Meet the conservative college trying to take millions from Mizzou

[Sherman A1]

The tiny Michigan college that's suing to take a multi-million-dollar bequest from the University of Missouri is a politically well-connected institution with big-name allies.

On paper it looks like a mismatch: Hillsdale College, a 1,500-student liberal arts school in rural southern Michigan, taking on the Show-Me State's nearly 30,000-student flagship university.

But Hillsdale is a conservative powerhouse. Its board of trustees includes J. Christopher Chocola, a former member of Congress and former president of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, and Jeffrey H. Coors of the Colorado beer-brewing family, a major donor to Republican candidates and causes. Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak became chairman of the college's board in April.

The college prides itself on refusing any form of state or federal funding, including student grants or loans. That allows it to avoid government mandates, such as the requirements related to Title IX and affirmative action. Its most recent tax disclosure forms show Hillsdale with $1 billion in assets at the end of 2016.

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/higher_education/meet-the-conservative-college-trying-to-take-millions-from-mizzou/article_a7131c64-a4c1-11e9-88a9-9f8b0d7ec1de.html

[More_Cowbell]

1. My niece went there for two years

Because students can't bring federal grants or loans, the college has artificially low tuition and costs. But students must make them up. My niece was on a sports team and the first week, the coach told everyone that they had to send letters to 15 friends and relatives to ask for $50 donations for the team. My sister and her husband were horrified, and asked if they could just pay the $750 themselves. But the coach said no, because the school was using those names and addresses to fundraise. Which they did, until I finally got mad and told a fundraiser just why I would never consider donating to that school.

There were also far fewer activities for students (like concerts and such) because of the lack of money. My sister and I visited my niece on a Saturday afternoon and there was no place where you could sit and get a cup of coffee or a drink. Nothing was open.

I called most of her first-year classes "What White Men Wrote."

It's also the only place in the United States that is allowed to have a statue of Margaret Thatcher.

[MichMan]

2. It's also the only place in the United States that is allowed to have a statue of Margaret Thatcher?

Did not know that statues of Margaret Thatcher were specifically prohibited in every location but Hillsdale? Why were they allowed to have one? Odd law that would prohibit something like that. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?

I live very close to Hillsdale, and while I don't agree with most of their positions, it is a pretty good school from what I have heard and contributes a lot to the local area

Did you know " Hillsdale's charter prohibits any discrimination based on race, religion, or sex, and the College has been credited as the first American college to prohibit this type of discrimination in a charter."

"Notably, Hillsdale's football team refused to play in the 1956 Tangerine Bowl in Florida when the governing committee of the Bowl would not allow the team's black players to join the white players on the field; the committee then selected Juniata College instead."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsdale_College