I came to Hillsdale College because of Rush Limbaugh.
It’s not that I’m a devoted “dittohead” who thinks Limbaugh can do no wrong, but that I wouldn’t have even heard of the place if not for the ads the college buys on his show. If Hillsdale College didn’t advertise on “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” Hillsdale would not be as widely known, fewer citizens would be educated on the Constitution of the United States, and students such as myself would have never heard of it.
My senior year of high school, I had my heart set on attending Washington and Lee University. The school did not offer enough financial aid, so I had to look at alternatives. My dad heard of Hillsdale College on Limbaugh’s radio show and suggested that I apply. He was fired up about Hillsdale. I thought Hillsdale was a tiny school in a tiny town that I did not want to attend based solely on the fact that it was not Washington and Lee.
No high schooler wants to admit that her parents are right. But after visiting Hillsdale’s campus, talking with admissions, attending classes, and hanging out with what would be my future swim team, I grudgingly changed my mind. And now I am graduating from Hillsdale in May, and my little sister will have finished her freshman year at the same school. Many students at Hillsdale share a similar story.
TALKERS magazine found that almost 15 million people listen to Limbaugh on the radio every week. And the ads for Hillsdale’s online Constitution class are working as well. Over 600,000 people have registered for the online constitution course in the past year — including a handful of dads in Henderson, Texas.
The people who listen to Limbaugh are generally 35 years old and up. They have gone through college and make more than $50,000 a year. Almost all of them consider themselves conservative. Advertising on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” reaches an audience interested in what Hillsdale promotes. They want to understand the Constitution of the United States. They want to know what is happening in American politics.
Sometimes Limbaugh says things that are wrongheaded, such as when he bashed classical studies — a popular major at Hillsdale.
And sometimes he even says things that he regrets, like when he called Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute, causing some to call for the college to pull its support from the talk show.
Vice President of Administration Rich Péwé released a statement after this incident that explains why Hillsdale advertises on the show and why it would continue to do so: “Hillsdale College advertises on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show because he and his large audience have proved themselves friendly to the College’s 168-year-old mission: to provide ‘sound learning’ of a kind essential to maintaining ‘civil and religious liberty’ and ‘intelligent piety.’”
An editorial published in the Hillsdale Collegian reacted to this controversy with a similar thought: “Advertising with Limbaugh can continue to promote principles of the liberal arts into the national conversation. Pulling our ads now would do nothing to bring the Constitution and thoughtful argument to the foreground.”
Limbaugh made a mistake. More importantly, he apologized.
Limbaugh can be abrasive, and he can be extreme, but he is well-known among conservative Americans and holds a lot of influence. By advertising on his show, Hillsdale reaches an audience that can take advantage of what Hillsdale offers — just ask my dad.