02.19.20

The Volante

THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887

W E D N E S D AY, F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 2 0

SPORTS (B1 & B2)

VOLANTEONLINE.COM

VERVE (B3 & B4)

Record breaking sophomore becoming a leader

Women on Boats: USD production of “Men on Boats” stars all-female cast

PAGE B1 Jake Leichner contributed to the Coyote men’s swimming and diving runner-up finish last year in the Summit League. Read more about how his role has expanded in his second season.

College of Fine Arts welcomes new dean Nik Wilson

Nikolas.Wilson@coyotes.usd.edu

Larry Schou has been the dean of USD’s College of Fine Arts for 12 years, but after his retirement this month, a new dean is set to take his place.

The position has been filled by the new interim dean, Bruce Kelley, who was informed of the decision last Wednesday.

Kelley said he is honored and humbled by this opportunity.

“Together, we will build on the tradition of excellence that has already been established,” Kelley said. “Art changes lives, and it is exciting to be a part of the amazing work that our faculty Bruce Kelley, interim and students do each Fine Arts dean and every day.”

Kelley, the Assistant Provost and a professor in the Department of Music, is also the founding director of USD’s Center for Teaching and Learning. He also helps oversee the Gallagher Center for Experiential Learning & Education Abroad, as well as the USD Testing Center.

Kelley said drastic changes won’t happen the College of Fine Arts in these next few months.

One of the issues about receiving a position late in the academic year is resources such as people and funding have already been allocated, he said.

“I want to meet with the faculty and students to better understand what they are excited about, and what concerns they have,” Kelley said. “Then we can, together, begin to build our vision for the future of fine arts at USD.” One of his longterm goals, Kelley said, is to combine the arts with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, creative technologies and the health fields. Kelley said 55% of individuals working as fine artists, art directors and animators are self-employed, compared to 10% of the workforce as a whole.

“To graduate from our programs, students have to combine creativity, discipline, and the ability to work with others in competitive environments,” Kelley said. “This makes them uniquely suited to thrive in the 21st century economy.”

Kelley’s first day as the official dean will be on March 1. He said he has received a lot of help from Larry Schou, the outgoing dean and Monica Tiahrt, the Fine Arts Program Assistant and the Fine Arts chairs from art, music and theater to prepare.

PAGE B3 Flip to the Verve section to continue reading about the theater department’s spring play, “Men on Boats.”

CRASHES IN VERMILLION REFLECT PUBLIC EDUCATION, ROAD IMPROVEMENTS Nik Wilson

Nikolas.Wilson@coyotes.usd.edu

BY THE NUMBERS: VERMILLION CAR CRASHES DATA GATHERED FROM JAN. 1, 2019-DEC. 31, 2019 OUTCOME OF DRIVERS

DAY CRASH HAPPENED

1 DRIVER KILLED 14 DRIVERS INJURED 151 DRIVERS UNHARMED

166

SUNDAY

10% MONDAY

TOTAL DRIVERS

18% TUESDAY SURFACE CONDITIONS AT TIME OF ACCIDENT

15%

DRY

WEDNESDAY ICE SLUSH

10%

SNOW

THURSDAY

16%

UNKNOWN WET 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

IN STATE VS. OUT OF STATE DRIVERS

16% OUT OF STATE DRIVERS

84% IN STATE DRIVERS

FRIDAY

19% SATURDAY

12%

See DEAN, Page A3

In 2019, South Dakota had a record low in traffic fatalities. Vermillion experienced its first fatality from a traffic incident since 2015. Out of the 166 drivers involved in an accident last year, 151 (91%) were unharmed.

Luke Trowbridge, a patrol lieutenant for the Vermillion Police Department, said he doesn’t notice a large change in the number of crashes each year, but one particular trend surprised him in 2019.

“What was somewhat surprising was just that the actual number of dry road crashes that we have,” Trowbridge said. “One would ultimately think that we’re going to have more when we have icy and snowy conditions, things of that nature. But, actually the majority of them do happen when the roads are dry.”

According to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, over 70% of Vermillion’s crashes took place on dry roads. 17 crashes occurred on Fridays last year, more than any other day of the week. An overwhelming majority of incidents occurred between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Trowbridge said that time of the day is when most people are using the roads.

These numbers, Trowbridge said, have helped the local police identify problematic areas in previous years.

“When we identify a project, and we’re able to go out and step up our enforcement of traffic violations in that area, it absolutely does help,” Trowbridge said.

Public education plays a large role in limiting traffic issues, Trowbridge said.

“I think in a majority of cases, just being aware, whether it’s a public awareness campaign or just an obvious thing to do while you’re driving,” Trowbridge said.

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety has a number of campaigns promoted on its website, regarding highway safety, drunk driving, teenage drivers and other topics.

Trowbridge said he noticed how various projects in Vermillion have made a longterm impact, particularly how Dakota Street has improved since he attended USD. “(Dakota Street) wasn’t organized, didn’t have lane controls like it does now, with the turning lane and stuff,” Trowbridge said. “I think a lot of those things have helped to alleviate a lot of the traffic issues around campus.”

Students, community members support victims of date rape drugs, sexual violence Lexi Kerzman

Lexi.Kerzman@coyotes.usd.edu

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Each paw on the Paw Wall signifys a donor during the Unite for USD fundraising event.

Unite for USD breaks fundraising records, builds camaraderie across campus Nik Wilson

Nikolas.Wilson@coyotes.usd.edu

Unite For USD raised over $560,000 from more than 1,100 donors in the online fundraising event ran from Feb. 12-13.

This was only the second year of the mass donation

event, but Whitney Alexander, Executive Director of Constituent Engagement at the USD Foundation, said they surpassed their goal.

“We are absolutely happy with the results for Unite for USD. To more than double the amount of money we raised last year is

exciting,” Alexander said. “Having surpassed (our goal of 1,000 donors) pretty substantially, we feel great about so many members of the Coyote community stepping up to support the university.”

Alissa Matt, USD’s Director of Alumni Engagement, said the See UNITE, Page A3

This is the second part of an ongoing story on date rape drugs and safety in social drinking.

In three out of four sexual assaults, the perpetrator has been drinking, according to Women’s Health. Women’s Health also reports that in nearly half of all sexual assaults, the victim has been drinking. But, if the victim is intoxicated, either by alcohol or drugs, they cannot give consent. So, if a sexual act occurs, it is considered sexual assault.

While the victims in last week’s Volante article weren’t sexually assaulted, they were taken advantage of. Katherine Meirose, USD graduate, said drugging shouldn’t have to involve sexual assault to be taken seriously.

“It’s a misconception that date rape drugs are always used for rape. That’s not always the case. It can just be a vicious thing they do,” Meirose said. “I wasn’t sexually assaulted … that doesn’t make it any less scary.”

After a suspected drugging incident, urine tests can be used to test victims for drugs. Bridget Diamond-Welch, associate professor of criminal justice, said it is important to note victims always have the option to get tested, but testing isn’t a must. Drug testing and rape kits are only necessary if victims have any intention of filing a

police report.

That police report does not need to be filed immediately after testing.

If a victim chooses not to file a report, the test is called an ‘unreported kit,’ Diamond-Welch said.

Once the unreported kit is completed, the police pick up the kit from the hospital and put it in storage.

In South Dakota, law enforcement will hold the sample for a year. That means the victim has a year to decide if they want to make an official police report.

Nothing will happen to that kit unless the victim decides they want to press charges later, Diamond-Welch said.

“An (unreported) kit is great in terms of if someone’s been sexually assaulted, they’re in high trauma, (and) they might not be very cognizant or thinking clearly…” Diamond-Welch said. “It gives you time and it gives you the ability to save that evidence to make sure it’s accessible to you and then determine later whether or not you actually want to go forward and talk to the police. It gives you some of that recovery time.”

Diamond-Welch said the victim should go to the hospital immediately; this ensures the most evidence possible is collected for use in a criminal case involving sexual assault.

“If you are sexually assaulted, you See HELP, Page A3

The Volante I volanteonline.com News USD SPECIALTY: THE HOWLING HAMMER

A2 Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Peyton Beyers I The Volante

Erberts & Gerberts released a USD specialty sandwich, the Howling Hammer earlier this semester. The sandwich was created by a USD student.

CITY OF VERMILLION POLICE >> Feb. 9 - Feb. 15

2

2

arrests

Feb. 9 Officers pursued a male who ran from them when he saw them coming his way. The male had been drinking underage and was in possession of stolen property.

Feb. 10 Officers took reports of several cars that were egged.

Investigation continues.

Feb. 10 Officers responded to a school regarding a juvenile patient suffering from some type of seizure. Officers provided care until the ambulance transported the patient.

Feb. 10 An inmate at the Clay County Jail reported his twin brother stole money from the inmates account. Investigation resulted in charges of forgery and theft being filed against the twin brother.

Feb. 11 An officer stopped a vehicle after it failed to yield at a stop sign almost causing an accident. The driver was cited.

Feb. 13 Officers received a request to check the welfare of a person who was repeatedly depressed and made a statement that might be

1

traffic stops

considered suicidal. The man was located and was alright.

Feb. 13 An officer responded to a report of a person falling down the stairs into a basement. Officers provided medical care and assisted ambulance crew with removing the patient from the basement. Patient was transported to the hospital.

Feb. 13 An officer stopped a vehicle for speeding 38 mph in a 25 mph zone.

The driver was cited.

Feb. 14 Officers received information from a local business of a vehicle

SGA presidential candidate finds new running mate, senators receive anonymous backlash

being driven by an intoxicated driver. Officers located the vehicle and stopped it. The driver was intoxicated and was arrested for DWI. Feb. 14 Officers received a report of a car passing a school bus while the red lights were on and the stop sign was extended.

Under investigation.

Feb. 14 During a search of a patrol vehicle, an officer found a small amount of marijuana. A review of the car’s video system identified the man who put the marijuana in the seat during his transport in the vehicle. Charges were referred to the

welfare check

State Attorney’s office.

Feb. 14 Officers assisted an out-of-state agency attempt to locate a man who might be suicidal.

The man was eventually located by family members.

Feb. 14 Officers responded to a call of a patient who had slipped on the ice in an alley and fallen.

Officers assisted and provided medical care until the ambulance arrived and transported the patient from the scene.

Feb. 15 While conducting a bar check, an officer found an underage person

LIVE AT 5 P.M.

consuming alcohol. She was charged with minor possession and possession of a fake I.D. Feb. 15 While conducting bar checks, an officer found another underage person consuming alcohol. She was charged with minor possession/ consumption of alcohol and possession of a fake I.D. Feb. 15 Officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute. The victim’s boyfriend was arrested for simple assault.

TUNE IN THIS MONTH

Watch Channel 21 tonight at 5 P.M. for a story on the history of the Stroller’s show.

Tune into KAOR today for weekly talk shows.

COYOTEHistory 2008 A gas leak leads to evacuations on Main Street.

2005 UPD discover students fabricate parking permits.

The Volante Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Katie Brust, SGA senator and other SGA senators listen as student letters of concerns are read during Tuesday’s meeting.

Miles Amende

Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu

Last week, Student Government Association (SGA) presidential candidate Katie Brust announced Tallon Everson as her new running mate. At Tuesday’s meeting, SGA officially announced another candidate, Carissa Occhipinto, has a new running mate, Shelby Specht.

Occhipinto replaced former running mate Blake Brown with Specht after Brown elected to step down from the position of vice president in Occhipinto’s campaign. “(Brown) ultimately decided that he would rather take a more background approach to helping fix SGA, and so I decided to move forward. He’s still involved and helping out,” Occhipinto said. “He is very passionate about helping USD and SGA as a whole.”

When the Brust-Weightman campaign split last week, SGA’s election steering committee voted to allow Erin Weightman, Brust’s former running mate, to decide if she would allow Brust to keep the petition signatures the pair had collected. Weightman refused, forcing Brust to re-collect signatures.

Kevin Huizenga, chair of the committee, explained the board’s decision was made in the interest of fairness to both candidates.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to the candidate looking to withdraw that they be forced to finish a race, but it’s also not fair to the candidate left in the race to be forced to withdraw entirely based on the other candidate backing out,” Huizenga said. “Our committee decided we wanted to try to create the most fair decision without overstep See SGA, Page A3

Volume 145, N0. 18 February 19, 2020 www.volanteonline.com Al Neuharth Media Center 555 Dakota St. University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD 57069 Adviser Kyle Miller Mission statement The Volante covers issues relevant and interesting to USD students. Faculty, staff and community members are welcome readers, but the newspaper is written and presented for a diverse community of students from the students’ point of view. The paper should provide a variety of information, entertainment and educational opportunities for the readers. The Volante encourages everyone to write letters to the editor.

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Lexi Kerzman editor-in-chief Sara Cappiello managing editor Nik Wilson news editor Miles Amende news assistant Bailey Zubke sports editor Madilyn Sindelar sports assistant Peyton Beyers photo editor Alison Boysen opinion editor Leah Dusterhoft executive designer Tori Harwell page designer Lauren Johnson page designer Heidi Schneider social media director DeAndre Hill social media assistant

News

A3 Wednesday, February 19, 2020

UNITE From Page A1

milestones meant a lot to her and others involved.

“Each time we met a milestone or unlocked a challenge gift was cause for excitement,” Matt said. “It was such a great feeling knowing that so many in the Coyote community chose to participate.”

Alexander said she particularly enjoyed watching students encourage each other to contribute, as well as hearing stories from donors.

“Those are the things that really resonate with me,” Alexander said.

Unite For USD, Matt said, will try to increase opportunities for students, faculty and staff members.

“While Unite for USD definitely has a digital engagement focus, physical attendance at events like the kickoff, basketball game and pop-up command centers provide an additional sense of camaraderie,” Matt said.

This year’s inclusion of Charlie’s

Cupboard, Alexander said, helped give on-campus students a reason to be involved in Unite For USD because Charlie’s Cupboard added some extra fun to the atmosphere of Unite for USD. “The student initiative, Charlie’s Cupboard, is something that sticks out to me as student involvement in Unite for USD was fairly low last year,” Alexander said. “This year was a different story and students were excited and rallied around Charlie’s Cupboard in a big way.”

In addition to students being involved in Charlie’s Cupboard, two of the 16 Unite for USD initiatives were led by student organizations, the ESports Club and Coyote Crazies.

Derek Bierschbach, ESports club president, said the club’s goal was to reach $3,000. Dakota PC Warehouse, a company that sells refurbished and re-certified technology products, agreed to do a matching gift. For every $3 the ESports club raised, Dakota PC Warehouse donated an additional $1.

The ESports club plans on using the money to fund a new video game lab, which will help improve the group,

The Volante | volanteonline.com

Bierschbach said.

“Everybody’s in the same place instead of playing in their own dorm room or their apartment all separate,” Bierschbach said.

“It will make us better. It will increase the teamwork. It will really aid recruitment. It’s a big recruitment piece for us.”

Bierschbach said the lab will be located in McKusick, where the old testing center was previously located. The plan for this lab, Bierschbach said, actually originally came from USD, not the ESports Club. USD Vice President Kim Grieve contacted the club about this idea to help increase male recruitment, he said.

Bierschbach said he hopes construction on the lab begins in the spring or summer and is complete by the Fall 2020 semester.

Reflecting back on his experience at Unite For USD, Bierschbach said the wide variety of experiences stood out to him.

“I just really liked that it was a whole day of campaigning and it’s like all different sorts of initiatives together. It’s not just campaigning for one thing and they’re all separate,” Bierschbach said. “I really like the collaboration between everybody for Unite for USD.”

TOP EIGHT INITIATIVES

ATHLETICS 143 DONORS $153,097

SCHOOL OF LAW 109 DONORS $47,189

BEACOM SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 85 DONORS $38,855

AREA OF GREATEST NEED 70 DONORS $35,729

ARTS & SCIENCES COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS 87 DONORS $21,744

COYOTE LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP 84 DONORS $21,005

Selection process is underway for excellence in teaching awards Jacob Forster

Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu

The USD Office of Academic Affairs is in the process of selecting the annual winner of the Belbas-Larson Awards for Excellence in Teaching. USD students, faculty and staff submitted nominations on Jan. 27, with the winners to be announced in early April and a commencement ceremony in May. The winner will be selected by a committee of representatives from each of the colleges. The nominees will then be notified and asked to submit materials for the committee to review. Next, the committee will narrow the nominations down to two winners, one tenured faculty member and one non-tenured faculty member.

Prentiss Clark, an assistant English professor and the non-tenured recipient of last year’s Belbas-Larson Award, said the award is a tremendous honor.

“There’s so many committed teachers at USD,” Clark said. “And I feel really fortunate to be in a place that supports teaching and learning.”

Clark teaches a wide range of classes, educating English majors and non-English majors alike.

“My students have been nominating me ever since I’ve been here,” Clark said, “It’s really rewarding to know that their experience in the class meant enough to them that they’d want to put in the application.”

There are over 80 nominations that have been submitted in both the tenured and non-tenured categories for this year’s awards.

CHARLIE’S CUPBOARD 317 DONORS $20,913

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES 163 DONORS $16,561

HELP From Page A1

should go and get a kit immediately. Like, don’t brush your teeth. Don’t go to the bathroom. Don’t change your clothes. If you have to change your clothes, put your clothes that you’re wearing in a pillowcase or a paper bag, not plastic because plastic can kill DNA and other things,” Diamond-Welch said. “This is all just in terms of evidence, however.”

During the testing, victims have the option to call a friend or family member or they can receive the support of an advocate.

According to the “South Dakota Recovery Guide,” the pamphlet given at the hospital, victim advocates are professionals trained to support victims of crime.

“Many rape survivors feel isolated in the aftermath of the assault,” the recovery guide said. “In order to reduce those feelings, reach out for support to those who are close to you: call family member, friends, or a rape crisis program counselor. It might help you feel better to have someone to talk to, and you might want people around you that you feel safe.”

Diamond-Welch said it’s crucial victims have a support system after they suffer sexual assault or date rape drugging situations. Kile Evans, a Vermillion resident and victim of drugging, said he had the support of Eden Hemmingson — his roommate who shared a drink with him the night of the drugging. He said this support was crucial to his healing process and hopes everyone who falls victim to these situations has someone to confide in.

“It is really difficult. I think having support is really important, I wish there was like some kind of club or something (USD students could go to),” Evans said. “I just don’t want other people to be discouraged from opening up about their experiences.”

There is not a designated support group for drugging scenarios, but Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE-USD), is a group that spreads awareness for sexual violence.

Savannah Schorn, PAVE-USD vice president, said everyone is welcome at PAVE-USD, whether or not they have a personal sexual assault experience to join the discussion. Schorn herself said she serves as an ally to those who do have personal experiences with sexual assault.

“It’s very important I listen. As someone that hasn’t experienced sexual assault, I don’t know personally how important it is to them to have advocates, but I can imagine” Schorn said. “It’s important just to show that you have people on your side that want to speak for you and have a voice for you when you can speak for yourself.”

Meirose faced negative responses after talking about her drugging experience, she said the support she did have helped her heal. She also said it’s important to believe victims and their stories.

“If it happens to you, just know that doesn’t define you or control you. It’s something that happened to you,” Meirose said. “It’s not something that happened because of you. Do your best to move forward and help give other people a voice.”

Besides PAVE-USD, ICARE Vermillion’s website has resources available for victims. PAVE-USD meets monthly and is open to all students.

Next week The Volante will be covering downtown bars’ safety protocols and precautions.

ON CAMPUS RESOURCES

SGA

From Page A2 ping our boundaries as an advisory board. We wanted to, in the sense of fairness, allow them to decide the most correct course of action for them.”

Despite the committee’s decision, Brust obtained the signatures needed to complete her petition. Although she has a new running mate, she said her strategy won’t change.

“My campaign is staying exactly the same. Being able to obtain those signatures was very important to Tallon and I,” Brust said.

“We also want to thank the election steering committee for allowing us to continue our campaign.”

The Tuesday meeting also included Huizinga reading two students’ letters to the body. The letters openly criticized SGA’s policies, claiming Charlie’s Cupboard decreases the impact of preexisting food pantries.

The letters also suggested SGA dislikes veterans due to their handling of the previous Patriots Plaza bill, as well as accusing SGA delegates of being more concerned about undercutting one another than representing their constituents.

SGA president Carson Zubke defended Charlie’s Cupboard and said the initiative was endorsed by members of the Vermillion community.

“I hear the concerns. I hear the complaints, but we had community partners come to SGA to endorse Charlie’s Cupboard and their support of it,” Zubke said. “Conversations are ongoing with Vermillion food pantry, Tanager Takeout and other universities so that we can make sure we’re not stepping on anybody’s toes. This is something we should be very proud of.”

Brust said she understood why students might have concerns about SGA. “I think that everything that was read in the letters is exactly what I’ve been observing in the Senate,” Brust said. “I’m really hoping the person in the office next will take steps to make sure this environment is remedied and less toxic. We all work better together when we’re happy.”

SGA also voted unanimously to approve the second Patriots Plaza bill at the meeting. SGA will donate five thousand dollars to the project at the time of the bill’s passing and an additional five thousand or ten thousand dollars will be allocated later in the year depending on the amount of money left in SGA’s reserve funds.

COOK HOUSE To make an appointment, please call: 605-658-3580 If you are experiencing an emergency medical intervention, call 911. If you are calling from an on-campus phone, dial 9-911.

Hours Monday - Friday, 8-5 p.m.

For crisis situations after 5 p.m. and on weekends, on-call counselors can be reached by calling the University Police Department at (605) 677-5432.

SANFORD HEALTH VERMILLION 1-605-677-3500 STATE RESOURCES SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH-FAMILY PLANNING CLINIC doh.sd.gov/local-offices/ family-planning/ SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH-DISEASE INTERVENTION OFFICE doh.sd.gov/local-offices/ hiv-std-testing

DEAN From Page A1

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Carson Zubke, current SGA President listens to an annonyous letter read at the SGA meeting on Tuesday.

“The key to success is preparation, and there are many folks that I have been able to turn to through this process,” Kelley said.

With his team around him, Kelley said he envisions a successful future for the College of Fine Arts.

“My goal is sustained excellence in every area we represent. I see from the work of the students and faculty in the College of Fine Arts that this is their goal as well,” Kelley said. “The future is bright for Fine Arts at USD.”

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2020

THE VOLANTE

VOLANTEONLINE.COM/OPINION

Shame on the Boy Scouts of America organization

EDITORIAL

ALISON BOYSEN is a senior majoring in media & journalism

Peyton Beyers I The Volante Distracted driving puts drivers and others on the road at higher risk of traffic-related accidents.

Editorial: Drive safe, your life depends on it

South Dakota is known for its extreme weather conditions that can make it dangerous to drive.

But the weather isn’t the only thing that makes driving dangerous. There are also other drivers on the road who aren’t paying attention or driving recklessly.

There’s an average number of 126 people who lose their lives because of vehicle accidents every year in South Dakota, according to the 2019 South Dakota Strategic Highway Safety Plan. While that number isn’t high as some states, it’s still too many lives lost.

There are so many ways we can be safer drivers.

Staying inside when the weather and roads are bad is a start. When you go out in a blizzard for icecream, you’re not only putting yourself in danger, but everyone else on the road.

And when you get stuck or have an accident, emergency services are risking their lives

“

to save you.

According to End Distracted Driving, there are three different types of distracted driving; visual, manual and cognitive.

Manual distractions are when you actually take your hands off the steering wheel; visual is when your eyes waver from the road; cognitive is when your mind wanders from driving.

When you’re texting, all three types of distracted driving are happening. If you’re at the wheel, your phone should stay in the cupholder. If you know you won’t be able to help yourself, put it in your backseat. Texting can always wait.

According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, if you text and drive you’re over 20 times more likely to crash or almost-crash.

Refraining from texting and driving is something that has been advocated for years, but how about we start

taking it seriously?

Another dangerous activity is drinking and driving. It’s 2020. We don’t let our friends, family or community members drive home intoxicated.

In Vermillion, Lyft is now available if you don’t have a designated driver or your ride isn’t picking up their phone.

In 2019 South Dakota had the highest right of drunk driving. For every 100,000 people there were 938.8 DUI arrests. Let’s all make a conscious effort to lower those numbers this year.

There are many other ways drivers can become distracted on the road. The point is to make sure the focus of everyone behind the wheel is driving.

For every 100,000 people there were 938.8 DUI arrests.

“The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.” This is the mission of the Boy Scouts of America. Ironically, this mission isn’t a standard leaders of the organization have held themselves to.

Yesterday the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy due to the enormous cost of its sexual abuse cases. Abuse that could’ve been prevented if predators had been taken out of the organization before they preyed on other children.

It’s shameful an organization who promotes building the character of young boys and now girls, would be the same thing that would damage them for life. An organization intended to leave a positive impact instead left scars on so many.

According to the Los Angeles Times, officials from the Scouts will not disclose how many lawsuits have been filed and how much has been paid out in settlements, although the number of lawsuits is well into the hundreds.

Since the Boy Scouts have filed for bankruptcy, those who are waiting for settlements may wait for years.

Earlier last year, the LA Times published a story that estimated the number of “suspected abusers” was 7,819 and the number of victims was 12,254.

That number probably doesn’t include all the survivors of sexual abuse in the organization and the number that will get compensation will be smaller.

In a statement to the Times,

the Boy Scouts said they are “exploring all options available so we can live up to our social and moral responsibility to equitably compensate victims who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting, while also ensuring that we carry out our mission to serve youth, families and local communities through our programs.”

How are you planning on helping compensate victims?

If the organization raises the price of dues, they’re essentially using parents’ money to pay people who were abused in the organization as children. If I were a parent, I would pull my child from the organization.

The Boy Scouts have eerie similarities to the Catholic Church when handling their sexual abuse scandals, which means they’ve handled it in the worst way possible by trying to cover it up first.

It’s sad when your organization has “perversion files,” that lists thousands of alleged offenders. Take a look at these files and what you’ll find is so disturbing it’s hard to believe.

Entrusting your child to an organization that’s supposed to make them better people and give them life skills is becoming scarier and scarier.

Throughout the years there are more and more stories that come out about children being sexually abused by those in organizations they trust the most, for instance, Jerry Sandusky’s football camps.

The Boy Scouts of America should dissolve or at least temporarily shut down their operations until they can learn how to vet out pedophiles from their organization.

“

Call out family members and friends you see texting and driving. Make sure you’re creating a safe environment for all others on the road.

Your life and others’ depend on it.

It’s shameful an organization who promotes building the character of young boys would be the same thing that would damage them for life.

The Volante

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THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887

EDITORIAL BOARD Lexi Kerzman, editor-in-chief

Ali Boysen, opinion editor

Sara Cappiello, managing editor

Tori Harwell, opinion presentation editor Bailey Zubke, sports editor

December

0%

January

40%

February

46%

March

14% *Out of 35 voters

Let us hear your voice by voting in @VolanteOpinion weekly polls on Twitter.

CONTACT US The Volante welcomes letters to the editor in regards to campus, local, state and national issues. Letters will be edited for clarity and length and will be printed as space allows.

Please limit letters to 300 words or fewer. The Volante reserves the right to hold letters for publication in a later issue.

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Letters must be typed and fewer than 300 words.

Opinion

The Volante I volanteonline.com

Wednesday, February 19, 2020 A5

A Coyote Composition

IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

Jessica Westerdahl

is a fifth year student from Sioux Falls, SD majoring in ceramics.

77

If you could choose a different decade to live in, what would it be?

The percentage of traffic incidents resulting from driver error in the United States.

(I would stay in) this one because technology is beneficial when selling art.

58

What do you think is the greatest invention of all time?

The potter’s wheel.

The percentage of people that were speeding at the time of a crash.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

68K

I went back and forth between a vet and an artist, then eventually decided on (being) an artist.

What fictional character do you wish you could meet?

Adrianna Lammers I The Volante Each week a graphic artist will choose a student to photograph and will transform them into a digital illustration.

The number of teen deaths involving car crashes in the last decade.

Sam Elliot’s character from The Ranch (Beau Bennett).

From safetyinsurance.com

Victim blaming: It’s time to stop TORI HARWELL is a senior majoring in English

Vermillion is a generally safe place to live, but sexual assaults happen everywhere and when they do, it’s important we pay attention to how we’re addressing them.

One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. RAINN also states women ages 18-24 who are college students are three times more likely than women in general to experience sexual violence in their lifetimes.

These statistics are

worrisome to say the least.

That means almost every woman enrolled at USD is at heightened risk of being sexually assaulted, for simply being a woman.

Sexual violence has many long-term effects.

RAINN states 94% of women who have been sexually assaulted experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the two weeks following the assault and 30% reported symptoms nine months after the assault. 33% of women who have been assaulted also contemplate suicide.

But with many sexual assault cases comes the horrifying trend of victim blaming, as if the victims didn’t have to go through enough.

When women do come forward with their assault stories, they’re

often bombarded with questions about what they were wearing, how much they were drinking that night, why they didn’t yell for help and why they put themselves in the position to be harmed.

Asking these kinds of questions reinforces the idea women are to blame when they are attacked.

Why are we giving perpetrators an excuse to not take responsibility for their actions?

Often times, we forget the crime was not committed by the victim.

I think it’s hard for people to come to terms with the fact that something horrible like a sexual assault could happen to them, so they victim blame. If they hold the victim responsible, it’s easier for someone to say, “Well I wouldn’t put myself in that situation, so that

won’t happen to me.”

People blame the victims because they want to feel safe.

But that seems wrong, right?

When we have fears, we should face them and deal with them in ways that are healthy and beneficial for our growth.

Acknowledging the fears we have, educating ourselves about them and working through them helps us become stronger individuals. We need to do the same with sexual assault.

According to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, victim blaming can cause emotional distress in victims that

“

ultimately reduces the willingness to report future abuses if they occur.

“Victims who have been blamed prefer to avoid secondary victimization in the future, so they do not report further crime.”

If horrible things aren’t reported, horrible things aren’t going to stop happening.

Sadly, at the end of the day, we all need to understand there are horrible things happening in every community. Yes,

even safe, small-town Vermillion.

Instead of placing blame on victims of sexual assault, we need to educate ourselves so we can prevent it from happening further. We shouldn’t be blaming victims for the things happening to them.

Instead of projecting out fears onto victims, we need to face the issue and find ways to combat it.

If horrible things aren’t reported, horrible things aren’t going to stop happening.

No, the ‘pro-life’ movement is not pro-woman KRISTA HONOMICHL is a senior majoring in criminal justice and political science.

Ultimately, to be prowoman is to embrace women as equals, valuing human dignity, bodily autonomy and selfdetermination. However, the extreme anti-abortion policies plaguing the United States are doing the exact opposite, putting women’s lives at risk.

Prior to 1973, abortion was widely criminalized forcing women to turn to alleyways riddled with coat hangers and dingy basements filled with rusty tools and untrained abortionists. Abortion was listed as the official cause

of death for almost 2,700 American women—nearly one-fifth (18%) of maternal deaths recorded in that year. But Roe v. Wade has had a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of American women.

Deaths from abortion have since plummeted and are now a rarity. Nonetheless, since 1971, 1,193 abortion restrictions have spread across the US, forcing women back into the dark ages. We are now seeing women unable to access affordable and legal reproductive healthcare and turning to alternatives such as herbs, bleach and coat hangers.

This connection is no coincidence: restrictions on women’s health care — including abortion — can have devastating impacts on women’s health and

lives. No woman is free until she controls her own body, life and destiny. The rhetoric of the “pro-life” movement is toxic at best, dehumanizing at worst.

Pro-life proponents have no qualms about forcing women to go through childbirth and stripping personhood from them.

There is nothing prowoman about forcing women to carry fetuses that are a result of violence and rape. There is nothing pro-woman about requiring women to carry pregnancies that are a risk to her health, safety and well-being. And there is nothing “prolife” about the modern pro-life movement. We know that restricting abortion does not reduce the number of abortions.

Rather, the rates of unsafe

OVERHEARDS

Here you’ll find the weirdest, funniest and stupidest things we’ve heard during the week. Context is for suckers.

“I can’t right now. I have to snort cocaine first.”

— Charlie’s

“Free bleeding. I’d rather wear metal underwear.”

— The Heights

“That’s the only thing that keeps me going: Knowing you hate yourself as much as I hate myself.”

— Al Neuharth Media Center

“Sometimes I get into these moods where I think the FBI is watching me.”

— Newsroom

abortion are highest where there are the most restrictions. According to recent estimates, at least 8% of maternal deaths worldwide are from unsafe abortion; at least 22,800 women die each year from complications of unsafe abortion.

Being pro-woman means providing support for mothers after childbirth; yet, those who advocate for restrictions in reproductive healthcare and abortions also push for slashing governmental assistance and cutting back healthcare benefits for families in need.

They oppose mandatory maternity leave, let alone paid leave and vilify women who breastfeed in public.

Being pro-woman means trusting women to

make their own personal and private decisions about their lives. It means providing access to affordable contraception and birth control, comprehensive sexual education and pregnancy resources. Being prowoman means recognizing the political, economic and social injustices that still oppress women and fighting for equal pay, maternal/parental leave and reproductive healthcare. When the right

“

to abortion is endangered, the fundamental equality of women is threatened. A woman can never be equal if she is denied the basic right to make decisions for herself and her family.

The “pro-life” movement is hiding behind a mask of being pro-woman. However, this fantasy world that they have created – where restrictions will save lives – is juxtaposed to reality and women become the collateral damage.

No woman is free until she controls her own body, life and destiny.

Want to make your voice heard?

If you are interested in writing Opinion for The Volante, email Ali Boysen, at alison.boysen@coyotes. usd.edu

News

A6 Wednesday, February 19, 2020

The Volante | volanteonline.com

Local farmer’s market considers locations for potential future move Jacob Forster

Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu

W CHERRY STREET

really cold,” Van Beek said, “and I think that kept people from coming.”

However, Schweinle said there could be pros and cons to the move.

“We love where we are. We have a very good relationship with the Clay County Fair, and there are a lot of advantages to staying there,” Schweinle said, “The benefits to moving would be having access to that permanent structure some place.”

If the farmer’s market were to move, Schweinle has a plan to keep their customers informed.

“We would try to take advantage of the media, get things out in the paper, on the radio, definitely use social media a lot and word of mouth,” Schweinle said. “We’ve got a lot of very loyal customers in the area.”

For now, the Vermillion Area Farmer’s Market won’t be changing venues, as it seeks public input on possible locations.

W DARTMOUTH STREET

The Vermillion Area Farmer’s Market is considering a move to a more permanent structure. The market, open year-round at the Clay County Fair, is currently looking at a new location in Barstow Park.

The Farmer’s Market serves as a location for local vendors to sell home-made and home-grown goods, and to educate people in the region.

Amy Schweinle, president of the Farmer’s Market board, said while the move is just a possibility, there would be benefits to a new location.

“Our biggest issue is trying to find a place for a permanent structure, to get out of the elements,” Schweinle said, “to have some permanent storage, maybe a permanent place for events that we might

have there, for a stage, those sorts of things.”

The location currently being looked at for the possible move is Barstow Park in Vermillion.

“We wanted a place that was easy to get to, that was easily visible, good parking, good space, some place for kids to run around as well,” Schweinle said.

Doug Van Beek owns and operates Grounded Coffee Roasting, a vendor that partners with the Vermillion Area Farmer’s Market. Van Beek said he can see the benefit in a move.

“I could see that it might be a benefit, being able to hold more vendors,” Van Beek said, “but for me personally, there’s not a lot of difference.”

Van Beek said he has been mostly satisfied with the current location.

“The only problem and I think they actually solved this, but last year, they wouldn’t give us access to the heating controls and so it was always

Honors program to offer new housing options for second-year students Sara Cappiello

Sara.Cappiello@coyotes.usd.edu

First-year honors students have a designated housing community on campus. But after freshman year, USD honors students previously didn’t have a specific living community to be a part of.

Starting next year, there will be a wing on one of the floors in Coyote Village set aside for honors students.

Kate Fitzgerald, USD Housing Director, said since a portion of second-year students typically move from North Complex to Coyote Village, this change made sense.

“Second-year students kind of get thrown to the wind,” Fitzgerald said. “And so we spoke with Honors and they had the interest to keep the same students together somewhere.”

Currently, there is an entire floor in North Complex dedicated to housing first-year honors students. Dallas Doane, USD Honors Coordinator, said this has been overwhelmingly successful, which is a reason he wanted to expand it to other housing options on campus.

“Some of the things we noticed about that floor is high retention from semester to semester so students aren’t only not leaving the floor, but they’re not leaving USD as well,” Doane said.

With USD Housing and the Honors Program working together, making this change possible was easy, Doane said.

Fitzgerald is new to USD this year but has 30 years of housing experience under her belt. She said having a first-year living-learning community in North Complex has been beneficial for honors students, so continuing this sense of community into the second year would also be helpful.

“Living-learning communities help students with their acclimation in college, (and) help them meet friends,” Fitzgerald said. “So providing with I think that continuity in community from first year to sophomore year is going to help them I think, in their academic success as well as their retention at USD.” In the past, a number of honors students would move into Coyote Village, Fitzgerald said. Now, instead of being scattered throughout the building, honors students will all be in one place.

Doane said this new community for second-year honors students could also help strengthen and build connections between students.

“The fact that you can come in and have at least one thing in common with students makes a little bit easier,” Doane said. “The whole point of this is to also bridge academics and what you’re doing outside of class too.”

Fitzgerald said she hopes students who decide to continue to live in honors housing feel a connection to the honors program, as well as University Housing.

“I hope they’ll feel a community among themselves,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s our goal to bring faculty into all of our living-learning communities. So it’s our hope to get more faculty involved with them both as next year’s first-year students as well as next year’s returning students.”

Lexi Kerzman | The Volante

Abbi Boysen, a high school senior from Danbury High School, was one of 89 prospective students that attended Admitted Students Day last Friday.

Lexi Kerzman | The Volante

During Admitted Students Day, high school seniors got the chance to sit in on USD classes and attend a variety sessions about what the university has to offer.

Time to howl: Be a Coyote for a Day Lexi Kerzman

Lexi.Kerzman@coyotes.usd.edu

With only 183 days until 2020 MoveIn Day, USD is preparing to welcome the Coyote class of 2024 through their Admitted Students Day. Last Friday, 89 future USD students were able to experience what it’s like to be a Coyote by going to a class of their choice and being immersed in the craze of a Friday on campus.

Abbi Boysen, a high school senior from Danbury, Iowa, was one of the students who visited on Admitted Students day.

She was able to go to the Chamber Choir rehearsal class and watch how a collegelevel choir prepares for performances.

She said it was intimidating, but a great experience to see what it would be like if she was to join this choir when she comes to USD. “It made me nervous because I didn’t want to mess up but it was a cool experience,” Boysen said. “The range and how many songs they are doing are really eye-opening. We have like three different songs and we learn them one by one and

a little bit at a time, but they just do them back to back.”

Giving potential students the opportunity to shadow a real class, Connor Peterson, an admission counselor, said is the best way to ease their minds as they begin to prepare for the college move.

“You go to college to go to class, so it’s kind of cool to see what that would be like,” Peterson said. “Students are actually here, so they are kind of just emerged in what it means to be a student because they are here in the school year.

So they get a taste of what the classrooms are going to be like, but also just what campus life will be like in general.”

David Holdhusen, director of the Chamber Choir, said it’s important for students in all departments to see themselves as a part of this major and life, but it is especially important with majors in the Fine Arts Department.

“I want them to get into the choir so they can visualize themselves singing in the choir,” Holdhusen said. “The more they can visualize themselves as a part of the ensemble, the more likely they will be

to envision them in the university.”

Besides attending classes, the high school seniors went to sessions ranging from studying abroad information, to honors details, how to choose a major and a question and answer seminar with a group of current USD students.

Peterson said these sessions are very similar to information they hear at Fast Track registration programs, but there is a lot to cover so hearing it multiple times is only beneficial.

Boysen said Admitted Student Day helped finalize her college decision. She is officially set on being a Coyote for more than just one day.

“I was excited before I came here, but now that you have a taste, I just want to be here now,” Boysen said. “I wanted to get a feel for USD by myself, and now I have it.”

Abbi Boysen is the younger sister of The Volante Opinion Editor, Ali Boysen.

Because high schoolers are minors, The Volante only featured Abbi with the permission of her parents.

Sports

Wednesday, February 19, 2020 THE VOLANTE

VOLANTEONLINE.COM/SPORTS

SWIM, DIVE AT THE SUMMIT

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Members of the swimming and diving team cheer during an intrasquad meet in January.

Aaron Packard | USD Athletics

Sophomore Jake Leichner swims in a meet last season. Leichner holds a school record

CLOSING THE GAP: USD FIGHTS FOR SUMMIT TITLE Record breaking sophomore in two individual events and one relay.

Bailey Zubke

Bailey.Zubke@coyotes.usd.edu

USD’s swimming and diving teams brought home second-place finishes in the 2019 Summit League championship and will try to fight with Denver for a championship this week.

The conference team comprises of 26 athletes from the men’s and women’s teams, and this year’s Coyotes will rely on the freshman and sophomore classes to lead the way.

Since returning from winter break, the Coyotes competed in an intrasquad meet before traveling for two meets hosted by South Dakota State. The Coyote men and women defeated the Jackrabbits in Brookings Jan. 25. USD won 13 events at the Jackrabbit Invitational the following weekend as their final meet before the conference championships.

Head coach Jason Mahowald said this team is very young, but this season proved to be successful.

“We’re very reliant heavily on our freshmen and sophomores, just from a numbers standpoint we have a lot of them,” Mahowald said.

“We’ve got a great senior class, it’s helped us out, helped us transition the young group

into some roles and they need to produce. ” Both USD teams are chasing Denver in the conference. The Pioneers won the Summit League championships in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

A Coyote relay team of Jake Leichner, Elbert Chuang, Stephen Johnson and Jacob Won ended the Pioneers’ streak of 79 straight swimming titles last season. Denver was disqualified from the event and it was the Pioneers’ first loss in the swimming championships since 2016.

“It was crazy because I never went into my freshman year thinking that I’d do anything like that,” Leichner said. “When I saw that we won the race, it was a whole different experience because nobody really expects any other team, other than Denver, to win and we did it.”

Last season’s finishes were historic for other reasons.

The second-place finish was a first for the women’s team.

The men placed second for the second straight year. The swimmers were not the only successful part of the team last spring.

Sarah Schank and Isaac Morris were Diving Championship MVPs. Schank won both the one and threemeter dives for her senior

season. Morris won the onemeter dive and placed third in the three-meter after missing most of the season with a knee injury. This season, Morris injured his knee again and Schank graduated.

Mahowald said there are plenty of events to look forward to this week: relay teams, dive teams and a few individual events. He also said the seniors are expected to have strong meets.

“We look for those seniors to step up and go out on a good note,” Mahowald said.

“Sabrina, Charlie, Josh, Christian, Isaac. We’re looking for those kids to have great senior meets.”

The Coyotes are looking to take another step forward this season, Leichner said, even if that means placing second again.

“We are always looking ahead. Last year it was definitely oriented more towards State, but I think there’s a farther gap between us and State,” Leichner said.

“We’re now focusing on that gap between us and Denver.

Our goal this season is to see how close we can go to a conference and see if we can close that gap.”

The Summit League championships start Wednesday, Feb. 19 and run through Feb. 22 in Sioux Falls.

becoming a leader for USD Bailey Zubke

Bailey.Zubke@coyotes.usd.edu

As a freshman, Jake Leichner played a vital role in the second place Summit League Coyote mens swimming team, but his role with the team is starting to grow as an upperclassman.

Leichner earned an all-Summit honor in four events last season, including a secondplace finish in the 100 individual medley. He also swam on two relays finishing third and the 800 free relay bringing home first place.

The relay team snapped a 79 event winning streak for Denver.

Leichner held three school records after his freshman season in the 100 individual medley, 200 individual medley and the 400 medley relay team. His 100 individual medley record came at the CSCAA Championship last spring, where he finished sixth.

“I think it always comes with my wanting to improve the team and just improve on my times,” Leichner said. “I’ve only got so many years left of swimming. I’m just trying to get the most out of it and trying to try and improve.”

Leichner is a business major from Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

In his sophomore campaign, Leichner lowered his record in the 100 individual medley at the Augie Invite this fall. In the same meet, Leichner anchored a 400 free relay team that lowered the school record.

In a dual with South Dakota State, Leichner won three events to lead the men’s team.

Leichner was awarded his first Summit League male swimmer of the week award

in February for his performance in the dual against SDSU. Leichner’s accolades as a sophomore have come from the hard work he always puts in, head swimming coach Jason Mahowald said.

“He’s a workhorse,” Mahowald said. “My assistant coaches and I say all the time that we have a hard time breaking the kid down because he just works so hard. Those records and his performance are all products of the work that he puts in, day in and day out, in the pool and the weight room.”

Leichner said he considers himself team orientated. All of his goals are about improving the team and his times, Leichner said. Coming into the season, Leichner said he wanted to help the team continue to improve.

“My goals coming into this year were just to help my team get to places they’ve never been before,” Leichner said. “So far we’ve been going there. We’ve been places that we’ve never experienced. We’ve probably been the best we ever have been.”

As Leichner approaches the halfway point in his career, his plans for the rest of his time at USD are also about the team and how he can be a leader.

“Some goals I have are obviously improving among my times, but also get within more of a leadership role,” Leichner said. “So not only dropping times but also becoming more of a leader.”

Leichner and the Coyote men and women’s swimming and diving teams take on the Summit League in the swimming and diving championships in Sioux Falls Feb. 19-22.

Senior golfer looks to lead team to Summit League Championship Madilyn Sindelar

Madilyn.Sindelar@coyotes.usd.edu

Madilyn Sindelar | The Volante

Senior Matt Tolan lines up a practice drive during a practice last week. Tolan was named Wisconsin State Golf Association 2019 Player of the Year and a Summit League Golfer to watch for 2020.

Hailing from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, senior business major and golfer Matt Tolan was selected as a Summit League Player to Watch.

After shooting an average of 72 during the fall season in 12 rounds of golf, Tolan is looking to lead the team to a Summit League championship.

“It’s gonna come down to practicing almost every single day and working my butt off to become what I want to be,” Tolan said. “Individually the Summit League Championship is the goal. I want to take each tournament one swing at a time.”

The Wisconsin State Golf Association 2019 Player of the Year, has been a leading scorer all four years for the Coyotes and has competed in 36 consecutive matches.

However, Tolan said hard work is the only way to achieve his goals.

“The last three months we have been really practicing a lot five days a week plus time on our own so lots of guys are getting five to seven hitting sessions in a week, which will really prepare us for outdoor hitting again,” Tolan said.

Teammate senior Hunter Paugh has played with Tolan for four years. Paugh said he couldn’t ask to train with a better teammate.

“He’s determined from the start of practice and workouts until the last minute. Always going above and beyond to be the best. He’s motivated the team unlike anyone else,” Paugh said.

Paugh said training with Tolan brings a

‘who cares, work harder mentality,’ every training session.

“He’s always hyping guys up and bringing positive energy to our early morning workouts and outdoor practices that often times can be quite cold. He’s a natural-born leader who everyone on the team looks up to,” Paugh said.

The men’s golf team spends weeks traveling to invitations across the country.

Following a week in Florida, the team will have a stint in Arizona.

Tolan said, these trips bring the team together.

“That’s one of the main team goals, just bringing everybody together and having fun on the trips and to just play our best and see what the result is,” Tolan said.

While travel trips bring bonding, Tolan said it also brings critical outdoor playing and focuses on what’s to come.

“Up here in South Dakota we haven’t been outside in a while to practice,” Tolan said. “We were finally able to get a couple of swings in this last week but it’s really tough with the winter. Coach keeps counting the days until travel and hopefully, we’re playing in May at the conference tournament.”

Tolan’s career-best in an individual round is 67, while on average he shoots 74 in 12 rounds of golf.

“I can’t really focus on the Summit League Tournament right now since we have five tournaments leading up to it,” Tolan said. “But individually I’ll have to take each shot one at a time and work my butt off to reach my goal of a championship.”

Sports

B2 Wednesday, February 19, 2020

The Volante | volanteonline.com

South Dakota legislature proposes sports gambling bill Bailey Zubke

Bailey.Zubke@coyotes.usd.edu

Bryan Boettcher | USD Athletics

Junior pitcher Gill Woodward pitched in UNI’s Doc Halverson Tournament earlier this month.

Coyotes win two of six games in Madeira Beach Invitational Bailey Zubke

Bailey.Zubke@coyotes.usd.edu

USD softball won two games in the Madeira Beach Invitational I in Madeira Beach, Florida. The Coyotes topped Monmouth, an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago Sunday.

USD split two games Friday, topping Georgia State after falling to Akron in six innings. The Coyotes lost two games Saturday and split their two games Sunday.

Zips 16, Coyotes 6 (6 inn.)

USD gave up runs in every inning but the first in a 16-6 loss to Akron Friday afternoon. Akron hit five home runs and scored six runs in the fifth inning.

Jordyn Pender drove in a run for the Coyote offense. Four of the six Coyote runs came off of walks.

USD struggled to drive in runs, racking up nine walks, but stranding 10 runners.

Coyotes 3, Panthers 1

Sarah Lisko pitched a gem to lead USD to a 3-1 win over Georgia State Friday night. Lisko had a shutout going into the seventh inning.

Lisko allowed four hits over seven innings, giving up one run in the seventh.

Georgia State was in position to cut the Coyote lead to one after a hit rolled all the way to the fence. Sofia Tunon, who got the hit, rounded her way to third base for a triple, but the runner in front of her went back to third, causing a traffic jam at third base.

Two runners were standing at third

base and Lauren Eamiguel tagged one of them for the second out of the inning. On the next pitch, a ground out to third base ended the inning and the game.

Pender and Dylan Underwood drove in runs for the Coyote offense.

Salukis 9, Coyotes 7

USD’s defense struggled in a 9-7 loss to Southern Illinois Saturday afternoon.

The defense committed six errors.

The six Coyote errors allowed five unearned runs and put the Coyotes behind 6-0 going into the bottom of the third. The Coyotes responded with three runs in the bottom of the third to make the game 6-3.

The Coyote offense tacked on two runs in the fifth and sixth innings, making it a two-run game headed into the seventh.

USD went down on three strikeouts (two looking, one swinging) in the bottom of the seventh inning to lose 9-7.

Purdue 7, Coyotes 0

Two home runs and a six-inning shutout vaulted Purdue past USD Saturday afternoon 7-0.

Purdue hit two home runs in the first three innings to hold a 3-0 lead. Rylee Platusic added a two-run triple in the sixth inning.

Sydney Bates of the Boilermakers stuck out 10 batters over six innings.

Ashley Peters pitched a clean seventh inning to seal the win for Purdue.

Courtney Wilson totaled her seventh straight game of recording one hit.

Camille Fowler doubled and Wilson singled in the first inning, but neither could score.

Coyotes 3, Hawks 1

Two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning led USD to a 3-1 victory over Monmouth Sunday. Monmouth participated in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Monmouth won the MAAC Championship last season. USD jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an RBI single from Lauren Wobken.

Monmouth answered with a runoff of Lisko in the fourth inning. The Coyotes took the lead for good when Charis Black scored a run off an Underwood double to put the Coyotes in front 3-1.

Lisko sent down eight of the last 10 batters she faced and claimed her second complete-game win.

Bears 3, Coyotes 0 (6 inn.)

Central Arkansas won its second straight against USD after beating the Coyotes in this event last season.

The Bears scored two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth. The game was cut one inning short in order for both teams to make their flights home.

Alexis Devers suffered a loss but didn’t give up a hit. She pitched into the fourth inning and walked four batters. Wilson gathered three more hits Sunday and extended her streak of games with a hit to nine.

The Coyotes (4-7) return to Madeira Beach this weekend for five more games.

The Coyotes open the tournament against Georgetown Friday afternoon.

The South Dakota legislature has proposed Senate Joint Resolution 501 to propose an amendment to the State Constitution that would allow sports betting.

The proposed amendment would be up for state voting in the November elections. The bill has 17 senators and 22 representatives sponsoring it.

Arthur Rusch, District 17 (Clay Sports betting and Turner counties) Senator, is not one of those in support. around the nation Rusch, a retired Circuit 13 States have legalized sports Judge and writer, said he does not support the legislation due betting. to past experiences he has seen • Arkansas from his time on the bench • Delaware and even before then. A lot of • Indiana embezzlement situations he • Iowa saw on the bench had to do • Mississippi with gambling, Rusch said.

Rusch was one of 10 • Nevada Senators to vote against the • New Jersey proposal. The bill passed the • New York Senate 24-10. The first reading • New Mexico in the House was Feb. 12.

If the voters approve • Oregon the amendment, gambling • Pennsylvania on sporting events would • Rhode Island be legalized in Deadwood. • West Virginia However, the state constitution Six other states and makes gambling illegal. The Washington, D.C. have passed voters approved an amendment to make it legal to gamble (live bills on sports betting. poker, bingo and state lottery) • Colorado in Deadwood and on Native • Illinois American reservations.

• Montana The legal age to gamble at those casinos is 21, and 18 • New Hampshire for simulcast gambling. South • North Carolina Dakota’s sports betting would • Tennesse be limited to those areas. Rusch • Washington, D.C. said if someone from Vermillion would want to gamble on sports, they would have to travel to Deadwood to do so.

Iowa is currently the only state touching South Dakota that has legalized sports betting and reported upwards of 38 and a half million dollars wagered with nearly five million in revenue in September of 2019, according to the Des Moines Register.

Vermillion area citizens would have to travel to Deadwood to place bets or go to Iowa, which is closer. South Dakota would join 13 states who have legalized sports betting.

Nate Brown, owner and general manager of Fox Sports Rapid City and radio show host, posted a post on Twitter interviewed the lead sponsor of the bill who said everyone in South Dakota would be able to place bets wherever they are but would be regulated through Deadwood and tribal casinos.

That means that people would have to go to one of those casinos to set up an account and then bet anywhere in the state via mobile app.

South Dakota voters will have the chance to approve sports betting if the House passes the legislation come November with the potential to have sports betting in South Dakota as soon as 2021.

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Sophomore Haley Arens runs in a relay event at the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet on Feb. 8.

The Coyotes are back in action at the Nebraska Tune-up in Lincoln Friday.

New USD record set at Iowa State Classic in Ames Jake Lindenberg

Jake.Lindenberg@coyotes.usd.edu

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Redshirt junior Makiah Hunt competes in the pole vault at the Dakota Realty Alumni Meet Feb. 8.

One program record was broken while another was tied by the Coyotes inside the Lied Center in Ames at the Iowa State Classic over the weekend.

Junior Abby Ripperda bested USD alumna Megan Billington’s 5,000-meter race, crossing the line in 16 minutes, 26.68 seconds to take ninth place. The time sheds four seconds off Billington’s time of 16:30.19 and is also a personal best for Ripperda by 23 seconds.

Two personal-best times were also clocked in the 3,000-meter race, with junior Jonna Bart hitting 9:44.89 for third place and junior Kianna Stewart finishing in 9:50.84 for 12th place.

In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Brithon Senior tied the program record set by his hurdles coach, Teivaskie Lewin. Senior clocked 7.77 seconds to win the event while fellow freshman Hugo Morvan took fourth in 8.12 seconds.

USD captured two more gold medals as they swept the 60-meter races. Freshman Dylan Kautz secured first place in the men’s event

in 6.85 seconds and senior Tasheka Gordon finished in 7.87 seconds to win the women’s event. Kautz also took fourth in the 200 meters with a time of 22.07.

In the field, junior Callie Henrich earned first in the shot put, marking at 49-9 ¾ while freshman Meredith Clark finished just behind in second with a throw of 47-1 ½.

Senior Zack Anderson cleared 7-1 to take second place in the high jump, finishing just ahead of sophomore Jack Durst who claimed third at 7-1. Freshman Will Stupalsky hit a season-best mark of 46-4 ¾ to secure second in the triple jump.

Senior Chris Nilsen took second in the men’s pole vault, clearing 18-6 ¾. Sophomore Deidra Marrison claimed second in the women’s pole vault with a vault of 13-8 ½. Senior Helen Falda and junior Landon Kemp both cleared the same height to take third and fourth place, respectively.

USD’s next competition takes place on Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Nebraska Tune-Up.

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WOMEN ON BOATS USD PRODUCTION OF ‘MEN ON BOATS’ STARS ALL-FEMALE CAST

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John Wesley Powell, played by senior Ella Williams (center), leads the cast of “Men on Boats” through the winding rivers of the Grand Canyon. The first showing will be Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Miles Amende

Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu

USD Theater’s production of “Men on Boats” is a comedic romp through history with a twist: the ten male characters in the show are played entirely by female actors.

The play retells John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition of the Grand Canyon. Although the cast is all female, the names of the characters, their pronouns and the situations they find themselves in remain the same.

Ann-Houston Campbell, a second year graduate student and director of the production made this decision to question both how stories are told and who can tell them.

“Seeing a female body onstage and knowing in your mind it’s a male character causes the two to blend until you know you’re

just watching the character,” Campbell said. “It is believable to think these women could have done this, and they can tell the story just as well if not differently or better through their portrayal.”

Campbell proposed the idea of an all-female cast when she pitched the play to the theater department. The play balances the needs of the department and the community with her needs as a student and a director, Campbell said.

“It’s a comedy, and it has great technical opportunities for technical students, but having an empowering experience in creating a piece of theater is important to me and is important to any piece I do,” Campbell said. “It’s also extremely entertaining.

We’ve got cartwheels and handstands and whiskey and little boats. It’s a great time.”

Ella Williams, senior musical theater major, leads the cast

as John Wesley Powell. In developing characters, challenges arise not because she and her castmates are playing men, but because they are playing historical figures.

“These people are real,” Williams said. “They had personalities, they wrote journals about what happened; making them feel real and not letting them be cartoon characters has been the biggest challenge.”

Williams also said she believes the all-female portrayal of the work shows experience is not unique to gender.

“I don’t think it matters what gender is playing what role,” Williams said. “Anyone can go on an adventure, so it shows that women can face these challenges just as much as any man could.”

“Men on Boats” premieres Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Wayne S. Knutson Theatre.

‘Art is our stories and songs’: Artists continue downtown mural Maddi Kallsen

Maddilynn.Kallsen@coyotes.usd.edu

Bright, vivid murals have been popping up around downtown Vermillion. The Vermillion Community Mural Project (VCMP), a project dedicated to creating murals to beautify the city, is working to finish a two-part mural located behind the Coyote Twin Theater.

Amber Hansen, assistant professor at USD, is the main developer of the VCMP, a subsidiary part of the Vermillion Cultural Association. Artists creating the mural are Reyna Hernandez, Liz Skye and Inkpa Mani.

The VCMP created its first mural in 2017, located on the side of the Coyote Twin Theater in Vermillion’s Pocket Park.

In the summer of 2019, the first part of the two-part mural, titled “Eúŋkičhetupi,” a Lakota word meaning, ‘we come back to life,’ was completed. The second part of the mural will wrap around the wall adjacent to the first part.

Part one of the mural features indigenous women with a mother breast feeding as the central image. Hernandez said the three artists wanted to tell a modern story about indigenous women through the mural.

“We all knew we wanted the design to be about honoring indigenous women to tell a contemporary indigenous female story,” Hernandez said.

Skye said the experience of being included in the mural project unified her with her connection to the community.

“We wanted to make a super-strong mural about Native women regardless of what was happening. At the end of the day, the community agreed,” Skye said.

The design for the second part of the mural to be completed

is titled, “Wanáȟča,” a Lakota word for ‘flower that blooms.’

The painting will begin this coming May and both parts will be visible from City Hall.

Art continues to make a big impact around Vermillion and the world, historically and presently. Skye said this particular piece of art helps tell a story.

“We wouldn’t know anything about ourselves as a species if we didn’t have art to tell stories. That’s why in our culture, we don’t have a word for art because art was what we did. Art is our stories and our songs,” Skye said. “We didn’t need a word for it because it was not a separate thing from life, it was life itself.”

Funding for the VCMP comes from the Bush Foundation’s Change Network, Vermillion Area Community Foundation and donations from community members. Additionally, the VCMP will be selling stickers for five dollars at the Coyote Twin Theater.

Donations will be doubled throughout February and accepted through May. Hansen said every little contribution helps.

The process of developing a design for the mural required the three artists to bring their perspectives and ideas to life.

After conversing with each other, community members and the administrators, Skye, Hernandez and Mani were able to conceptualize a design.

The development of the color scheme was the next part of the process.

“Inkpa’s strengths were in hearing what we wanted and then drawing them out,” Hernandez said. “He was able to illustrate our thoughts and compositionally place them together.”

Once the artistic process was complete for the design, definite themes and images were made apparent. Hernandez said the image of water and femininity is central to the theme,

creating meaning.

“I think it really started by understanding that there is this universal thread that connects us,” Hernandez said. “Water really came into the design to represent the sacredness of water, community and our connection.”

Unity and connection are central to the theme of the mural.

“The year we decided to move forward, the town was really affected by water with all of the flooding going on,” Hernandez said. “Throughout history, the town has been affected by flooding. Everyone can relate to the importance of water and connect with the image of water, on a community level and on a personal level.”

Along with the image of water and femininity, the Monarch butterfly appears as a symbol in the mural. The butterfly signifies change, Skye said.

The goals of the VCMP are rooted in connecting and inspiring all community members, Hansen said. The entire community will have the opportunity to get involved.

“We have a community paint day where we invite members of the community to come to help us lay down like larger portions of the areas of the mural,” Hernandez said.“So many people showed up for the first session. The first Community Paint Day was a success.”

Hernandez said although the project is created by the artists, it belongs to everyone in the community.

“The mural is not just ours, it’s everyone’s, and there are pieces in this story everyone can relate to, no matter what walk of life you come from.”

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Reyna Hernandez, Liz Skye and Inkpa Mani were tasked with creating the mural. The first half of the mural, which featured a breastfeeding indigenous woman, was completed late in the summer of 2019. The second half of the mural will be started in May of this year.

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Live concert series performs in Farber Hall on Valentine’s Day Chloe Fullenkamp

Chloe.Fullenkamp@coyotes.usd.edu

On Valentine’s Day, the National Music Museum (NMM) held the “Classical Valentine” performance by the Mahr Quartet, as part of their on-going NMM Live! Series.

From Omaha, Nebraska, the Mahr String Quartet celebrated the holiday of love with a mixture of classical favorites. Melissa Holtmeier, principal violinist and manager, said the Mahr Quartet focused on a theme of love for their performance.

Matt Collinsworth, director of the National Music Museum, said the quartet and the audience got into the Valentine’s Day spirit during the concert.

“The Mahr Quartet was a lot of fun,” Collinsworth said, “They played a lot of popular pieces centered around a Valentine’s Day theme and the audience really responded well to them.”

Performing in Farber Hall on Friday, the quartet filled the space with familiar notes with popular tunes from the movies, the Beatles and more. They gave a new twist to well-known songs.

Michael Suing, Deputy Director of Curative Services, said NMM was pleased to bring in the Mahr Quartet to Vermillion for the public.

“Concerts and other programs are just one way the NMM serves the community,” Suing said. “Our concert series is supported by the University of South Dakota Student

Government Association, the South Dakota Arts Council and the generosity of our members.”

The live concert series is part of NMM’s mission to curate and preserve music throughout history according to Suing.

“The thinking behind the NMM Live! Series and those that preceded it, is to create a connection between instruments in the collection and the music they make,” Suing said.

NMM’s association with USD and Vermillion stretches back to 1973, when the museum was founded. In April 1975, the first concert of turn-of-the-century American band music was performed at W. M. Lee Center for Fine Arts and was the beginning for hundreds of concerts to be hosted by NMM on campus.

“Almost as long as the National Music Museum has been on the campus of the University of South Dakota, we have offered concerts as an extension of our mission; to explore, enjoy and preserve the world of musical instruments,” Suing said.

NMM’s focus on the care and preservation of musical instruments is an aspect in their work and their concerts.

“For most of us, hearing musical instruments is what brings them to life. I have a colleague who describes them as art objects that make art,” Suing said.

During the concert series, Suing said some groups may perform with some of the instruments in NMM’s collections.

“Sometimes, performers play musical instruments from the

collection, under the watchful eye of NMM experts; more often, they play their own instruments that are similar to those in the collection,” Suing said.

Currently, the NMM is under expansion and renovation. The construction began in the fall of 2019, so concerts like “Classical Valentine” have been performed in Farber Hall since early 2019.

With the expansion, the NMM has had to move over 4,000 musical instruments including other archives and libraries.

Since USD and NMM have been in partnership for 47 years, the concert series has not been affected by the renovations.

“Access to (venues on campus) is another example of how much the NMM benefits from a long partnership with the University of South Dakota,” Suing said.

Along with the renovations, the NMM is adding a new performance space to its property.

“When renovations are complete we will have a wonderful new performance space that will provide us with the opportunity to be more flexible with our concerts,” Collinsworth said.

The concert hall is planning to have daytime performances and multi-day events.

The NMM Live! concert series continues through the spring semester with three more performances in March, April and May. These performances include a mix of classical, Americana, blues and Celtic folk genres. Tickets for all NMM concerts are free to USD students, staff, faculty and NMM members.

Submitted Photo | The Volante

The Mahr Quartet performed in Farber Hall on Friday, Feb. 14 as part of the National Music Museum’s NMM Live! Series. NMM Live! Concerts are taking place in Farber Hall while the National Music Museum is under construction.

Painting major finds inspiration in ‘the little things’ Sara Cappiello

Sara.Cappiello@coyotes.usd.edu

Submitted Photo | The Volante

Junior painting major Ethan Tasa painted a series last year centered around intimate spaces, such as the bedroom.

Above is one of Ethan Tasa’s paintings from his previous intimacy series.

Art students usually don’t spend hours studying vocabulary words, writing papers or conducting experience in the lab. Their homework is much different.

For junior painting major Ethan Tasa, a typical school day starts by going to art history, ceramics and photography classes, then spending hours in the studio, working on his latest paintings.

Tasa said he’s been painting since he was little, so he always knew he wanted to be involved in the art field. Being from northeastern South Dakota, he was familiar with USD and its faculty, so he said it was a good fit.

Unlike other majors, painting gives a student the chance to be creative, Tasa said.

“I think my favorite thing about painting is you can make it look however you want,” Tasa said. “If you don’t like how something looks, you just paint over it. And so you can really have

Submitted Photo | The Volante

a lot of control over what it looks like.”

Tasa specifically focuses on oil painting and is currently working on a series about intimacy.

Last year, he painted a series of paintings incorporating beds and pillows and this semester, he’s working on portraits of couples in everyday situations.

While some students get to work on homework with their friends, Tasa and other painting majors spend their homework time in the art studio or conducting research about their current projects.

Tasa said despite what some people may say, being an art major is not easy and is more than just painting all day.

“I think it’s challenging because there’s not a lot of people who take it seriously. You have to do a lot of research,” Tasa said. “So it’s just managing your time and like finding a balance between being able to socialize and do your homework because you don’t have a lot of time for both.”

Being a junior, Tasa said he is already thinking about the future

of his art career. He’s planning on attending graduate school, then teaching art at the collegiate level, but said he also always wants to have some sort of personal art to work on.

“The whole point of art is to tell your story in a way that words can’t really convey,” Tasa said. “I do know that there is a lot of people who aren’t continuing to make art, even though they wish they could. So I really hope that I’m fortunate enough to be able to continue to do my own personal art.”

Tasa mainly looks at resources such as Pinterest or Youtube for his inspiration, as well as his professors and peers. He said he tries to channel humor in his artwork and how it applies to the small moments in life.

“The message I’m trying to convey is, don’t take yourself too seriously,” Tasa said. “Make sure you’re grateful for every little detail of your life. It’s the little things that can be taken away and those are the things that make the most difference in your life.”

Submitted Photo | The Volante

Ethan Tasa is currently working on a series of portraits of couples in everyday situations.