The Volante
THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887
W E D N E S D AY, F E B R U A R Y 2 0 , 2 0 1 9
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QT NailSpa: A new addition to downtown Vermillion Cecilia Gillen
Cecilia.Gillen@coyotes.usd.edu
Gestring’s Historical Inauguration
Gr ap hic
by Le ah D
us ter ho ft
I Th eV ola nte
A flashback to past presidential commencements Austin Lammers
Austin.Lammers@coyotes.usd.edu
Last Wednesday, USD celebrated the inauguration of its 18th president, Sheila K. Gestring. This was USD’s first inauguration since June 4, 1997, meaning 56 percent (4,262 of 7,590) of USD undergraduate students were not yet born when James Abbott was inaugurated as USD’s 17th president, according to the Office of Institutional Research. The Volante flipped through its own archives and pieced together highlights of each presidential inauguration at USD since 1914.
June 8, 1936 - I.D. Weeks, USD’s 11th president (1935-1966)
Referenced from The Volante “Summer Session News” Volume XIII No. 1 - June 15, 1936 A procession of students, speakers, faculty and friends entered “Slagle Auditorium” in academic garb for the inauguration of I.D. Weeks. The inauguration’s commencement speaker was L.D. Coffman, President of the University of Minnesota. “Extreme liberty spells chaos and complete loss of it spells compulsion, and thoughtful men will not seek either of these ends,” Coffman said. “They will dwell in the realm between, the realm of self-disciplined liberty.”
February 4, 1914 Robert L. Slagle, USD’s 9th president (19141929) April 21, 1967 - Edward Referenced from The Volan- Q. Moulton (1966-68), te Volume XXVII No. 18 - Feb. USD’s 12th president 10, 1914 A.E. Hitchcock, President (1966-1968) of the Board of Regents, began his speech at Slagle’s inauguration by saying he “had spent a very bad bed night and for that reason would be unable to give his audience anything of a highly polished or oratorical nature.” He made this clear later, stating the university cannot prosper “with criticism continued.” “The faculty must not criticise its members before either students or citizens,” he said. “The students also must not criticise. They have no right to think, act, talk or discuss matters pertaining to the administration of the university. They must not get together on corners nor gather in groups and discuss these things.” Hitchcock then stated the legislature would “appropriate nothing toward the support of athletics.” He was “at one time something of an athlete himself and for that reason was favorable to sporting contests but that he could never, and will not now, support mere scoring machines.” Slagle took the stand last, “greeted with cheers so great in volume and so long in duration that he was obliged to stand before the audience for several moments waiting for the applause to subside.” Slagle said he was apt to form a relationship with every student on campus, and that they could enter his office any time; that they “could come to him with any difficulties that they might have, and he would do what he could to straighten them out.”
Referenced from The Volante Volume LXXX No. 26 April 25, 1967 At Moulton’s inauguration, Judge Harry E. Mundt was the first to give his greeting. “The University has progressed in many aspects since I received my degree in 1926. There were only 600 students on campus then, but the tuition was only $6 a semester,” he said.
May 13, 1978 - Charles D. Lein, USD’s 14th president (1977-1982) Referenced from The Volante Summer Issue Volume 42 No. 1 June 6, 1978 The Volante provided nothing more than Lein’s basic information and previous work experience for his inauguration story.
November 1969 Richard L. Bowen, USD’s 13th president (1968-1976)
Referenced from The Volante Volume XXXVIII No. 12 - Nov. 25, 1969 Bowen was USD’s first South Dakota-born president. In his inaugural address, he spoke of keeping South Dakota students in the state after graduation. “South Dakota produces incredible talent. But too typically the persons having this talent leave the state. They are raised with the attitude of leaving,” he said. “We need among our young the assumption of remaining
where one’s roots are… we need a conviction that here is where we belong.”
April 21, 1983 - Joseph M. McFadden, USD’s 15th president (19821988)
Referenced from The Volante Volume 95 No. 25 - April 26, 1983 USD celebrated McFadden’s commencement at the 100th anniversary of USD at the Founder’s Day banquet. McFadden said he came to USD because he believes in the university’s “future and in our destiny to provide outstanding leadership.” “I cannot guarantee universal agreement. But I can guarantee you that I will work for understanding with every ounce of my being,” he said. Gov. Bill Janklow, who graduated from USD in 1964, was the guest speaker at Founder’s Day. Janklow said that “a nation that could put a man on the moon in 1970 could, 13 years later, work to eliminate hunger in the world, solve its economic problems and teach people not to suffer from ignorance of discrimination.” Janklow also used imagery of neurosurgery to describe the importance of liberal arts education. “We need to make the same commitment with people who spend an entire lifetime of operating on people’s minds without using a knife, or a scalpel, or ever making an incision. They operate on the mind in another way. They do it with pictures, with words, with books and writings,” he said.
May 4, 1990 - Betty T. Asher, USD’s 16th president (1989-1996) Referenced from The Volante Volume 114 No. 22 - May 2, 1990 Asher served as USD’s first female president. Her inauguration fell two days after The Volante’s final publication
issue of the school year, so no story was provided. In the week leading up to Asher’s inauguration, two Guatemalan marimbas were dedicated to the University, as well as a Shakespeare Garden Sculpture.
October 4, 1997 James W. Abbott, USD’s 17th president (1997-2018) Referenced from The Volante Volume 122 No. 5 - Oct. 8, 1997 Abbott’s inauguration was held on a sunny day in front of Old Main, where the University celebrated the commencement of a new president and the restoration of its keystone structure, Old Main. According to The Volante’s Paul Glader, between the Great Depression and 1973, Old Main “became so decrepit that its doors closed.” A fundraising drive called Save Old Main raised $5.5 million for the building’s restoration, and its doors once again opened in the fall of 1995. “It was just about in the same shape that all of us were in during the Dirty Thirties,” said Roy Nielsen, who graduated from USD in 1941. In his speech, Abbott described his $47.5 million plan to increase faculty salaries, advance technology and attract students from all walks of life. “Together we can do more than we can do alone,” he said. After the ceremony, Abbott said he enjoyed “a great day.” “I was really very moved by it. I just thought the whole thing was perfect,” he said. Editor’s note: The Volante could not find a story on the inauguration of Herman G. James, USD’s 10th president, on May 3, 1930. Robert Dezonia, USD’s 14th president from 1976-1977, didn’t have an inauguration, as he was acting president after Bowen’s resignation.
Peyton Beyers I The Volante A Volante article from October 1997 shows President James Abbott delivering his inauguration speech in front of Old Main.
Cobe Nails, previously located in Walmart, upgraded to a new location late January. QT NailSpa, owned by Quyen Ho and Tuan Nguyen, is located on 124 East Main Street. The nail salon has been in Walmart since its opening in 2007 and was previously owned by Nguyen’s brother. Ho and Nguyen said they were planning to move once their lease with Walmart ended. “As soon as we knew it was going to end...we decided to say, ‘Hey we’ve been in Walmart long enough. We have a well-built clientele. So why not go out and get a place of our own?’” Nguyen said. Although they said Walmart was good to them, the move presented new opportunities. “We wanted to have our own place instead of renting all the time,” Ho said. “In Walmart, it’s a franchise name...so we wanted to move out and have our own name.” Katja Kassin, USD alum and Ho and Nguyen’s neighbor, said although she hasn’t been able to get her nails done for a while, she used to go to Cobe Nails in Walmart. “Quyen and Tuan always provide wonderful services,” Kassin said. “They are very friendly and always very welcoming.” In addition to buying the QT NailSpa building, Ho and Nguyen also bought the plaza previously named “University Cleaner Plaza” and renamed it “Main Street Plaza.” There is no longer a dry cleaning business in the plaza, but Ho said they “still have See SALON, Page A3
USD student passes away unexpectedly Kelli Susemihl
Kelli.Susemihl@coyotes.usd.edu
USD student Diedra Gatzke passed away unexpectedly from a brain hemorrhage on Thursday, Feb. 14. Gatzke, 22, was a senior business administration major who was taking classes at the University Center in Sioux Falls this semester. During their time at the Vermillion campus, Gatzke was involved with Student Government Association (SGA), Spectrum and the Center for Diversity and Community (CDC). “Diedra was strongwilled, independent, and an advocate,” read their obituary. “Diedra was a staunch leader who could make allies with great smiles, who spoke for the marginalized and underserved and took actions to improve the unfair or unjust with a passion to help others and better the community.” “Diedra was an incredible human, always caring for the world around them and making everyone feel included,” Josh Sorbe, SGA president, said in a Facebook post Saturday afternoon. “My heart aches for your family, as you were taken so soon and had an impact on so many.” “Please keep Diedra’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers,” Kim Grieve, Dean of Students, said in an email sent to the USD community Saturday afternoon.