THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887
The Volante
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DECEMBER 10, 2014
CONTINUING TRADITION Vermillion man maintains family tree business Trent Opstedahl
Trent.Opstedahl@coyotes.usd.edu
To students, Mitchel Morse is the man who unlocks the Muenster University Center every day in the early hours of the morning, the man who arranges and aligns furniture to accommodate campus speakers and events and the man who ensures the MUC is neat and tidy. But to the community of Vermillion, Morse is known as the man who delivers Christmas trees, having distributed freshly cut trees to local residents during the holiday season for more than 30 years. “It’s just been a big family affair for years,” Morse said. “Christmas is my favorite because it’s getting together with family and just the presence (of holiday spirit).” Located on the southern edge of town just off Dakota Street in lower Vermillion, Morse’s Market is decked out with about 75 Balsam Fir, Fraser Fir and White Pine trees waiting to be sold and delivered. His products were trucked in from a tree farm in Wisconsin earlier this month and are available for purchase through Christmas Day. Although the tree delivering business still keeps him busy, Morse remembers when he used to order more than 1,000 trees in the 1970s to meet the demands of area residents. “We used to get Christmas trees in by the semi load,” he said. “As artificial trees came in, now we’re down.” The business of delivering Christmas cheer to residents of Vermillion is an operation that dates back to three generations of Morse family history, when Morse’s grandfather opened a small market in the SEE TREES, PAGE A8
ON PAGE B1 A Very Abbott Holiday
Check in with President James Abbott and his family as they prepare for the holiday season.
JOSIE FLATGARD I THE VOLANTE Mitchel Morse has been distributing Christmas trees in the Vermillion area for more than 30 years. Among Morse’s many customers are James and Collette Abbott, the president and first lady of the University of South Dakota.
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Students say social change depends on education Megan Card
Megan.Card@coyotes.usd.edu
A group of 250 Syracuse University students staged a “die-in” Monday, which lasted four and a half minutes to symbolize the four and a half hours Michael Brown’s body was in the streets of Ferguson, Mo., following his death. More than 150 protesters, including many UC Berkeley students, were arrested the same day following a march on Interstate 80 that halted traffic during the third night of ongoing protests in Berkeley. There were no students at the University of South Dakota holding up “I Can’t Breathe” signs in front of Old Main, but that does not mean students, faculty and staff are not interested in where race and law enforcement relations stand in the United States, said Lamont Sellers, director of USD’s new Center for Diversity and Community. “Even though this might not be the activist campus that you’d see at
a larger institution, it doesn’t mean people don’t pay attention to the news or that these conversations aren’t happening,” Sellers said. It was with this in mind that history professors Sara Lampert and Elise Boxer approached Sellers and Associate Vice President of Diversity Jesus Trevino with the intention to facilitate a university group discussion about the recent deaths of unarmed black men by police force, subsequent grand jury decisions and nationwide protests. “Dialogue: Race in America After Ferguson” was the result. At least 30 students and faculty participated in the small and large group discussions Tuesday in the center, which is located in the former Student Services suite on the second floor of the Muenster University Center. The dialogue was sponsored by the Office for Diversity and Center for Diversity and Community, along with professors from the SEE DIVERSITY, PAGE A6
MEGAN CARD I THE VOLANTE
First-year law student Alafia Wright speaks at the discussion held in the Center for Diversity and Community Tuesday.
Nearly 600 students to graduate Saturday Ally Krupinsky
Ally.Krupinsky@coyotes.usd.edu
As students gear up for finals week, a collection of seniors will also say goodbye to the University of South Dakota as they move forward in their careers at an alternative time compared to the typical May graduation date. There are 375 undergraduate and 200 graduate students participating in the 39th Winter Session Commencement Saturday, which is consistent to December graduation numbers in recent years, said USD’s registrar Jennifer Thompson. “We do not yet have the official candidate list for spring 2015, but we had approximately 1,400 candidates for degree during spring 2014,” Thompson said. “I expect that number to be roughly the same or higher.” Senior Grant Lockner, a media and journalism major with a specialization in strategic communications, found out last spring from his adviser that he could graduate in three and a half years, and has planned on doing so ever since. Lockner is able to graduate early because of college credits he earned in high school and through summer courses. He said this semester he has been busy searching for a job, and he recently accepted a digital marketing specialist position at carsforsale.com in Sioux Falls. “I was really excited to finish up and see what jobs are out there,” Lockner said. “I’d much rather be there than in school.” Lockner is married and is expecting a baby in February – which he didn’t know when his adviser told him about the possibility of graduating early. “It works out perfectly for us,” Lockner said. “But initially I was just thinking the sooner I can get into the workforce, the better. That’s what I’m excited about, and that’s what I want to do ultimately. I enjoyed my time at school, but I just feel like I’m ready to move on.” Because he will still be close to his friends, Lockner said he doesn’t feel like he’s missing out on anything, like some other early graduates may feel. “People might feel like they’re cutting out of things early, but I’m ready to graduate,” Lockner said. “I feel like I’ve learned what I need to and I’m ready to move on.” Senior Wesley Ruden, a marketing major, thought about graduating early, but didn’t want too heavy of a course load. Ruden switched from a health service administration major, which he said didn’t set him back, but he was content finishing in four years. “The course load was a big one. It just made my semesters a little more easy instead of having to load up courses during the summer-time or just in the school semesters,” Ruden said. “I don’t have to overwhelm myself.” As far as job searching goes, Ruden said he doesn’t think graduating with more students will put him at too much of a disadvantage. SEE GRADS, PAGE A7
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