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South Dakota basketball anticipates winter sports decision
Coyote Twin Theater reopens for throwback, blockbuster season
All of USD’s fall sports have seen postponements to the spring, but men’s and women’s basketball are awaiting the official word on their 2020-21 season. Read more about the Coyotes’ preparation on page B1.
After five months without blockbusters, chick flicks, sci-fi or slapstick comedies, the Coyote Twin Theater has reopened downtown. Read more about what’s different this season on page B4.
CHARLIE’S CUPBOARD OFFICIALLY OPENS AT USD Tyler Boyle
Tyler.Boyle@coyotes.usd.edu
Submitted Photo | The Volante Charlie’s Cupboard, organized by Carson Zubke (left) and Hannah Booth (right), had their first official graband-go event on Sept. 10. Their next event is on Sept. 17 from 4-7 p.m.
Charlie’s Cupboard — a free on-campus pantry providing food and personal hygiene products for all USD students — had their first official grab-and-go event on Thursday, Sept. 10. Over the course of the night, the foundation supplied over 120 students with free items such as bread, cereal, toothbrushes, soap and more. Charlie’s Cupboard, led by Carson Zubke and Hannah Booth, provides services to all USD students who face food insecurity at USD. Zubke and Booth said services like Charlie’s Cupboard are essential to all communities during the pandemic due to a higher unemployment rate. “So often, and especially during COVID, many students have to face food insecurities,” Zubke said. “Kids will have to choose between having things like lunch or going to the store to get shampoo. This shouldn’t have to be a problem. We are hoping to solve that.” After the pantry’s first event, Zubke said he is optimistic the foundation is on its way to accomplishing this goal. Moreover, he said the pantry can be a resource every student at USD’s campus will take advantage of. “Everything went so smoothly and we were able to serve so many people,” Zubke said. “People came up to me telling me thank you and I can tell this is a service that is definitely needed and appreciated.
I’m sure that this will be something more and more people will realize they can use and will use.” Zubke, Booth and others have been working on the project since last school year. The pandemic, Booth said, has caused even more work to ensure the service is provided safely. “Ideally, we wanted this to be more like a shopping experience so students could pick out what they needed for the next week or two and we didn’t waste anything,” Booth said. “But now we have pre-packaged bags that we will be distributing so we aren’t putting anyone at risk.” Booth and Zubke said they have also been appreciative of the support received from the USD and Vermillion community. Zubke said student organizations at USD, donations, the Vermillion Food Pantry and others have helped Charlie’s Cupboard become what it is today. “We have had a lot of student organizations and people throughout the community volunteer and give donations,” Zubke said. “It has been really exciting to work with the community and other organizations to provide such a great service for people.” Charlie’s Cupboard’s next event is Thursday, Sept. 17 from 4-7 p.m. in the University Continuing Education building. The pantry will be open every second and third Thursday of the month at the same time for the rest of the semester.
USD ESPORTS OPENS NEW GAMING ARENA
Miles Amende | The Volante
The Esports Club opened a new gaming arena in McKusick Hall, which is open to all USD students, staff and faculty. Miles Amende
Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu
Two years ago, the Esports Club had five members. Now, the club has grown to around 120 members and has opened a new gaming arena in McKusick Hall. The arena has 24 PCs, two TVs and three game consoles. Derek Biersbach, president of the Esports Club, said the arena was built after Dean of Students Kim Grieve and Student Services approached the club with the desire to increase male enrollment at USD. Connor Singhisen, Assistant Director of Intramurals, Sports Clubs and Esports, said he has already seen an increase in club interest, and that he hopes potential USD students will see the space on their tours and take interest in it. “We hope that it becomes a major focal point of recruiting students to USD, and that student gamers from high school teams across the nation want to come to USD to be a part of the Esports Club,” Singhisen said. Besides being a good recruitment tool, Biersbach said the arena makes it easier for the team to practice together. He said being in the same environment as the team allows for better communication and more camaraderie. “When we started, everybody played at their own setup in their own dorm room or apartment, and that’s hard because internet can be unstable and not everybody has the
same specs,” Biersbach said. “It’s amazing to have this sort of space now.” The PCs in the arena were custombuilt by Dakota PC Warehouse. Singhisen said the PCs are state-ofthe-art, which helps level the playing field with other teams. The arena also has equipment to stream and record games, which Singhisen said will allow experienced club members to review footage and offer feedback to less-experienced gamers. “(Streaming and recording) also gets the club more notoriety in the collegiate Esports world, allowing for more opportunities to play, scrimmage, and hopefully recruit gamers to USD,” Singhisen said. Eventually, the club will even offer scholarships to students. The grand opening for the arena was Sept. 9, but it has been open since Aug. 28. Currently, the arena is open to all USD students, staff and faculty, but at reduced capacity due to the pandemic. Once the arena is allowed to open to full capacity, Singhisen said, USD plans to open it to the general public. He said the university is looking into offering gaming camps and clinics, facility rentals for birthday parties, and offering day-passes and memberships. The arena is open Monday through Thursday from 3-11 p.m., on Friday from 2 p.m. until midnight, on Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and on Sunday from 2-8 p.m.
Miles Amende | The Volante
Community members decorated sidewalks along main street with messages honoring firstresponders on 9/11 and healthcare workers in the pandemic.
‘Chalk the Walk’ commemorates 9/11 Miles Amende
Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu
The Gallagher Center hosted its first “Chalk the Walk” event at the Platz in downtown Vermillion to commemorate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. In addition to honoring the firstresponders on 9/11, event leader Kim Albracht said she wanted to call attention to Vermillion’s current efforts in responding to the COVID19 pandemic. People’s understanding of 9/11, Albrach said, has morphed into a recognition that communities are stronger when everyone works together. She said the pandemic has only reiterated this idea. “We decided we would make this year’s day of service more about thanking the community,” Albracht said. “We thought it would be a great time for us to come out here, say thank you to essential workers, to people that have done things for Vermillion during this time.”
The Platz was the epicenter of the event. Attendees were invited to decorate the sidewalks along main street with patriotic art and messages of thankfulness. Albracht said even after the event, people can continue to decorate the sidewalks with their own chalk. The event was originally planned to take place on Sept. 11 but was rescheduled to Sept. 12 due to weather concerns. Albracht said the Gallagher Center chose to host a “Chalk the Walk” because it allowed them to host an activity and social distance. Each part of the sidewalk was overseen by a site leader—a volunteer who provided both chalk and inspiration to attendees. Madalyn Bollig, a site leader and graduate student, said it’s important to remember both the current firstresponders and those who lost their lives on 9/11. “This (event) is a way we can get out into the community and creatively remind people of that,”
Bollig said. Another site leader, Benjamin Fink, said he wanted the event to get the community involved in commemorating the attacks. “I hope we get people to see that we’re out here doing it, and maybe other people can tag along and help remember a very special day in our history,” Fink said. Both the pandemic and the attacks, Albracht said, show the importance of community resilience. She said that is why it is important not to forget the Sept. 11 attacks even though they happened 19 years ago. “(For) people that were either not alive or are too young to remember it, it certainly can be hard to relate, but the message of that resilience is as important today as it was (19) years ago,” Albracht said. “It is our responsibility to keep talking about this and working together as communities.”