WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Collegian Week In Review: February 1st, 2024

Episode Date: February 10, 2024

This week on the Collegian Week in Review, hosts Maddy Welsh and Lauren Scott discuss the top headlines and stories of the day. Then, they talk to Josh Mistry about the newest inductees in the Charger athletic hall of fame and the sixth anniversary of Hillsdale Brewing Company. And finally, they talk to Bella Helms about the man who made Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM possible in the first place. 

You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Welcome to the Collegian Weekend Review. Here are your hosts, Maddie Welsh and Lauren Scott. Welcome back to the Collegian Week in Review, where we give you an inside look into Michigan's oldest college newspaper. We're your host, Maddie Welsh. And Lauren Scott. And today we'll be talking to Josh Mystery about the newest inductees of the Charger Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as the story he wrote about the sixth anniversary of the Hillsdale Brewing Company. And then we'll be talking to Bella Helms about the man behind the founding of Radio Free Hillsdale. But first, Lauren and I are going to discuss some of the top headlines and top stories in the Collegion this week.

Our top story this week is about how the college is expecting to have the nation's highest percentage of math graduates this May when the class of 2024 graduates. Social Media Manager and reporter Cassandra DeVries wrote, the 2024 graduating class expects to have the largest percentage of math majors of any college or university in the country. The college anticipates 38 students or 11.5% of the senior class will graduate in May with degrees in applied mathematics or mathematics, according to college president, Dr. Larry Arne. An additional 10.9% of students will graduate with math degrees in 2025. This should be enough to place Hill still first for percentage of math majors both. years. I thought this article is super interesting because for me at least, whenever I hear about liberal arts college, I tend to think about the humanities. And so to hear that we would literally

be like the top in the nation as far as percentages of math majors is not something that I would expect. Another interesting story is that the library replaced some of its bookshelves with, the bookshelves were motorized. You could press a button and they would move around. They have replaced them with hand crank bookshelves. You know, I've always been a little worried that somebody would get squished since they are motorized. And I've heard, I don't know this for sure, but I've heard that they don't have sensors. So it wouldn't even be able to tell if there was a person there to stop moving and not squish you. And I've also, I saw this video on Instagram one time about these students,

basically like pressing the button to make the bookshelves close, and then they ran through it with enough time to make it before they were crushed. And I saw a comment left on that video of a librarian saying, never do this because with all those books, those shelves literally weigh like a ton, and you would get crushed. So I've always been a little concerned about those bookshelves in the, what we like to call the hell floor of the library. But now it sounds like we won't have to worry about that. Yeah, no more anxiety for you, Lauren. Tell me, what's the most interesting thing going on in city news this week?

So the executive director of the Cold Water Chamber of Commerce flew to California and witnessed the golden wedding, which if you don't know what the golden wedding is, it basically was. the very end of a TV show for what it was called the Golden Bachelor, which is basically like ABC's The Bachelor, except instead of young people, it's older people. And so this year, the Golden Bachelor was 71 years old, and he ended up meeting his wife. She is 70 years old. And so Lori Hunt, who is the executive director for the Chamber of Commerce, really wanted to attend the wedding and she did a little bit of online investigation, found out that Gary, the Golden Bachelor, lived in Indiana, and I think currently lives in Indiana. And so she found out that some of the local bars were having a watch party for the Golden Bachelor and then thought

to herself, well, I bet he'll probably be at one of the bars, ended up meeting Gary at a bar, asked him for a wedding invitation. He declined and said that it was like, there was a really kind of like a competitive, I don't know, thing to get an invitation to. So she supposedly got put on a wait list. But then she said to herself, I don't even care. I'm going to fly to California and go to the hotel anyway. And so she didn't necessarily attend the wedding, but she witnessed it. And she got to meet Gary and Trisa and all of the other people who were on the show. Very interesting local tie to a national story here. I agree. I especially really enjoyed. reading about this story because I myself watched the entire series of The Golden Bachelor. And I thought Gary was a really wholesome guy. And it turns out from what Lori said after meeting him, confirmed that he is very much a gentleman. And he's also funnier than he appears to be on TV. The more you know. What else is interesting in City News this week? Well, this is something that I actually found out last night and knew that I had to include in the City News section.

but the beloved ice cream place, Uttar Side, opened today for the season, which very sadly they closed during the winter, but it makes sense. They open today, which is earlier than usual, so that's exciting. And today, as we're recording this, is February 1st. Maddie, I see that you have a pretty interesting story in the culture section. Why don't you tell us about that? Yeah, so I wrote a story about some students who attended and actually advanced pretty far in competitions at a regional third. theater festival. So the festival that they attended was the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. It ran from January 9th to January 13th. And about 12 or 13 Hillsdale students attended

along with professors James Brandon and Chris Matzos. So at the festival, it was a gathering of theater students from colleges in, I believe, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and another state as well, sort of in the Midwest area. And so what they did is they attended workshops. They watched performances put on by other college theater departments. And a lot of them competed in various competitions. And two of our students made it pretty far. So junior Emily Griffith competed in the musical theater intensive,

which is a musical theater competition. It started out, I believe she told me, more than 100 competitors. and she advanced all the way to the final, which means she was one of just 18 people in the final. And then after the final, the next step is the national competition. So out of those 18 in the final, two advance to the national competition, and then they'll compete against people across the country.

So this is extremely far in this competition. Brandon told me that this is the first time a Hillsill student, at least in recent memory, has ever advanced to the final in the musical theater intensive at this festival. So that was amazing. And then another junior, Kendishowalter, placed in the semifinals

in an acting competition called the Irene Ryan acting competition. So similarly, there were dozens of students that entered the competition and then she made it to the semifinals, which means there were a much smaller pool. So she got to perform against all the people at the festival. and yeah, it was pretty impressive.

She was the only Hillsdale student to make it to the semifinals in that competition. And she also made it to the semifinals last year in the same competition. So she's just on a role. And then she also placed second in the theater, journalism, and advocacy competition, which she entered by writing a review

of one of the plays that she saw while at the festival. So very interesting story. Awesome to see Hillsdale students doing so well in a competition against other students from other colleges. Something that Professor Brandon was saying is that, you know, something that's unique about Hillsdale Theater students is that most of them are doing a lot more than just theater. You know, for example, Emily Griffith, who I talked to and who made it to the final in musical theater competition, she's a double major in theater and something else as well,

and she's planning to go to law school. So theater is not her main priority, yet the training that she's gotten here, as well as the talent that she has, you know, still allowed her to really hold up against students who are getting Bachelors of Fine Arts in theater at other colleges. So awesome to see Hillsdale doing well. That's enough from us. Now let's hear from Josh. Radio Free Hillsdale's The Collegian Week in Review continues.

This is Lauren, and I'm here with Josh Mystery, a collegian reporter. This week, he wrote a story about the athletic department announcing the next Hall of Fame inductees. Josh, tell me about this article. Yeah, so the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame is having a ceremony this October for its silver anniversary, and at it they're going to induct four individuals and one sports team into the Hall of Fame. They're inducting a few sprinters, a coach, and a football player, as well as most

notably the most successful volleyball team, women's volleyball team in Hillsdale College history, the 2006 team. Tell me a little bit more about the volleyball team. Yeah, so this volleyball team went 27 and 0, undefeated season. They were the first team to reach a conference championship and win a NCAA tournament, the first in Hillsdale history. And they also featured a player who won conference player of the year. and the same coach who coached that team is still coaching today

and the assistant women's volleyball coach today was a player on the 2006 winning team. Tell me about some of the people that you interviewed for this article. Yeah, so I talked to the head coach who coach then and now, Coach Gravel, and he was super proud of the team's accomplishments. It was kind of, it kind of kit started the last decade and a half of success that the women's volleyball team has had. And that was like their first really, really big season.

and I also talked to the assistant coach, the current assistant coach of the team, who played on the team, coach, Coach Malencamp. And she was super, super happy to talk. She was very proud of all their accomplishments, and especially about how well the team played together and how well they bonded and how much fun they had doing so. And the athletic communications director for Hillsdale College also talked about how that that 2006 season really propelled the team to all the victories they've had since then.

and it was just a really influential team for women's volleyball at Hillsdale. Tell me about the process of getting nominated and then deciding who will be inducted. Yeah, so the induction committee for the Hillsdale College, Athletic Hall of Fame, takes in nominations once a year. And the process is usually pretty quick. He said it was really easy, especially for the 2016, just because of how successful they were. But the nominations come in. They go before the committee. The committee votes on it.

They look at the records. They look at everything. And then they take a vote and decide who's going to get in. And this time they decided they were going to induct the team as well as their four individuals. Moving on to the section of City News. Josh, you also wrote a story for this section about the Hillsdale Brewing Company celebrating six years. What did you learn while writing this article? Yeah, I was most happy to talk to Roy Finch, the owner and I.

operator of the brewing company, just because he was super proud of all the work they'd done and super proud to talk about all of the impacts they've had on the community, especially as they've developed for the last six years. When they started, it was an old hotel that he and his wife worked, you know, dozens of hours a week to renovate. And by the time it was finished, it still wasn't, you know, really what it is today. It wasn't that until they began adding all sorts of attractions for families to come. They have axe throwing and a playground. And, a garden and all sorts of stuff. They have venue spaces where firefighters and local botany clubs can come and meet and organize

events. And so it was really fun to just learn about the, I mean, it's only been six years, but this business has really attracted a lot of interest from the community. A lot of professors go there regularly and meet. They have office hours there. They bring out-of-towners there, lots of stuff like that. Who are some of the regular customers you interviewed? and what did they have to say about the brewery?

Yeah, I talked to Mr. Miller, and he was really happy with the assortment of beers they have on tap. He's a member of the mug club, so he has his own special mug. And he said, one thing that he loves is every time he walks in, they know it's him, and they bring him his mug immediately. And he said he loves to meet there regularly with other professors like Dr. Berzer, who I also talk to. And, yeah, Dr. Berzer mentioned how, like,

one time his local parish priest was in town, so he took him to the brewery to introduce him to Hillsdale. And he also meets with other professors regularly there every other week just to have a catch up, to catch up with old students, catch up with alumni, all sorts of stuff like that. In the article, you have a quote from the owner mentioning how even though it is a brewery, it is still very family friendly. What are some aspects about it that make it great for families to go to? Roy Finch was really happy about the things they offer outside of just the alcohol they obviously have there. He mentioned the garden that they have, the playground, the axe throwing. So there's things for an entire family to do when they come.

The adults can spend time with their friends, socialize while the kids are able to play and hang out. Older kids are able to do axe throwing or just hang around as well. So it's really a place where all sorts of ages can come together. especially like families so that it's not just like a bar where only adults can go and socialize. It provides a place where families can come and the adults can still have their time, but kids are also able to enjoy time with their friends or siblings. All right, Josh, well, thank you for joining us today. Yeah, of course. Thanks for having me.

You're listening to the Collegian Week in Review. This is Maddie, and I'm here with Bella Helms, a Collegian reporter. And this week she wrote a story about the man behind the founding of the Radio Free Hillsdale Radio Station. So Bella, tell me a little bit more about this story and who this man is. So Mr. Benedetto is, I guess he wasn't initially affiliated with the college until he heard about them on the radio and through some of their online courses. But he has an interesting history because he was initially, if it like worked for the military

and the Air Force. And then he just decided he wanted to go into his career. and he left the military, bought for radio stations, kind of just out of the blue. And then from there, he really grew his business and his career kind of took off. And after that, he decided that he really wanted to reach not just the community through the radio, but he also wanted to reach students and look to really just broaden their education on radio and because it is something that just reaches so many people and really gets to community members, and it has for so long.

And so he really wanted to tap into radio through students and more of the collegiate scene. And so he talked to the people at Hillsdale. He just funded. He gave them all the money they needed to really make the radio station what it is today. And then he hired him and Mr. Miller hired school. Scott Bertram and he kind of took it over and made it more of a like class slash program that students could participate in and earn awards and get credit for. And so yeah, that's kind of that. What was the first thing that played on Radio Free Hillsdale? So he actually had a soundbite

prepared for me as soon as we were in the middle of the interview. But it was, Dolly Parton's national anthem that she sang a while back, and he was really happy about that. So I thought that was kind of a fun touch. So what really went into making Radio Freeholdsdale happen through what he gave? Is that a good question? Yeah, I think that was good. So he, I guess it was, besides the funding that he used to, start this station and get it going

and also having to go through the FCC and get the proper license and go through all of like the legal side of starting a radio station. I guess really most of that fell on Scott Bertram because he really had to take the radio station and build it from the ground up. Before they were only playing patriotic music just to get the station started.

But he was the one who started the program and started offering classes for students. and teaching them just different terminology and how to write well and radio is very specific in that you have to typically take a longer story and condense it and make it so that your audience can digest it in a very short amount of time. But you also want to, I guess, treat it in a way that you're having a conversation one to one with a person and think less about the masses that you're speaking to and more just the individual conversation that you're having. So he really tried to, from what I understand, he really tried to make that things, just make different aspects of the radio understandable to students so that they could, you know, either make careers out of it or pursue it down the line. But things that you just don't necessarily know going into it. So if that makes sense. So there's our station that we're recording from here.

Is there another station that he contributed to starting? Yes. So the Kirby Center in D.C., he not only did he fund the station here in Hillsdale, but he also put the funding towards the building as well in D.C. And he had Hugh Hewitt on and a few other, like, notable guests as well, kind of for like the kickoff of the Kirby Center location. So it was, I think he was saying that like the first time, they ever went on air in D.C.

They had all of these really important guests on, and it actually went really well. He said he was really nervous in the back because he wasn't sure how all the systems were going to work and how everything would play out. But he said it was a success so much so that people just keep on coming back, and it's really, I think, exploded since then amongst students, but also just nationally as well. was there anything you learned while you were writing this article that you didn't get to include um not really that i didn't get to include but i did find i thought this fact was interesting um just that you know radio is something am an a m and fm radio have been around for a very long time um and i guess being you know kind of a gen z student i was

was just initially thinking that like podcasts and Spotify were the main outlets that were reaching people. But it turns out that because radio is free and it is local, that it really does touch way more people and it has just very high like listening per cents, if that's the fact that the radio station just captures like the heart and the pulse of the community. And that is something that you don't get in a podcast or in a Spotify podcast as well. So I just thought that was really interesting. And if anything, kind of like a motivator to jump into radio because of the outreach and the impact that it has.

Well, thanks so much for coming on the show today. Of course. Thanks. You have been listening to the Collegium Weekend Review on Radio Free Hillsdale, One-on-1.7 FM. We're your host, Lauren Scott and Maddie Welsh. You can find the Collegian online at Hillsdale Collegian.com. You can also find previous episodes of the Collegian Weekend Review online at cwir.transistor.fm.

Once again, you've been listening to The Collegian Weekend Review on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.