Traditions include: Freshman Convocation; discussions on Honor Code and academic honesty; faculty-freshman dinners; Welcome Party; Freshman Orientation.

Hillsdale College welcomed the class of 2028 to campus at Freshman Convocation on August 25. New students, their families, and faculty gathered to hear about the coming academic year from fellow students and President Larry P. Arnn. The class of 2028 includes 381 students, representing 42 states. Preliminary statistics indicate an average 3.95 GPA and 21% acceptance rate.

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Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn addresses freshman students and their parents. (Photo: Business Wire)

The ceremony began with an invocatory prayer, a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and music from the Hillsdale College Chamber Choir. Seniors Faith Henry and Garrett Goolsby reflected on their time at Hillsdale and encouraged the freshman class.

“College is an incredible opportunity to decide what kind of person you will become, and it isn’t just you,” Henry said. “Every single freshman here is faced with the same decision. When I first moved to Hillsdale, I had a deep curiosity to know what kind of person I would be after what people say is the most formative four years of your life. I hope to show you that if you lean into the challenge that Hillsdale presents, you’ll become someone who’s courageous, persevering and joyful.”

Dr. Arnn warned the incoming students of the difficulties they will face in their studies.

“Learning does require ambition and aggressiveness. Also, it requires humility. That means we have to admit we do not know,” Dr. Arnn said. “I will say just this once: I know you are not children anymore. The reason you have to suffer is because you are going to grow, and growth is change, and it hurts, and it is good. In the Providence of the Lord, He has brought you here at just a moment when you are reaching a peak of energy and inquisitiveness. All of that is now to be applied to your growth and the growth of everyone here.”

“We must respect each other. We have to do that because we have to work together,” Dr. Arnn said. “The thing that defines us also makes us able to communicate better and in a different way than any other being on earth. We can talk and that means we are made to learn together.”

Before students and parents went to separate dinner parties, the freshman class agreed to uphold the Hillsdale College Matriculation Pledge and recited it in unison:

We, the students of Hillsdale College, commit ourselves to diligent study and patient reflection. Having come to learn, we are proud to do so with integrity and will conduct ourselves with exemplary honor. As sacrifices past and present make possible our education, we too become stewards of this College for the generations yet to come. We pledge ourselves to the pursuit of truth, the love of the good, and the cultivation of beauty, for the sake of our minds and hearts and for an ennobled society. By so doing, we embrace the high calling of liberal education.

The Freshman Convocation ceremony is one of several formative events Hillsdale College Freshman attend during their first few days on campus. Later that week, incoming students attended lectures on the Hillsdale College Honor Code and academic honesty.

All incoming Hillsdale College students sign the Honor Code, which reads,

A Hillsdale College student is honorable in conduct, honest in word and deed, dutiful in study and service, and respectful of the rights of others. Through education, the student rises to self-government.

“Why do we start with honor? It is the first step in community. We are a community. There is a purpose — its good,” said Arnn. “But you start with honor because we have to work together. You have a station in the College, and I have a station in the College. Each of us only has one station, and they are equally important. The college will fail if we don’t perform our function.”

Freshman also attended a Student Activities Board Welcome Party, and a freshman and faculty dessert reception hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Arnn.

For photos from Convocation, click here. For reels from Hillsdale College Freshman Orientation, click here and here.

For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.

About Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College is an independent, nonsectarian, Christian liberal arts college located in southern Michigan. Founded in 1844, the College has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 6.6 million. For more information, visit hillsdale.edu.

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