bowling Tuesday night before Michigan shut down most public areas again for COVID-19. Courtesy | Jonathan Meckel
Hillsdale students flocked to local businesses on Tuesday night as restaurants prepared to close for a second COVID-19 shutdown.
“We wanted to have one last get together,” said senior Claire Murray who gathered at El Cerritos with her housemates.
Murray and her friends were not the only Hillsdale residents to have this idea.
Murray said, “The restaurant was packed!”
Other students traveled to Coldwater for a final trip to Buffalo Wild Wings.
“We wanted something different than Bon Appetit,” said senior Calla Janke.
Seniors Marcus Lotti, Austen Gergens, and Issac Kirshner organized a large group of over 50 students from varying grades to head to Hillsdale Lanes, the local bowling alley.
“Once we realized that things were going to be closing or only doing takeout, we figured that there’s got to be one thing we can do before then,” Lotti said.
This was especially important as small businesses in Hillsdale rely on Christmastime spending.
“I talked with them a couple months ago and they said that business was really slow and that they didn’t know if they would survive another shutdown,” Kirshner said.
Lotti, Gergens, and Kirshner decided to organize the bowling outing on Tuesday morning.
“An event was created on Facebook the day of, and then it was just word of mouth from there,” Lotti said. “It was a group of friends that we’ve had since our freshmen year.”
As word of the event spread, the group increased tremendously. The attending Hillsdale students ranged from a variety of classes, majors, and friend groups.
However, they all had one thing in common: all were doing their best to help the business while enjoying a night of bowling.
“That was one of the unspoken things,” Lotti said. “You go and you get something, even cheap, and then you tip.”
According to Gergens, almost all attendees ordered food and bowled at least one game.
The bowling alley was immensely grateful for the support. Gergens said that the owner not only gave free bowling shoe rentals to all college students who brought their student IDs, but also kept the lanes open 2 hours past the alley’s normal operating hours.
Kirshner said there were ulterior motives for organizing the event.
“The alternative method was keeping the bowling alley open so we can graduate with easy credits next semester,” Kirshner said.
Jokes aside, Hillsdale students hope to support local businesses throughout the upcoming economic hardship.
“The truth is that we care about each other but we care about our community as well,” Lotti said.
