Hillsdale College boasted in a tweet last year that there are more than 40 statues of eagles on campus, 27 of them lurking in the dim light of the Heritage Room. And it looks as if two more have come to roost in the Grewcock Student Union on the mantle above the fireplace. Two new statues depicting eagle heads preparing for a ferocious caw now flank the fireplace chimney.
“They had been sitting in the Bon Appetit office for four years, and they really wanted to get rid of them,” said Hank Prim, assistant director of the Student Activities Office and director of residence life. “Kelsey [Lantis] placed them on the mantle. They look really nice.”
Each tour given to prospective students at the college inevitably leads to the Heritage Room, where the menacing birds peer down from the shadowy corners.
“It is somewhat egregious how many eagles are in the Heritage Room, but it is one quirk that makes Hillsdale what it is,” junior Hannah Socolofsky said.
Other students believe that the bird can be seen as a symbol for the college.
“I have been told that Hillsdale is the most patriotic school in America and the eagles match that idea,” freshman Spencer Rothfuss said. “As a decoration they represent the college well.”