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Andy Ferguson: from wannabe rockstar to successful writer

Andy Ferguson never wantedto be a writer.

Not when he was growing upoutside Chicago. His dream wasto be a rock star.

“I wanted to be one of theBeatles,” Ferguson said. “Thenit turned out they weren’t hiring,-man for the White Sox.”

A Weekly Standard co-

founder and senior editor,Ferguson taught a class atHillsdale College as the PulliamDistinguished Visiting Fellowlast week.

“He was funny all the timewithout trying too hard,” junior Katy Bachelder said.

That was not the story of hiscareer.

Before Ferguson pursuedwriting, he got a degree in

philosophy of religion from Oc-cidental College in Los Angeles

— he graduated right beforeBarack Obama began attending

— and wandered up and downthe California coast, “screwingaround,” as he put it.

He even spent some time inseminary. And he kept trying to

be a rock star, but never got a big break.

“I was always terrible,”Ferguson said.

When Ferguson began toconsider writing as a possiblecareer, it wasn’t because heloved the process.

“There’s a famous saying,that every wannabe writer should ask himself,” Fergusonsaid. “Do you want to write, or do you want to have written? Iwas one who just wanted to gowith the lifestyle of the writer. Inever much liked writing itself.Basically I was always wor-ried that I might get a real jobsomewhere along the line andthis was as far away from thatas I could get.”

Ferguson planned to writethe Great American Novel. Hewas living in an adobe shack in Albuquerque, N.M., andcontinually sent pieces of novelsand short stories to magazineeditors.

“I think they had some kindof automatic system where theminute my envelope came in theletter,” he said. “So I was paper-ing this little shack I was livingin with rejection letters fromThe Atlantic and New Yorker and The Hudson Review.”

Ferguson came to the conclu-sion that if he were going towrite, he would have to get in-volved with print journalism. Sohe moved to Bloomington, Ind.to attend the journalism schoolat the University of Indiana.At the time, Bloomington wasthe home of the editor of TheAmerican Spectator. Fergusonmet him, struck up a friendship,and soon went to work for the

magazine. When the publica-tion picked up and moved toWashington, D.C., Fergusonfollowed.

“So suddenly from my littleadobe hut in Albuquerque Ifound myself right in the middleof Washington journalism,” hesaid. “It was quite a thrill.”

In D.C., Ferguson wrotehumor pieces, political satire, and culture, and commentary onmusic.

“The highest compliment Ithink I can give an article is tosay, “Gosh, I wish I had writ-ten that,’” said John J. Miller,director of the Dow JournalismProgram and National Reviewwriter. “With Ferguson, I havethat experience all the time.”

Ferguson even went to work H.W. Bush as a speechwriter.

“I never wanted to do it pro-

Rancid steam billows out of a fenced-off hole in the ground

behind the Dow LeadershipCenter, surrounded by witheredgrass.

It’s been eight weeks andthe steam keeps pouring out.

“It seems most probable thatthe hole contains the thoughts

and meditations of former CCA attendees,” said SimpsonResidence RA Nick O’Donnell,a sophomore. “The thoughtshave reached a critical massthat manifests itself as ecto-

plasmic goo. Now we havea caldera of conservative ireand frustration on our hands. Iwould also be willing to acceptthe idea that it is a geo-thermalexhaust vent.”

The real explanation is lessglamorous.

According to Vice Presidentof Administration Rich Péwé,the clouds rising from the man-hole are from a leak locatedsomewhere along 100 feet of

pipe buried beneath the ground.The pipe was put in years

ago when failing boilers in

the Dow drove the college to

decide between installing anew boiler — costing $350,000

— or running a hot water pipe from the campus’ centralheating source, located behindMoss Hall.

The college opted for thelatter, and there has been noissue until this recent leak.Péwé said he believes the leak

began shortly after studentsarrived on campus for the fall

semester. Students complainedthat it seemed to take so longfor the college to respond to the

billowing steam and the terriblesmell that accompanied it.

“It smells terrible, it’s aneyesore, and I have no ideasophomore Ian Swansonsaid.“The guys [at Simpson]used to talk about it a lot, butnow it’s kind of old news.Sometimes we still bring it upon cold days when you can seethe steam and we have to walk through it on the way to class.”

-ing the pipe was not a simple

process. It would be incrediblyentire line of pipe in search of

Vol. 135, Issue 7 - 27 Oct. 2011Michigan’s oldest college newspaper www.hillsdalecollegian.com

In Features..

In City News...

A5

In Arts...

B1

B4

TWITTER.COM /HDALECOLLEGIAN

FACEBOOK.COM /HILLSDALECOLLEGIAN

Roxanne Turnbull

Arts Editor

StudentDirector

Security goesrogue

BirthdayBuilding

Hillsdale College ranked 16th in the nation this year for fresh-man retention rates according to the Center for College Affordabil-ity and Productivity.

Hillsdale’s happy freshmen agree that the atmosphere and com-munity are what keep them here.

“There are many levels of respect,” freshman Evan Gensler said.“Because of all the respect between professors, students, and fam-ily, it’s natural for things to fall into place. It’s a good community.”

Even midterms and grade postings haven’t wiped the smiles off their faces.

“The classes are hard and incredibly depressing,” freshman A.J.Maruna said. “I’d rather it be harder though. They’re enjoyable. Iknow it’s the best thing for me. Taking the easy path doesn’t getanything for you.”

The administration attributes that success to a number of initia-tives. Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell said the admissionsdepartment does a great job bringing in the kinds of students who

will succeed at Hillsdale.

“We are recruiting the right kinds of students, and students knowwhat type of institution they are choosing to attend,” Dell said. “We

Hillsdale is attractive to these strong students because of its con-servativism, its vibrant core, its unique small size, and the personalattention paid to individual students, Dell said.

“We’re about the individual and helping you grow,” Dell said.For freshman Rachael Kurtz, Hillsdale offers her the academics

she was hoping for along with the opportunity to compete in swimat a high NCAA level.

“You may come here for athletics, but there’s no way you cancome here without the grades to get in,” she said.

Maruna said the freshmen worked hard to get here, and theywork hard to stay. They come here for training in truth, beauty, andexcellence.

“I believe in this school and what this school does,” Marunasaid. “I consider it a blessing that I’m here.”

Hillsdale ranked 16th forhappiest freshmen

Underground pipeleak spews steam

Abigail WoodCopy Editor

Patrick TimmisNews Editor

Fifteen students from Hill-sdale College and Grove CityCollege spent their fall breaks ateach other’s school.

Last week wrapped up thetwo-week exchange and col-loquium hosted by HillsdaleCollege’s honors program, wheneight Grove City students spenta long weekend in Hillsdale,going to The Well, attendinghistory classes, and listening toHillsdale lectures.

The exchange between theschools was planned to encour-age inter-school conversationsabout permanent things.

Richard Gamble, associate professor of history and head

of the honors program, said thetwo-weekend event was the

brainchild of Associate Profes-sor of History Dave Stewart.

“Often, students here knowwhat a professor’s going tosay,” Stewart said. “You have a

pretty good idea of how, say, Dr.Gamble is going to approach awork and the questions he’s go-ing to ask to get there.”

Stewart said the colloquiumexposed students to different

perspectives from other profes-sors.

“It forces you to reallyconsider things,” he said. “Dif-ferent professors come at thingsdifferently.”

Junior Zach King, co- president of Honor’s, said heappreciated hearing the differ-ent perspective of Grove City

students as well.“I noticed the Grove City

kids were a littl more practical-ly-minded,” he said. “I foundit refreshing that they wantedto translate these [intellectual]things into practical ways of living.”

Although Grove City doesnot have an honors program, theliberal arts college does boast ahistory professor who graduatedfrom Hillsdale College.

Andrew Mitchell, ’00, as-sistant professor of history atGrove City, helped coordinatethe visit, by arranging lecturesand coordinating students on thePennsylvania side, Gamble saidsaid.

“He told us it would be the best weekend of the semester,”said Grove City senior Amanda

Winds, an English major.Students read Evelyn

Waugh’s short story “Scott-King’s Modern Europe” andheard lectures on the work by

professors in different disci- plines at both schools.

Gamble said the interdisci- plinary approach to learning issomething the honors programspecializes in.

“My vision for the honors program is that we dedicateourselves to helping Hillsdale bewhat it aspires to be,” he said.“We should be the championsof the liberal arts education. Weshould embody the interdisci-

plinary ideal.”During last weekend’s

visit, Grove City visitors heard

Honors hosts Grove

City ColloquiumMarieke van derVaart

Editor-in-Chief

See A2

See A4

See A3

(Schuyler Dugle/Collegian)

(Greg Barry/Collegian)

(Greg Barry/Collegian)















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