october 2021
volume 9 issue 1
UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS STUDENT MEDIA
contents editors...............................................................................3 writers..................................................................4-5 605 longboarding........................................................................6 flat norman..................................................................................7 usf football...............................................................................8-9 usf community band..................................................................10 student spotlight.......................................................................11 driving alone at midnight ..................................................12-13 the haunted mask..............................................................14-15 1918 pandemic.........................................................................16 one button studio...................................................................17
on the cover: alums Lily Satterlee and Emily Magera pose at a football game. photo courtesy of USF Marketing.
a note from the
mercede odegaard
GRETA SMITH
editors It’s a little odd to think about everything that happened last year when considering how comparatively normal this year feels. One thing we’re thinking about a lot this year, however, is just how important it is to be grateful for what we do have. Sports. Theatre. In person classes. Stories to write. Pictures to take. Let’s be grateful together?
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4 Marko Coudreau
Brendan Schumacher
ashley clausen
writers
Peter Narrai
kelsey sutton
Sam martin
josh werre
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y S u tt o n
st
ory
by K el
se
605 Longboarding is a newly established club on campus. The club, led by president Riley Robinson and Vice President Matthew Sterud, encourages all people on campus to come to their first ride to learn a little bit about what the club has to offer. “605 Longboarding is a club where everyone can pick up a new hobby, hang out, meet new people, have a good time, and relax a bit,” said club president and junior Riley Robinson. “It’s very casual and laid back.” If you are not familiar with skateboard culture a longboard differs from a skateboard in that it is longer, flatter, and meant for a more relaxed experience opposed to performing tricks. The club’s name states 605 Longboarding, but they are entirely open to the possibility of welcoming other riders. Robinson said “We have skateboarders, rip-stickers, if you want to come on rollerblades or on a razor scooter or something, we would gladly encourage you to come and ride.” Vice President and junior Matthew Sterud joked “If you’ve got wheels, come along!” There is no expectation that members have any experience riding or even have a longboard of their own. The club will host organized rides around campus and Sioux Falls and is offering the use of loaner boards to students who don’t own a longboard. Sterud said, “Even if you don’t have a board or haven’t ever touched a board, we’re going to teach you how and hope that you pick up a new hobby.” President Robinson is new to longboarding and shared that he “just learned last year actually.” The club hosted their first meeting on September 9, 2021. Both organized and leisure rides are planned for the rest of the semester. For any inquiries about the club and its happenings, you are invited to follow their Instagram page, 605longboarding, where you can reach out and ask to be added to the club’s communications.
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photos courtey of Kelsey Sutton
Above: promotional materials for the club.
Flat Norman Lost story and photos courtesty of Brendan Schumacher
Flat Norman is the University of Sioux Falls’ take on the Flat Stanley books by Jeff Brown. Flat Norman was officially made a part of USF campus on August 25. Students interact with Flat Norman by taking a picture with him, posting it on the USF app, and then moving him for the next student. Annie Sternburg, Director of Library Services at University of Sioux Falls, said, “We made him with the hope that folks on campus would see him, take a picture of or with him, post it on the USF app and then put him some place new so someone else could find him. It was intended to be a campus wide effort with students, faculty and staff participating.”Flat Norman had been in the planning stages since last year, but the pandemic delayed his arrival. In a tragic turn of events, his year-long journey was cut short. Flat Norman went missing not long after his trip began. Sternburg said, “We are hoping he pops up again and if you could put out the word that he’s missing and if someone finds him, to please continue his adventures that would be great. We are very afraid he was picked up and thrown away.” Sternburg mentioned that Flat Norman was spotted in Jorden Hall. She sincerely hopes that he hasn’t been thrown away by mistake, and that if anyone does find Flat Norman, that they continue his adventure. In the event that our paper friend is truly lost, he can always be made again. One way or another, Flat Norman’s adventure will continue across campus.
Flat Norman before getting lost.
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story by Peter Narrai
USF football players
glad to be on the field
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone, but for college athletes used to playing before crowds it has completely changed the way they play college sports. College students in general had to adapt to a whole new way of learning by going online but for student-athletes, it was a whole new game.
Jackson Wright
The Covid-19 pandemic changed all aspects of football and school for University of Sioux Falls Offensive Lineman Jackson Wright. Jackson not only had to adapt to a new way of learning, but a different way of life for football. Being a college athlete can be a very challenging experience and when you throw in no reward, it becomes that much harder. Because of the pandemic, the 2020 football season was cancelled for the University of Sioux Falls and the reward of having a season was thrown out the window.
For players on the USF football team, there was not a regular-season snap played for a total of 649 days. For the players of the team, it was unlike anything any of them had experienced, with most players starting their football careers as young as 7 years old. Jackson Wright, a starter in the 2019 season for USF, for the first time in his life he had a Fall without football. “It was tough having to sit and watch other schools play while we couldn’t have a season. How some of the Division 1 levels were playing and we could not,” Wright said when talking about what it felt like to have no season. The players had put in the same amount of work, only to have no chance at showing it all.
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photos courtesy of University of Sioux Falls Athletics
Although this was a long time off, the USF football team saw it as a time to improve their game and not let it drag them down. “The time off was beneficial so that we could develop our minds and bodies for the game and the team.” The whole team approached it as Jackson said, with every day viewed as a blessing and another day to get better. With the start of the 2021 season, it almost felt unreal that this moment was unfolding for the players. “When we finally got word that we would be having a season, it was almost unbelievable, it felt like life was so different without football,” Wright said upon the news of a future season. It was an astounding 649 days prior to playing a snap that meant something. Players said that this meant so much to the team! The home opener against Bemidji State did not go as USF planned, 24-16, however it was a great game. “The scoreboard didn’t represent how we felt in that game. We did a lot of good out there and realized we have a lot to offer as a team,” said Wright. The following week USF put all their skills and attributes together and showed what kind of team they can be, beating Minot 49-10. The USF football team hopes to come out stronger each week this season, having something to prove every game. Stay tuned for our recap of USF’s big win against our rival down the street!
Wright on the field.
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usf community band
story by Sam Martin
This year, a new University of Sioux Falls music ensemble will be rehearsing on campus. The USF Community Band, founded by Professor Jonathan Neiderhiser, will be different than the school’s other band ensembles, which will feature both students and alumni. Meeting every Thursday starting September 9, the USF Community Band plans on making their debut with a song or two at the November 6 instrumental music concert before their main concert on November 21, 2021. The band’s inception came about last year as COVID-19 restrictions were slowly being reduced and lifted. Another contributing factor in the creation of the band was Augustana University’s band program primarily focusing on marching band during the 2020-2021 fall semester instead of formal indoor concerts. Neiderhiser sent out a survey last May inquiring about the possibility of starting an alumni band, which was met with overwhelming support. So far, the USF Community Band is made up of 55 musicians, the majority of them being USF alumni.
photos courtey of Sam Martin
“We will be doing a variety of music”, Neiderhiser said in regards to what sort of music the new ensemble will be playing. “I’m going to try to make it fun and interesting, but also cover a lot of different styles of band music.” When asked how people can support the USF Community Band, Neiderhiser said that word-of-mouth regarding people attending the concerts and encouraging perspective musicians to join the program would be the best way to support the new ensemble, although he lightheartedly joked that he and the band would appreciate receiving enough money to buy new music stands when asked if there would be any financial support from the community for the band and its future. For more information about the USF Community Band, visit the USF website and look in the music section of the academics page.
Neiderheiser conducts the band
a welcome sign
an instrumental close-up
Student Spotlight story and photos courtesty of Marko Coudreau
Being a college student is hard. But imagine moving to another country for school. That’s exactly what Wesley Oba did in 2019 and this isn’t the first time he has had to do it. Oba is from Germany and lived there for 10 years but has lived and gone to school in the United Kingdom for the majority of his life. Wesley says “You know, growing up in a country and speaking only one language was fine and I was very happy as a kid, you know. I had a lot of friends and everything was great, until my mom told me we were moving to England. At 11 years old, this was a very hard thing to do and to be honest I didn’t fully understand why and was a little frustrated at first.”
Oba’s basketball headshot
Wesley Oba came to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to attend the University of Sioux Falls, a Christian, liberal arts college, to get his degree and to play basketball in another country. He has now been in Sioux Falls, playing for the basketball team and majoring in applied math. He came about 2 years ago and is planning to graduate in 2 years. He says, “Having moved in the past and changed culture, I had a small idea of the challenges I was going to have to face in the next 4 years, but the pandemic made it a whole other deal. I wasn’t able to go back home for over 2 years and this was very hard on me. I am very happy that I decided to take this step by coming to play basketball and study in America as I believe it is one of the best decisions I have made so far.” Wesley has high hopes to continue playing basketball after his college career whether it is here in the United States, or back in Europe. He will have to make a choice after graduation and see where basketball will take him.
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driving alone at midnight
story by Josh Werre
Writing and producing music was something that University of Sioux Falls student Ben Wollmuth had always wanted to do. Now, anyone can listen to his songs through streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Wollmuth, a junior from Sibley, Iowa, broke into the music scene in August 2020 with his debut single, “Isolation”. But he didn’t release the song with the intent to become a solo artist. Instead, “Isolation” marked the launch of something bigger. Something that Wollmuth refers to as a musical project. The name of this musical project? Driving Alone at Midnight.
Wollmuth at an apple orchard.
Although some may think of it as a band, Wollmuth is careful not to describe it as such. He explained that “[Right now] it’s myself and no one else, and I feel weird referring to myself as a band.” The name originated from when he would drive around at night while listening and singing to music. “The title was close to me, and sounded unique, so I chose it.”
Wollmuth said it all started his freshman year when he went out and bought a mini keyboard that he could plug into his laptop. “For a while I wanted to sit down and actually make music. I just never had the confidence and the time,” he explained. Wollmuth also had access to Logic Pro, a digital audio workstation that would enable him to record, arrange, and mix his music. Then, COVID hit. Like everyone else, Wollmuth was sent home to finish the rest of the semester. “At that point, me and a friend of mine were kind of bored… so we sat down one night, we started plucking stuff out, and then formed ‘Isolation’,” he recalled. “I basically produced it in my bedroom.”
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The song was ready, yet one crucial step still needed to be taken: distribution. “I had it on my laptop, didn’t know what to do with it, decided ‘I can’t just let it sit there’ so I put it up.” Wollmuth accomplished this by using a website called TuneCore. TuneCore is a music distribution service that helps independent artists sell their music through online streaming platforms. Artists are required to pay a flat fee, but get to keep 100 percent of sales from their music. On August 22, 2020, “Isolation” was officially released on all major streaming sites.
promotional photo for the project
album art for Wollmuth’s first release
It’s been a little over a year since then, and Wollmuth continues to make music. In fact, he’s just coming off the heels of his first EP, aptly named “Driving Alone at Midnight”. With classes taking up most of his time, Wollmuth can’t say when more music will be released. He did confirm, however, that new songs are in the works. Wollmuth said, “My main goal right now is expanding Driving Alone at Midnight into a larger group where multiple musicians can work together and make music they love.” Aside from the vocal lessons he takes at USF, Wollmuth is a self-taught musician. He has a few piano lessons under his belt, but hopes to build his skills with more instruments. Even so, the musical experience he does have is enough for him to get by. “It’s a difficult process when you’re trying to make music by yourself,” said Wollmuth. “It helps that since I’ve grown up listening to music I have sort of an ear for knowing when things don’t sound quite right.” Wollmuth encourages those who are into the alternative music genre to check his stuff out. He realizes that not everyone is going to like what they hear, and that’s okay. To Wollmuth, Driving Alone at Midnight encompasses something more than just liking or not liking songs. “My music is a sign that anyone can do it if they put their mind to it. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t think that you can’t-- because you can. You just have to put in the effort to do so. And once you do that, anything is possible.” “And,” Wollmuth joked, “because it’s just good music.” photos courtesy of Ben Wollmuth
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The Haunted Mask story by Ashley Clausen
The University of Sioux Falls Coo Cinema Club spent Labor Day weekend filming a haunted story just in time for Halloween. The Haunted Mask short film, inspired by the R.L. Stine Goosebumps book, was written back in July, 2020 by USF Theatre and Media Studies major Josh Werre and his brother Zach. The film is about an evil Halloween mask that becomes the face of whoever puts it on. The film is centered around a character named Noah, who stumbled across the mask while filming a movie. It quickly becomes part of his identity rather than just a Halloween mask. Although the Coo Cinema Club cast the film in the Fall, 2020 and were planning to film sometime during the 2020-2021 school year, many obstacles quickly got in the way. Josh ended up rewriting the script this summer and they began planning for filming. Preparing for the weekend they were going to shoot took about a month for wardrobe, re-casting of roles and many other aspects of the production process. Finally, this Labor Day weekend they were set to begin filming. The crew said each day, something went not quite according to plan. Apolonia Davalos, president of the Coo Cinema Club and an Entrepreneurial and Media Studies major shared some difficulties the team ran into each of the three filming days. Davalos said between being rained out of locations, avoiding disc golfers, and getting lost 2 hours outside of Sioux Falls, it was a long three days.
behind the camera
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Josh Werre, Carly Wohlers, and Matt Sterud
photos courtesy of Brenda Wipf
Werre scouts a filming location
The cast and crew of the Haunted Mask were able to get all the shots they needed and while there were many things the team had to figure out and navigate, there were also many things that went well. The USF Theatre community always has something up their sleeve. Their days are filled with preparing for other theatre and media projects throughout the semester. Josh shared that his favorite part about the Media and Theater community at USF is working with all his peers and fellow students. “These projects are all about collaboration and working together with my peers was one of the best experiences I could ask for,” Josh said. The team is still looking for a final release date for the film. It will also be available to watch through a live stream from the Coo Cinema YouTube page. For more information and updates on the Coo Cinema Club go to their Instagram page: @coo. cinema.club.
Apolonia Davalos and Court Anderson
team huddle
The filming set up for one of many takes
Neveah Schreiber and Matt Sterud on set
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Archives Expose Similarities from 1918 Pandemic to Covid19 story by Brooke Norgaard
The University of Sioux Falls is living through history as it navigates a pandemic and looks upon its past as a guide. Archives at USF reveal similarities as well as differences as the world lives through history and compares Covid-19 to the 1918 pandemic. Training journalists has been a tradition at USF, and this current USF Vessel Magazine you are reading stems from previous publications at the university which prepared student journalists for a career in writing and covering events. In the early 1900s that training vehicle at Sioux Falls College (the predecessor to USF) was The Sioux Falls Stylus newspaper. Old copies of this publication are housed in the basement of USF’s Mears Library along with many other college archives. A 1918 issue of the Stylus holds a look into the past as it recounts the students’ experiences with the Influenza pandemic. Director of Library Services Annie Sternburg alerted the Vessel staff to these amazing archives and the story it tells about how the 1918 pandemic affected the Sioux Falls College (USF) community. History professor Stephen Jackson also shared historical context for the 1918 pandemic and its connections to the current pandemic. The 1918 flu pandemic was different from the current Covid-19 pandemic, however, many similarities can be found. Sternburg shared an article from the archives regarding students quarantining and the college being closed due to the rise of the severity of the pandemic throughout the world. In the October 18, 1918 edition of the Sioux Falls Stylus, a student writes, “S. F. C. classes are discontinued until the influenza epidemic has passed. This was entirely a precautionary measure, for there are no cases in the school...The students were not daunted at the closing of schools and churches. Are they idle? No, they are using this unexpected vacation to good advantage. Even faculty members are picking corn.” Later, the article read, “The Dorm girls went to church last Sunday. Where? In their own parlors! True piety found a means of expression and Prof. Martini let the lesson study in the Y. W. C. A. room Sunday morning.”
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The flu did not scare the ghosts.
October 19, 1918 edition of the Sioux Falls Stylus
Speaking on the 1918 pandemic, USF History Professor Dr. Jackson reflected that “college campuses across the United States were deeply affected by the 1918 pandemic, which only compounded the challenges of managing through the First World War. Sioux Falls College actually shut down completely for a few weeks.” Quarantining is most definitely not a new idea, as well as shut-downs and precautions. Morale and ideas surrounding pandemics can shift from century to century, but Jackson shared how some are relatively the same. “Pandemics have had devastating impacts on human societies throughout history, and there are some recognizable patterns. Fear, isolation, and ‘scapegoating’ are unfortunately typical reactions to pandemics. Pandemics have a way of exposing pre-existing fault lines within societies, and of hitting the most vulnerable and marginalized groups hardest. In that broad sense, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 1918 Flu outbreak are similar.” Sternburg also shared many documents regarding morale around the pandemic of the time, some with differing opinions on how to handle it. Medically, however, the response to COVID-19 is different from the 1918 Flu pandemic. Jackson said that because of an improvement in medical technology and knowledge, “effective treatments can be developed far more rapidly and spread more broadly than ever before…and then to have wildly effective vaccines within about a year of the initial cases is an astonishing feat of modern medical science, unrivalled in history.” Sternburg and Jackson both agreed about the importance of documenting history, including the history we are living through. “I have been so conscious of this over the past year where it was crystal clear that we were all living through a historical moment of change. Understanding how everyone--and I do mean everyone, not just so-called ‘important’ or ‘influential’ people--dealt with the immense challenges posed by Covid-19 is vital for an accurate representation of the past.” Jackson then shared something that everyone can do to preserve and be a part of history. “Help out future historians, and safeguard your journals, correspondence, and any other documents you can!”
photos courtesy of Annie Sternburg
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one button studio Libraries are not dead. USF Mears Library upgrades for 21st Century learning. story by Apolonia Davalos Director of Library Services, Annie Sternburg, won USF a $50,000.00 grant from the South Dakota State Library. Her request consisted of two video recording studios from One Button Studios. Both are installed on the first level and available for students, faculty, and staff to use as a resource. Mrs. Sternburg reveals, “About 90 students are already scheduling to use them because they have assignments from classes.” The One Button video recording studios are as easy to use as it sounds. No previous technological experience is required. Any person can reserve Studio A or Studio B, plug in their USB, step in front of the camera, press one button, record, and go. It’s that easy!
Ashley Fink snaps a pic before recording
Mrs. Sternburg champions a lot of use for this service. Especially, for USF staff, i.e., non-faculty and non-students, who may not have access to video technology to introduce themselves and connect professionally with the USF community and beyond. Zoom correspondence is also accessible through the One Button system. No more fear for students recording their speeches for class. High quality audio and video resolution is for all.
For those keeping score, Annie adds, USF has two One Button Studios and “Augie only has one.” Annie advocates how “libraries are a resource and not a building of books.” She boosts, libraries are “not a dead thing, it’s a living thing.” And “it’s there for the whole community to use to succeed.” A reception is being held for all mid-October. An email invitation will be released for further details. USF looks to the future as the ultimate resource for learning.
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photos courtesy of Apolonia Davalos and Ashley Fink
The filming set up.
UNTITLED There she goes again Sorting the candy, the fruit, our lunch by color “Because I’m a brat” she says But I think it’s beautiful We find a home by the tulips And the family of squirrels Who almost trust us She bends, twirls, and spins herself in the grass next to our plot Back in my romper again Little sunshine ruby girl raf
THIS LOVE this love doesn’t think I’m too curvy this love takes my emotional layers and melts them into one simple and beautiful at your throne there is mercy there is a love so powerful it covers all
muse usf student poetry
Medusa You’ve heard of the story Of the woman with coils from her crown Once she was desired by all Before damned with a deafening gaze Yet I ponder If it truly was a curse Or instead a gift For the woman who was once devoured by the men around her Tarnished and stained by the one from the heavens Could now eliminate the hunger from their eyes with her own -pkw
you approve you offer your love, unchanging every minute and I can stop searching for a love that fills because yours overflows and I am complete in you
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October 27–30, 2021 Jeschke Fine Arts Center | Meredith Auditorium THEATRE
Book by MARSHALL BRICKMAN and RICK ELICE Music and Lyrics by ANDREW LIPPA Based on Characters Created by CHARLES ADDAMS