Men’s Basketball:
See A10
Courtesy | Summer Fields
Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
School Threats:
Physics Students:
Courtesy | Corey Murray
Courtesy | Stephanie Lauback
Schools in the Hillsdale area have recieved threats lately, leading to shutdowns. See A7
Charger men’s basketball is currently ranked first in its conference.
Three physics students traveled to a conference to present a collaborative research project. See B4
Vol. 146 Issue 18 – February 16, 2023
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Security College offers for-credit online learning for high school students increases By Josh Newhook Digital Editor
Seniors Colton Duncan and Eleanor Hansen were named President’s Ball king and queen. Courtesy | Student Activities Board
Q&A: President’s Ball King and Queen By Quinn Delamater Collegian Freelancer
demic support but mostly for their kindness and wisdom.
Hillsdale College seniors Eleanor Hansen and Colton Duncan were crowned President’s Ball king and queen at the Student Activities Board’s event this past weekend. Hansen is a biochemistry major from San Diego, California. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
How do you feel about being chosen as queen and what does that mean to you? It was a great surprise but a tremendous honor. To be recognized with so many amazing men and women who have shaped my time on campus means a lot to me. I never felt that I was prepared for the character formation or even academic culture of the college, so it felt like being told “no, you do belong here, and as much as you have chosen Hillsdale we too have chosen you.” That was a very kind thing.
What has your overall experience been at Hillsdale so far? It’s been wonderful, looking back as a senior I’m very grateful for how I have had four years of consistent growth with friends and faculty. It’s a real privilege to be here. What are your favorite memories from your time at Hillsdale? I look back most fondly on my time in the Collegiate Scholars program and unique opportunities to travel. I went on a trip to Greece once. What do you hope to accomplish after Hillsdale? To be happy and to love and serve God, whatever that looks like. I plan on going to medical school. What has been your favorite class? Am I allowed to answer “all of my chemistry classes?” The chemistry faculty is simply wonderful. But if I had to pick only one course, it would be microbiology. I loved the material. What have you learned from friends and professors? How important it is to come alongside. My professors and friends alike have met me where I am at, offering graciousness and support no matter the challenge. I didn’t have a lot of good friends before I came here, so learning how to have real friendships and being willing to change and grow with other people has been one of the greatest gifts of Hillsdale. Who have your mentors on campus been? Dr. Hamilton, Dr. Kiledal, and Dr. Maas come to mind immediately. For their aca-
How has Hillsdale prepared you for what you’re setting out to do next in life? My education here has shaped how I understand human beings and my experiences of friendship. As I pursue a path in medicine, the understanding of people as mind, body, and soul that Hillsdale has instilled will shape everything I do, not just as a doctor but also in and for my family and church. I am so grateful for this place. Duncan is a double major in classics and international business studies from Cincinnati, Ohio. What has your overall experience been at Hillsdale so far? It’s been really wonderful. It’s been a place of great friendship and really strong community; the community focused on the mission of the college has made it that. We’re all sharpening each other toward the same goals. What are your favorite memories from your time at Hillsdale? My time with the Niedfeldt guys. A lot of our experiences at homecoming, like winning Mock Rock for the first time in Niedfeldt history last year. We had a massive party in the lobby and so many people came, that the building was basically shaking. It was the most crowded I’d ever seen the dorm.
See Pres Ball A2
Hillsdale has enrolled 66 high school students in online courses for college credit this semester in a test program that eventually could become widely available to high school students everywhere. The venture seeks to fulfill the college’s mission to provide a Hillsdale education to anyone who’s “willing and able” in a time when a lot of students are willing, but might not be able to be admitted, according to Director of Online Learning Kyle Murnen. “There aren’t a lot of schools like Hillsdale. If you want to study the things we study here, it can be hard to find them,” Murnen said. “We are taking some students that would otherwise be unable to receive the education.” The three-credit classes for the test group cost $300 per student, and include two sections on American government and two sections on American history, according to Associate Director of Admissions Matt Sauer. The American government sections are live on Zoom and led by graduate students Joey Barretta and Stephen Goniprow. The history courses include a recorded component featuring Professors of History Wilfred McClay and Brad Birzer available on Canvas. The group also offers
patrols after MSU shooting
group Zoom meetings with Assistant Professors of History Miles Smith IV and Jason Gehrke. “The hope was to cut down on the need to do live instruction three days a week,” Sauer said. “But this is a test, so we’re figuring out if that’s actually going to save them some time or if it’s the same amount of work.” Students can use the courses as elective credits at Hillsdale or to satisfy graduation requirements at other schools, similar to with Advanced Placement classes. The courses, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, do not satisfy core requirements at Hillsdale, nor are they meant to replace Hillsdale’s dual-enrollment program, which currently allows high school students within a 25-mile radius of campus to take courses in person, according to Murnen. Sauer said juniors and seniors from any school environment across the country and internationally can apply. The application includes an essay and requires a GPA of 3.4 or higher. Sauer said the COVID-19 pandemic began the idea of online for-credit classes for high school students. “Not that we prefer online teaching, but if we could offer some of the core classes to people who are still in high school, they can transfer where they go while exposing
them to our faculty and to our way of teaching,” Sauer said. “The dream is to do online learning but to make it as Hillsdalian as possible.” Sauer sent an email last October to Hillsdale students who were homeschooled, asking them to spread the word about the online courses to other homeschooled students. “Our goal was to get 60 students, and we have 66,” Sauer said. “We have two sections of each class, so we had to increase the capacity for the government course from 15 to 18 students each.” McClay and Birzer recorded 28 lectures for the recorded section of the history class covering Christopher Columbus through the American Civil War and Reconstruction last August and September, according to Birzer. In addition, they have recorded 26 of 28 lectures for the second course in the series, covering America’s Gilded Age through the present. “Even though the Hillsdale College American Heritage course is a one-semester course, we made it a two-semester course online,” Birzer said. “It’s more typical at colleges to offer two semesters of American history – so we followed that pattern rather than Hillsdale’s.”
See Online A2
See Shooting A7
American people. And I think that those two faiths are going to be responsible for rescuing our country, which must be done, by the way.” Viguerie, who began working on Hillsdale’s national marketing with Arnn 2o years ago, said he was humbled to receive the award. “To receive the Freedom Leadership Award and have my name appear alongside Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Vaclav Havel, Bill Buckley Jr., Jeane Kirkpatrick, Charlton Heston, and Justice Clarence Thomas is something of dreams,” Viguerie said in his acceptance speech. Viguerie said most major institutions in America today, including Big Tech, Hollywood, the nonprofit community, and unions, are hostile to traditional values and freedom. “In the 1960s through the 1990s, there was a cultural war raging, but most conservatives were not aware of it, and we lost the cultural war,” Viguerie said. “Today, it’s important to recognize we’re in a spiritual civil war that the Left has launched against Western Civilization, America, our Constitution, traditional Judeo-Christian moral values and much else we value and hold dear.” Viguerie told audience members they should respond by praying, getting engaged, and stepping up to lead. “Don’t wait for instructions from Dr. Arnn, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Tucker Carlson, or your favorite congressman,”
Viguerie said. “Pick yourself to lead.” Viguerie said conservatives should use alternative media, blog, become political candidates, start or help nonprofits, and volunteer their professional expertise to win the “spiritual civil war” against progressives. “Because the leadership of all major forms of communication/news are censoring conservative news and information, each of us needs to rise to the occasion and become modern-day Paul Reveres,” Viguerie said. Viguerie spends over 60 hours a week working on fighting the “spiritual civil war raging in America,” according to Kathleen Patten, CEO and President of American Target Advertising. Patten said his direct mail donor list has raised billions for conservative causes, political campaigns, and nonprofits. “His nickname ‘the funding father of the conservative movement’ is well-earned,” Patten said.
Vice President for External Affairs Doug Jeffrey said Viguerie’s patriotism has both helped college and the country as a whole. “We owe Richard a lot for helping the college make millions of new friends,” Jeffrey said. “But we owe him much more for his example of enduring faithfulness and of relentless love of country and tireless service to it.” Viguerie has helped spread the college’s values to a wider audience, according to Vice President of Marketing Bill Gray. “At Hillsdale, we teach, and we learn about the highest and best things. And we do this in a spirit of partnership—which is why I am so grateful to Richard for teaching me and others about marketing and fundraising while helping expand the reach and influence of the college,” Gray said. “I’ve known him for 11 years now, and I take him seriously when he says that the best is yet to come, for him and for our country.”
By Logan Washburn City News Editor Hillsdale College Security took extra safety measures Monday night as a man killed three students and wounded five others during a shooting spree at Michigan State University. “We increased our presence and monitored the situation by listening to the radio traffic in real time, as well as monitored the briefings that were given from the incident command on scene in Lansing,” said Associate Director of Security and Emergency Management Joe Kellam. Sophomore Michaela Estruth, an RA in Olds Residence, said she was sitting desk with her friend and saw a notification that there had been a shooting at MSU. “Five minutes later, a security car pulled up in front of Olds,” Estruth said. “They never do that unless we’ve called them.”
Political strategist Richard Viguerie receives Freedom Leadership award at CCA III By Maggie Hroncich Editor-In-Chief Direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie received the college’s highest honor, the Freedom Leadership award, from College President Larry Arnn on Feb. 5. The award, which Arnn bestowed during the Center for Constructive Alternatives on Classical Greece and Rome, recognized the 89-year-old Viguerie for his work as a strategist who helped raise money for conservative causes by making appeals through the mail. In his speech, Arnn referenced William F. Buckley Jr., who previously won the Freedom Leadership award, and Abraham Lincoln. “We have a history with both of those men, and Richard Viguerie takes from both of those men in the making of this career,” Arnn said. “And so, on behalf of this great college, I am honored to give the Freedom Leadership award to Richard Viguerie.” According to Viguerie’s firm, American Target Advertising, he has mailed an estimated 4.6 billion letters in his life. His mailing efforts are known for reshaping American politics, including contributing to the presidential election of Ronald Reagan. Arnn said Viguerie’s work, inspired largely by his sincere beliefs, has helped shape public sentiment. “He’s an extremely faithful man,” Arnn said. “He believes in the power of his cause and he believes in the good of the
Richard Viguerie recieved the Freedom Leadership Award from College President Larry Arnn. Jack Cote | Collegian