Students at Hillsdale need to laugh more often, according to Stephen Smith, Dean of Humanities and Professor of English. He is one of three members of what he describes as a “mysterious triumvirate,” a body which he says is tasked with bringing more opportunities for laughter to the students of Hillsdale.

The triumvirate is responsible for this semester’s Bill Murray movie series, during which “Groundhog Day” was screened Jan. 28, “Ghostbusters” Feb. 28, and “What about Bob” March 9. 

College President Larry Arnn said he was shocked to find out, during a conversation with Smith and Professor of English Justin Jackson,  that students were prioritizing their academics over socializing. 

“A bunch of students told me on a Friday night that they were going to study. And so I said, ‘What’s wrong with this place?’” Arnn told The Collegian. “Those are two of the hardest teachers we got, too. So they’re partly responsible — it’s probably guilt that was driving them to tell me that.” 

In response, the trio arranged for the “Rocky” movies to be screened last spring — the first of their endeavours. 

The idea behind the “Rocky” movies, for Smith, was to remind students of the greatness of Rocky Balboa. 

According to Smith, each member of the triumvirate had, in one way or another, discovered that many students were unfamiliar with the Rocky saga.

“This seemed to us a terrible thing that we needed to redress right away. So we arranged to share with the campus the best of Rocky’s character — his love of his wife, his persistence in the face of adversity,” Smith said. 

 So, why Bill Murray? For Arnn, the answer was simple.

“The members of the committee are interested in all forms of high culture,” Arnn said. “They haven’t made a good movie of Dante’s ‘Inferno,’ so what else are we to do? ‘Ghostbusters’ in particular is actually an excellent and inspiring movie.”

Freshman John Blaney said he appreciates the fellowship that the events foster between both faculty members and students. 

“I appreciated the fact that Dr. Arnn went out of his way to gather with the students and laugh alongside them,” Blaney said. “It’s an excellent way to build some friendship with the students here, because he definitely operates on a bit higher of a cognitive level, and what he talks about is often very esoteric for the average 18-year-old freshman.”

For Jackson, the motivation to showcase Bill Murray this semester was centered around the individual development of the students.

“Not only do I love the Bill Murray movies, but they’re good enough movies that all of our students should see them,” Jackson said. “Simultaneously, they’re edgy enough movies that some of our more uptight students should see them — and so it seemed that these movies hit what seemed to be a pretty sweet spot.” 

The choice to screen Bill Murray’s movies this semester hit closer to home for Smith. 

“My wife, many years ago, in an inspired moment, decided our family needed to declare a comedy emergency right about February, maybe early March,” Smith said.  “Winter can get kind of dark and a  bit too gloomy — and so in response it’s quite good to laugh yourself silly and enjoy a great comic film — and so we wanted to share three great comedies with the students from the days of old.”

Comedy movies, as Smith explained to the students before the screening of “What About Bob,” have a peculiarly human quality to them.

“Aristotle says the ridiculous is the proper subject matter of the comic and the human being is ridiculous when he laughs,” Smith said. “We all kind of know that we lack self-knowledge in ourselves and others. Sometimes we cry about it, but in comedy, we laugh about it.”

Having covered the genres of comedy with this semester’s Bill Murray series, and action last semester with the Rocky movies, the board remains reluctant to discuss next semester’s plan of attack. 

“The film series is presided over by a kind of top secret trio, a deliberative group, a mysterious triumvirate, if you will,” Smith said. “We can’t, and we won’t share our secrets too soon. But something is coming in fall 2026. The students will just have to wait in anticipation to see what we will unveil.”