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New store brings new experiences to Vermillion
Men’s Swim and Dive win first conference championship in Division I era
Vermillion’s newest store, Nostalgia Vintage and Wellness combines vintage thrifting and wellness products. Learn about the new store and their products on page B1.
The Coyote men took home the first Division I swim and dive championship in school history. Learn more about the meet on page B3.
SDBOR TUITION INCREASE SET FOR THE FALL
Derek Chauvin found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd Jacob Forster
Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu
Rachel Thompson | The Volante Maddi Kallsen
Maddilynn.Kallsen@coyotes.usd.edu
Tuition rates for USD will rise by one percent this coming fall. Jessica Preister, assistant vice president of financial affairs, said the increase comes to cover salary increases passed by the legislature. “The governor recommends a salary policy increase and the legislature approves that which was the case this year. They provide only the portion of funds related to the general funds salary policy,” Preister said. “There was a 2.4% salary policy increase. Legislature will provide enough general funds to our campus to cover that. It’s the campus’s responsibility to come up with the remaining funding for the other end of federal funds.” After the governor recommends
a salary policy, The Board of Regents determines what percent tuition should increase by, Preister said. The percentage increase is projected to equal to $100.50 per semester. “Last year we didn’t have any increase our rates remained flat from FY20 to 21,” Preister said. Scott Pohlson, vice president of enrollment, marketing and university relations, said as tuition increases so does the amount of money going into student areas. “It’s far different from when I was in college where you’d see six to seven percent increases from one year to the next, because at that time, you could do it. That changed all around 2010 and 2011,” Pohlson said. Compared to Iowa, the state has a five year tuition model, approved in 2019. For the next five years, tuition rates will go up
between three to five percent, Pohlson said. “Iowa did not increase for the Spring term, but they will go up 3.9% in the fall,” Pohlson said. Every state has to determine what those increases will look like. “We don’t like to do increases, but we understand that they’re necessary for the purposes of retaining staff and retaining students, because we want the students to have the best we can afford. Right now, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Pohlson said. “We try our very best, but we also have to recruit faculty, administrators and staff members. At times we do have to increase because of salary policy, but I think South Dakota always does it from a very realistic standpoint.”
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes until death. Floyd’s death last May set off a wave of protests for racial justice and police reform. The jury found Chauvin guilty after 10 hours of deliberations over two days. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. His sentence has not been set, but could be decades, according to the AP. Police officers are rarely prosecuted for killing someone while on duty. According to the AP, since 2005, only 140 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter, with only seven convictions. Police-procedure experts and law enforcement officials, including members of the Minneapolis Police Department, testified for the prosecution that Chauvin used excessive force. Medical experts for the prosecution said Floyd died of asphyxia (lack of oxygen) due to the hold Chauvin placed him in. The defense argued Chauvin followed his training and that Floyd’s death was the result of an underlying heart condition and drug use. Under the law, police use of force is judged by whether their actions are “reasonable” under the circumstances. Dakota Smith, co-founder of USD’s Cultural Wellness Coalition, said he believes the verdict represents justice, but that people should not be content. “I can personally say I’m happy about it. It was something that was obviously long-awaited but is obviously a verdict that I would say represents justice and the kind of justice that I feel that we as a country aspire to stand for,” Smith said. “I would say there’s a long way to go.” Smith said the verdict is a representation of holding the justice system accountable, and that he feels relieved by the verdict. “This is the first step of making greater change amongst our policing system throughout the country,” Smith said. “I know, just like in the past, that these kinds of decisions can go the way that doesn’t represent justice.” The Cultural Wellness Coalition seeks to be a bridge to unify all cultures on USD’s campus, and Smith said that work involves being an agent of change in the community. “It’s really as simple as that is just loving those around you,” Smith said. “There are still so many issues out there, that we need to continue the fight for justice.”
File Photo | The Volante
USD’s Cultural Wellness Collation (CWC) held a Black Lives Matter march in the beginning of September in response to the killing of George Floyd last May.
SGA cuts organization budgets due to lower enrollment projections Jacob Forster
Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu
In the Student Government Association’s (SGA) annual budgeting process, many student organizations have seen cuts to their requests. This comes as a decrease in enrollment following the pandemic caused reductions in USD’s General Activities Fund (GAF), which, in addition to SGA spending, includes athletics, student media and maintenance. One organization impacted by the reduction in funds is Spectrum, an LGBTQ student organization on campus. Logan Johnson, SGA’s Director of Finance, said the budgeting process involves seminars explaining the timeline and steps for organizations to remain eligible, followed by a week for the organizations to formulate budget requests for fiscal year 2022. SGA’s budget committee then deliberates on potential cuts to budgets, eligibility for line items and drafting of final budget bills. Factors for funding amounts include testimony of organization leaders, past utilization rates, the number of students impacted and outside funding the organization has access to. Food and travel requests are considered the lowestpriority expenditures. Johnson said SGA expects to be asked to make a payment back into the GAF fund, but has not yet received guidance on how much. Last year, SGA made a contribution of $100,000 back into the fund. For this year’s budget, the SGA senate approved $81,024.50 for small organizations, $220,000 for large organizations and $15,000 for club sports. Large organizations are able to request over 3% of the total budget allocation. This year, SGA received $161,000 in requests from over 45 small organizations, which required cuts of 50% across the board to fall within the SGA senate-approved budget. The average cut was 54.7%, with highs at 100% and lows at 0%. For large organizations, the requests totaled over $256,000, requiring a cut of 14.2% across the board. Club sports requested
the amount allocated. “The budget process can hardly be boiled down to just a percentage cut from the request,” Johnson said in an email interview with The Volante. “Some organizations request the maximum allotted for small organizations just to see what will happen.” Tallon Everson, chair of SGA’s senate budget committee, said SGA prioritizes funding through line items, looking at funding for operations, entertainment and speakers, food, travel and marketing and advertising. SGA favors operational costs and cuts travel and foot costs first. “We try to ensure that money is spent in a way that best benefits the students of the university, because our funding comes from the General Activity Fund, which is directly student funded,” Everson said. If an organization needs funding for a specific cost later in the semester, Everson said the organization can use SGA’s special appropriations process. “So there is a little bit of leeway, and we’d be happy to advise student organizations on how to work under a lower budget,” Everson said. Spectrum saw its budget cut by 49%, slightly below the average cuts for student organiztions this year. Johnson said the cuts were made to portions of the budget dedicated to a trip open only to members. “This was a clear instance where we had to prioritize activities that would benefit higher numbers of students,” Johnson said. “We prioritized cutting food and travel, and did everything we could to leave ample funding for their fall and spring drag show performers.” Johnson said the organization’s requested budget would have been 14.4% of the total small organization allocations, which are split between over 45 organizations. Spectrum advisor Judas Holmberg said the cuts will mean Spectrum will have to fundraise by charging admissions fees to events like the drag shows, which were able to be offered free
to USD students this year. The cuts to Spectrum’s travel budget will mean the organization will also have to fundraise to travel to their annual national conference, which had been canceled last year due to the pandemic. “It’s going to result in less of those organizations’ events being paid for completely out of their SGA budgets,” Holmberg said. “It’s gonna result in more like, in-the-moment out-ofpocket costs for students.” While USD is planning for a more normal fall semester that will allow student organizations to hold more in-person events, Holmberg said the cuts to organization budgets will impact this. “We’re going to be able to start putting on these events and activities and all of that stuff again, but whether or not organizations will have the funding to do that is the question,” Holmberg said. “It’s going to be a return to normal year with a little asterisk that’s like, normal, but do it with less money.” Holmberg, who was a member of SGA for two years and chair of the finance committee for one year, said he understands cuts to the budget had to be made, but that he wished utilization rates were taken more into account in considering cuts. “My issue was, yes, cutting everybody 50% is the fair, like everybody gets, cut way to go,” Holmberg said. “I’m very grateful for the work they have done and what we are getting, but the tactic would have been something different for myself, had I been a part of it.” Johnson said SGA warned organizations funding would be tight, and encouraged organizations to utilize fundraising for shortfalls. Johnson also said since historically few organizations reach 100% utilization of allocated funds, the reduction in allocations might give SGA a better idea of real utilization, which will help with allocation going forward. “It’s our goal to foster a healthy environment for our student organizations,” Johnson said. “COVID-19 is going to have lasting effects on the financial situation of our university, but at SGA we’re hoping to insulate organizations as much as possible.”