Professors react: 2022 midterms grieve students See a3
Luther chosen as 2023 speaker See a3
Academy of Science and Freedom principles attract more than 6,000 signatures By Annabel Peltzer Collegian Freelancer Hillsdale’s Academy for Science and Freedom collected more than 6,000 signatures for their “Ten Ethical Principles of Public Health” after the release of one promotional email in October. The academy established the principles to reform public health policies following the COVID-19 pandemic. “By putting this document out there for the long term future, more people will sign it,” said Dr. Martin Kulldorff, one of the ASF’s founding fellows. “The more people who accept these principles and discuss them, the harder it will be for future politicians and public health officials to violate them.” Fewer than 400 people signed the principles after founding fellows Kulldorff and doctors Scott Atlas and Jay Bhattacharya released them on Aug. 23. After sending one promotional email to Hillsdale donors in October, the number of signatures skyrocketed, according to Amanda Kitchen, ASF’s organizational developmental lead. Kitchen said traditionally accepted standards between science and ethics became blurred during the pandemic. “Ten Ethical Principles of Public Health is not a revolutionary document,”
Kitchen said. “These are previously fundamental tenets of public health that were widely accepted before the pandemic — and in early 2020, they suddenly became verboten.” Kitchen said the high rate of signatures shows Americans are relieved to see ASF attempting to right the wrongs of COVID-19. “I think many are relieved to see ASF attempting to right this wrong and restore integrity to the practice of public health,” she said, “and they want to add their voice to the growing chorus of supporters.” Sarah Grablick, the college’s director of digital communication and promotion, said the academy strives to bring awareness to the public’s distrust of healthcare policies. “We thought the Ethical Principles were an important statement that had been made not only by the fellows, but by all the other health care folks who wrote it with them,” Grablick said. The principles are giving the public the tools to face future health crises, according to Kitchen. “People's lives have been directly affected by unethical public health policies,” Kitchen said. “The public has done their homework, is bringing knowledge to the table, and is hungry for action, which was evident in the response.”
Vol. 146 Issue 13 - December 1, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron to give 2023 commencement address
By Thomas McKenna Collegian Freelancer
Bishop Robert Barron will be the commencement speaker for the class of 2023, according to an email announcement from Provost Christopher VanOrman’s office Wednesday. “Hillsdale is a Christian college, nonsectarian since its founding,” College President Larry Arnn said. “It holds firmly to the Christian teachings of time immemorial. Bishop Bar-
ron is a great teacher and defender of those truths. It is an honor and blessing to have him.” Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and the Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. Word on Fire seeks to use new forms of media to share the gospel and draw people to the Catholic faith, according to its website. Senior Class President Andrew Davidson said a survey of the senior class
revealed they wanted a religious figure, and Barron was a popular choice. He said he and the other senior class officers recommended Barron to the college administration. “Bishop Barron has an extraordinarily broad reach and effective ministry,” Davidson said. “You see that with the success of his podcasts. I expect that he will deliver a fantastic speech, one that focuses on what Christians have in common and not just on Catholicism
specifically. I'm not Catholic, but I'm excited to hear what he has to say.” Barron rose to prominence through his YouTube videos commenting on popular culture, books, and movies, as well as theological issues. Since then, his YouTube channel has gained more than half-a-million subscribers, and his Facebook page has amassed more than three million followers.
See Barron A2
College community prefers DeSantis to Trump, survey shows
A mockup portrays the new video studio and office space extension at the corner of Union and Fayette streets. Courtesy | Design Collaborative
College to open new video studio Hillsdale College plans to construct a new video studio beginning next year, according to Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé. The studio will be built on the corner of Fayette and Union streets in part of the parking lot next to the Stanton Building for Classical Education and the Founders Gym. The plans for the studio include additional space for teaching online courses and will serve as a lab for documentary filmmaking classes, according to Director of Visual Media Mark Waters. This is the first phase of a larger project. It will also include the construction of a connected building that will house marketing and media offices. “This new studio will be critical to expanding our educational outreach, and several generous donors
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Bishop Robert Barron speaks at a session of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines on Jan. 26. Courtesy | Katarzyna Artymiak
By Meghan Schultz Features Editor
By Josh Newhook Digital Editor
Courtesy | External affairs
Courtesy | Wittenburg Press
Courtesy | External affairs
Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Fight Night: Chi Omega faces Galloway See A3
Commencement chaos:
have already stepped up with lead gifts for the fundraising for this building,” Vice President of Marketing Bill Gray said. Péwé said Chair of the Board of Trustees Pat Sajak gave the lead donor gift of $2.4 million — presently valued at $1.9 million. An anonymous donor gave a $1 million matching gift, leaving about $800,000 left to raise. The donations will cover the studio and mezzanine loft. The first step of the project is to submit an order for the “studio box,” a high-ceiling, heavily insulated concrete structure where the video team can film without interruptions, according to Péwé. “The plan is to build a big-box studio where we can do classes and forum-style videos,” Péwé said. Péwé said the college hopes to settle funding and
order the concrete prefabrication for the project in the spring. Currently, the visual media team uses the small studio in the basement of the Knorr Student Center for filming, Waters said. "It's limited in the amount of content you can put out because you have to change the space every time,” Waters said. “It takes a couple of days to recreate another set so that we can do something different there next.” Gray said the Old Snack Bar is directly above the current studio, which makes recording difficult. “I can remember filming an online course and having to run upstairs to halt a swing club practice because the sound of the students’ heels was being captured on the audio for the course,” Gray said.
See Media A2
Almost 60% of Hillsdale faculty, staff, and students said they favor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, according to a Collegian survey of 166 people. Of those surveyed, only a quarter said they would choose Trump. Trump announced his third presidential campaign from his home in Palm Beach, Florida on Nov. 15. “There’s never been anything like it, this great movement of ours,” Trump said. “America’s comeback starts right now.” Another 18% of those surveyed said they would prefer another candidate
over Trump or DeSantis. More than half of Hillsdale students, faculty, and staff surveyed said they would not support a presidential run from Trump in 2024. The remaining half was split between a positive reaction to his campaign and a “maybe” response to supporting Trump’s third run. DeSantis has not announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. Regarding his potential presidential run, 23% of respondents replied that they would not support it, and 25% answered maybe. The survey, included in the Student Activities Office biweekly newsletter, received a total of 166 anonymous
responses. It first appeared in the newsletter on Nov. 17, and results were collected through Nov. 30. Senior John Paul Schlueter said he plans to support Trump in 2024. “DeSantis was largely ineffective when he was a congressman, and while I have hopes for a future DeSantis ticket, I believe Trump is the man for the job in 2024,” Schlueter said. Schlueter said Trump’s name is polarizing. “Republicans have failed to communicate their ideology convincingly, in part because the GOP does not speak as strongly about issues as the Democrats,” Schlueter said.
See survey a2
Hillsdale remembers Javier Barrios By Micah Hart Collegian Reporter Former Hillsdale College Spanish lecturer Javier Barrios died at his Ypsilanti, Michigan home on Nov. 4 at the age of 53. According to the Stark Funeral Professionals, Barrios is survived by his sister, two nieces, and his three dogs. Barrios loved to learn, whether it be Spanish, literature, or history. “We often commented upon how he would start out a sentence in Spanish and end it in English and hardly even know he was going
between the two,” former Spanish Professor Sandra Puvogel said. Even on his deathbed, the former lecturer continued to pursue knowledge. Barrios decided to delve into the nearly 700 page novel “Middlemarch,” according to former Spanish Professor Carmen Wyatt-Hayes. “It was this quest for knowledge and for the joy that comes in literature that was just always part of him,” Wyatt-Hayes said. Wyatt-Hayes said Barrios knew he would not finish the novel. His curiosity overcame him, and he decided to watch an adaptation so he
could know the ending. Barrios’ love for learning and compassion for people intersected at a correctional facility, where he taught Spanish to inmates. “He really enjoyed participating in a process that might give someone a second chance,” Spanish lecturer Amanda Stechschulte said. Barrios’ care and compassion for others extended outside of the classroom. He would take more of a workload at times just to help a colleague in need, according to Wyatt-Hayes.
See obit A2