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THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887 VERVE (B1)
VOLANTEONLINE.COM SPORTS (B3)
USD senior starts his own business and podcast
Freshman sprinter breaks school record over weekend
Marcus Destin, USD senior, started his own business, Never Offended Always Humble, with his brother. Learn more about his endeavours at USD and in his own life on page B1.
Freshman sprinter Sarah Reifenrath broke the USD 200 meter school record this weekend in Fargo, ND. Learn more about the freshman and her other accomplishments on page B3.
THIRD ROUND OF STIMULUS CHECKS COULD BENEFIT COLLEGE STUDENTS
Rachel Thompson | The Volante
Source: “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act”
Rachel Spinks
rachel.spinks@coyotes.usd.edu
President Joe Biden has been adamant about passing another COVID-19 relief package, even before he was elected. This proposed third stimulus bill of $1400 would include college students when many were left out of the first two. This new stimulus bill could arrive as early as next week or could get pushed back until the end of the month due to the impeachment trial. Congressman Dusty Johnson said the biggest problem the US will face trying to get this stimulus bill through is negotiations within Congress. “If the president wants a bipartisan package that will unify the nation, he is going to need to make a lot of concessions,” Johnson said. “…he is not going to get his plan, the Republicans aren’t going to get their plan. Everybody will need to take a step toward the middle.” The head of the political science department at USD, David Earnest said that this stimulus bill will be very important in setting the tone in Congress for the rest of Joe Biden’s presidency. Johnson said President Biden has the power to fund this stimulus bill without Congress’s approval, but it would further divide the nation if he went through without an agreement. “I’m opposed to a $ 1.9 trillion package but there are some parts in which I could support, clearly in areas of testing and vaccines,” Johnson said. Johnson worries that if this third stimulus bill gets passed there will be major economic consequences. “The total tax revenues of our entire federal government for an entire year are about 3 trillion,” Johnson said. “If the presidents bill passes, we would have applied in just the last year $ 6 trillion
in COVID.” “At some point the president would do good to acknowledge that this is all borrowed money from China and so we want to make sure that we invest those dollars,” Johnson said. A major debate with this stimulus package, Earnest said, is that many congressmen believe that this is a lot of money to spend and it is not being applied to those who really need it. “Stimulus checks are very expensive, and they aren’t particularly well-targeted to people who need the assistance,” Johnson said. “I’m not at all convinced that yet another round of stimulus checks at all is in the country’s best interest, but if we cut another round of stimulus checks, adult children being claimed as dependents should be included.” The benefits of this new stimulus bill would expand its reach to include college students who didn’t qualify for the original two. Earnest said that the direct benefit of this third stimulus bill is that college students will receive a check themselves. “The indirect benefit is aid to the state of South Dakota because it will help USD do its business with helping their students, and aid to the economy as a whole helps with employment prospects,” Earnest said. “The needs are immediate across the spectrum from the individual to state and local government to health care providers in the medical system,” Earnest said. This stimulus bill package includes expanded unemployment insurance, spending on vaccines and other COVID-19 medication, as well as funding for state and local governments and small businesses around the U.S., but negotiations within Congress could hold back the 1.9 trillion dollar bill.
President Gestring Adds to the President’s Gallery from Stilwell Exhibition Allison Horkey
Allison.Horkey@coyotes.usd.edu
Each year, the President of the University of South Dakota buys an art piece from the Stilwell Exhibition to display in the President’s Gallery outside the president’s office in Slagle Hall. This year, President Sheila Gestring chose “Between Sienna” by Jordyn Johnson. “You know how art is such an individual thing, it just really spoke to me, the details and I thought it was very beautifully done,” Gestring said. “It just struck me, when I saw that one, I knew that was the one I wanted to choose for the gallery.” Johnson is a freshman majoring in painting at USD. “The painting is of Zoë Kravitz, and she has a show on Hulu, it’s called ‘High Fidelity.’ There’s so much love in it. So much music and everything. And it’s such a great show.” Johnson said. “High Fidelity” is one of her favorite shows. “I chose the name ‘Between Sienna’ because to get the shade of her. I had to mix the main color sienna, or burnt sienna, and it’s just adding various shades of green or blue or red or yellow to get the between,” Johnson said. President Gestring said she had a hard time deciding on only one piece from the Stilwell Art Exhibition for the President’s Gallery. “There is such incredible work being displayed,” Gestring said. Gestring said one detail of Johnson’s painting that caught her eye was the freckles. “As a child, people would comment on my freckles, so maybe in some deep way that appealed to me,” Gestring said. The eyes of the painting was another detail Gestring mentioned. “It almost looked like the painting was looking through you,” Gestring said. “Having the president purchase my piece and being here gives me that sense of my art being here forever,” Johnson said. Johnson plans on continuing to submit pieces to the shows. “It just makes me feel like I can go somewhere, and this happening just gives me a little push,” Johnson said. Johnson said this is the first piece she has sold. “I like to think that art sort of represents a piece of hope, some inspiration and power to impact change. I think that’s sort of how the university inspires, and I hope as the leader of that organization I can reflect that in the greater community,” Gestring said. The President’s Gallery and the Stilwell Art Exhibition are open to the public. The Stilwell Exhibition is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The President’s Gallery contains art from USD’s previous presidents as well. Gestring has contributed three pieces to the collection; “Lost at Sea” by David Barnum in 2019, “Social Suicide” by Jonathan Purdy in 2020, and “Between Sienna”.
Allison Horkey | The Volante
‘Between Sienna’ was picked for President Gestring’s personal gallery because she connected with the freckles in the painting.