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Crime & Courts
Former USD student sentenced to probation in rape case Lexi Kerzman
Lexi.Kerzman@coyotes.usd.edu
Peyton Beyers I The Volante
A mixture of melted snow and rainwater flooded Prentis Park in Vermillion, S.D. on Thursday, March 14.
Peyton Beyers I The Volante
A low point near the corner of Main St. and Carr St. in Vermillion filled with water on Thursday.
Under the weather: Record moisture soaks Vermillion Austin Lammers
Austin.Lammers@coyotes.usd.edu
Leaking roofs, flooded basements and washed out roads were the outcome of a 51-degree day in Vermillion last Thursday. Though the temperature eclipsed freezing, 25-40 mph winds and two inches of rain came with—conditions that led USD President Sheila Gestring to cancel classes for the day.
Spring temperatures that prematurely trickle into a town’s stockpile of snow guarantee a sloppy aftermath, and since March 13, the southeastern sector of South Dakota, including the Vermillion community and USD, fell victim to floodwaters and seepage from melting snow and thunderstorms.
Stopping the seep on campus
On Thursday, March 14, USD Facilities Management (FM) responded to 33 work orders related to dripping ceilings, mostly in older buildings, like Noteboom and Slagle Hall, said Brian Limoges, Acting Vice President of Facilities Management and Director of Construction Services. “Since Monday, on top of the snow, we’ve had over two inches of rain. We’ve had several build-
ings on campus with leaks, some minor, some major. Some of them have to do with old roofs that are scheduled to be replaced in the summertime,” he said. The leakage forced the relocation of faculty and students that inhabit offices and classrooms on Slagle’s third floor. “We moved some people out of areas with really bad leaks and See FLOOD Page A6
St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl raises money for charity Kelli Susemihl
Kelli.Susemihl@coyotes.usd.edu
When someone mentions St. Patrick’s Day, the first thought isn’t usually fundraising. However, the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl sought to combine drinking and
supporting a good cause. The $10 buy-in fee from pub crawl held on March 14 was donated to Dakotathon. Over 50 people participated, and $600 were raised. Michaela Goldammer, a senior strategic communications major
and Marketing Chair for Dakotathon, said that although the proceeds will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, the pub crawl is not affiliated with Dakotaton. “Even though I’m in Dakotathon, this pub crawl isn’t tech-
Rachel Newville I The Volante
Students and community members participated in the Saint Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl on March 14 in Leo’s Sports Bar & Grill.
Campus
nically put on by Dakotathon, it’s put on by people that are involved in Dakothon, and then we end up donating all the money back to Dakotathon,” she said. “The Children’s Miracle Network doesn’t condone fundraising through alcohol sales, so what we do is individually fundraise it, and then because we are so heavily involved with Dakothon, the money ends up going there.” The pub crawl featured spots at different restaurants and bars in Vermillion, including Old Lumber Company, Leo’s and The Varsity. Each of the participating bars offered discounts to those participating. “It’s really easy because all the bars here are locally owned, so it’s not like we’re trying to get a corporately owned bar to get involved with this,” Goldammer said. “It’s kind of a mutual thing, where they know we’re going to bring in a lot of business, so they like to be involved with it… All of the bars are super awesome to work with, they make it super easy and understand that we will bring in a big crowd if they partic-
A former USD student-athlete has served 96 days in the Clay County jail after his arrest on charges of second-degree rape and was sentenced to 10 years of probation after pleading no contest to one count of aggravated assault. Dale Williamson Jr’s probation sentencing came on Monday. The days he spent in the Clay County jail will count towards his probation, but he was also ordered to pay $1,381.04 in restitution to the victim. Williamson Jr. was originally taken into custody on charges of second-degree and thirddegree rape; however, those charges have been dropped and replaced by aggravated assault charges. Williamson’s lawyer said he may be moving back to Texas to serve his probation. If he breaks his probation regulations, he could be sentenced to serve up to 10 years in jail. Williamson was charged originally for an incident that occurred in an off-campus location in Vermillion. He was later acquitted for those charges. In another case, Williamson was accused of raping a victim in a campus dorm room on March 3, 2017. Williamson’s attorney, Mathey Metzgar, said Williamson had a family member present at every court hearing and received multiple letters of recommendations on his behalf from friends, family and former coaches. Some of the letters stated Williamson would be someone “you want on your team,” while others said he was a great athlete and person “on and off the field.” Clay County State’s Attorney Alexis Tracy said the letters should be “taken with a grain of salt,” because they seem to have “doubled as recommendations as an athlete.”
ipate, so it’s an incentive for them as well.”Diane Wirth, owner of The Varsity, said she is pleased to offer discounts for fundraisers. “I am happy to host the pub crawl whenever a student group wants to do one for a fundraiser,” she said. “I think all bars in Vermillion like to support it because they know how important it is to help fundraisers, and as a bonus, it brings in extra business.” Jacob Meyer and Quincy Score, See GREEN Page A3
American Sign Language grows as rebooted club
Cecilia Gillen
Cecilia.Gillen@coyotes.usd.edu
A club came together for a potluck this Monday, but instead of talking about their day during the meal, they silently signed to one another. The American Sign Language club (ASL), rebooted this semester after a seven-year haitus, holds a silent dinner once a month. Alexis Sejnoha, club president, decided to start the club again after hearing about the old club in one of her ASL classes.
“I’m in the honors program and when I started working on a thesis project and coming up with an idea I was trying to decide what I wanted to do and I’d really become interested in deaf culture,” Sejnoha said. “There used to be an ASL club, but then it kind of died off when some of the members graduated and I said ‘Well you know what, let’s revive it. Let’s do it.’” Veronica Steinhoff, vice president of the ASL club, said the club is a step towards awareness for the deaf community.
“I know a lot of community members who are deaf now know about these events and feel like their environment is getting shared to other people, so I think that’s really important,” Steinhoff said. Steinhoff said they were surprised at how fast their group grew. Sejnoha said social media and ties to the deaf community have helped draw people to the club. “We have a social media chair and some secretaries that do a lot of stuff like that, and my
nephew is deaf so I’m kind of getting involved in the deaf community as well,” Sejnoha said. “Dr. (Teri) Bellis obviously is very involved in the deaf community and Lori Kober. So they’ve been really helping kind of spread the word and get people interested.” Alexis Yim, a member of ASL, said the club is important because ASL is a culture too. “Some people know like little signs that they’re teaching kids now and like I feel like it should just be known to the campus,” Yim said.
In the fall, Sejnoha said she plans to present her thesis as a deaf community awareness event. “Informing people about deaf culture and talking about things like how do you approach a deaf person? How do you walk between two deaf people who are signing without being rude?” Sejnoha said. “Really just trying to educate so that the students here when they move onto their greater careers after graduation they know how to handle See ASL Page A3