Hillsdale no longer to open three charter schools in Tennessee
Courtesy | Anthony Manno
Anthony Lupi | Collegian
Anthony Lupi | Collegian
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Vol. 146 Issue 9 - October 27, 2022
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Students prepare Friedman documentary
By Elizabeth Troutman News Editor
By Elyse Apel Opinions Editor American Classical Education, a K-12 charter school management organization affiliated with Hillsdale College, withdrew its applications for three new schools it hoped to open in Tennessee. Emily Stack Davis, executive director of media and public relations at Hillsdale, said Hillsdale’s mission to further classical educational opportunities has made it the object of opposition from the public education establishment. “Hillsdale College’s belief in genuine classical education and its deep admiration for the principles of the American Founding, as espoused in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, has made it a target for those who oppose such challenges to the status quo of what is now taught in many American institutions,” she said. This played out in Tennessee when the school boards of Madison, Montgomery, and Rutherford counties denied the three charter applications approval earlier this year. ACE then appealed the decisions to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, a group appointed by the governor and set up to review appeals after local school districts deny charter applications. After being refused a delay in the hearings, ACE withdrew the appeals at the end of September. Dolores Gresham, an ACE board member, said in a statement to parents regarding the withdrawal that, since many parents and students would have been unable to make it to the hearings, “the Commission would not hear directly from the voices that really matter — the parents and students in these communities.”
See Tennessee A2
Debate team places first in Oct. 16 tournament
Junior Lauren Scott interviews Melissa Davis at the Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia about Hillsdale alumna Elizebeth Smith Friedman for a student-documentary to screen Nov. 9. The United States Postal Service remembered female cryptographers like Friedman with a stamp released Oct. 18. Jack Cote | Collegian
Postal Service releases stamp honoring women cryptographers, including Hillsdale alumna By Eleanor Whitaker Collegian Freelancer The United States Postal Service released a stamp this month honoring women cryptographers who cracked codes during World War II. The most prominent among them may have been 1915 Hillsdale alumna Elizebeth Smith Friedman, according to Adjunct Instructor in Journalism Buddy Moorehouse. “She essentially pioneered the science of codebreaking and then used her skill to help win World War I and take on Al Capone's mob during the 1930s,” said Moorehouse, whose documentary filmmaking class is researching Friedman’s life for a film which will screen on Nov. 9. Women’s cryptographic skills became indispensable in World War II, Moorehouse said. Since many men were deployed overseas, the U.S. government enlisted women students and schoolteachers to break encrypted German and Jap-
anese messages, build code breaking machines, and secure U.S. communications. Among the women they recruited, Friedman stood
out, Moorehouse said. According to Moorehouse, Friedman changed the course of the war by cracking Nazi codes sent to the coast of South America.
“If the Nazis had taken over South America, the war might have had a very different outcome,” Moorehouse said. “Elizebeth Smith Friedman literally prevented that from happening. She helped win the war. She was an American hero in every sense.” Hillsdale College instilled a love of literature in Friedman, Moorehouse said. Following graduation, she researched hidden ciphers in Shakespeare plays. After proving Shakespeare wrote all his own plays, she became hooked on the growing field of cryptography, Moorehouse said. Friendman went on to bust liquor smugglers, expose spy rings, and shorten world wars, becoming “America’s first female cryptanalyst,” according to the National Security Agency. The efforts of women cryptographers like Friedman were not recognized during their lifetimes and remained classified until decades later, the National
Security Agency said. To bring awareness to their story, the United States Postal Service created a stamp commemorating their influence on American history this year. “The Postal Service strives to recognize people and events of historical importance,” Tatiana Roy, publicity officer for the USPS, told the Collegian in an email. “During World War II, women cryptologists were one of the conflict's best-kept secrets.” The stamp artwork depicts a Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, recruitment poster beneath excerpts from the Purple Code, a Japanese code used before Pearl Harbor which women cryptographers deciphered. Antonio Alcalá, the designer of the stamp, said he wanted the woman on the stamp to represent all women cryptographers. He chose a blurred face
See stamp A2
The Hillsdale College debate team took first place at its most recent tournament on Oct. 16, hosted by Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The team participated in both one-on-one, or International Public Debate Association, and partner style, or National Parliamentary Debate Association, competitions at Bowling Green against 40 other teams from schools such as the University of Michigan and Cornell University. “Whoever got the most points based upon the number of rounds that they won as a team, wins or loses the tournament as a whole,” said team coach and Visiting Assistant Professor Blake Faulkner ’12. Faulkner said he was surprised with the team’s success because about half of the team is new to debate. The team doubled in size this year, growing from 10 to 20 members. Faulkner attributed the team’s growth to the switch from online to in-person tournaments this year. “Last year, we had entirely digital tournaments,” Faulkner said. “This year, they have opened up more debate stuff. We had a particularly good year for student interest.” The Bowling Green tournament was a swing tournament, meaning team members competed on both Oct. 15 and Oct. 16. They took second place the first day and won the sweepstakes the second day. The debate team took first place in their first tournament of the year hosted by Queen's College from Sept. 23-24.
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Mayoral, city council candidates discuss local politics at forum By Carly Moran Collegian Reporter Residents asked city government candidates about explicit library books, the homeless population, and the continued rift in the Hillsdale County Republican Party at a “Meet The Candidates Forum” on Oct. 24. The town hall event, hosted by the Hillsdale Daily News and the Collegian, brought an audience of around 100 people, including both residents and college students. Penny Swan, a Ward 4 city council candidate, live-streamed the event. “I think it's really important for voters to be able to make informed decisions,
and events like these allow that to happen,” junior Jonah Apel said. “Local government is really important. I also appreciate the amount of concern and care that local residents had.” Participating candidates included Mayor Adam Stockford, running for reelection; Cindy Merritt and Gary Wolfram, competing for the Ward 3 city council seat; and Joshua Paladino and Penny Swan, vying to represent Ward 4 on the city council. The town hall featured a one-hour Q&A session, in which each candidate had 10 minutes to answer questions from the audience. The Collegian’s city news editor Logan Washburn and
Hillsdale Daily News reporter Corey Murray served as moderators, asking candidates questions throughout the night. Adam Stockford - Mayoral Election Stockford spoke first at the event. His opponent Rondee Butcher declined to attend. “I'm here tonight. I showed up. I think that's half the battle,” Stockford said. “I've got a perfect attendance as mayor. I have attended every single city council meeting since I was elected.” One attendee raised concerns on homelessness. Stockford said he has been working on solving the issue
as mayor, but there are many obstacles. “I've put together a homeless task force; it was spinning wheels to get people to even show up to the meetings,” Stockford said. “I've got an entire police force that's full of frustrated officers because they arrest people, they take them to the sheriff 's department, and they're told that they're at capacity.” Stockford has a personal connection to the issue, he said, so he remains committed to working on solutions. “I've been burglarized by homeless. My grandfather was murdered by a homeless man that he took into his house,” Stockford said. A student asked him
about previous legislation that would ban abortion in Hillsdale and whether or not he would support future bills to ban the practice. Stockford said he was “not opposed to the idea,” but that he was cautious when putting new laws on the book. “I think you have to be really careful with local ordinances,” Stockford said. Stockford’s final question was about a local drag queen bingo event at a private business in town, and if he would support banning such events. “I think it’s really gross. I wouldn’t attend it,” Stockford said. “But I won't respond to a left-wing totalitarian government by creating a
right wing authoritarian government.” Cynthia (Cindy) Merritt City Council Election, Ward 3 Merritt is facing Hillsdale College Professor of Economics and Public Policy Gary Wolfram to represent Ward 3 on the city council. She described herself as a former opera singer, music teacher, and “most importantly, a mom.” One audience member asked Merritt how she would solve the issue of pitbulls as a public safety threat.
See Forum A7