10.07.20

The Volante

THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887

W E D N E S D AY, O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 2 0

VERVE (B1,B2)

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SPORTS (B3, B4)

A closer look at South Dakota’s paranormal history

Men’s basketball prepares for season with 11 new members

South Dakota is home to many old landmarks, some that have a paranormal background. Read more about the true history about Spirit Mound on page B1.

The men’s basketball team is working to carch up on practice and camaraderie on and off the court with their new roster of members. Read more about the upcoming season on page B4.

HEARTLAND HUMANE SOCIETY HELPS FURRY FRIENDS FIND FOREVER HOMES Lexi Kerzman

Lexi.Kerzman@coyotes.usd.edu

Approximately 6.5 million animals enter an animal shelter each year. Currently, the Heartland Humane Society in Yankton, SD is home to roughly 30 of those shelter animals.

Kerry Hacecky, the Director at Heartland, said most animals they house were either surrendered by their previous owner or are stray.

Hacecky said half the stray animals are brought in by community members and the other half are brought in from the pound through their contract with the city of Yankton.

“If the animals end up at the pound and no one claims them, we take them on here at the shelter,” Hacecky said.

When people have to surrender their animal, Hacecky said, it could be for financial reasons, owner health issues, moving, divorce or various other reasons.

Hacecky said adopting a dog or cat is a lifetime commitment, which is why she recommends people do extended research to make sure they are ready to be a pet parent before they make a lifetime commitment.

“We encourage (people looking to adopt) to really consider your long term living situation,” Hacecky said.

“How many times do you think you’re going to have to move in the next 10 to 15 years? And are you willing to pay more for housing because of that animal? … We always just encourage everyone to just look at the next 10 years of your life and not just the current situation you’re in.”

Heartland offers a foster program that allows people who are looking to adopt a pet a chance to see what being a pet owner is like through a two- or three-week trial. The shelter provides all the equipment needed for the fostering period, Hacecky said.

Fostering, Hacecky said, is a great way for people to know if they are ready to adopt a pet without that life long commitment. Two years ago, Heartland also started a short term fostering program called “Slumber Paw-ties,” where people take an animal home for three to five days only.

Hacecky said fostering also helps the shelter get a better understanding of the animals personality and behavior. Some dogs or cats may act differently in the home, she said, which they wouldn’t know if people didn’t foster the animals.

“We do basic behavior evaluations (at the shelter), but dogs and cats act differently in the shelter than they do in a home setting,” Hacecky said. “A good example of some of the reports we get back is ‘the dog or cat was really social with my friends when they came over,’

Lexi Kerzman | The Volante

Heartland Humane Society offers a foster program that allows potential owners to live with a pet for two or three weeks to see what being a pet owner is like. or ‘they were reluctant to meet new dogs at the dog park.’ This really helps us in the adoption process because sometimes we get questions we don’t have answers to.”

Behavior evaluation helps ensure that people get matched with the right animal while looking for adoption, Hacecky said. After the evaluation is completed, the Heartland team is able to make a description to put on their website so people looking to adopt can read the animal description and determine if that animal is right for them.

Hacecky said she encourages people to read the descriptions but also call in and ask questions about the animal they are looking to adopt.

After asking questions via phone, she said she encourages people to come into the shelter and meet the animal before taking them home.

“Nine out of 10 times they pick the right animal, but sometimes they get here and they spend 30 minutes with a cat or dog, and it’s not the right fit,” Hacecky said. “That’s when we jump in and we try to introduce another option and see if that’s a better fit.”

Due to COVID-19, Hacecky said they are seeing less people come in for visits and answering more questions over the phone. Heartland previously let people come in without appointment, but is now requiring an appointment to limit the amount of people in the shelter.

Originally, they were not able to have volunteers in the shelter during

the start of the pandemic, but now, Hacecky said they are able to have one or two volunteers there at a time.

Courtney Segota, head of instructional services at the USD law library, volunteers at Heartland every Saturday. She said her experience volunteering at Heartland has been very rewarding.

She originally began volunteering in 2018. Segota said she wanted to volunteer at the shelter to get her dog fixed. Now, she has adopted two dogs of her own and has switched over to working with cats at the shelter. “(My favorite part about volunteering) is seeing the dogs come out of their shell,” Segota said. “We get some dogs who either are not well socialized or have had some bad experiences with people or with other dogs in their past.

And it’s amazing to just see that transformation.”

Segota said she would encourage anyone interested in volunteering to give it a try. While she said it can sometimes be challenging, it is worth it.

“We do a lot of fun things and volunteering is really rewarding,” Segota said. “It doesn’t have to be adults either. We have a family that volunteers. Kids can come in to help with cat or dog walking.”

The Heartland Humane Society is constantly seeing new furry faces and is open for appointments by request Tuesday through Saturday.

Lexi Kerzman | The Volante

Heartland Humane Society is now requiring appointments for potential owners to limit the amount of people in the shelter.

I CARE KICKOFF PROMOTES SEXUAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION Jacob Forster

Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu

Jacob Forster | The Volante

USD’s I CARE hosted their annual kickoff event outside of the Muenster University Center on Oct. 1.

USD’s I CARE — an organization dedicated to providing information about consent and sexual violence prevention — hosted a kickoff event on the Munster University Center west lawn Thursday, Oct. 1.

I CARE was founded in 2017 with federal grant money. Its purpose is to direct students to information and resources on sexual violence prevention and counseling.

Jordan Bonstrom, the USD director of student rights and responsibilities and the coordinator of I CARE, volunteered for the position in February after the previous coordinator resigned. As part of that position, Bonstrom helps set priorities for the organization, one of which is encouraging students to complete their SafeColleges online training.

“The mission really is to prevent sexual violence on campus, and to create a culture of consent and a culture where people support each other and feel welcome here,” Bonstrom said.

I CARE is promoting healthy relationships in October, which is

domestic violence awareness month.

“We’re going to really be focusing on what those signs of healthy relationships are,” Bonstrom said.

“So they can hopefully help their friends that are maybe not in the healthiest of relationships.”

John Howe, USD’s associate dean of students, serves on the assessment committee of I CARE, which makes sure the organization is meeting the standards of the federal grant it was founded with.

As part of his position in I CARE, Howe said he wants to make sure every student knows they have a role to play in reducing sexual violence on campus.

“I would say that’s the greatest work of my career,” Howe said.

Kim Grieve, USD’s vice president of student services, also serves on the assessment committee of I CARE. Grieve said this semester is about building momentum for I CARE and getting students involved.

“Overall, we want students to have be safe, and have healthy relationships, and know when a relationship is that healthy, and to get resources to help them,” Grieve See I CARE, Page A3

News

A2 Wednesday, October 7, 2020

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RED RISING

Miles Amende I The Volante

Keith Thomas's "Go Yotes" display won the "Red Rising" category in this year's Yote Yards competiton.

CITY OF VERMILLION POLICE >> Sept. 27 - Oct. 3

2

1

DUIs

Sept. 27 Officers encountered an adult male urinating in an alley behind a business. The male was arrested for underage drinking, possessing a fake id and providing a false name to law enforcement.

Sept. 27 Officers located two subjects acting suspiciously in the downtown district. Officers investigation discovered both subjects were intoxicated, under the age of 21 and in possession of false identification cards. The subjects were arrested and charges are pending.

Sept. 27

Officers responded to a noise complaint for the second time in one night. Officers located the source of the noise and wrote the subject a citation. Charges are pending.

Sept. 27 Officers encountered two adults who had active arrest warrants.

Officers took both adults into custody.

Sept. 27 Officers responded to a residence for a known medical condition.

Sept. 27 While responding to another call for service, officers learned a woman had a warrant

1

noise complaint

for her arrest. She was arrested and taken to jail.

Sept. 27 Officers took a report of a juvenile who had run away from home.

The juvenile was later located by law enforcement.

Sept. 28 Officers assisted state investigators with the execution of a search warrant for a residence.

Sept. 28 Officers responded to a 911 call for medical assistance.

Officers arrived on scene and provided care for the patient until EMS arrived on scene.

SGA approves funding for CWC

Sept. 29 An officer stopped a vehicle for failing to stop and remain stopped for a school bus with its stop lights activated.

The driver was charged for the violation.

Sept. 29 Officers responded to a report of persons arguing. Officers investigation found no crimes had been committed.

search warrant

contact order he had with a female. The male was arrested for that violation as well as an outstanding warrant.

Sept. 30 Officers responded to a call of a male looking in cars and acting suspiciously. The male tried to run from officers but was stopped. He was arrested for a probation violation because he’d been drinking.

Sept. 30 Officers took reports of graffiti being sprayed on multiple surfaces around town. Investigation continues.

Sept. 30 Officers stopped a car with expired license plates. The driver was ticketed.

Sept. 30 Officers stopped a male for violating a no

Oct. 2 An officer stopped a vehicle because it did

LIVE AT 5 P.M.

not have its headlights on after dark. The driver was intoxicated. The driver also did not have a driver’s license or insurance. The driver was arrested for DUI and other traffic offenses.

Oct. 3 An officer stopped a vehicle for driving with no lights on after dark.

The driver was intoxicated and was arrested for DUI. Oct. 3 Officers received a report of a possible drunk driver. The car was stopped and the driver was found to be intoxicated. The driver was charged and arrested.

TUNE IN THIS MONTH

Watch Channel 21 live at 5.

Jacob Forster

Check out the KAOR website for student podcasts.

Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu

The Student Government Association hosted Jordan Bonstrom of I CARE and Saeed Dabbour of the Center for Diversity and Community at Tuesday’s meeting.

The organization also introduced three resolutions and passed a bill to approve special appropriations for the Cultural Wellness Coalition.

Bonstrom said that the role of I CARE is split into two parts. The first is preventing sexual violence from happening on campus, and the second is to let people on campus and in Vermillion know that resources are available to help victims of sexual violence.

“We do have resources available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Bonstrom said.

To help raise awareness of sexual violence, Bonstrom encouraged students to complete their SafeCampus online training.

Dabbour said the Center for Diversity and Community is open to all students on campus, and that if students want to get involved, all they have to do is go to the office.

“I know a lot of people get scared when they see the word ‘diversity’ but that’s why we have the word ‘community added too,” Dabbour said. “So it’s for everyone, you’re all welcome to come here.”

Caitlin Reimers reported to SGA on her project to implement a campuswide recycling program.

COYOTEHistory 2008 Peyton Beyers I The Volante

SGA held their weekly meeting remotely over Zoom on Tuesday evening.

Reimers received funding for her project in the spring semester, but it was delayed due to the cancellation of in-person classes. Reimers said her program is designed to last longer than previous attempts to offer recycling options on campus.

“There’s never really been a unified recycling thing going on,” Reimers said. “It’s usually studentrun projects that after the student graduates, the program dies.”

SGA introduced three resolutions: Senate Resolution 4, to encourage the improvement of sexual assault prevention and public safety on campus, Senate Resolution 5, to support the cancellation of classes and labs on Nov. 3 to support student voting, and Senate Resolution 6, to support surveillance testing as part of COVID19 response efforts.

Senate Resolution 4 supports the continuation of sexual assault education, the advancement of accessibility to sexual

violence support systems, and further preventive measures to ensure student safety. Senator Carter Linke, who introduced the resolution, said he understands the sensitive nature of the topic the resolution addresses.

“I really wanted to do this well,” Linke said. “So I reached out the Dean of Students, I reached out to the Associate Dean of Students, and I also had meetings with the director of I CARE.” Senate Resolution 5 would not be able to cancel classes Nov. 3, but would suggest the motion to the South Dakota Board of Regents. The resolution does not limit its suggestion to USD, but asks the Board of Regents to cancel classes at all universities statewide.

Senate Bill 62 to grant special appropriations funds to the Cultural Wellness Coalition, was introduced and considered as emergency legislation. The bill was passed unanimously.

2006

Maren Colon, SGA senator and presidential candidate, cited for a DUI.

Newt Gingrich spoke at USD's first Edmund Burke lecture.

The Volante Volume 145, N0. 20 October 7, 2020 www.volanteonline.com Al Neuharth Media Center 555 N. Dakota St. University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD 57069

Lexi Kerzman editor-in-chief Bailey Zubke managing editor Miles Amende news editor Jacob Forster news assistant Sara Cappiello news designer

Adviser Kyle Miller

Chloe Fullenkamp

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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News The Volante | volanteonline.com TRiO renews five-year grant, continues to serve USD students A3 Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Rachel Pechous

Rachel.Pechous@coyotes.usd.edu

USD’s branch of TRiO, the federal service for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, is continuing to serve and support students.

Because of new grant funds, TRiO will officially continue for five more years.

Through the U.S. Department of Education, TRiO received the Student Support Services grant in August of this year. This grant is given every five years to serve and support 144 TRiO students at USD. TRiO has three current programs and Student Support Services is the program available to USD students. Student Support Services is one of TRiO’s programs that is aims to help students of low income, first generation or students with disabilities.

Christine Lesher, Director of TRiO, said the program works really hard to make sure students feel welcomed and comfortable at USD. “During freshman year many students are busy trying to figure out new college classes while also trying to figure out what resources are available to them on campus and in the community,”

Lesher said. “Instead of being overwhelmed by a new college environment, we at TRiO focus on helping students understand the USD campus and introduce resources that are available to them.”

Lesher said the organization offers many resources and workshops available to students to help them not only become comfortable with USD, but also help them succeed throughout their academic years in Vermillion.

“With the disabilities criteria it can also be someone who struggles academically and maybe had a low GPA or not the best ACT score so we can also help them with that,” Lesher said.

Joseph Smith, senior and member of TRiO, said what drove him to join TRiO was the library access and tutoring availabilities.

“I think it kind of started off with being able to get free printing but then over time I ended up getting more involved with the advisors and other participants,” Smith said.

Smith is now a peer mentor who is paired with freshmen to help guide them throughout their freshman year.

“I want to make sure that

I CARE From Page A1

said.

Bonstrom said he hopes to work to make USD a welcoming and a safe place, and to let students know that if they or a friend are a victim of sexual violence, there are resources available to them.

“If something does happen to someone, please reach out and ask for help,” Bonstrom said. “And we have people that would love to help them as much as we can.”

I CARE is largely staff driven, but Bonstrom said the organization is looking to bring in more student involvement. Part of that involves forming a student advisory council to decide programming and events

towards the end of this year.

“One of the big steps in that is this just getting the name out there of what I CARE is,” Bonstrom said.

Although the I CARE kickoff was forced to close early due to cold temperatures and harsh winds, Grieve said she wants to get students involved in understanding healthy relationships, and that the most crucial part of that is consent.

“The most important message for I care to get out to students is today, our message is consent,” Grieve said. “And how important that it is for students to really understand consent.”

TRiO provides tutoring, workshops, and field trip opportunities to its members. they are getting the help that they need and to even help them get a head start, most of them generally have more information than other freshmen would,” Smith said.

Lesher said TRiO aids in helping students with academics as well as finding scholarships and even assisting in applying for them.

Smith was able to attend multiple trips funded by scholarships with TRiO’s help.

“I was able to go with AWOL to Atlanta and that was really cool because it definitely made it a lot easier for me to go with their help,” Smith said.

Lesher said with TRiO’s help students can further their education in ways they may not have been able to before. TRiO can also help assist students with many resources that may not be related to academics.

“TRiO also assisted me in applying for part-time jobs and they are a very big reason why I have the job that I do today,” Smith said.

Lesher said the offices for TRiO are always open and welcoming students in who may need help or simply have a question about campus.

“The nicest thing about TRiO is that to me it definitely isn’t just some arbitrary department. It is

Submitted Photo | The Volante

very significant to students and everyone there is always looking out for students who may need help or guidance,” Smith said.

USD students can apply to join TRiO on the USD website under TRiO, Student Support Services.

USD professors, students conduct OT research study to improve mental health Sara Cappiello

Sara.Cappiellos@coyotes.usd.edu

Occupational therapy helps people of all ages who have physical, sensory and cognitive problems. One USD professor is taking a closer look at how occupational therapy can affect mental health, particularly the mental health of college students.

Moses Ikiugu is a professor and director of research for the occupational therapy department at USD. Since the 2000s, Ikiugu has been a primary investigator on research studies to determine how occupational therapy can reduce stress and improve overall mental health. But in the last two years, he has started working on a new study involving first-year students at USD. Ikiugu said he chose first-year students for the study because they are transitioning into the college lifestyle, which can prove to be a high-stress situation.

“First of all, we have participants identify what is ultimately meaningful in their lives,” Ikiugu said. “Then we help them make goals for themselves to act in such a way that they get closer to that vision of what is meaningful.

But in the meantime, we want to work together and make sure they’re doing activities that help their well being.”

For this study, Ikiugu is looking at a number of stress indicators in order to determine how stressed students are before and after the study. These indicators include heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, sleep quality and genetic assessments. The idea, Ikiugu said, is that if the study is successful, these would improve.

Currently, there are nine students participating in the research study. The main activities participants will be doing are guided meditation and progressive relaxation, which will help with relaxation and reducing stress.

“Research already shows that there’s been a significant uptick of mental health concerns in colleges throughout the world, but particularly in North America,” Ikiugu said. “If we find that this approach works, we would like to use it on campus with other students, so they are better prepared to stay healthy and succeed in their academic careers.”

After completing the study, Ikiugu hopes to present the results not just to other colleges, but to NASA for consideration.

Occupational therapy can not only be helpful to college students, Ikuigu said, but also astronauts.

“When they’re in space, astronauts don’t have the ability to go for a jog or go to a family barbecue,” Ikiugu said. “They are out of touch with their families for a while, so this would be a way for them to stay in touch with the things they enjoy.

Whitney Lucas Molitor, assistant professor of occupational therapy, is working alongside Ikiugu as the other primary investigator for the study. As a former student and now colleague of Ikiugu’s, Molitor said she is excited to be working on this study.

“I think this is just another area for occupational therapy that we’re not usually in, so it helps give our profession more exposure,” Molitor said.

Along with Molitor and Ikiugu, there are a few occupational therapy students and faculty working on the study, but Ikiugu said he hopes more people get involved.

“Occupational therapy is important to mental health, especially right now,” Ikiugu said. “I think that this particular approach should be one way of getting occupational therapy back into that area and actually expanding it so that we’re providing services not only in mental institutions but also in the community, on college campuses and everywhere.”

Submitted Photo | The Volante

Moses Ikiugu is a director of research in the occupational therapy department at USD. He is the primary investigator on this current research project.

Submitted Photo | The Volante

Whitney Lucas Molitor, a former student of Ikiugu’s, is also an investigator for the research study.

USD mock trial team holds court online Jacob Forster

Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu

USD’s mock trial team has continued to try cases in spite of the ongoing pandemic.

To avoid spreading disease, the team has begun holding rounds over Zoom.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began during the spring semester of 2020, mock trial’s season was cut short. Melody Beaulieu, co-captain of USD’s mock trial team, said the American Submitted Photo | The Volante Mock Trial Association held a (Left to right) Allison Howard, Melody Beaulieu and Krista Honomichl are active “one last time” tournament for college seniors over the members on the mock trial team. summer. witnesses.

Emily Higgins, Beaulieu’s we have as attorneys in a “This summer, they kind Beaulieu said the move to co-captain, said she agreed mock trial is learning how of realized that we’re gonna Zoom trials has the advantage that the move to Zoom adds to place ourselves to show have to do it online,” Beaulieu of teaching students real- value in training students how transitions,” Higgins said. “It’s said. life strategies for dealing to be persuasive litigators. really hard to do that when The tournament allowed with technology in the “It’s a much different you’re on a Zoom call, so seniors whose season was courtroom. Real courtrooms atmosphere than being able we’re trying to learn how to cut short in the spring to across the country have been to be in person and to use transition better.” compete with no registration forced to hold trials over the your persuasive strategies Beaulieu said the biggest fee. More than 90 graduates internet, and Beaulieu said that way,” Higgins said. challenge of the semester has paprticipated in the it’s important for litigators to Higgins said one of been the steeper learning tournament, which was understand skills including the challenges has been curve for new members, who livestreamed on the American how to enter evidence into camera placement and have to learn all the rules of Mock Trial Association’s the courtroom over Zoom. lighting, which can impact mock trials in addition to YouTube channel.

“Sandy (McKeown) — our a litigator’s presentation. In adapting to technology.

This is Beaulieu’s second coach — and I agree that addition, Higgins said, hand “We’re all kind of taking year on USD’s mock trial team. this isn’t the last pandemic gestures have to be done a step back, and so it’s nice A mock trial round, Beaulieu that we’re gonna see in the with consideration for the that we’re kind of all on the said involves preparing for near future,” Beaulieu said. camera. In a traditional mock same page,” Beaulieu said, both the defense and plaintiff “There’s a whole range of trial round, transitions are “But I think nobody knows sides of a pre-written case — new skills that we’re going accompanied by movements what they’re doing with as competing teams aren’t to need to learn and yeah, it to different points on the the technologies, so it’ll be informed of which side they’ll sucks that it’s online this year, courtroom floor, which can’t interesting to see how we go.” be arguing beforehand. but I think it’s gonna be really be done over Zoom.

Each team is made up of useful in the long run.”

“A lot of the job that three attorneys and three

Opinion WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020

How accurate is standardized testing?

THE VOLANTE

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IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

EDITORIAL

JAMIE JOHNSON is a senior majoring in strategic communications.

6.5

Over the years, standardized testing has been a difficult subject throughout schools. Does it test your intelligence or your test taking skills?

This is the main question asked about these tests we are required to take throughout our educational lives. These tests also pressure a lot of families and students on what they should do for the future based on what subject they did well on.

For me, I have always been a bad test taker, I get anxiety and second guess myself a lot. I think standardized tests are just a way of showing test taking skills. I don’t remember if I actually learned anything from them or if they helped me in the long run, for me it was a lot of pressure taking these tests. The middle and high school I went to were very supportive of this test and helped their students as much as they could.

They would give us snacks and breaks before and after the test. It is such a nervous situation to be in because, obviously we all wanted to do well on the test, but the school faculty also wanted to do well so they pushed their students.

I think they did this because the school with the highest test scores in the state would receive a gift or money for it. So, I think this side of the argument is right by it being about test-taking abilities and it does not show true knowledge to me.

The other argument is it does benefit your intelligence and show it. I think test to a good job covering main objectives and points about a certain topic. But is it about learning it or memorizing it?

People have great memories and is a main reason they pass in classes.

They remember the study guide with the same answers as the test. Standardized testing shows what subjects were our strengths and weaknesses to help us in the future on what we should focus on.

I think standardized tests help show our education level and what we know but I do not think it’s the right way to see our actual intelligence.

The number of million animals that enter U.S. animal shelters every year.

44 The percentage of American households with a dog.

Lexi Kerzman I The Volante Several million pets sit in shelters all over the United States that are free or low cost to adopt. Animals from breeders can cost several hundred or thousand dollars. Make your next pet a shelter animal.

Editorial: It’s time to adopt your next furry friend Adopting a pet not only brings the pets a new life but can also bring a newfound joy to their human counterparts.

October is American Humane’s national AdoptA-Dog Month, so instead of trying to find the perfect purebred puppy that probably costs more than a month’s rent, head to your local shelter and adopt a dog (or cat).

Adoption not only saves pets from being stuck at the shelter for the rest of their life or being

cons but why not add another pro to the list because with you that animal may never have a family.

Sometimes animal adoptions can be complicated or messy.

Sometimes the pet needs to relearn potty training or break bad habits, but by showing your newfound furry friend a loving and caring environment your pet

euthanized but it also gives an animal a fresh start.

With over 3-4 million animals in shelters it’s important to think about the pets who had homes and were abandoned by uncertain humans or simply turned up as a lost pet. It’s not fair that those animals don’t receive the love and caring family they deserve just because they ended up at the shelter.

When considering buying a pet it’s always important to consider all the pros and

will become your new best friend.

Not only will you save a life by adopting a new pet but you’re working against puppy mills. Puppy mills are basically dogs being mass produced and sold to make money as fast as possible.

Puppy mills often don’t consider the animals welfare and force them to live in harsh disgusting conditions.

They receive improper medical care and are kept in cages. Moms of the puppies are bred over and over again

“

Find your new furry friend in a shelter and give them a home instead of giving another penny to a puppy mill.

34 The percentage of dogs purchased through a breeder.

710,000 The number of stray animals in shelters that are returned to their owners.

1.5 The number of million shelter animals that are euthanized each year.

From aspca.org.

The Volante THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887

How was your Dakota Days week?

Great!

The percentage of pet cats that were strays when adopted.

until they can’t breed any longer then they’re disposed of.

Stop allowing these cruel places to exist by shopping for pets at pet stores or on the internet. Find your new furry friend in a shelter and give them a home instead of giving another penny to a puppy mill.

Another reason to adopt is because it feels good.

Not only are you finding a new friend but you’re giving the animal a safe and l o v i n g place to live and reaching it from potential doom. By saving them you sure to feel better about your decision to adopt a pet.

However, whenever you do decide to adopt a pet of any kind make sure you’re in a place financially and emotionally where you can give the animal the proper care and love it deserves to prevent it ending up at another shelter later down the road.

Make the right choice but also make sure it’s the smart choice.

WEEKLY POLL:

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I forgot it was DDays

27%

I don’t remember it so...

18%

It was lame

27

36% *Out of 67 voters

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Lexi Kerzman, editor-in-chief

Madilyn Sindelar, sports editor

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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.

Submissions must include the author’s name, address, telephone number, year in school and major or job title. Letters must be exclusively for The Volante.

We will not publish anonymous letters.

Send letters to: Al Neuharth Media Center 555 Dakota St. Vermillion, S.D. 57069 Fax to: 605.677.5105 Email to: volante@coyotes.usd.edu Via our website: volanteonline.com The deadline for letters is 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication.

Letters must be typed and fewer than 300 words.

Opinion

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Censorship is a dead end TAYLOR HAGEN is a senior double majoring in English and psychology.

Banned Books Week rans from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 of this year.

Considering everything going on at the moment, Dakota Days, midterms, the constant loom of COVID-19, it’s easy to forget about seemingly ‘random’ celebrations such as Banned Books Week.

So what is Banned Books Week? Banned Books Week is a week annually noted and celebrated at the end of September that brings awareness to the freedom of literature as well as books that have been requested to be ‘banned’ from places such as schools, libraries, or bookstores.

Every year, the American Library Association, or ALA, publishes an updated list of books that have been challenged in the past year. The purpose of the week is to celebrate free and open access to information without any censorship. This year’s theme - “Censorship is a dead end. Find your freedom to read!”

So why does Banned Books Week matter? Not only is it a celebration of freedom in literature, but freedom to tell stories.

Many readers, librarians, teachers and booksellers reflect on their favorite books that have made the list to be ‘banned’.

Can you imagine a world without The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Thirteen Reasons Why

by Jay Asher, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas or Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling?

Many of these books

are contested due to the nature of the story, subject matter or language used within its pages, which all vary in complexity and severity.

The Banned Books Week website states, “By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.”

How did I choose to celebrate Banned Books Week? Not only do I try to educate those around me about the celebration, checking in on the contested books of the past year, I also spend time rereading various books that made the list.

This year I decided to read Looking for Alaska by John Green, challenged for its depiction of drug and alcohol use within the book, and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which was challenged for

the topic of teen suicide.

By rereading these books, I feel that I am taking a stand against censorship and acknowledging stories and characters who need to be heard.

What can you do to acknowledge Banned Books Week? The American Library Association has a great website, bannedbooksweek. org, that highlights more information and a complete list of challenged books.

Take some time to see if your favorite books are on there, maybe check them out at the I.D. Week’s Library or the Vermillion Public Library. Share them with a friend or just have a conversation about them.

Celebrate the freedom to express ideas and stories, even the ones that seem unorthodox or unpopular.

Universal Healthcare sucks ALEX DEIS is a sophomore majoring in English.

Just to out myself here at the start, I am what one might call a “Bernie Bro” if that tracks, I am all for a healthcare system that takes care of my fellow citizens.

No matter how much I prop up my disdain for humanity I somehow find myself caring. I am horrified by the thought of people dying from easily treated illness and injury simply because we have a system that doesn’t care whether they live or die.

That being said, I understand the impracticability of such an idea, it’s idealism in its rawest form. There’s no reasonable way to pay for something of that scale, at least not with our current economic position, blame who you wish, it’s an issue we all have to deal with.

I get the economical

argument, the only feasible way to fund a healthcare system that covers every one of us measly peasants is an astronomical tax, which no one wants, or to cut back the production of new medicine.

There’s some thought to be made about integrating hospital function into the government, and there are a lot of places where we can cut back the administrative costs of Hospitals; but in order to accomplish this, we’d have to also cut back safety lines and red tape that saves lives from experimental drugs.

There could also be an accountability loss, if we get too lax with medical institutions then we have to worry about them getting away with killing patients. A scary number of people, scary being more than one, die from allergic reactions to medicine and even more so, anesthetics.

Whoo!

Now that we got that out of the way, just take a quick breather.

Still with me? Okay good. Now

I’m going to brow beat and shame you for not wanting to help other people you sick monster.

For legal reasons, that was a joke.

Let’s talk about humanitarianism, big word, with big meaning.

For today we’ll shorten it to its key principle, treating every human being as that: A human being, with rights and liberties.

There’s been a lot of work from humanitarians over the years, there’s even an entire board in the United Nations dedicated to human rights. Just for being born you have 30! Now isn’t that just nifty. A couple of those include the right to life, liberty, and to not be tortured. I don’t know how you feel about being left in the street dying slowly from injuries, but I think you could call that a form of torture.

And just a quick tangent, to the people, namely Christians and other religious types, who call themselves pro-life. Those that are in camp against

OVERHEARDS

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

“HURRY UP AND LICK ONE OF THESE, QUICK!” — Yale Street

“Every Payton with an ‘ay’ I’ve met is a piece of work.”

— Al Neuharth Media Center

“Words are made up.”

— Freedom Forum

“I think it’s funny that it’s COVID and they still share water bottles.”

— Dakota Dome

legal, medical abortion, that don’t support the idea of a healthcare system that takes care of everyone regardless of the amount of cash in their pocket, how do you reconcile? That you think that every person deserves a shot at life, but once they’re out of the womb, you would watch them die on the streets without batting an eye.

Universal Healthcare is, for some reason, rather controversial and I don’t think I really need to tell you that.

There are plenty of pros and cons, more than enough to debate, really it just sucks.

You’d think that it could be this simple conversation, “do you think that everyone should have easy access to medicine without losing everything they own?” No, Instead it ends up being this noisy, painful argument over whether or not it’s economically profitable to care about the wellbeing of your fellow humans. I say that it sucks, but it’s actually just sad.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 A5

Autumn: The superior season HEIDI SCHNEIDER is a senior majoring in sport marketing and media No I will not be taking any questions. Autumn is the superior season.

While I enjoy living in Vermillion, this town doesn’t know fall. It never comes here. One day its 85 degrees, the next it’s snowing and it’s now winter. But this year, we’ve gotten more than 30 minutes of fall and I could not be happier.

Autumn is the best season and let me tell you why. The temperature is just right. Who doesn’t love wearing sweatshirts, jeans, flannels and denim jackets? And without sweating? Sign me up. Scarves, beanies and boots are a plus too.

It’s the perfect balance of comfy clothes without feeling like a stuffed pepper.

And can we talk about the outside? The pretty leaves, the cool but not crisp air and the smell.

You know the smell. The smelly smell of fall.

The perfect compliment to this perfect weather?

Outdoor activities. I love being outside and doing things but it’s next to impossible when its 90 degrees out all the time.

Autumn is the perfect time to go hiking, biking, kayaking or even just sitting outside in a lawn chair without dripping in sweat 10 minutes into the activity.

And it’s not just the weather it’s the season.

It’s the beginning of the Halloween season. Then Thanksgiving.

Just thinking about going to a pumpkin patch makes me want to ditch class and go right now.

Can any other season even compare? Not really. Winter is cold and snowy. Spring is slushy and stressful (thanks finals week). Summer

is too hot. Summer just smells like sweat.

No other season has the holidays fall has.

Winter has a lot going for it with Christmas in the bag but Easter and the Fourth of July claimed by Spring and Summer

really

aren’t

even in the running. I said what I said.

Autumn

also

has

the best coffee shop concoctions. My latest obsession?

Iced

chai

latte with pumpkin cold foam

and

cinnamon

dolce syrup. It tastes the way fall candles smell (thanks TikTok).

Anything

pumpkin,

cinnamon or maple is absolutely the move.

And

think

about

it. With all of these factors, what really puts fall ahead of the rest of the seasons is the picture

opportunities.

Instagram

was

made

for autumn photos. The weather, the leaves, the hiking, the coffee and just the overall vibes just give off Instagram energy. If you follow me on Instagram, prepare yourself for the sheer amount of posts until Dec. 1.

Spring pictures aren’t that pretty unless you find blooming plants.

Winter pictures are just white or green and red.

Summer

pictures

are

sweaty. I said what I said. Autumn is superior in every way. So go out and enjoy the beautiful 50 degree weather, the pumpkin spice latte, the Palisades and the apple orchards.

We all know it won’t last for long.

A6 Wednesday, October 7, 2020

News

The Volante | volanteonline.com

Coyote Business Consulting works to keep businesses afloat

Coyote Business Consulting helped 26 businesses across 17counties. Each team consisted of two students and one faculty adviser.

Miles Amende

Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu

When businesses started closing during the pandemic, the Beacom School of Business founded Coyote Business Consulting. Over the summer, students took on 26 projects across 17 counties to keep businesses in South Dakota open and competitive.

Coyote Business Consulting is the second part in Beacom’s plan to stimulate the economic development of the state.

Venky Venkatachalam, Dean of the Beacom School of Business, said the first part was a series of 10 webinars aimed

at helping small businesses survive.

These webinars addressed a number of topics including the Payroll Protection Program under the CARES act, stress management and digital marketing, Venkatachalam said.

One it was time to work directly with businesses, Beacom created its 26 teams, each consisting of two students and one faculty advisor.

Venkatachalam said the program is unique because it employed students whose internships were initially cancelled and it helped struggling businesses to succeed.

“One one hand I have a

thing to address students’ (problems), on the other side I have businesses crying for help, so I said, you know what, we can connect the two and create a win-win situation,” Venkatachalam said.

Kylie Miller, one of the students involved in Coyote Business Consulting, worked with Folklore Foods in Selby, South Dakota. Miller said she worked with the business owner on finding target markets and developing a mission statement.

Miller said she met with the business remotely on a weekly basis and worked with her partner over FaceTime once a week.

“(We applied) our business knowledge with her passion for community and her product,” Miller said. “It was a few hours a week of work and a lot of communication.”

At the end of their eightweek projects, teams and the businesses they served put together financial reports.

Venkatachalam said the biggest problem to businesses was keeping their revenue streams going, and the key to doing so is building a sustainable business.

“It’s about keeping a revenue stream sustained so you can take out some expenses, but also, very importantly, keeping your workforce engaged. You

Submitted Graphic | The Volante

want to pay them, they have families, they’ve got expenses,” Venkatachalam said. “Everybody’s concern, whether you’re a small business, a medium business or a large business, it’s always how to keep the business sustained both short term and long term.”

Miller said the project was a great opportunity for students to get consulting experience while at the same time helping local businesses, even if was as simple as providing a mission statement.

Part three of the plan is to host a business conference. Venkatachalam said the conference will

highlight the challenges the businesses are facing during the pandemic in various sectors of the economy while also showcasing business opportunities and the talents of the state’s workforce.

“South Dakota has a very equal system of businesses that are willing to pursue the opportunities, take on new innovations, and people. The workforce and talent that lies in the state are amazing,” Venkatachalam said.

The conference will take place on Oct. 14 from 8:30 to 12:30 p.m at the Hilton Garden Inn in Sioux Falls

Writers group provides space for local writers to practice their craft Miles Amende

Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu

Tyler Boyle | The Volante

USD is now the first university in South Dakota to offer a certificate and specialization in artificial intelligence.

The program will alloq graduate and undergraduate students of all majors to get the certificate.

State’s only AI Program comes to USD Tyler Boyle

Tyler.Boyle@coyotes.usd.edu

USD will now be the first university in South Dakota to offer a certificate and specialization in artificial intelligence (AI).

The new program will allow undergraduate and graduate students of all majors to get the certificate or specialization.

KC Santosh, USD’s Chair and Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science Program, said AI is more important than ever as healthcare systems around the world are using it to combat COVID-19. Since the COVID-19 outbreak Santosh has written six research articles and edited two books on how AI is being used to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“AI is all about prediction… prediction by analyzing data,” Santosh

said. “We can now use AI and the data it collects to help us predict where COVID outbreaks are likely to be and what chemistry can do to create a solution for the virus.”

Santosh said he believes the program can be beneficial for not just computer science majors but for many other majors offered at USD. Today, fields like computational chemistry, physics, business, finance and health sciences are all using AI related to tools to make their work more efficient Santosh said.

“AI happens literally everywhere,” Santosh said.

“From our health care systems, to the stock market, to government and business, AI is needed to analyze big data.”

According to the Labor Bureau of Statistics, there are projected to be 546,200 jobs added in the computer science and AI related fields from 2018 to 2028.

AI is a way for everyone, no matter the field, to gather and analyze large amounts of data, Santosh said. He said he believes any business or organization that wants to be part of the future will have to find a way to incorporate it into their system.

“You basically have to understand highperformance computer machines. You won’t get this from the business school’s business analytics class. You have to get this from computer science,” Santosh said. “The program is to help you understand the fundamentals of data mining, which we call data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer reasoning.”

The computer science department holds many AI driven tools and highperformance computing power that will be used in the AI program, Santosh said.

USD’s computer science

program is also accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, Inc. Zachary Tschetter, an instructor for the computer science department, said the program will be a step in the right direction to make USD’s computer science department a better school.

“I think the program will be a great addition,” Tschetter said. “The future of tech is no doubt heading towards data analyzation and big data if it is not already there and AI is the best thing to do that.”

Santosh said he believes the program will be very successful and will help make South Dakota and the United States the leaders in computer science.

“Our current (computer science) students are excited about this, and I’m sure more than 50% of our current students will go for AI specialization in fall of 2021,” Santosh said.

Originally started as part of the Vermillion Literary Project (VLP), the Vermillion Community Writers Group has been a space for local writers to meet and work for over ten years.

Marcella Remund, advisor to the VLP and head of the group, said membership ebbs and flows, but the group always has a variety of writers and writing styles.

“We have students who come through and disappear as they graduate or move on, we have members who are middle-age working adults, we have members who are retired, so it really is a wide range and diverse group of people,” Remund said.

When the group meets, members usually participate in writing exercises, Remund said, and afterwards anyone in the group can share their work to get feedback.

Sometimes, members will submit work ahead of time for workshopping, but Remund said activities really depend on who’s there.

“Sometimes we do writing exercises based on building vocabulary, so we might do dictionary games or dictionary writing exercises.

Sometimes we do exercises or activities based on working at imagery in our writing,” Remund said. “I try to come up with different exercises depending on the skill they help us hone.”

Cliff Summers, a biology professor at USD, said he began writing fiction about nine years ago and joined the group on a whim after he saw one of the flyers. On top of providing feedback, Summers said the group is a way for him to escape from the pressures of all the other writing he does.

“I write scientific papers, I write grant proposals—which is really the hardest thing I do,” Summers said. “It’s a way to do something different. I do it so that I don’t have to think about science all the time.”

Even before he joined the group, Summers submitted his work for publication, though he said he’s never been published. About the time he joined, he thought he would never submit work again, but the group encouraged him to keep going.

“After awhile, I had submitted several stories, and I was really discouraged,” Summers said. “I went to the group, and Marcella (Remund) was very encouraging and said ‘you should keep submitting,’ and the group did encourage me to keep submitting.”

Another member of the group, Earl Sampson, writes cowboy poetry. He said it’s good to talk to and be around other writers, and that he’s there to learn.

Sampson said all of his poetry used to rhyme, but he’s branched out into free-verse since joining the group. The group is good for local writers, Sampson said, because it gives them a way to grow.

“There are some people that would like to expand themselves and what it is they do and what it is they lean towards, and this gives them an opportunity to do that,” Sampson said.

The group is a way for the community to appreciate all the writing talent in the area, Remund said, and it gives writers the ability to gather and exchange ideas and learn from one another.

“It’s a pretty active community of writers, even though I think a lot of people probably know nothing about it,” Remund said. “You don’t have to be a writer to tap into that community, because it’s really fun to go to a reading and just listen, too. I think literary arts are for everybody, not just the writers.”

The Vermillion Community Writers Group meets every second and fourth Tuesday at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Those interested in joining the group should contact Remund at Marcella.

Remund@usd.edu.

Verve

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 THE VOLANTE

VOLANTEONLINE.COM/VERVE

SOUTH DAKOTA’S PARANORMAL HISTORY

Miles Amende | The Volante

The USD Symphony Orchestra is working this

year to be more inclusive with the music they play by highlighting music composed by women.

Symphony orchestra features music from diverse composers Miles Amende

Rachel Pechous | The Volante

Spirit Mound State Park, not far outside of Vermillion, is home to possible paranormal activity according to Chad Lewis, paranormal investigator.

Rachel Pechous

Rachel.Pechous@coyotes.usd.edu

South Dakota is home to many old, traditional stories and landmarks. However, some may wonder about the true history of these places. Experienced paranormal activity researcher, Chad Lewis, braves the adventure to find the true history of historic places in South Dakota.

On Friday, Oct. 2, the Vermillion Public Library hosted a lecture presentation by Chad Lewis about paranormal activity in South Dakota.

Public relations and adult programming specialist for the library, Rachelle Langdon, said the library hosts events like this for the Vermillion Community often.

“Due to our current situation and having to alter so many things we had to stop operations for a few months but recently we have started doing them again with the help of Zoom,” Langdon said.

The library held a live Zoom lecture for Lewis’ presentation and also recorded it for members of the community to watch again later.

“I try to pick events that I think the community of Vermillion will find interesting and I also like to keep with themes which, with this month being Halloween I thought Chad’s lecture would be fitting,” Langdon said.

In his presentation, Lewis shared that he went to school for psychology. After he graduated, he began traveling the world chasing paranormal activities and oddities for about 20 years.

Lewis has visited places like Transylvania in search of vampires as well as traveling to Scotland in search of the Loch Ness Monster.

Recently, he has visited many historical sites in South Dakota that are also spots for paranormal activity.

Lewis said one of the biggest sites of paranormal activity in South Dakota is Deadwood.

“You almost couldn’t even throw a rock in Deadwood without hitting something touched by paranormal activity,” Lewis said.

One place that Lewis talked about is the Mount Moriah Cemetery found in Deadwood. Mount Moriah is the burial place of several notable figures in South Dakota history such as Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock.

“Legend says that ‘people’ have been seen walking in the cemetery at night and when workers would try to close the gates at the end of the day they would reopen as if being pushed by something that does not want to be there,” Lewis said.

Another site in the Black Hills is the Keystone Mount View Cemetery located at the bottom of Mount Rushmore. While working on Mount Rushmore there were many worker casualties, this cemetery is where those workers were buried.

“Many people say that late at night they can see workers taking place on the monument as if working on it, but when they get closer these workers get more and more see through until they finally vanish before your eyes,” Lewis said.

Lewis said some believe that ghosts aren’t just spirits interacting with humans but that they may be spirits reliving a memory or events in their lifetime. He said he believes this is may be why people see workers of Mount Rushmore back on the memorial at night.

Moving Northeast of Mount Rushmore, Rapid City is also home to a few paranormal sites as well. One of the more well-known sites is the hotel Alex Johnson. Built in the early 1900’s, the Alex Johnson hotel was a popular site in Rapid City.

Nowadays travelers can go on tours of the haunted Alex Johnson hotel. They can also rent rooms on floors with paranormal activity.

Lewis even mentioned a site not far outside of Vermillion, called Spirit Mound.

“Spirit Mound’s legends date back as

Rachel Pechous | The Volante

Lewis said he encourages people to visit paranormal sites, like Spirit Mound, but do so wisely.

far as Lewis and Clark, in their journals they wrote that once arriving upon Spirt Mound,” Lewis said. “Their guides would go no further as they feared small creatures that looked like little people and were very good with poisonous arrows.”

Spirit Mound is now a state park better known as Spirit Mound State Historic Prairie and has always been considered a dangerous region to the Plains Indians, Lewis said.

Lewis said he hopes to inspire people to travel and explore the many sites in South Dakota, but also encourages that they to do it safely.

“I encourage the people of Vermillion to venture out to Spirit Mound and see it for themselves, but while leaving they must leave an offering like a shiny rock or candy for the Little People,” Lewis said. “This will protect the visitors from them getting followed home.”

Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu

This year, the USD Symphony Orchestra is striving to include more music from female and minority composers in its repertoire.

Luiz Viquez, director of the symphony orchestra, said recently, he looked at a list of the works he’s conducted and found a large percentage of the works were written by white, male composers. To change that, he arranged for a season of works written entirely by women and minority composers.

“Most conductors do Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, big classical European composers,” Viquez said. “I think this is an exciting time for humanity to start changing that … and promote music by minorities. We want to set an example for the rest of college orchestras nationwide.”

Usually, the symphony orchestra plays four concerts which are each an hour long, but because of COVID-19 precautions and their hybrid-practice schedule, the orchestra will only play four pieces over two performances.

The orchestra performed the first two pieces — “Mother Goose Suite” by Maurice Ravel and “Passages” by Alex Shapiro — at its first concert of the semester on Monday, Oct. 5.

“Passages” is a unique piece, Viquez said, because the orchestra plays over a digitally-created music track. Viquez said he chose “Passages” both as a way to feature a female composer and as a way to do something new with a smaller orchestra.

“It’s a very nice symbiosis of acoustic instruments — violins, clarinet, piano, percussion — combined with sounds created in an electro-acoustic way. The orchestra has never done anything like that,” Viquez said. “It creates this atmosphere, it really feels like it creates a cloud of sound, and then the orchestra plays inside of the cloud … that wave of sound.”

Shapiro, the composer, said she created the piece to accommodate to ensembles that have to practice differently due to COVID-19 safety guidelines. The piece is short and has different parts for musicians of all skill levels, and each passage can be played differently to change the performance each time.

“You find the part that works for you … then you get to decide which line of it (each passage) you play.

You play in whichever order you want.” Shapiro said. “(It’s) good on top of the track, which has its own set of moving chords, a little bit like a puzzle, that’s a See ORCHESTRA, Page B2

Color of USD brings fanfare without sporting events Lexi Kerzman

Lexi.Kerzman@coyotes.usd.edu

The Color Guard interprets music by synchronized work of flags, rifles, the air blade and through dance.

USD’s Color Guard group — the Color of USD — accompanies the marching band at all sporting events during a normal school year.

This year, with the lack of sporting events, the group has been active and performs roughly once a week. They have been performing on Thursdays on the Platz, which concluded in September, as well as at various on-campus events throughout the year.

Kacie Cox, a senior music education and clarinet performance major and member of the Color of USD, said despite the pandemic, not much has changed for the group.

All of the Color Guard equipment is large, she said, which already forced the group to stand six feet apart during performances.

“I think the biggest change we’ve had to make is not having get-togethers and ‘family dinners,’” Cox said. “(But) we have at least one performance a week, sometimes more, even though there are no games.”

As a music major, Cox said she always knew she wanted to be a part

of the Color Guard, but didn’t get started with the Color of USD until her junior year. While she may have gotten a late start, she said, she has been able to pick up on skills and routines quickly due to the support of her teammates. “(When I first started) I didn’t know even the simplest moves and tosses,” Cox said. “But I always loved learning new tosses and the support the members of the guard had for me when I was learning (made it easier). Everyone is so supportive of each other and we are really just a big family.”

Baylee Knippling, the instructor and choreographer for the Color of USD, graduated from USD in 2018.

Knippling was involved in the color guard while she was in high school and said she knew she wanted to be involved in the band in some way during college.

When she came to USD she joined the marching band. Knippling said she has never regretted her decision to get involved with the band and the Color of USD. “It has led me to where I am currently and the person I am today,” Knippling said. “I know that I don’t have to live with the ‘what ifs.’”

The Color of USD practices Monday through Friday each week.

See COLOR, Page B2

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

The Color of USD performed at Super Red Friday on Aug. 28. The group now performs at various campus events this year since there are no sporting events this semester.

Verve The Volante | volanteonline.com The Bean brews up special USD coffee blend to help fund scholarships

B2 Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Submitted Photo | The Volante

Lake Attitlan near the Sierra Madre mountain range of Guatemala is home to the special beans used in the Yote Blend.

Chloe Fullenkamp

Chloe Fullenkamp@coyotes.usd.edu

To make the perfect coffee blend, the beans have to be special, but a good cause for coffee can make it even better.

The Bean coffee shop in downtown Vermillion began selling the exclusive Yote Blend coffee last fall and have provided USD with their very own coffee blend ever since.

Leslie Gerish, co-owner of The Bean, said even though they do not make their own roasts, their roasting partner in Sioux Falls, Coffea, was happy to help.

Coffea partners with a farmer in Guatemala who provides the specific beans for the Yote Blend. The farmer lives near volcanic lakes by Lake Attitlan near the Sierra Madre mountain range.

“The beans used in the Yote Blend are used in other roasts, but this blend is special to us and USD,”

Gerish said.

The Yote Blend features a lighter roast with balanced notes of apple and caramel.

The process of creating a unique coffee blend for USD began when a USD staff member asked for a special coffee blend they could serve in the Office of Admissions.

One idea turned into a coffee blend giving back to USD through student scholarships. Each bag and cup of Yote Blend sold gives proceeds back to scholarships at USD. Martin Prendergast, co-owner of The Bean, said the partnership with USD was fun as they got to get creative with the coffee.

“At the beginning of the process, our roasters made a whole bunch of different roasts and we got to try them with USD administrators and the president,” Prendergast said.

Yote Blend is sold in bags and has been freshly brewed as a staple drip coffee ever since last Dakota Days

in 2019.

“We were able to make a good donation at the end of the year and we also were able to sell it to Charlie’s for them to sell as well,” Gerish said.

Gerish and Prendergast partnered with Scott Pohlson, vice president of Enrollment, Marketing and University Relations at USD to coordinate the scholarship aspect of the initiative.

“Projects like Yote Blend are designed to impact multiple focus points for USD’s Strategic Plan from town and gown relations to growing our scholarship funds outside of just asking our generous supporters to give money,” Pohlson said.

The money donated by The Bean goes to general student scholarships for any eligible students.

Initiatives like Yote Blend are part of others like Charlie’s Bookstore and Fan Shop as part of their proceeds also go towards student scholarships.

“Fund-raising is the traditional

approach to growing scholarships at USD however, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t new and creative ways to build some brand awareness while also benefiting our student scholarship fund,” Pohlson said.

Gerish said the whole process with USD was fun and simple because they were helping a good cause.

“We have great partners which makes everything easy for us and it’s really great that we can do this initiative for USD,” Gerish said.

Since Yote Blend is unique to USD, Gerish said it is featured at many USD events like the USD Foundation and admissions visits.

“I think it is really cool because at any USD events, we make sure Yote Blend is there for people to drink so it is really special to USD,” Gerish said.

As well as USD events, Gerish said many customers give the blend as a treat.

“We have a lot of customers who

Improv Club invites members in with a laugh

give the blend as gifts for family members or even friends who don’t live in Vermillion anymore,” Gerish said.

While The Bean did have to close mid-March through early June, Prendergast said The Bean had community support as he delivered coffee blends himself to community members on his own bike.

“During the time we were closed, we had great support from the community so we could keep the lights on,” Prendergast said.

Though 2020 was difficult for business, Gerish said The Bean made it through a tough time.

“A year ago, everything looked very different, but we are still committed to giving to the student scholarships at USD,” Gerish said.

The Yote Blend is available at The Bean downtown and for purchase online at their website.

COLOR From Page B1

This season is different than most, Knippling said, which has made her adapt how she teaches the choreography.

During a normal season, Knippling said, they would have heavy learning periods during the preseason but then they would only have to learn a new piece every two to three weeks.

This year, because they are performing every week around the town, they are having to learn new material, around two to three new songs, a week.

“Having the season so compressed has been challenging because we’re constantly learning new things and using them right away,” Knippling said. “I’m proud of how far we have come, because we didn’t know if we were going to have a season, so to be able to still perform and work together is a blessing.”

The group also requires masks at all practices and performances, Knippling said, as extra precautions. Knippling said the entire band adheres to the mask requirement as they want to make sure they are doing everything they can to protect themselves and audience members from COVID-19.

Knippling said she is excited to start performing at football games again, as she is starting to understand the game through her time in the Color of USD. For Cox, however, this is her last year at USD so she said she is looking forward to finishing the fall semester and is excited to see what challenges and changes are made in the spring semester.

“We never know what’s around the corner and that’s what keeps it interesting,” Cox said.

Video auditions for the Color of USD will take place in the spring, Knippling said. People of all experience levels, she said are encouraged to audition.

Submitted Photo | The Volante

The Improv Club performs every other Tuesday in the MUC pit and live streams the performance on their Facebook page.

Alle Anduaga

Alle.Anduaga@coyotes.usd.edu

USD improv club is the only comedy focused club on campus. Improv club provides free, live and on the spot entertainment to anyone interested in sharing a laugh.

Improv club performs live every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Munster University Center pit and live streams the event on their Facebook. On the opposite Tuesday’s they have a podcast available on YouTube.

Parker Oleson, a MA English grad student, is the vice president for the improv club. This is the fifth year Oleson has been involved in the improv club.

Improv club’s performances are created by scenes that the audience gives them, Oleson said.

“You kind of get up on stage and fly by the seat of your pants,” Oleson said. “We are a club that teaches and encourages people on how to do that.”

Caitlin Harkness, a junior finance major, is the president for improv club. Harkness said there are currently 20 active members either performing on stage or doing the behind the scenes work this year.

“We have the executive board, which is about eight people,” Harkness said. “We have two different groups. The performance group focuses on getting better on Tuesdays and on Thursdays it’s more of a relaxed group

environment.”

Improv club was re-founded in 2015 but before then, it existed even longer.

Oleson said improv club gives people the opportunity to work as a team and build relationships.

“We want to promote comedy on campus, we strive for acceptance and providing people with a safe place to come hangout and enjoy themselves and we value improvement,” Oleson said. “We want people to get better and improve their comedic chops.”

Harkness said there are a variety of people with different majors involved in improve club.

“I joined improv club to get better at public speaking,” Harkness said. “In the business world, you need to be able to present and conduct yourself.”

Oleson said he is definitely going to get involved in some sort of comedic club after college.

“I love comedy and have always had an itch to be on stage,” Oleson said. “I think that is something that sort of binds everyone that does comedy because we’re all looking for validation from strangers.”

Improv club focuses on community and providing students a place to relieve stress, Oleson said. He said he still keeps in contact with a lot of members who have graduated.

“Some of the best friends I’ve ever had came from improv club,” Oleson said, “A lot of

things have come together in my life because of this club.”

Being involved in improv club for over a year now, Harkness said the club differentiates from other clubs because of how friendly everyone is.

“There are some organizations that I’ve gone to and I don’t know anyone there and people haven’t reached out to me and actually sat down and had a conversation with me,” Harkness said. “Whereas with improv, we try to talk with new people, get them involved and form that bond and friendship.”

Within the five years, Oleson has been a member of improv club, their professionalism and organization have been the biggest improvement he said.

“Improv club has improved on how we prepare our members for performing and dealing with administration and institutions,” Oleson said. “We have gotten better at working with the University to promote our events.”

Improv club has practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. in Beacom 302.

“If someone is interested in comedy and has an itch to get up on stage and receive attention and validation from stranger’s improv is going to be your best bet,” Oleson said. “If you’re just looking for a good group of people to hang out with and laugh this is the only group dedicated to that.”

ORCHESTRA From Page B1

lot of fun.

The week before the concert, students met with Shapiro over Zoom to discuss “Passages” and Shapiro’s career as a composer. Shapiro said the talk covered her advocacy work with diversity and inclusion issues in music, as well as how she found her way in the world.

“One of the things I love saying to students is … there are many paths and many ways of getting to where we end up, and sometimes we’re surprised by where we land. I like to demonstrate from my own unusual background that anything can happen,” Shapiro said.

Marshall Knedler, a percussionist with the orchestra, said he found it interesting that Shapiro mentioned she played piano but didn’t perform it in front of people often even though she was a composer, and he related it to his own experience performing.

“I actually just started playing the piano three years ago,” Knedler said. “It’s kind of difficult for me to perform piano in front of people, but I do love sitting down and reading scores and learning.”

The USD Symphony Orchestra’s next concert is Nov. 23, where the orchestra will perform “Quirk” by Deanna Wehrspann and “Symphony in D” by Chevalier Du St. Georges.

The performance will be open to a select number of guests and will also be livestreamed.

Sports

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 THE VOLANTE

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LEARNING TO COACH AS A STUDENT-ATHLETE Madilyn Sindelar

Madilyn.Sindelar@coyotes.usd.edu

After completing her practicum at an outpatient clinic, senior Kinesiology and Sports Management major Liv Korngable turned to something more familiar for her required internship hours.

The women’s basketball guard began her strength and conditioning internship this fall where she works under head strength and conditioning coach Clete McLeod and Assistant Coach Caleb Heim. “(McLeod) and (Heim) are very overly educated strength coaches,” Korngable said.

“Strength coaches have this stereotype that they’re a bunch of meatheads, and they just want to move heavy weight around, but no. (McLeod) and (Heim) really care about educating the athletes about what they’re doing and why they’re doing and how it will translate. Now they’re helping me to do the same and to explain things to me and I get my hands dirty as well.”

This year the weight room is no longer just another facility Korngable visits for practice, it’s now a place where she is a coach.

“Now I’m considered a coach so that’s new for me,” Korngable said. “It’s definitely hard for me to instruct people who I don’t have a relationship with that I don’t know personally. So I’m really trying to learn names and get to know the athletes. But what I was looking forward to with this internship is that I actually get to know the athletes.”

While working for strength and conditioning Korngable’s tasks include instructing athletes on their movements, cleaning the weight room and individually wrapping food for the nutrition tables.

Helping others find encouragement in the weight room is also something that Korngable said she enjoys.

“I really enjoyed the weight room because it was kind of like an escape from basketball for me when basketball wasn’t going well or it was kind of stressful,” Korngable said. “I felt like I had a little leg up in the weight room.

So I always kind of keep that in mind that I want to make the weight room like a fun place for others and not a stressful place.”

The biggest thing Korngable has learned, she said, is how the weight room can translate to sport and how that’s important for athletes’ development.

One reason why Korngable

was able to jump right into coaching is because of her time working out in the weight room the last three years, McLeod said.

“Liv is a pretty spectacular athlete, so she brings to the table a lot more than what our typical incoming intern does.” McLeod said. “It’s almost like she’s been interning the entire time. She stepped into this room. She’s a really inquisitive person and really engaged in the training. So she was already very, very much invested in it. She’s kind of ahead of the game in terms of being an intern.”

Seeing people in the weight room that she knows helps make the weight room more of a social environment, Korngable said.

“I know that they respect me and respect my opinion and my knowledge, so I know that they’re going to take in the information that I give them and it just makes it more of a social environment and I think that’s another thing that I really like about the weight room is It can still be fun,” Korngable said.

Brining the energy into the weight room as an athlete is something Korngable already has experience with as a member of the 2020 undefeated Summit League Tournament team.

“We’re there at 6 a.m. on Fridays and the music is loud,” Korngable said. “We’re talking to each other and encouraging each other and goofing around in between sets. We make it fun sometimes you have to force the fun to enjoy it and I think being able to bring that energy and I like seeing other people bring that energy, I feed off that energy.”

When Korngable isn’t practicing with the women’s basketball team or interning with strength and conditioning she is applying to physical therapy programs in Minnesota and across the country, Korngable said.

Developing the students and athletes at USD that want future careers that entail working with the body are the priority, McLeod said.

“We want to give them an opportunity to get into this training and see if it’s for them,” McLeod said. “So when we get athletes in here, we really enjoy that because we like to see them interested in it. Everybody’s taking lessons that they learned out of this weight room about good healthy human movements and transitioning it over to what they are going to do in life.”

Senior Liv Korngable defends the ball during last year’s game against SDSU.

File Photo | The Volante

Softball takes it day-by-day Rachel Thompson

Rachel.Thompson@coyotes.usd.edu

Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Senior swimmer Wyatt Thompson balances being a student-athlete and student-teaching.

Managing a fifth grade classroom, school, swimming and a pandemic Tyler Boyle

Tyler.Boyle@coyotes.usd.edu

Twenty hours of practice time, at least 12 credit hours and homework is a busy schedule. But this is the reality of a typical week for a student-athlete at USD. However, Wyatt Thompson, a senior swimmer for the Coyotes, adds being a student-teacher to the equation.

The senior swimmer is a fifthgrade student teacher at Jolly Elementary school in Vermillion.

Thompson said USD has been very cooperative with managing him being a student-teacher along with being a Division I athlete.

“My coaches are always flexible and always understand my situation,” Thompson said.

“I really have never had to pick between student teaching or swimming. Whenever I have had a conflict I just let them (my coaches) know and we figure out something that works.”

Thompson said he believes being an athlete has actually helped him be a better teacher.

Being part of a team and being a leader in the pool gives him a lot of communication tools to understand the best way to teach and analyze situations, Thompson said.

Some of the most important tools Thompson said he has learned in swimming and athletics include patience and understanding.

“Every single year in swimming it’s a new team. There

are new freshmen and we have to learn to incorporate them into the team socially,” Thompson said. “We have to teach them the culture of the team and also just technique and form stuff and that sometimes takes some patience.”

However, Thompson said, being an athlete has not provided

The softball team has 27 players this year after they gained seven new freshmen.

Since there is no fall season, the team is focusing on their basic skillbuilding and building up team spirit, senior Kiersten Denning said.

“Our focus is constantly building confidence within ourselves and within the team. Obviously we are focusing on our skill, which is a constant thing we have to do,” Denning said. “Our focus right now is building that team chemistry, because we don’t get the outside experience that we usually do with one another so building that chemistry on the field.”

Denning said the softball team has to make the most of practice to become a closer team. In the past, the team would get together to study at the library, or they would have team dinners or hang out at a teammate’s house.

Now the team has to follow restrictions that limit their chances at connecting, Denning said. One major rule is that they can’t have more than four people in a room with them.

The softball team has 20 hours of practice a week. Right now they are making the most of it before winter comes, Abbigail Klatt, a freshman said.

During practices, the softball

team wears face masks and keeps a six feet distance the best they can. To accommodate for COVID and lack of competition, the coaches had to get creative Lauren Eamiguel a senior said.

“I’ve noticed that our coach does something different with our practice plans every single time,” Eamiguel said. “I think it is a part of him not wanting us to do the same thing, and since we don’t have games to look forward to this kind of switches it up so we are kind of on our toes a lot.”

Without a fall season and a questionable spring season, the seniors have few chances of competition so Denning said, they are making the most of everything.

“There are a lot of unknowns and I think that’s my biggest thing,” Denning said. “We don’t know if we are going to have a season, and there is also the social aspect is also because we are college students and we want to hang out with our friends and even that is kind of limited. I think it is just missing out on all the lasts that we have together.”

The freshman came in knowing how last year USD lost their spring season due to COVID and arrived ready to be flexible if anything changes.

“I came in with no expectations at See SOFTBALL, Page B4

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Read more about how Thompson balances his schedule. volanteonline. com

Rachel Thompson | The Volante

With no games this fall, the Coyote softball team is focusing on fine-tuning basic skills and bonding as a team.

B4 Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Sports

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Men’s basketball prepares for season with 11 new members

File Photo | The Volante

The Coyote men’s basketball team welcomes eight new freshman or transfers and three redshirt players to the court this season.

Miles Amende

Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu

With over half its roster being new, the men’s basketball team is working to catch up on practice and build camaraderie both on and off the court.

The team has eight players that are either freshmen or transfers and three redshirts that will play for the first time this season. Senior Stanley Umude said practices started differently this year.

The team is working on familiarizing everyone with the team’s systems and getting them comfortable with its structure. “(We’re) working on trying to see where everyone’s gonna fit in position-wise,” Umude said. “It’s been a lot of instruction, with coach (Todd) Lee really having to teach us a lot about assets and what not, but it’s been good.”

One of the biggest challenges to the team, senior Ty Chisom said, was COVID-19. The pandemic caused members to miss out on their summer workouts, as well as slowing down progress during practices.

“There’s some days where guys are out for a week, so the biggest challenge for me is not having

everybody in 24/7,” Chisom said.

Despite the difficulties caused

by COVID-19, Chisom said it has also allowed players to spend more time around each other and become closer as a team.

Umude said everyone on the team is getting along. While not at practice, members have been able to hang out, play video games, and watch NBA games, which Umude said allows members to get to know each other a little bit more.

“We’ve been hanging out all together. It’s not really clique-y, so our team chemistry is good right now,” Umude said.

Xavier Fuller, a junior and transfer from Scottsdale Community College, said the pandemic has made it so that the team has to rush to get caught up on practice and figure out plays and calls, although coaches and returning players are doing a good job leading the team to where it needs to be.

The team is moving quickly, Fuller said, which is helped by the camaraderie the team has been able to develop off-court.

“We hit it off pretty early, and I think we’re all aware that we needed to do that because the season’s coming up. It’s pretty much go-time

now, so I think they’re doing a good job,” Fuller said.

Outside of pandemic-related problems, Freshman Edin Smjecanin said usually when a player joins a new team they are in the minority, and they have a lot of guys to look up to and model after, though this time, almost everyone is on equal footing.

“Everyone’s sort of figuring it out as we go. I think that all the guys that are returning are doing a good job of helping us out and easing this process for us,” Smjecanin said.

No one has ever had a season during a pandemic before, Smjecanin said, so he hopes the team will stay healthy and be able to play the games it’s allotted.

Smjecanin said the team has a bright future as a young squad loaded with talent. He said this fact is what sets the team apart from other teams, and that it will help the team prepare for future seasons.

“We’re going to have a lot of young guys moving up next year,” Smjecanin said. “For us, it’s important to lay the foundation for the next year and the year after and do as good as we can this season and lay the path out for years to come.”

File Photo | The Volante

With 11 new players, the team has to work to build team chemistry on and off the court senior Stanley Umude said.

Vermillion’s boys golf, girls tennis compete in state championships Madilyn Sindelar

Madilyn.Sindelar@coyotes.usd.edu

Boys Golf

Tyler Boyle | The Volante

Vermillion High School senior John LaCognata, runs the ball during Vermillion’s game against West Central.

Tanagers fall short against West Central for fifth straight loss Tyler Boyle

Tyler.Boyle@coyotes.usd.edu

After four straight losses, the Tanager football team was looking to get back on track with a win over the top five ranked West Central Trojans (3-3).

Vermillion (1-5) got off to a quick start by forcing a fumble on West Central’s first drive of the game.

Immediately after the turnover, on the Tanagers’ first play of their first possession, junior quarterback Charlie Ward connected with senior Connor Saunders for a 54 yard touchdown.

“It (the opening play) was exciting,” Saunders said. “It was a good play call and we capitalized on that. It definitely got us fired up and it showed in the first half for sure.”

The Tanagers were able to continue their momentum from their first drive of the game with a 62 yard touchdown pass from Ward to Reece Proefrock with 18 seconds left in the first quarter. This made the Tanagers’ lead 12-7 after the first quarter with Vermillion unable to have success on any extra-point attempts.

The second quarter took a turn for the worse for the Tanagers as Vermillion opened up the quarter with a lost fumble. Then, on the

next play West Central ran the ball for a 53 yard touchdown making the score 15-12. On the Tanagers’ next possession, Ward threw an interception with 6:50 left in the second quarter after getting Vermillion into the red zone.

The Tanagers were able to respond to the setbacks with a blocked Trojans punt returned for a touchdown with 2:21 left in the second quarter giving them back the lead.

Vermillion was able to hold the lead the rest of the half and the Tanagers’ head coach, Andy Homan, was able to take his team to the locker room edging the Trojans 19-15.

“We got off to a pretty good start,” Homan said. “A lot of big plays on both sides made it an intense and exciting first half.”

Despite the lead after two quarters, turnovers, an inability to convert in the red zone, and defense continued to be an issue for the Tanagers in the second half.

In the third quarter, despite the Tanagers 107 yards of total offense, Vermillion was never able to convert any of it into points on the scoreboard.

This resulted in Vermillion losing its lead after West Central ran in a 66 yard touchdown with 9:34 left in the

third quarter giving the Trojans the lead going into the final 12 minutes of play 22-19.

The struggles continued for Vermillion in the fourth quarter.

Vermillion’s defense allowed a 46-yard touchdown run and a 36-yard touchdown pass in the final five minutes of the game to increase West Central’s lead to 35-19 as the Tanagers struggled to score.

The game ended for the Tanagers reminiscent of what had been hurting them all game. After more than a 50 yard drive into the red zone, Ward threw an interception with Vermillion on West Central’s 17 yard line and 36 seconds left in the game. The Trojans took over with victory formation to run out the clock and leave the DakotaDome with a 35-19 victory.

Ward unofficially finished the game completing 25/41 passes for 380 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

“I think we had a really good effort but I just told the guys it was a game of missed opportunities,” Homan said. “We had plays in the red zone we need to finish and complete and we need to keep working on our tackling.”

Vermillion heads to Bennett County on Oct. 19 for a 6 p.m. kick off.

At the 2020 Class “A” Boys Team Championship Monday and Tuesday, the Vermillion Tanagers finished fourth as a team. The Tanagers hit 348 in round one and 340 in round two, for a total of 688.

The Tanagers were 128 over par. The top three teams were Sioux Falls Christian (+89), Chamberlain (+111) and Tea Area (+126).

Individually the top finisher was Michah Dohrer from Aberdeen Roncalli (+12). Rounding out the top three were Dakota Valley’s Paul Bruns (+16) and Chamberlain’s Dakota Munger (+17). The Tanagers top finisher, Hunter Lavin, was 21-over-par and tied for sixth.

Girls Tennis

At the 2020 Class “A” Girls Team Championship in Rapid City Tuesday the Vermillion Tanagers finished 8th. The top three teams were Mitchell, RC Christian and Pierre T.F. Riggs.

During the Flight 2 doubles tournament, Vermillion finished 5th behind Mitchell, RC Christian, Huron and Milbank. Individually, the Tanagers Kasey Hanson who was seeded ninth excelled to the consolation finals where she fell to Ciera Crawford from RC Christian (11-10). In another singles flight Vermillion’s Emma Dahlhoff

SOFTBALL From Page B3

all, kind of just taking in what I can get in the moment now,” Klatt said.

Right now the freshmen have the chance to catch up to the level of the upperclassmen.

“They are such a big help if we need anything if we have any questions we can just go up and ask them. They’ve been helpful since day one,” Klatt said.

Saturdays the team gets to have scrimmages that help with the want

finished third behind Ella Hancook from RC Christian and Milbank’s Halli Essington.

Cross Country

The girls and boys cross country teams travelled to the Lenkota Golf Course Oct. 1 where they competed in the 4,000 and 5,000 meter races.

On the boys side the Tanagers finished second as a team behind SF Christian. The Tanagers Riley Ruhaak, Jakob Dobney and Joel Dahloff finished fifth, seventh and 11th respectively.

On the girls side the Tanagers finished fifth while Taeli Barta saw an individual second place finish.

SF Chistian, Lennox and Tea Area secured the top three.

Volleyball

Monday night Vermillion volleyball played four sets against Viborg-Hurley ending with a Tanager win. They won the first set 18-25, lost set two 25-23, won set three 12-25 and set four 20-25.

The Tanagers play Dell Rapids Oct. 6 and those results can be found on the online version of this story.

Boys and Girls Soccer

Both soccer teams competed in the quarterfinals of the Class A state tournament Oct. 6. The results of those games can be found in the online version of this story.

to compete Eamiguel said.

“In our practices, we try and make it more competitive because that is the most we will get in the fall. Especially on our Saturdays when we scrimmage,” Eamiguel said. “We kinda get game-day ready for Saturdays.”

There are no officially scheduled competitions for the softball team as of now. Before COVID-19, 20 players were allowed to travel, this year it has changed to 16, leaving 11 members behind when the opportunity of travel comes up.