The first snow of the season fell on Hillsdale on Saturday. Jack Cote | Collegian
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Professors react to midterms By Elizabeth Crawford Collegian Reporter Republicans should focus on candidate quality and strengthening their platform after midterm losses, according to Associate Professor of Politics Adam Carrington. At press time, Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives with a narrow majority. They failed to capture the Senate, following predictions of success in the days before the election. In Michigan, Democrats gained complete control of the legislature for the first time in four decades. “While we should be ever vigilant against any attempts to suppress rightful voters or of fraud, I think pinning the performances in the last election on those for either Democrats or Republicans would keep them from honest self-assessment,” Carrington said. The midterm elections were unfavorable for Republicans, he added. “The midterms went poorly for the GOP on both levels,” Carrington said, “Nationally, this is especially true of the Senate, where Democrats might gain a seat when the map was pretty favorable.” Associate Professor of Politics John Grant said ballot harvesting is wreaking havoc on campaigns and elections. “We have balloting that goes on for months in some places and counting which goes on for many days or even weeks,” Grant said. “If we’re going to be serious and have credible elections, we have to follow the Constitution where there is an Election Day.” Carrington said midterms should be limited to one day of voting. “I don't think there is any Constitutional problem with counting votes for days or weeks after the election, so long as the election is certified in time for those elected to assume office when their term begins,” Carrington said. “While not unconstitutional, taking that long to count is quite damaging to our electoral process.” Co-president of College Democrats and junior Avery Noel said he viewed the midterm elections as an acceptance of the Democratic platform and a rejection of the Republican agenda. “We learned this election that reproductive rights are a kitchen table issue, one that will drive voting patterns going forward and one that strongly favors the pro-choice Democratic Party,” Noel said. President of College Republicans and junior Dan Harmon said Republican failures reflect on candidate quality and the loss of certain voting groups, rather than the Republican agenda.
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Vol. 146 Issue 12 - November 17, 2022
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Michigan Supreme Court unveils Markman portrait By Maggie Hroncich Editor-in-chief The Michigan Supreme Court honored Stephen Markman with an official portrait unveiling at the Michigan Hall of Justice on Wednesday. Markman, who has taught constitutional law at Hillsdale College since 1993, is a retired chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Justice Brian Zahra presided over the event, which was delayed for nearly two years due to COVID. “On his last day in office, President Reagan presented Justice Markman a handwritten note thanking him for his service to the people of the United States of America,” Zahra said. “Chief Justice Markman greatly influenced our nation’s jurisprudence, and his contribution to the law goes well beyond the state of Michigan.” Zahra said Markman built a reputation for his thoughtful and piercing questions during his 21 years on the court. “I personally marvel at the way in which he could distill a highly complex and difficult case down to a handful of poignant questions,” Zahra said in his opening remarks. “Steve was a self-proclaimed devil’s advocate. And I mean no
disrespect at all when I state the devil could have no better advocate than Steve Markman.” Speakers at the event also included Justice Richard H. Bernstein, Judge Richard Fred Suhrheinrich, and former Michigan Gov. John Engler, among others. Six of the seven sitting justices of the Michigan Supreme Court attended the unveiling, with Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack sending regrets for her absence, as she was in Washington, D.C. Emeritus Professor of Art Sam Knecht, who taught at Hillsdale for 47 years, painted Markman’s portrait. Knecht, who has been commissioned to do portraits of several other Hillsdale professors in the past, said he first met Markman at Hillsdale’s D.C. campus. “I met Justice Markman somewhat by chance when I was at the Kirby Center preparing to apply final picture varnish on my big Constitution painting there,” Knecht said. “By 2012 he contacted me as he considered using me to do his official portrait per the tradition of the court.” According to Knecht, Markman escorted him through the Hall of Justice in Lansing, and they examined dozens of justice portraits. Knecht also did
Emeritus Professor of Art Sam Knecht painted a portrait of former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen Markman, which was unveiled Wednesday night. Courtesy | Sam Knecht
at least three picture taking sessions with Markman prior to painting. Markman told the Collegian he was very pleased
Knecht was willing to do his portrait after seeing his earlier work. “I was very enthusiastic about the possibility of
Professor Knecht doing this, and he agreed to it,” Markman said.
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Cyberattack closes local schools for three days By Jane Kitchen Collegian Reporter
Jackie Sullivan cheers on a horse at Saturday's Charger Derby. Courtesy | Sarah Gillett
Charger Derby raises $85,000 By Thomas McKenna Collegian Freelancer The third annual Charger Derby raised approximately $85,000 for scholarships on Saturday, according to its sponsoring group, the Hillsdale College Women Commissioners. Hosted in the Searle Center, the event included simulated horse racing, an auction, and a cash bar.
Organizers said 100% of the funds will go toward student scholarships. Attendees were invited to bet on horses in races played on a projector screen for the crowd. Committee Member Louise Worms said members of the crowd can bet on and buy names for the horses. “People can buy a horse for $25, and if you buy a horse, you get to name it,”
Worms said. “It's very fun to read the names people have chosen for horses. Sometimes they're serious and sometimes they're just for fun.” The auction included art from Hillsdale alumni, a climb up the Central Hall tower, monogrammed Hillsdale athletic equipment, vacations, and golf outings.
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Schools across Hillsdale and Jackson reopened Thursday after three days of closures. A ransomware attack shut down their internet systems over the weekend. Jackson County Intermediate School District Superintendent Kevin Oxley said in a Nov. 16 update that classes will resume, but students will still have limited access to certain technological resources. “Our number one priority was to get kids back in school, and we’re thrilled to be able to do that tomorrow,” Oxley said. “While our restoration efforts continue, we prioritized bringing essential systems back online in order to allow us to safely resume operations and reopen school buildings across Jackson and Hillsdale counties." Oxley first announced
the closure on Sunday night in a statement informing parents of a system outage that affected the Hillsdale and Jackson county schools. “The outage affected critical operating systems in the district, including but not limited to heating, telephones, and classroom technology,” Oxley said in the statement. Oxley said the district noticed suspicious activity over the weekend and preemptively shut down its systems to prevent further damage. He also asked students to avoid using school-issued devices until the issue is resolved. The ransomware attack also closed Hillsdale County charter school Will Carleton Academy.
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Don Brubacher retires after 15 years as athletic director By Olivia Pero Assistant Editor Hillsdale Director of Athletics Don Brubacher will retire June 30, 2023 after 15 years in the role. “He has made great hires in the different sports, shown in the success many of our sports have had in recent years,” said Chris Gravel, volleyball head coach. “He has also been a great advocate for the advancement of our
facilities, hence the many projects that are currently underway in the athletic department.” Brubacher said he is retiring because it is time to do something different. “It remains to be seen what I will do next,” Brubacher said. “I would be interested in some other kind of work, probably not in this particular field. I've done this for a long time.” Brubacher said he will likely move to Kansas to be closer to his three sons and
seven grandchildren. Before coming to Hillsdale, Brubacher worked at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, for 31 years, including eight as its athletic director. “Men's basketball was one of my primary responsibilities at Tabor,” Brubacher said. “I also coached men's and women's soccer and taught a lot in the classroom as an associate professor.” Brubacher said he is particularly proud of
three accomplishments at Hillsdale: restructuring the physical education academic program, the growth in recreational sports, and the growth in varsity sports. “It was obvious when I arrived here that the physical education program was seriously outdated,” Brubacher said. “With the help of many people around campus, we rebuilt the program. The sports studies department, the exercise science major, the sports management major, and the
sports psychology major came out of the restructuring of the physical education department.” Brubacher said there were no club sport programs when he arrived at Hillsdale. “That was added in my first year. We created an opportunity for students to register club sports, which are then supported by the college,” Brubacher said. “Now we have over 20 registered club sports.”
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