Entrepreneurship:
Landmark saved:
Charger Swim:
Courtesy | Alydia Ullman
Courtesy | Facebook
Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department
After The Collegian reported a local landmark would be torn down, the Hillsdale Historical Society will preserve part of it. See A7
Many student entrepreneurs take part in the Kehoe Family Initiative to build their skills and help them toward their goals. See B6
Michigan’s oldest college newspaper
For the first time, two Charger swimmers earned All-American honors in the same season. See A10
Vol. 146 Issue 21 – March 23, 2023
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Radio Free Hillsdale named college audio station of the year By Jane Kitchen Assistant Editor WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM won Station of the Year in the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’ College Audio competition, and The Collegian placed third for Michigan Press Association’ College Newspaper of the Year. Fourteen journalism students received awards and three honorable mentions for their work in broadcast and print journalism during the 2021-22 school year. Eight students received honors from MAB, including first place awards in three categories; six students received honors from MPA, including first place awards in two categories. Both competitions accept submissions from colleges across Michigan and announced results over Hillsdale’s spring break. Scot Bertram, lecturer in journalism and general manager of WRFH, said the level of effort students devote to WRFH distinguishes it from other college stations and contributed to its win at the MAB awards. “We have a dedicated group of students who are committed to producing the best content possible and who are determined to improve over time,” Bertram said. “I'm lucky to work with broadcasters and journalists who are willing to learn, listen to suggestions, and respond to constructive criticism about their shows and features and newscasts.” First-place MAB winners include senior Josh Barker in the current events story category for "The Policy Corner: Michigan Affordable Housing and Property Taxes,”
sophomore Megan Pidcock, junior Lauren Scott, and junior Maddy Welsh in the daily newscast/news feature category for “Collegian Week In Review;" and alumna Elena Lanning ’22 in the on-air personality or team category for “Elena Naborowski: Five Minute Myths.” Barker, program director for WRFH, said he was thrilled about the station’s win and happy to see MAB recognized the quality of the station’s content. He said there’s something unique about Hillsdale students that makes WRFH stand out from other stations. “Hillsdale students know how to communicate. It’s not just logic and rhetoric, but something deeper in the way we think and talk to each other in classes or on campus,” Baker said. “This is extremely conducive to what we do on the radio.” Second place MAB winners include sophomore Lauren Smyth in the daily newscast/news feature category; Barker and sophomore Garrett Goolsby in the promotional announcement category; and alumna Rachel Kookogey in the talk show category. Barker, Goolsby, Kookogy, and Smyth also received honorable mentions. Smyth received honors for two of her WRFH shows: a 5-minute weekly newscast called “Lauren Smyth News” and a shorter biweekly program called “Grammar Minute.” Smyth said she’s been involved with WRFH since her first week on campus, and despite initial trepidation, she’s found the experience invaluable.
See Awards A2
Dean of Men Aaron Petersen propels himself across the basketball court with toilet plungers during a relay race at Campus Rec's Student Faculty Face-Off event Wednesday. Collegian | Jack Cote
Mock Trial teams earn historic two bids to nationals By Megan Williams Culture Editor The Hillsdale College Mock Trial team earned two bids to the National tournament, advancing to the competition for the second year in a row. On March 10-12, teams 1076 and 1077 competed at the Opening Round Championship Series in Geneva, Illinois. Senior Allison Dillow and freshman Patrick McDonald earned All-National witness and attorney awards for their performances that weekend. “Everyone on the team really wanted a bid to Nationals last year, especially because we had seniors who had been working towards this goal for the last four years,” Dillow said. “This year was similar, but it didn’t have the same kind of stress because we realized it was something we were capable of.” Team 1077 received the first of Hillsdale’s two bids, guar-
anteeing the program’s status as one of the top 50 teams in America for the second year in a row. With a record of 5-1-2, and a combined strength score of 17, team 1077 placed 5th. “We were ballot blind going into the awards ceremony, meaning we didn’t know how many rounds we won or lost,” junior Justin Lee said. “When they announced that the last two teams had a record of 6-2, I just saw our coach’s face go completely white because we didn’t know what our combined strength score was.” Placing sixth, and earning the tournament’s final bid to Nationals, team 1076 finished 6-2 with a combined strength score of 14. “I just wish I had a better way to describe how it felt once we knew we had gotten two bids,” Lee said. “It was just fantastic. It made all of the extensions on papers and midterms that we had gotten feel worth it.”
Before the ORCS, the American Mock Trial Association releases case changes where it edited, added, and removed the information within the packet teams use to write their material. McDonald said the teams had to schedule extra practices and meetings to prepare during the two weeks before the competition. “In the eight days before the tournament, we had four scrimmages that each incorporated various aspects of the new cases so that we could become familiar with them before the tournament,” McDonald said. “The scrimmages are supposed to take around two hours, but we often have a bit too much fun, so they all lasted about three hours.” After all the extra practices, plus the midterms and papers due before spring break, McDonald said the team was pretty tired going into the tournament, but hadn’t lost their motivation.
Allen couple celebrates 80 years of marriage
George and Norma Carpenter are the tenth longest living married couple in the world By Josh Newhook Digital Editor George and Norma Carpenter of Allen, Michigan, have been married for 80 years. The Carpenters are among the oldest couples alive today. George is 99 and Norma is 98. George says he still works five hours a day at Carpenter’s Greenhouse & Produce, owned by his son Dwight, in Allen. “We are pretty healthy,” said Norma, who worked at the greenhouse until recently. “God has given us grace and blessed us with long life.” George said he has gained a new appreciation for his wife through doing more of the household chores, like cooking and washing the dishes, which she did all the years he was working. Norma said she appreciates this. “I need her and she needs me,” George said. “We were too busy early on, but we spend a lot of time together now.”
A couple in North Carolina owns the Guinness World Record for the longest marriage, at 86 years and 290 days. While the list of longest marriages is often disputed, the Carpenters are at 46th of all-time and 10th active in the world, according to Wikipedia’s verified marriages. In another year, they could move up to 32nd of all time, and 23rd of all time in the U.S. Rep. Tim Wahlberg, R-MI, who knows the couple personally, honored their 80th anniversary on Feb. 2 in Congress. “With over 100 descendants, the Carpenters have left a tremendous mark on the community and beyond,” Wahlberg said. “I would like to recognize this remarkable couple and congratulate them as they celebrate their extraordinary milestone.” George and Norma met at church in Wayne, Michigan, in 1942 when George was a senior and Norma was a junior in high school. “She was sitting behind
me and she got a hold of my arm. I had been dating another girl who I didn’t really care for,” George said. “Norma here worked out pretty good for me.” Norma laughed. “After 80 years, what else could he say?” she said. After dating for about a year, George was drafted by the military and had three weeks until he had to report for service. This is when George and Norma, 18 and 17 respectively, decided they should get married in February 1943. “We eloped,” George said. “I talked her into running away with me.” George and Norma went to Indiana because the laws allowed them to apply for a license and get married on the same day, whereas Michigan required a three-day waiting period. George got his aunt and uncle to stand in as mother and father for them on a Saturday.
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Norma and George Carpenter met in 1942. Josh Newhook | Collegian
“The team morale is always very, very good, even when we aren’t feeling super great,” McDonald said. “On the drive there, a lot of us were sleeping and catching up on rest, but as soon as we arrived, we were ready to compete.” Dillow described how impressed she was with the performance of the freshmen on these teams, especially since they had not competed at a tournament of this caliber throughout the season. “The freshmen really showed up, and I think it’s because they’re so new to this that they don’t have that unhealthy, built-in fear of the bigger tournaments,” Dillow said. “They don’t have a fear of highly ranked competitors; they’re friendly and outgoing with everyone. They were there to have a good time and do their best, and I think that’s what they did.”
See Mock Trial A2
DeSantis to visit campus By Maggie Hroncich Editor-in-Chief Florida Gov. and potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis will visit campus Thursday, April 6. The event, held in Hillsdale College’s Searle Center, is at full capacity and will begin with a panel discussion at 4 p.m. on K-12 education. A reception, dinner and conversation between College President Larry Arnn and DeSantis will follow. Sophomore and Winston Churchill Fellow Charlie Birt said he is excited to attend the event. “I believe that Ron DeSantis is an amalgamation of traditional conservative values and the energetic movement that has emerged within the past several election cycles,” Birt said. “He has the populist power of someone like Trump alongside the ability to appeal to key demographics that are essential to Republican victories.”