The Volante W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 1 9
THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887
The Igloo The Caterpillar The Dome House The Cocoon House The Peanut House
The Trinity Dome
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Greek life
Five Greek chapters wait out four-year probation periods Lexi Kerzman
Lexi.Kerzman@coyotes.usd.edu
Austin Lammers I The Volante
Built in 2007, the Trinity Dome’s unique appearance has caught the interest of the USD community through the years, earning it many unique nicknames such as the igloo, the caterpillar, the dome house and more.
Vermillion’s other dome
The mystery of the Trinity Dome, a geodesic tiny home Austin Lammers
Austin.Lammers@coyotes.usd.edu
On Center Street, roughly a five-minute walk from the western edge of campus, sits a structure resembling something between a camel’s back and a bomb shelter. It’s closer to a bomb shelter. Built in 2007, the “Trinity Dome” is nearly indestructible, fireproof, termite-resistant and requires sparse maintenance. One thing the house isn’t immune from, however, is the curiosity surrounding its existence from USD students who cycle in and out of Vermillion every four years. “The Mystery of Vermillion,” Kevin Meylor, the home’s builder and owner, called it. He constructed the house in 2007 for his retired parents who needed a stairless home which required little effort to retain. Amid its construction, Meylor said students always stopped to ask about the strange half-orbs growing from the ground. “They loved the fact that it was energy-efficient, natural disaster-proof and basically made of recycled material,” he said. “It’s not creating a lot of plastics and it’s not consuming a forest, so they liked those aspects.” Almost everyone did. Mey-
From the outside looking in, it might appear Greek Life at USD is under probation. In reality, only five out of the 12 chapters on USD are serving probation sentences. While five houses on probation may seem high, Laura Anderton, director of sorority and fraternity life and leadership, said most are serving old probation sentences. “A lot of our organizations will be off of probation here in 2020, 2021 or 2022. (They’ve been serving their probation) that’s part of the reason why it seems like literally everybody is in trouble,” Anderton said. And now, probations will look a little different. The Board of Regents (BOR) recently revoked the previous protocol for probation terms. The old code of conduct required probation to last four years after the offense, with three phases based on the number of recurring offenses. Currently, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta and Alpha Phi are serving level one probation sentences, meaning alcohol is prohibited within the house or any other property owned by the fraternity. Antonio Casiello, Interfraternity Council (IFC) President, said probation is not as bad as it sounds, especially because of the length of the sentence. “It’s a timeout if you were to categorize it as something,” Casiello said. Alcohol was the first thing the old BOR policy took away from an organization violating its proSee GREEK, Page A3
Submitted Photo I The Volante
The Trinity Dome is a one-bedroom, two-bathroom home. It cost $100,000 to construct. Floor plan courtesy of Kevin Meylor. lor said The Trinity Dome was met with “universal appreciation” from the community with the exception of one Vermillion resident who penned a letter to the Vermillion Plain Talk about its appearance. Otherwise, the city was easy to work with and people didn’t mind what it looked like. Because the look wasn’t what it was about.
Quaint and concrete
Meylor purchased the 44-by-150-foot lot for $3,000 at a county tax auction on
Sept. 11, 2001 (the day the World Trade Center fell in New York — that’s how he remembers). Six years (two of construction) and $100,000 later, it held Vermillion’s second-most popular dome. It’s a single-bedroom, twobathroom home comprised of concrete and rebar bent to frame it. Two years ago, an estimated 8,000-pound tree fell on the house and didn’t leave a dent past the insulation covering the outside. A meager amount of wood deters flames and termites. Meylor said it could survive nuclear
warfare. “That house will outlive anything else in town,” Meylor said. “You could pick up the house next door and drop it on the dome, and the neighbor’s house would crumble.” The bedroom and living room sit under the first dome, the kitchen and dining room the second, and the third dome, furthest away from the street, is a garage. A single split-air conditioning system heats and cools the entire unit, the closest thing to an
PROBATION The following chapters are serving four-year probation sentences. •
Beta Theta Pi
•
Delta Tau Delta
•
Lambda Chi Alpha
•
Phi Delta Theta
•
Alpha Phi
What does this mean? The previous BOR policy issued any organization, regardless of the offense, a four-year probation period. The first offense made the organization dry, the second forbade recruitment of new members and the third offense would cause termination of the organization.
See DOME, Page A6
Bats invade university housing, UPD assists in pest removal Dylan Klimisch
Dylan.Klimisch@coyotes.usd.edu
Submitted by Rachel Greiner I The Volante
UPD Officer Armando Barash holds a captured bat in Coyote Village Thursday afternoon.
The beginning of every school year brings new faces, and this year, USD has faced an unwelcome population. These new faces are not freshmen, but bats and ants. Bats and ants have been spotted in several buildings on and around campus. Brookman Hall has seen ants in multiple rooms, according to Kate Fitzgerald, Housing Director in Brookman Hall. “There were some ants in Brookman. We think it was caused by landscaping work outside. An exterminator was here the day after it was reported, and we have not had any issues after it was treated,” Fitzgerald said in an email interview with The Volante. Bats, traditionally more difficult to remove than ants based on their mobility, have also appeared on and around campus. Last Thursday, the University Police Department captured and
released a bat in Coyote Village. Students who rent residences off-campus are also having bat problems. Blake Cwach, a junior year and a health services administration and accounting major, lives close to campus and said two different bats appeared in his household on separate nights last week. He and his roommates used buckets to catch the bats, he said. After taking them a distance from the house, they released them. “We called our landlord to batproof the house,” Cwach said. “They put up mesh nets in areas
where the bats can come into the house.” Following the bat-proofing, Cwach said they haven’t had any further issues. Violence should not be the initial reaction when spotting a bat. Many bats are a threatened species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website. UPD helps with bat removal throughout the year. If students see a bat on-campus, they should contact UPD at 605-658-6199 or Housing at 605-677-5663 for proper removal.
Peyton Beyers I The Volante
A bat sits outside Coyote Village after its release.