
there were a whole lot of San-
torum posters, a lot of stickers
going around, and by the next
day, all of a sudden the Romney
stickers started showing up, and
after his rally, his paraphernalia
really started going around, said
Audrey Gray, a sophomore at
Hillsdale College.
There were a bunch of them
in clusters holding signs [before
Romeneys rally on Thursday]..
It was out of the blue, said sopho-
more and Collegian Copy Editor
Morgan Sweeney. On Friday,
there were Santorum supporters
standing across from Romney
supporters, and it seemed to get
heated.
Junior Baillie Jones said the
announcement of Romneys win
brought grumbling from the at-
tendees.
There seemed to be a gen-
eral resentment, said Jones, and
added, A lot of people seemed
to be disappointed. It seemed like
not a lot of people wanted him to
win, which was confrmed by the
[Politico] article.
On CNN last Sunday, San-
torum insinuated Romney had
rigged the straw poll. I dont
try to rig straw polls, he said.
You have to talk to the Romney
campaign and how many tickets
they bought.
Romney, however, told Fox
News Radios Brian Kilmeade
that Santorum had sour grapes
about the loss, and questioned
whether Santorum could prove
that the straw poll was rigged.
NEWS A3 16 Feb. 2012
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Q&A WITH PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY:
FEMINISM AND THE IDEAL WIFE
Tyler ONeil
Collegian Freelancer
loughby made the trip to CPAC
There was such an empha-
sis on social issues, she said,
which really surprised me
because its not something that
has been in the forefront this
election cycle.
A straw poll sponsored by
The Washington Times was
conducted during the conven-
tion. The results were announced
in the afternoon of Feb. 11. Mitt
Romney came in frst, with 38
percent, Rick Santorum second
with 31 percent, Newt Gingrich
third with 15 percent, and Ron
Paul, who was the only can-
didate not to speak at CPAC,
received 12 percent of the votes.
The three candidates who at-
tended CPAC spoke on Friday.
Rick Santorum focused on
social issues and American
exceptionalism. The Iormer
congressman from Pennsylvania
said that while social conserva-
tism is often considered super-
fuous to fscal conservatism, the
former is just as important as the
latter.
People...that believe in that
very basic network of family,
community, and self thats
what makes America the greatest
country in the world, Santorum
said. These are the issues that
hold us together, and these are
the issues we cannot back down
on.
Mitt Romney pointed to
his record as governor in the
Democratic state of Massachus-
setts as proof that he is ready
to lead the country. Romney
was specifc about reIorm plans
that he would execute while in
oIfce including a deIense oI
traditional marriage, entitlement
reform, and protection of unborn
children.
Its not enough to show how
[the Obama administration] has
failed, Romney said. We need
to show how we can lead.
Gingrich was the most
specifc about what he would
do if elected and recalled how
the media often called Ronald
Reagans goals unrealistic,
though they were ultimately suc-
cessful. He rattled off promises
Ior campaign fnance reIorm,
balancing the federal budget,
ending American funding of
abortion overseas, and remov-
ing Ben Bernanke Irom oIfce,
among other things.
His proposed solutions were
an attempt to deal with what he
called the greatest challenge of
[the] campaign.
We have virtually no discus-
sion about what does it really
take to take the most complicat-
ed society in the world, the larg-
est economy in the world, and
move it back to being the most
successful, most prosperous, saf-
est and [most free] country in the
world, Gingrich said.
Although the candidates
speeches differed, each wanted
to see Obama ousted.
Romney spoke for all when
he voiced their hope that his-
tory will record the Obama
administration as the last gasp
of liberalisms great failure and
a turning point for the conserva-
tive era to come.
Although Willoughby
enjoyed watching many of the
speeches, she said that CPAC
was not just a chance to see
famous conservatives but an
opportunity to network with
Washington organizations.
More than 100 booths from
different organizations were
featured at the convention, and
on Saturday a room was re-
served specifcally Ior a job and
internship fair. The room was
packed with students looking to
connect with various think tanks,
newspapers, and non-proft
organizations.
Networking is an immeasur-
able beneft oI going to CPAC,
Willoughby said.
Throughout it all, members
of Occupy D.C. made sporadic
appearances. A small group of
protesters blocked a TV airing
Romney`s speech to an overfow
crowd. At lunch on Friday, a
large group gathered in the street
outside the hotel and erected
a 20-Ioot-tall infatable 'Iat
cat holding a consumer by the
throat.
Occupys most ostenta-
tious demonstration came
Friday evening. More than 100
protesters gathered outside the
main entrance of the Marriott,
preventing the conference goers
from leaving the building.
Hey, hey, ho, ho, CPAC has
got to go, the group chanted.
Police with riot shields
eventually pushed the group
away from the entrance and
down a hill before the occupiers
dispersed.
On Saturday, former Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin wrapped up
the conIerence to an excited
and packed Marriott ballroom
with a rousing speech calling
Republicans to stand united,
no matter who becomes the
nominee.
Competition [between the
GOP presidential candidates]
strengthens us, she said. Com-
petition will lead us to victory in
2012.
Palins speech was Hillsdale
sophomore Brianna Waldens
favorite.
'The excitement was palpa-
ble, she said. It was electric
the experience oI a liIetime.
Hillsdale College Republi-
cans President sophomore Max
Kleber said he felt the conserva-
tive base was really energized
after attending the conference.
In spite of the fact that there
are vast differences between the
candidates, I think the things
they agree on tell a lot about
where the conservative base is
this year, he said. [W]e have
our eyes set on great goals and
the right things, and if we can
carry that into November, I think
well have a great year.
!
CPAC
From A1
CPAC 2012 coverage
Straw poll politics, Hannan, and more
Daniel Hannan is a British
politician, fournalist and author.
He is a member of the European
Parliament, representing South
East England for the Conserva-
tive Partv. He also serves as the
Secretarv-General of the Alliance
of European Conservatives and
Reformists. The Collegian caught
up with him at CPAC to talk about
conservatism in the West.

What gives you hope and
what is discouraging to you
about the state of the American
political system?
Well the system itself is based
around the constraint of govern-
ment in a way that almost no
other system in the world is.
And that goes right back to the
Constitution. The Constitution has
done precisely what its authors in-
tended in Philadelphia. Its served
to keep the government small
and the citizen free. But thats the
basis oI American exceptional-
ism. Dont imagine that its some
intrinsic, inherited optimism in
the people or some genetic qual-
ity. The reason that this country
has been prosperous and success-
ful and independent is because the
structures that were designed by
the founders were conceived with
that objective. And if you change
those structures, and iI you ex-
pand the government, and you go
down this European road toward
more regulation and higher tax
and more dependency, you see
how very quickly Americans will
start behaving like Greeks, and
start protesting about every inher-
ited entitlement that they think
is theirs by some kind of divine
right. It can happen very quickly.
Dont imagine that theres some
law of nature that means it wont
happen here.

What things can young con-
servatives do to become better
advocates for their beliefs?
The frst thing is not to worry
about what your audience might
think. First of all, it fails in its
own terms, because you come
across as less than straightfor-
ward, less than frank.
Secondly, why are you in
politics if not to try and change
minds? I think that a widespread
critique of elected representa-
tives in your country and in
mine and everywhere else is,
Theyre hedging, theyre trim-
ming, theyre not saying what
they really think, theyre dodging
the question, theyre waiting for
public opinion and then theyre
coming in behind it. For a lot
of people that is a valid criti-
cism of what they do. I think it
serves to diminish the confdence
people feel in their representative
institutions, but it also means that
the person doing it is going to be
much less happy in politics.
Speak your mind it doesnt
matter if people disagree. If
they disagree but they know
that you mean it, theyll respect
you. Theres nothing worse than
hedging and being cautious and
not opening your mouth until
everybody else has.

What is the root of your
conservatism?
Conservatism isnt really a ter-
ribly ideological thing. Its more
an instinct than an ideology or
at least an amalgam of instincts. I
am a quite unusual conservative
in that I tend to read these books
by the Hayeks and the Rothbards
and so on. My wife is a much
better conservative than I am,
because shes an un-ideological
one, and for her conservatism is
a series of attitudes: distrust of
government oIfcials, patriotism,
unfashy religious Iaith. Precisely
because shes not political shes
therefore a proper conservative. I
remember when I was 15 this
was really a great moment in my
political development there is
a conservative philosopher in the
UK called Roger Scruton, very
brilliant man, incredibly intelli-
gent, and he came to speak to the
philosophy society at my school.
And I asked him, Whats the
role of a conservative thinker?
And he replied, The role of a
conservative thinker is to reassure
the people that their prejudices
are true. What a great defnition,
right? On most issues, people
have got it right and their govern-
ments have got it wrong. People
were against the bailout, people
were against these tax rises,
people are against mass immigra-
tion, and people are against giving
up their sovereignty. Its a clack
oI politicians who have inficted
these things. And so the role of
the conservative politician is to
make sure that public opinion
rules the polity, and that the
elected representatives remember
that they are representatives and
not rulers.

Wasnt it Edmund Burke
who said, The individual is
foolish but the species is wise?
Edmund Burke actually put it
really beautiIully in his 'Refec-
tions on the French Revolution.
In one of the most powerful
metaphors in all of political phi-
losophy, where he said: Because
half a dozen crickets concealed
beneath the Iern make the feld
ring with their importunate chink
while thousands of cattle take
their repose in the shade of the
mighty oak and chew their cud in
silence, pray do not imagine that
those who make all the noise are
the only inhabitants oI the feld.
Is there a better analysis of our
present discontent than that? We
wouldnt be in the mess were
in if public opinion four years
ago had prevented these massive
taxpayer rescues oI Iailed private
institutions. That was something
that all the political parties, all the
media elites all rushed to say that
we desperately needed, to pump
in this public money into the
banks. Had there been a referen-
dum in your country or in mine
or anywhere else it would never
have happened and we wouldnt
now be facing the debt crisis that
we have.
News Editor Patrick Timmis
contributed to this report.
Romney poll win questioned
Q&A with Daniel Hannan: true conservatism and Roger Scruton
Sam Gilman
Collegian Reporter
Elliot Gaiser
Opinions Editor
(Caleb Whitmer/Collegian)
NEWS
A4 16 Feb. 2012
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
!
KATES TAKE
KATE
OLSON
PDA hater:
valid?
Dear Kate,
I have a conundrum. This is a silent, beautiful, nuzzling
conundrum. The most god-like of couples truly dear
people across campus have resorted to expressions of
their tenderness that are, distracting at best and disturbing
at worst. Kate, do I hate love? Do I resent the way these
darling people stare into each others eyes, oblivious of
the world around them? Am I a bad person for cursing
when I come upon them in front of doors across campus,
gently murmuring into each others shoulders, wrapped in
a muted rapture? Is there a special place in the Inferno for
people who resent couples for sharing one bench at a table
in A.J.s?
I just dont know anymore.
Please help.
A very distracted student
Dear Distracted,
Ah, young love. Its a beautiful thing. Why come
to Hillsdale to study and read wonderful books, talk to
professors about truth, or take challenging classes when
you could just fall in love, block door ways, and spend
your time cuddling on a couch in the Union or playing
footsie in the library? Thats what these areas of campus
were made for anyway, right?
I do have to disagree with you. Who are you to
interrupt these lovers with your whines about trying to
concentrate on Dante or Aristotle? They, after all, will
repopulate the earth, (hopefully with very conservative
children who believe in the divine connection between the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). Their
work will most likely save our good nation.
So let me ask you again, who are you to demand
peace and quiet to read such useless things as can be
found in our Western Heritage reader? Good gracious!
Stop wasting your time, and fnd yourselI your own
nuzzling partner and begin the ever-so-essential work of
falling in love, wedding, and rearing children in the way
of the Founding Fathers! A very distracted student indeed,
attempting to spend your time in pursuit of higher truth,
when the higher truth is to be found in the opposite sex
sitting right next to you!
The percentage of seniors who were engaged last
year was 13 percent (I might be making this number up,
unfortunately, which seriously detracts from the serious-
ness of this very important column) but I argue that it
should be 33 percent! Or 300 percent!
Ladies and gentlemen, where on this green earth
will you fnd another pool teeming so viciously with
so many men and women who agree with every single
thought in your own head? Only at the Kirby Center in
D.C., I dare say, and only a select few of you will have
the enormous privilege to go there. Make use of your four
years here wisely and pair up. In conclusion, the more
nuzzling, the better!
Love, a civic duty
WOMEN ZUMBA
FOR FITNESS
On Wednesday nights at
Hillsdale College, more than 40
women crowd into Curtis Dining
Hall, dancing away to the beat
of Latin music.
Zumba, a form of dance
llress, |s parl ol Tre lea|lr
ard we||ress C|uo's reW ||reup
of weeknight exercise classes.
Tre c|uo adverl|ses a yoga
class on Mondays, an Insanity
Wor|oul or Tuesdays, Zuroa
on Wednesdays, and strength
lra|r|rg or Trursdays. Eacr
workout session begins at 7
p.r. ard |asls ar rour.
Zumba is led by freshman
Erra Largslor, Wro |s a
cerl|led Zuroa |rslruclor, ard
lre darce-llress |s adverl|sed
by the Wellness Club as for
girls only. Freshman Julie
Finke was one of the many
Worer Wro care lor lre lrsl
class.
'll Was d|llcu|l lo do sore
ol lre roves, sre sa|d. '8ul
l d|dr'l expecl lo oe perlecl
lre lrsl l|re, ard |l Was rea||y,
really fun.
Abi Wood
On a campus where most
students rely on wireless In-
ternet for homework, research,
scheduling, and entertainment, a
wireless outage like the one last
Friday, Feb. 10, wreaks havoc.
Luckily, the short-term out-
age is now completely fxed,
said Patrick Chartrand, network
systems manager at Information
Technology Services.
[With] bad hardware [it] is
often hard to diagnose exactly
which component is bad. In this
case we were thinking is was
a confguration issue, he said.
In the end we discovered it
was a bad fber optic module.
The faulty hardware has been
replaced, so it should not affect
anyone in the Iuture.
The outage on Friday was
the second recent manifestation
of the problem.
But Chartrand said now that
ITS has fxed the fber optic
module, he does not expect any
more wireless problems in the
near future, especially not of
this nature.
'The frst time we did not
recognize it was a hardware
issue and we simply worked
around it, Chartrand said.
But Chartrand cautioned
that there is no guarantee when
working with wireless technol-
ogy.
Wireless in general is prob-
lematic, he said.
Emily Johnston
Senior Reporter
Wireless outage fixed
Abundance of R.A. hopefuls
Responsibility, passion, en-
thusiasm, selfessness, compas-
sion, integrity, magnanimity, and
trust.
A resident assistant at Hills-
dale College must exhibit all of
these qualities and set a worthy
example for those students un-
der their care, the deans said.
Up in the deans` oIfces in
Central Hall, the selection pro-
cess for RAs has recently begun.
Fifty men and 73 women ap-
plied for positions for the 2012-
13 academic year. There are 12
spots leIt to fll Ior the men and
23 spots for the women. Return-
ing RAs have already been
placed.
Rebekah Dell, associate dean
of women, said the number of
applicants is almost exactly the
same as last year, indicating a
steadily high interest in the RA
positions.
This is especially true in
Simpson Residence. Of the 50
applications sent in from Hills-
dale men, 25 of those came from
Simpson.
Senior John Bonvillian, one
oI the fve senior RAs leaving
after this semester, is proud
of the enormous number of
underclassmen who applied for
a chance at the position.
I believe these men wanted
to step up and become RAs so
that they can be positive infu-
ences and leaders for the present
and future residents at Simp-
son, Bonvillian said. 'With
such quality applicants, Dean
Pete and Chief Rodgers are go-
ing to have a hard time deciding
who will be the next RAs in
Simpson. They [the Simpson ap-
plicants] are highly involved on
campus and are quality young
men looking to make a differ-
ence in dorm liIe.
With so many applicants and
a limited amount oI spots to fll,
Dell and Jeff Rogers, associate
dean of men, will select RAs
based on a few key factors.
'There are sacrifces that
you have to be willing to make
as an RA, Dell said. 'But it is
rewarding at the same time. You
need a desire to help your fellow
students grow and learn.
Being an RA in Simpson
for the past three years was an
incredibly rewarding experience
for Bonvillian.
It has allowed me to grow
as a leader, and I have met
and become friends with guys
that I would have otherwise
never known if I had lived off
campus, he said. 'I am truly
grateful that I was given the op-
portunity to be an RA.
'I`m pleased with that,
Rogers said. I would call that a
success. I would be concerned if
I only got a Iew applications.
With so many applicants and
a limited amount oI spots to fll,
Dell and Rogers will select RAs
based on a few key factors.
'There are sacrifces that
you have to be willing to make
as an RA, Dell said. 'But it is
rewarding at the same time. You
need a desire to help your fellow
students grow and learn.
Rogers agreed with Dell that
an RA is more of a mentoring
position rather than a walking
set of rules.
Im not hiring police. Im
hiring guys who are interesting
in community, he said. 'We
need guys that are compassion-
ate and want to build a relation-
ship.
Being an RA comes also with
enormous amounts of responsi-
bility, Rogers said. But Rogers
believes should be no trouble
fnding worthy candidates.
RAs are an extension of
myselI and Dean Petersen,
Rogers said. What were look-
ing for, we should already have.
Its the honor code. Its what
[the students] should be doing
anyway.
Roxanne Turnbull
Arts Editor
HILLSDALE SUBMITS
LAUREATES
APPLICATIONS
Last week, Hillsdale Col-
lege science majors submitted
lre|r app||cal|ors lo lre LAu-
REATE3 prograr lor lre sur-
rer ol 2012. LAuREATE3
is an acronym for Labratory
lor Advarced urdergraduale
Researcr Educal|or Adapled
lor Ta|erled ard Exlraord|rary
3luderls.
0ear ol Nalura| 3c|erces
Chris Van Orman said there
Was a r|gr ruroer ol ap-
p||carls lr|s seresler.
Tre prograr supporls
both faculty and students in
researcr projecls lror Vay
11 lo Jure 22, 2012. Eacr
sluderl W|rrer rece|ves a
S2,500 sl|perd, as We|| as
lre prolessors W|lr Wror lre
students will be working.
Van Orman said there was
an added requirement to the
app||cal|or lr|s year. lr order
lo oe e||g|o|e lor lre prograr,
students must agree to write
a ser|or lres|s ard preserl a
posler al lre spr|rg Parerls'
Weekend.
Tr|rly-lour sluderls ap-
p||ed a|org W|lr 11 lacu|ly
members. Van Orman said
decisions will be made soon
ard arrourced al Parerls'
Weekend in March.

3rarror 0de||
PRESIDENTS BALL
3er|ors C||rl wesloroo| ard
Arra 3aeWerl Were croWred lr|s
year's Pres|derl's 8a|| ||rg ard
queen.
'Ever lror lre oeg|rr|rg ol lre
process, l d|dr'l expecl ry rare lo
oe or lre ||sl, wesloroo| sa|d. 'To
be on the court with great guys and
then to be chosen was a huge honor
oecause l respecled a|| ol lrer.
Eacr year, 10 ser|ors are
nominated by the faculty to be
or Pres|derl's 8a|| Courl ard
lrer |rlerv|eWed oy a pare|. Tre
candidates are judged on aca-
der|c exce||erce, roror, carpus
|rvo|vererl ard |eadersr|p ao|||ly,
ar a||-carpus era|| lror 3luderl
Acl|v|l|es 8oard sa|d.
8olr wesloroo| ard 3aeWerl
erjoyed lre |rlerv|eW process.
Aller lre pare|, a|| card|dales Were
|rv|led lo 8road|aWr lo r|x W|lr
faculty.
Tre pa|r rad lre opporlur|ly lo
darce W|lr Pres|derl Larry Arrr
ard r|s W|le Perry Arrr lo 'Tre
Voor||grl 3ererade.
'l Was so rervousl wro Wou|dr'l
oe? 3aeWerl sa|d aooul darc|rg
W|lr Arrr. 'le Was so sWeel ard
lorg|v|rg ol ry ao|||ly lo rol darce,
espec|a||y |r ree|s.
We considered it a huge suc-
cess, sa|d ser|or larrar Treppa,
pres|derl ol 3A8.
3A8 Was p|eased W|lr |asl
year's Pres|derl's 8a|| ard dec|ded
not to make any major changes to
lre everl. 3A8 a|so raraged lo
slay corp|ele|y W|lr|r lre|r oudgel,
Treppa sa|d.
Aller gradual|or, 3aeWerl |s cor-
sidering teaching. I am not exactly
sure yet, but I am allowing doors to
oper Wrere lrey W||| ard Wa|l|rg lo
know what God wants me to do,
she said.
wesloroo| |s p|arr|rg lo e|lrer
go lo |aW scroo| or leacr Erg||sr
|r Frarce. A|| r|s app||cal|ors rave
gone out and he is waiting to hear
back and make a decision.

Emmaline Epperson
(Marieke van der Vaart/Collegian)
Applications three times the open slots
Hillsdale City Council voted
5-0 to give Domestic Harmony
$5,500 this year, an increase of
$250 from last year.
Two years ago, Domestic
Harmonys contract was cut
from $5,500 to $5,250 to accom-
modate the 5 percent budget cuts
across the state of Michigan.
When the state of Michigan
came down with all their cuts,
we were passing that down to
everyone on our end, said Ward
2 Councilwoman Ruth Brown.
Domestic Harmony is the
only charity City Council
contracts with. Brown said
they have had to turn down
other charities that have come to
Council to ask for funding.
Domestic Harmony is differ-
ent because it affects the police,
Brown said. So thats where we
made the distinction.
With the 5 percent cut no
longer in place, City Council put
aside $5,500 for the charity this
year.
When we wrote in to request
for the contract, we wrote in for
the lesser amount, not knowing
that they had budgeted $5,500,
said Georgia Mason, executive
director of Domestic Harmony.
Even though City Council
had put aside $5,500, the con-
tract was still for $5,250. The
vote to amend that amount to
$5,500 was a split vote, 5-4.
Brown said she was against
increasing the amount to $5,500.
We still dont have extra
money to give away, she said.
I dont think it looks good to
do that.
Brown also said that funding
from City Council only makes
up 1 percent of Domestic Har-
monys budget, so $250 would
not impact them that much. And
Brown said the money could be
put to good use elsewhere in the
community.
But Mason said that small
amount still could help them
tremendously.
The City Council award
represents 1 percent of our an-
nual budget, and yet without that
contract, we would have a bud-
get defcit, Mason said. 'We
have a very lean budget with
no fat to trim. Weve trimmed
everywhere we could trim in the
past three years without cutting
into services for clients and still
meeting our goal to increase our
prevention education programs.
Mason also said that with the
$20,000 hole left in their budget
from the closing of Hillsdales
United Way, any extra money is
appreciated.
That was a really painful
budgeting issue for us, she said.
'That`s a signifcant amount oI
money in a small town during
tough times.
In order to fll that budget
gap, Domestic Harmony has
increased fundraising efforts.
They are holding a pancake and
sausage breakfast fundraiser at
the Elks Club on Mar. 24 from
7 a.m. to noon. They will also
hold their annual Duck Derby
fundraiser in May.
Mason also said the commu-
nity has stepped up to help out
the charity.
The community is certainly
very supportive and generous to
Domestic Harmony, she said.
Everything from people donat-
ing paper towels to soup it all
saves us from having to spend
money on those items.
Mason said the fundrais-
ers and community support are
really what help sustain the
charity.
Were optimistic that
with the City Council contract
being awarded, and with the
wonderful people that we have
on our board that are going to
work tirelessly to make sure that
we have a great year fnancially
we`ll have a good fnancial
year, she said
One local businessman
claims that big government
broke his small business. Brian
Ricketts, the former owner of
Yor Hair, scribbled those words
on the front of his building after
his business closed down.
Ricketts, 45, is a third-
generation salon owner. He
opened Yor Hair in 1994 and
saw continual growth for more
than a decade. In 2005, his salon
posted $549,000 in revenues.
But according to Ricketts,
high revenues werent enough
to offset Yor Hairs exposure to
the governments unemployment
insurance program.
He claims that generous
unemployment benefts lured his
employees away from work.
I couldnt get them to come
in, he said. I had people that
I was turning away that came
to my business forever and they
refused to come to work.
Over the last few years, Yor
Hair hemorrhaged workers.
I had 44 workers, then 18,
then 3, said Ricketts.
By leaving Yor Hair, his
former employees were able to
collect unemployment benefts.
I can offer them more, but
its easier [to collect state aid]
and it seems to be what people
are used to, he said.
Ricketts invested resources
into training his employees, get-
ting them to a level that he calls
the Yor Hair standard. He
claims that they left to work for
competitors that didnt require
them to pay taxes.
David Paas, professor of
business law, said its common
to fnd people evading taxes in
cash-based industries like hair-
dressing. The former employees
can avoid taxes by underreport-
ing earnings or starting home
businesses that are diIfcult to
track.
By working under the table,
the former employees remained
eligible for unemployment
benefts.
Bruce Ikawa, professor of
accounting, called that a clear
violation of unemployment.
Ricketts tried to turn those
former workers in, but claimed
that the state has an interest in
ignoring his complaint because
Michigan gains revenue from
additional unemployment
claims.
One government oIfcial
allegedly told Ricketts that he
went into the wrong business.
Its been a cash business, it will
always be a cash business, the
oIfcial said. 'You`re a big boy.
You should have done some-
thing else.
Besides the costs associated
with high labor turnover, Yor
Hair faced higher labor costs as
more former employees started
collecting benefts.
Unemployment insurance is a
joint state and federal program.
In Michigan, it is funded by a
variable tax rate placed on the
frst $9,500 oI each employee`s
earnings. The tax rate rises as
the number of former employees
collecting benefts increases.
Yor Hair had to close down
because the Michigan Employ-
ment Security Commission was
going to have us pay 12 per-
cent, said Ricketts.
He said Yor Hair couldnt
handle those costs since many
competitors avoided taxes
altogether. Those problems were
aggravated by the fact that many
of his former employees were
drawing customers away.
They go down the road and
they dilute the market, he said.
But even when customers did
show up, Yor Hair wasnt able
to serve them due to its lack of
employees. Ricketts keeps a list
of 100 customers that he had
to turn away in a three-week
period.
Other burdens exist for small
businesses in the community.
For example, barbers are re-
quired to be licensed in the state
of Michigan.
Gary Wolfram, professor of
political economy, argued that
occupational licensing drives up
the price of labor because its a
barrier to entry.
Yor Hair faced a restricted
supply of workers because it
could only hire workers who had
state-issued licenses. According
to Wolfram, licensing in hair-
cutting is particularly stupid
because if you get a bad haircut,
you just wont go back.
Wolfram also pointed out that
unemployment benefts dis-
courage the unemployed from
searching for work. By paying
people to be unemployed, the
government is reducing the
marginal cost of being unem-
ployed, and youre going to get
more unemployment.
Wolfram questioned whether
Yor Hairs employees quit to
collect unemployment, but he
did argue that those who are al-
ready collecting unemployment
will take longer to fnd a job.
Small businesses in the com-
munity also have to deal with
many policies, requirements,
and regulations that untrained
businessmen may not be aware
of. In Paas words, A good
bookkeeper in the backroom is
always a nice thing to have.
When asked whether they
thought that big government
broke Yor Hair, both Paas and
Ikawa expressed skepticism.
It could be that he got
slapped with high taxes, Paas
said. But if theres anything I
know about the taxman, its that
hes willing to negotiate. These
days taxes are negotiable. The
chances that unemployment
insurance taxes shut down the
business are less than 50-50.
He pointed out that it sounds
like a lot of other things hap-
pened.
Ikawa said that Ricketts sto-
ry is possible. But he pointed
out that the governments role
was indirect, and even without
unemployment insurance, Rick-
etts employees would have left
to start sideline companies.
With the closing of Yor Hair,
Ricketts, who is the single father
oI two children, had to fnd a
new source of income.
He now works at Roy Hair,
which is located at 130 N. West
Street.
Having failed to carry on his
familys tradition of salon own-
ership, Ricketts said, I dont
know what Im supposed to do.
Im lost.
A man was sentenced on
Monday for his involvement in
Novembers methamphetamine
lab explosion in a house near
Davis Middle School. This is one
of many dangerous and expen-
sive meth crimes committed in
Hillsdale County in the last year.
Jim Lutz Jr. was sentenced to
10 to 15 years in prison by the
Hillsdale County Circuit Court.
He will be serving two sen-
tences possession of meth as
a habitual offender and operating
and maintaining a lab involving
meth, according to a probation
oIfcial.
On the evening of Nov. 20,
Lutz was cooking meth on a
hotplate at a house on N. West
Street, said Deputy Chief Kevin
Pauken. Lutz`s 'lab caught fre
and he rushed the plate into a
bathroom tub to try to extinguish
the fame. He was unsuccessIul
and fed the building.
The Hillsdale Fire Depart-
ment was dispatched and they
put out the fre within an hour.
However, the building sustained
serious damage. Pauken said
the house would most likely be
bulldozed.
The last conversation I had
with the proprietor, that was the
plan, he said.
No one was hurt in the fre.
However, other tenants in the
multi-unit home were left home-
less and at least some of them
were put up by the Salvation
Army.
Undersheriff Bill Whorley
said meth is a growing problem
in Hillsdale County
In the past, the creation of
meth required a lab apparatus
and a knowledge of chemistry. In
recent years, recipes have been
simplifed and meth producers
need as little as a two-liter bottle
and common chemicals to make
the illicit drug.
[Meth producers] need so
much less to cook, Pauken said.
Theyve streamlined it so well
they could do it out of the back
of a car.
Whorley described the chemi-
cals involved in meth production
as vile and volatile and said
lab explosions are a danger to
anyone attempting to produce
meth.
Not only is meth production
a danger to the cookers, but it is
expensive to those in charge of
cleaning up the chemicals.
The average cost [of meth
chemical cleanup] is really to
the tax payer, Whorley said.
It comes out of a budget weve
approved to pay for this. Its kind
of an unexpected expense.
Last April, the Hillsdale
County Sheriffs Department
incurred a total cost of $8,400 in
meth lab cleanup. That was for
four investigations.
We have an obligation to the
entire county, our jurisdiction,
Whorley said. We havent just
a legal obligation, but a moral
obligation to deal with these il-
licit drugs.
Several weeks ago, the sher-
iffs department made a meth
arrest after obtaining a warrant
to enter an apartment at Village
Green Apartments. They were
accompanied by members of
the fre department, including
Pauken, in case there was an
explosion.
There was no fre involved
in this arrest, but disposal of the
chemicals still cost the sheriffs
department about $800.
Tenants of Village Green
were unaware their fellow rent-
ers were cooking meth.
We should have left [the
cookers] with the other tenants,
Pauken said. They were about
to lynch them outside.
In the past, Congress allo-
cated federal money to deal with
illicit drug clean-up. But due to
budget cuts in recent years, that
money has disappeared.
These are the kind of things,
if they keep up, Whorley said,
that can really upset your apple
cart on a budget basis.
Currently the city works with
Drug and Laboratory Disposal
out of Plainwell, Mich., for
chemical clean-up.
Whorley said the state will
soon be starting a drop-off
system for dangerous chemicals.
The sheriffs department will put
the chemicals in barrels and haul
them to sites designated by the
state. From then on, the chemi-
cals are the states problem.
This doesnt, however, com-
pletely eliminate the cost. The
local department must still pay
for safety gear to deal with the
hazardous chemicals, including
fame retardant suits and respira-
tors. They must also pay for a
trailer to haul the barrels.
Until the new system is put
in place, the department will
have to continue paying for
meth clean-up out of its general
budget.
The frst Iew weeks oI the
2011 fall semester at Hillsdale
College were still steamy with
the vestiges of summer, but,
unfortunately, one of the more
popular summer haunts in
Hillsdale closed down just as
students started pouring back
onto campus.
Mancusos, an ice cream and
pizza drive-through located on
Hillsdale Street, put up a For
Sale sign only a week after the
fall term started. The pizza shop
has sat vacant ever since, but
owner Terry LoPresto said he
is thinking about opening the
place back up in April. LoPresto
formerly owned a local body
shop in town, which he also sold
fve months ago.
The ice-cream place was
supposed to be a fun thing for
me, LoPresto said. Well, it got
too big. It was hard for me to go
to the body shop and work eight
hours and then go down there
and work from 5 oclock to 11
oclock.
The former owner is in his
late sixties now. He completed
two tours of duty in Vietnam
and became a self-made million-
aire by the age of 42.
LoPresto said if he could do
it over, he would franchise the
Mancusos chain. The busi-
ness did very well in Hillsdale,
especially during the summer
season, and LoPresto said he
thought it would do well in cit-
ies like Ann Arbor and Detroit.
I just dont need a full-time
job anymore. I dont want the
hassle, he said. Its too much
work for somebody my age I
dont even know what I was
thinking.
If LoPresto can sell the Man-
cusos building he said he will
never work again. His business
did not fail, however. In fact,
the body shop thrived for over
forty years. LoPresto chocks the
success of Mancusos and the
body shop up to old-fashioned
principles.
Its important to be honest
with people its important
for a businessman to keep his
word, he said.
He also said its important to
keep in mind that the biggest
thing in Hillsdale is Hillsdale
College, and to tailor your
business plan accordingly.
Small-business owner Jonna
Macy, however, disagrees. Macy
owns Toasted Mud, a pottery
shop downtown, and she said
her busiest time was during the
summer.
In September, when school
starts, it drops off, she said.
So how does a small business
manage the down time during
its off-season? Macy said it was
important to make sure there
was money in the pot to carry
the business through the slower
times. She said another critical
aspect of successful small-town
business was versatility and a
unique business plan.
Toasted Mud works because
theres nothing like it. I dont
have three of these down the
sidewalk, she said. Im open
seven days a week, and also
open in the evenings. I also
think its successful because we
cater to every single age.
Terry Tucker, owner of
Sweets for Life, agreed with
Macy about versatility. She said
the non-proft candy store was
successful because it presented
a unique product in an interest-
ing way.
There really isnt any other
candy store in Hillsdale that
does the candy and the ice
cream, she said.
Sweets for Life also has a
resale side of their store where
they sell old books, antiques,
and china.
People [buy] more of the
resale stuff. Because of the
economy they arent buying
new as much, Tucker said.
CITY NEWS
A5 16 Feb. 2012
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
CASES OF THE FLU
INCREASE
Cases ol |rluerza rave
|rcreased |r V|cr|gar, reporled lre
V|cr|gar 0eparlrerl ol Corrur|ly
lea|lr |asl Wee|.
Jo Arr w||czyrs||, 0|reclor
ol Preverl|or 3erv|ces lor lre
l|||sda|e orarcr ol 3l. Josepr Cor-
rur|ly lea|lr Agercy, sa|d lral W|lr
lre |rcrease |r |rluerza cases, lre
orarcr |s 'go|rg W|lr lre lrerd ard
prepar|rg lre reg|or W|lr |rrur|za-
l|ors accord|rg|y.
Recerl reporls lror lre Cerlers
lor 0|sease Corlro| say lrere
rave oeer 12 rove| rurar cases
d|scovered lr|s year |r lre ur|led
3lales. wr||e a case rasr'l yel
oeer reporled |r V|cr|gar, lre C0C
ras suggesled lral a|| slales 'cor-
ducl surve|||arce lor suspecl cases
lrrougr ar |rcrease |r |rluerza
lesl|rg.
0ue lo lre |rcrease |r |rluerza
cases lr|s W|rler, lea|lr 3erv|ces
ras oeer serd|rg era||s corcerr-
|rg lu vacc|ral|ors.
'll's rea||y Worlr |l lo gel a lu
srol, sa|d Caro| 0reWs, lre rurse
or lre l|||sda|e lea|lr 3erv|ces
slall.
'll srorlers sever|ly, ard |r lr|s
corrur|ly ||v|rg We rave rere, |l
reduces exposure. vacc|res W||| oe
ava||ao|e url|| Varcr.
'we're cor|rg up or pea|, so
lre soorer lre oeller, 0reWs sa|d.
-8y 8a||ey Pr|lcrell
The following is a list of calls compiled and reported by the Hillsdale
County Sheriffs Department.
Hillsdale City Police
Feb. 13
A 40-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man were arrested on the 70
block of Cherry Tree Lane in Hillsdale on suspicion of domestic assault.
One $1,000 bond was posted, and the other $1,000 bond was not posted.
Feb. 8
A 23-year-old woman was arrested on the 2100 block of Studebaker
Street in Decatur, Ind. on a felony warrant for two counts of safe break-
ing. A $600,000 bond was not posted.
Michigan State Police
Feb. 14
A 22-year-old man was arrested on the 1500 block of Ridge Road in Yp-
silanti on a felony warrant for second-degree home invasion. A $50,000
bond was not posted.
Feb. 12
A 34-year-old man was arrested on the 10100 block of Day Road in
Pittsford on a felony warrant for the delivery and manufacture of narcot-
ics and the possession of marijuana. A $51,000 bond was not posted.
Feb. 10
A 29-year-old man was arrested on the 1300 block oI East Litchfeld
Road in Jonesville on suspicion of aggravated assault. No bond was
allowed.
Hillsdale County Sheriffs Department
Feb. 13
A 20-year-old man was arrested on the 70 block of Logan Street in
Hillsdale on two misdemeanor warrants for two counts of selling and
furnishing alcohol to a minor, allowing the consumption of drugs and
alcohol on the premises, and children contributing to delinquency. A
$2,000 bond was posted.
Feb. 9
A 24-year-old man was arrested on the 7300 block of Cambria Road in
Hillsdale on a misdemeanor warrant for domestic violence. A $1,000
bond was not posted.
-Compiled by Sarah Leitner
Police Blotter
Local man sentenced for cooking meth near middle school
0DQFXVRVFORVHGLQGHQLWHO\
Caleb Whitmer
Copy Editor
Abi Wood
Copy Editor
0oresl|c larrory's corlracl rereWed 3a|or sruls doWr, o|ares goverrrerl
Sarah Leitner
Sports Editor
Charles Couger
Collegian Freelancer
OPINION
16 Feb. 2012 A6 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
THE COLLEGIAN WEEKLY
THE OPINION OF THE COLLEGIAN EDITORIAL STAFF
33 E. College St.
Hillsdale, MI 49242
Newsroom: (517) 607-2897
Advertising: (517) 607-2684
Online: www.hillsdalecollegian.com
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 | Shannon Odell
Greg Barry | Bonnie Cofer | Schuyler Dugle | Chuck
Grimmett | Joelle Lucus
Illustrators: Dane Skorup
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 collegian@hillsdale.edu before Sunday at 6 p.m.
Its kind of like
supervising a bowl
of sh: as long as
they are not eat-
ing each other, it`s
pretty uneventful
~The ruling
effectually transforms
the Constitution into a
one-way ratchet.`
I
If Andrew Breitbart wasnt famous
enough already, he is now. In an
ill-timed breakdown, he screamed
and ranted at a group of Occupy Wall
Street protesters who were chanting
outside of CPAC and one of them put
footage of his charming comments on
Youtube, where the video has gotten
more than 250,000 hits.
You are freaks and animals! he
yelled at the group. Stop raping the
people, you flthy Ireaks!
The problem isnt just Breitbart,
though. His meltdown exemplifes
everything thats wrong with CPAC.
This conference does more harm
than good to the conservative move-
ment.
CPAC is a coming-of-age ritual
for conservatives if youve never
been, youre kind of a poseur. I
cant count the number of times Ive
been at a conservative happy hour
and all the other 20-somethings
have launched into their favorite
stories of getting black-out drunk
and losing their hotel keys, wal-
lets, and dignity on the frst night oI
the conference. If youre a College
Republican and you dont have one
of these stories, you should prob-
ably make one up youre nothing
but a catechumen in the church of
conservatism until youve made a
terrible mistake at CPAC.
Heres the problem with the
conference: It mixes the worst of
every brand of conservatism in one
dogmatic, inarticulate, hungover
weekend. Between hardcore liber-
tarians gold-obsessed paranoia and
immigration alarmists xenophobia,
CPAC brings out the Right Wings
worst and weirdest.
One gentleman spent most of
the weekend wearing a bright green
infatable suit labeled 'Big Govern-
ment Gary. Another, in a top hat
and three-piece suit, carried a sign
that read Crony Capitalism. There
were the predictable Tea Partiers
sporting britches and faking bad
British accents, as well as a lanky
mustachioed Marlboro Man look-
alike in a T-shirt emblazoned with
the slogan, 'COPS SAY LEGALIZE
MARIJUANA / ASK ME WHY.
And, of course, there were the
booths. Just about every major
conservative organization in the
country gets a booth at CPAC. Most
are tasteful and understated, but then
theres one in the back corner blast-
ing heavy metal music and plastered
with signs about taking down the
Taliban. Another sold T-shirts with
slogans like 7 Billion People /
ONE GOD, 'Made In America` II
you dont like that label, you wont
like my gun, and Why the ?!@$#!
should I have to dial 1 for English?
And the Clare Boothe Luce table
had a sign sporting photos of sexy,
pouty-lipped female conservative
pundits saying, I am a Luce lady
and We Empower.
But GOProud, an organization
of gay Republicans, wasnt allowed
to be at CPAC. I guess its members
might have said something offen-
sive.
It should come as no surprise that
someone who spent two days in this
oasis of civil discourse would march
outside and yell that a large group of
people hed never met before were
rapists.
Conservatives cant afford this
kind of nonsense. Its one thing to
rally the base, but another to encour-
age its radicalism, and thats often
what CPAC does. If Republicans are
confdent that they know what`s best
for the country, they shouldnt have
to resort to the right-wing version of
the rhetoric thats made Occupy fa-
mous. The facts dont need theatrics,
and if youre telling the truth, you
shouldnt have to yell to be heard
over the riffraff at the door to your
hotel.
W
ith an unprecedented
reading day fast ap-
proaching, we at The
Collegian thought you might be
wondering what what you could
possibly do with an extra 24 hours
in your weekend.
Lest you fnd yourselves
paralyzed with the possibilities, we
have compiled our top 10 sugges-
tions to inspire you.
1. Sleep in. Don`t let your sleep
debt sink your intellectual credit.
Rebuild while you can.
2. Catch up on the last two sea-
sons of TV shows youve missed
this year. Theres nothing like a
six-hour marathon of Parks and
Recreation to restore the soul.
3. Do anything but read.
4. Make all the crafts on your
Pinterest board. No time like a
reading day to turn a rake into a
coat-rack, melt some crayons into
art, or build mini-terrariums.
5. Go Ior a walk. A 12-hour
walk.
6. Play pranks on your friends.
Fill their bathtubs with Jell-O,
freeze their underwear, MelCat
inappropriate books on their library
card accounts, set their clocks
backwards. Nothing like a prank to
endear yourself to the people you
love.
7. Explore the town. Have you
eaten Thai food at The Coffee Cup
recently? Theres a whole culinary
world outside Saga, Inc.maybe
its time you discovered it.
8. Play Solitaire online. Can
you beat the most recent Facebook
record?
9. Learn the latest LMFAO
dance moves (i.e. work out).
10. Go hear the presidential can-
didates. This one might be the most
important. Don`t miss this once-in-
a-lifetime chance to hear the future
Republican nominee.
Whatever you do though, dont
delude yourselves into thinking that
you can catch up on all that leftover
reading, the outstanding projects,
and overdue coffee dates. It simply
is not possible.
That said, have fun and plan
ahead get the most of your extra
day!
S
ome look at Hillsdale and see a campus of
white, Christian, politically conservative
students getting a Republican education with
a focus on the classics.
However, a closer look tells an entirely different
story.
Take me for example. Im Jewish. When I
decided to come to Hillsdale, religious diversity in
a college was a big concern for me. I come from
a very large Jewish community and was worried
about coming to a school that is predominantly
Christian.
Upon arrival at Hillsdale, I found something
completely different than I expected. I found a
strong religious community that, although it does
not entirely agree with my views, allows me to be
outwardly religious without feeling judged for my
beliefs.
It is the common ground of faith and belief in
G-d Iound on campus that has allowed this.
In my time here, I have fostered relationships
with other Jewish students on campus. We have
successfully created a club for Jewish students. Part
of our goal with this club is to encourage relation-
ships with the Christian community on campus.
The fact that we are able to do this at Hillsdale
speaks to the acceptance and understanding of
religious diversity on campus.
Politically speaking, there is no question as to
the campus tendencies to the Right. That said,
opinions on nearly every political issue vary from
one extreme to the other, with everything in be-
tween.
This is an election year, so there have been
ample opportunities for political discussion and
debate. I have attended countless screenings of the
Republican presidential debates and heard large
groups as well as pairs of students ranting back and
forth about their different takes on candidates and
issues.
While the majority of the student body may have
similar leanings, we are in no way in unconditional
agreement when it comes to politics.
Hillsdale draws from 49 states and 7 foreign
countries. We were the frst college to accept men
and women without regard to race. And we went
to the Supreme Court to defend our belief that skin
color should not be a measure of diversity.
If we are to take the mission of the school seri-
ously, pursuing truth, defending liberty, we must
take the Aristotelian ideal of striving toward a com-
mon good seriously.
In the Ireshman orientation speech Dr. Arnn
gave this year, he spoke oI the faw many institu-
tions communicate when they state that the purpose
of a university is diversity. These two terms are
absolute contradictions, literally.
To reach the common good described in our
mission, there needs to be a sense of unity in mor-
als and goals across campus.
Hillsdales campus, though diverse in many
ways, is unifed in this key aspect. We have a sense
of purpose and are striving, united, toward a com-
mon good. It is because of this cohesive effort that
we are able to embrace a variety of educational,
religious, and social communities.
Moral unity,
intelectual
diversity
ONE TIME AT CPAC . . .
Betsy Woodruff
City News Editor
Kelsey Drapkin
Special to the Collegian
T
here is a story that
two of the great-
est fgures in our
law, Justice Holmes and Judge
Learned Hand, had lunch
together and afterward, as
Holmes began to drive off in
his carriage, Hand, in a sudden
onset of enthusiasm, ran after
him, crying, Do justice, sir, do
justice. Holmes stopped the
carriage and reproved Hand:
That is not my job. It is my
job to apply the Law. So
goes the famous anecdote as
relayed by Judge Robert Bork
in his book, The Tempt-
ing of America. This scene
aptly speaks to one of the
greatest tensions in American
jurisprudence today between
two sides of thought: that of
activist judges doing justice
according to their own feeting
notions, and that of applying
the law by looking to the text
of the Constitution.
Justice Holmes raises a
key point in understanding
the scope of the judiciary: the
proper role of a judge is not
simply to do justice, but
to do justice under the law.
Judges are bound by law. They
are bound by the Constitution
and by the original objective
public meaning of its text.
Their job is to say what the law
is, not what it ought to be. De-
cisions over what the law says
are left to the people and their
representatives through the
creation of new laws.
But many in todays
judiciary disregard the text of
the Constitution in favor of in-
terjecting their personal views
of justice, policy preferences,
progress, or empathy.
They take upon themselves du-
ties that lie solely in the scope
of the people and the legisla-
tures. This is judicial activism.
Conservatives and liberals
alike are guilty of distorting
the Constitution to ft their per-
sonal preferances and concep-
tions of good and justice.
Those in both camps have
a fawed tendency to equate
bad with unconstitutional
and good with constitu-
tional without looking to
the Constitutions text for its
actual meaning. The Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals is
especially guilty of this.
Last week, the Ninth Cir-
cuit the most liberal court
in the land reaIfrmed its
longstanding union with judi-
cial activism when it upheld
the decision of the California
Supreme Court to throw out
Californias Proposition 8, a
citizen initiative amending
the state constitution to defne
marriage as a union between
one man and one woman.
For the activists sitting on the
court, laws prohibiting same-
sex marriage do not conform to
their conceptions of justice and
are therefore unconstitutional.
The court found the con-
stitutional violation in the fact
that California changed their
law to recognize same-sex
marriage and
then tried
to change it
back. The
circuits
opinion
to no ones
surprise
proclaimed
Proposition 8 a distinct
constitutional violation of the
oft-cited Fourteenth Amend-
ment`s Due Process and Equal
Protection Clauses, though no
such protection of marriage
can be found in the actual text
of the Constitution.
Their reasoning, if one can
call it that, is that the people of
California had no legitimate
reason to enact such a law,
despite going through all of
the proper procedures. Trans-
lation: We the elites on the
Ninth Circuit can determine
better than the people what
the law ought to be. We have
crafted a standard of justice,
although it has no grounding in
the Constitution, and you are
required to meet it. The rul-
ing effectually transforms the
Constitution into a one-way
ratchet once cranked in a
single direction, it can never be
turned back that fies in the
face of our founders vision.
The founders set up a gov-
ernment to deal with the limits
of human nature a govern-
ment based on the rule of law.
Because reason and experience
proved that men, including
those in oIfce, could not be
trusted to restrain themselves
and their passions, they put
institutions in place that would
allow ambition to counteract
ambition.
They set up independent
branches of government with
distinct powers. Each branch
then would check the powers
of the other branches in order
to prevent tyranny in any of
its many forms. The courts
limited role was to have, as
Alexander Hamilton described
in Federalist 78, neither force
nor will, but merely judg-
ment. They were to decide
cases and render an impartial
judgment according to the law.
Anything beyond that was
outside their proper limited
powers.
Once judges usurp powers
not granted
to them,
they throw
this sepa-
ration off
balance and
risk losing
the stable
rule of
law to the fckle rule oI men.
Regardless of your beliefs
regarding Proposition 8, to op-
pose it is to oppose American
self-government.
When judges assume pow-
ers not granted to them and
attempt to ensure correct
political outcomes that the
Constitution does not compel,
they undermine the rule of law
and the self-government that
our laws ensure.
When they impart their own
will into the Constitution in-
stead of applying the law, they
effectively render the peoples
recourse to the Constitution
void.
When they fnd protection
for a right apart from the text
of the highest law in the land,
they assume powers that are
not safe in the hands of fallen
human beings. The activist
judges on the Ninth Circuit
have made a mockery of our
judiciary, our constitution, and
our civilizations fundamental
knowledge about the nature of
man.
W
hen I was a freshman roughly three and
a half years ago, I lived on the illustrious
second foor oI Simpson, the south side.
God only knows who lives there now, but about six
others and I composed the only people on the foor
who did not appreciate booming bass music at four
a.m., sporadic screaming, shouting, hooting, squawk-
ing, drunken wrestling matches tapping at my cham-
ber door, or my favorite splotches of vomit
awaiting me on my doorstep. As a weak-stomached
Ireshman, I was terrifed by my environment and
sought sanctuary elsewhere in order to, oh, I dont
know: study. But I could not escape the mayhem for
long, no matter how hard I or Allstate tried.
All of the major buildings on campus closed at 2
a.m., forcing me to return to Simpson and dream, if
I managed to sleep, of a day when I could stay in a
building all night away from Mr. Mayhems rude and
intrusive grasp. That grasp has driven me to propose
that Hillsdale College have at least one building
open 24/7 while classes are in session. Besides the
rampages of Master and Madame Mayhem, there are
two major reasons demand the opening of a building
for 24 hours and 7 days a week: 1) it promotes educa-
tion, and 2) its cheap and easy.
First, a 24/7 building promotes education.
Why? We are a collegeneed I say more? Students
need to be able to
study. Frankly, it
is startling that I
even have to write
this article to call
for a 24/7 building.
Hillsdale College
promotes high aca-
demic standards that
rival Ivy League
schools. Students
who take this seriously should not be prevented from
studying by being confned to their dorms.
Additionally, there is the gender problem. Men
and women have no way to study with one another
post 2 a.m., and that is oIten very inconvenient. Did I
say often? I meant usually. Students should not have
to go to McDonald`s in order to study with someone
of the opposite sex. I know many, many guys and
girls who want to study together. From a guys per-
spective, I know women are smarter. I want to study
with them. Hillsdale, please allow me to do so.
Second, a 24/7 building would be cheap and
easy to maintain. Its kind of like supervising a bowl
oI fsh: as long as they are not eating each other, it`s
pretty uneventful. It would be very easy to supervise
students at these hours of the night. I work on the
security team and I kick out at least 10 people every
school night, and that number only increases close
to project due-dates and during midterms or fnals.
People want to study during these times. Even if
there is not a huge number of people studying, it
still leaves the option open and encourages studying
whenever it is necessary.
From working security, I also know a little
about building supervision. Basically, the only time
we dont have paid supervision in places like Lane,
Kendell, or the Dow Center is between 2 a.m. and 7
a.m. And even during those times, we have custodi-
ans in the buildings. So, all we have to do is hire a
student to work a fve hour shiIt Irom 2-7, which is
incredibly easy to do. Students currently work in the
security building 24/7, and I am sure others would
be willing to do the same in other buildings when
minimum wage is involved.
Basically, Hillsdale should have a 24-hour
building because it further allows students to be du-
tiful in study and service, as the Honor Code calls
for, at a very low cost. If Hillsdale would do this,
students would not only study more, but also rest as-
sured that theyre in good hands after all.
Tiffany Bates
Special to The Collegian
Blake Faulkner
Special to the Collegian
PROP 8: THE ROLE
OF JUDGES
A 24/7
NEED
Tonight, the Student Athlete
Advisory Committee will end
their Pink Wave breast cancer
philanthropy event by selling
T-shirts at the Hillsdale College
mens basketball game.
SAAC not only initiates and
promotes volunteer activities for
athletes, but also plans social
events and votes on NCAA leg-
islation, SAAC faculty advisor
and head womens tennis coach
Nicole Dzubay said.
In addition to the Pink Wave
event, SAAC also hosts phi-
lanthropy events to donate to
the Make-a-Wish foundation.
It is also considering expand-
ing to help Kings Cupboard
and the Humane Society, said
senior Clara Leutheuser, SAAC
president.
Leutheuser said SAAC mem-
bers focus on service and being
the best athletes possible.
We want to make Hillsdale
College athletes visible outside
of the campus, said junior Scott
Lantis, SAAC vice-president.
In addition to Leutheuser and
Lantis, the organization has two
secretaries and two academic
coordinators who help freshman
register and encourage academic
discipline. Three to four athletes
per sports team participate in
SAAC.
Lantis joined SAAC his
freshman year after his coaches
recommended him for the posi-
tion. He said that once part of
the organization, athletes usually
stay in SAAC until they gradu-
ate. Graduating seniors nomi-
nate a team member to fll their
position.
The goal is to be leaders,
Leutheuser said. We honor
success by having events for
athletes with high GPAs and by
hosting the athlete formal as a
kind of celebration at the end of
the spring.
Dzubay said she has been
impressed with Leutheusers
leadership this year.
[Leutheuser is] amazing,
and shes been doing a lot for the
group, she said.
Even though Leutheuser and
Lantis run most of the meetings,
Dzubay does play an integral role
as SAAC advisor. She said one
of her primary roles is to help ex-
plain NCAA legislation to SAAC
members. She also helps them
decide how to vote on potential
legislation changes and helps
manage the budget.
Dzubay also presents ideas
from her time as a SAAC mem-
ber at the University of Dayton.
She served as SAAC president as
an undergraduate there for two
years.
It always felt good to be in
a leadership role, Dzubay said.
Now as an advisor, its good
to see students taking initiative.
Its also rewarding seeing each
student get excited about events
and seeing the results of all their
hard work.
Every school in the GLIAC
has a SAAC chapter. Hillsdales
SAAC chapter represents the
interests of Hillsdale College
athletics by voting on changes in
the conference as a whole.
We are the voice for Hills-
dale Charger athletics, Leu-
theuser said. We take pride
in representing the rest of the
athletes. Its something unique to
SAAC.
SAAC members meet about
every two weeks.
Its a good way to check
in and touch base with every-
one since were all on different
schedules, Lantis said. Volun-
teering is a good way to connect
and have fun together.
While SAAC members are
in charge of planning volunteer
and social events, teammates are
encouraged to participate. Non-
athletes can even be invited as
dates to the spring formal dance.
Its all about comradery,
Leutheuser said. We get to use
our platform as student athletes
to do something more important
than just athletics. We could
volunteer independently, but its
great to use our platform.
Lantis said when SAAC
members visited Samuel J.
Gier Elementary school, it was
encouraging to be examples to
children who obviously looked
up to college athletes.
It was a great reminder that
theres more to being a student
athlete than practice and school,
Leutheuser said. It helps keep
us focused on more important
things.
Dzubay said she would stay
on as advisor next year to pro-
vide some stability after Leu-
theuser graduates.
Next year, Dzubay said she
hopes to get SAAC started plan-
ning events earlier in the year.
She even said they may add
another event.
Theres always room for
improvement, but theyre doing a
great job, she said.
SPORTS
A7 16 Feb. 2012
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
SAAC focuses on service, academics
3XWWWDNHVIWKUHFRUGLQYHZHHNV
Senior Amanda Putt con-
tined her school record break-
ing streak, now at fve records
in fve weeks, at Grand Valley
State Universitys Big Meet on
Feb. 11.
Putt automatically quali-
fed Ior the national meet in the
5,000-meter run, after taking
second at GVSU in a time of
16:29.95. She is the only person
in the country to automatically
qualify in the 800-meter, mile,
and 5,000-meter run, womens
head coach Andrew Towne said.
With the Big Meet, I believe
people come to this meet look-
ing to run their best, Putt said.
Putt was also named GLIAC
female track athlete of the week.
This is the fourth week in a row
that a member of the Hillsdale
womens track team was named
athlete of the week.
However, Putt was not
the only one breaking school
records this past weekend at
Grand Valley.
Both the mens and womens
Distance Medley Relay teams
provisionally qualifed Ior
nationals and broke their respec-
tive school records.
The womens DMR team,
which is made up of freshman
Amy Kerst and seniors Chelsea
Wackernagel, Jennifer Shaffer,
and Putt, ran 11:42.57 and are
currently ranked second in the
country.
They ran a provisionally
qualifying time, so they are not
guaranteed a spot at nationals,
but with their current ranking,
I cant see how they wouldnt
go, assistant coach Amanda
Mirochna said.
The mens DMR team was
senior Jeff Wysong, sophomore
Jarod VanDyke, senior Jerry
Perkins, and freshman Matthew
Perkins. Together the team beat
the school record and joined the
women as provisionally quali-
fers.
For the most part, we felt
like we left part of it on the
track, but we were hoping to
have a better qualifying time for
nationals, Jerry Perkins said
Breaking the school record was
a great boost to go out and get
it.
Matthew Perkins fnished
17th in the mile at 4:13.46.
He was followed closely by
Wysong`s 18th place fnish in
4:13.64. But while Matthew
Perkins earned the provisional
cut, Wysong fell short by a tenth
of a second.
Senior Skylar Dooley took
frst place in the men`s 200-me-
ter dash at 22.10 seconds and
sophomore Maurice Jones fol-
lowed in second place by only
.12.
Jones also provisionally
qualifed in the men`s 400-meter
dash at 48.38 seconds.
This was our best weekend
yet, posting many [personal
records], a couple of provisional
marks, and a school record,
mens head track coach Jeff
Forino said.
Shaffer provisionally quali-
fed in the women`s 800-meter
run at 2:12.95. She was also in
the womens 4x400-meter relay
with juniors Kayla Caldwell
and Erin Benjamin, as well as
Wackernagel, that took second
place at 3:55.04.
Junior Kathy Dirksen threw
18.01 meters to come in fourth
in the womens weight throw,
and senior Cat Nass fnished
eighth by throwing 17.11 me-
ters.
Kathy and Cat, I think, are
expecting to throw about fve
feet farther, and I expect it to
happen, Forino said.
Both Dirksen and Nass pro-
visionally qualifed Ior the na-
tional meet, but will most likely
need to automatically qualify in
order to go to nationals with the
tough competition this year.
The reason why the auto
mark is necessary this year is
because the weight throw for the
women is really strong, said
Towne, who noted that many
women throwers have already
qualifed Ior nationals.
This coming weekend the
team will be headed back to
Grand Valley for the GVSU
tune-up meet. However, in
preparation for GLIACs in two
weeks, both Towne and Miroch-
na said that some of the distance
runners will have this week off.
Emily Johnston
Senior Reporter
(Joe Buth/Collegian)
Sarah Anne Voyles
Collegian Reporter
Pink is not a school color,
but both of the Hillsdale Col-
lege basketball teams will be
sporting rosy colored warm-
ups at 6 p.m. tonight.
Basketball teams through-
out the GLIAC will be wear-
ing pink shirts and shoelaces
this month in support of breast
cancer research. Womens
coach Claudette Charney said
that she and her team gladly
participate in the cause.
We will wear the T-shirts
and pink warm-ups before the
game, as will all other teams
in the GLIAC conference,
Charney said.
In 2007, the Womens
Basketball Coach Associa-
tion began Pink Zone, which
has since changed its name to
Pink Wave, to raise awareness
of breast cancer. The initiative
has raised over $3.3 million
involving more than 4,700
participants since its concep-
tion. The Pink Wave partners
with the Kay Vow Cancer
Fund during the doubleheader
events to raise money for
breast cancer research.
The Hillsdale Student
Athlete Advisory Committee
has taken on Pink Wave as
its primary charity event on
campus. All the money raised
will be for the Pink Wave and
Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Shirts
for fundraising will be sold
at lunch and at the tonights
game against Ohio Dominican
University. T-shirts are sold
for $8, and long sleeve shirts
are $12. Every dollar raised
for shirts will be sent back for
breast cancer research.
Were not offering a
different source of entertain-
ment, the cool thing is that
both [basketball] teams are
shifting their focus from
themselves to a bigger cause,
said senior Clara Leutheuser,
SAAC president. Were hop-
ing to raise $1,000 or more
this year.
During the mens half
time game, there will also be
a 3-point shooting contest to
raise additional money. After
paying $1, participants are
paid back $2 for each basket
they make until the reach
three baskets. Each basket
made aIter the frst three can
earn prizes from the team
tables, which will have Hills-
dale shirts and hats.
Among the other half-time
contests, there will be a 50-50
raIfe Ior the frst winner se-
lected. Names that are drawn
can choose prizes from the
team tables.
It would be great if the
Chargers and the cause saw
a lot of support, Leutheuser
said.
Yesterday, members of the
SAAC volunteered at Hills-
dales Kroger grocery store by
bagging groceries and hand-
ing out fyers to involve the
community in the Pink Wave
event on campus. Leutheuser
and SAAC advisor Nicole
Dzubay both agreed that ev-
eryone has been pitching in to
this Pink Wave event to make
it successful.
Its our teams last home
game so thats a good reason
to come. Leutheuser said.
Other than that, its always
good to support something
big like a cause to eliminate
breast cancer.
Baily Pritchett
Collegian Freelancer
Pink Wave raises breast cancer awareness
team wont know who will be
invited until Feb. 29. Three-time
national-qualifer Okonkowski
is Hillsdales most probable
qualifer.
'The 200 fy looks pretty
promising, Okonkowski said.
'We won`t oIfcially know until
the end of February. Its a nerve-
racking process
Kirner was quick to credit
Okonkowski.
'She fnds a way to go Iast.
This year she dropped her time
in the 200 fy by 1.5 seconds,
Kirner said. It speaks directly
to her work ethic.
Okonkowski said the season,
though not yet over for her, was
a very successful one for the
swimming and diving program.
It was by far the best GLI-
ACs ever, Okonkowski said.
It was my best season, not just
in terms of times but in getting
to know my teammates.
The Chargers are all but
fnished with a long season, but
they wont be resting long. In
just a few weeks the team will
be back in the weight room
training for next season.
!
SWIMMING
)URP$
Senior Katie Lamb (top) sprints to the finish at the 2012 GLIAC Championships.
Freshman Ali Bauer (bottom) races the 200-yard breastroke in the consolation finals.
The team broke 11 school records during the meet. (Courtesy of Amanda Geelhoed)
The Hillsdale College swim
team matched last years sixth
place fnish at the GLIAC
Championship, Feb. 8-11, in
Jenison, Mich. The team outper-
Iormed the 2011 team, however,
with almost every returning
woman swimming Iaster than
last year and more athletes earn-
ing B-cuts Ior the national meet.
'Most oI our athletes had
liIetime bests, head coach Kurt
Kirner said.
Among those liIetime-best
times were 11 new schools
records. The women also earned
B-cuts provisional qualiIy-
ing times Ior nationals in 14
events.
The team fnished sixth with
333 points, 36 points behind
Ashland University, a team they
deIeated earlier this season.
'It was disappointing in
that we didn`t get to move up
a place, sophomore Becca
Remmes said. 'But everyone
swam so well I really couldn`t
ask Ior any better.
The highlights of the meet
included Ireshmen Jordan
Rucinski and Rachel Kurtz`s
record-breaking perIormances.
Rucinski set the school record in
the 500- and 1000-yard Ireestyle
while Kurtz did likewise in the
50- and 100-yard Ireestyle.
'I was just excited Ior my
frst GLIAC championship,`
Rucinski said. 'I was really
excited when I did break the
record. It was unexpected. I
didn`t set that as a goal it was
kind oI a bonus on top oI a best
time.
Other record-breaking swims
included Remmes in the 100-
yard backstroke; senior Linda
Okonkowski in the 200-yard
butterfy and the 400-yard indi-
vidual medley; and Iour oI the
fve relays team: the 200-yard,
400-yard and 800-yard Ireestyle
relays, as well as the 200-yard
medley relay.
'Me and Alicia |Leduc| have
been working on my start,
Remmes said. 'I hadn`t got a
best time in a while so I was
really happy with how it turned
out.
While many oI the team`s
B-cuts most likely won`t qualiIy
Ior the national meet at Man-
sfeld Natatorium in Dallas,
Texas, the eligible swimmers
will continue practicing. The
AIter starting the game
strong, the Hillsdale College
women`s basketball team lost to
the TiIfn University Dragons by
a score oI 65-52 on Saturday.
The Chargers gained the lead
early on and held it until about
fve minutes leIt in the frst halI.
At that point, TiIfn gained mo-
mentum as Hillsdale Iell back
on their heels.
'We started turning the ball
over, and they capitalized oII oI
it. They were turning the ball
over, too, but we weren`t scor-
ing oII oI their mistakes, junior
Lea Jones said. 'It was sloppy
both ways, but they fnished and
we didn`t.
The Chargers Iought their
way back to within fve points
oI the Dragons with 7:42 leIt in
the game, but could not quite
convert oIIensively and got beat
on the boards on both sides oI
the ball. TiIfn out-rebounded
Hillsdale, 39-26.
'The biggest Iactor was
turnovers. Yes, we could have
rebounded the ball better, but
the points they scored |12| oII
oI our turnovers were the diIIer-
ence in the game, head coach
Claudette Charney said. 'Even
though we started out playing
well, we got Irazzled and caught
up in the types oI calls being
made out there and didn`t regain
our composure in the second
halI.
Jones scored 14 while Iresh-
man Abbey Lovat stepped up to
add 11.
Last Thursday, senior Chel-
sea Harrison led the Chargers
in a dominant perIormance
over Ohio Dominican Univer-
sity, 78-61. Harrison scored a
career-high 30 points, including
six 3-pointers and a 100 percent
eIIort Irom the Iree throw line.
'Ohio Dominican played a
lot oI zone on us, so we were
pretty open Irom the 3-point
line, Harrison said. 'They were
collapsing on our posts, so they
would kick it out to whoever
was on fre. I haven`t been hav-
ing the greatest outside shooting
game, so I was due to step up.
But everyone played well.
The Chargers established a
frm lead about 3:30 into the
game with a layup Irom senior
captain Katie Bildner, and
continued to build Irom there.
Eleven Chargers received play-
ing time in the game.
Hillsdale led by 10 at
halItime. A Iew key 3-point-
ers in the second halI many
by Harrison blew the game
wide open to secure a Charger
victory. Ohio Dominican closed
the gap to 11 with 4:12 leIt in
the game, but could not stop the
Chargers.
Splitting these two road
games put the Chargers at Iourth
in the GLIAC South Division,
with a conIerence record oI 8-8.
The North Division is less com-
petitive, so the at-large spots
will most likely be taken Irom
the South Division. At this point
in the season, the Chargers are
looking promising Ior a berth in
the tournament.
'We still have to win two
games this week to assure us
a berth, it makes no diIIer-
ence what our record is now,
Charney said. 'We can`t rely
on anyone else to lose or win,
we have to win more than the
eight games we have so Iar. We
still have to take it one game at
a time.
The Chargers still have im-
portant games ahead oI them as
they enter the fnal two weeks oI
regular season play tonight, with
a home rematch with Ohio Do-
minican, then an away contest at
Saginaw Valley State University
on Saturday, which are both key
South Division games.
Sports
16 Feb. 2012
!
NATE
ENGLISH
Nate English is a hfth-vear senior hungrv for an All-American
title. A native of Hillsdale, Mich., he came to Hillsdale College
for football but will leave as a thrower for track and held. He sat
down with The Collegian to talk about his college athletic career
thus far.
You have done two big sports since coming here football and
peld. What do you do now, and why did to make the transition?
I played Iootball 10 years and track Ior 11. I`ve been throw-
ing since sixth grade and Iootball since seventh. Long, long, long
time. I`ve been doing it Ior quite a while.
Now I do feld. I grab a 16-pound ball and make it go Iar. I
throw it as Iar as I can. There`s something Neanderthal about it.
It`s just throw the damn thing, pretty much.
I was in Iootball Ior Iour years. I got hurt too much during
Iootball. I told the coaches, Ior health reasons, I`m not going
to come back Ior my fIth year. I did track that year because I
told Coach Forino I would. It ended up going a lot better than I
anticipated, and he asked me to stay Ior a fIth year. I accepted,
and here I am training through the whole year trying to get All-
American.
What do you think are your chances at winning, and what are
you doing to train for that?
I`m ninth right now in the country, and the top eight get All-
American. It`s anybody who can do anything on any given day.
The national meet will be coming up soon in March in Mankato
|Minn.|. So get out there and have a big throw and see what
happens. Just see iI we can do it. I have a lot oI strength training.
I do a lot oI throwing. I throw almost every single day. Mostly
plyometric work, some agility, but mostly strength training and
event specifc training.
What has been your best moment athletically?
Track and Iootball are so diIIerent Irom each other. The frst
time we beat Grand Valley |State University| at Homecoming
a couple years ago was pretty special. I didn`t really play that
much in that game. It was pretty cool to be part oI that.
For track, going to the conIerence meet last year and throw-
ing a Ioot and a halI Iarther than I ever had in the shop on my
very frst throw a hundred people are standing there and just
letting go oI the most guttural scream you can. Yeah, that would
probably be it. Getting as primitive and primal as you can. I
really enjoyed that moment. 55 Ieet 2.25 inches. It was my best
ever up to that point. To get that on the very frst throw at conIer-
ence and put some pressure on the feld was pretty cool.
Why did you come to Hillsdale College?
They oIIered me a scholarship. I grew up in Hillsdale. In high
school, I told myselI Hillsdale is the last place I want to go due
to politics. But the Iootball coaches came aIter me and I signed
pretty early on. I don`t regret it. I wanted to be an engineer. Hill-
sdale doesn`t have an engineering program. I believe you always
end up where you`re supposed to go.
Compiled by T. Elliot Gaiser
(Collegian Stock Photo)
The Hillsdale Chargers
men`s basketball squad split a
pair oI road games last week,
winning Thursday`s trip to
Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio
Dominican University but
Ialling to TiIfn University on
Saturday night.
Against the Ohio Dominican
Panthers, who remain winless
in conIerence play on the year,
Hillsdale`s experienced team
reIused to underestimate their
opponents and won easily,
74-53.
The Chargers` deIense
dominated the Panthers, hold-
ing them to 35 percent shoot-
ing and Iorcing 16 turnovers.
Although Hillsdale did turn the
ball over 17 times, their oppo-
nents were unable to capitalize
on the mistakes.
Sophomore shooting guard
Darius Ware enjoyed a break-
out perIormance with 14 points
in only 16 minutes oI playing
time, highlighted by two frst-
halI slam-dunks. The Chargers
were able to take advantage
oI the Panthers` poor transi-
tion game and score some easy
baskets. Hillsdale was led by
senior Iorward Brad Guinane`s
double-double oI 16 points and
10 rebounds.
'Our rebounding was great,
which led to a lot oI Iast-break
points, Ware said.
Saturday`s game against
TiIfn was perhaps the most
diIfcult loss oI the year Ior
Hillsdale. The Chargers and
Dragons went blow-Ior-blow
Ior most oI the game, entering
halItime tied at 29. Although
TiIfn was able to take a seven-
point lead in the second halI,
Hillsdale managed to chip away
at the margin and actually take
the lead with a 3-pointer Irom
Guinane with 1:38 to go.
But a sequence oI two TiIfn
oIIensive rebounds led to a
game-tying long ball with 28
seconds to play, and an unIor-
tunate turnover led to TiIfn
getting the last shot.
The buzzer-beating 3-pointer
handed Hillsdale their third
GLIAC loss oI the year and
Iourth loss overall. A bright
spot for the Chargers was
sophomore Iorward Tim Dezel-
ski`s stellar perIormance, with
12 rebounds and 22 points on
over 80 percent shooting Irom
the feld.
'We`re just trying to move
on Irom the loss. We still con-
trol our own destiny, and iI we
win out, we`ll have the num-
ber one seed Ior the GLIAC
tournament, which is huge,
Dezelski said. 'To make the
NCAA tournament, we need
to make it to the championship
game; we`re looking Ior some
redemption Irom our frst round
loss last year.
The Chargers entered last
week ranked 23rd in the nation.
Falling out oI the top 25 leaves
Hillsdale with some ground to
make up.
'We`re still in a good posi-
tion Ior the postseason, as long
as we handle our business,
Ware said.
The Chargers play their
fnal regular season home game
tonight against Ohio Domini-
can in a rematch oI last week`s
contest.
For many Hillsdale bas-
ketball Ians and especially
the players and their Iamilies,
this Senior Night fnale will
be memorable, especially as
Coach Tharp`s frst recruiting
class graduates.
'It`s defnitely a bittersweet
moment, Guinane said. 'I
can`t believe how Iast these
Iour years have gone by, but I
couldn`t have asked Ior a better
place to Iurther my basketball
career. I have had so much Iun
with my coaches and team-
mates. The support I`ve been
given through Iamily, Iriends,
and this campus have been
outstanding.
Six seniors will be hon-
ored tonight, including three
oI the starting fve (Guinane,
point guard Tyler Gerber, and
Iorward Brent Eaton). But the
Iestivities won`t distract the
Chargers, who will look to beat
the Panthers yet again and play
another home game this
time, in the GLIAC Champion-
ships.
Hen's basketba|| ghts for top CL|A6 seed
David Gordon
Collegian Freelancer
women v|e for spot |n CL|A6 tournament
8w|m team takes s|xth, has best season yet
Morgan Delp
Collegian Freelancer
Q & A
Phil Morgan
Senior Reporter
!
8ee A7
Senior Michaela Wolfe swims the mile in the final
session of the GLIAC Championship meet on Sat-
urday. The Hillsdale Chargers placed sixth in the
conference. (Courtesy of Amanda Geelhoed)
B1 16 Feb. 2012 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
(Sally Nelson/Collegian)
Planning a whirlwind wedding
As March 17 fast ap-
proaches, Liz Kirk, 10, and
senior Blake Faulkner are put-
ting fnishing touches on their
wedding plans. The couple has
been together for more than two
and a half years, over a year of
which they have been engaged
and planning their wedding.
Between both of their busy
lives, planning a wedding has
been a balancing act. Kirk, who
majored in history and elemen-
tary education with a minor in
English, is a full time substitute
teacher in the Hillsdale area
while Blake is double-majoring
in Christian Studies and Speech.
When he proposed, the
whirlwind began, Kirk said. It
has been a lot of work for him
to be doing school and plan-
ning at the same time. And even
though Im working full time,
its a lot, but its easier.
Spring break worked out to
be the best time for Kirk and
Faulkner to tie the knot, a time
when family can take time off
work and friends will be on
break.
The couple agreed that being
engaged a longer time eased
much of the stress of the plan-
ning process. Kirk had experi-
ence with friends trying to plan
a wedding in six months and did
not want to have that experience
planning her wedding.
It was hard, because
initially we didnt know what
we wanted. I know a lot of
women stereotypically have the
wedding planned before they
are engaged. They have the
Cinderella fairytale planned,
and that wasnt me. I was not
the person that had everything
fgured out and had the scrap-
book just waiting for someone
to propose, Kirk said.
The couple took care to work
out the larger issues in the plan-
ning process before diving into
the details including location,
caterers, and decorations. They
had to make reservations for the
location the wanted a year in
advance.
The lesson we learned is
that if you dont have the big el-
ements like catering, the recep-
tion hall, the DJif you dont
have that before Valentines
Day of the next year, youre not
going to have it, Kirk said.
Kirks search for the per-
fect dress was one of the many
details to be worked out. Kirk
would Skype and call her
mother, who lived in Califor-
nia, after every appointment to
discuss the dresses.
Eventually, Kirk found the
one. She recalls sending her
mother a photo and calling her
right away.
She started to cry on the
phone, and I knew from her
reaction and the looks on my
bridesmaids faces, that wed
found a winner, Kirk said.
But if there was one most
diIfcult part oI the planning, it
was the invites, oddly enough.
Liz wanted to design them.
More hours went into this than
any other part, Faulkner said.
Designing invitations early
will force all other aspects to
be taken care of because the
catering, venue, registries, and
schedule all have to be in order
by the time the invites are sent,
he said.
All these preparations can
be diIfcult to navigate, but the
couple manages to stay relaxed.
Every time it gets stressful,
we could just take a deep breath
and say, Its OK, were going
to Florida. Thats kind of been
our rock, said Kirk.
Kirk and Faulkner have
planned a two week honeymoon
in Florida.
It gives you a goal to strive
for and a light at the end of the
dark tunnel, which is engage-
ment, Faulkner said.
After Faulkner graduates, the
couple will move to Cincin-
nati, Ohio, where he will attend
Cincinnati Christian University
pursuing a Master of Arts in
Theology.
Were ready to be mar-
ried. Well be happier and less
stressed, Kirk said.
Engagement sucks,
Faulkner said. The only way
you can mediate it is if you
spend a lot of time together.
Youre not really dating, but
youre not married, either.
Youre just in limbo. If it was a
matter of our relationship, we
would have gotten married the
night I proposed.
Neither Kirk nor Faulkner
are nervous about getting mar-
ried partly due to planning far in
advance.
Even if everything we want
to happen fails, we will be mar-
ried at the end of the day, and
thats really all that matters,
Faulkner said.
Who could ask for anything
more? Kirk added. Sure Ill
be upset if the cake falls over,
or the wrong food shows up, but
hey, at least well have a good
story to tell. I get to stand in
front of our friends and family
and pledge to God that Ill stay
by his side for the rest of my
life. I couldnt get any luckier,
so Im not nervous one bit.
kdrapkin@hillsdale.edu
Kelsey Drapkin
Collegian Freelancer
WEDDING TRENDS
WINTER
Elegant and formal weddings are gaining ground
this year in the wake of the royal wedding.
Long sleeves are
back, thanks to Kate
Middletons spec-
tacular dress by Sarah
Burton for Alexander
McQueen.
DIY chandeliers
made from ribbon
and waxed paper
add elegance and
diffuse the harsh
lighting to be
found in some
venues.
Lace not only dons
dressed and decora-
tions but cakes as
well! Marzipan and
delicately piped
butter-cream can be
used to create this
romantic effect.
Candy tables are a great way
for guests to mix and match
their own gifts and satiate a
post-cake sweet-tooth.
Babys breath, with its
ethereal appearance and
lace-like texture is a great
way to create volume
without allot of cost.
AUTUMN
Rustic weddings give a homey and casual
fair to weddings, incorporating lots oI per-
sonal details and warm elements.
Illusion necklines are a great way to in-
corporate the immensely popular lace into
a gown without risking the doily effect
while remaining modest and fashionable.
Tarts and pies are not going to re-
place wedding cakes for good any
time soon, but dozens of brides are
turning to this tasty alternative.
Candid shots
are great for
capturing
memories with-
out spending
hours primping
and posing.
Comfort food, such as
mashed potatoes, mac n
cheese, and meatloaf high-
light the family-get-togeth-
er aspect of weddings.
SUMMER
Green weddings bring an environmental
awareness to the festivities, often utilizing
local produce and fowers as well as taking
advantage of outdoors areas.
One-shouldered dresses lend
a modern fair to bridal gowns,
providing an alternative to the
traditional strapless princess
gown. Laura George Designs,
Photo by Shima Studios
Peonies and dahlias re-
ally fesh out bouquets and
centerpieces, providing lush,
textural displays.
Cupcakes will continue to
maintain their popularity, cut-
ting costs and reducing waste.
Panoramic photos
incorporate the wedding
as well as the party,
showcasing the special
venue selected for the
special day.
DIY video invites cut
down on paper that will
eventually hit the trash
and provide couples with
a chance to show off their
creativity and artistic fair.
Popsicles are a fun way
to incorporate local
fruits and juices into
the wedding, especially
when matured with
additions such as vodka
or Baileys Irish cream.
Personalization is the main trend for 2012 weddings,
inspiring couples across the country to embrace an as-
sortment of fun and quirkv elements to reect their tastes
and personalities. But some trends still seem to stand
out, strutting the runways, walking the aisles, and mak-
ing waves in the bridal industry.
SPRING
Vintage weddings began to gain
popularity a couple years ago but are
taking center stage in a big way this
year, taking inspiration from the 50s
and 60s as well as fea market fnds.
Cookies bring a sweet touch,
especially when made from
old family recipes and paired
with milk, served in cham-
pagne or shot glases!
Galoshes and umbrellas are a
fun accessory enabling brides
to hold outdoor photo-shoots as
planned, even if April showers
crash the wedding.
Flowerless bouquets take
center stage when crafted
from antique broaches or
paper fowers, leaving brides
with an ageless alternative
they might not want to toss.
Vintage
Green
Elegant
Rustic
DIY headpieces save a good
deal of money, whether its deco-
rating a comb or headband with
fowers and seed pearls or mak-
ing your own veil with a plastic
comb and a yarn of chiffon.
Formal portraiture nods to the
royal wedding, providing a sense
oI refnement welcomed by tradi-
tional brides.
DIY centerpieces
using autumn
leaves, river rock,
or even lace and
burlap tucked into
Mason jars give a
cheap alternative
to costly cascades
of blossoms.
Carnations are another cheap
and seasonable answer to one
of the unexpectedly large wed-
ding costs: fowers.
Arts
Say I do
Blush and pale gold dresses spotted the
runways this year and are expected to
join white and cream as bridal staples.
Since tea-length dresses are also gaining
popularity, 1950s prom dresses could
easily be seen walking the aisle.
(Shannon Odell/Collegian)
(Shannon Odell/Collegian)
(Roxanne Turnbull/Collegian)
(Shannon Odell/Collegian)
(Shannon Odell/Collegian)
(Roxanne Turnbull/Collegian)
(Courtesy of Beth Buwalda)
(Tory Cooney/Collegian)
Design by Katherine Yelken, Photos by Andy Yelken
By Tory Cooney
(Elena Salvatore/Collegian)
(Elena Salvatore/Collegian)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* stock photo
ARTS
16 Feb. 2012 B2 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
!
IN FOCUS
EVAN BRUNE
On marriage:
A male perspective
I may be going against the usual trend here at Hillsdale, but
the whole idea of ring by spring is the scariest thing I have ever
heard. In fact, the mere mention of it sets my teenage anti-com-
mitment alarm screaming, which usually manifests itself exter-
nally with a nervous chuckle and a drawn-out, Yeahhhbout
that
What I have garnered from my extensive experience with all
things marital (two hours spent awkwardly standing around at a
friends reception) is that the wedding is all about the girl. Men
are missing out on some awesome opportunities by letting women
plan out their Disney-based fantasies. Lets think about it: if a guy
were put in charge of his own wedding, itd probably end up with
a crowd in football jerseys standing in front of a beer fountain
screaming, GIT R DUUUN! while the rings are brought in by
a Special Forces team as the fuel-air explosions rock the founda-
tions of the church, barely drowning out the sound of the heavy
metal band in front of the Jesus statue. If you do not feel the urge
to high-fve someone aIter that image, you are not a real man.
A wedding also gives you a chance to spend money like the
president! Seriously, just blow everything you have and more.
Car? Sold. Apartment? Gone! Her parents retirement savings?
HAH! Just dump that sucker right into the wedding coffer!
You only get one chance to celebrate the disappearance of your
independence and freedom, so why not go out with a bang? No,
seriously. Im thinking cannons. Please? If you do, Ill go. Think
about the bonds youll forge with each other as youre living out
of a box on Main Street. I can already see the divorce rates plum-
meting.
I havent even gotten to the best part of all of this yet. Re-
member the whole Til death do us part thing? Yeah, buddy,
you can do whatever you want now! You are not trying to impress
anyone anymore. You could eat Doritos and chocolate covered
bacon for every meal! What could she possibly do? Ill tell you
what: absolutely nothing. Your very souls have been entwined by
God. There is no way she is getting out of that knot.
Marriage will be the greatest party of your life. You can do
whatever you want with nobody to tell you otherwise, and who
hasnt wanted to blow all the cash they have on something that
only lasts for eight hours? It is going to be theOh, wait, she
wants kids? Well, you are screwed.
ebrune@hillsdale.edu
The trailer for Safe House was awe-
some. When Denzel Washington told a
young CIA agent that I am already in your
head, it became a must-see movie. Who
wouldnt want to see him manipulate and
charm his way through two hours of an inter-
national espionage thriller?
So much potential. So little accomplished.
The basic plot is familiar. Rogue agent
Tobin Frost (Washington) is in Cape Town,
South Africa, trying to sell a secret that im-
plicates corrupt high-level CIA oIfcials.
With the ubiquitous Eastern European
thugs closing in, Frost takes refuge in the
American consulate and turns himself over to
the CIA. But whoever wanted to kill Frost in
the frst place isn`t giving up. A bloody gun-
fght later, the only agent still alive is rookie
Matt Weston, played with lots of vulnerabil-
ity by Ryan Reynolds.
At this point, the movie essentially be-
comes Weston chasing Frost through Cape
Towns streets, slums and soccer stadiums.
Along the way, he learns some shocking
secrets about the CIA, unless youve seen
the Jason Bourne movies, in which case you
know whats coming.
Its impossible not to compare this movie
to the Bourne trilogy: unfavorably, as it
turns out. Reynolds simply cant carry a
movie like this. He is too nice and sympa-
thetic, and too short on Matt Damons lock-
jawed determination.
Washington, meanwhile, shows why hes
a multiple-Oscar-winning star. The best parts
of Safe House come when Frost, dripping
with seductive sangfroid, plays psychological
games of cat-and-mouse with his would-be
captors. Reynolds is also at his best when in-
teracting with Washington, struggling to keep
his values and his sanity in the face of Frosts
dominating presence.
Unfortunately, these scenes make up
far too little of the movie. Director Daniel
Espinosa has all the pieces for a phenomenal
thriller, but most of the screen time is spent
on running, punching, and erratic machine-
gun fring. Weston and Frost remain undevel-
oped, and forget about any secondary charac-
ters. Westons girlfriend Ana (French actress
Nora Arnezeder), for instance, is really only
there to look good in advertisements.
Washington is devilishly Iun Ior about fve
minutes, and female moviegoers probably
fnd Reynolds easy on the eyes despite his
character`s shortcomings. But you can fnd
something better to do with your evening.
Have you seen the trailer for Act of Valor?
Now that looks sweet.
ptimmis@hillsdale.edu
Patrick Timmis
News Editor
Ill admit it: I have a low tolerance for
cheesy romance movies. Yet there I was, sit-
ting in the theater on the opening weekend of
the Vow, surprised by an endearing and sigh-
inducing movie that did not have the typical
nauseating predictability. The chick fick,
featuring the washboard abs of Channing Ta-
tum and the cutesy star of The Notebook,
Rachel McAdams, turned out to be different
than your average Valentine`s Day flm.
Early on we see the love and marriage
between Leo (played by Tatum) and Paige
(McAdams). Their relational quirks are high-
lighted, all with Tatums charming narrative
of special moments together. These moments,
he says, defne us how we`ve come to be
who we are.
When a car accident takes Paiges short-
term memory, erasing memories of their
relationship and marriage, Leo works to earn
her back and make her fall in love again.
The story takes us on an emotional roller
coaster as Leo refects on their relationship
and Paige attempts to ft back into a world
with fve years missing. The ghosts oI old
boyfriends, high school friends, and family
feuds threaten to replace Leo, and he steps up
to the challenge by showing his dedication to
her. Part of Paiges journey of re-assimilation
includes a search for true identity.
The struggles of trying to make her
remember, of putting the pieces together
again, are heart-wrenching. With each new
endeavor to win her back, hope dangles
precipitously in anticipation of that moment
that she might recall their life together. Leo
works so diligently at winning her back that
the viewer wants to remember for her, just to
end his agony.
The impressionable part of this movie
was the human element the arguments
weren`t petty, the confict and emotion were
believable, and the tears felt real. Leos ro-
mancing of Paige goes to a whole new level
of commitment, perseverance, devotion, and
yes, love.
Men, beware. If you take your girlfriend
to go see this movie, be prepared to be chal-
lenged. Tatums husband role has enough
reality to strike a chord with everyone, his
anger and frustration mixed with attentive-
ness and commitment, making it sigh-worthy
for the fairer sex and raising the bar for those
who wish to emulate him. Its a perfect re-
lease in time Valentines Day a representa-
tion of real life, real heartache, and real love.
nmitchell@hillsdale.edu
Natalie Mitchell
Collegian Freelancer
The Vow: A heart-warming surprise
Safe House: An unfortunate letdown
From Central Hall to apple orchards:
Senior Kyle Forti and his fancee Hope Nowak are what
you could call high school sweethearts. When he moved
to Michigan to go to college and she stayed in California,
they made it work by developing their own way of staying
close despite more than 2,000 miles separating them.
We always sent each other our itinerary before we
visited, Forti said. So I photoshopped my itinerary and
surprised her at the hotel she was staying at with her fam-
ily at 4 a.m. and said, come with me. I started driving and
asked her where she wanted to go
' I said Carmel, the most romantic place on earth
' Where I was driving already.
After driving most of the night, they arrived at about 10
a.m. and walked together on the beach the beach where
he would propose that very morning.
It was the same beach [where] my grandparents got
married, we were engaged, and were getting married,
Nowak said.
The week following graduation, the two will be married
in Carmel. After being engaged for almost a year and a
half and spending months apart because of distance and
school, they will fnally be together.
I guess you could say we knew what we wanted, even
if we didnt know at the time, Forti said.
For seniors Nikki Yancho and fance Logan Shoup, loca-
tion was crucial for both the engagement and the wedding
plans.
Id been planning on asking her for a while, Shoup
said. She loves apple orchards, and I found a couple right
around here. I was going to take her to pick apples and then
get around to asking her there, but it turned out there were
no pick-your-own apple orchards.
After driving around to a couple different orchards for
a few hours, I looked up more orchards on my phone, she
said.
By then I began to suspect something, Yancho said.
We ended up at this orchard after driving several hours
from Hillsdale, and we were the only ones in the whole
orchard.
I found one on my phone and [when we arrived] he
got me jumping for high up apples and then when I turned
around he proposed! Yancho said.
The couple has rented out the Hillsdale College Arbore-
tum and McNamara Hall for June 22, 2013.
We found its kind of our place, he said.
'It makes sense it`s a place that fts us, she said.
Senior Casey Holmes and fance Jon Gregg ,11,
reached new heights the night Gregg popped the ques-
tion.
I always told him I would only go up [to the top
of Central Hall] if he got signed permission from the
president to go up, Holmes said. And he did! Dr.
Arnn gave him permission, and I knew he was going to
propose.
After arriving in Hillsdale several hours before she
expected him to, Gregg got some friends to bring her
in Iront oI Central Hall where he was waiting with
signed permission to ascend Central Hall together.
And then he proposed on top of Central Hall at
about 3:45 in the morning, she said. It was really
important to me that he took the initiative and picked
the ring and decided when to propose, and he did.
Having been engaged for only a little over a week,
Holmes said the daze hasnt quite worn off and wed-
ding planning will commence sometime in the near
future.
In proposing to senior Natalie Kerner, Carl Avery 11 mixed
the perfect amount of romantic spontaneity with planning ahead
to sweep her off her feet.
Over Fall Break I went to visit him in Virginia where he
is going to law school, she said. On Friday he was going to
take me to the beach after his classes, and then he called me in
the morning saying he had overslept and just wanted to skip his
classes and take me to the beach he picked out.
Keeping her convinced it was a happy accident, Avery had
time to prepare the whole morning.
He surprised me with a picnic and made a bunch of really
good food I think I started suspecting around then and
then he proposed on the beach.
While their plans arent complete yet, the couple will be
married on July 29 of this year and are continuing to plan while
apart.
At times it is best to wait for that perfect moment, and in others it is your actions
which make the perfect moment. In the case of Junior Amanda Rubino and
Chuck Grimmet, 12 the moment was made by the inability to wait.
It was over Christmas break, he had the ring for two days and had breakfast
with my dad to ask permission. He was going to wait till Spring Break, but he
couldnt wait, Rubino said. I went out with his family for dinner, and he just
couldnt wait. He called me at 12 a.m. and woke me up and asked me to meet
him at the front door with my coat. He normally plans everything ahead to keep
things in order and work perfectly, but he isnt like that with me, she said.
'We went on a walk and he took me to where he frst kissed me and pro-
posed, she said, and I thought it was perfect.
Rubino and Grimmet are planning their wedding for June 22, 2013, after she
has completed her degree.
(Joelle Lucas/Collegian)
(Courtesy of Amanda Rubino)
(Courtesey of Natalie Kerner)
(Courtesey of Casey Holmes)
(Courtesey of Kyle Forti)
Teddy Sawyer
Collegiain Reporter
Hillsdale couples share their stories
Director of Mary Randall Preschool Stacy Vondra
loves Hillsdale as both a school and a community
Pr a c t i c a l a r t i s t r y
SPACES
B3 16 Feb. 2012 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
In Their Eyes
Sharon Barrett
Collegian Freelancer

After her graduation from Hillsdale
College, Stacy (Bryan) Vondra 95
didnt move across the country like
most graduates. She simply moved
next door.
Hillsdale College is more than an
alma mater, she said. It is part of my
life. I think once you have the Hillsdale
College experience, nothing matches
it.
Vondra 95 is in her seventh year as
director of the Mary Randall Preschool
on Hillsdales campus. Tucked among
the trees next to Mauck Residence, the
small, domed building is easy to miss.
But for Vondra, it is where she makes
a difference in childrens lives, as well
as a nexus of relationships between stu-
dents, faculty, and the wider Hillsdale
community.
Vondra graduated from Hillsdale
in May 1995, and was hired as head
teacher at the preschool just three
months after graduation.
During her time as a student, she
completed her student teaching and
received the Outstanding Student
Teacher award. She volunteered at the
preschool while pursuing a triple minor
in english, Spanish, and early child-
hood education.
Vondra now teaches two education
courses and supervises between 30 and
40 student volunteers each semester.
Vondra was inspired to choose
Hillsdale by her high school Spanish
professor, who was an alumnus.
I was very well prepared for
graduate work because of [Hillsdales]
rigor, she said.
As a Ireshman, however, fve hours
from her home in Boyne City, Mich.,
Vondra said she was able to make the
transition to college life in part because
of Hillsdales unique strength: faculty
who build supportive relationships with
students.
Dr. Kathy Connor [then director
of the preschool] took me under her
wing. She was my mentor, Vondra
said. I still talk with her several times
a week.
In addition to Connor, Vondra said
many of the professors who had a
memorable impact on her still teach
at Hillsdale: for instance, Professors
of Spanish Sandra Puvogel, Carmen
Wyatt-Hayes, and Kevin Teegarden.
Vondra was active on campus as
a member of Student Federation and
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and still
keeps in touch with many of her soror-
ity sisters.
Vondras face glows with happiness
as she describes her job at the pre-
school, especially the joy of watching
student volunteers interact with the
children.
Working in this building is the
greatest place on campus, she said.
I have an opportunity to work with a
wide age range and affect education at
many levels.
About a third of the children en-
rolled at the preschool are children or
grandchildren of Hillsdale faculty and
administration. The rest belong to fami-
lies from the surrounding community.
The preschool curriculum covers
nine learning areas including cognition,
language, and character development.
People call it liberal arts for the
preschool child, Vondra said.
For instance, Professor of Chemistry
Chris Van Orman recently came down
to make slime with the children.
AIter a feld trip in which the children
learned about fossils, a preschooler
who found a sparkly rock insisted,
I want to send this specimen to Dr.
Swinehart!
So Vondra made sure he was able to
do so.
Vondra said she enjoys impacting
college students as well as preschool-
ers. Today, she said, students who she
taught in the preschool are now her
college advisees.
They come to me for their class
schedule, and for advice and counsel,
she said. Theyre still seeking guid-
ance at a different life stage. Thats
a real treasure. Its unique and yet so
rewarding.
Vondra received her masters degree
in child development from Michigan
State University. She has always had
a special interest in how children with
language disorders learn, so she is cur-
rently pursuing a second masters
degree in speech language pathol-
ogy.
Vondra sees the preschool as
an opportunity for students of any
major to gain experience with
children. For instance, she said,
students majoring in business may
want to open a childcare center
in a corporate setting. Students
majoring in speech or psychology
may be preparing for competitive
graduate programs in speech pa-
thology or other felds where they
plan to work with children.
For Vondra, working with chil-
dren is not only an aspect of the
many ways a person can serve others,
but it may open the door to a life call-
ing. When seeking student volunteers
for the preschool, Vondra said, she
encourages them with her own story,
saying: This could be you!
Vondra sees relationships as the life-
blood of Hillsdales educational experi-
ence, something that has not changed
since she matriculated.
Facilities are updated, she said,
but the heart of the campus is still
constant and essential.
The same supportive network she
found as an undergraduate she now
enjoys as a member of the faculty and
of the community.
Vondras husband works as super-
intendent of Hillsdale Community
Schools, and she volunteers in the
school system as frequently as she can.
Ive always been community-
minded, she said, whether that means
working as a reading tutor or teaching
Sunday school in her parish.
For college students, Vondra said,
the city of Hillsdale may not have
much appeal because students tend
to look within their college networks
for their sense of belonging and to see
volunteerism as reaching out into a
community outside them. But, When
youre ready to raise a family, its what
youre looking for.
Vondra considers Hillsdaleboth
the College and the communityher
home.
Its more than volunteering, she
said. Its a sense of belonging, beyond
the college.
sbarrett@hillsdale.edu

She was a force of nature, built like a tank and utterly ageless.
That isnt what you want, she informed Assistant Professor
of Music Rene Clark, then a recent transplant to New York City
in search of a ball of yarn for a repair project. Before the younger
woman could respond, a set of needles were stuck into her hands.
And the next thing I knew, I was knitting, Clark said, who has
since become an avid and impressive knitter, recreating a Victorian
lace shawl from the original pattern. The shawl took more than 600
hours to make.
Its a traditional craft and Im all in favor, said Professor of
English John Somerville, who permitts students to knit during his
classes, though few students have taken him up on the offer in
recent years.
'Hillsdale is defnitely an advocate oI tradition and handicraIts,
like knitting and spinning, are all part of that, he said. The click-
ing of knitting needles isnt any more distracting than typing of a
laptop, so I see no problem with it.
Many students across campus engage in various traditional
textile arts, ranging from sophomore Rachel Yerke, who just began
knitting in October, to senior Becky Schoon, who began crocheting
at the age of six.
The reasons why these various students began to knit vary,
though most cite mothers or friends willing to teach them. Their
reasons for continuing to knit, however, are largely the same: a love
of the craft, and knittings relaxing quality that earned it the title of
the new yoga in a New Jersey newspaper.
I dont knit things to be hung on a wall, Clark said.
Instead, she knits items for friends and family as well as herself,
also sending an annual box full of childrens and babys items to the
Indian reservation where she spent a good deal of her childhood.
There is just something really fundamental about making some-
thing to keep a baby warm, said juniorAlexandra Allen, whose frst
major knitting project was a baby blanket for her goddaughter.
Its really satisfying to make something that someone wears. Its
one of my favorite things, she said.
Its crafting something, Yerke said. You didnt just go out and
buy it.
The ability to directly impact someones personal comfort along
with creating something beautiful is one of the most unique aspects
of knitting, Allen said.
Its very human, a product of skill and work, and a type of
everyday beauty that is very important, she said.
Last year, a group of Hillsdale students formed a club named
Sticks and Strings, to work on their own projects in a group as a
break from their academic endeavors.
We would meet to talk about our days and weeks, knit for a
couple hours, and then go do homework, said Schoon, a previous
member. You cant think about other things too deeply or youll
mess up, so you have no other options but to relax.
AIter all oI the club`s oIfcers graduated last year, the club didn`t
hold elections to obtain new oIfcers to complete the annual applica-
tion Ior oIfcial club status, said Allen, also a previous member.
Id love to do that again. she said. I dunno, we think
about all of these high and lofty things here and people just
forget the importance of a practical skill.
Through Shelly, the Russian-Jewish woman who taught
her to knit, Clark met a motley group of women who
dubbed themselves The Monday Knights of the Knitting
Order and would meet once a week to meet and talk.
They were wonderful women. Wonderful. But under
other circumstances, we would never have met, much less
spent time together, Clark said.
There was a young Asian woman with a child affected
by Downs Syndrome who didnt speak much English, a
quirky psychologist, two enthusiastically liberal Russian-
Jewish immigrants, and the quiet and conservative Mi-
chelle, Clark said.
Knitting was this great equalizer. You just talk, Clark
said. Talking and knitting. Its beautiful.
My fellow knitters are also very happy Ive joined the
dark side.the knitting side, said Yerke. I am too.
vcooney@hillsdale.edu
Tory Cooney
Copy Editor
SPACES
B4 16 Feb. 2012 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
I N HE R I T I NG A DR E A M
Sarah Anne Voyles
Collegian Reporter
Senior Ashlee
LeCompte has spent
her whole life around
horses. From delivering
her first foal at age 8 to
participating in horse
shows for her entire life,
horses are LeComptes
life. After graduating
from graduate school,
her dreams will become
reality as she goes on
to inherit her familys
horse farm. (Courtesy of
Ashlee LeCompte)
Senior Ashlee LeCompte has a
dream-come-true on her horizon.
The farm girl from Oakwood, Ill.
will inherit the family farm after
completing graduate school at
Michigan State University.
LeCompte is going to gradu-
ate school for an Animal Science
degree, specializing in equine. She
and her mother made an agreement
that LeCompte could receive the
Iamily Iarm upon fnishing graduate
school.
She loves going home to ride
and is good friends with the trainers,
so it never crossed her mind that
she would not go back to either her
family farm or start her own, said
senior Sally Klarr.
In 1991, The LeCompte family
moved to their
family farm in
order to make
room for their
growing family.
There were only
about 10 stalls
and fve or six
boarders.
The farm was
named Oak-
wood Farms for
her grandfather
who grew up in
Oakwood, Ill.
LeCompte
frst delivered a Ioal in eighth grade,
when their mare, Annie, gave birth
to a foal named Bella.
'So we are down by the feld and
all of a sudden this mare drops a
foal, LeCompte said.
About two years later, Bella got
her face stuck in a hayrack. The
accident ripped three nerves from
the horses face, and the family was
certain the young horse would never
be ft to ride again. That was when
they decided to breed Bella, who
was a beautiful black horse. Now
they have a third generation foal at
the farm.
LeCompte received her frst
horse after she joined a pony club.
Her mom had a few conditions,
however. She would have to wake
up at 5 a.m. in the morning before
school to go feed and turn out the
horse.
It taught me a lot of responsi-
bility. It is like having a dog, but
a very high maintenance dog,
LeCompte said.
LeCompte grew up riding in
shows, and it was at her frst show
that she Iound her very frst horse:
her beloved Trixie.
'My frst pony was really awIul.
She would throw me off whenever
she could, LeCompte said.
LeCompte was at her frst show
when her horse dumped her off
right in the middle of the arena. Her
mom, upset with the horse, went
right into the arena to teach the
horse a lesson. The horse dumped
her right off, too, LeCompte said.
That is when the horse was
sold. LeComptes mother found the
owner oI the frst-place horse and
asked to buy her. That was Trixie.
She wanted me riding a good
horse, LeCompte
said.
It was during
her sophomore year
that LeCompte took
horse-riding as a
physical education
course so that she
could continue to
train and be ready
for summer shows.
However, with the
demands of school,
LeCompte was not
able to visit Trixie
enough. It became
necessary for the horse to go back
to Oakwood Farms.
Growing up on Oakwood Farms
has given LeCompte ample experi-
ence to run the place. That experi-
ence has also aided LeCompte in
her entrance into grad school. She
said it was great to enter MSU with
the extra practice oI delivering
horses at home.
Now LeCompte plans to go
home before heading off to MSU to
receive her masters. This summer,
LeCompte will be an apprentice to
the Oakwood Farm manager, Mer-
edith Burgess.
Ashlee will be doing everything
that I do and then some; it is tough
being an intern, Burgess said.
Oakwood Farms is very family-
oriented.
The barn has since expanded
aIter a fre back in the early 2000`s.
It now has 60 stalls with 45 horses
currently living there. There is also
a full-service operating room, where
LeCompte hopes to bring a full-time
veterinarian in the future.
Burgess said that running a
boarding barn is like working retail
you have to make sure that cus-
tomers are happy.
Once the summer is over,
LeCompte will head off to MSU
with her two horses so that she can
continue to train. Even so, she will
come home to her farm each sum-
mer and work there.
I want to live there until I die,
LeCompte said. I want to raise my
children there so that they can have
the same experiences I did.
svoyles@hillsdale.edu
Style: Mountain Romantic

Fashion Icons: My grand-
mother. She was just classy and el-
egant in everything she did. She had
beauty on the outside and the inside
regardless of what she wore. ats
my goal.
Favorite Designers: Fossil,
Ralph Lauren, Eddie Bauer, Lands
End

Fashion and Literature:
Literature transports you to another
place, and I think clothing does too.
Fashion in and of itself is trivi-
al. But the eects it can have on
a person are important.
Condence is very important.
e way you dress can have
a big impact on your atti-
tude. I feel sorry for people
who wear sweats everyday. I
feel like they arent living up
to their full potential.
With experiences ranging from deliveries to dressage, senior Ashlee LeCompte is ready to inherit her familys horse farm
Compiled by Rachel Hofer; photographs by Mel Caton
CAMPUS CHIC
MacKenzie McGrath
Freshman English Major
Colorado Springs, Colorado
I want to live there
until I die. I want to
raise my children
there so that they can
have the same experi-
ences I did.
Senior Ashlee
LeCompte