Senior Mary Ann Powers, freshman Viola Townsend, and senior Helen Schlueter (left to right) vote for their favorite dishes at Taste of Manning. Erik Teder | Student Activities Board
Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
College to finish pavilion construction in June By Catherine Maxwell Assistant Editor The construction of the Phi Sigma Epsilon Alumni Pavilion will finish in June, and new projects involving Central Hall, Mossey Library, and the Grewcock Student Union may begin within the next two years, according to Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé. The college is also considering expansions to the Dow Hotel and Conference Center. According to a proposal presented to the City of Hillsdale Community Development Committee in March, the four-star hotel would feature 158 rooms, conference and dining facilities, and a public fine dining restaurant. “It will serve as a foundational piece in facilitating both the visitor growth the college has experienced, and the future growth that is anticipated,” said Tim Wells, associate vice president of administrative affairs. “This facility would aid in the furtherance of the college’s mission in affording necessary accommodation and meeting and
event spaces so that the offerings provided can be presented to the broadest possible audience.” Wells said the college currently receives an estimated 70,000 visitors a year, and as the school’s event calendar expands, that number is expected to grow. “With the growth in visitors and event attendees, having a location that would afford people the opportunity to stay on the campus would have direct benefit to city enterprises and businesses,” Wells said. There is currently no start date for the project because it is still in the discussion and planning phase, according to Wells. If the expansion moves forward, it will take approximately two years to complete. Péwé said the Phi Sig Pavilion will be dedicated at homecoming next semester, but will not be open to student use until the spring semester. Students and faculty will be able to reserve the space through the Student Activities Office, but it will be reserved for alumni of Phi Sig during every homecoming. “It will be a great space for
English professor to move to part time after 33 years By Lauren Washburn City News Editor Professor of English Christopher Busch is retiring from full-time teaching after 33 years. “I’m really grateful to have had the chance to come here,” Busch said. “The students have been just a joy.” Busch said he will remain in Hillsdale and teach one class per semester for at least the next three years. “One of the best parts of my day is actually being in class and being with the students,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t want to retire completely.” College President Larry Arnn said Busch has been a faithful servant of the college. “He is a careful scholar, a beloved teacher, and an entirely agreeable man,” Arnn said. “We will miss him, and we thank him with all our hearts for his service.” Busch came to Hillsdale with his wife, Lorna, in 1991. He said his wife worked at the college in institutional advancement and later taught a few English classes before she died in 2020. Their daughters, Antonia ’16 and Mariele ’19, are Hillsdale alumnae, while their son Brendan is a current senior. “It was really my dream to teach at a small liberal-arts college,” Busch said. “I’ve really, really loved it so much.” Justin Jackson, chairman and professor of English, said Busch is a caring and sweet man.
“As a professor, he wants his students to learn to love literature,” Jackson said. “Everything in his classes revolves around this simple but profound premise. I think students find his classes to be an oasis from the regular pressures of their academic life because of the way he approaches teaching and in caring about his students’ learning.” Jackson said he knows two of Busch’s children well. “I had Antonia in Great Books a long time ago, and I used to ball all the time with Brendan,” he said. “You can see the love Dr. Busch and his wife, Lorna, raised their children with.” Busch said his favorite courses to teach were on Willa Cather and Robert Frost, and he also loves teaching non-English majors. Senior exercise science major Morgan Iverson said she enjoyed her class with Busch. “He simply wanted you to love the books because he loves them,” she said. “Dr. Busch invites each student to share in the joy that he has each day, which is an honor to be a part of.” Busch said something he appreciates about the college’s English department is that everyone is supportive of one another. “We all love literature and we all love teaching,” he said. “Over the years, some of my best friends have been in the English department.”
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Vol. 147 Issue 27 – April 25, 2024
larger meetings, smaller concerts, recitals, receptions, parties, chess club, classes, and casual gatherings,” Péwé said. “It will be a new hub for student activities.” Péwé said the pavilion’s completion depends on brick and window deliveries. After the building is finished, the college will install irrigation and plant new grass. “The lot will be flat, green, and perfect for various physical activities, lawn games, and the type of events that took place on the quad,” Péwé said. “We located the pavilion strategically so that we can still set up tents for all school events like Centralhallapalooza.” The pavilion’s amenities include a large indoor room, kitchen, storage space, and men’s and women’s restrooms, according to Péwé. The covered outdoor space features a gas fireplace, radiated heaters, an outdoor kitchen and grilling station, a full-sun patio, and a firepit with built-in seating. The Phi Sigma Epsilon Alumni Association donated
the land to Hillsdale College in 2022. Although the fraternity has not existed on campus for more than 30 years, Phi Sig Alumni Association member Ross Anderson ’79 previously told The Collegian that members continued attending homecoming celebrations. “We wanted a permanent structure on that property that would preserve our legacy, honor the Greek system on campus, and be a safe meeting place for people,” Anderson said at the time. Péwé said the college also plans to begin renovations within the next two years to extend Central Hall, renovate and extend Mossey Library, and reface the Grewcock Student Union. Péwé said the school hopes to add more classroom, office, and study spaces and unify the aesthetics of the campus. “Our plan is to harmonize without conformity,” Péwé said. “Eventually it’ll be one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.”
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City councilman kickstarts effort to repeal blue law By Lauren Washburn City News Editor Hillsdale County is the only county in Michigan that prohibits restaurants and bars from selling liquor on Sundays, but voters could change that in November if a petition drive collects enough signatures. City Councilman Robert Socha introduced the petition to repeal Hillsdale County’s blue law. If his effort gathers at least 1,492 signatures of registered voters by July 31, voters will have a chance to repeal the law during the election on Nov. 5. The law prohibits liquor sales in restaurants from 7 a.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday, according to Socha. “I would encourage my neighbors not to drink in excess, but I’m not going to encode that and enforce that in law,” Socha said. “To vote yes
and impose those restrictions is really handcuffing all local businesses with their Sunday business and sales. That’s why most places are closed on Sundays in Hillsdale.” Here’s to You Pub and Grub and Johnny T’s Bistro in Hillsdale and Olivia’s Chop House in Jonesville are closed on Sundays. El Cerrito, Hunt Club, Underdogs, and White Oaks Golf Club in Hillsdale serve liquor throughout the week but remain open on Sundays, only serving wine and beer. “When there’s a football game on TV at Underdogs and it’s a Sunday and you want to have a gin and tonic, you can’t order that because of this law, but you can order a beer,” Socha said. “It seems silly to me that you can allow one and not the other.”
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Mock trial finishes season as second-best program in nation
The Hillsdale Mock Trial Team A hoists the second-place trophy at the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament in Chicago. Courtesy | Chloe Noller
By Zachary Chen Collegian Reporter The Hillsdale College Mock Trial Team A came in second at its national championship tournament last weekend, after finishing first in its division. It fell in the final round to the University of Virginia, which won the championship at the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament in Chicago. Before the final round, Hillsdale defeated the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with a score of 2-1 in the first round, then swept 3-0 victories against the University of Texas, Dallas, and Macalester College before splitting ballots 1.5-1.5 with the University of Georgia, according to junior Abby Davis. The tournament included 48 teams from across the United States. They were randomly divided into two divisions, and the winners of each division
competed in a final round for the national championship, according to junior Abigail Wagner. “It was so surreal to get to compete in the final because that round is such a crazy dream for me and for almost anyone who competes in AMTA,” Davis said. “It was so thrilling, and it almost didn’t feel real to compete in it. This entire semester our team has bonded over chasing this really ambitious and out-there goal, and I still can’t believe we got there.” Davis, who won two All-American Individual Awards at the tournament, said the final round was the cleanest round of mock trial that Hillsdale had in the entire tournament. Justin Lee, a senior and team captain, said he never expected the chance to compete in the national finals when he first joined the mock trial team his
freshman year. “None of it actually hit me until probably the day we were driving back,” Lee said. “It really was just like, best of all case scenarios, wildest dreams. I really couldn’t have asked for anything better for a final tournament for the year.” This is only the third year Hillsdale has competed in the National Championship Tournament, according to Davis. Caleb Sampson, a senior and team captain, said the team’s goal was to compete in the final which Hillsdale did not qualify for last year when they placed second in the division. “To be that close, and to come up short, was what drove us to compete even harder throughout this entire season,” Sampson said. “So to make it to the final this year, to have that experience, was absolutely everything we had aimed for, and it was a blessing to compete in that final round.”
Jonathan Church, the head coach for the Hillsdale Mock Trial team, said the team’s success this year is the result of several years of preparation. “The work they put in is absolutely immense, and it started really three years ago, where they got their first break to the national championship,” Church said. The team consists of seniors Sampson, Lee, Konrad Vorbaarshott, and Curtis Herbert; juniors Davis, Wagner, and Njomeza Pema; and sophomore Patrick McDonald. According to Church, the team has gotten successively better at preparing an entirely new case for the national tournament in the short time between the Opening Round Championship Series and the National Championship Tournament each time they have qualified. “Frankly, a lot of it just comes down to: Are you willing to sit in the seat and do the work that you know you need to do to get that short prep done?” Church said. “So I would say that the nationals run really started three years ago with a decision by the people I’ve mentioned to say ‘I want to do a pile of work.’” Each member of the Hillsdale Mock Trial team won All-American Individual Awards at the tournament by qualifying for the final round, according to Davis. Additionally, McDonald and Wagner received All-American Witness Awards and Davis received an All-American Attorney Award for their outstanding performance in earlier rounds of the tournament.
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