Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
Vol. 147 Issue 19 – March 2, 2023
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Bertram wins best faculty adviser
Campus regains power after state-wide ice storm
By Micah Hart Circulation Manager
Radio Station General Manager Scot Bertram won best faculty adviser at the Intercollegiate Broadcast System awards Feb. 25. Along with Bertram’s win, Elena Lanning (formerly Naborowski) ’22, won Most Creative/Innovative Show for her program “Five Minute Myths.” Although none of the students present at the ceremony won awards, they were thrilled to watch Bertram take home first prize, junior and finalist Abigail Snyder said. “It was such a special moment when Mr. Bertram won first place because we would not be here without him,” Snyder said.“He puts so much work into helping us improve our shows both from the production side and the writing and editing side.” It seemed as if the students’ excitement for Bertram surpassed his own joy, said sophomore and finalist Lauren Smyth. “When he won the award, the whole table of Hillsdale students screamed so loudly that it made him jump because we were all so excited for him,” Smyth said. Bertram said he wished the students received the recognition and awards. “I ended up winning for best faculty adviser, which is really just a reflection on the students, the work that they do, and the dedication and the hard work that they put in,” Bertram said. “I’m lucky to be here among talented students who are driven to succeed, improve, take some constructive criticism, and take some direction with their shows, features, and newscasts.”
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By Lauren Scott Assistant Editor
first movement sketched out by summertime and then I wrote the second and third movement in late 2022, finishing the whole thing by Dec. 31. In fact, I wrote part of the second movement at Hillsdale in October when I was visiting for evensong.” Holleman said this semester’s performance was two weeks earlier than usual, giving students less time to prepare their parts.
Hillsdale College students returned to classes Monday after a Feb. 22 ice storm caused power outages and canceled classes two consecutive days last week. Kari Coupland, staff nurse at the Ambler Health and Wellness Center, was without power at her home for six days starting the evening of Feb. 22. She lives outside of Jonesville. Coupland said the power outage has not affected her work life, aside from the fact she is more tired from loading her wood-burning stove every five hours. She said her family put mattresses in front of the wood burning stove to stay warm throughout the night. Vice President for Student Affairs Diane Philipp said the college waited to officially cancel classes until it became clear that power and heat would remain down for a significant amount of time. “We knew there was a storm coming, but it was predicted to hit north of us,” Philipp said. “It is difficult to realize the outcome of bad weather as the disruption is happening, which is why we wait until we know more before canceling.” The college made the decision to cancel classes early on the morning of Feb. 23 because the entire city was without power except buildings with generators, Philipp said. Classes were also canceled Feb. 24 as classroom buildings remained without power early Friday. “It is always a challenge for the college to make the decision to cancel, and we do not like to cancel,” Philipp said. “Our purposes are to teach and learn and our faculty prepare carefully for every hour they teach, and it is not easy to make up that precious face-toface time in the classroom.” Associate Director of Security and Emergency Management Joe Kellam said the college prioritized the Grewcock Student Union and Christ Chapel with a few generators. Since many students were without power, it was important for them to have a warm place to go, Kellam said. “The entire Student Affairs staff, at different points throughout Wednesday night, were on campus checking in with the dorms and the different houses just to make sure that they were inside and they were staying warm enough,” Kellam said. Because the outage left dorms and residence halls without heat, the college brought in emergency generators. “Executive Director of Facilities David Billington made the decision to purchase additional generators as the extent of the disruption of power was more extensive this time and the generators were needed,” Philipp said.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke on campus Wednesday. Jack Cote | Collegian
Pence visits campus, speaks on faith By Lauren Scott Assistant Editor Faith is the most important virtue for young students — faith in the American people, founding principles, and most importantly, in the Lord — former Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech at Hillsdale College on March 1. “Faith remains the antidote to the decline of America,” Pence said. Hillsdale College invited Pence to speak as part of the Drummond Lectures in Christ Chapel series. Pence said we live in a freedom-loving country full of hardworking and generous people who see the world clearly and value common sense. “Our challenge is to make the American government as good as the American people,” Pence said. Pence told students to resist the temptation to put what is popular before timeless values. To students interested in becoming public servants, he told them to always hold true to conservative values.
“If you hold the banner of freedom, limited government, and traditional values, the American people will rally to your cause,” Pence said. Dale Jones, a supporter of Hillsdale College from Illinois, attended the talk. “It was a reminder of the things that we all have been taught, at least in my generation,” Jones said. “My dad was a World War II veteran, and I grew up knowing many WWII veterans, and we really had faith in this country and faith in the Constitution.” Pence said if America is not leading the free world, the free world is not being led. History teaches that weakness arouses evil, he said. “At a time when Russia is on the move in Eastern Europe, and China is menacing across the Asian Pacific, be a voice of your generation,” Pence said. We must work and pray to restore the sanctity of life in America, Pence said. Our nation was founded on the belief that all people are endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights, the first being the right to life, he said.
“Speak without apology about the institution of traditional marriage,” Pence said. “Above all else, never give up on the right to life.” Senior Sam Quinones said it was inspiring to hear Pence encourage students to have faith in America. “It meant a lot coming from someone who’s been in the belly of the beast,” Quinones said. Pence said Americans need to have faith in the principles of the American founding. “Like many of the founding generation, I believe our founding documents were founded on the notion that all rights come from a higher authority,” Pence said. “The United States Constitution is the greatest charge for freedom in American history.” Pence said there was once a time when all Americans understood and appreciated the Constitution, but now the left is trying to rewrite it and take away the First and Second Amendments. “I encourage each one of you in this rising generation to take this time in your life to wrap your heart and your
mind around the founding documents,” Pence said. “The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not just your heritage, they’re the cornerstone of the greatest nation in the history of the world.” Pence challenged students to become men and women of integrity. Despite a common misconception in the young generation that claims adversity creates character, Pence said adversity reveals character. “I liked his emphasis on having faith in the American people and God,” sophomore Caleb Bigler said. “Faith is a hard thing to have right now, given the political climate, but he was really encouraging.” According to Pence, it is easy to lose sight of faith in challenging times. He said the most important thing for Americans to remember is Proverbs 9:10: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” “Even when it doesn’t look like it, God is working in your life and mine and in the nation.”
Tharp honored for 500 wins, team advances to semifinal By Christian Peck-Dimit Associate Editor Head coach John Tharp was honored for his 500th career win before the Hillsdale men’s basketball team buried the Cedarville Yellow Jackets, 87-57, in the quarterfinals of the G-MAC Tournament. Tharp was given a painted game ball and a surprise tribute video from former players played on the big screen in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. “It was very emotional for me, a lot of those guys up on that screen have meant a great deal to me, those guys are like family to me,” Tharp said. “My wife and two of my three kids were there, so there’s a lot of people who have sacrificed a great deal to be a coach’s wife and a coach’s kid and stuff like that.” Tharp remains the winningest coach in program history, and became the 17th active D2 men’s basketball coach to reach 500 wins. “It’s an absolute blessing and honor to play for coach Tharp as a coach, but it’s also an incredible blessing to have him as a mentor and a leader and a friend, and to be a part of the family that he’s worked so hard and given so much for,” fifth year forward Kalthoff said.
After suffering backto-back losses to end their regular season, the Chargers dropped to the No.3 seed in the conference tournament, where they matched up with the Yellow Jackets for the second straight year. During last year’s semi-finals game, a costly Charger turnover with five seconds left led to a last-second upset that knocked Hillsdale out of the tournament. This year, however, balanced scoring and a strong second half helped the Chargers win only their second G-MAC tournament game in the last four years. “I think we did a really good job, especially starting in the second half, guarding the three-point line,” fifth-year guard Jack Gohlke said. “In the first half they hit seven threes on us, which is what they do, they’re a very good shooting team, but in the second half we did a much better job of limiting their strengths in that regard.” The team’s two starting fifth-years, Gohlke and Kalthoff, led the team in scoring in what will likely be the final home game of their careers, with 19 and 18 points respectively.
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Composer Andrew Maxfield and Professor of Music, Choirs, and Orchestra James Holleman pose at the Feb. 25 concert. Courtesy | Hanna Thompson
Symphony orchestra debuts Maxfield piece in Christ Chapel performance By Maggie Hroncich Editor-In-Chief The Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra rehearsed through a city-wide power outage to perform the world premiere of “Every Leap Is Faith” on Feb. 25. “Every composer wants each piece to have a long life ahead of it,” Composer Andrew Maxfield said. “And I think the performance is great. I think the piece is good, and I’m excited for it to find its way forward.”
After meeting Professor of Music James Holleman at a conference in 2018, Maxfield first visited campus in October 2022 for a Choral Evensong service, which he was commissioned to write. He then worked with Holleman on a grant application through the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University to compose the symphony. “I had early ideas for it at the beginning of 2022,” Maxfield said of the symphony piece. “And I had the