Peter Kazarian and Nathan Reynolds with their Chariot Races trophy (left),
Graceland at Taste of Manning (middle), and Rylan Conley (right).
Left Photo Courtesy | Alex Buehrer
Middle and Right Photos Courtesy | Gabriel Beckwith
Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Don Tocco to hold event for extra club support By Ellie Fromm News Editor Student clubs will compete for extra funding at an event hosted by friend of the college Don Tocco on April 23. The clubs will present to Tocco, founder of D.L. Tocco & Associates, a national marketing and business development firm, Athletic Director John Tharp, and Director of Athletic Development Jeff Lantis at 7 p.m. in Plaster Auditorium, with coffee and hors d’oeuvres beginning at 6:30 p.m. All students are invited to attend. “The purpose of the annual Tocco Leadership Challenge is to support and encourage creative and successful leadership efforts on campus,” Tocco said in an email. “Fostering early leadership success at the college level truly prepares students for ‘real world’ scenarios. Each year, we ask the club presidents to step up to the podium and articulate their organization’s purpose, challenges, and various ways that they are helping fellow students or the community at large.” The presentations will focus on the clubs’ mission, goals for growth, impact on the college community, and intended use of the potential funding. “It is important for Hillsdale students to participate at a leadership level to help prepare them for the many and consequential future opportunities that lie ahead once they graduate,” Tocco said. “Never have we needed capable and ethical leadership in government, industry, economics, mass communications, and the sciences more than today.”
By Francesca Cella Assistant Editor
Nine students have graduated with a 4.0 cumulative GPA since 2022, according to a report from the registrar’s office. An average of 141 students
Senior Ross Kuhn hands the baton to senior Seth Jankowski. Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose
record in discus, placing fourth with a mark of 47.24 meters. Lutz won hammer throw, setting a personal best
mark of 55.20 meters, and placed seventh in javelin with a throw of 29.05 meters. “I went in with very little expectations because I had already thrown decently far last week too,” Lutz said. “Every weekend I feel like it’s up in the air how it’s going to go, but we had really good weather, and just having my supportive teammates around me and my family come up to watch — it was just so special.”
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What the duck? Bird craze hits campus By Caroline Kurt Opinions Editor
Amelia King, and Evelyn Shurtliff to the Outer Banks,” Stirton said. “When I was on a run, they
were planning the duck wedding together. Because somehow, I seem like the type of person that would enjoy this.” The friends planned the faux nuptials for Stirton’s 21st birthday. “I was at Rough Draft with my boyfriend Rylan Conley getting a drink,” Stirton said. “Lucy asked me a couple days earlier, ‘Do you want to do something really low key and fun with the girls for your birthday? We’ll set something up in the Arb.’”
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Where are you in the Circles of Hellsdale? — See A3
Alumnus releases new study app with coffee timer By Skye Graham Social Media Manager A Hillsdale alumnus turned his passion for memorizing Scripture into an app that students can use for studying. William Schaerer ’16 created the app Swiftlit after using an online randomization tool to aid in memorizing out of order. “I used to use a random number generator to memorize a lot of scripture quickly,” Schaerer said. “I would actually memorize the verses out of order, so that the hook to memorize would be the number.” He took this idea and turned it into a memorization feature on Swiftlit, which he released for iPhone users this March. Users can input data and quiz themselves on terms and definitions, as well as large chunks of text.
Schaerer’s wife, Chelsea S ch a e re r, s ai d s h e us e s t he f l ashc ard tool in Swiftlit to memorize scripture. “I’ve been able to memorize a couple chapters so far,” she said. “There are multiple options, including hiding words, seeing on ly t he f i rst l e tte r of
How many students have graduated with perfect GPAs since 2022? By Faith Miller Collegian Reporter
Freshman Taylor Brodeur in the steeplechase. Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose
When junior Anna Stirton envisioned her wedding, it didn’t involve a 6-foot flower girl, the Arb, or a giant inflatable duck. But her friends had other ideas. In the final weeks of the semester, a duck craze has struck campus from multiple directions. “Over spring break, I went with Lucy Bachiochi, Jacqueline Roth,
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Vol. 149 Issue 27 – April 23, 2026
Track shatters four records at home The Chargers won 11 events and broke three school records and one Great Midwest Athletic Conference record at the 56th annual Gina Relays hosted at Hillsdale College April 16-18. Junior Amelia Lutz broke her own school record and the G-MAC record in shot put with a throw of 16.55 meters — the farthest throw in NCAA Division II this season, shattering the former G-MAC record of 16.38 meters. Lutz also set the school
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each word, and taking verses out of order.” William Schaerer said he uses vibe coding through Gemini to program t h e app. Vibe coding, a term coined by coder Andrej Keparthy, is a programming technique in which people use AI to help write lines of code.
As a manager at the Hillsdale College Contact Center, William Schaerer started to think about how this concept could help the students he works with. William Schaerer said the reading pacer feature could be especially helpful to students. “When I was assigned a 350-page book in school, I had a hard time figuring out how to pace myself,” William Schaerer said. “I eventually found a really annoying beep and put it on a minute loop.” The reading pacer in Swiftlit is similar. Users can select the amount of pages they want to read and the amount of time they want to read them in, and a noise will sound at an interval so they can pace themselves.
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have a college committed to hiring really good teachers, and then saying, ‘Go do your thing, and we’re not going to hover over you and try to micromanage you,’” Schlueter said. “I don’t think we’ve generally had a problem with easy teachers.”
“It’s not as though all the students have gravitated to the reputational easy teachers, that’s not the case. It’s almost the opposite.” have achieved a 4.0 GPA each semester, during that same time period. The average GPA for men and women in the fall 2025 semester was 3.46. This average has remained relatively consistent for the past five years. “The amount of cumulative GPAs is not super surprising, because Hillsdale’s core is so varied, so inevitably, you’re going to take at least a few classes outside your area of strength,” said Christy Maier, director of Academic Services. “It makes sense that at some point in time, you would come up against something that is a little bit more difficult for you, and thus not have a 4.0.” Students can receive 4.0 GPAs for multiple semesters, but in order to graduate with a 4.0 GPA, they must have a 4.0 GPA every semester. Hillsdale does not have any required grading standards for professors, according to Nathan Schlueter, professor of philosophy and religion. “It’s a great thing when you
Gaining the ability to think critically, write well, and work hard is far more valuable than achieving a 4.0, according to Maier. “Sometimes there are people that get a 4.0. It’s great, but I think for most people, chasing a 4.0 means that they’re not going to pursue other really important goods,” Maier said. Taking classes that a student finds fascinating and challenging are worth taking, for both their interest factor and the growth that comes with them, according to Maier. “I try to steer and encourage students to pick a class where they can succeed, but I feel like success is measured in more than just a grade,” Maier said. “Success factors in all sorts of things, like, how engaged will they be in the class? How much will they learn from a particular class or professor? What do they want to get out of the class?”
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Hillsdale to release its first film next month By Skye Graham Social Media Manager Hillsdale College will release “Revolutionary America” in theaters on May 31 for a threeday run in collaboration with specialty distributor Fathom Entertainment. The documentary, Hillsdale’s first theatrical release, covers the period from the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 through the ratification of the Constitution in 1789. It features interviews with Hillsdale history and politics professors, along with College President Larry Arnn, political commentator Michael Knowles, and author Eric Metaxas. “The question driving the film has been: ‘What kind of
people would put everything on the line against the most powerful nation in the world?’ On paper, it was suicide,” said Ian Reid, the film’s director. “So, why would they do it? Directing this film has been about chasing that question.”
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Michael Knowles in the film. Courtesy | Hillsdale Studios
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