WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Collegian Week in Review: September 24, 2026

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

This week on Collegian Week in Review, Alessia and Megan talk with Ethan Savka about Mayor Sessions' BPU nomination and a new birding club. Then, they hear from Sophia Mandt about Hillsdale's new psychology professor and ask each other about a musical and a former trustee who passed away.

You want to run the story? You've got five hours until eight o'clock. Go get the story. No, hey, do your job. Do your job. Extra, extra, hear all about it, is the Collegian Week in Review. Not bad. Not bad at all.

We're going to run this on page one. I'm Section H2. Ripped from the pages of Michigan's oldest college newspaper, written by Hillsdale College Students. You got a cop quote? A what? Quote, you know, they talk, you right, we print. Now, here are your hosts, Alessia Sandala, Megan Lee, and Francesca Sella on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.

Woo-hoo, dump the precious! Welcome to the Collegian Weekend Review, where we give you an inside look into Michigan's oldest college newspaper. We're your host, Alessia Sandela, and Megan Lee. Our third host, Francesca Sella, is unfortunately out of town this week. and she has missed. But fear not, if you really don't like it with the two of us, she will be back next week. Today we'll be talking with Ethan Savka about Mayor Scott Sessions's BPU appointment, as well as the birding club on campus. Sophia Mant about the new psychology professor at Hillsdale College, Alessia about the new musical coming to campus, and with me about a former

board of trustee member that passed away. I'm Alessia, and today I'm talking with City News Assistant Editor Ethan Savkha. Ethan, you wrote a story about Mayor Scott Sessions' recommendation of himself for the Board of Public Utilities, Board of Directors. Can you tell us a little bit about what happened at the meeting? Yeah, so at the council meeting this past Monday, about 40-ish minutes in, they arrived to the spot on the agenda, where Sessions had nominated. I believe nominated himself for the position. And he announced that. As mayor, of course, he's running the meeting, so he announces that.

And then he moves to recuse himself from the discussion of his nomination. After that, the council moved forward from that. They debated the recusal, ultimately approved the recusal. After deciding that he could still discuss the nomination while recused, then they had discussion on it that lasted probably 20-ish minutes there was a lot of different intricacies there was a long back and forth between councilman bentley and the city lawyer about a law that bentley had googled during the meeting and they discussed that and ultimately the council tabled the motion I believe by a vote of five to two with um uh bentley kind of leading

the charge. So why is there a vacancy on the BPU board and why did Sessions nominate himself? Yeah, former BPU board member Mike Prince stepped down the Tuesday before the meeting. So not this past Tuesday, but the Tuesday before. And I believe it was because he has a new job and he just doesn't have the bandwidth to continue. That's my understanding. They referenced that during the meeting. I think Dave Mackey referenced it during the meeting. That opened up a position, I believe, you know, the Thursday following that Tuesday, sessions announced that he wanted to, one in the position. Nobody else, I believe, announced at the time. And so it's just him appointing himself to this position asking the council, of course, to appoint him.

And, you know, Bentley saw that as a lack of procedure. He doesn't think that someone should just be able to appoint themselves to just opposition just because they want it. The city residents ultimately seem to feel the same way, at least the ones who showed up for public comment during the meeting. Why did Sessions recommend himself? According to what he said at the meeting in response to Bentley's questions, he said, quote, the reason why I'm running is to represent the people of Hillsdale. That's the main reason why I'm doing this. So we have representation on the BPU board, which we haven't had.

We've had to cancel meetings. And quote, in there, he also talked about the fact that he's been attending the meetings. Ever since he became mayor, he seems to be concerned with the functioning of the board. The board has recently had to cancel a couple of meetings due to a lack of quorum. So he is running, in his own words, to represent the people of Hillsdale, make sure that this board is functioning and make sure that the city is running smoothly. Why did council members like Bentley disagree with this recommendation? Well, according to Bentley, his concern is a lack of process.

He doesn't see in the first place a proper hiring process being followed. And then I think separate from that, he might also have concerns about sessions being just a yes vote for whatever Dave Mackey wants. He referenced that at the meeting. And he seems to have concerns about what. sessions would actually do on the board. Bentley, I think it's somewhere in here, says that he thinks the whole thing is a farce. I think he called the he called the appointment itself fake. He said it's not a real appointment. It's not a real recusal. He says, quote, I think I and the people I represent would feel more comfortable if the process, it, the process, had actual genuine oversight and not this

frankly laughable process of you just appointing yourself. I think this. I think this. is embarrassing. Speaking for the people who I represent, I think it's a farce. So he seems to be concerned mostly with the procedure and then separately with what sessions would actually do on the board. Will this come before the council again, if so when? Yeah, so they table it, meaning that at some point they can and probably will take it up again. The next meeting is on October 19th, at least according to the city calendar on their website. So I would imagine that it will be taken back up again then. And who knows, who knows, knows how the vote will go. I'm not going to make any predictions. Obviously, Bentley's opposed to

it. He had enough to table it, which means that it's likelihood of success may not be very high, but in the interim, sessions could probably do things like send out a resume or, you know, follow an heightened level of process that maybe he didn't follow between, you know, the Tuesday that Prince stepped down and the Monday meeting. So I'd imagine they'll take it up again and we'll see where it goes from there. Great, thanks, Ethan. This is the Collegian Weekend Review. I'm Megan, and now I'm talking to Ethan about another article he wrote this week in the feature

section about the new birding club on campus. Ethan, how did this birding club first get started? It was started by a student called Brandon Meeks. He said that he has gone birding for quite a few years now. He birds with his family. and with his friends. And he began last semester to think about starting a club on campus. He put out a bunch of posters.

I think several of a lot of the student body saw these posters just around campus, kind of like quirky little posters with a bird and someone with binoculars watching the bird. Just to gauge interest for people and whether they wanted to join a birding club, potentially in the future. I think they just started this semester going on expeditions, weekly expeditions, to different nature reserves and what have you to go see birds. But the interest forums went out last semester. How many people are currently involved in the club at the moment?

Meek says he has about 20 people on his email list. He's had about a handful show up for weekly expeditions, roughly the same crowd. And of course, that will increase over the rest of the semester. Obviously, he has a collegiate article about it now, so that's going to help. He has more posters around campus this semester. and this article actually started because someone noticed those posters. I was like, oh, let's do an article about it. And I think, you know, with 20 people right now, he'll probably have maybe double that in a couple months.

He wants to start a formal club with the members he has right now. You mentioned the club is going on birding expeditions. Have they gone on one yet? And what did that look like? So I think they've gone on several. I know they went to have a spot about half an hour out of Hillsdale. in Pittsburgh, I think it's called Pittsburgh, Michigan. And they said that it went fair.

The people I talked to, Beatrice Long, a freshman, who actually heard about the club through a friend who saw a poster while at Hillsdale last semester and just told her about it. She signed up via the Google Doc back in March whenever she wasn't even on campus yet. And she said it's a very informal kind of club. You just go on this little expedition, go hiking.

I mean, birding itself is pretty casual. You just hike and you look around for birds. And, you know, there's not much involved in it. From my understanding, at least, I'm no birding expert. But that's what I understand they've done so far is just go hiking for a couple hours and camp out, watch for birds. You interviewed a sophomore named Ronan Gardner who was actually birding in Africa this summer. What to him or to anyone is the appeal of birding? Why should more people get involved in it?

Well, Rodin says that it's a good time. And it's good, quote, to get out in nature and really appreciate God's creation, end quote. And I think that's kind of what draws him to it, at least that's what he told me. He's been into birding for about a year now. He's been into burning, I guess the whole time he's been at Hillsdale, which is about a year and a half. So he went out to Africa, yeah, on a family trip this past summer. He, you know, along other things, saw a bunch of birds, a bunch of different crazy, crazy birds. He said that he saw one with really long legs, which I guess we don't have out here.

he said, he saw, quote, an Egyptian vulture and a secretary bird, quote, the secretary bird is a bird that has really long legs. It looks like a turkey with really long legs, but it stomps on snakes and kills them and eats them. And it's really cool, end quote. And I guess, you know, Gardner has an affinity for things that stomp on snakes and eat them. So you're not going to find something like that out here. So I think that's just a cool little thing to add to the article. Obviously, Michigan's going to have the Midwest selection of birds.

They're pretty, but they're small. all there nothing crazy. Africa is a much different climate. The Collegian Week in Review continues. Now we're talking to Sophia Amant, a senior reporter, who wrote a story about Hillsdale's newest faculty member. Sophia, who is our new psychology professor? Guzman is Hillsdale's newest psychology professor.

He's an associate professor of psychology. And he's had years of clinical experience and training in both cognitive behavioral therapy and Jungian analytical psychology. And Dr. Barnes, who's the department head of the psychology departments of that sort of combination in the field, is comparable to someone knowing their way around both modern chemistry and the esoteric world of medieval alchemy. So very, very unique mix of talents. And from my discussion with him, he's a very, very devout. Christian who sees his mission in teaching students and even understanding psychology is understanding God's own creation.

Why did he decide to come to Hillsdale? Well, in his words, he was immediately drawn to teaching at Hillsdale because he thought that the school is genuinely doing something that no other institution is doing, which he saw as an attempt at preserving the Western values in alignment with the idea of wisdom, as opposed to technology or practicality. And that kind of reminds me of what my dad always told me about how there's like different forms of knowledge and wisdom as kind of the ultimate one, that sort of sense of knowing what things are right or maybe ultimately true about the world as opposed to mere memorization of facts. So he was really drawn to that sort of unique approach that Hillsdale

tends to value as an institution. How did he become interested in psychology? Guzman told me he first became interested in childhood when his childhood therapist gifted him a book titled A Trip Across Madness. That's a translation of the original title, which is in Spanish. And Guzman said after reading it, he realized he wanted to understand and help people struggling with mental health problems. And his own psychologist told him, I think you'll be a good psychologist. you should consider that.

And what made him want to become a professor? I know that he said that he enjoys teaching and hopes his students develop, you know, epistemological humility or the idea that one can't know everything about the world. And I know that he enjoys teaching others and students who have taken his classes, such as sophomore Stephen Comas, have mentioned,

that they were instructed that instead of learning the names of other students in the class, Guzman has his students learn about something else and say everything about them. But I do think it's a similar drive to wanting to help people that was first started when he was a childhood psychologist that inspired him to really want to do that through teaching. And also he does have a fair bit of experience in the academic world. He received a PhD, for example, on researching post-traumatic stress disorder beyond his studies of Jung, who was a very interesting psychologist that really valued the spiritual world and thought that there was sort of universal patterns or archetypes beyond human behavior. What kinds of classes will he be teaching at Hillsdale? This semester, Guzman is currently teaching a course on theories of personality.

So the human personality, alongside two sections of the psychology in the modern era, psychology in the modern era, which is a option students can take for a core class. They can take either a class in economics, psychology or sociology, and he's teaching that psychology part of the core. I would imagine that he would in the future teach stuff that is related to his specialty as well that I've mentioned earlier, those topics. What did he say he is looking forward to at Hillsdale? I think he's looking forward to the fact that Hillsdale is an institution that actually values faith and the Christian understanding and even is brave enough to ask, even if they're not always right or don't know for sure, what does it mean to be a human being and what are the

complexities and spiritual elements of our experience as humans? And I know he especially did like the psychology department and how, you know, they're still going to learn. And he himself told me he still finds figures like Freud interesting and valuable thinkers. But, you know, there's a greater focus on figures who have a more positive perspective of religion and spirituality like William James, Jung, Victor Frankel, who don't see conflict, as Guzman puts it, in integrating the wisdom of religion in psychology. or even it's an outright duty to understand religious phenomena. Why do humans believe? Why do we have these ideas of transcendence? And how can those ideas help or harm us?

And that's something that I think Hillstall actively encourages. Great. Thank you so much, Sophia. You're listening to The Collegian Week in Review. I'm Megan. And now I'm talking to Alessia about the new musical that is currently being put on in Markel Auditorium here at Hillsdale. Alessia, tell us what is the musical and how long is it running? So the musical is called You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,

obviously based on the Peanets comic strip. It runs from September 23rd, so it's already started, and it goes through September 27th, which is Sunday. The play, which is a musical, is essentially about a day in the life of Charlie Brown, And it includes some of the most iconic Peanuts comic strip moments like the baseball game, Lucy's psychiatric booth, where she attempts to help Charlie Brown. Speaking of Charlie Brown, what are some of the things that the actor who's playing this iconic character saying about the show? He said that it was a lot of fun to put on and it was a very intense process because they had just one month to put this entire production on.

typically the musical ends up being in the spring and they have half the semester to prepare. But with the change in the calendar, the musical was put in September to work with the schedules. And so they came back from summer break and immediately started rehearsing. They even had to learn lines over the summer. But he said it was an incredibly rewarding experience. What did the actor do to get fully into his role as Charlie Brown? So Huba told me that he was a little nervous at first because it's a Charlie Brown shoes or big shoes to fill. He's a pretty, like we said, he's an iconic character.

So you have to get him right and be true to who he is, especially his personality. And people, he said, have a lot of ideas about what Charlie Brown should be like. So he had to live up to that. But he said that he felt like he could bring a little bit of his own personality. to Charlie Brown. He said that he felt like Charlie Brown should be a little bit pigeon-toed, and he tried to kind of show that when he was on stage. Who is directing the musical, and what did she say about the performance, and what can the audience look forward to? Tori Matzos, who is a professor in the theater department, is directing

the musical. And as far as what audiences can look forward to, it's a very relatable play. I, felt so connected to all of the characters. I got to see it in the dress rehearsal when I was so that I could write this article about it. And it was an absolutely incredible performance. And everyone is so talented. They did such an amazing job. And I just felt myself connecting to all of the characters. And it seems like they really elevated it from, it's not just about children. It's very relatable to college kids and really anyone because it has themes that are applicable to every walk of life. And Huba even told me that the comic strips have always been very philosophical and you can see that come out in the play. A huge part of putting on a successful show involves

the stage manager and what did she have to say about the play just watching from the wings and organizing everything in the background? She said it was a massive job. Her name is Liz Williams and she is a junior. She never stage managed a musical before. She had done some dance productions in the past, but this was her first time doing this type of show. And she said this show in particular had so many calls that she had to make during performances, during the musical numbers. I think she said it was something like in the couple hundreds. It was a lot. So that was a lot for her to manage. And they also had to figure out how to make Linus's blanket fly. That was one of the most unique parts of the show. The blanket literally came off the

ground on its own. And you could sort of tell what was going on, but not really. If you weren't paying close enough attention, you wouldn't notice. It would look like it was really flying, which was something that she had to help figure out. And she also just has to make sure that everyone is in the right place at the right time so that the show can really happen. Thank you, Alessia. You can watch. You're a good man, Charlie Brown, from September 23rd through 27th in the Markle Auditorium. Thanks again. Thank you. You're listening to The Collegian Week in Review. Now we're swapping roles, and I'm interviewing Megan about an article she wrote on a trustee emeritus who passed away.

Megan, who was Larry Selhorst and what was his connection to Hillsdale? So Larry, his full name was Lawrence Selhorst. He passed away on August 8th. He was 93 years old and he had been involved with Hillsdale College for more than 35 years. He first joined the Board of Trustees in 1991 and left in 2015, but he was granted emeritus status. and he still attended the board meetings until about five years ago. What was his background before getting involved with Hillsdale? Sellhurst was born in Coldwater, Ohio, and he attended John Carroll University.

He actually also started a scholarship there for philosophy majors, which was really neat. And he first started out his career in the steel industry. He founded American Spring Wire Corporation in 1968, and he was the chairman of the Meredia Health Systems in Cleveland, Ohio, Meredia Suburban Community Hospital, and Russell, Bursall and Ward Corporation. So he was very involved in the manufacturing industry and entrepreneurship. What was this involvement in the conservative movement? I talked to Jack Fowler, who is a contributing editor at National Review and also former

publisher of the magazine. And he said Sell Horse was a prominent voice that was involved with William F. Buckley, Jr., and National Review when it was first getting started. SELHorse was one of the first members of the advisory board of National Review Institute, which is a non-profit think tank that supports National Review's mission. And Fowler had a moment with Southorst in late 2015 when Fowler was publisher of National Review, and he said this was a moment that made a strong impression on him. When Sellehorst basically called him to comment on National Review's stance toward Donald Trump at the time,

National Review had come out with an issue that basically came out against Trump and discouraged support of him. But Mr. Selehorst called Jack and was like, the lay of the land culturally and politically actually should call for someone like Donald Trump. And he didn't agree with what National Review had published. And Fowler said that he thought at the time, if Larry Selehorst is thinking this, that must mean something fundamentally is changing. the tectonic plates, you could say, of the conservative movement. Valor called him a weather vein and he said Sellhorst always just knew which way the winds were blowing. What did Dr. Arn have to say about him? Dr. Arn said that Selhorst was an old hand on the board of trustees when he came to the college. He preceded Dr. Arn by a couple years and he described him as wise and careful. He

gave me lots of good advice and was a steady support and that the college misses him and is grateful to him for his service. Who is he survived by? He survived by his wife, Martha Selehorst, his brother John, his children, Sandra, Catherine, and Timothy, and his many, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What did Sele Horse friends have to say about him? So a couple other people I interviewed about sell horse were a board member and chairman emeritus bill broadbeck who graduated from hillsdale in 1966 he said sell horse was always very involved with the board's work in furthering the college's mission he said he was a fine man and treated the board as a very serious thing which is what every trustee is expected to do he also knew rich payway who is chief administrative officer here at

Hillsdale. Peway described him as a steady man with a great personality and was always calm, cool, and relaxed no matter the situation. He also had another friend named Bruce Shulay, who he met on a National Review cruise, actually, and Shulay described him as a leader. He and his wife were both very proactive actualizers, was how Shulay put it. He said it was fun to hang out with them because they were examples of how you could actually move balls down the field and make things happen, especially with regards to the conservative movement. Shulay said that Salfors had an entrepreneurial spirit, which you could say could be credited in his previous manufacturing and industrial experience.

And Shulay said that was why Southorst was so good for the movement because he just kept thinking of things that whether it was National Review or other politicians could do that were more proactive and practical for the movement. and it wasn't all just lofty principles and ideals. Shully said he remembered Southorst specifically for supporting him through his own cancer treatment when Souther's son and Shulie were both going through that. And it was encouraging because both of them survived. And Shulie said that Southerst will be very missed.

Thanks, Megan. Thank you. You've been listening to the Collegiate Weekend Review on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Megan Lee. And I'm Alessia Sandella. You can find the Collegian Weekend Review online at cwir.transistor.fm. You can get more news at Hillsdale Collegian.com or at our Instagram at Hillsdale Collegian. Thanks for tuning in to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.