Volume 9 issue 4
university of sioux falls student media
march 2022
THE VESSEL MAGAZINE
CON TEN TS
Editors ........................... 3 writers .......................... 4-5 Women’s Basketball..... 6-7 Mcbethany...................... 8-9 IMPACT leadership.......... 10 Nursing Simulators....... 11 An artist among us ....... 12-13
Cover photo courtesy of Austin Ludens
University singers........ 14-15 an ode to purple hair ... 16-17 Emergency housing ....... 18-19
Editors
Mercede Odegaard
Mercede is a senior Media Studies major with an Art minor from Hartford, S.D. Mercede is the photographer for all USF sports.
Kelsey Sutton Kelsey is a junior Media Studies major with a Marketing minor from Flandreau, S.D. Kelsey is a cheerleader for Cougar Football and Basketball, a member of the Coo Cinema Club, and runs the social media page for 605 longboarding.
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writers Josh Werre
Josh is a junior Theatre Studies and Media Studies major with an Art minor from Sioux Falls, S.D. Josh is also Vice President of the Coo Cinema Club.
Tyler Blackburn
Tyler is a senior Media Studies major with a minor in Communications from Gilbert, Arizona. Tyler is the catcher for the USF Baseball team.
Kiara James Kiara is a Senior Criminal Justice major with a Spanish and Media Studies minor from Lakeville, M.N. Kiara is a Women’s Basketball player for the University of Sioux Falls Cougars.
Danielle Hoopaugh
Kat Steffen
Kat is a sophomore Media Studies major with a minor in Theology and Entrepreneurial Studies from Sioux Falls, SD. Kat is involved with Theater, Coo Cinema Club, and Student Senate on campus.
Danielle is a sophomore Media Studies and Art major from Sioux Falls. Danielle enjoys illustrating, sculpture, and graphic design.
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Andrew Taylor
Andrew is a Biology and Communications Studies & Theatre double major with a Media Studies minor. Andrew plays oboe in the university’s wind ensemble.
Delton Pease Delton is a Senior Business Administration major with a double minor in Marketing and Media Studies from Sioux Falls, SD. Delton is also an avid outdoors enthusiast and can be found rock climbing, skiing, hiking, or biking.
Terrell Conner
Terrell is a Senior Business Administration major with a Media minor from Owatonna, M.N. Terrell is an Offensive lineman for the Cougar Football team.
Cale Engelkes
Cale is a junior Media Studies and Theatre Studies major from Slayton, M.N. Cale is an active member of the University of Sioux Falls Theatre program, Choir, Improv, and Chutes and Ladder League.
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BY: Kiara
James
ns
Jurge ded by Josh
Photos provi
A N a T S U G U A USF Vs. ALL KETB
S WOMEN’S BA
If you’ve ever seen the USF women’s basketball team play, you immediately understand the talent and closeness of the group. At the start of the 20212022 season, the team signed eleven players, and since that time the women have continuously proved themselves on the court. The Cougars had a rough start to the season and lost the first two games back-to-back. As the season progressed, they continued to face tough competitors from the north and south divisions. Along the way, the team found a way to win when it mattered most. To ensure that the team would host the first-round playoff game in the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament, they had to beat their longtime rival, Augustana University. Covid-19 changed the nature of sports forever. Weekly covid tests, mask mandates, and vaccinations stripped many athletes of the true nature of sports. This year was different. The stands were full, emotions were high, and adrenaline filled the players.
Final Score
USF
69-62
Augustana
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This was the most monumental game of the year and it was a chance to show school spirit, honor our seniors, and bring pride to every USF fan that came out and supported the team throughout the season. The battle began when the referee sounded his whistle. Both teams did everything in their power to keep the other from scoring and battled hard for the entire duration of the game. When the final buzzer rang, the Cougars had defeated the Vikings and the entire Stewart Center erupted with cheers. The players rushed to the locker room overjoyed knowing that they had just secured the number three seed in the southern NSIC division. Though the Cougars defeated their longtime rival, the entire team knew that there was still work to be done if they wanted a chance at becoming the NSIC conference champion.
The Cougars season came to a heartbreaking end on February 23, when the Cougars lost 55-62 to the University of Mary Marauders. This loss ended the Cougars chance of becoming the highly sought after NCIS Champions.
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McBethany
Why are actors never supposed to say ‘Macbeth’ in a theater?
BY:
Josh Werre
As most thespians can explain, it’s an old superstition rooted in the deaths, riots, and accidents that have plagued productions of “Macbeth”. Unless someone is rehearsing or performing the show, saying the word ‘Macbeth’ will bring about terrible luck. For an actor like Tristan Taylor, however, the cursed ‘M’ word is more than just theatrical folklore. It’s the inspiration for writing a new play. And it all began in a grocery store over two years ago. The year was 2019. Taylor was on Christmas break. He had completed the fall semester of his sophomore year at the University of Sioux Falls where he planned to major in English with a minor in theatre. About 130 miles east of the University lies the unsuspecting city of Truman, Minnesota, Taylor’s hometown. A 20 minute drive from Truman will get you to Winnebago, a city nearly as small as Truman, but one that has something that Truman doesn’t– a grocery store. During break, Taylor spent his time working at this grocery store. It was here where inspiration struck. “[O]ne of my coworkers was asking me about the whole “Macbeth” myth in theatre of why you can’t say Macbeth on stage,” Taylor explains. “[A]nd I was like, ‘What if I wrote a play about that?’” The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Taylor had registered to take a playwriting course at the University next semester. He would need as many ideas for plays as he could get. The playwriting class would eventually culminate by tasking students to write one act plays as their final project. Taylor already had an idea in mind. It wasn’t “Macbeth”, per se. Instead, Taylor’s play would be known as “McBethany”. “McBethany” follows the story of a man named Joshua. Joshua is a first time director getting ready to put on a production of “Macbeth”. As soon as he begins holding auditions, he learns that someone has taken the copyrights for all of Shakespeare’s works– including “Macbeth”. Strapped for cash, Joshua can’t afford to put the show on, so he must figure out how to make his own “Macbeth’’ while also avoiding copyright laws.
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Taylor went throughout the rest of his sophomore and junior years revising, reworking, and showing “McBethany” to others. This past fall he began his senior year. Now a theatre major, this meant one thing for Taylor. He would have to put on a senior show. Theatre majors at the University are required to put on what is known as a senior show. “A senior show is a culminating project that should take into consideration all of the experiences a theatre student has had, and applying those things to some kind of project,” explains Associate Professor and Director of Theatre, Joe Obermueller. “[T]he senior project, ultimately, is a manifestation of what I like to encourage our students to do, which is to make your own work.” Taylor enlisted the help of fellow theatre classmates Raelee Voss, Elliot Dallmann, and Bria Braniff to be his stage manager and assistant stage managers respectively. A day after the auditions were held, the cast list was posted, and a date was set for the first read through of the script. Staging “McBethany” had become a reality. But there was no time to waste. Rehearsals began last November and continued on Zoom during Christmas break. J-Term brought most of the cast and crew together where they continued to rehearse right into the beginning of the spring semester. Taylor’s biggest fear leading up to opening night? “Actually having people see it,” he says. “It’s not only something that you’re directing, but it’s also your own play, so it’s double fold of how will people like this? Will people think it’s dumb? It’s all of those regular anxieties.” On Feb. 10, “McBethany” opened in the Jones Studio Theatre to eager audiences. Interest in the show was so high that some people actually had to be turned away from the second performance because every seat was taken. “McBethany” concluded its run that weekend on Feb. 12. At the end of the day, Taylor simply hopes that those who came to see the production enjoyed what they saw. “There’s no big, broad message that I’m really going for in this play. I’m just hoping people have a good time.” What began as an idea in a grocery store is now a two act play that has been produced for the stage entirely by students. And rest assured that saying the name of this play won’t bring about any bad luck.
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IMPACT LEADERSHIP
Kat Steffen
BY:
For students looking for leadership experience or wanting to get involved at USF, becoming an IMPACT leader is a great way to build leadership skills while being active in campus culture. There are a wide range of positions that require different time commitments and responsibilities. Allan Idjao, who is the Assistant Director of Student Life, said, “There is always an opportunity for students to be plugged in, that way they can be part of the change on campus. If they have a new idea or something we haven’t done before I want them to be able to make those changes.” Students who would like to become IMPACT leaders but who have little time could consider joining the Orientation Team as a Peer Mentor or Orientation Coordinator. Those two positions’ main workload is during freshman orientation and the first few weeks of school. For students that are looking for more year-long positions, Resident Assistant, Cougar Activities Board, and Ministry Advocates are positions that have weekly responsibilities. Each leadership position’s requirements are going to be a little different but according to Idjao, “The responsibilities of an IMPACT leader would be to uphold our policies and the rules that we have on campus. We’re not asking you to be the police but we want you to be able to succeed and to know the ‘why’ behind our rules and policies on campus so that the student community can succeed.” The process of becoming an IMPACT leader is straightforward. Towards the end of the first semester, Student Life sends out a Google Form to collect information from those interested. After that students make resumes and cover letters which is an educational experience for students. Towards the beginning of the second-semester, students will be interviewed by Student Life, Idjao said, “We also require them to interview so we can get to know that student and figure out why they’re a good fit for the position they’re interested in.” For more information, stop by the Student Life Office.
2021 IMPACT Leaders Riley Robinson, Kat Steffen, Khot Juac, & MK Schuelke
Allan Idjao
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Written by: Cale Engelkes
Nursing simulators
Nursing students have a very difficult job. Between rigorous studying and diligent memorization, they also must mentally prepare themselves to be trusted with the health and well-being of patients that come to their hospital or clinic. However, they never truly know what to expect during their prep courses, as the mannequins that they operate on don’t move or act like real people. But what if they did? Last semester, twelve brave theatre students prepared to help the nurses do just that: deal with the human side of the industry they’re studying to be a part of. These twelve students, under the direction of Associate Professor and Director of Theatre Joe Obermuller and Assistant Professor of Nursing Bryan Wermers, practiced four scenarios to place the nursing students into. These four simulations included a patient suffering from an intensive asthma attack, an abusive parent with a bruised child where something is clearly amiss, a dehydrated baby with parents that don’t believe in modern medicine, and a scenario where all the possible alarms are blaring from the get-go. These scenarios helped prepare nursing students for some of the possibilities that come with dealing with the public. After every scenario, Bryan would sit down with the actors and nurses and debrief, allowing the students on both sides of the equation some much needed levity in these emotion-driven cases. Tristan Taylor, a senior theatre studies major, was one of these twelve actors. When asked what he thought the most important aspect of using live actors instead of mannequins, he responded, “The importance of effective communication. A lot of my ‘characters’ were frazzled, passive aggressive dads that wanted their children to be better and didn’t know what to do. You don’t get that from a mannequin. You need a real person there to make sure the nurses know what they’re getting into”. Nursing simulation and colloquium will be offered again in the fall, allowing more fantastic work to be done between the nursing and theatre departments. 11
AN ARTIST AMONG US BY:
Danielle Hoopaugh
Cody Heinrichs
Artist Cody Heinrichs poses for a photo during an interview with Pioneer PBS.
From the nearby city of Luverne, Minnesota hails an artist and teacher at USF, Cody Henrichs. Cody attended USF as an English Education Major, though he mostly came to play football. Cody’s stay at USF was cut short when he decided to join the army after his first year. After two years in the army, he decided to return to school, but this time as an Art Education major at Northwestern College where he received his undergraduate degree. Heirichs later graduated with his Masters in Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design. After schooling, Cody returned to Minnesota. Despite taking what was supposed to be the temporary role of the Washington Pavillion’s Curator back in 2019, he still fills that position today. Heinrichs taught sculpture last semester and will be teaching art history to next year’s art enthusiasts. Heinrichs didn’t apply for any of these jobs, but was offered the positions by those who think fondly of him. Last year, Associate Professor of Art Ceca Cooper jokingly asked Heinrichs, “Would you like to teach sculpture?” She had several classes to teach already. Cooper was surprised when Heinrichs agreed. There is some irony in the fact that he now works here, as Heinrichs will tell you, he was not the best student when he attended. “I’ve been given many second chances,” he explained. Heinrichs feels that many of the second chances were undeserved, which is one of his striving forces to work hard. 12
Photos courtesy of Cody Heinrich’s personal website & Danielle Hoopaugh
Aside from teaching sculpture, he also creates his own. He usually has two to three shows a year and has shown in Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Illinois. Though, the majority of his shows take place in Minnesota. Heinrich’s first show in South Dakota, Forthcoming, will take place this year at the IPSO gallery, but if you visited the Jeschke Gallery before winter break, you may have already seen some. According to Heinrichs, there are three key aspects that make a successful piece. The first is that it makes you ask a question. Second, the piece is something people want to look at. The third and most difficult to achieve is that people want to come back to see your piece. He divulged his sculpture-making process. First, he hyper focuses on a topic or subject and researches it intensely. One of his more recent interests focuses on time travel and mystic numbers. From there, he starts drafting multiple ideas and tests them out on a smaller scale. Then he decides if a piece is worth pursuing or not. After some time, he will lose interest in a topic and pick up something else, and the process starts over again. Along with his process on how to create sculptures, he also explained why he loves sculpture and what it actually is. “When you strip everything else away, the sculpture is about communication.” Creating a conversation and invoking an emotion, even a negative one, is essentially the goal of creating something. As he explains, it is better for someone to hate a piece than feel nothing at all. The sculpture also has more freedom than other art mediums. “With a painting, it has to be that, a painting. But a painting could be a sculpture.”
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The University Singers Written by: Delton Pease
This past January, eleven students from the University of Sioux Falls choir earned the opportunity to be part of University Singers. The University Singers is a group of students who traveled to surrounding schools in South Dakota as well neighboring eastern states on the University Singers Winter Tour. The group toured throughout Interim and were able to earn credit hours as if it were a J-term class for their participation on the tour. Jaycey Jonnes, a senior at USF majoring in Elementary Education and a member of the University Singers group explained, “the goal of the Winter Tour was to inspire high schoolers to stay in the performing arts and possibly even recruit the future college students to join USF’s talented choir.” The group sang three different songs at each school they visited: “When the Party’s Over” by Billie Eilish, “Please Don’t Stop The Music’’ by Rihanna, and “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo from the movie “Harriet”. All of the songs were sung as acapella renditions which emphasized the skill and talent of the University Singers group.
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The tour also performed at the Cavalier Classic, a show choir competition for high schools from across the state at Jefferson High School, located in Sioux Falls. At the event the group performed the three acapella renditions of the songs from their tour to a large audience. The entire group was able to travel together from school to school in one bus. This allowed the group to practice on the drives as well as bond over their passion for music. Unfortunately, the Winter Tour came to a close earlier than planned at the beginning of the group’s final week on January 17th, during the spike of COVID-19 cases in South Dakota. Regardless of the unfortunate close to the tour, the group was able to reach out to many young students’ and to hopefully inspire them to continue to pursue the performing arts in a wide variety of mediums.
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An Ode to Purple Hair BY:
Andrerw Taylor
If anyone is looking for an example of cougar achievement on our campus, look no further than the USF Women’s Swim Team. In the days leading up to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb 9-12, ten members of the team dyed their hair purple in an act of team bonding and school spirit. After teammate Natalia Escalante brought up the idea, fellow swimmer Paulina Ruelas hosted the dyeing event in her dorm room. Junior Abby Ford said that they were in a circle after having stretched and fueled up on some bagels when Escalante suddenly exclaimed, ‘Hey, we should dye our hair purple!’ According to Escalante, she was originally going to dye her hair alone, but that would not be the plan for long. Sophomore Ilinde Du Plessis spoke with Escalante, and upon learning several other swimmers would be interested, Escalante took the idea to the entire team.
Photos courtesy of Ursula DemarquetAlban and USF Athletics
2021-22 Swim Team
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They gathered in Ruelas’s room, music booming, semi-permanent purple hair dye flowing, school spirit and snacks in abundance. Escalante’s idea was about to come into fruition. For Abigail Ford, “the experience was a little scary because I was not completely sure what it would look like or if I would like it, but I was all in. I dyed my whole head and that was pretty exciting.” Ford said the color was pretty striking at first, but she liked the way it looked after she first washed it. “People did not really comment too much about it, but when they did, they thought it was cool.” Du Plessis was so pleased with the look she “might do it more often!” For Escalante, the change in hair color was refreshing, and the opportunity for team bonding was enjoyable. Escalante hopes that it becomes a team tradition; “a lot of the girls are already talking about doing it next year,” Ford and DuPlessis concurred. “I think that we will try to initiate this again,” said DuPessis. With purple stains on their swim caps and fellow cougars by their sides, the team was ready to compete. Though the purple hair faded over the course of a few weeks (or a week and a half in some cases), the memories made and team camaraderie built will last much longer. The school spirit of the USF Women’s Swim Team is something in which we can all take pride. In the words of Ilinde DuPlessis, “Yalla Coo!”
“I thought that it was a nice morale booster for the team right before conference. I now also have purple stains on ALL of my swim towels”- Linde Du Plessis
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Student Life helps with Housing and Food BY:Tyler Blackburn The University of Sioux Falls has been providing an excellent education and inclusive student life for years. The staff and student body are full of hard-working, caring individuals that want what is best for all of the USF Cougars. USF has created several programs that are meant for students that need assistance both inside and outside of school. One such program is Emergency Student Housing. This program was made for off-campus students who need a place to stay if they are in between residences. Allan Idjao, the Associate Director of Student Life says, “The Emergency Housing Program helps guide USF students to find a more stable living situation.” Students who need somewhere to stay are put into designated residence halls until they are able to find another place to live. Anyone interested in what this program provides is encouraged to contact the Student Senate at studentsenate@usiouxfalls.edu or the Student Body President, Kristin Kotas at her school email kristin.kotas@usiouxfalls.edu. In addition to the housing program, the University of Sioux Falls offers an opportunity for students to donate a portion of their meal ticket to their fellow peers. For those who are food insecure, USF students can donate ten percent of their swipe to a fund that helps these individuals get proper meals at the
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Our ten percent meal swipe donation allows [students] to donate a certain amount to students in need. -Allan Idjao
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Donate your meal Swipes!
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All students are able to take part in this donation process by reaching out to the members of Student Life at student.life@usiouxfalls.edu. Students can also visit the Student Life office located on the second floor of the McDonald Center. It is on the south side of the building and is located in the same area as Cooper’s Café. With a simple walk-in or email, students at USF can help their peers get the proper nutrition they deserve and improve their overall experience during their time at the university. The staff and students at the University of Sioux Falls have worked diligently to make sure programs such as Emergency Student Housing and Meal Ticket Donation are readily available for those in need. They also encourage the USF community to help in any way possible to ensure that all students are provided with a stable environment to live and to learn.
Emergency housing rooms photos courtesy of Tyler Blackburn
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Scan the QR code for details on the Spring Tutoring Schedule