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Miles Krajewski wins First Ever Olympic and Paralympic Silver Medal for USA in Badminton

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

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Sanford Coyote Sports Center Introduces Clear Bag Policy for Attendees

Juliana Oltmanns | The Volante

Charles Streeter

Charles.Streeter@coyotes.usd.edu

As South Dakota hosted its first football game of the 2024 season in the DakotaDome, fans were in for a noticeable change: a clear-bag policy.

The policy is not new to South Dakota sports as South Dakota State University implemented a similar policy in March of 2021.

In fact, nearly every other public university in the state has implemented a clear-bag policy ahead of USD. According to Assistant Athletic Director for Events and Facilities Sean Beam, it was

time for USD to get up to the times.

“We started to talk about the clear bag policy last fall, but it really started to take off mid-spring,” Beam said.

The biggest challenge for athletics was outreach ahead of the first athletic event, men’s football vs. Northern State on August 29.

“We went out in July with the information, with an early release that went out to season ticket holders,” Beam said.

While other schools have implemented clear bag policies, Beam told The Volante

A USD student wearing their newly purchased clear bag. that it was ultimately the decision of the athletic department.

SDBOR Student Regent Brock Brown made a similar statement to The Volante, stating the BOR has made no policy requiring clear bags at public university athletic events.

Beam thinks the decision was generally well-received.

“We were very happy with how it went,” Beam said in regards to the Northern State game.

“We are partnered with the campus ROTC program to help us with the bag check tables and areas. They were phenomenal game one.”

The reaction was not universally positive among students.

The Volante conducted a poll of students on Fizz, a social media app, which garnered more than 2,000 responses from verified USD students.

A Fizz Poll regarding students opinion on the new clear-bag-policy.

Nearly half (45%) said they disapproved of the decision, while only 18% approved of the decision. 37% were neutral or unsure.

Most attendees of the Northern State football game had some level of support for the policy.

Brittany, a season ticket holder from Mitchell says she understands the goal of keeping people safe at games.

“It’s a little harder to always make sure you remember your bag, but at the same time, it’s more effective and safer for everyone,” Brittany said.

Grad student Jackie made similar comments.

“It’s a start policy, as long as us girls can keep our cross-body bags.”

Athletics will get their second goaround of this policy during this weekend’s women’s volleyball tournament. Tickets are available online.

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Miles Krajewski: The Journey to Becoming a Paralympic Silver Medalist

Juliana Oltmanns | The Volante

Juliana Oltmanns

Juliana.Oltmanns@coyotes.usd.edu

Miles Krajewski, a freshman business major at the University of South Dakota, spent his first two weeks of classes etching his name into athletic history with his remarkable achievements at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

Securing the first-ever American medal for badminton out of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside his mixed doubles partner Jayci Simon.

“Initially there were some concerns when Miles mentioned that he would miss the first two weeks of school, but he happened to leave out the fact that he was going to the Paralympics. So ever since that moment, we’ve all been watching the games very closely, sharing the clips with one another and obviously being greatly impressed

by Miles’ performance,” Emma Groninger, USD Business School Assistant Director of Recruiting said.

Students, faculty, and community members alike rolled out the red carpet upon Krajewski’s return to USD’s main campus in Vermillion, SD on Monday September, 9. The Celebration of Krajewski’s return included an estimated 150-200 individuals lined along Cherry St., a parade, followed by a party in the Muenster University Center (MUC). Which featured words from both Krajewski, USD President Sheila Gestring, photo and autograph opportunities, as well as refreshments.

Krajewski’s love for playing badminton began at a young age, however, despite his passion for the sport, the silver medalist Juliana Oltmanns | The Volante

Krajewski at his celebration alongside members of the dance team. stated that the road to where he is today wasn’t always simple.

“My journey to becoming a Paralympian took a while since it’s not easy to start playing badminton in the U.S. I first started playing badminton competitively when I was 10 years old, and I started off by playing just singles and doubles, ” Krajewski said.

It wasn’t until 2022 that Krajewski began to play badminton mixed doubles with his partner Jayci Simon; who he trained with for 30 hours a week over the summer.

“The biggest challenge when training for the Paralympics was that there isn’t much badminton here in the Midwest, and I overcame that with Frisco Badminton helping me out by inviting me to come train at their club,” Krajewski said.

In an interview with The Volante, Krajewski reflected on all of the attention

Miles Krajewski smiles and holds up his silver medal for photos.

his accomplishments have gotten since his return to campus stating, “It’s been cool coming back to campus, it’s nice to finally have some support for the sport of badminton,” Krajewski said.

However, with Krajewski’s quick rise to fame some students on campus have raised their concerns regarding his privacy and rights to receiving an education.

“I think that Miles becoming a silver medalist is an amazing accomplishment and it takes dedication. I think he is an incredible athlete, but I also feel like he deserves privacy and a chance to experience college like every young person does,” USD senior Chloe O’Keefe said.

Until the next Paralympic Games in 2026, the 19-year-old paralympic gold medalist will go back to being a normal college student.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

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Enrollment Offices’ Predictions Towards SDBOR Official Enrollment Release Juliana Oltmanns

Juliana.Oltmanns@coyotes.usd.edu

The Enrollment Office at the University of South Dakota has announced optimistic predictions regarding the 2024-2025 academic year’s student enrollment. Stating that they expect the South Dakota Board of Regents’ (SDBOR) official statement, set to be released today, Wednesday September 11, to reflect significant growth in the amount of students enrolled at USD. “Both the undergraduate and graduate enrollments will show significant growth from the Fall of 2023, probably surpassing one of our best years which was the Fall of 2018,” Scott Pohlson, the Vice President of Enrollment-Marketing & Student Services said.

Student enrollment at USD’s main campus increased by 1.7% as of the 2023-2024 academic year, with a growth of 4.4% in the overall number of students enrolled at the university.

“The growth that we expect to see will be in our overall enrollment as we graduated our first entering class of COVID-19 this past spring and have since replaced them with a record setting new student enrollment,” Pohlson said.

Pohlson also stated that students and faculty members should expect an increase in the number of international students attending campus.

“We are very proud of all the hard work that the Gallagher International Center along with various academic units on campus have done to grow our international student enrollment. This year we are excited to see significant growth at the undergraduate level for our international students,” Pohlson said.

However, with the emphasis towards an expected enrollment increase at USD, some students and faculty members alike have raised their concerns regarding the possibility of issues arising on campus due to overpopulation.

“I think that with an increase in enrollment our campus will become a lot more diverse and active, especially in pro-

gramming and organizations, but as more freshman com in, I’m afraid that housing will be more sparse,” USD senior Brook Roozen said.

Despite these concerns, Pohlson stated that the enrollment office does not anticipate any need for concerns regarding class sizes or on-campus housing for this academic year regardless of the fact that the on-campus housing occupancy is approximately 96% full as of Friday, Sept 6.

“Our planning for housing continues to be moving in a great direction for the future, and we look forward to sharing the details of our future housing plans for both on and off campus later this academic year,” Pohlson said.

The enrollment office ensured that its current incentives regarding housing exemptions, allow support towards housing availability for students wishing to reside on-campus.

“We anticipated a larger incoming class this fall so we worked with our current students that wanted to live off campus as early as February or March to allow them to find housing off campus. If enrollment continues to grow for Fall of 25’ we will continue to allow students wishing to live off campus to do so through an exemption process,” Pohlson said.

Pohlson emphasized that while looking towards the forthcoming academic year, the enrollment office acknowledges the importance of the contributions that have led to its growth.

“While we are truly grateful for all the incredible enrollment growth at USD, we know our value and future enrollment success comes from all the awesome stories of our students, faculty/staff, and alumni. So thank you to our current students, faculty/ staff, and alumni as your hard work and success both in the classroom and in your careers are truly what sets USD apart from our competition. Our future continues to be bright, Go Yotes,” Pohlson said.

Submitted | The Volante

Crowds of students walking through one of the many hallways at USD.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE Mission Statement The Volante covers issues relevant and interesting to USD students. Faculty, staff and community members are welcome readers, but the newspaper is written and presented for a diverse community of students from the students’ point of view. The paper should provide a variety of information, entertainment and educational opportunities for the readers. The Volante encourages everyone to write letters to the editor.

The Volante wishes to be viewed by students as respectable, objective, accurate, fair and trustworthy. If you have comments, concerns or questions, please contact The Volante at 677-5494.

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Our Staff Editor-In-Chief Charles Streeter Managing Editor Juliana Oltmanns News Editor Marissa Brunkhorst Assistant News Editor Jacob Peirce Verve Editor Nathan DeGreef Sports Editor Trevan Rychlik

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Welcome Week Expands Events For Freshman Juliana Oltmanns

Juliana.Oltmanns@coyotes.usd.edu

Welcome week for incoming freshmen looked a little different this year than it has in years past.

Several changes were made to try and give the new freshmen the best first impressions possible about their new home.

Marcus Destin, Assistant Director of Student Activities and Multicultural Affairs, said something his team was focused on was capitalizing on the fact that welcome week ended during Labor Day weekend.

“We knew that, with the school year starting later, this was going to go into Labor Day Weekend so we wanted to have programming to keep kids excited about the university who couldn’t go home over the long weekend, and that would convince the ones who could go home to stay here and get involved on campus,” Destin said.

Some of the events at this year’s welcome week included a game night, an airbrush party, skate night, a magic show, as well as CAB’s Stuff-

Jacob Peirce

Jacob.Peirce@coyotes.usd.edu

A-Buddy.

This year’s welcome week also landed at the same time as USD’s first football game, which saw record attendance from students.

Kelli Sushemihl, Assistant Director of Sorority and Fraternity Life, said that another big part of welcome week is the inclusion of Greek life.

“Greek life attends almost every welcome week event as they serve as a sort of welcoming committee to the new freshmen,” Susemihl said.

“Sorority and fraternity members being present at welcome week allows freshmen to build relationships with them and shows them that they can join these groups and have a great college experience,” said Sushemihl.

Both Destin and Sushemihl said that they felt this was a great welcome week that built off what worked in years past and gives them a great place to start for planning future welcome weeks.

Charles Streeter | The Volante

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Two incoming USD students smile and pose during move-in day 2024.

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SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

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Coyote Volleyball Starts Strong Charlie Prien

Charles.Prien@coyotes.usd.edu

The USD women’s volleyball team enters 2024 with high expectations.

Projected by the coaches poll to be one of the top teams in the Summit League this year, the Coyotes have risen to the challenge through the last five games.

The Summit League preseason coaches poll picked the Coyotes to finish third in the conference. Tallying 49 total votes, the Coyotes missed the second-place spot by just two votes.

Coaches from across the Summit League chose players to watch this season. For South Dakota, two women were selected: Kylen Sealock, a senior outside hitter and All-Summit League selection last year, who also led the team in kills; and Kamryn Farris, a junior defensive specialist who led the Summit League in digs last season.

Through five matches, the Coyotes have competed in two invitationals.

First, at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. The first match was against Fordham, and USD swept 3-0,

dominating by set score. The final match was against Air Force, and again, the Coyotes dominated 3-0, with the third set being the closest.

Most recently, the Coyotes played at the Northern Kentucky Invitational in Highland Heights, Kentucky. They began competition last Friday against the No. 4-ranked Louisville Cardinals.

The Coyotes fell 3-1 in the contest, though they managed to take one set from the fourth-ranked team in the nation. The Coyotes won the third set 25-23 against Louisville, but the Cardinals closed out the final set 25-6.

On Saturday, the Coyotes fell 3-0 to Northern Kentucky, keeping one set close. Finally, on Sunday, the Coyotes took on the Missouri Tigers, who were receiving votes in the most recent poll.

The Coyotes fell behind early 1-0 after an explosive 25-15 set-one win from Missouri, but USD took control after that. Winning three sets in a row, the Coyotes knocked off the Tigers and are now poised for their home opener against Montana State on Friday night in the South Dakota Classic.

Ethan Erdman | USD Athletics

Senior Defensive Specialist Alaina Wolff moves to dig ball.

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South Dakota AG Files Lawsuit Against NCAA Charlie Prien

Charles.Prien@coyotes.usd.edu

The Office of South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced a file of complaint on Tuesday. The complaint comes in conjunction with the South Dakota Board of Regents and on behalf of South Dakota State University and The University of South Dakota.

The grounds of the complaint come from claims of disproportionate share of funding for South Dakota schools. The 2020 suit led to a settlement of $2.8 billion in pay back for athletes who could not participate in

name, image and likeness (NIL).

In a press release on Tuesday, Jackley’s office stated that, “a proposed $2.8 billion settlement between the NCAA and the “Power Four” conferences unfairly forces smaller schools like the South Dakota schools to be responsible for a disproportionate share of the settlement cost.”

While larger schools, such as those in the “Power 4” conferences have reaped the benefit of the $2.8 billion settlement since its ruling, some schools have not seen any of the pay out. Looking forward, it appeared to South Dakota schools, such as SDSU and

USD, that this funding would continue to be directed away from schools like theirs.

According to the office of Jackley, “The complaint states that the Power Four conferences caused the “vast majority” of the damages that the settlement addresses, but those responsible conferences are being required to pay less of the financial burden.”

President Dunn of SDSU, raised concern about the time to come saying, “The settlement poses significant implications for our athletic programs without providing comprehensive benefits for our student-athletes”.

While President Gestring of USD called for fairness for all involved, but thanked Attorney General Jackley, “as we work through our concerns to guarantee equitable treatment for our state and universities.

Both USD President Sheila Gestring and SDSU President Barry Dunn both noted appreciation of the consideration and commitment of the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office. In a statement on Tuesday, both mentioned that the settlement has a tight grasp on the future success of the two schools.

Volleyball Recap vs. Northen Kentucky University

Ethan Erdman | USD Athletics

Addison Sporleder

Addison.Sporleder@coyotes.usd.edu

The USD volleyball team came into the Northern Kentucky Invitational strong with a 2-0 start to the season. The weekend consisted of match-ups against Louisville, Northern Kentucky, and RV Missouri.

USD faced No. 4 Louisville for the first game on Friday, Sept. 6. The Coyotes lost the first two sets 14-25 and 17-25, respectively. The girls bounced back and won the third set 25-23, but lost the fourth set 6-25.

Sophomore Avery Van Hook had a great game by recording 25 assists, while hitting a milestone of 1,000 career assists.

Senior Kylen Sealock had 12 kills in the game, marking her third straight game in

double-digits for kills.

The second game for the Coyotes was on Saturday, Sept. 7, against Northern Kentucky. The Coyotes lost in three sets: 11-25, 25-27, 14-25, respectively.

Van Hook recorded another 20 assists for the weekend. Freshman Lauren Medeck reached the double-digit mark with 11 kills.

Junior Kamryn Farris was the leader in digs with 15. USD had five aces in the match compared to NKU’s four.

USD’s final game of the weekend was against RV Missouri on Sunday, Sept. 8.

The Coyotes grabbed a win in four sets.

RV Missouri won the first set 25-15, but Jaren Duffy | USD Athletics

Volleyball team-mates celebrate after getting a point during a match.

USD responded by claiming the next three sets 25-23, 25-20, and 25-16 respectively.

Medeck shined by recording a match high 17 kills. Sealock entered the double digits with 14.

Van Hook got herself a double-double with an outstanding 46 assists and 12 digs.

Farris recorded 18 digs, another match high

Coyote sports fans celebrate after volleyball gains a match point.

for the Coyotes.

USD outscored Missouri in kills 57 to 47, assists 54-44, and aces 8-4.

The Coyotes will be back on the court on Friday, Sept. 13 for the South Dakota Classic in Vermillion against Montana St. starting at 7 p.m.

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

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Remembering 9/11 in a Post-9/11 World

Charles Streeter

Charles.Streeter@coyotes.usd.edu

Today marks the twenty-third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Now, most college students were not even born before September 2001.

Last year, only 2,600 of USD’s students would have been born before 9/11 happened, almost all being graduate or

non-traditional students.

The ramifications of September 11 still persist, even if the majority of college students don’t know or remember. I wasn’t even born and I am one of the older students at USD. First, 9/11 changed American foreign policy. The subsequent invasion of Afghanistan lasted 20 years, killing many soldiers in the Armed Forces. In 2021, the United States left Afghanistan, leading to the re-establishment of

the Taliban as the official government.

Second, domestic policy changes drastically. Have you flown on an airplane in the last twenty years and noticed the people in blue shirts? Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) commenced in response to the September 11 attacks.

That day in history also affects people in another way: national security and the surveillance state. In October

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2001, Congress overwhelmingly passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded government surveillance of citizens and allowed for the indefinite pre-trial detention of people suspected of terrorism. Some are still detained today at Naval Air Station Guantanamo.

It’s true that 9/11 does not live in recent memory like it did when I was a small child. However, we can still remember 9/11 by acknowledging its effects today.

The Return of Pumpkin Spice (And Everything Nice) Taylor Chasing Hawk

Taylor.ChasingHawk@coyotes.usd.edu

While the first day of autumn may still be a few weeks away, there have already been several early indicators of the season, such as falling leaves on trees, crisp air in the mornings, Halloween candy in stores, and… the return of pumpkin spice.

I look forward to fall every year and it is not just because I see beauty in the changing colors outside. Or that I would rather be wearing a flannel and jeans than a t-shirt and shorts. The thing about autumn that makes me smile the most is when coffee chains, such as Starbucks and Scooters, change over to their fall menus and bring back

the luscious flavor of pumpkin spice.

There has been much controversy about pumpkin spice over the years.

People have commented how they do not see the huge fuss over the flavor.

There has also been an increased number of pumpkin spice flavored food items, such as cereals, hot chocolate, cookies, bagels, yogurt, even liqueur.

While I do have a fondness for the flavor, there is only so far that my sweet tooth can go. I mainly only prefer pumpkin spice in coffee.

There is just something about going to your favorite coffee place on a fall day and asking for a pumpkin spice

latte. As soon as I take that first sip of the drink and taste the sweetness of pumpkin and cinnamon, my entire world stops, and I take a moment to reminisce on fall. If we could capture the season in a flavor, I strongly believe that pumpkin spice would be it.

Pumpkin spice coffee creamers have already made an appearance this year at most grocery stores. I made my first pumpkin spice latte the other day and it was the perfect way to start off my study session. While I’ll always love to buy coffee from various shops and places, there is also something special about making it in the comfort of your

own home. You can even get creative and add your own toppings, such as whipped cream, marshmallows, and extra cinnamon.

Classes have just started; however, midterms will be here before we know it. What better way to start preparing for exams than buying (or making) a pumpkin spice latte? It has just the right amount of caffeine to keep you awake during those early morning classes and late-night study sessions.

As you drink your pumpkin spice lattes this year, I hope that you, too, feel the magic of fall.

Verve

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

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Vex And The Verm

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A Column

Nathan Goes Greek: A Real Story of Rushing

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Nathan DeGreef

nathan.degreef@coyotes.usd.edu

For starters, I am not the type of person who would ever rush. That was until I learned what Greek life is really like.

Going into this I had some predetermined guesses on which houses I would like or could get into. I also had a decent amount of friends in different ones, which may or may not have been as beneficial as I thought it would have been.

Rush week started with the tailgate event for the first game, which unfortunately I couldn’t make it to due to a conflicting prior engagement.

I did however awkwardly wander around the last half hour of the tailgate. Off to a great start.

The official start began on Aug. 2, where I stood outside of North Complex with only one other student to tour the Fraternity houses. After waiting for a few minutes, with no one else showing up, we hopped in a Charlie cart and made our way to our first house.

Each house pretty much had the same thing - “you can customize your room” or “you can get your own room” - but the phrases that I heard at literally every house were “we have free printing” and “we have free laundry” which they then affirmed that you don’t have to live in to do and that as a freshman they would drag a bag of their dirty laundry across campus to save a few bucks.

Despite having preconceived notions of the Fraternities I still toured every single one, just to be fair and I hate to say it but what I thought about each one was pretty accurate. But still seeing all of them was a fun adventure.

The worst part of these interactions with members was the awkward pause between the generic surface questions. Then after about two questions and a few endlessly long seconds, they would say something like “Well let me introduce you to this guy” or even worse, “I’ll be right back”.

I get it, we may not have much in common, but aren’t they the ones who are supposed to make it easier for us?

On the second day, I decided to focus all of my attention on the Fraternity that I actually wanted to get into. Despite having to leave halfway through the gathering, I came back after to still try and make the best impression possible.

Returning to the house I felt a lot better. I was calm, I was talking to people and it felt natural and right. I ate a little food and just started talking to people. By now I could just talk to people and felt like I was finally breaking out of my comfort zone.

On the third day, I was really screwed on time. I would be stuck doing stuff until 7. I decided to stop by another one of the Fraternities that night because I was starving and didn’t want to stuff my face with food in front of the people I was trying to impress.

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Unfortunately for me though, after only being in this house for maybe 15 minutes I was asked to go to a room and talk about joining, or something like that. Honestly, It threw me off guard a bit.

As soon as I could I got out of there and rushed to the main goal. At this point, I probably only had about 30-45 minutes to spend here. For that amount of time, I did the best I could. I sat down, ate some food and had actual conversations with some of the guys. It actually felt fitting.

People were remembering my name and it seemed all good. Unfortunately, I did have to leave abruptly to help a friend out. So I left without an invitation and I didn’t receive a text the next day.

After talking with different people, I have discovered that they had a lot of people coming by and that they have continuous open bidding throughout the semester so there could still be a chance. Maybe sometime.

Looking at it now, I am glad I tried it. Even if just to say that I did it. I still have hope that things might turn out, or that things happen for a reason. At the very least though, I hope it makes a good story.

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The Volante accepts original comic submissions. To submit a comic, email Nathan.DeGreef@coyotes.usd.edu

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Across 6. ΒΘΠ 7. ΚΑΘ 8. ΤΚΕ 10. Φ Δ Θ 11. ΠΚΑ

Greek Life Crossword

Down 1. ΛΧΑ 2. ΣΑΕ 3. ΔΤΔ 4. ΑΦ 5. ΑΞΔ 9. ΠΒΦ

Verve

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

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International Students Welcome Neuharth as New Home at USD Charles Streeter

charles.streeter@coyotes.usd.edu

Unlike many colleges across the country, USD continues to see strong enrollment numbers.

In particular, one demographic of students has far outpaced everyone else: international students.

According to Gallagher International Center Director Patrick Morrison, there are currently 764 international students from 71 countries studying at USD. Roughly half (378) are graduate students while 364 are undergraduates with 22 exchange students.

The top five nationalities are as follows: 251 from Nepal, 180 from India, 47 from Ghana, 40 from Bangladesh and 22 from Nigeria.

Using USD’s Enrollment Dashboard, USD saw a 382 student increase in international students from 505 in 2019 to 764 students in 2024. That is a more than 50% increase in five years.

One of the largest contributing departments is computer science,

which has seen a heavy increase in their graduate program in the same time frame.

According to The Gallagher International Center Study Abroad Advisor Hailey Freidel, the Gallagher International Center helps students get to the United States and adjust to campus life at USD. “International Student Services works with the admission processes and the government dealings in the paperwork and visas in order to get international students here,” Freidel said.

“When they’re on campus, we have two wonderful advisors that work with them to make sure that they’re hitting their compliance marks and getting the assistance they need.”

The Gallagher International Center has another side: Student Abroad Services.

Students can travel, either on short-term trips or semester-long studies to universities in other nations that partner with USD.

Freidel says the top five countries to students studying abroad are Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Australia.

As both parts of the Gallagher International Center grew, they made the move over to Neuharth during the summer with the plan of being in one location.

Previously, Gallagher International Center employees were split between the first floor of ID Weeks Library and the Burr House on the corner of University Street and Cherry Street.

“Right now, we just have your student-facing staff in Neuharth,” Freidel said.

“The rest of the staff will be joining at some point in October.”

For those interested in study abroad progams, you can contact Hailey at Hailey.Freidel@usd.edu or visit the staff on the first floor of Neuharth.

Nathan DeGreef | The Volante

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 THE VOLANTE

VOLANTEONLINE.COM

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Retired Professor Makes new Path With Safe Rides Jozie Kumm

Jozie.Kumm@coyotes.usd.edu

Retired USD professor, Kevin O’Kelley has made it his mission to dedicate his retirement to the University of South Dakota.

One way O’Kelley is giving back to the coyote community is by operating one of the Safe Rides buses on weekends.

Safe Rides is known as an easy and secure way for students to get back to their homes after a night out and about.

O’Kelley said when planning out his retirement plan, he wanted to do so in a way that will make a difference. “[When] I wrote my retirement plan, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do, and decided to devote my time to public service,” O’Kelley said. “I want [the students] to know that they have an alternative and it’s a way to give back to the student population.”

O’Kelley explains that he and his wife have adequate needs

and he now has the time to devote to public service.

“My wife and I [have] modest needs… Public service does not pay well but that’s perfect for me because I’m not a young person trying to buy their first home,” O’Kelley explained. “So now I can afford to [work in] public service and that’s what I’m going to do.”

He also highlights the importance for students to feel comfortable calling safe rides on weekends and explains the

dangers of walking home in the dark.

“It’s not just drunk driving,” O’Kelley said. “But it’s also the fact that it’s cold outside in the winter. It’s also that sometimes people might get into the wrong car if they don’t have an alternative way home.

O’Kelley stresses the importance that Safe Rides is a no-cost or judgment zone for students to have a great time out.

“We don’t ask for ID, we don’t ask for names. We’re not

police officers. We just want them to get a safe ride home.

No questions asked,” O’Kelley stated. “My motto is no cost, no judgment, just a safe ride home.”

Safe Rides will begin on September 13 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

They will run weekly on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the school year. The number for the Safe Rides is 605-624-RIDE.

FRESHMAN FRESHMAN GUIDE GUIDE TO TO VERMILLION VERMILLION

Shopping: Civic Council Thrift Store Outside of a Dog Books & Games Lover Girl & Kasey Designs

Eating:

Café Brulé Old Lumber Company Grill and Bar Dakota Brick House Fayuca

Visiting: National Music Museum Coyote Twin Theater Mulberry Bend Overlook

Jozie Kumm | The Volante