Linnea Shively | Collegian
After a three-hour-long chess battle, senior Michael Craig of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity narrowly seized victory in Don Tocco’s sports competition.
“I was so much impressed with Michael and how smart he is,” Tocco, a businessman and philanthropist, said. “He’s a fine competitor. It was a real pleasure to spend that time with everybody but certainly with Michael playing a three-hour chess match.”
One representative from each of the four fraternities and three sororities at Hillsdale competed against Tocco in football, basketball, and ping pong March 31. The top three contenders faced off in the batting cages the next morning. The leading student then played chess against Tocco in the competition’s final round.
“Anyone who was there on Thursday night could feel the spirit of camaraderie that was present on the campus for that evening,” Craig said. “I thought that was a very special moment and I was super grateful to be part of that.”
Craig took first place with Tocco in second. Junior Sydney Mills of Kappa Kappa Gamma came in third, followed by senior Lauren Daffenburg of Chi Omega. Freshman Seth Capello of Sigma Chi placed fifth, sophomore Joey Spoelstra from Delta Tau Delta placed sixth, and sophomore Kay Suganuma of Pi Beta Phi placed seventh.
Craig said he was grateful ATO nominated him for the challenge, as he recently joined ATO during his junior year.
“I didn’t necessarily have the opportunity to join leadership to try to give back to the fraternity as much as I knew I was going to benefit from being in ATO,” Craig said. “This was sort of one last opportunity for me to really give back in a tangible way that can be remembered by me and by others to the chapter and bring us all together.”
Tocco’s total donation from the challenge was $35,000, which will be distributed among all Greek Houses and 20 campus clubs and organizations. ATO received $7,500 for winning and the other Greek houses received $1,000 each for participating. For an organization to receive some of the remaining funds, a club president must write Tocco a letter about its mission and an example of how it would spend the money. In the fall, club presidents will present their pitches to Tocco in front of their peers.
“I would just like to say thanks again to Don Tocco for not just his generosity towards this campus and the Greek houses on campus, but also his willingness and desire to bring us all together,” Craig said.
Tocco became a dedicated Hillsdale donor in 2002 after receiving Imprimis in his mailbox, he said.
“I thought Hillsdale has to be a place where leadership is developed, and therefore there must be a lot of young leaders coming to this school,” Tocco said. “I felt there was a spiritual tap on the shoulder. God said, ‘You have to help.’”
Tocco’s message to Hillsdale students was to tap into their great potential by discovering a passion and sticking to a larger vision. He encouraged students to step up into political roles during his introductory speech.
Tocco said he encourages Greek life and campus organizations in his competition because they are a good place for freshmen to find community.
“Get a small group of really good friends who you can study with, socialize with, and pray with,” Tocco said. “In doing that, it’s easier to move around in an unknown environment.”
Capello volunteered for the challenge but said he wasn’t expecting to get chosen and was honored to compete for his fraternity. He has also noticed the benefits of the Greek community which Tocco prizes.
“The guys pass on experiences and we share values in the house too,” Capello said. “You always know that if I’m going through something, there’s someone in the house with similar experiences that has a lot of good advice and wants the same things that I want for me.”
For seniors, Tocco emphasizes developing professional skills and retaining curiosity.
“Be hungry for knowledge your whole life,” Tocco said. “Don’t ever stop reading.”
As Craig prepares for graduation, he echoed Tocco’s praise of Greek houses while reflecting on his short time in ATO.
“When you go into a fraternity or sorority, you’re joining a group with a mission. And in the case of ATO, the mission is the creed, which starts off by saying ‘to bind men together in a brotherhood based upon eternal and immutable principles’ that are very in line with what Hillsdale College stands for,” Craig said. “We try to give back by making each other better and then making Hillsdale’s campus better. I think that is the beauty of the fraternities and definitely in my case has been true of ATO.”