After being placed on indefinite suspension, the South Dakota Senate voted to reinstate Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller following the recommendation of a committee regarding her comments to a staffer.
This follows a complaint made on Jan. 25 against the Rapid City senator by a Legislative Research Council staffer regarding a conversation between her, Frye-Mueller and Frye-Mueller’s husband.
According to the staffer’s statement, FryeMueller became “emotional and aggressive” after the staffer told her she vaccinated her baby. FryeMueller allegedly told her that “he will die from the vaccines.”
The complaint also accused Frye-Mueller of making inappropriate comments toward the
staffer’s inability to breastfeed her child. FryeMueller allegedly suggested that the staffer’s husband could “‘suck on [her] breasts’ to get the milk to come in.”
Following the staffer’s complaint, the Senate voted to indefinitely suspend Frye-Mueller on Jan. 26 in a 27-6 vote. Pres. Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck stripped Frye-Mueller of her committee assignments.
The unprecedented move by the Senate prompted some members of the GOP to criticize the suspension as a violation of Frye-Mueller’s due process rights.
In an interview with the Dakota Scout, Sen. John Wiik, Chair of the South Dakota GOP, said that he would not have voted in favor of suspending Frye-Mueller.
This is not the first time Frye-Mueller has
fought with GOP legislative leaders. In her 2022 primary race, her challenger, former Rep. Tim Goodwin, was backed by Gov. Kristi Noem. FryeMueller won her primary by only 35 votes out of 5,617 cast.
In a written statement, Sen. Sydney Davis said, “ I did what I was tasked with by serving on the Select Committee on Discipline and Expulsion and voted to re-instate as you can see.”
Davis was among the senators that voted to suspend Frye-Mueller on Jan. 26.
Although the Senate reinstated Frye-Mueller on a 33-1 vote, she was censured and is barred from interacting with the Legislative Research Council. The lone nay vote was Sen. Tom Pischke, FryeMueller’s friend and seatmate. Pischke is a fellow legislator that has been targeted by Schoenbeck in previous elections.
Charles Streeter | The Volante Frye-Mueller speaks on the Senate floor shortly before her suspension on Jan. 26 at the State Capitol. Charles Streeter Charles.Streeter@coyotes.usd.eduTwo House Bills (HB) were introduced in South Dakota legislation on Jan. 24 that would prohibit events like USD Spectrum’s annual drag show from occurring on campus or with children in attendance. However, only one passed, and it passed with amendments that removed the clauses involving references to drag performances.
HB 1116 is the “act to prohibit the use of state resources in hosting lewd or lascivious content.” This bill originally included a clause that made nods to drag performances as events that would not be able to be held using state resources. This was defined as, “any physical human body activity, whether performed alone or with other persons, including singing, speaking, dancing, acting, simulation, or pantomiming, where a performer exhibits a gender identity that is different from the performer’s biological sex through the use
of clothing, makeup or other physical markers for the predominant purpose of appealing to a prurient interest.”
In the amended bill that was proposed by Rep. Chris Karr, the former statement was removed from HB 1116 and a clause was added that outlines how the Board of Regents is unable to shield any individuals from constitutionally protected speech. Karr explained in his amendment proposal that the bill would not apply to events that have literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
Karr’s amended bill was passed in an 11-1 vote on Feb. 13.
The other bill that would affect the ability for groups to host a drag show is HB 1125. This bill is an “act to expand provisions regarding the protection of minors from certain exhibitions.”
HB 1125 had similar wording referencing drag performance and its inability to be an event for children.
HB 1125 was tabled and has the ability to be reviewed at a later date.
Many other states including North Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Montana, Arkansas, Arizona, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia, have passed similar laws that limit the ability to host drag shows.
North Dakota’s House of Representatives passed a drag show ban a few weeks ago that would label multiple drag performances in front of minors as a felony. Other states such as Montana and South Carolina have fines up to $5,000 and possible prison time for using state resources to host drag shows.
April Carrillo, the co-adviser for USD Spectrum, feels that drag shows are important not only for the Vermillion community but also for the cultural impact these events have on society.
“(Drag is) a culturally historic part of LGBTQ history,” Carrillo said. “Drag queens hold the stories of generations and that’s part of our history as LGBTQ folks, and there is a need for it.”
HB 1080, the bill banning minors from receiving trans medical treatment was also passed.The University of South Dakota has seen new faces from around the world. In recent semesters, the growth of international students continues to increase.
According to Patrick Morrison, Director of the Gallagher Center, the international student population increased 59% from the Spring 2022 semester to Spring 2023. Currently, there are 407 international students enrolled, with India being the largest country of origin.
International Club president, Pragati Rouniyar, gave an update on the sudden rise of international students and what it means to be an international student at USD.
“USD itself held a high rating on the rankings of colleges, which is important for international students
when deciding what program best fits,” Rouniyar said. “The majority of international students are computer science majors. The department had a ton of opportunities, so that is why I chose USD.”
Rouniyar started the International Club at USD. International students interested in joining can email her at ic@coyotes.usd.edu. They can speak to her about how to enroll in the International Club and what it means to be a member of the university. She helps other international students who aren’t as familiar with the university.
“Being a leader for the International Club is important to me. It’s very close to my heart and it gave me a sense of home, a home away from home,” Rouniyar said. “There are many opportunities to connect with other students and understand the diversity. It has given me a ton of personal growth. I wanted to return the favor of how the International Club treated me. I want to give that to other international students, represent their culture and
committee themselves.”
The International Club is a great opportunity for other students to see and experience different cultures.
On March 4-5, the International Club will host an event called the Festival of Nations. During the event, International students are able to bring a dish from their culture.
“Students love the diversity, and to travel around the world to experience what is different in their country and how they live,” Rouniyar said. “We bring our culture to the university. We see how things are experienced here. I have something going on every single day.”
The rate of international students continues to grow each semester, bringing in new opportunities to the community and for students. The club itself brings in more students and diversity to USD.
Rouniyar stated that the number of international students and the club itself plan to grow much more.
Katelyn Conover and her father, Gerry Breen, graduated from the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program offered through the Beacom School of Business last August. Conover said going through this experience with her father was a memorable experience for both of them.
“Getting my degree with my father was an awesome experience,” Conover said. “Not only did I have a built-in study partner, but I also had someone who understood the struggles I was juggling on a daily basis.”
Classes offered in person or online allow the MBA program to fit many people’s needs. Conover and her father both completed the program online, and she said the online program was helpful because she could set the pace and manage her workload.
While completing the program, Conover worked full-time, freelanced 10-15 hours per week and raised two young children at home. Breen also worked a fulltime job, which included international travel, while helping to run their family farm.
“We have always had a special bond but completing something like this provided me a newfound respect
for him,” Conover said. “I’m very proud of him.”
After graduating with her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing in 2014, Conover said she always knew she wanted to return to USD for the MBA program later in her life.
“For me, it was about doing what was best for my growing family but also my career,” Conover said.
“I knew earning an MBA from the Beacom School of Business would open up opportunities for career development and skill advancement.”
Conover said while balancing the multiple aspects of her life, she and her father would dedicate Saturday mornings to studying for exams. She said these mornings helped with their schoolwork, and in building their relationship as well.
“The conversations always got sidetracked which just led to laughter. I think the donuts during study time also assisted in us having good moods,” Conover said.
Conover said taking the first step to complete an MBA can be intimidating, but it can also bring new opportunities. She believes this program made her a more well-rounded marketer, and her main goal for getting the MBA is career advancement.
“Start now,” Conover said. “No matter when you want to start, you have to take that first step.”
Senate Bill (SB) 45, which would repeal the annual intellectual diversity report for South Dakota colleges passed the Senate Education Committee. The requirement for an intellectual diversity report was originally introduced in 2019.
Shane Nordyke, a USD political science professor, said the bill was created in order to assess whether or not the intellectual activities occurring on campus were diverse.
“It’s basically just doing away with the requirement for the Board of Regents to issue an annual report on all of the intellectual diversity activities that are happening on campuses…,” Nordyke said. “The original idea behind the list was there is this perception that there was a lack of intellectual diversity on university campuses, or that in particular, some voices were being left out of the larger conversation so that when you came to a university campus, you were really only hearing one side of an issue and not all sides of the issue.”
Nordyke said the report did not prove there is a lack of intellectual diversity.
“They really thought there was going to be a clear, definitive lack of intellectual diversity and there just isn’t the evidence of that,” Nordyke said. “If you look at the types of topics that are covered on campus, the types of speakers the perspectives left and right, the perspectives from the natural sciences and the humanities, in the social sciences, like there’s just a huge diversity of different ways of talking about issues and different things that we’re talking about.”
Michael Card, USD Emeritus political science professor, said there’s a lot of background and
context behind SB 45.
“I think a lot of it was. I believe that many conservatives believe that the university is filled with people who are politically liberal, and that we are indoctrinating their children in ways that refute the parents’ belief. And that was some of the testimony of the individuals involved,” Card said.
“The narratives behind the intention of these types of bills claim to promote free speech, but often put limits on free speech itself,” Card said.
“Despite the best intent, we still have these divisive issues and on the one hand, they’re designed to promote free speech,” Card stated. “But on the other hand, some of these issues are very much designed to limit free speech and that’s why the critical race theory or the issues of diversity, you know, diversity, equity and inclusion, which we know helps people…”
Card said academic freedom is a defining part of the makings of a university. Academic freedom allows for students and professors to explore new ideas.
“The history of the modern university as we know it today really comes from 1810 with Humboldt University in Berlin,” Card said. “And that was where faculty were directed to have the freedom to pursue their own interests… What Humboldt University tried to do was to create a situation where professors would explore new ideas that they found personally interesting, and then provide a venue for them to publish those and make them part of the broader environment. And that’s today what we would label is a concept largely called academic freedom, where professors have the right to publish materials that reflect their own opinions.”
Volume 148, No. 3
February 15, 2023
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In Vermillion, it was Chiefs’ mania as many gathered to watch former Coyote lineback Jack Cochrane play in Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The journey for Cochrane began at the University of South Dakota where he tallied 327 tackles, five sacks and six interceptions throughout his collegiate career.
Following his senior season, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs on May 4. Cochrane was called up from the practice squad to the active roster, on Sept. 13, where he spent most of his playing time on the Kansas City special teams units.
“Anyone in the league will tell you, as a rookie, especially a linebacker, if you’re not valuable on special teams, your value greatly decreases,” Cochrane said in an interview with Chiefs Nation and USA Today. “We got a little taste of that in rookie minicamp. I really, really enjoy the special teams staff and learning from them the past weekend. Definitely, that’ll be a big part of the next step for me.”
He played in 15 games for the Chiefs this season where he compiled five solo tackles and eight total.
Cochrane helped the Chiefs defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game and punch their ticket into the Super Bowl where Cochrane saw playing time.
With 13:31 left in the second quarter, the Chiefs punted from their own 27-yard line. The punt from punter Tommy Townstead went 48 yards and was caught by Eagles wide receiver Britain Covey. Cochrane, who was playing blocker, ran down the field and assisted on the tackle stopping the Covey return.
The game ended with the Chiefs being crowned the Super Bowl champions giving Cochrane a Super Bowl ring.
Along with Cochrane, the Missouri Valley Football conference had three other players play in the game. On the Eagles, starting tight end Dallas Goedert who spent his time playing for South Dakota State. He caught six passes for 60 yards in the loss.
For the Chiefs, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders who spent his time playing for Western Illinois, notched two tackles as a starter. The Chiefs also have former Jackrabbit quarterback, Chris Oladokun, who is on the practice squad.
Submitted | USD Athletics Former Coyote linebacker, Jack Cochrane is now a rookie special teamer for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII last weekend 38-35 over the Philadelphia Eagles.Former South Dakota long snapper
Dalton Godfrey and kicker Eddie Ogamba have been prepping for the NFL Draft for months.
Their first chance to make an impression just concluded at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is a postseason All-Star game for college players who are draft eligible to showcase their skills in front of NFL scouts.
They had different paths to the bowl game. Godfrey received a message from a coach back in December that gave him a heads up.
“I kind of got a text a few days before they said, ‘hey, you’re going to be getting something in the mail,’” Godfrey said. “So I had a pretty good idea that I was going to be getting an invite to the bowl but was still pretty excited when it showed up.”
The first few days were very hectic for Godfrey and the other players as it was
a mad scramble for NFL scouts to talk to everyone.
“It’s pretty much chaos with teams running all over to try and get the guys they want to talk to,” Godfrey said. “I’d say about 50% of them are scheduled.”
Ogamba’s path was not as clear. He received a call just a few days before the game after another kicker suffered from an injury during practice.
“They said you got invited to the NFLPA (Collegiate Bowl) so you got to jump on a flight and be able to get ready to come out here,” Ogamba said.
Ogamba worked with Nick Novack, a former NFL kicker for three years. Ogamba started training with him at Iowa State and they continued training together after Ogamba transferred to USD. Novack was also a special teams assistant for both teams at the bowl game.
“(Novack) always taught me to stay ready so that way you don’t have to get ready,” said Ogamba.
Ogamba stayed ready by working out
after the season at USD, before moving to Colorado to continue his training where he got the call during one of his workouts that he was invited to play in the game.
With Ogamba coming in late, the teams were already set. Ogamba was placed on the American Team, with Godfrey on the National Team.
The coaching staff was former NFL players and coaches. For Ogamba, a lot of these people were unfamiliar to him.
“I originally moved here from Africa when I was 12,” Ogamba said. “So I really didn’t get into football like that until my junior year of high school.”
Ogamba decided to do something that many others did not, asking who they all were.
“I would go to each and every coach and kind of ask them who they were and what’s their name because I didn’t really know who they were,” Ogamba said.
This helped Ogamba gain some more insight on the league while also developing relationships with coaches and players.
“It was good to learn from them. Pick their mindsets, explore what they have, like experiencing the league and just learn from them,” Ogamba said. “I took a lot of notes that I feel will really help me on this journey.”
Godfrey and the National Team were head coached by Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.
“It was crazy to be able to work
with him,” Godfrey said. “Just to see how humble a guy like that was, I don’t know how to say it was shocking, but it was just, it was really cool to see that.”
Godfrey also learned a lot from his special teams coach on the National Team, Keith Burns.
“It was great to learn from him, especially in kind of transitioning into the NFL system and NFL specialty, which are a little bit different than college,” Godfrey said.
With the week of practicing and meetings ending, it was time for the big game to showcase their skills to all 32 NFL teams.
The game came down to the end where the American Team was down by one with a few seconds left. The team called on Ogamba to kick the game winning field goal.
As Ogamba ran onto the field stood on the opposite sideline.
“You kind of want to win, but when one of your best friends is standing on the other side, you’re definitely rooting for that ball to go in the uprights,” Godfrey said.
Ogamba’s kick was good and gave the American Team the 19-17 victory putting a close on the NFLPA Bowl.
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl may be over but the NFL journey for these two are just getting started. Both players are currently working out in California preparing for upcoming camps and the USD Pro day on March 30. They hope to hear their name called on Draft Night (April 27-29).
Submitted | The Volante Long snapper Dalton Godfrey and kicker Eddie Ogamba reunite after playing against each other in the NFLPA Bowl, with Ogamba on the American team and Godrey on the National team. At the NFLPA Bowl, Ogamba kicked the game winning field goal for the American team.
As the winter season starts to fade and the weather improves, the men’s and women’s golf teams are ready for competition.
The Coyotes started competition on Feb. 12, as the women’s team traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to play in the Tulane Classic. The men’s team traveled to Palm City, Florida, to play in the Advance Partners Intercollegiate.
The Coyotes men’s golf team is projected to finish seventh in the Summit League Preseason Poll. As for the women’s team, they are projected to finish in third.
For the men’s team, senior Max Schmidtke was named a Preseason Player to Watch, and for the women’s team, junior Akari Hayashi was named.
Head men’s coach John Vining and head women’s coach Brett Barnett are both very excited to see how their golfers will do during the spring season, coming off an excellent fall season.
“They really put in the work this offseason making sure to get all the fundamentals down while they couldn’t go outside and golf,” Vining said.
Bennett wants his team to continue to improve. He wants to focus his team on improving on their national ranking and
achieving their own goals.
Bennett has his golfers set goals for the season, for themselves and for each meet. He makes them write it down on a board to keep track. If they do not hit their goal, he has a conversation with them about what they think they need to improve on to reach their goals.
“We are 163 right now out of 263 programs in Division I,” Bennett said. “We try to get that down by like 10 or 20 spots. So if we can get to 140 in the rankings, that would be great.”
Vining thinks his team can make it to the top three in the Summit League despite being ranked so low.
“We can make it to day three for sure if we do what we need to and continue to improve,” Vining said. “We just want to be able to compete with those top teams.”
“I think we will make it to day three, but what we do from there is what really matters,” Bennett said. “I think we can really beat the teams not only below us but also the team above us. Denver is a top 50 ranked program, so getting to them would be amazing.”
The men’s team will next travel on the road to play at the Loyola Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Arizona, on Feb. 26.
The women’s team will travel to Rio Verde, Arizona, on Feb. 24 to play in the Rio Verde Invite.
The first column represents the standings within the Summit League, the third column is the team’s conference record and the final column is the overall record for each team. South Dakota is fifth with a conference record of 7-7 and overall record of 11-14.
As residents of South Dakota, we know the weather is always changing. There is always going to be more snow, wind, rain or some other thing.
There are many good things about snow and winter. It’s a good time to relax inside bundled in blankets and drink hot chocolate. When snow blankets the ground and the trees, everything looks completely different. For the first snowfall, everything is fun and exciting, it’s easy to cave into the desire to play in the snow.
Taking a break from the constant stress of studying, homework and work is a necessity. So why not use South Dakota’s constant weather to our advantage? Students have constructed
snow forts, had snowball fights and built snowmen all across campus.
However, almost all of the things built have been ruined. Only a few hours after being built, the snowmen decapitated and the fort walls were demolished. Why do that? Someone just built that, why ruin it?
We’re all adults here right?
Can’t you fight the urge to demolish people’s work?
We are only a couple of weeks into February so it’s probably safe to assume there will be more snow and with it more opportunities to build snowmen or have impromptu snowball fights. So if you do see snowmen on campus, just let them be.
Here you’ll find the weirdest, funniest and stupidest things we’ve heard during the week. Context is for suckers.
EDITORIAL BOARD
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.
“Are you stupid or just don’t understand?”
— Library
“So how did it go with the cannibals?
— Delzell
“Have you had experience with this particular foot fungus?”
— MUC
“Jeff Bezos says I’ll be getting my laser pointer tomorrow.”
Recently the English Department hosted a Utopia/Dystopia Symposium that included a variety of disciplines. The event was incredibly compelling. I particularly found the intersectionality of English with Science, History, Law, Business and many other disciplines the most interesting.
Elisabeth Kluin
is a junior majoring in history and English.
The concept of utopias and dystopias was not limited to written stories but rather showcased how such ideas occupy every realm of reality. As such, the event included various methods of interpretation in regards to the theme of utopias and dystopias.
The Symposium opened with a
welcome speech and a showing of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The film was action packed and undoubtedly showcased a dystopian world full of conflict. “Fury Road” may be analyzed through various lenses such as the feminist lens whereby the film appears to showcase the female lead, Furiosa, as opposed to the male lead, Max. And of course, further portrayed through the various women throughout the film and the freedom they seek with the help of Furiosa, Max and Nux. However, the presentations held the following day were by far the highlight of the Sympo-
sium. There were two “professor panels,” student panel and wonderful keynote speaker who showcased his film titled “After Yang.”
I found the intersectionality of the speeches across various disciplines the most captivating throughout the day’s events. I believed all speeches were relevant to the theme of utopia and dystopia and proved just how interconnected all these fields of research really are. It goes to show that science, law, history and literature all speak on the behalf of similar situations that seem to plague our conceptions
of utopias and dystopias. The student panel included conversations about films, shows and literary texts. An interesting discussion of stories followed with the keynote speaker and later his film was displayed at Coyote Twin Theatre. The event was a huge success. The range of topics from AI, to Sustainability, to History, to Law, to Literature, the Symposium undoubtedly shaped my perspectives on utopias and dystopias in the modern world. The experience has encouraged me to attend more events and conferences hosted by the University, particularly the English Department.
Science and math have become such important parts of our education. STEM careers have become vital to our modern world. Scientists, doctors and researchers are constantly looking forward to finding new ways to do what the world does and how it can help the people living in the world.
There are many reasons why art history is interesting and important for people to learn.
However, I believe it is important to look at and learn from the past. One of the best ways to do this is to look at the
artwork. Art history is a way to understand what was important to people in the past, especially periods where there is little written history. By looking at past artwork we can see different perspectives on events and people. Analyzing artwork from the past lets us experience a period different from our own. Experiencing art from any period allows us to see what might have been interesting or valuable to the people in the past. It can explain things that were significant in the past. Some pieces might portray
important religious or historical figures, they might represent a way of expression or depict a way of thinking.
Studying art also introduces cultural diversity to our lives. Through artwork, we can become more familiar with and relate to different eras and people.
So much of our language, art and history is a reflection of the past. A lot of people consider the sculptures and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome as “high” art. Hundreds of years have passed since the end
of these civilizations but we still value and replicate these contributions.
Our world is visual. We are constantly bombarded with images, but by studying art history there might be new perspectives that you learn and find new ways to interpret the imagines we see in modern media.
USD is known as South Dakota’s liberal arts school. Learning about art enriches a person’s life. Art is a form of self-expression and creativity, which help people identify with others.
‘tick, tick... BOOM!’ on Netflix was really eye-opening for me.”
USD’s Theatre Department will be hosting “tick, tick... BOOM!” from Feb. 16-19 in the Wayne S. Knutson Theater in the Warren M. Lee Center for Fine Arts.
The auto-biographical musical follows Jon, a writer, as he chases his dreams of writing a rock musical while wmanaging the important relationships in his life, with experiences based on Jonathan Larson, the writer of “Rent”. While originally a one-man monologue, the show now has a three-person cast, with two of the three cast members playing multiple characters.
Senior Zach Lopez said he’s excited to share Larson’s story on stage.
“I’m super excited to get the show rolling and on its feet,” Lopez said. “If you know what it is about,
or if you’ve experienced it, you love it most of the time. That’s the general consensus. A lot of people love this show.”
Many may already be familiar
with the show because of the 2021 film adaptation of the same name.
“It’s really exciting because I know that people have been exposed to the Netflix show, which
was also the first time I had an experience with the show as well,”
Lopez said. “I had listened to some songs on the original Broadway soundtrack, but then watching
While the story differs slightly, the musical stays very similar, and many of the songs from the musical also appear in the film.
“I think that because people have that tie and the opportunity to watch it, they’re going to be more drawn to come,” Lopez said. “Even though the stage version differs a little bit from what they did on Netflix, the story is very much still the same.”
Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased from 12-5 p.m. at the Theatre Box Office, online or by calling (605) 658-3484.
“It’s exciting. It has comedy. It has sadness,” Lopez said. “There are moments where you’re going to laugh, and, I really hope, there are moments where you’re nodding your head, going along with the music.”
Graduate student Blake Brown has found his new project: starting a club.
Last semester, Brown and his friend picked up ping-pong as a hobby after class, but when his friend graduated in the Fall, Brown needed to find a new opponent.
In early January, Brown decided that making a club would be the easiest way to find other ping-pong enthusiasts on campus.
He began by hanging posters around campus and creating a
Google form for those interested to fill out. Within the first month he already had 24 people sign up through the form.
While Brown has found many interested individuals, there is one hurdle that is stopping the club from reaching its full potential: they don’t have a ping-pong table.
“I’m working with SGA to get funding for a table, but it’s taken a little bit of work,” Brown said.
“I was trying to have it be a lighthearted organization and hopefully ease through the process, but it’s my first time starting a student group and it’s not that easy to get
funding. There’s a lot of red tape.”
Once Brown is able to secure a ping-pong table, he hopes to hold meetings in either the Center for Teaching and Learning building or the MUC. He said these spots are good, centralized meeting areas for students of all grades to access. Brown said he hopes to have the club’s first meeting by the end of February. Any skill level or experience is welcome. At these meetings he hopes to host tournaments while also making time for free play, but most of all he wants the club to be a space for relaxing and making connections.
“I would like it to be an organization where you can meet some new people,” Brown said. “…Just a spot to take a break from school and maybe get a little competitive.”
For Brown, he feels the skills students will learn in The Ping Pong Club have the potential to last them a lifetime.
“I visited my grandparents in an active community last year, and I played ping-pong with them. I got my butt kicked by a bunch of old people which was humbling… It really is something you can do for a lifetime since it’s not too demanding,” Brown said.
As Brown prepares to host the first meeting for his club at the end of the month, he is excited to share the reasons why he loves ping-pong with the rest of campus.
“I’d say my favorite part about playing ping-pong is the conversation with the other person,” Brown said. “I also enjoy learning a new way to move the ball around when you’re hitting it. It’s kind of like tennis, and you can really spin the ball or make it go interesting ways, so it’s a lot of fun.”
For more information about the club follow Brown’s journey on Instagram @usd_pingpongclub.
Jordan Grothe Jordan.Grothe@coyotes.usd.edu Submitted | The Volante Zach Lopez (center), Grace Engstrom (left) and Jey Young (right) bring the story of American playwrite, lyricist and composer Jonathan Larson to life. Sydney Johnson Sydney.G.Johnson@coyotes.usd.edu
