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A
private liberal arts college, ahuge state school, a
communitycollegeIve spent a year at
eachand now Im a Freshmanagain. Realize that all the kids I
gradu-ated high school with are looking attheir senior years,
thinking aboutcareers, and planning the rest of theirlives. Is it
possible to stare down thenext four years of my life and say
itsworth it? I think so.When people ask me why I even con-sidered
entrusting the rest of my educa-tion to Hillsdale, I could sum up
myreasons in one word: Opportunity.Originally, I attended the
Universityof Dallas because I thought it was mychance to study the
great books andtransferred to Arizona State University,thinking
that greater diversity and sizewould offer the freedom to
exploremore ideas while exercising extracur-ricular ambitions. I
left because ASUtakes academics and morality about as
seriously as its students take their sexlives: casually. I spent
this last year ata community college preparing to beadmitted to
Hillsdale.UD and Hillsdale made coming toHillsdale a puzzling
choice, but once I
became aware of the key differences,the decision was obvious.A
professor here told me that educationis that which enables a soul
to be freeto choose the Good. Therefore, as astudent one should be
allowed to makegood choices, as well as capable ofmaking them.From
the efforts the admissions andmake sure I got here, to the trouble
theleadership goes through to ensure thatwe have the best teachers,
to the in-numerable high-quality extracurricularthe college offers,
its constantly clearto me that the college as a whole wants
to give students the opportunity tobecome independent and to
experiencegood things.First, we have a fantastic core. Ican discuss
nearly any question I
have with my professors and with myfellow students. At UD there
are sim-
ply too many subjects that are taboo.At ASU, too many subjects
werentunderstood at all.I can almost pick anything that I feel
Ishould grow in and pursue to excel-
lence. Where UD had hardly anymusic program, here there are
toomany musical outlets to choose from(and Im only thinking about
the onesformally offered by the college). Thesame seems to be true
with the rest ofthe art departments.When it comes to clubs, I jump
at thechance to play soccer, frisbee, andalmost any other sport. Im
extremelyexcited about getting involved withSIFE, and other
developmentalclubsparticipation in which was non-existent at UD,
and pointless at ASU.The frequency with which the col-lege brings
in reputable speakers alsoastounds me. Theres no lack of op-
portunity for students to connect withprestigious and remarkable
people, andI mean the faculty as well, the qual-ity of which I have
not encounteredanywhere else.By far, what does it for me is the
quality of the people here, and thechance to interact with them.
Often,
principles I learn in the core courses,but applying them as
well. The level ofacquaintances attain in their academicsis topped
only by the level of excel-lence they achieve in their personal
pursuits. In the music they make, thebooks and poems they write,
the waythey speak, and in the way they treat
people, the way they take their careerand their business
seriously, in theirconvictions but also in the way theyapproach and
ask questions, in the waythey love liberal arts and desire to
becomplete in all facets of life. I jump atthe opportunity to spend
the next fouryears with those kinds of people.
Neither UD nor ASU treat freedomcorrectly --UD not allowing for
enough
freedom and ASU allowing far toomuch. At Hillsdale freedom to
growis understood. It is respected. It is al-lowed. It is
encouraged. In the end, itis pursued.
Mitt Romney believes inAmerica.
Presidential candidate on hisinternet site, and approved ofthe
messages I found there.His website claims that thefoundations of
our nationsstrength are a love of liberty anda pioneering spirit of
innovationand creativity. These valuesinherited from our Founders
andembodied by all who came to ourshores seeking
opportunityhavemade the United States the most
powerful nation in the history ofa fan of the Founding Fathers,
andI warmed to Mr. Romney when Iread those words.
His biography shows a mansteeped in the small-business
private economy, a man not afraid
to make hard decisions while inhow a limited government and
theeconomy should work. What moreare conservatives looking for in
a
presidential candidate? It seemedwould be a good bet for the
job.
I then went to investigate hishistory, and found that many
otherconservatives do not share Mr.Romneys positive account
ofhimself. Mark Steyn, a well-known
belittled Romney for his fullydocumented liberal record, andgave
a list of facts to prove that theformer governor of Massachusettsis
not the conservative man heclaims to be. Rush Limbaugh
recently commented that 70 percentof conservative voters
polledwere undecided on their choicefor the republican ticket, but
thatthey all knew that they were notgoing to vote for Romney.
The
reason is simple. Romney is not aconservative, said Rush.
His quasi-socialist healthcareplan endorsed by HillaryClinton,
Ted Kennedy, andPlanned Parenthood includestax-subsidized surgical
abortions.RomneyCare also includes theso-called individual
mandateto buy health insurance that liesat the heart of the
Constitutionalobjections to the presidentsnational health care
reform.
Human Events voted himthe number 8 RINO on a listthey compiled
of the top tenRepublicans In Name Only.
He supported the passage of theEmployment Non-DiscriminationAct,
which would force churchesand other religious organizations tohire
homosexuals and transvestites
He opposed a ban onhomosexual Boy Scout leaders.He forced
Catholic Charities,
the nations number 1 adoptionand foster care service, to
placechildren with same sex couples.
He did all of these things, buthe went still further down
theneo-liberal road with another
gubernatorial action. He issuedmarriage licenses to same-sex
couples in violation ofMassachusetts law in order to gain
popularity with groups offering toendorse him. He acted
unilaterallywithout the authority to do so.Sounds a bit like Obamas
manyexecutive orders, doesnt it?
Are these the values we wantthe president to foster in
Americanyouths and society? Will he aseasily disregard the national
laws ifhe is elected?
All of these muddledcontroversies show one clear
thing:impression is just an appeal to thecurrent times. He does not
standon a steady platform that defeatsscrutiny, and we cannot rely
uponhim to clearly state and defendthe conservative values of
the
Republican Party. The Presidentof the United States should bea
Constitutional sentry and aguardian of limited government,and we
cannot rely on Mitt
OPINION3 Nov. 2011 A6 www.hillsdalecollegian.com
THE COLLEGIANWEEKLYTHEOPINIONOF THE COLLEGIANEDITORIAL STAFF
33 E. College St.Hillsdale, MI 49242
Newsroom: (517) 607-2897Advertising: (517) 607-2684
Online:www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Editor in Chief: Marieke van der Vaart
News Editor: Patrick TimmisCity News Editor: Sarah Leitner
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Arts Editor: Roxanne TurnbullInvestigative Editor: Betsy
Woodruff
Design Editor: Bonnie Cofer
Photo Editor: Greg BarryWeb & Social Media Editor: Sally
Nelson
Ad Manager: Will WegertCirculation Manager: Emmaline
Epperson
Copy Editors: Tory Cooney | Morgan SweeneyCaleb Whitmer |
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Staff Reporters: Emily JohnstonPhillip Morgan | Teddy Sawyer |
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Photographers: Joe Buth | Shannon Odell
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Drapkin
Illustrators: Greg Carlson
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The editors welcome Letters to the Editor but reserve
the right to edit all submissions for clarity, length and
style. Letters should be less 350 words or less and include
your name and phone number. Please send submissions
to [email protected] before Sunday at 6 p.m.
Mitt Romneys substance-free campaign
Fourth year, fourth college
GW
Jack BartlettSpecial to The Collegian
For young people, Social Security is a mis-nomer. The
generations that follow the BabyBoomers are anything but secure in
the
Social Security program.The premise of Social Security is that
American
citizens who pay taxes out of their paychecks into theprogram
will get their money back when they retire.However, current
retirees have not paid enough into thesystem to make up for what
they are collecting. As a re-sult, younger generations are the ones
supporting them.This Ponzi scheme violates their property
rights.
According to the 1936 Government Pamphlet onSocial Security,
Beginning November 24, 1936, theUnited States government will set
up a Social Securityaccount for you . . . The checks will come to
you as aright. Calling these checks a right implies that themoney
you put into your Social Security account isyour property your
future entitlement. But this is notthe case.
The Heritage Foundation estimates that by 2017, So-taxes bring
in. In 1940, 42 taxpayers supported eachretiree. Now, its only 3.3
taxpayers per retiree. Thatmeans Washington will have to raise
taxes for the work-ing class to support retiring Baby Boomers.
What would our Founders think of this program?James Madison said
that a just security to property
is not afforded by that government, under which un-equal taxes
oppress one species of property and rewardanother species. This is
exactly what big government isdoing with social security: instead
of securing property,the government transfers it, rewarding
retirees at theexpense of the younger generations future.
Not all feel this way about Social Security.Because of the
massive number of people living
beneath the poverty level, Progressives feel that it is
thegovernments duty to save the citizens from possibleeconomic
trouble. In his 1944 State of the Union Ad-dress, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt laid out a second Billof Rights that would provide
happiness and security inthe face of economic fears.
All of these rights spell securityAnd after thiswar is won, we
must be prepared to move forward, inthe implementation of these
rights, to new goals of hu-man happiness and well-being, he
said.
FDR missed the mark. An individuals most sacredright is his or
her conscience, the ability to think andmake rational, personal
decisions. As Madison wrote,Conscience is the most sacred of all
property.
When big government is given more power to makechoices for its
citizens, they lose their individual free-doms.
This is exactly what is happening with Social Se-curity.
American citizens are losing their right to make
personal decisions and younger generations are losingtheir right
to their future retirement funds. Big govern-ment must remove
itself from the picture and protectthe true rights of the
individual life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness by privatizing Social Security. -
cial Security by basing the system on individual choice.Private
companies were given the freedom to provideinsurance, Chilean
citizens pay 10 to 20 percent of theirBecause of this simple policy
change, Chileans nowreceive 40 to 50 percent higher retirement
pensions thanthe public system provided. America should take
note.
Madison said that a wise and just government willequally respect
the rights of property, and the propertyin the rights. Only when
our government follows thisrule will the individual have real
social security.
Our country needs to be willing to seek alternatives
to our unsustainable Social Security system. Youngergenerations
should not be left to pick up the pieces ofthis broken system.
Washington needs to take responsi-
bility and pave the road to reform.
Two of this weeks storieshighlight Hillsdale Col-leges distinct
approach
to money in education. For Hills-dales administrators, education
is
not merely a commodity.Despite endorsing freemarket ideas on and
off campus,the price tag of our education at thisof market
value.
Students at Hope College inHolland, Mich. pay $27,020 a yearfor
their tuition. We pay $20,760,and that number is heavily
subsi-dized by donors and friends of thecollege.
President Larry Arnn often saysthe true cost of our education
ismore than double what we pay:upwards of $50,000.
about Rush Limbaugh ads andmarketing campaigns, its easy tofrom
the work of the External Af-fairs and institutional
advancementstaff.
Its something Hillsdale profes-sors who came from the
Universityof Dallas have not forgotten.
At UD, a school of similar sizeand vision to Hillsdale, faculty
andadministrators have had to con-sider adding trade schools to
theundergraduate institution in orderto bring in more revenue.
Its a very unhappy place whenyoure worrying about staying inthe
black, said John Grant, associ-ate professor of politics and
formerdean of students at UD.
A single-minded dedication to
the liberal arts is only possible ina college where students are
not-cial pressures of paying for school.
That freedom comes from aschools commitment to the ideathat
education is more than agood or service to produce in aneconomy of
scale. Marginal cost
paradigm for the mission of ourschool.
Were not here to make money.Were here to help students,
saidDirector of Financial Aid RichMoeggenberg.
Thats not to say that adminis-endowment, at more than $200
mil-lion, is astonishing. UDs endow-ment is just over $40 million.
You
do the math.But our college recognizes that
the paradigm appropriate to man-appropriate to educating
studentsare distinctly different. A narrowattachment to the bottom
line isnot the framework governing ourschools view of
education.
Our school understands the fouryears we spend here in the
broadercontext of great ideas. Viewingeducation through the lens of
eco-nomics can undermine its purpose,as it has at so many other
collegesaround our country.
The wisdom of Hillsdales ap-proach to money is how our
collegeseparates its mission of effectivefundraising from its
purpose ofeducating students souls.
Unlike Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain is actually funny.
Cain explained his 9-9-9 plan to a gathering at an Ameri-can
Enterprise Institute Monday. He successfully made
journalists laugh.
Herman Cains voice blasted through his microphone. I tend to
project, he remarked. So put it down just a smidgen. I would
blowthis thing to smithereens, he added with a smile.
As the laughter subsided, moderator Kevin A. Hassatt asked
Her-man Cain to choose a Republican political opponent to dress up
asfor Halloween. After a moment of contemplation, Cain responded,I
believe I would go as Ron Paul. More laughter and applausefrom
members of the audience.
Cain explained his 9-9-9 plan with gravity. But when
Hassattasked him about the tax reform plan and mentioned that AEI
had
been discussing it to much smaller crowds, Cain quickly
inter-jected.
You should run for president, he said in reference to thepacked
room.
A reporter from British ITN prefaced his question by saying,
Ilove your accent by the way.
Nahn, nahn, nahn, he said, emulating Cains pronunciation of
9-9-9.The feeling is mutual, said Cain.As Cain left the room, he
turned to give one last remark to the
audience.By the way, folks, yes I am an unconventional
candidate. And,
yes, I do have a sense of humor. And some people have a
problemwith that. But to quote my chief of staff and all the people
that Ivetalked to around this country, Herman, be Herman. And
Herman isgoing to stay Herman. Thank you very much.
Later that afternoon, he reinforced his intention to be
himselfwhen he broke into song at a press club event.
Herman Cains popularity may be due to more than just
hisattribute to him.
Samantha GilmanSpecial to The Collegian
The LikeableHerman Cain
S ICelia Bigelow
Special to The Collegian
The Republican Candidate in2012 will face an incumbentPresident,
Barack Obama. Rick
Santorum has beaten two Democraticincumbents in the past, and is
able todo so again.Senator Rick Santorum deservesmore credit than
the media gives him.
Recent campaign coverage seemsto condemn Santorum to
politicalobscurity. Passed over by debatemoderators, he asserted
himselfstrongly and was criticized for it.Many are unwilling to
support himdue to a seeming lack of charisma,compared to current
frontrunnerHerman Cain. Nevertheless, his solid
political experience and conservativepolicies place him a cut
above each ofthe other candidates.He authored the 1996 Welfare
Re-form Act, which helped millions ofAmericans leave welfare for
the workforce. A member of the anti-corrup-tion Gang of Seven, he
helped ex-
pose the Congressional Banking andHe also wrote and passed
partial birthabortion laws.Rick Santorum describes himself asa tea
party kind of guy before there
responsibility traces back to his veryleaves John Huntsman, Rick
Perry,and Mitt Romney jealous. Whilehe focuses on social issues
duringan election on economic issues, his -tism. In a race about
principle, whereConservatives want to look beyondrhetoric, Santorum
proves true to hisword.But how does he fare against RonPaul? A
paragon of sincerity, Paulsince the age of the dinosaurs. Buthis
views on foreign policy have losttheir relevance. Paul would
returnAmerica to isolationism, largelyignoring the outside
world.Santorum, on the other hand, realizesthat the world affects
the United
States. His experience with the Sen-ate Armed Services Committee
andwith Israel has trained him to seeinternational issues clearly.
WhileIran may not have the ability or the
will to attack America immediately,Santorum recognizes
MahmoudAhmadinejads regime as a threat.He supports measures to keep
thisextremist government from acquiringnuclear weapons.Paul assumes
that extremists wouldaccept America if it left the worldalone. Most
Muslims do desire peace,and Pauls strategy would work with
them. But militant fundamentalistswould still hate America, even
if weleft the Middle East. Not seeing this,Paul follows Neville
Chamberlain inthe same line of thinking that led todeeming Hitler
reasonable.In experience, Santorum outshinesMichele Bachmann and
Hermanconservatism, lacks experience inapplying it. Similarly,
despite hisnecessary experience of D.C. politics.Santorums
legislative successesdemonstrate his ability to compro-mise on side
issues and achieve hismain objective. Even with his reputa-navigate
the system. Some in the TeaParty attack Washington experienceas a
corrupting factor, but Santorumhas only used his experience to
applyhis conservative principles.
Newt Gingrich also has experience inWashington. However the
skeletonsin his closet threaten his candidacy.A nasty divorce
weakens the formerHouse Speakers chances withconservatives, and
many Tea PartiersAmerica.Avoiding scandals, Santorum
hasconsistently applied his sociallyconservative principles.
Everysociety in the history of man, heargues, has upheld . . .
marriage as a
bond between a man and a woman.Society has an interest in
children,and the family is the best atmosphereto raise them.
Santorum stands bytraditional marriage between one manand one
woman. His own large andstrong family proves his dedication tothis
principle.Whether or not Republicans embrace
him as their candidate in 2012, RickSantorum has proven his
mettleand his sincerity as a Conservativecandidate. They should
nominate himto face Obama in 2012.
Santorum for PresidentDALLASTO DALE Tyler ONeil
Special to The Collegian
Josh McGeeheeSpecial to The Collegian
