WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Collegian Week in Review: October 31, 2024

Episode Date: November 3, 2024

This week on the Collegian Week In Review, hosts Moira Gleason, Thomas McKenna, and Caroline Kurt discuss upcoming renovations to the Student Union and the new satirical Babylon Bee film with Catherine Maxwell. Then, Adriana Acadian joins the show to chat about dining hall hacks and Hillsdale's newest pizza and coffee shop. Finally, the hosts bring on Joshua Mistry to discuss upcoming political battles.

Welcome to The Collegian Week in Review on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Here are your hosts, Moor Gleeson, Thomas McKinna, and Caroline Kurt. Welcome to Collegian Week in Review, where we give you an inside look into Michigan's oldest college newspaper. We're your hosts, Caroline Kurt. Moore Gleeson and Thomas McKenna. Today we'll be interviewing Catherine Maxwell about her front-page story on the facade renovations to the student union and her review of the Babylon Bs' new satirical film about January 6th. Then we'll speak with Adriana Azarian about her coverage of the new pizza and coffee shop in town,

as well as her culture article on hacks for the dining hall. And finally, we'll talk to Joshua Mystery, a collegian reporter, about his profile of Democrat candidate Don Hicks, who's running to replace State Representative Andrew Fink. But first, we're looking at some headlines. Maura, tell us about what's on the front page. You'll hear more about this from Catherine Maxwell later on, but construction will begin next month, meaning November, on the student union facade. So students have been wondering why there's a window in the middle of the construction site on the quad, and that is a mock-up of what the outside of the student union will look like.

So that is set to begin next month, and construction on the classical education building. is ongoing. We also ran a student and faculty and staff voting poll this week, which showed that 87.5 of respondents from the students will be voting for Donald Trump, and 46.2% of faculty and staff, with 32.7% of faculty and staff voting for Kamala Harris. Our third story is the Protestant Catholic soccer game, the Protestants won for the second year in a row, 2-0. And in my exciting opinions page this week. It's our last week before election day. So had some great stuff. The Collegian Weekly, which is an editorial composed by the Collegian staff, was talking about how, you know, although this is an important event, election day and all the lead up to that,

life in Hillsdale will go on. And it's good to remember that both our political involvement is good and necessary, but our ordinary lives will continue even though the political hysteria is very present, especially in D.C. and such. We had a great article by Lewis Thune, who is a collegian freelancer on the lack of October surprise. This year, that's a great one to read. And Sarah Catherine Sisk wrote about Liam Payne's tragic death. He is a former member of the boy band One Direction and died suddenly this month. And the media response to that was not great. So she had a great take on that. And then over on the city news page, we had some election coverage. We had a city council Q&A where we talked to the four most competitive

candidates for these two city council seats that are contested. And then since we're less than a week away from election day, we also had a profile of the what is probably the most important race happening in Hillsdale this election cycle, which is the 35th State House District. It's currently held by Representative Andrew Fink, but he's making a run for state Supreme Court this year. And so we spoke with the Republican nominee Jennifer Warts and with the Democrat nominee, Don Hicks. We'll hear more about Don Hicks in a moment when we talk with Joshua Mystery. But first, let's look at Jennifer Warts. Now, Mora and I co-bylined this article. Mora, tell us about Jennifer Warts and why she's running for the statehouse. Jennifer Warts is a resident of Branch County. She actually grew up

in Hillsdale County. She is a mom of four and a family farmer. She was formerly a school board member in Quincy. She originally got involved with politics after the COVID-19 pandemic because she was frustrated with some of the COVID restrictions in the county. She decided to take this next step to run for house because she thinks she brings a valuable perspective as a mom and a longtime resident of both counties that the district covers. We have more coming up on Collegian Weekend Review. We'll be speaking with Catherine Maxwell next about the facade renovations. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7.

We'll be back in a moment. Radio Free Hillsdale's The Collegian Weekend Review continues. Welcome back to Collegian Weekend Review. We're here with Assistant City News Editor Catherine Maxwell. Catherine wrote a front page story today on construction on the student union facade. Catherine, what's the news with the new construction on the student union facade? Yeah, so this is the latest construction project to get started. It should begin in late November, as soon as they can get some micro piles to come in to boost the soil for foundation purposes.

They'll be completely redoing the facade of the building, so they won't be touching the interior at all. but they'll be refacing it, building a new tower, installing a bell in the tower that used to be in Central Hall. It now sits outside Central Hall. And this should all wrap up in April of 26. April of 20206. Now, this isn't the only new construction project that the college is undertaken recently. The new classical ed building that's right there on the quad is also under construction. And you've got news in this piece about that too.

Yes. Everything is on schedule to wrap up in late May of 2026, which is great news for everyone graduating that month. They just got a shipment of stone to come in to start putting stone on the outside of the building. And they should start installing windows and doors soon as well. So everything on schedule going smoothly. So, Catherine, with the Student Union Project, I'm thinking about impact on. students. Will they be closing different entrances of the student union at different times? I'm thinking if they're like, you know, redoing this facade, it might be hard not to do that.

So did they give you any information on what the impact would look like on a student's life? I asked. They did not provide any information about that, but I know students are wondering. So you've walked us through some of the construction process that this new renovation project is going to go through. What's the reason behind it, though? Why are they doing this facade renovation? The grand plan is completely redoing the aesthetics of campus, the idea being everything's going to be aesthetically unified, kind of rivaling the Ivy League's. So the point of this project is to bring the student union in line with the chapel, with the new classical ed building. And at some point, they'll also be redoing Central Hall, they'll be redoing Mosse Library, all of that. to kind of bring it into this classical style.

Now, Catherine, that wasn't the only story you wrote for the Collegian this week. You also did a review of the new Babylon B satirical movie in the culture section. Tell us about this movie and what you thought of it. So the movie is called January 6th, The Most Deadliest Day. And it's a mockumentary that makes fun of the media response to January 6, which was where right-wing protesters to hear the media tell it stormed the Capitol and attempted an insurrection.

That's not exactly what happened. It was an unfortunate event that should not have happened, but the truth of it was more like protesters entered the Capitol when they weren't supposed to, and it was chaotic and problematic. but did not almost topple democracy. But the movie stars Babylon B. Editor-in-Chief Kyle Mann as a fictional journalist, Garth Strudel Fudd, who attempts to confer the premise that January 6 was as bad as 9-11 or the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor,

which Kamala Harris actually said in a speech that she gave on the one-year anniversary of January 6th. So it's kind of a wild premise to begin with, and the movie really goes into just how ridiculous that is through some clever AI images. They hired a animator from Fiverr, I think, to animate Trump supporters climbing the walls of the Capitol like Little Right Wing Spider-Man. they talked to violent, quote-unquote, violent extremists like the guy with the lectern or the guy in the buffalo costume. Pretty fun stuff. So, Catherine, thumbs up, thumbs down. Would you recommend this movie to other Hillsdale students? Thumbs up, 100%.

Okay. And fun fact, I've yet to see the movie, Catherine, so after that thumbs up, I'll have to check it out for myself. but my opinion assistant Zach Chen worked at the Babylon Bee over the summer and apparently he holds I think one of the boom mics in the film so he doesn't actually appear in it but he actually does have an appearance

no way when there's a scene where they're doing a study or a focus group with the lectern guy he's behind glass and they have him pick up a lectern and carry it a few feet and put it back down again and one of the mock reporters asks the group on a scale of nine to ten how terrified were you when the lectern was moved and Zach Chen is in that little group of people and he has a little moment that's pretty funny that I won't spoil but you should see the movie because he is there

So if you want to see Assistant Opinions Editor Zach Chen in the new Babylon B movie, Catherine gives it a thumbs up. Catherine, last question, since it's Halloween when we're recording this, are you dressing up for Halloween this year? I'm not dressing up. I actually have a Batgirl onesie back at home, but I forgot to bring it up with me. So, alas, no Batgirl this year. Well, thank you for coming in and talking about your stories for the Collegian this week. Yeah, thanks for having me. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7. This is Collegian Week in Review. We'll be back in a moment.

This is the Collegian Week in Review. Welcome back to Collegian Week in Review. We're here with Collegian reporter Adriana Azarian talking about her story in city news, about a new pizza place in town, as well as her saga hacks for the dining hall article in the culture section. Adriana, tell us about this new pizza and coffee shop that's in town. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me on. I'm excited to talk about it. Yes, so it's St.

cafe. It's on North Broad Street, and they make organic pizzas and salads with a lot of local fare from Willow Gardens. So it's really nice that they take ingredients from the surrounding areas. And they have very simple menu. Only eight pizzas, only one kind of salad, three kinds of desserts. So I've been there. The pizza is very good. And it's very like European style in the way they cook and the way that they decorated the place. Tell us more about the pizza because there are a few things that they try to do intentionally. What are the different features or qualities of the food that they're serving there? Yeah, so the flour is locally sourced.

It's fermented for 24 to 48 hours, which makes it more digestible than other pizza options out there. So it's very light. Also, they use a wood-fired oven. It's designed a very specific way, and I wish I could have gotten into this more in the article, but it would have kind of gone off on a tangent. But it's designed so that the fire can spread evenly. The heat from the fire can spread evenly so I can cook the bottom and the top. A lot of ovens in America are made with concrete, so a lot of food isn't actually cooked evenly.

So everything down to the last detail, the bricks in the oven are from a quarry in France. Wow. So to the last detail, they know what they're talking about and what they're doing with the pizza. So the pizza and coffee shop was started by Joshua Mincio and his wife Hannah. Tell us about them and what their vision for the place as a whole and what they're trying to accomplishes. Yes, they wanted a very simple restaurant, something that can appeal to everyone. Something that Hannah told me is that everyone likes pizza. It's not just like a steakhouse with a certain clientele is what she said.

They really wanted to aim it at people both in town and at the college. They really wanted to have a very simple menu that was very intentional with local ingredients. And they're very Catholic. So they bring a lot of that into their philosophy of work. They both traveled to a lot of Benedictan monasteries, and they were really inspired by the concept of hospitality. So they wanted the restaurant to be a place that people felt very welcome and not rushed. Something that one of my sources, Eleanor Vaughn, who's the hostess there said,

is that they train the wait staff to not come to your table all the time and ask you how you're doing. They just want you to relax with your family or whoever you're eating with, date night or whatever and have a good time and enjoy the food. So the name for the cafe, St. Joe's, has a few different inspirations. Where did they get the name? From the St. Joe's River in town, runs through town. And then as well as the patron saint, the foster father of Jesus is one of their patron saints, so St. Joseph, which is also kind of funny because he's called the guardian of the bread

because Jesus is the bread of life. And they make bread at the restaurant. So it works perfectly. That's wonderful. And you noted at the very end of the article, their current hours tell us about their current operating hours and then their plans, I think, to expand the hours going forward. Yes. So right now they're just open, I believe, Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 9. And then they said within the coming week, they'll have lunch hours. I don't know what those are yet, though. And then they also want to be open for breakfast to have pastries and coffee. That's right. So that's a future addition to their service right now just as a pizza place that also serves cocktails and some other food. Right. There you go.

Lovely. And Adriana, you wrote for the culture section this week, an article on hacks for saga meals. First of all, tell me what is a saga hack? Basically, it's ways that people either combine food or build their meal. in ways that they enjoy that are kind of unusual. I've seen a lot of odd things on plates in the dining room, and I really wanted to talk to people about that. So I submitted that in the form, and I got to write it. Yeah.

Yeah, so you interviewed several. It sounds like mostly women. For this article, tell me some of the best hacks you gathered. Okay, so my friend Onika invented this waffle taco. We call it a waco. where you make a waffle at the waffle station, then you put ice cream on top, and then you could put fruit,

or you could put even cereal as an ice cream topping on top of that. And it's really good, you guys. I tried it. It's amazing. I would recommend it for sure. Also, my friend Meredith likes to make brisketta. So she'll toast an English muffin and then put vegetables and olive oil and balsamic vinegar,

and I thought that was pretty basic and pretty good. Adriana, we're asking everyone today who comes on since today's Halloween, are you dressing up as anyone this weekend? Not intentionally, although I was told today I look like Mr. Rogers because I'm wearing a red sweater over a white shirt. So if that counts, yes. I think that counts. Totally. Well, we may not understand your cottage cheese preference, but we do appreciate you coming on Collegian Weekend Review.

Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for having me. You're listening to Collegian Weekend Review. This is Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7. We'll be back in a minute. You're listening to the Collegian Week and Review. Welcome back to the Collegian Week and Review. We're here with Josh Mystery, who wrote an article for City News this week on Don Hicks, the Democratic candidate for the 35th State House of Representatives. Thanks for having me more.

So Josh, tell us about Don Hicks. Yeah, Don Hicks was a schoolteacher who grew up in northern Ohio. Both his parents were school teachers as well. He went on to graduate from Michigan State University with a quadruple major and then went on to teach like his parents in Bronson pretty close to here and after doing that for almost 35 years he went on to work for an energy company and then after that i messed that up he went on to work for a credit union sorry and then after that he decided to run for office. Josh you quoted Mayor Adam Stockford in your story who expressed some surprise that Hicks is running as a Democrat rather than

a Republican why is that surprising yeah Don is super fiscally conservative. He taught a lot of econ courses while he was a public school teacher. He has a lot of love for Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, and the like. And so his economic policy has put him at odds with a lot of the Democrats at the state level. And so a lot of folks locally and even people that knew him, told him that he should have run as a Republican because of that. But Hicks was pretty dead set on his social issues. He described himself as a social progressive and said that those issues kept him within the Democratic Party. Now what Stockford told you is if he had run as a Republican, he very well might have won.

And we're talking about a district that last time it voted for its current rep, Andrew Fink. Fink garnered 72% of the vote. So it's a ruby red district. And if this guy who's running as a Democrat had run as a Republican in the primary, he might have been able to replace Fink. Yeah, that's what Hicks thinks. He said that both Mayor Stockford and Tom Matthews had told him that if he had run as a Republican, he might not only won the primary, but obviously also the general. He said he's expecting a lot of cross-party support, hoping to get about 40% of the vote, which means he would get, yeah, close to 15% of votes that might be for warts. And Trump would go for maybe Trump, but then go for him down ballot.

Now, you mentioned that Hicks is a fiscal conservative. He's for spending restraint. He's generally in favor of trying to bring the national debt down. he's also, when it comes to economic policy, described himself as a firm believer in the free market. Now, you mentioned in your article that that's put him at odds with statewide Democrats. Tell us more about that. Yeah, so state-level Democrats have not given him any financial support or support in terms of volunteer canvassing, phone banking, the like. So most of the money he's raised, almost 95% of it has been out of his own pocket and the rest has been a handful of donations from local people.

And then the local Democratic Party here in Hillsdale County and then also in Branch County, He has given him support with volunteers and such. But because of what he believes about, especially regulations on agriculture, education, and then local businesses, the state Democratic Party hasn't officially supported him. Now, in the past, Democrats in this district haven't done well, as we mentioned. Yeah, all of them have been under 28% in the last three cycles. But Hicks thinks he can do better. Yeah, he does. He thinks that his message, especially on agriculture and education, resonates with voters.

on agriculture, he wants to remove most state regulations and block federal regulations and make it up to the county commissioners to decide the county ag boards. And then on education, he thinks that each local principal and administrator should have the role of deciding curriculum. And he said that his dad was a principal at the high school where he grew up at taught him a lot about how that local administrator has a better understanding of what the school needs rather than the state. Understood. Good. Now, before we hop out of this segment, Josh, we want to ask you, since we've been asking every other writer who's come on, what are you going as for Halloween? I'm going as a fox. Brilliant. That's fantastic.

Well, thanks for coming on Collegian Weekend Review. Thanks for having me. You've been listening to the Collegian Weekend Review on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Maura Gleeson. I'm Thomas McKenna. And I'm Caroline Kurt. You can find the Collegian Weekend Review online at cWIR.com. You can find more news at hillstalloclegeon.com.

Our Instagram is at Hillsdale Collegian. See you next week.