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Professors Hill and Engelking Die in the Past Week
USD Theatre Holds Last Event of the Fall Semester
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Football: Where No Team Has Gone Before Following a 34-24 win against Sacramento State, the Coyotes will face Missouri Valley Football Conference Rivals in North Dakota State in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs. See more on page 6. Tavin Carncross| The Volante
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023 THE VOLANTE
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International Office Offers Rides to the Airport Sien Hermans
Sien.Hermans@coyotes.usd.edu
The end of the semester is upon students as the last week of school wraps up. Many students are slowly getting ready to leave USD and go home for the holidays. The Gallagher International Office (GIO) helps students to get to the airport in Sioux Falls. The GIO is organizing free bus rides to the Sioux Falls airport for all USD students. Students were able to sign up for times until Dec. 1. The GIO offers end of departure rides to Sioux Falls airport for four consecutive days and they will run twice a day. Rides are scheduled at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m, where students will be driven by the Vermillion High School Buses. Andreea Picioroaga, the assistant director for International Student & Scholar Services, said they understand how difficult it is for some students to get a ride to the airport. “All students could sign up for these rides. We know that, especially
for international students, it might be difficult to find transportion to the airport,” Picioroaga said. Some international students said they are happy with these offered rides. Maxi Seidel, an international student, said she is grateful for the rides being offered. “If you don’t have any friends with cars, this is an amazing opportunity,” Seidel said. “I do know some people with cars, but I have to leave early to catch my flight. Now I won’t have to wake anyone up to drive me.” The first ride leaves on Dec. 13 and ends Dec. 16. They will leave from the parking lot across from the Burr House. No other stops will be made during the ride, they go directly to the airport. Students must be present at the location 15 minutes before the time of departure. Picioroaga said they already have many students that are signed up with the system. “We have 80 students who signed up for the end of year departure rides,” Picioroaga said.
Editor’s Picks
Tavin Carncross |
The Volante The Standstill Parade of Lights will be held in downtown Vermillion where they will light the Christmas tree. There will also be photos with Santa and refreshments.
These are The Volante staff picks of events happening this week.
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Wednesday, December 6, 2023 | 3
USD Mourns the Loss of Two More Professors
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Sydney Johnson
December 6, 2023 www.volanteonline.com
Sydney.G.Johnson@coyotes.usd.edu
The USD President’s Office notified the campus community via email this last week of the deaths of two more professors. Following the death of history professor Clayton Lehmann on Nov. 16, the campus made the announcement of another current professor and one former professor’s passing. Professor Emeritus Jeri L. Engelking died on Nov. 25 at the Sanford Medical Center in Vermillion surrounded by family. Engelking was born in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Dec. 30, 1947. He began teaching at USD in 1986, where he taught for 23 years. Engelking was a professor in the School of Education, where he served as an associate dean, interim dean, campus dean and director of the Educational Research and Service Center. Engelking was also the director of the LEAD project and published an article alongside other education professionals titled, “Motivations and Deterrents for Entering the Teaching Field in a Rural State.” In December 2009, Engelking retired from the university and received professor emeritus status. On Nov. 27, Michael Hill, lecturer of ceramics, died in his home surrounded by friends and family. Hill was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., and attended SDSU where he graduated in 1978. Three years after his college graduation, Hill began his own personal ceramics business. Hill eventually came to USD in 1994, where he spent 29 years teaching hundreds of students about forming methods, clay and glaze development, kiln design and the history of ceramics. Hill was published in a multitude of publications, such as “Best of Five Hundred Ceramics” and “Ceramics Monthly.” He also gave presentations around the Midwest about different concepts, including alternative firing methods. Hill is survived in death by his wife, USD gallery director, Amy Fill.
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Submitted | The Volante Former university professor Emeritus Jeri L. Engelking died on Nov. 25 at Sanford Medical Center in Vermillion. Engelking taught in the school of Education at USD for 23 years.
Submitted | The Volante On Nov. 27, professor at USD Michael Hill died in his home surrounded by friends and family. Hill was a lecturer of ceramics where he taught for 29 years.
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Theatre Hosts Last Show of Fall Semester Sydney Kolln
Sydney.Kolln@coyotes.usd.edu
USD’s theatre department wrapped up their Fall 2023 season. Their final show was “Ride the Cyclone,” which ran from Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 30 through Dec. 3. “Ride the Cyclone” is about the lives of six teenagers who die on a roller coaster called the cyclone. When they wake, they are greeted by Karnak, a mechanical fortune teller. He invites all of the teenages to play a game where the winner will get a second chance at life. Jamie Lennon is a junior BFA theatre studies major and played Misha Bachinski, who is a Ukrainian rapper in “Ride the Cyclone.” For Lennon, this role allowed him to practice his method acting to fully immerse himself to be Bachinski. “I would say the biggest challenge to Misha (Bachinski) would be the accent,” Lennon said. “It took a little bit
Submitted | Raimonda Genna
to keep in the accent and not slip in and out.” Grace Engstrom is a sophomore BFA musical theatre major and played Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone. Jane Doe was found headless when she died from riding the cyclone. No family came to claim her body, so her identity is unknown to both herself and everyone else. Engstrom said playing Doe has challenged her to portray a character without any facial expressions. “This show was such a fun challenge,” Engstrom said. “Playing someone who doesn’t know who they are and someone who is confused and blank faced all the time was a big challenge. I had to figure out how to portray the physicality of the character and keep engaged and reactive in the show without using too intense facial expressions.” While the show came with its challenges, the actors still made some memories and experienced some firsts. Lennon got to experience a first when singing Bachinski’s gangsta rap track called “This Song Is Awesome.” “My favorite memory has to be the first time getting
In “Ride the Cyclone,” Jeyla Young stars as Noel Gruber, a gay man in a small town. Youn sings Noel’s Lament
to work with the auto-tune,” Lennon said. “I have never worked with it before, so it was so fun to use.” Engstrom also got to experience a first during her song “The Ballad of Jane Doe,” while her character was suspended in the air while singing. “I loved being able to fly in this show,” Engstrom said. “It was so much fun to get to float in the air and use that to portray such a powerful song while multiple feet in the air.” While the performance is over, Lennon said the show has something for everyone. “Ride the cyclone is a show where everyone can see themselves in each character and get to see the most talented group of people I have gotten the chance to work with,” Lennon said. The department’s next show is Misdemeanor Dream from Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 in the Knutson Theatre.
Submitted | Raimonda Genna
Logan Kehoe stars as Ricky Potts. He sings “Space Age Bachelor Man” which is about saving the Zolarian Race.
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Wednesday, December 6, 2023 | 5
UNION Hosts CoCo Social for Finals Week Sydney Kolln
Sydney.Kolln@coyotes.usd.edu
Just in time for finals, the Union of African American Students is hosting a coco special. Vice President of Union Bennett Clary said the event is just to relax right before the finals hit. “At the Coco Social, we’ll have coloring pages and hot chocolate for students,” Clary said. “It’s mostly a time to unwind and hang out before finals start.” UNION is known for their bigger events such as Unity Ball, Black History Month and Juneteenth. This time, they chose to have a more laid back and relaxing event. Clary said the event is a time for students to not worry about finals and take a moment for themselves by giving them the space to unwind. “Events like these are important because students may
forget to take time for themselves during the next few weeks,” Clary said. “There’s not a lot of time between the end of the semester and finals, so we want to give students that space and time for themselves.” The CoCo Social will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 6, from 5-7 p.m. in the MUC Pit. While this is the group’s last event for the fall semester, they have already started planning out events for the spring. “After this, we’ll be hosting events all throughout Black History Month,” Clary said. “We’ve got a lot of educational and fun events planned.” For more information about UNION and its future events, check out their instagram at https://www.instagram.com/usdunion/.
Submitted | The Volante
Coyote Twin Shows Elf for the Holidays Nathan DeGreef
Nathan.DeGreef@coyotes.usd.edu
The Coyote Twin kicked off their holiday season with a free showing of the film “Elf” on Dec. 4, sponsored by the Vermillion Area Chamber and Development Company. Shannon Cole, the manager of the Coyote Twin, said the community feels lucky they have a theater that can do showings like this. “We have the flexibility in order to do free community showings like this,” Cole said. “We are not a corporate entity, so we have a lot more flexibility.” The theater shows free movies around the holidays, especially around Christmas. These showings tend to have a higher attendance rate, and “Elf” is always one of the higher draws. “It seems like (“Elf”) is the one that draws the most people in,” Cole said. “It is also the 20-year anniversary of “Elf”, so that’s a fun detail.” In the past, they have shown other classic films such as “Jaws”, “The Goonies” and in the Christmas spirit, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which had been sponsored for many years. Cole said there isn’t any specific group that sponsors the events but it is open to whoever wants to help entertain the community. “It’s kind of whoever wants to put money towards en-
tertaining the community,” Cole said. This event is free to all members of the community. According to Cole, it would help remind people that the Standstill Parade of Lights is on Dec. 7. “I’m trying to get people to sponsor more. I’ve got a couple of ads out there,” Cole said. “(The studios) tend to discount Christmas movies licenses, so it’s like a hundred bucks to pay for a license and make everyone happy to come see a free movie.” While Cole does not have exact dates, she said that the free showings have taken place since 2016, when the Vermillion Cultural Association took over the Coyote Twin Theater. “Whenever we have a free showing it’s because someone has paid for the cost of the license to show the movie,” Cole said. Cole considers the theater as a cornerstone business that, along with other businesses, tries to create community in Vermillion. “We try to have lots of events, and we’re always trying to do special things,” Cole said. “We’re trying to create those reasons for people to come downtown.”
Tavin Carncross | The Volante
The Coyote Twin Theater offers free movies around the holiday season. Shannon Cole, the manager, says that the movie “Elf” brings in a lot of people.
Sports
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023 THE VOLANTE
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Coyotes Sting Hornets in Second Round of Playoffs Trevan Rychik
Trevan.Rychlik@coyotes.usd.edu
The No. 3 South Dakota Coyotes football team faced off against the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. On the first three drives of the game, neither team was able to get the offense going as they combined for three punts in the first three drives. On the Coyotes second drive of the game, they drove down the field for a 14-play drive which ended in a 37-yard field goal coming from sophomore kicker Will Leyland with eight minutes left in the first quarter. On the ensuing Hornets possession, the Coyote defense continued to stand strong as junior defensive back Josiah Ganues picked off Hornets’ junior quarterback Kaiden Bennett after it was tipped in the air. This interception put the Coyotes in Hornets’ territory on their 33-yard line. The turnover turned into a touchdown for the Coyotes as sophomore quarterback Aidan Bouman found sophomore wide receiver Javion Phelps for an 18-yard touchdown. This was Phelps first touchdown of the season. This touchdown put the Coyotes up 10-0 with 14:55 left in the second quarter. On the Hornets’ next possession, Bennett went for his first rush attempt and fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by redshirt freshman defensive lineman Mi’Quise Grace who returned it 56-yards for a touchdown, putting the Coyotes up 17-0 with 14:17 in the second quarter. On the next Hornets’ drive, Bennett was injured on the first play of the drive. This brought in junior quarterback and former South Dakota Coyote, Carson Camp in his return to the DakotaDome. Camp led the Hornets down the field on his first drive. With the Hornets on the Coyote 2-yard line, senior running back Marcus Fulcher dove into the endzone for a rushing touchdown. This put the Coyotes ahead 17-7 with 9:31 left in the quarter. After the score from Sacramento State, the Coyotes responded with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Bouman to junior tight end JJ Galbreath. The Coyotes led 24-7 with 8:38 left in the second quarter. After a Hornets’ punt, the Coyotes started their next offensive drive on their own 25-yard line as junior running back Travis Theis was fighting for extra yards, Hornets’ senior cornerback Dillon Juniel
forced the ball out and recovered it for the Coyotes first turnover of the game. The Hornets capitalized on the turnover by a touchdown on another 2-yard rushing touchdown by Fulcher with 0:14 left in the first half. The Hornets cut the lead to 24-14. Both teams struggled at the start of the second half as the two teams combined for four straight punts. The first score of the second half came with 20 seconds left in the third quarter as Theis punched in a 3-yard touchdown. On the next possession, the Hornets drove into the red zone where South Dakota was able to stop the drive on their own 10-yard line. Sacramento State settled for a 28-yard field goal from junior kicker Zach Schreiner. After back-to-back punts, USD responded with a field goal of their own as Leyland stayed perfect on the season hitting a 34-yard field goal. The Coyotes led 34-17 with just 5:06 left in the game. The Hornets scored on the ensuing possession as Camp threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to his junior wide receiver Jared Gipson with 1:37 left in the match. This cut the Coyotes lead down to 34-24. The Coyotes kneeled the rest of the time out, giving them the win and making it to their first FCS Playoffs quarterfinals. For the Hornets’, Camp finished the day 14 for 23 passing with 168 yards and a touchdown. Camp also carried the ball nine times for 39 yards. Fulcher led the Hornets with 14 carries tallying for 63 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Junior wide receiver Anderson Grover had the most reception yards for the Hornets as he caught three passes for 79 yards. On the defensive side, junior safety Gavin Davis-Smith led them with 10 total tackles. For the Coyotes, Bouman finished 11 for 16 passing for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Leading the Coyotes’ rushing attack was redshirt freshman running back Charles Pierre Jr. led the way with 13 carries for 123 yards. Theis finished with 15 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown and redshirt sophomore running back Nate Thomas finished with seven carries for 22 yards. Defensively for South Dakota, junior defensive back Dennis Shorter led the team with 10 tackles and three pass breakups.
Grace finished the day with 1.5 sacks and the fumble recovery. The Coyotes move on to play in their first quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs in program history. The Coyotes opponent will be the North Dakota State Bison (who defeated No. 6 Montana State 35-34) whom the Coyotes defeated earlier this season, 24-19, in Fargo.
Sydney Kolln | The Volante Sophomore wide receiver Tristan Michaud, transfer from Iowa State, has seven catches for 80 yards this season.
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Sports
Tavin Carncross and Maddie Martinez | The Volante (Top): South Dakota competed against ex-quarterback Carson Camp who now plays for Sacramento State in the second round of the playoffs game. (Middle): USD student section showed up in full force to last Saturday’s game. (Bottom): Coyotes celebrate their win and making school history as they advance to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 | 7
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 | 8 Sports Senior Forward Tori DePerry’s Coyote Connection Goes Deeper than Coach Karius
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Tavin Carncross
Tavin.Carncross@coyotes.usd.edu
Growing up in a household of basketball players, senior forward on the South Dakota women’s basketball team Tori DePerry had a ball in her hands from at a young age. “I was born into it. My family all played basketball, and my brother played in college,” DePerry said. “I picked up a ball, I think, in kindergarten, and I was always in love with playing it.” DePerry went on to play at Saginaw Valley State located in University Center, Michigan where she played four seasons averaging 17 points per game, eight rebounds per game and 1.6 assists per game. After her final season with the Cardinals, DePerry entered the transfer portal. During her time in the portal, Rick Karius (husband of women’s basketball head coach Kayla Karius) got in touch with her brother (Jake DePerry), whom he previously coached at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. From there, Jake DePerry gave Rick Tori’s phone number, which is how coach Karius got in touch with her. “They were reaching out to me while I was in the portal, and Rick asked my brother for my number,” DePerry said. DePerry said some of the reasons why she chose USD were the connections that were already established along with a continued pursuit of higher education. “The connections we had here because Karius’ father-in-law coached my dad in high school,” DePerry said. “I also took a three-day visit (to Vermillion) for my official visit, and (the coaching staff) were super friendly. Saginaw had a good culture and everything, they just didn’t have my masters program.” Since joining the Coyotes, DePerry has played in all the games this season where she is averaging 10.8 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. DePerry has also started two games for Tavin Carncross | The Volante (Top): Senior forward Tori DePerry transfered from Saginaw Valley State and is now a starter on the Coyote women’s basketball team. This season, she is averaging 10.8 points per game along with 4.9 rebounds per game. (Bottom): In the match against Northern Iowa, DePerry got her first start as a Coyotes. She scored seven points and brought down seven rebounds.
the Coyotes this season after coming off the bench for the first seven games. She said it is nice to know her hard work is paying off. “It feels nice for sure. My hard work has paid off for sure,” DePerry said. “I knew coming into this program that I didn’t really know where I stood as a player yet from transferring so it was cool to get the call in the starting five.” DePerry said that one of the biggest adjustments she’s had to make with the transition from Division II to Division I is the pace of the game. “Division I is definitely faster than Division II where I was at,” DePerry said. Another thing DePerry said was difficult was being away from her family in Shawano, Wisconsin. “I was eight hours away from my family at Saginaw, but it’s still hard because it is my last year, and I want them to make every game possible,” DePerry said. “It is always going to be a hard factor for me.” As for what has made the transition smoother for her is her teammates and the coaching staff. “The coaching staff and coach (Karius) have been great. They’re always like ‘if you need anything, let us know. We’re always there for you,’” DePerry said. “Then just my teammates have been super helpful with everything too.” As for after basketball, DePerry said she wants to spend more time with her family and move back to Wisconsin and try to find a job in the Milwaukee area. “It’d be cool to go play overseas, but I’m a very big family person, and since I have been away from them for so long, I definitely want to spend more time with them,” DePerry said. As for the rest of the Coyotes, they will play again at home on Sunday, Dec. 10 against Dickinson State at 1 p.m.
Sports
The Volante
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 | 9
Ticketing Issue Causes Ruckus Between Fanbases Trevan Rychlik
Trevan.Rychlik@coyotes.usd.edu
The Coyotes football team sold out the DakotaDome for the second time this season for their game against North Dakota State in the FCS Playoffs. The first time the team sold out a game this season was against in-state rival South Dakota State on Oct. 28. Voice of USD football John Thayer believes that the sellout is a testament to the team and the fanbase. “I think that the success and anytime you have success you are going to continue to build your brand and your fanbase,” Thayer said. “This is a position that South Dakota has never been in, to host a quarterfinal, so obviously you want to fill the building with their fans.” The Coyotes ticket office, however, ran into issues before they were able to sell the game out. The password for home tickets was discovered by a Bison faithful, and they purchased many tickets before the athletics ticketing office at USD realized. “When the other team plans a takeover in a drivable distance, you want to put a stop to that,” Thayer said. When the Coyotes realized the situation, they took all the tickets back and created a new password to give out to home fans. This time the password worked without issues. “USD wanted to give their fans the chance to buy as many tickets as possible,” Thayer said. “I think it was more USD looking out for its own fans.” Many fans of both teams went to Facebook and other media platforms to
complain about the situation. Jordan John commented on Facebook saying that NDSU fans are “digging their own grave with this process.” The NDSU Bison Football Fans page posted, saying that the “USD JOKE OF A TICKET OFFICE CLAIMS: ‘all available tickets sold out’” on Tuesday. Per NCAA rules, the Coyotes still gave the away team Bison 500 tickets to the game. Thayer wants people to show out to the game because the fans can influence the game in many ways. “I think anytime that you have home field advantage, student athletes thrive from that, and you see it in all sports,” Thayer said. “When you go on the road and there are other fans that ruin your communication. When you are home, you wanna create a home field environment and hopefully that leads to success.” The Coyotes are in a position they have never been in before by making the quarterfinals for the first time. This makes the stakes even higher for the team. “There is nothing like being at a sporting event that is high stakes, such as the quarterfinals getting ready to go to the semi finals” Thayer said. “We haven’t seen this success in a season in a long time, so I think it’s people wanting to be apart of history.” No matter what happens in the game, how many tickets are sold and to whom, the Coyotes have already made history.
Tavin Carncross | The Volante Following a mishap with ticketing that provided NDSU fans with a majority of the tickets for the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, the Coyote ticketing office refunded all of the NDSU fans’ tickets to remedy the issue.
Opinion
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023
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Editorial: Try Not to Stress During Finals Week We’re almost wrapped up with the Fall 2023 semester. There’s been highs, and there’s been lows the past 3 months. Final exams and essays represent the last mountain to climb before more than three weeks of winter break. For most of us, finals week represents a stressful time. However, we can take steps to mitigate the negative effects of stress so we’re happier and more successful students. First, how well do you need to do on your final? Many people stress about how well they need to get in order to get an A, a B or perhaps just pass the class. There’s a very easy math formula to help you find out. All you need to find out is how much the final is worth for your class. Let’s say you have a 94%, the final is worth 20% of the entire grade and you want to keep an A. The equation looks like this: GRADE YOU WANT = FINAL WEIGHT*x + (WEIGHT OF EVERYTHING
ELSE*GRADE YOU HAVE. For example: 90 (grade you want) = .2x (final worth 20%) + .8*94(the grade you have). Solve for x, and you see that you need a 74% on the final to secure an A. Perhaps you don’t like math, or solving the equation scares you even more.
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probably take less than 10 minutes to complete. A final paper may take hours to complete, but writing the intro or thesis doesn’t take long. It’s far easier to think about writing one paragraph than to think about writing five pages. Breaking down big tasks into smaller
For most of us, finals week represents a stressful time. However, we can take steps to mitigate the negative effects of stress so we’re happier and more successful students.
Another good thing to do is make a list of things that need to be done, beginning with the most important and urgent tasks. Every major project or assignment consists of many smaller actions that
The Volante Tavin Carncross, editor-in-chief Jordan Grothe, managing editor Trevan Rychlik, sports editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
Sydney Kolln, verve editor
THE STUDENTS’ VOICE SINCE 1887
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. Fax to: 605.677.5105 Email to: volante@coyotes. usd.edu Via our website:
OVERHEARDS
Here you’ll find the weirdest, funniest and stupidest things we’ve heard during the week. Context is for suckers.
Charles Streeter, opinion editor
CONTACT US
Send letters to: Al Neuharth Media Center 555 N. Dakota St. Vermillion, S.D. 57069
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tasks also has another advantage: it helps reinforce the mindset that you can do it! Most limitations are self-imposed. Tell yourself you can write that essay or get an A on an exam, and you can probably make it happen. Tell yourself you can’t
succeed, and you probably won’t. This mindset serves well far beyond college. Think about saving money and investing, exercising or planning a trip: they can all be challenging in their own way, but all are significantly more feasible with the right attitude. Since we’re already at university, we might as well use it as an opportunity to make our lives easier in the future. Third, take breaks. Scientific literature does not back the idea of cramming or spending hours on one subject. The reward of retained information diminishes the longer a study period is without breaks. Studying for 25 minutes followed by a five minute break would work well. Finally, find something fun this week. Maybe hanging out with friends or taking a walk in Prentiss Park, it’s good to remember that finals do not make up the entirety of your existence or your worth. Good luck to everyone during finals week! See you all in January!
The deadline for letters is 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. Letters must be typed and fewer than 300 words.
“I’m just a stealthy ninja of a funny person.” - Spruce St. “Is it cooked? Is that how things are cooked? I don’t know, I just got here.” -MUC “I’m a little tiny fucking baby.” -Main St. “Oh I vibrated. Wait that’s not it. I mean echoed.” -Spruce St.
The Volante
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 11 Opinion Artificial Intelligence is a Friend, Not a Foe
Ella Byers is a senior majoring in secondary English education.
It seems like any conversation you walk into will turn to one of two subjects (or both at once): Taylor Swift or artificial intelligence. Both topics stir strong opinions as well. On one hand, Taylor is either overrated or the greatest artist of our time. On the other side of the coin, people worry about whether A.I. and its large language models will eventually dominate the workforce and turn the entire notion of knowledge on its head. While I dearly love
speaking about the Eras Tour, I’d like to focus my opinions here on the latter. It’s clear technology’s role in our lives only continues to grow, so it’s easy to mentally jump ahead and make assumptions about the negative stories (I refer here to killer robots and “job-snatching” computers). However, I believe that the evolution in this area will reap good things for our job opportunities, social relations and school systems. Historically, tech has
consistently been produced by people to improve quality of life for the general population. Things are far from perfect, but we are living in a time where knowledge is available to everyone through places like public libraries and the computers which we carry in our pockets. Any invention that’s in its early stages should be approached with caution, but if people are willing to learn technology rather than passively use it, then I think we can expect positive
change for the future. It will start in our schools and need to be played out through our personal choices, but a generation fluent in technology will be a generation ready to handle more pressing issues. Artificial intelligence is being produced by human intelligence. I believe the two will pair well throughout the 21st century and beyond. Perhaps it will solve the great Taylor Swift debate in the meantime.
What’s Up With the Traffic Lights on Cherry St.
Charles Streeter is a senior majoring in political science and psychology.
Every morning, I wake up, get dressed and drive to campus. During this drive, I ask a question in my head as I drive south on Dakota Street: how long will it take to cross Cherry Street? Some days, I wait very little, others, much longer. Once in a blue moon, I roll up on a green light and don’t even need to stop. As every Vermillion resident and USD student knows, the traffic light timing on Cherry Street is… interesting. In fact, it’s one of the first things I noticed while waiting to turn left from Cottage Avenue onto Cherry Street, wondering if the traffic light was broken (I now refuse to make a left at this intersection). It’s almost as bad as the intersection with Plum Street. During peak traffic, it makes
sense cars traveling down Cherry Street have the right of way. However, the lights remain poky at all hours of the day. I feel like a chump waiting 45 seconds for the light to change at 10:30 p.m. These traffic lights contrast with the one at Dakota Street and Main Street; it changes very quickly and is responsive to traffic. The reason: they are controlled by two different agencies. The city of Vermillion administers the Dakota/Main traffic light. In contrast, Cherry Street was once SD Highway 50. Now that a bypass exists to the north of Vermillion, Cherry Street is officially the Highway 50 Business Loop, making it a state highway under the control of the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT).
Here I was thinking the city of Vermillion fired their traffic engineer. It would be more difficult for the Vermillion city council to play ‘Pontius Pilate’ by ignoring complaints from their community members than it is for the SDDOT hours away. The great pyramids of Egypt were built thousands of years with exceptional precision, airplanes fly people across the planet in mere hours, and yet we can’t figure out how to time five lights properly. This problem represents a microcosm of a much larger issue in the country: decisions are not made by those who are impacted. While voters in both parties come from many backgrounds, the politicians often come from the same. Life experiences shape our political views. If everyone in
charge of fixing a problem has the same upbringing, they’ll only see the problem from one angle. As an intern in Washington last summer, I saw how clueless some decision makers in both parties were. Living inside the DC Beltway offers a nice refuge from reality across the rest of our nation. The SDDOT should eliminate the Highway 50 Business Loop, thus giving autonomy of Cherry Street to the city (or at least let them time the lights). Write to the SDDOT and let them know! We have enough problems in this country, but I believe we can make things better if we make a conscious and constant effort to do so; Cherry Street is just one example of how we can make our community and country better.
12 Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Opinion
volanteonline.com
A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief: A Farewell
Marissa Brunkhorst | Coyote News Front Row Left to Right: Sydney Kolln, Sydney Johnson, Juliana, Oltmanns. Back Row Left to Right: Charles Streeter, Tavin Carncross, Trevan Rychlik, Jordan Grothe. Not Pictured: Maddie Martinez, Maddi Kallsen, Alexandra Streeter and Jozie Kumm. Tavin Carncross
Tavin.Carncross@coyotes.usd.edu
One of my favorite sayings of all-time is of course what Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” For my tenure as the Editor-In-Chief of The Volante, that is personally how I felt throughout the journey. From the long nights trying to figure out what is going to be the cover photo to making the last minute adjustments to stories I forgot to write. These are just some of the things that make me feel like I was truly digging in a box of chocolates. In that same box of chocolates, there are always those delicious pieces that
you always went to. Those can be the memories and the friends I’ve met along the way. To all of my friends I’ve met along this journey, thank you. Thank you for sticking by my side even though I might’ve not been listening. Thank you for dealing with my pessimistic attitude about every issue. Thank you for working so hard to not only help me out with every issue but helping me decide the true and real things in life. You guys helped me through this entire journey.. So again, I say thank you. To my staff this semester, thank you for all your hard work and dedication to working with me. Some of you were here for the whole tenure and others are just joining this semester.
Regardless of your status, you all did more work than you can even fathom. So thank you. I know every single one of you will go on to do great things in life. To the readers who are avid readers of each issue, or if this is your first time picking up The Volante, thank you for taking the time to read all of the hard work my staff puts in week in and week out. You all are the reason this keeps going. Having success shows that what we are doing is truly working. So thank you again. This semester was really tough for me not only with The Volante but with my life outside the newsroom. I was working three jobs on top of being EiC, and felt like I was constantly busy without a chance to be the best person I could
have been for my staff. But here we are, I got through it. I am truly thankful for my time as EiC, but also extremely grateful that it is over and has opened other avenues for me to pursue journalism. The last thing I was to say is, “to everyone who is picking up this paper, take this as a sign to make the first step towards something outside of your comfort zone.” I know it can be scary, but in the end you will learn and grow as a person in a way you might’ve not expected. Take the step. Take the leap. As the great people at Nike say, “Just do it!” Signing off for the last time as the Editor-in-Chief, my name is Tavin Carncross. Have a good night.