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Downtown Vermillion sees more than 500 for Women’s March Morgan Matzen
Morgan.Matzen@coyotes.usd.edu
Hundreds of Vermillion residents, community members and USD students participated in a march down Main Street Saturday afternoon. This march, like more than 600 of its kind around the world, came about as a reaction to the inauguration of Donald Trump. Vermillion march organizer Caitlin Collier said she was particularly distressed with the news of Trump’s election.
“I didn’t vote for him, but I am really sorry,” Collier said. “From my generation to yours, I am really, really sorry. We should have done more because this is not what we expected. This is not what I thought things were going to be like in 2017.” More than 500 people showed up to support the cause, according to march organizer Collier. Participants of the march met in the basement of the United Church of Christ (UCC) at 12:30 p.m., picking up signs, donning “pussyhats” (pink stocking caps) and lining up around the front of
the church block on Main Street. Kaia Nowatzki made it all the way from Luverne, Minn. to join in the march with her family. They were some of the first people to make it to the UCC at about noon. She said she came because she shares a sense of duty with the women in her life to stand up for her rights. “I want to support all of my sisters,” Nowatzki said. “I feel like it is my duty to be here and to show See MARCH, Page A3
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It was honestly one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done in my whole entire life... It was very uplifting. Olivia Strom, senior international studies major
Students attend Women’s March, inauguration in Washington, D.C. Chance Mullinix I The Volante
More than 70 attendants visited the newly-renovated Red Steakhouse Auditorium Monday night.
Red Steakhouse Auditorium hosts grand opening gala Chance Mullinix
Chance.Mullinix@coyotes.usd.edu
After four months of renovations, The Coyote Twin Theater hosted a gala celebrating the reopening of the newly-named Red Steakhouse Auditorium Monday night. The auditorium was named in honor of donations given to the theater by Jerad Higman, the owner of Red Steakhouse. More than 70 people attended the gala, which was catered by Red Steakhouse. Attendants mingled with board members of the Vermillion Downtown Cultural Association (VDCA), which owns and operates the theater. Jason Thiel, executive director of VDCA, manages the Coyote Twin Theater. He said he hopes this is
another step to making Vermillion culturally relevant in the region. “The VDCA is tasked with essentially building a community of culture in Vermillion,” he said. “Whether that’s art, music, movie – we want to have our hands in it and make this a destination for the entire region to come and experience what they would otherwise have to go to Sioux City or Sioux Falls for.” The auditorium features new seating, improved hardware for showing films and a stage that can be used for small plays and concerts. Most of the auditorium’s 120 seats are stadium-style and all feature cup holders and reclining capabilities. Thiel would like to see the theater host more than movie showings,
he said. “We’re looking at bringing in acts like magicians, ventriloquists, anything people can think of,” he said. Attendants were ushered into the auditorium to experience the renovated theater for the first time. Bill Anderson, a board member of the VDCA, spoke about the important role the VDCA hopes to play in the development of downtown Vermillion. “(The VDCA) wants to democratize the cinema experience,” he said. “The humanities are such an important part and fabric of our culture, we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can in a town like ours and a place like this to preserve those things.” See RED, Page A6
Mason Dockter
Mason.Dockter@coyotes.usd.edu
Thousands of people descended on Washington, D.C. last week to see Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony, the celebratory parade and to participate in marches and demonstrations over the weekend. Among the thousands gathered was a handful of USD students, some there to celebrate the incoming president, others to demonstrate. Jordan Hanson, a junior political science major, didn’t make it to the swearing-in but was on hand for the parade, which she said she enjoyed thoroughly. “For me, being a Republican, that was really cool,” Hanson said. “I think just seeing the president of the United States, regardless of the party, is definitely a once-in-alifetime opportunity.” Most of the people Hanson saw at the parade shared in her eagerness to be there, she said. “Everybody who was at the inauguration and the parade I think were excited for the most part,” Hanson said. “I mean, there were people who had signs and
were protesting, but nothing that was outrageous. I think it was pretty civil.” Kade Lamberty, a senior political science major and a member of USD’s College Republicans, was one student who went to see Trump be sworn into office Friday. “It was amazing,” Lamberty said. Arriving early was essential to seeing something so monumental, Lamberty said. “The gates opened at six in the morning, and we got there at like 5:30,” Lamberty said. He and his friends stood in the crowd for six hours awaiting the swearing-in, which took place at noon. As early as they were, Lamberty said his group didn’t get very close to the stage. “I couldn’t make out facial features on Trump when he was giving his inauguration speech,” Lamberty said. “But there was one of those big-screen TV’s right to the right of where I was standing at so I could see everything that was going on pretty clearly.” After the inauguration itself, See CAPITAL, Page A6