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UP, UP AND SGA Candidates share campaign platforms, plans for presidency Chance Mullinix

Chance.Mullinix@coyotes.usd.edu

T

wo teams, one goal.

Junior Sadie Swier and sophomore Lucas Lund are running against junior Teagan McNary and sophomore Josh Anderson for the Student Government Association’s executive offices.

Teagan McNary, a presidential candidate, is a Vermillion native and is double-majoring in political science and criminal justice. She’s been involved in the criminal justice club, political science league and College Democrats.

She served as chair of the internal re-

Two SGA debates to take place this year Chance Mullinix

Chance.Mullinix@coyotes.usd.edu

With the Student Government Association executive elections coming up, in addition to the Cross Media Council debate, SGA will be co-hosting its own debate with USD’s Speech and Debate team.

The debate will take place on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Muenster University Center pit lounge. The CMC debate will be in the Al Neuharth Media Center conference room on Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.

SGA Senator Marcus Ireland thinks it’s unusual for a governing body to host its own debate.

“I don’t think any governing body to this day has ever done it,” he said. “Last year, the SGA president wanted to host a second debate and she had it planned and hosted by two different organizations. I think this

view committee in SGA and was in the student federation.

Josh Anderson, McNary’s running mate, is from Aberdeen and is doublemajoring in political science and business administration. He’s a resident assistant in North Complex, a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, the inter-fraternity council, student ambassadors and a sorority and fraternity life ambassador.

Sadie Swier, also running for SGA president, is from Hartford, S.D. and is majoring in communication studies.

She’s the president of Lambda Pi Eta and is involved in career ambassadors and strollers.

Lucas Lund, Swier’s vice presiden-

DEBATE DATES Feb. 23 6 p.m. in Al Neuharth conference room.

Hosted by Cross Media Council.

Feb. 27

7 p.m. in MUC pit lounge. Hosted by SGA and Speech and Debate team.

is highly unethical of us to kind of hold our own (debate) because who’s really in charge? Are the senators trying to bolster someone’s campaign? I think having a second debate is a great idea, but having us do it, as a governing body, is suspicious.”

Ireland suggested the political science league as a debate host.

“They’re a great moderator,” he said.

“They’re non-partisan political organization. I know there are senators involved in that org, I’m involved. But I remembered last year when they hosted, we abstained.”

While some may argue that it’s irregular and ethically questionable for elected officials to host their own debate, political science professor Matthew Fairholm said that doesn’t really apply here.

“While a governing body doesn’t usually host its own debate, the SGA is a student See DEBATE, Page A6

Molly Schiermeyer I The Volante

Vice presidential candidate Josh Anderson, far left, poses with presidential candidate Teagan McNary. Presidential candidate Sadie Swier poses with running mate Lucas Lund, far right. tial candidate, is from Sioux Falls and is double-majoring in Spanish and international studies. Lund is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and is involved in the student alumni association. He joined SGA last spring and is part of the inter-fraternity council, Sigma Delta Pi and the Dakota Days committee.

The platforms

The Swier-Lund campaign aims to get SGA “back to basics” – the first point of their platform is to simplify the governing body.

“Our vision is to keep SGA simple,” Swier said. “We want to give student orgs and other students concise and ex-

act and necessary information considering any kind of knowledge or issues that deal with campus or SGA.” Swier and Lund will introduce more platform points as the election approaches, and Lund hopes this slow approach will help students digest their campaign more easily.

“I think what is great about what our campaign team is doing is kind of unveiling each part of it more slowly so we can have time for each section to sink in a little bit more and we can elaborate as we go,” Lund said.

While Swier thinks SGA is doing a lot of things well, she said communication See SGA, Page A6

Discussion of USD as ‘sanctuary campus’ begins Chance Mullinix

Chance.Mullinix@coyotes.usd.edu

The Student Government Association discussed a resolution on Tuesday night that would make USD a ‘sanctuary campus,’ which would shield undocumented students from immigration officials.

Before discussion, Kade Lamberty, president of College Republicans, objected to the resolution as it was written.

“The resolution supports the breaking of federal laws and this is the most unfair to USD’s legal immigrant community who went through the proper steps and channels to have the privilege of living in our great country, attending USD and receiving the benefits provided by both,” Lamberty said.

SGA Senator Josh Arens sponsored the resolution and said it is legal.

“The resolution says it will protect undocumented students ‘to the fullest extent under the law,’” he said. “No alternative facts, don’t listen to those that say it does call for illegal action. I think it’s important that the (school) administration list what it would do in a situation

in which a student might be in a tricky situation, whether it’s a deportation or they want to go home and are unsure if they’d be able to come back into the U.S.” Senator Olivia Mann wanted to know if the resolution was proposed to get a reaction from the university administration.

“The purpose of the resolution, kind of the vibe I’m getting from you, is to get a response from the administration, clarifying what the administration’s stance on this is,” she said. “Would you be more amenable to a version of this resolution that was just asking for a response of some sort? Rather than going so far as to bring in sanctuary and the debate that comes with it.”

Arens responded by saying he wanted SGA to have a stance as well, not just the administration.

“I thought about just asking for more clarification, but I think that it’s important for SGA to say where we stand, so See CAMPUS, Page A6

News

A2 Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Volante I volanteonline.com

YEAR OF THE ROOSTER

Rachel Newville I The Volante

The Lotus Dance Team of Sioux Falls prepared to perform a dance as one of the many acts at the second annual Asian Lunar New Year Celebration on Friday.

Other performances included singing, lion dancing and martial arts. The Asian American Student Association held the event to celebrate The Year of the Rooster.

City of Vermillion Police Blotter Highlights >> Feb. 5 - Feb. 11

1 Feb. 5 Officers conducted a traffic stop and found the driver had been drinking.

The driver failed field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI.

learned that no assault had occurred, but cited one resident for underage consumption.

Feb. 8 A house guest refused to leave a residence, and officers were called.

When the guest refused to leave as requested, she was arrested for trespassing.

Feb. 5 Officers were called to an apartment where the smell of burnt marijuana was reported.

The officers obtained a search warrant for the apartment, found marijuana and paraphernalia and arrested the occupants.

Feb. 9.

Officers were called to a residence in response to a patient who had fallen down some stairs and was injured.

An ambulance was called, and the patient was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Feb. 8 Officers were called to a residence for a reported domestic fight. Upon investigation, officers

1

marijuana arrest

1

trespassing incident

Feb. 10 A caller reported threats by young teenagers to bring a gun to a social event.

Officers contacted all parties and ensured no one was armed.

The incident remains under investigation.

Feb. 10 Officers were called to a domestic dispute between a father and an adult son.

An investigation revealed the son had assaulted the father and destroyed a phone that his mother was using in an attempt to call 911.

The son was arrested for domestic assault and interfering with emergency communication.

Feb. 10 Officers responded to a medical call of a patient suffering from dizziness.

Officers provided care until an ambulance arrived.

false impersonation

hid upon seeing the officers.

The man then ran away from the officers, dropping his beer can as he fled. He was caught and found to have a fake ID in his possession. He was charged with underage consumption, failure to obey officers, possession of a fake ID and open container of alcohol.

Feb. 11 A caller reported subjects taking a forklift and driving it away. Officers searched the area and found the forklift and driver.

Driver admitted to taking the forklift for a joyride and was arrested for tampering with a motor vehicle.

Feb. 11 EMS requested an officer to assist with a woman who had injuries and was bleeding.

The woman had fallen while leaving a concert on campus.

Feb. 11 Officers saw a man walking on the sidewalk with a can, which he immediately

Feb. 11 A caller reported a man sitting in a chair in

the roadway.

When officers searched the area, they failed to locate the man.

Feb. 11 Officers responded to a call of a patient suffering from abdominal pain.

The officers provided care until an ambulance arrived and took over treatment.

Feb. 11 Officers responded to a medical call of a patient suffering from low blood sugar.

The officers provided medical care until an ambulance arrived and took over treatment.

USD replaces Starfish with Coyote Connections Mason Dockter

Mason.Dockter@coyotes.usd.edu

USD has launched a new academic warning system to replace Starfish, the previous system that allowed professors to raise concerns about students’ academic well-being.

The new system, called Coyote Connections, allows faculty to warn students and their advisers about attendance, low scores and issues with participation in class.

Part of the problem with Starfish was that USD didn’t have full control over the program, and its performance didn’t meet the administration’s expectations during the three years it was in use, said Stephen Ward, director of USD’s academic and career planning center.

As the contract with Starfish was approaching its end in March, administrators sought a new system.

“There were some issues with Starfish that we felt like we weren’t getting the kind of technical service that we

“

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It provides several quantitative measures that can help advisers and students figure out what major is best for them.

Jim Moran, USD provost

needed for it to perform up to our expectations,” Ward said. “And the other thing that Coyote Connections does, is it provides several quantitative measures that can help advisors and students figure out what major its best for them.”

Coyote Connection provides ten years’ worth of academic data from USD students, which enables professors to statistically track a student’s academic standing. For example, getting a ‘C’ in a certain class may be an early warning for a student’s performance in a given field.

“The likelihood of their graduating in that major is constantly measured by this system,” Ward said.

The academic risk assessment feature of Coyote Connections will not be fully launched until next fall. Parts of the system are already in operation, however, and Starfish is no longer being used for academic alerts.

Another benefit of Coyote Connections is that it’s much more integrated, said USD provost Jim Moran. The system will be able to tell whether students follow-up when concerns are raised, and what the result was in the end.

“This is a process of trying to give us more information to provide additional support to students, to move them successfully through graduation,” Moran said.

The data garnered

from one student can then be used to help other students. Moran said this information can help identify what types of support students need from faculty, and even whether the students are in the right major.

“I think it allows us to pay a lot more attention to individual student trends – how is this student progressing in a given major?” Moran said. “It’s an interesting process because we’re using some predictive analytics.”

The rollout has not been completely flawless, however. Small technical glitches have popped up as the system has been rolled out, Ward said.

“To be honest, we

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had several little issues that we found when we launched it,” Ward said.

The academic warnings that professors have sent through the system, for example, haven’t been worded as intended, Ward said.

The challenge some professors have faced isn’t uncommon with the introduction of a new system, Moran said.

“Change is always difficult,” Moran said. “Inevitably, we know there are going to be some people that have a hard time getting used to a new system.”

On the whole, Ward said that the difficulty of getting used to a new system is worth it, in the context of the improvements offered by the new system.

“There have been some growing pains with this system that we didn’t anticipate,” Ward said. “Overall, I think the faculty like the fact that it’s kind of easier and has more options on the progress survey, so I’ve heard some good things about that.”

The Volante disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any

advertisement in this newspaper. The Volante reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

Chance Mullinix news assistant

COYOTE History 1943 Sigmund Romberg, an Austro-Hungarian conductor, conducted a 40-piece orchestra in Slagle Hall.

2001 Burger King was the fast food king of Vermillion until McDonald’s opened in 2000. BK then had its first serious competition in town.

Ryne Myers opinion editor Cheyenne Alexis verve editor Devin Martin verve presentation editor Morgan Matzen verve assistant Dustin VanHunnik sports editor Clay Conover sports presentation editor Taylor Kidd visual assistant

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 A3 News Economic survey estimates universities’ impact on the state The Volante I volanteonline.com

By Morgan Matzen

Morgan.Matzen@coyotes.usd.edu

The Board of Regents recently commissioned USD economics professors Mike Allgrunn and Travis Letellier to conduct a study centered around the economic impact of the South Dakota public university system.

The study concluded that 67,850 people are living in South Dakota as a result of the economic activity created by the universities.

To conduct the study, a survey was sent out by email over the summer months to alumni, staff, the Board of Regents and students enrolled in any of the six regental universities in 2016.

Allgrunn said they received 12,425 usable responses from those groups.

Letellier said the report applies to everyone living in South Dakota, not just university students and faculty.

“The numbers in the report are statewide impacts,” Letellier said. “People don’t realize that this report applies to them. Our goal really was that we want the report to be user-friendly (with) short, sweet, big numbers so people can look at it and understand.”

Mike Rush, Board of Regents executive director, wanted the study to be done to show legislators

Taylor Kidd I The Volante

Results of a study called the Economic Impact of the South Dakota Public University System is shown above. that the universities are a sound investment for the state.

“We spend a lot of time talking to legislators about various pieces of legislation and the board has a legislative agenda,” Rush said.

“I spend a lot of time advocating for the university system.”

By 2020, more than 65 percent of South Dakota jobs will require post-secondary credentials, according to the study. Rush noted that the state should try to be more ambitious when it comes to higher education.

“To remain competitive, we actually need to have

a competitively educated population,” Rush said.

The study also concluded that 29.3 percent of out-ofstate students are placed in South Dakota jobs by the time they graduate.

“If we didn’t have those people in our state, we couldn’t operate the economy that we have in place,” Rush said. “South Dakota just doesn’t have enough people to populate all the jobs that we have available.

Those out-of-state students and the ability to recruit out-of-state workers contribute to our economic success.”

Rush said the public university system creates some

of the highest-paying jobs in the state. He also recognized the fact that South Dakota schools compete on an international level.

“The primary way our universities benefit the state is by training qualified people to live and work in our society,” Rush said.

“The best-paying jobs in the economy in the last five years were people in higher education. The economic impact of those was that the study was a benefit to students and we can compete with the world.”

Allgrunn said not only legislators, but taxpayers and the public should know about the economic impact

Morgan Matzen I The Volante

Mike Allgrunn, an economics professor, conducted a study on the economic impact of the public university system in South Dakota. of universities.

“The Board of Regents was interested in showcasing higher education to the legislature in particular, but also to voters and other constituents,” Allgrunn said. “Yes, it’s a cost to taxpayers, but there are also some benefits. They wanted to show the investment side of it.”

The thousands of people who are in this state thanks to the universities have quite an impact, Allgrunn said.

“That’s the people who are directly part of the university, so students, faculty, but also all of the

supporting industries that exist because of that extra population,” Allgrunn said.

“Just think of anything not directly related to the university that you know is (in South Dakota) because of the university.”

Allgrunn applied that same thought to Vermillion.

“The university means a lot for Vermillion,” Allgrunn said. “USD obviously benefits from a lot of the things that Vermillion provides, and Vermillion benefits greatly from having the economic benefit and population that exists here because of the university.”

Media and journalism department no WHATOTHERSSAY longer allowing electronics in classes v

Milkias Zere

Milkias.Zere@coyotes.usd.edu

USD’s media & journalism department has formed a new policy barring students from using laptops and other electronic devices in class.

The policy is voluntary, and most media & journalism professors have chosen to take part.

Junior media & journalism major Kassidie Cornell said she was taken aback by the department’s decision to remove electronics from the classroom.

“I was actually really surprised when the policy came about, only because with media & journalism, it’s so technology-based nowadays,” Cornell said.

“And I’m used to taking my notes on my laptop, so that was kind of a hard adjustment for me.”

Department chair Michelle Van Maanen said that while the policy is new, the problem of students engaging in non-school activities on their laptops isn’t. The problem has only gotten worse as time has gone by, she said.

“We had been discussing it informally and then a few times formally in our faculty meetings that it seemed to be a more noticeable problem in the last year or so,” Van Maanen said.

For Van Maanen and her fellow media & journalism professors, removing laptops from the classroom

MOSS

“Computer use is distracting for students other than the user of the computer. Computers tend to not encourage students to think about what they’re learning in class, rather they just tend to record everything, but they don’t mentally engage with it.”

– Justin Moss, philosophy lecturer, doesn’t allow electronics in class

Mason Dockter I The Volante

Michelle Van Maanen, chair of the media & journalism department, lectures an

HACKEMER

intro to mass communication class. Students in the department are no longer allowed to use electronic devices, such as computers, in classes.

became a better alternative than looking the other way when students used them improperly.

“I have seen people in the classroom who have been watching YouTube videos and you can really tell, even if you can’t hear them or they’re not being a disruption,” she said.

Students who use their laptops in class improperly, Van Maanen said, not only impact their own educational experience, but that of others.

“You start to see people in the rows behind them start to look over and you can tell.

For my classes, I previously

thought, ‘Well if they don’t want to pay attention, that’s what they are getting out of the class, they won’t do as well and that’s a decision that each student can make for themselves,’” she said.

“What really bothered me is when students would come up to me and say someone near them was distracting because of their electronic device being used.”

Van Maanen said she doesn’t support this becoming a department, college or university-wide policy.

“I think it should be up to the individual professor or instructor because there are situations in my lab classes

where I’ll actually ask people to use their cellphones,” she said.

Some students disagree, saying that preventing students from using electronics in the classroom doesn’t aid learning.

“I think it only allows professors to be worse teachers,” said Xavier Wright, a strategic communications major. “Because if they don’t have to fight for our attention then there is nothing pushing them to be a better instructor.”

Wright said he hasn’t been distracted by other students’ classroom technology use.

“I think we are all adult enough to make the decision to be present in class,” Wright said. “And I think this policy is unnecessary.”

Cornell said this issue largely boils down to whether professors have faith in their students.

“It’s a matter of professors being able to trust their classes,” Cornell said.

“From an individual standpoint, it’s like, if you want to succeed in that class, you pay attention and you get the better results, versus you fooling around on your laptop.”

Brendan Gayken, a sophomore media & journalism major, said he never saw the problems with laptops in the classroom as Van Maanen did.

“The thing is, I didn’t ever really see an egregious misuse of technology in the classroom before they instituted the policy,” Gayken said. “I never really saw an issue.”

While no departments on campus have a strict

“There’s more responsibility placed on the student for how they use the device in the class. I certainly can’t monitor what everyone’s looking at on their screen, so if they’ve chosen to hang out on Snapchat instead of paying attention, they’re losing something there.”

– Kurt Hackemer, chair of history department, does allow electronics in class

JEPSEN

“I worry about students becoming distracted.

All it takes is one student who’s in front of five other students, and they’re distracted, because the person is exploring some website or something else.”

– Eric Jepsen, political science professor, doesn’t allow electronics in class

KELLER

“I don’t know if telling students not to bring (laptops) would have captured their attention more. If they were going to disengage from the classroom activity, they might have done so using something else — ­­ they might have fallen asleep, they might have doodled.”

– Tina Keller, chair of physics department, does allow electronics in class

department wide policy on campus, some professors choose to ban the technology in their classes, for various reasons.

In general, Van Maanen said she hopes students will take professors’ motivations into account when they think of this policy.

“College is what you make

of it,” she said. “I hope students understand why more professors have considered and implemented the policy and it will be interesting how widespread it will be on campus, if at all.”

Volante news editor Mason Dockter contributed to this story.

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

VOLANTE EDITORIAL

File Photo I The Volante

Active involvement in SGA benefits all students.

Be involved with SGA year-round USD students haven’t been quiet about their opinions on the Student Government Association’s passing of the General Activity Fee budget last week.

This isn’t a bad thing; students should voice their opinions to SGA. However, it appears that many students don’t participate in SGA business until a decision is made that they don’t care for.

Kenzie Holton, SGA’s external communication manager, said students can help SGA be more effective when they actively participate in the process.

“SGA is a body of less than 30 students,” Holton said. “We can’t see everything on campus, especially if students aren’t communicating their needs.”

SGA has open meetings for a reason, after all. Students should be attending these meetings consistently, not only when an issue such as GAF is being discussed.

SGA senators welcome and encourage students to reach out and tell them about their

campus experiences. In the fall of 2016, there were 10,038 students enrolled at USD. By comparison, SGA is an organization of less than 30 students. It’s pretty difficult for them to get around to everyone, especially if students are only getting involved during GAF votes.

The only way to ensure that all students’ needs are met is by active participation by all students.

With the upcoming SGA presidential election, it’s important that students actively participate with their vote.

By voting students into executive positions, students become a part of the process and put people they feel comfortable with into office.

This makes it easier for students to reach out to their representatives and administration when they have an issue or concern, because they know who they are.

According to a 2013 Volante article, in only 2,000 students voted in the SGA elections.

There’s no data for 2014 elections and only 1,201 votes

The Volante THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887

EDITORIAL BOARD Ally Krupinsky, eEditor-in-chief

Cheyenne Alexis, verve editor

Rachel Newvelle, managing editor

Dustin VanHunnik, sports editor

The students and administration of USD have grappled with the issue of increasing the General Activity Fee (GAF) since the financing of the Wellness Center.

I was first introduced to this issue while serving as the vice president of SGA during Sami Zoss’ presidency. Now, I am approaching the proposed increase from the perspective of a student and soon to be alumnus.

From both perspectives, I recognized the difficulty of this decision and the positive intentions of all involved.

There are gifted and motivated students in every single program at USD, and President Abbott and the rest of USD’s administration truly want to see every student reach their full potential.

In order to allow students the opportunity to reach their full potential, higher education needs more funding. Our growing athletic department needs assistance to ensure student-athlete health and success, which has been shown to be one of the greatest marketing tools for a university across the nation.

Our academic programs need funding for improved and impactful programming, unique experiences and teaching resources.

Despite our common goal for quality education and community, I have repeatedly witnessed students attacking other students over the rationing of this proposed funding. We gain nothing from turning on one another. Yet, I understand the frustration of constantly being confronted with increasing

election in 2015. Only a measly

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

988 students voted in 2016.

While a turnout of 2,000 isn’t too bad, only having 988 voters for an election is unacceptable.

USD is a campus of more than 10,000 students and less than 1,000 took the time to vote.

This means the 30 students who represent all 10,000 students were only chosen by 1,000 of them.

How can students be upset with SGA if they aren’t willing to even take five minutes to vote?

Being an educated voter can be as simple as talking to the candidates while they table in the Muenster University Center.

Being an active can be as simple as attending a meeting once a month.

So get out and vote, attending meetings and make noise – that’s the only way students can impact the system to make USD theirs.

If you are a university student, you may take part in a lecture or online class. Regardless, you may have additional collaboration assignments to post online and respond to your usually two or more classmates.

Such methods used by professors, in my opinion, is a lazy approach to effective pedagogy leadership and fails to facilitate knowledge.

I would argue that online discussion boards have a greater potential of leading to Internet addictions and provide a disservice to textbooks and practical learning.

Perhaps this is why fewer USD law students are passing the bar exam?

It could also call into question the qualities of properly researched essay styles because most students are waiting for the procrastinators to post online.

The University of South Dakota and its tenured faculty should be providing a sound education of best practices.

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

“Did you hear there’s a goldfish serial killer on our floor?”

— North Complex

“If you were drunk, these thoughts would be better received.”

— Madison Street

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: Letters, The Volante Al Neuharth Media Center 555 Dakota St. Vermillion, S.D. 57069 Fax to: 605.677.5105 E-mail to: Volante@coyotes.usd.edu Via our Web site: VolanteOnline.com The deadline for letters is 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication.

Letters must be typed and fewer than 300 words.

Michael Buchanan, senior double major in medical biology and psychology

were cast for the presidential

Ryne Myers, opinion editor

CONTACT US

education costs.

Furthermore, we, the students, should not be solely responsible for these increases.

Funding necessary programs for our state institutions is not a student problem – it’s a state problem, a Board of Regents problem and a South Dakota Legislature problem.

I want to challenge each of us to not direct our frustrations toward each other, but rather, toward the system that has brought us to this point. We are a state institution, and therefore, the state has a reasonable expectation to invest adequate funds.

I would like to direct attention toward two key figures found on the Board of Regents website.

The first being, “the six public universities in South Dakota generate $2.66 billion a year in annual economic impact within the state, from a state investment of $197 million.”

The second comes from their yearly factbook, “Students provide 56% of yearly support for public institutions while the state only provides 44%.”

With so much money being generated from our institutions and contributions, why are we held further responsible for supporting state universities?

USD is a great community of students, faculty and administration. Rather than turning inward on, and against, ourselves, we ought to use the information before us to hold our counterparts in the state to their role in this partnership.

“Why are your legs so long?”

— Patterson Hall

“It’s D-Days 2.0!”

— T-Pain concert

“USD Marketing has something to learn from CRU.” — Volante Newsroom

Instead, most undergrad and graduate students are witnessing a costly outsourcing of online Pearson or McGraw-Hill Education materials impractical for most smart devices or tablets.

Students spend more time in front of a computer screen than actually reading and absorbing materials.

The university has become a quantity classroom rather than a quality facilitator. It is time for the university to step up its game and require professors to become a bit more engaged in discussions to pass on their knowledge accurately and to create effective future leaders.

Otherwise, why not obtain an online diploma from Pearson or McGraw-Hill and post your assignment to Facebook. At least that is how the university is viewed by many students based on the direction it uses today.

Sam Daughtry, graduate student

In The Know & In The Dark IN THE KNOW: T-Pain performed here last Saturday.

IN THE DARK: There were actually a lot of people that didn’t go.

IN THE KNOW: $30 million of renovations for the DakotaDome are in the planning stages.

IN THE DARK: I.D. Weeks is cancelling $50,000 of academic journals and other publications due to budget limitations.

IN THE K NOW: It’s supposed to be 61 degrees on Friday!

IN THE DARK: It’s going to get real muddy outside.

IN THE K NOW: We have next Monday off for President’s Day. IN THE DARK: Instead of procrastinating until Sunday to homework, people will wait until Monday.

Opinion

The Volante I volanteonline.com

E Pluribus Unum: Of many, one DEREK CHANCELLOR is a master’s student obtaining an MPA The Latin phrase “E pluribus unum” is proudly displayed on our national currency, in our official documents, on our official Great Seal and is even etched in the marble on our nation’s most prominent buildings.

This phrase is not meant to suggest that power should be consolidated into a single individual but, rather, that power is innately possessed by every individual – which makes up a single collective.

“E pluribus unum” was adopted as our nation’s official motto to promote national unity, a shared identity and a common vision of collective inclusion.

Our Founding Fathers recognized that human rights are actually innate, within each one of us, “endowed by (our) Creator.”

The major difference was that our Constitution liberated the people of a nation, rather than limiting them.

Instead, they are a list of rules for which government must abide in order to avoid

imposing their will upon the innate rights of the people. Simply put, our founders established a government for the people, not over them.

Many other aspects of our nation’s founding have truly withstood the test of time, especially in today’s modern, complex, global society. Intricate concepts established in the Constitution – such as federalism, a balance of power between three distinguishingly separate, yet co-mingled branches of government, a system of checks and balances amongst these branches, and the Electoral College – each make our country the greatest in the world.

Every one of these fundamental principles were unique to the world at the time of America’s founding and there is no question they have endured history, as America’s Constitution is the oldest governing document in the world.

Currently, a tremendous sense of national pride is being boastfully promoted through slogans such as “Make America Great Again” and the wearing of red ball caps with the aforementioned slogan displayed. There is no doubt that we have elected our first obviously, shamelessly populist president.

During these highly controversial, often irrationally emotional times, we often forget that there exists a fundamental difference between nationalism and patriotism.

The major variance between these two terms is that one – nationalism – is completely devoid of the meaning behind national symbols and the principles upon which a country was build and for which it stands.

The other – patriotism – encompasses nationalism and includes, in addition, a deliberate motivation to understand, preserve, protect and defend the founding principles and the actual meaning behind the symbols that a nation proudly displays for the rest of the world to see.

We mustn’t forget the meanings behind the principles of our nation, for they are the reason America is already great.

It’s possible that a heavy dose of pure nationalism may divide a nation. The more patriotism that is felt and expressed by a nation’s people, however, the longer they will endure, together – of many, one.

Chancellor is the SOPA president and a member of College Republicans.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 A5

LETTER TO THE EDITOR On Feb. 7, 2017, the University of South Dakota Student Government Association voted to approve Senate Resolution 20, increasing and allocating funding to the General Activity Fee for FY18.

The GAF is funded exclusively by students and after year one, will be required to pay an additional $9 per credit hour. Of the increased funding, $601,696 is allocated solely to the athletic department, roughly 87 percent. The department will now consume an overwhelming majority: $2,957,381, which is 54.32 percent of the $5,444,028.74 in dispersible funds.

The GAF was created to support an array of clubs, organizations, departments and causes that best reflect the diversity of the student body. A majority of the students do not disagree that the athletic department should receive an increase in funding from the GAF, however, the biased amount awarded to any single organization is a justifiable reason for concern.

Simply reducing the athletic department’s allocation from 87 percent to 70 percent would have created nearly $120,000 in funding that could have supported a multitude

of organizations across campus. The department would still have received nearly half a million dollars out.

Furthermore, SGA was aware that certain student organizations were entirely not included in or felt misrepresented by the paltry allocation they received. For FY17, SGA has allotted a meager $50,000 to support all small organizations on campus, the same amount the association prided itself on cutting from the athletic department’s proposal, calling it a “compromise.”

Indeed, a modest eight percent reduction may have been a compromise, if the association had actually reallocated that sum for a purpose other than necessary budget increases to match rising costs and inflation.

In December 2016, a GAF forum was held in the MUC to discuss the potential increase and allocation. So few students attended the event, SGA desperately asked for participation from students who were in the area.

It can hardly be argued that zero students were concerned with the GAF increase, so where is the dissonance coming from between the association and the student body?

Information is not being

properly disseminated and excluding the few who encompass SGA. According to SGA President Nathaniel Steinlicht, “Students decide where the money goes.” Unfortunately, students don’t cast a ballot, leaving the decision to a committee that includes four students. The ambiguous verbiage used to deceive the student body is undoubtedly smoke and mirrors.

It appears to many that the GAF increase was presumably fueled by the personal agenda of the administration, creating a skewed and prejudiced voting outcome. The very foundation that the student body relies upon to make educated and morally sound decisions has been compromised.

In addition to athletics, things like students, the staff, organizations, culture and diversity as well as legacy weave the fabric from which the university is sewn. Taxing the community that makes this institution viable, without the proper representation is unjust and perverse. We deserve a voice, we expect tolerance, we value integrity and we need a change.

We are the University of South Dakota.

Nathan Stockfleth, junior finance major

Pharmaceutical companies have a price on life Candidly Canada: Commit RYNE MYERS is first-year majoring in media & journalism

I have a purple bracelet on my right wrist every day. At first glance, it looks like any other plastic band, but to me, it holds a deeper meaning.

My bracelet is for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness; my bracelet is for my best friend, Michael.

Some people have heard of Cystic Fibrosis through the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which was started by former New York Jets quarterback, Boomer Esiason. His son, Gunnar is one of 30,000 people in the United States with CF. There are 70,000 people worldwide and 30,000 people in the United States who live with CF, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Cystic Fibrosis is an incurable genetic mutation that's inherited from parents when they both carry the gene. But it's mostly caused

by the mutation of a gene that produces CFTR, a protein. The main symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis are persistent lung infections, coughing with shortness of breath, as well as very salty tasting skin.

I want to talk about a wonder drug, Orkambi. In 2014, a clinical trial was done for CF patients with the delF508 mutation, which is the most common mutation in those with CF. This trial combined two Vertex Pharmaceuticals CF drugs – Ivacaftor and Lumacaftor. Vertex is the main manufacturer of drugs for those with CF. The combination of these drugs resulted in the creation of Orkambi.

This trial proved to be successful in increasing the scores of the FEV1 test, which is used to measure breathing. In the first trial, there was a 2.16 percent increase in FEV1 scores of those who were given Orkambi. This was a tremendous breakthrough for the CF community, as 70 percent of people with CF (8,500) have the specific mutation that Orkambi treats.

I would love to say that 8,500 people got to have Orkambi, but that

would be untrue. Like most major

An antagonistic relationship seems to have formed between the general student body and student-athletes, with the prior feeling exploited, and the latter feeling misunderstood.

Maybe it’s because I’m the antithesis of a studentathlete, but that feeling doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. Most of the General Activity Fund (GAF) hike money is going to the athletic department.

College has gotten prohibitively expensive, and most students already take on a significant amount of debt, but what does that money get us?

USD is a competitively priced school, that’s one of our greatest strengths.

Athletic events don’t really interest me, but I’m

glad the university offers them for the people who like watching sports and for the athletes who love the game. Even so, why is more than 70 percent of my GAF funding going to a department I don’t really care about?

There’s something of an escalation going on with college athletics constantly trying to get the newest, and most impressive athletic facilities and largest staffs. None of those things come for free, they are paid for by either the students (in the case of GAF increases) or by using state funds. Those facilities and people all cost a significant amount of money.

The athletic department has bloat, including both frivolous matters as well as programs that don’t get the proper funding or attention they deserve.

Where I would argue offering cost of attendance scholarships only to athletes is unfair to the

ALLIE KNOFCYNSKI is junior majoring in media & journalism

medicines, Orkambi is expensive.

That’s not news to anyone, but the price tag can mean life or death for some.

According to the Boston Globe, it's almost $260,000 per year, per patient. With there being 8,500 eligible people to take this medicine, if all of these people could afford the drug, Vertex would be making $2,201,500,000 a year, for the duration of these people's lives.

Vertex is putting a price on lives at this point. When does the pharmaceutical company stop and look at the facts that you are profiting off of the sickness of others? CF patiends need a right to try. It's my hope that Vertex Pharmaceuticals realizes they're taking away years that people could have with their loved ones.

Myers is a member of College Democrats, Coyote Crazies and CRU.

GAF frustration is misdirected but warranted JORDAN SMITH is a sophomore majoring in political science

to no plastic bottle use

student body as a whole, we have plenty of teams that don’t get the support they deserve.

If athletics are worth so much time and money, it seems a bit unfair that the football team would need more coaches when they already have more paid coaches than men and women’s cross country (one), softball (two), men and women’s swimming and diving (two) and volleyball (two) combined.

That does change when counting graduate assistants and volunteer coaches, but those titles imply significantly less than a coaching roster that includes “Defensive Quality Control” as a single member of a staff, listed second to last. If I’m going to give them that benefit of the doubt, let’s also consider the fact that football alone has 14 employees listed on the same website with no denotation of volunteer to be found.

In a previous interview with the Volante, athletic director David Herbster was excited to be hiring a full-time camera person because it “is really going to help us be more of a D-I school.”

Does having custom Coyote weight plates make our education or college experience any better? No. Does it feel like a waste of money? It sure does.

Many college students have to pick and choose how they budget their money – we can’t just say that people are going to suddenly give us more. That money means groceries, it means medication, it means rent, it means gas to visit family.

The frustration isn’t about disliking other students, it’s about losing value and having more nonexistent money come from our wallets.

Smith is a member of College Democrats and the Political Science League.

Despite the gloomy weather, my Canadian host campus is shedding light on important environmental issues.

Southern neighbors, take note.

Bishop’s University is the first university in Quebec to ban the sale of plastic water bottles.

An on-campus effort called the Sustainable Development Action Group implemented this campaign in 2010.

For people concerned about water quality, drinking plastic bottled water isn’t reassuring and potentially less safe than local sources. According to the University of Toronto, tap water is regulated provincially and municipally.

The same policy applies in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protects tap water, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protects bottled water. The EPA requires multiple daily tests for bacteria in local tap water and makes results readily available to the public.

The FDA however, only requires weekly testing and doesn’t share its findings with the EPA or the public.

According to Ban the Bottle, a widespread

“

campaign devoted to this cause, 24 percent of bottled water sold is either Pepsi’s Aquafina or Coke’s Dasani. Both brands are bottled, purified municipal water.

There’s no difference.

From a sustainability standpoint, plastic water bottles have damaging effects on the environment because most of the plastics used not fully recyclable.

Last year, according to the National Resources Defense Council, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38. Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S. recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year.

Not only does “banning the bottle” benefit the environment through conserved energy and less waste, but consumers save money.

Rather than buying plastic water bottles, let’s work toward improving water sources and purification even more.

Clean water is a basic human right, not a product to buy and sell.

If you’re a USD student traveling abroad and would like to contribute to The Volante, please contact us at volante@ coyotes.usd.edu.

Let’s work toward improving water sources and purification even more.

News

A6 Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Volante I volanteonline.com

I.D. Weeks to cut subscriptions to dozens of publications Mason Dockter

Mason.Dockter@coyotes.usd.edu

Because of skyrocketing subscription costs and budget constraints, I.D. Weeks Library is in the process of cancelling its subscriptions to roughly 70 academic journals, newspapers and other publications.

Dan Daily, USD’s dean of libraries, said that while he doesn’t like having to eliminate any publications, cuts had to be made somewhere to balance the library’s budget. The library will continue to subscribe to thousands of other publications, mostly online.

“I have really made it kind of one of my priorities not to do cancellations, and try to maintain what we have,” Daily said. “What we do have is being used, in terms of those journal subscriptions.”

The plan would save the library roughly $50,000 a year. Many of the journals cost between $2,000 and $3,000 annually and some are used by relatively few people.

Almost half of the library’s $3.5 million dollar annual budget every year is dedicated to its various subscriptions.

A big part of the problem is that subscribing to academic journals keeps getting pricier. Every year, Daily said subscription rates for academic journals go up between 5 and

SGA

From Page A1 with students could definitely be improved.

“This year (SGA) has been passing a lot of legislation, which is great, but as we’ve discussed before, we would really like to see more students aware of what exactly is being passed and what other resources that SGA can provide to students,” she said.

McNary and Anderson bring more than a combined four years served in SGA to the table. They’re taking a “three pillars” approach with their platform: involvement, improvement and inclusiveness.

The involvement pillar encourages students to be more involved with campus events. They hope to educate students about all the resources USD has to offer.

The team also wants to improve lines of communication between SGA and students.

“USD has a lot of really great things to offer, the only problem is a lot of people don’t know that,” McNary said. “One thing we’re really pushing is resource utilization. It’s always great to bring new things to campus, but I think it’s really important to highlight and make sure that everyone is aware of all the great things we have on campus.”

Their second pillar is

DEBATE From Page A1

service organization,” he said. “In fact, if any other student organization hosted it, that would potentially be unethical, because they receive money from SGA.” Because the old guard in SGA doesn’t have much of a stake in the results of the election, Fairholm said there isn’t any conflict.

Jaine Andrews, managing editor of the Keloland news station in Sioux Falls, questioned whether it’s appropriate to call the debate a ‘debate’ at all.

“It sounds like a town hall meeting, not a debate,” she said. “It shouldn’t be billed as a debate where you’re allowing people to ask questions of the candidates. If you set it up as

Mason Dockter I The Volante

The I.D. Weeks Library is cancelling dozens of subscriptions to academic journals, newspapers and other publications.

7 percent.

Daily pointed to the publishing industry – specifically, the publisher Elsevier – as the reason that academic journals are so expensive. As an example, Daily said at the height of the recession, while libraries were struggling with budget cutbacks, Elsevier was still posting profit margins of 30 percent.

“You talk to any librarian and they don’t have good things to say about Elsevier,” Daily said. aimed at building partnerships between student and community organizations. They also hope to start an SGA community service project.

“We do a lot of things to push students into the community, but we don’t do a lot to bring the community here on campus,” Anderson said. “Whether it’s bringing community leaders here on campus to do a meet and greet, bring businesses, bring restaurants, to get students engaged with them.”

Their inclusiveness pillar is focused on reaching out to all students and partnering with the Center of Diversity and Community to educate students on how to foster an inclusive environment.

“USD does a really great job of striving for inclusive excellence and we just want to build off of that,” McNary said. “And we think the best way to do that is through education. Some different ways that we talked about is partnering with the CDC and working with their different organizations. I think the best way to learn about other cultures is to experience it.”

Hot topics

All candidates feel students should’ve been more involved with the recent GAF allocation.

McNary said she wanted to see the GAF increase decided by the students in a vote.

“I was a senator when it went to a student vote the a town hall, I don’t think there’s an obvious conflict of interest.”

Current SGA President Nathaniel Steinlicht said the debate will likely be a town hall style discussion.

“There’ll be a lot more questions and answers, sitting down with candidates,” he said. “Leaving up a lot to the audience to come up and ask a question.”

If the event is actually a debate in the traditional sense, then objectivity could be called into question, Andrews said.

“If you are hosting the debate, it might cause people to question your objectivity,” she said. “Because you are selecting who is asking the questions. If you are setting up the format of the debate in terms of how long each candidate gets to answer questions, that

The high cost of subscribing to academic journals is taking its toll on university libraries all over, Daily said.

“This is really one of the greatest challenges for academic libraries,” Daily said. “The profits are going into the publishers’ bottom line, essentially.”

In order to determine which journals the library had to let go, Daily said library staff analyzed data to determine which journals were essential and

heavily used, which were important but used only by a handful of people and which others weren’t used frequently.

Librarians also reached out to various departments to see which journals they might be able to do without.

Daily said the library used a “surgical approach” to pinpoint only the least-utilized journals to cancel.

“We didn’t want to cut something that we knew

was important to a particular faculty member,” Daily said. “So, it might not be used highly, but very important to particular research projects.”

The library kept the vast majority of its many journal subscriptions, though a fair number of its newspaper subscriptions have been cancelled. The reason wasn’t because people don’t read the newspapers at the library – rather, newspapers are more for “general reading,” compared to journals, which are used for academic pursuits.

“That was a place where I had to make decisions,” Daily said. “I had to make decisions about some things that were less critical or less integral, like newspapers, to the teaching program here at USD.” This will be the first major cancellation of subscriptions during Daily’s three years as library dean.

Stephen Johnson, a business and distance education librarian at I.D. Weeks, said being forced to cancel subscriptions is a difficult position for a library to be in.

“Ultimately, you get to a situation where you just cannot afford the journals that are so critical,” Johnson said. “They’re so critical for a university that’s positioning itself to be a research institution.”

The pricing schemes of some publishers, he

McNARY / ANDERSON

SWIER / LUND

HOMETOWN:

HOMETOWN

Vermillion

Hartford

MAJORS:

MAJOR:

political science / criminal justice

communication studies

YEAR:

YEAR:

junior

junior

ACTIVITIES:

TEAGAN MCNARY

criminal justice club; political science league; College Democrats

SGA EXPERIENCE: more than 2 1/2 years

ACTIVITIES:

SADIE SWIER

SGA EXPERIENCE: none

HOMETOWN:

Aberdeen

Sioux Falls

MAJORS:

MAJORS:

political science / business administration

Spanish / international studies

YEAR: sophomore

sophomore

ACTIVITIES:

ACTIVITIES: resident assistant; Tau Kappa Epsilon, inter-fraternity council; student ambassadors, sorority and fraternity life ambassador

LUCAS LUND

SGA EXPERIENCE:

first time two years ago and it passed,” McNary said. “However, I think it’s important that we include the new students here. It’s affecting two new classes that weren’t here to take part in that vote.”

Anderson thinks SGA should’ve done a better job educating students about the GAF increase.

“We need to make sure they understand how to request GAF money, how to get in on the allocation process,” he said. “We’ve had organizations come and say that they weren’t aware of how the GAF process works and how to get money allocated for them.”

Swier and Lund share a great idea for us, it’s very unique to what we do. That is, debate.”

Presidential candidate Sadie Swier said she and her running mate Lucas Lund are excited to participate in the new debate.

“Any time that students have the opportunity to come to us and come to these SGA forums, then we want to do it,” Swier said.

Josh Anderson, presidential candidate Teagan McNary’s running mate, hopes the second debate will help cover more issues that don’t get addressed in the first.

“I think there are good and true intentions on having another debate to focus on issues,” he said. “Maybe work off things that don’t get mentioned in the first debate and give students another opportunity to be aware of the election.”

Lambda Chi Alpha; Student Alumni Association; interfraternity council; Sigma Delta Pi; Dakota Days committee

SGA EXPERIENCE: ~ 1 year

~ 1 1/2 years

could be questionable. The question is, who’s running the debate?”

Steinlicht said the governing body is hosting its own debate so that more students will be able to participate in the event.

“The Cross Media Council debate is good because it livestreams and people can view it afterwards, but it’s in the Neuharth Center,” he said. “We wanted to have a debate in the MUC so we could have a question-answer format and get a lot of passerby students interested in the election.”

Shane Semmler, coach of the speech and debate team, said the group was happy to co-host with SGA. “It was part of a larger discussion among us about how speech and debate can be part of campus life more and be present on campus,” Semmler said. “It’s a

Lambda Pi Eta; career ambassadors; Strollers

HOMETOWN:

YEAR:

JOSH ANDERSON

added, are a big part of the problem.

“A lot of these publishing outfits are just – give me a word, I can’t even think of a word – they’re just diabolical,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he fears the library will run into situations where students or faculty need certain articles or publications, and the library will have limited ability to help them.

“It’s painful beyond belief,” Johnson said. “You have no choice, I mean you have to have a balanced budget.”

Tyra Thomas-Moore, a graduate student in counseling education and an adjunct speech professor, said that while having to do away with academic journals isn’t a positive experience, the library staff handled the problem as well as they could.

“I feel like it’s pretty unfortunate,” Thomas-Moore said. “I feel like they’ve done the best they can with the situation.”

Thomas-Moore said she felt like the library did a good job getting input from various departments on which journals could be cut.

“It’s been a very cooperative process amongst faculty and the library working together to decide what journals are really being used, and what kind of things aren’t,” she said.

similar view.

“I do feel that the process of the GAF could have been communicated and elaborated more clearly before it became such an urgent issue,” Lund said.

Swier echoed Lund’s concerns about how SGA handled the allocation.

“We’re hoping that we can get people to under-

CAMPUS From Page A1

the university knows what’s expected of them,” he said.

The discussion was tabled and the bill was sent to student affairs for revisions.

Arens also sponsored a resolution supporting the expansion of gender inclusive facilities. The resolution would switch all signs on single-stall restrooms on campus with signs that say “all genders.”

The resolution would urge USD to have at least one all-gender stall in all buildings. If renovations on existing buildings or construction of new buildings were to take place, the university must consider putting an all-gender restroom in the building.

stand what is going on, before frustration and situations like this happen in the future,” Swier said.

ONLINE ONLY Photo Gallery & Video with additional photos and footage from the SGA feature photoshoot

volante online.com

A pilot program will start next week with some single-stall restrooms receiving new signs.

President Nathaniel Steinlicht urged SGA to wait until the completion of the pilot program to determine if it’s successful.

“We want to make sure people understand what the signage means,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s appropriate calling for an expansion before the pilot program even starts.”

Arens responded saying the resolution isn’t anything radical.

“It’s changing the sign on the restroom,” he said.

“Everybody uses the single-stall restrooms anyways, we just want to ensure that everyone knows all genders can use the restroom.”

Sports

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017

THE VOLANTE

VOLANTEONLINE.COM/SPORTS

@VOLANTESPORTS

Enosh Kattinapudi I The Volante

Sophomore guard Matt Mooney attempts a shot over an SDSU defender during the game on Feb. 11 in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Mooney was a key contributor in helping the Coyotes defeat the Jackrabbits by hitting deep three-pointers late in the game.

Coyotes defeat SDSU in nail-biter Dustin VanHunnik

Dustin.Vanhunnik@coyotes.usd.edu

It was a tight game in the packed arena Saturday as the Coyotes (18-10, 9-4 Summit) took on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (12-16, 5-8 Summit) inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

The Coyotes started strong, but had their lead cut from 14 to just 1 and even fell behind at one point.

USD held on in the end to put up a win in front of 5,260 people with a final score of 91-89.

The Coyotes were lead by sophomore guard Matt Mooney, who had 25 points including three deep 3-pointers late in the game. Senior center Tyler Flack also heavily contributed, with 23 points and eight rebounds.

Not only did Flack put up the points and the boards, which included five offensive rebounds alone, but he also was put to the task of guarding SDSU sophomore forward Mike Daum.

Daum, currently the second highest scorer in the entire nation with an average of 23.9 points a game, was held to just 22 points.

The Coyotes often double-teamed Daum, which caused 13 of his 22 points to come from free throws.

While the double-team certainly helped in containing Daum, it left open junior guard Reed Tellinghuisen, who finished with 28 points.

Flack spoke about how stopping the Jackrabbits run and keeping their composure to win the game was key.

“They made a run and some tough shots, but we showed a lot of poise down the stretch,” Flack said. “I’m really proud of my teammates. It feels awesome.”

After playing in front of the large crowd, head coach Craig Smith said he could feel the energy the crowd was giving, especially when the game got close.

“It was definitely a physical, rugged game for us, but we fought it out and got some really great energy from the fans,” Smith said. “It was electric in there.”

With the win the Coyotes have now equaled their highest win total in Summit League play and improved their home record to 12-1.

Their next game, their last home game of the season, will take place on Feb. 18 against Oral Roberts.

Athletes wrongfully misjudged TAYLOR KIDD is a sophomore majoring in media & journalism.

Submitted Photo I The Volante

Freshman pole vaulter Chris Nilsen jumps a then-record 18-2 1/2 at the USD Alumni Meet at the DakotaDome on Feb. 4. Nilsen has since broken the record with a jump of 18-8 1/4.

Nilsen making history Enosh Kattinapudi

Enosh.Kattinapudi@coyotes.usd.edu

One track and field athlete is just getting started in a career already full of milestones.

In just his first year of competition, freshman pole vaulter Chris Nilsen holds the nationleading pole vault mark and has already won the Summit League Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the week five times.

Nilsen set the nation’s leading pole vault mark on Jan. 28 with a jump over 18-2 1/2.

He then went on to break the record again with a jump of 18-2 1/4 on Feb. 10 at the Tyson Invitational on Randal Tyson Track at the University of Arkansas.

An unexpected start

Nilsen said his career has come a long way since he started track & field his freshman year at

Park Hill High School in Kansas City, MO. “I actually started originally because I wanted to stay in shape for soccer,” Nilsen said. “It motivated me and inspired me to do this in my off season.”

Now, four and half years down the road, he’s making a huge improvements in pole vaulting, and just plays soccer as a recreational sport.

Not all has come easy for the national record-holder, however.

“I thought about giving up this in my first year. It was really hard,” Nilsen said. “I didn’t think I was hitting it right... I was kind of bored first year.”

Nilsen credits his parents with supporting and keeping him on the right track.

“They were very supportive.

They were the ones who paid for all my pole vault lessons,” Nilsen said. “If I ever wanted to give up

and go to them, they would hold me up and put me back on the right path.”

Behind the scenes

Nilsen said it can be complicated to balance academics and athletics.

“Being a multi-sport athlete was difficult sometimes (in high school), but to be a student-athlete you have to be smart in time management,” he said.

Nilsen said another big factor in his decision to attend USD was the track & field coaching staff.

“This school is one of those that thinks of you more as a person rather than as a point for nationals. They want you as a person,” Nilsen said. “You can jump however high, however far, run however fast, they See RECORD, Page B2

College athletics are always going to be controversial.

Disputes regarding the benefits athletes receive and should receive are common, and the overall impact athletics have on a university is debated.

Some people believe college athletics is beneficial to the university and society, while others believe athletic programs are purely money-suckers.

Opinions of college athletics are all over the spectrum, and as a student-athlete, I can honestly say that I understand and respect each of these opinions.

What I can’t understand is how people form negative opinions based on misconceptions of college athletics.

A few weeks ago, a guest columnist wrote an article in The Volante regarding the GAF increase dispute. The column had potential to be persuasive, but the first few paragraphs contained false information about athletics at USD that many people couldn’t see past.

Each university is different when it comes to its athletic program. While the NCAA regulates and limits certain areas of athletics, how a university falls within those rules is up to that school.

I personally don’t know the ins and outs of NCAA rules and regulations, as the details are, well, detailed. However, I do know and understand what it’s like to be an athlete at USD. The first misconception

about athletes is that they all get free meals, while non-athletes at USD pay for expensive meal plans.

The only athletes at USD who don’t pay for a meal plan are those on full scholarship (which are few and far between).

For the first year ever, the athletic department has provided athletes with energizing snacks in the weight room, such as granola bars, bananas and chocolate milk (of which we are limited to two items per day.) While this is absolutely a perk, I would not by any means consider this a meal.

In fact, any observer would see that large groups of athletes gather for meals in the MUC cafeteria at any time of day. I would know, because I’m there with the rest of my team using meal swipes that I myself paid for.

The next misconception is that non-athletic students at USD are not granted access to the Dome or the new arena, “despite many of the rooms being unused.”

First and foremost, the Sanford Coyote Sports Center isn’t completely finished. Any room that is “unused” is still under construction. I’m not quite sure why anyone would want to hang out in a construction zone, or what the purpose for being there would be.

Secondly, surely there are reasons why non-athletes aren’t permitted access to those facilities, and I’d imagine a large part of that has to do with the fact that it’s consistently being used by the athletes.

Because the Dome is multifunctional, there are many See ATHLETES, Page B2

B2 Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Sports

The Volante I volanteonline.com

USD kicker draws NFL scout attention Chance Mullinix

Chance.Mullinix@coyotes.usd.edu

On Oct. 17, 2015, the USD football team upset the Carson Wentz-led North Dakota State University team that had won five straight Football Chamionship Subdivision championships.

Kicker Miles Bergner kicked the game-winning field goal that broke the tie as time expired.

The kick turned Bergner into a Coyote superstar, earning him a tailgate section named in his honor.

Now a senior, Bergner is attracting national attention from NFL teams.

The Colorado native played in the National Football League Players Association Collegiate Bowl in California on Jan. 21.

“It was definitely eyeopening in terms of gaining a view and how it works, especially from the Players Association side,” Bergner said.

Bergner was the placekicker for the National Team, which won the game 27-7. He made two field goals and three extra points, racking up nine points in the game.

In addition to playing in the game, Bergner was interviewed by scouts.

Scouts from the Seahawks, Bears, Redskins, Rams, Chiefs and Falcons all interviewed the USD kicker.

“They want to know things about you as a person,” Bergner said. “Everything you’ve done as a football player is already documented. They want to know how you break down your job, what your family life is like. They really go into depth in terms of what they’re looking for and whether you’re valuable or a liability to them.”

USD special teams coach Phil Ockinga said Bergner has a lot of potential and could make a team, but probably won’t be drafted.

“It’s really hard for these guys to get drafted,” he said. “You have to be like the number one. When it comes to punters and kick-

ATHLETES From Page B1

times when soccer, track, softball and other sports are using the Dome at the same time. It can get chaotic, and there really isn’t room for people playing Frisbee or tossing around a football.

The next misconception is perhaps the most popular, and it’s about scholarships.

Not every athlete has a

RECORD From Page B1

still care about just who you are. They want you to be as good you want to be and if you don’t want to be, they’re not going to throw you out and be unsupportive. USD is a fantastic support to me.”

Nilsen said his current focus is to compete well in the national conference this season.

“The Olympics are once every four years, but the world championships is dream I’m looking at in near future,” Nilsen said.

“I want to take one thing at a time and coach Derek helps a lot to focus more on the present.”

Associate director of track & field jumps Derek Miles is a three-time Olympian and three-time U.S. National Champion.

“He’s been amazing.

He’s gotten me to do better than ever before,” Nilsen said. “Some advice that he has given me that I will always use is, ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You want to take it slow as a process.

Then life will be a lot easier for you. You can’t just im-

ers, it’s all about timing.

Some of these kickers will be in the league for fifteen years, so you have to come in at the right place and right time.”

Bergner isn’t expecting to be drafted, but he could sign with a team as an undrafted free agent.

“I would be surprised if I got drafted,” he said. “I know a lot of people want me to (be drafted), but I can’t see an NFL team drafting me this year. I could join a team after the draft, but I don’t foresee myself getting drafted at all.”

Former South Dakota State University kicker Adam Vinatieri kicking the game-winning field goal in the 2004 Super Bowl for the New England Patriots inspired Bergner to become a kicker, he said.

“I started kicking in my house,” he said. “I never broke anything, I’ve knocked a couple things down. What happened is I would line up in my living room at the bottom of the stairs and kick up to the second floor. One time I hit a picture at the top of the stairs. Instead of stopping, I just took the photo off the wall and put it aside.”

While many players transitioning to the NFL are unable to meet the expectations of teams and fans, Bergner thinks he could rise to the occasion in the NFL. “You have to keep putting work in,” he said. “I’ve got past the physical limitations, so I fit the qualifications of being considered an athlete. Just like everything in the world, if you don’t put work in it, it will go away.”

Ockinga said Bergner has the body and power to fit into both roles for any team.

“Usually your punter’s a long, linear kid and your kicker is thick in the lower half,” he said. “He’s kind of an in-between. For him, he has a really quick snap, his kick is really fast.”

Ockinga said he highly values Bergner and puts him among the best at his

full scholarship –not even close. Per NCAA regulations, Division I sports teams have a limit on the number of scholarships available, and this depends on both the sport and the funding each school decides to give each sport.

For example, the men’s swimming and diving team has roughly 30 members. Per NCAA rules, a men’s Division I swimming and diving team can provide 9.9 total scholarships. However, according

File Photo I The Volante

Senior kicker Miles Bergner attempts a field goal during the Dakota Days game against the University of Iowa on Oct. 8. Bergner has been interviewed by several NFL scouts and hopes to sign with a team if undrafted. position in this draft class.

“He’s one of the top three punters and one of the top four to five kickers,” he said. “Combining these, I think he’ll be very valuable to any team.”

Ockinga said Bergner has a passion for kicking and will be a great success in the NFL, if given the chance. “(Bergner) wants to kick all day long,” he said. “But kickers and punters are like pitchers in baseball, they

can only kick so much before they need rest. But he can go all day and go at it again the next.”

Bergner hopes to keep his role of punter and kicker, but is open to playing one position and backing up the other.

“Teams like the versatility I can offer,” he said. “If a kicker or punter gets hurt, I could back them up for a couple weeks if it’s a minor injury or a sickness.”

Although it has been a

lifelong dream to play in the NFL, Bergner was unsure he was good enough to play football for a period of time, until he kicked the game-winner against NDSU his sophomore year.

“At one point in my career I had written myself off here,” Bergner said. “I had a string of missed kicks and was a little down on myself. Sure enough, we went up to Fargo and that changed it very quickly. I think the moral of the sto-

ry is when you’re down it doesn’t mean you’re out.”

Bergner is thankful for USD athletics and Coyote fans.

“Thank you for supporting me, through thick and thin. I’m really grateful.

I ended up with my own tailgate section somehow.

It’s just a special thing,” he said. “And now I know, looking back, that I made the best decision coming here.”

to swimming and diving coaches, USD provides the men’s swim team with only one scholarship.

While there are most definitely athletes on full rides at USD, more often than not, athletes are on a percentage scholarship.

These scholarships are different from the type of scholarships referred to in the GAF column, which are “full cost of attendance” scholarships.

The way this phrase is used portrays a false idea of what it means.

Full cost of attendance scholarship is another word for a stipend: money outside of an athlete’s scholarship they receive for additional costs such as travel and food.

Stipends are given to scholarship athletes and are based on that athlete’s percentage. Currently, USD offers around $2,000 for a full stipend, but only full scholarship athletes will receive this much.

Fifty percent-scholarship athletes will receive only roughly $1,000, and

so forth.

The full cost of attendance doesn’t mean exactly what one may gather from the name, and many athletes may not even receive such a scholarship.

Although the above misconceptions are common, by far the worst I’ve heard claims that athletes are selfish for the money and benefits they receive.

As an athlete, I’m attending a university strictly for an education and to continue participating in a sport I love, and I would

be doing so regardless of scholarship money.

The opportunities I’ve been given because I’m an athlete are unbelievable, and that’s something I won’t ever take for granted.

We may not receive free meals or full ride scholarships, but each and every athlete at this university is here out of passion, and that’s something everyone can relate to.

Kidd is a USD swimmer and visual assistant for The Volante.

“

He’s doing something that not many people in the history of college athletes have done as a freshman.

PLAYER OF THE PACK Mark Collins Jr. Year: Freshman

Derek Miles, associate director of track & field jumps prove instantly.’”

Miles said he’s ecstatic about the way Nilsen has been performing.

“We have tweaked a few little things. The trick is keep him connected to what has worked but trying to refine a few small things,” Miles said. “The more time I spend with him then I’ll know more what big things I can change down the road. With small changes, we’ve made it made a big impact.”

Miles said there’s no limit to Nilsen’s potential.

“He’s really good right now. It’s just a matter of time to realize what his ultimate potential is. He’s doing something that not

many people in the history of college athletes have done as a freshman,” Miles said. “To be jumping the size he’s jumping at this young of age, it’s now just a matter of taking our time and doing things the right way so we can get up the highest bar he can down the road.”

Miles’ advice for Nilsen is the same as his advice for any athlete.

“Stay passionate and have fun. If you are passionate and you bring some intensity and have fun with it, good things are bound to happen,” Miles said.

Major: Sports media & marketing Sport: Football Dustin VanHunnik: If you could play any other sport besides football, what would it be and why?

Mark Collins Jr.: I would say baseball.

I grew up playing it since like first grade all the way through high school.

DV: Did you play any other sports as a multi-sport athlete?

MCJ: No, it was only

“My dad always told me, ‘Don’t let anyone get in your head. Stay focused.’” those two that I played.

DV: Do you have any advice from high school that has stuck with you?

MCJ: Yeah, my dad

always told me, “Don’t let anyone get into your head. Stay focused.” And that has just stuck with me still today.

Verve

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

THE VOLANTE

VOLANTEONLINE.COM/VERVE

Archive Photo I The Volante

Gerry Oligmueller (middle) was SGA president during the 1975-76 term.

Jon Connolly (right) was SGA president from 1983-84.

Archive Photo I The Volante

Tyler Tordsen (left) was SGA president from 2014-15.

Archive Photo I The Volante

Lessons learned from SGA alumni

Past presidents reflect on their time in executive office Ally Krupinsky

Ally.Krupinsky@coyotes.usd.edu

The Student Government Association has a long history, with a list of past presidents that dates back to 1890.

With the 2017 election coming up later this month, The Volante decided to reach out to a few alumni presidents for their memories, lessons learned and insights for this year’s candidates.

1975-76

Gerry Oligmueller, president in 1975-76, has fond memories of the time he spent campaigning more

than 40 years ago.

“It was fun running for elective office,” he said. “It was fun to meet and listen to the students, as I think back during that campaign.”

Currently Nebraska’s State Budget Administrator, Oligmueller has worked for nine different governors — three in South Dakota and six in Nebraska — mostly in budget administration.

Some of the noteworthy infrastructure changes happening during Oligmueller’s time included the completion of the Highway 50 bypass and planning of the DakotaDome. In fact, Oligmuel-

ler was invited to accompany USD administration on tours of other schools that had facilities similar to what USD was looking to create.

He said his time as SGA president helped him learn more about the importance of a balance between active leadership and letting others achieve their full potential, as well as the importance of building consensus.

“How that’s helped today is for me to understand, in the various positions I’ve taken, the importance of knowing the position, knowing your responsibility, the limitations of your position, whether you’re

elected or appointed, listening…” he said. “In particular when you’re working for a governor, you need to understand their expectations and objectives.”

1983-84

Jon Connolly, SGA president in the 1983-84 term, said one of his biggest takeaways from being SGA president was an increase in selfconfidence.

“It was kind of a big leap for me to go ahead and put myself out on the line, and so I gained a lot of self confidence from that,” he said.

Now a market area credit man-

ager for Wells Fargo, Connolly said his role on Faculty Senate alongside administration and department heads has impacted his career since graduating in 1985.

“Just seeking out new and better ideas, (it was) just a great experience from that standpoint,” he said.

Connolly also learned practical skills from the role, including budgeting, negotiating and prioritizing.

Another takeaway from the experience was the ability to put things in perspective, he added.

The night before the election, after See SGA, Page B4

‘Community-oriented’ resident assistant dedicated to job, safe community Lauren Soulek

Lauren.Soulek@coyotes.usd.edu

There are 61 resident hall assistants at USD. Their job is to ensure safety among USD students and get them involved within their residence halls.

Senior Tristan Beck has made these things top priorities in his two years as an RA.

Building relationships

Beck decided to become an RA during his sophomore year after his hall director suggested it to him.

After organizing a game of “Survivor” for his friends during his first year and participating in Complex Council during his sophomore year, he knew that he enjoyed putting programs together for students.

Beck has worked in North Complex for both of his years as an RA. He enjoys working with the first-year students because of their sense of involvement, he said.

“They are more willing to go do things and go out and find people,” he said. “They are ready to do some crazy programs.”

First-year Cooper Seamer, one of the residents on Beck’s floor in Mickelson Hall, said Beck “gets us involved as much as he can” and is a “community-oriented guy.”

“He’s not like some RA who just checks up on us every now and then,” Seamer said. “He tries to talk to every single one of us every single day.”

Beck said he values his rela-

“

He’s really good at finding those boundary lines between being an RA, a mentor and a friend.

Annalissa Miller, residence hall director of Beede and Mickelson halls

tionship with his residents and the other RAs. “My favorite part about being an RA is the sense of community,” Beck said. “You get to be really close to the other RAs that you’re working with because you have shifts that can last until 3 or 4 a.m., so it’s a really good bonding experience. If I wasn’t graduating, I would still be an RA next year.”

Seamer said Beck is a trustworthy RA. “I definitely trust Tristan more than anyone else on this floor,” he said.

A big commitment

Beck said he’s learned a lot during his time as an RA. “One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as an RA is probably just taking time to slow down,” Beck said. “Your life gets really, really busy so you have to be really

good with time management.”

Beck is also the president of USD’s Resident Hall Association and works as a delivery driver at Domino’s.

Annalissa Miller, the residence hall director for Beede and Mickelson, said she enjoys Beck’s creativity, connection with other students and hard work.

“When he signs up to do something he is 100 percent committed to doing that thing and doing that thing really well,” she said.

The large time commitment and making sure the job doesn’t affect his personal life are the two biggest challenges of being an RA, Beck said.

“You end up living where you work so it becomes difficult to separate yourself from that,” he said.

This is something Miller thinks See RA, Page B4

Lauren Soulek I The Volante

Dictatorship II, by Leila Ghasempor won an honorable mention at

the Stilwell Exhibition.

Stilwell Exhibition showcases student art Lauren Soulek

Lauren.Soulek@coyotes.usd.edu

The John A. Day Gallery is currently home to many pieces of art created by USD students, which range from printwork and paintings to sculptures and videos.

The 30th annual Stilwell Student Awards Exhibition opened on Jan. 27 and will continue until Feb. 24.

“The purpose of the Stilwell is to highlight USD art students,” said Michelle St. Vrain, interim director of the gallery.

St. Vrain said each year they invite a juror to select from all pieces submitted by students to create an exhibition. From the

pieces selected, the juror chooses which ones receive awards including best of show, honorable mentions, the Gladys Stilwell Freshman/Sophomore award, merit awards and the faculty award.

Michael Petersen, the principal and founding partner 50,000 Feet, a creative agency in Chicago, IL, was this year’s juror.

Petersen picked from 250 pieces narrowed them down to 105 pieces, St. Vrain said.

“I really love how this exhibition highlights not only USD students, but the diversity in the department,” St. Vrain said. “I See ART, Page B4

Verve

B4 Wednesday, February 15, 2017

T-Pain performs in front of thousands at the DakotaDome

Cheyenne Alexis I The Volante

More than 4,500 tickets were sold for the T-Pain concert on Feb. 11.

Morgan Matzen

Morgan.Matzen@coyotes.usd.edu

Hip-hop artist T-Pain performed to a crowd of thousands at the DakotaDome Feb. 11.

More than 4,500 tickets were sold, and 3,750 of those were USD student tickets, said Doug Wagner, director of campus programs and activities.

Crowd members could be spotted riding on each other’s shoulders to see over the masses.

This wasn’t the first Campus Activities Board concert to be hosted in the DakotaDome. Timeflies played there in 2014 and sold 1,805 tickets, Wagner said.

Wagner said he was happy with the crowd size.

“We increased our interest in the concert by more than double what we had before,” Wagner said. “I’m really thrilled with the turnout, and I think we’ve learned a lot.”

The DakotaDome proved to be a good location for a crowd of this size, and the sound system functioned just fine, Wagner said.

RA

From Page B3 Beck does well, she said.

“He’s really good at finding those boundary lines between being an RA, a mentor and a friend,” she said.

Reflecting year

on

last

As for his residents, Beck said he likes the different perspectives they have.

“I’m graduating in May, so I look at this as, ‘Oh, I’m

“Hopefully we’re getting to a point where we can shoot for February as our concert time, and to be in the Dome from here on out is what I’m hoping,” Wagner said. “Aalfs Auditorium is not really a place that’s conducive to a concert like this.”

Rain Spotted Elk, a firstyear art major, thought the concert was too packed. “(The concert) was great, but it was too crowded and everyone was pushing and people fell over and got elbowed,” Spotted Elk said.

“It was a little too much for me.”

Wagner said he helped CAB select a list of artists USD students would vote on.

“We looked at artists that ranged from $40,000 to $60,000 because that was based on what we could afford,” Wagner said. “When we paid for T-Pain, we only paid for him to show up.”

General admission ticket sales don’t go toward paying T-Pain to come to Vermillion, Wagner said. That expense is covered by Student Government Association through the General Activity Fee. “There are two funds

that exist at the university,” Wagner said. “There’s what’s allocated by SGA by the GAF, and what’s also called an agency fund. Any money that we generate from the concert goes and sits in this fund from ticket sales, and we’ll use that money for next year’s concert.”

The set list for the night included such hits as “I’m ‘n Luv (Wit a Stripper),” “Booty Wurk (One Cheek at a Time),” “I’m On A Boat” and “Cyclone.”

First-year nursing major Melissa DeCook invited her friends for the concert experience.

“It did live up to my expectations, but it could have been longer,” DeCook said. “‘On A Boat’ was the only song I knew.”

Not only did the concert live up to students’ hype, but T-Pain seemed to enjoy his time in Vermillion as well, Wagner said.

“Based on what I’ve seen and the response from Twitter, I think he enjoyed coming here,” Wagner said. “I think he was as excited as he can be, because he does shows all the time.”

done! I’m almost out of here,’” Beck said. “But from their perspective, they just started. It’s kind of cool to look at them and see how amazed they are with everything that I find so basic now.”

After graduation, Beck is going to graduate school for student affairs, where he plans to work as a graduate assistant. After that, he wants to work as a hall director.

Miller said she’s sad to see Beck go, but is excited for his future.

“Tristan has been really

fun to work with. He was here when I started, so he helped me with my transition here,” she said. “I’m excited though that he’s looking at going into higher education because then he’ll kind of be my co-worker going forward because I’ll get to see him at conferences and all that kind of stuff.”

Beck said he recommends the RA position.

“It’s a really good way to learn a lot about yourself,” he said. “And it gives you a lot of skills that you can use later on in your future.”

Lauren Soulek I The Volante

RA Tristan Beck explaining the new task for the “tribes” in their ongoing game of Survivor Jan. 29.

PEOPLE OF THE PACK

think it highlights all of the educational ranges from freshmen to third-year master’s student.”

Nickolas Baltz, a senior fine arts major with an emphasis in printmaking, was awarded best of show.

“Being a printmaker, I know a lot of different types of paper,” Baltz said. “So as soon as I was holding the piece of paper, I thought, ‘Wow this paper is really, really nice!’”

Getting his piece selected into the exhibition and winning the $500 award was unbelievable, Baltz said, especially because he thought his piece seemed so simple.

Baltz said at the time he was in the studio just trying to get anything on paper because he was experiencing an “art drought.”

“This is what got me back into making and creating artwork,” Baltz said.

Baltz looks at art as an outlet that he uses as a catharsis, he said. Art calms him and stresses him out, he added.

“If you don’t love your craft, I don’t think it’s something you should be doing,” he said. “I don’t think I would love anything else as

SGA From Page B3

Connolly had finished some last-minute door-todoor campaigning, he was told that one of his brothers had been in a plane crash.

He survived, but at the time Connolly didn’t even know which brother was injured. Connolly remembers that night vividly, he said.

“Talk about really putting the world in perspective at that point in time,” he said. “Student government, it was a great experience, it certainly helped shape some of who I am to this day, but I think those experiences that surrounded being student president also contributed significantly to keeping me grounded, keeping me focused.”

2014-15

Tyler Tordsen, SGA president during the 2014-15 term, has a similar view of the organization.

“It’s not the end of the world if something doesn’t work out the way that you want it to or you envision it to or like it to,” he said. “It’s not fake, either. And that was the tough part was trying to balance that to make sure that — you know this is serious stuff, you’re working with real money, you’re working with real people, you’re working with real feelings and you’re trying to get stuff done. And there is a real opportunity to really get some stuff done, some neat things.”

Emily Schrad

Emily.Schrad@coyotes.usd.edu

Year: First-year Major: Business

“I want to be able to be a coordinator of nonprofits.” kind of work you’d like to do with a nonprofit someday?

AM: Most of my work is going to be helping the community and rebuilding ourselves rather than depending on the federal government to step in and feed us out of hand. I want to be able to get our people involved and be a part of the community in a larger sense to where we can all

From Page B3

much as I do art because I have already put in my 10,000 hours.”

Dillon Bryant, a junior fine arts major with an emphasis in printmaking and photography, had three pieces in the exhibition and received a merit award for one of them.

Bryant said he likes art because of the way it allows him to communicate.

“It allows me to bring different thoughts and expressions in one way,” Bryant said. “Plus, it’s everywhere.”

Bryant said the Stilwell exhibition allows students to show off their best work to a lot of people.

“A lot of times we spend so much time in the studio working that we forget that what we are doing this for is to show off our work and learn to be professional students and artists,” he said.

“So having these opportunities is so important.”

This exhibition is also an opportunity for art students to sell their pieces.

Keith Braveheart, a second-year graduate student, was one person whose art was purchased. Braveheart also won the faculty award, which came with a stipend of $100.

He said if he could give advice to undergraduate artists, it would be to never take it for granted.

“Be sincere with what you do,” Braveheart said.

“Always look at what you do as a gift and never take advantage of it.”

Baltz encouraged other artists to do what they love and follow their passion.

“I cannot stress enough for people to do the Stilwell and keep creating artwork,” he said.

Lauren Soulek I The Volante

Student artwork can be seen in the John A. Day Gallery from Jan. 27 until Feb. 24 in the Fine Arts Building.

“

We’re all in this together.

We’re all Yotes...

Tyler Tordsen, SGA president in 2014-15 term

Tordsen started his work as a special assistant for U.S. Senator Mike Round’s office about a week after graduating in 2015. He said the projects he contributed to and the relationships he formed in SGA prepared him for the work he does now.

Though it can be challenging trying to meet the needs and wants of so many students, Tordsen said patience and thoroughness often go a long way.

“You’ve got to be patient, be thoughtful in everything that you do, be thorough, and listening ties into that,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to listen, you’ve got to be able to communicate.”

Advice for candidates

future

Connolly’s advice for the future administration centered around the need for credibility, perspective and “a degree of confidence tempered with humility.”

“Build on your strengths.

Focus in on your strengths, don’t try to be what anybody else was. The Student (Government) Association president the year before me and the Student (Government) Association president the year after me, we all three were incredibly different,” he said. “Just be

yourself, patience, perseverance too.”

In addition to ensuring a “strong and regular opportunity” for students’ opinions to be heard by university administration, Oligmueller said the importance of the SGA president and vice president was being active in their campaigns.

“Be serious about and genuine about, and be prepared to be active in, representing the students’ ideas and interests on a full-time basis over the course of the next year,” he said.

Tordsen’s last piece of advice was to remember that SGA is part of something bigger.

“We’re all in this together. We’re all Yotes and we’re all part of the Board of Regents or we’re all students in higher ed. There’s a lot more commonalities than there are differences,” he said. “So I’d encourage people to communicate. That communication is key on everything. If you can communicate and work together and be able to listen and speak up, those combinations will help anybody get through everything.”

Reusable K-Cups for Keurig prove to be handy for cheap college students

Antone Morrison

Morgan Matzen: What do you hope to do with your major?

Antone Morrison: I was hoping on doing something towards the financial side and going into law. I want to be able to be a coordinator of nonprofits because I’m from a reservation. I’m from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Oglala Lakota. I want to be able to send people in that actually do the job to help impoverished parts of the reservation. That’s my current goal, but anything can happen really.

MM: Do you know what

ART

The Volante I volanteonline.com

come together and face common issues like poverty, teen suicide and all that, which we are doing. I want to be able to step in and do my part.

MM: Have you had any experience helping the community like that before?

AM: I love my people, I would do anything for them.

College kids run on coffee. It’s what keeps 8 a.m.-goers awake, it provides the afternoon with a boost of energy and it’s the best friend to the late night studier.

But as final week approaches, and there’s no Flex to be found, the single serving Keurig machine comes in handy.

But wait! K-Cups packs are expensive, and college kids can’t afford to spend that much on coffee. Here’s where the reusable K-Cup coffee filter comes in to play – the solution is buying a cheap pack of coffee grounds.

I saw this at the store and thought it was absolutely perfect. One, because I’m a coffee addict, and two, because I go through my Flex like crazy.

So I got myself some Dunkin Donuts coffee and the filter, and was excited to try it out.

The next day I got up early to make my coffee.

I opened up the pack and poured the coffee grounds to the fill line.

I placed it in my Keurig and pressed brew. The machine functioned just as if it had a regular K-Cup in place, and my room had a wonderful coffee aroma.

Next, I decided to see how strong the coffee would taste with different amounts

Emily Schrad I The Volante

Students can save money by using reusdable K-Cups.

of water. I have a Keurig mini so the water amounts go six, eight and 10 ounces.

I tried it out on each water amount and each time the coffee turned out to be pretty perfect. Not too strong and not too weak.

As the week went on I continued to use the K-Cup filter and it continued to work perfectly for me. It’s a great product, especially for broke, college kids in need of a daily coffee boost.

The product was only $6, so it’s definitely something worth getting.

Although the premade K-Cups are a little bit more convenient in the morning, I think the extra minute for putting the coffee in the filter is absolutely worth the money saved.

I would recommend this product to anyone who has a Keurig. It’s much cheaper than buying the actual K-Cup packs and the coffee tastes the same.

I can see myself using this product time and time again, and it’s going to be a real lifesaver when it comes to midterms, finals and my daily coffee fix.