News New Transportation Allows Students to Roll Around on Campus See more on Page 2
Sports
Harden added to Comeback Player of the Year List See more on Page 11
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Theatre Club Gives New Outlet to Students The Student Theatre Cooperative group is an independent organization that gives students the opportunity to create pieces that otherwise not presented on the department’s main stage. See more on page 11.
Submitted| The Volante
News
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023 THE VOLANTE
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USD Gets a New Way of Getting Around Jacob Peirce
Jacob.Peirce@coyotes.usd.edu
From walking to riding, driving to even scootering, there are many ways to travel around the South Dakota campus. This fall semester, the university has implemented a new method of transport and received motorized scooters for students heading to class. The scooters are owned by Hailie Warren, the creative director for visual storytelling at USD, and her husband Dante Warren, running back coach for the football team.
Levy Electric Scooters is the new transportation service on campus. An individual must pay $1 to unlock the scooter and then an additional 30 cents per minute.
Britta Birznieks | The Volante
On campus, there are a total of 19 scooters located throught the Levy Electric app. There, users can scan the QR code of the scooter and ride around Vermillion.
Warren said the scooters are a gift to the USD campus and she feels will help students in several ways. “These scooters provide our students with access to parts of Vermillion that might feel a little too out of reach to walk,” Warren said. “It also saves them time in getting from one place to another.” Warren said the scooters are built for the colder conditions of South Dakota and students should think before riding in slick conditions. “These scooters can operate in (weather) as low as negative 32 degrees. They are very usable and will be available during the winter months,” Warren said. “The only times they would not be usable is if there is ice or slick conditions to which we would turn them off.” These scooters can be found at several “parking zones”, which are indicated on the Levy Electric Scooter app. The app is required to use the scooters and is free to download from the Google Play and IOS app stores. Once on the app, students will be able to see the locations of scooters located on campus. To ride a scooter, they will need to scan the QR code on the scooter which then “unlocks” it. Once finished, the scooter will need to be parked in a designated location and “locked up.”
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Then Feed Just One Hosting Annual Event in MUC Pit Jozie Kumm
Jozie.Kumm@coyotes.usd.edu
Then Feed Just One (TFJO) is hosting their biggest packaging feed event on Oct. 25 in the MUC pit. The club was started at USD in 2016 by two USD students and has been an active club on campus since. Then Feed Just One is an organization based out of Sioux City. Grant Budden, the president of TFJO, said they are expected to package 30,000 meals at this years event Budden also said the pre-prepped meals will be sent to families in Honduras later. “So what [TFJO] does every year is send shipping containers of food, clothes and supplies over to Honduras every year,” Budden said. “ Our goal for this [years event] is to pack 30,000 meals on Wednesday.” Budden said some of his goals as president were to extend the budget of the TFJO with the help of the Student Government Association on campus. This is where they receive most of their funds and others can be through fundraisers. “Through our Pizza Ranch fundraisers, we are working to slowly build our [budget] up,” Budden said.
“Then we usually do another Pizza Ranch fundraiser and the clothing drive. We try to do three or four events a year. It’s just hard with our budget to branch out of that because it takes quite a bit of effort.” A small portion of TFJO volunteers and club members work the event, but a larger portion are USD student volunteers. Budden said there are around 60 students who join to help each year. “Every year, we get upwards of 60 or 70 students who participate but those that are actually members are probably close to 15 or 20. A lot of it is [students] who just find out about it and come down and want to help,” Budden said. Budden said the packing event is a great experience for any students to would like to join and help “For anyone who is unsure, it’s definitely a good experience, and it really is a good cause,” Budden said “Just help with little things that may not mean a lot to you now but mean everything to someone else who you may never meet.” To help out with the packaging event, one may go to the MUC pit and can help out from 15 minutes up to two hours. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Man Arrested on Rape Charges Juliana Oltmanns
Juliana.Oltmanns@coyotes.usd.edu
On Oct. 19, a man was arrested on the counts of both second and fourth degree rape charges by the Clay County Police Department in Vermillion, SD. Gavin Jensen, a 19-year-old, turned himself in to police custody shortly after a warrant was placed on him by the local police department on Oct. 16 in connections to an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the North Campus Residence halls earlier this academic year. On Sept. 9, it was reported to University Police Officials that Jensen had allegedly sexually assaulted an acquaintance of his in the early morning hours that day.
After his arrest on Oct. 19, Jensen was released from the Clay County Jail on a $15,000 cash bond bail. Jensen could be facing anywhere from one to 10 years in prison as well as a $10,000 fine because his alleged crimes are considered to be class c felonies in a South Dakota Court of Law. Jensen’s first court appearance will be at the Vermillion Court House on Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. For questions or concerns regarding sexual assault prevention and awareness resources on USD’s campus, please visit https://www.usd.edu/ About/Departments-Offices-and-Resources/HumanResources/EOAA-Title-IX. To report an incident on campus, one may report it on the Everbridge app or by contacting UPD at (605) 658-6199.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 3
The Volante October 25, 2023 www.volanteonline.com Al Neuharth Media Center 555 N. Dakota St. University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD 57069 Adviser Janet Davison
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 6775494. The Volante is distributed Wednesdays during the academic year free of charge locally with the cost of $1 for each additional copy. One year subscription rates are $40, which solely covers the mailing costs. The Volante does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any production service advertised in this paper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Volante disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Volante reserves the right to refuse any advertising.
Tavin Carncross
Sydney Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Head Designer
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Managing Editor
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News Editor
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Assistant News Editor
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Sydney Kolln Verve Editor
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Charles Streeter Opinion Editor
4 | Wednesday, October 25, 2023
News
Unity Week to End with the Unity Ball Tavin Carncross
Tavin.Carncross@coyotes.usd.edu
Throughout next week, the College of Fine Arts will be sponsoring Unity Week. This is a week-long event to celebrate diverse experiences, stories and journeys at USD with multiple events and panels. President of the Union of African American Students (UAAS) Bennett Clary said they were unable to secure the MUC Ballroom for the spring semester and were close to not hosting a major event. “We had honestly discussed not hosting any major event this year and just doing multiple small events that get our name out in the community,” Clary said. “Marcus Destin, the coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, brought the idea of the Unity Ball to us when he was planning Unity Week. We jumped on board because hosting the Ruby Ball is always so much fun for us and we wanted an opportunity to have that experience, even if it wasn’t our original plan.” Clary said UAAS isn’t the only group producing an event during Unity Week as three other groups are hosting but many others are contributing. “Tiospaye, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Native Student Services are hosting the event,” Clary said. “We’ve also had donations from Spectrum, the Cultural Wellness Coalition , and the Campus Activities Board. This event wouldn’t be possible without volunteers from the African Student Association, the CWC and Asian Students in America.” Clary said the UAAS only started planning for the ball just a month ago, but she thinks it will turn out better than expected. “We did this all in a month and it feels rushed, but I know it will turn out better than we
expect,” Clary said. Throughout the Unity Ball event, there will be finger foods that will be provided by Sedexo. Clary said there will also be live music by a Los Angeles based artist. “There will be finger foods and mocktails. Guests will be able to enjoy live music from Daniel French who is a musician and composer based in Los Angeles. The rest of the night we will have a DJ,” Clary said. Doors open on Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. and the live performance will begin around 7 p.m. UAAS will also be announcing the Unity Awards at the ball as well. Tickets for the Unity Ball can be found on the USD Union Instagram page at usdunion or can be found by scanning the QR code on their posters around campus. Tickets are $10 before the event and will be bumped up to $15 at the door with part of the proceeds going to Dakotathon. There will also be four other events on campus during the week starting with the Shades of Excellence: A Conversation with Rasheena Nash and Tazbah Chavez located in the MUC Ballroom at 6 p.m on Nov. 1. This will be followed by Until Lions Write Scripts Workshop: Unleash the Power of Your Story with Daniel French in Churchill Hanes room 101 at 5 p.m. on Nov. 2. Following will be the annual First Friday event to kick off Native American Heritage Month in the MUC Pit at 5 p.m. The last event will be Saturday, Nov. 4 in the MUC Ballroom where The Unity Ball (formerly known as Ruby Ball) will be held.
The Volante
News Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 5 Virginia Man Arrested in Vermillion Last Week
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Sydney Johnson
Sydney.G.Johnson@coyotes.usd.edu
On Oct. 18, the Vermillion police alongside the U.S. Marshal Service, the FBI, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Clay County Sheriff’s department took a suspect into custody. These law enforcement organizations were in the area to locate the suspect who had a warrant out for his arrest. During the apprehension, law enforcement was told to use extreme caution, which led to the evacuation of neighbors and contacting of Vermillion-
area schools. The suspect, 25-year-old Edward Denoyer, was taken into custody without incident and is being held in the Clay County Jail on a murder warrant from the State of Virginia. Denoyer’s was wanted in relation to a shooting in Roanoke, Virginia on Sept. 17, which left two people dead and one injured. Denoyer is being indicted on two counts of FirstDegree Murder, Aggravated Malicious Wounding and three counts of Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony. Denoyer is awaiting extradition back to Virginia.
KTIV | The Volante
25-year-old Edward Denoyer was arrested in Vermillion after being indicited for two counts of First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Malicious Wounding and three counts of Use of a Firearm in Commision of a Felony.
Editor’s Picks These are The Volante staff picks of events happening this week
Sports
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023 THE VOLANTE
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Myles Harden Added to the CPOY Award List Trevan Rychlik
Trevan.Rychlik@coyotes.usd.edu
A South Dakota football player has been added to the watch list for NCAA Comeback Player of the Year Award for the 2023 football season. Myles Harden, a junior defensive back for the Coyotes, is one of 49 players that have been announced for the watch list for the award. Harden is only one of six FCS players added to the list. Harden is coming back off a season-ending injury after playing in just six games last season. Despite the injury last season, Harden was able to make All-Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) honoree with six turnovers and third on the team in tackles at the time. Harden said injuries are a part of the game and he will have to deal with them and overcome the adversity that comes with them. “It was like a stepping stone, Dealing with adversity and knowing what to do,” Harden said. Harden said he worked hard during the offseason so that he could come back and play with his team after his previous season was cut short. “It means everything to be out here with these guys,” Harden said. “It means a lot that people recognize what I am going through off the field.” Harden, on the season for the Coyotes, has an interception, a fumble recovery as well as 32 tackles. These tackle numbers have him in seventh on the team in total tackles, and the one interception has him tied for first on the team. Harden said being back on the field and producing the way he has been means a lot to him. “It means a lot that they see what I can do on the field,” Harden said. Harden was able to celebrate a 34-31 win over the No. 23 Youngstown State, and Harden celebrated with the team despite allowing a touchdown as he moved on that play. Harden said the team battled with adversity throughout the game. He also said they just needed to think about the next play and keep that mentality throughout the game. “It means a lot knowing the adversity we had to deal with today and knowing we got the win,” Harden said. “Next play mentality.”
Sydney Kolln | The Volante Junior defensive back Myles Harden was added to the NCAA Comeback Player of the Year watch list for the 2023 season. Harden returned this season after suffering an injury six games into last season.
The Volante Submitted | USD Athletics Freshman Cole Witherow brought thirteen years of experience to the Coyote Golf Team.
Sports
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 7
Cole Witherow Leading Mentality for Men’s Golf Niko McKeever
Nikolas.McKeever@coyotes.usd.edu
The South Dakota Coyotes Men’s golf fall season is in full swing as they have competed in four events so far this fall. In their most recent meet at the Throwdown Up Top at Landmand in Homer, Nebraska, freshman Cole Witherow led the team with a +2 which was tied for 11th in the match. Before Witherow was a Coyote, he played golf for 13 years. He said his grandpas are the reason he stuck with it. “I took up golf for about 13 years, and then I had a bad coaching experience,” Witherow said. “Both my grandpa’s got me back into golf. Then I kind of took it on from there. After the bad coaching experience, I met a really good coach, Fred Schneider, and you know, he’s been my support since then.” Witherow said the main reason for him choosing USD was head golf coach and USD graduate John Vining. “The biggest thing was Coach Vining,” Witherow said. “He made me feel wanted. He was super welcoming when I got to campus”. The Coyotes opened the season at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational from Sept. 10-12 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Witherow tied for 40th in the event after finishing four over par. This was Witherow’s first collegiate golfing event. After the first event, Witherow said he improved his game by trusting the process and making the adjustments along the way. “Just mentally staying in it, staying patient, trusting the process and ultimately just digging deep a little bit is how I’ve made an adjustment,” Witherow said. Witherow followed up the first event with a +12 in the Kansas State Wildcat Invitational which was tied for 65th, a +3 in the Drake Zach Johnson Invite which was tied for 20th, and his best finish was at the Throwdown Up Top at Landmand where he finished 11th. The Coyotes have one more match this fall season at the Bryan National Men’s Collegiate in Browns Summit, North Carolina. That event will be held on Oct. 29-31. They will also compete in the World Golf Village Collegiate in Florida, the Loyola Intercollegiate in Arizona, the Jackrabbit Invitational in Nevada, the SU Invite at Chambers Bay in Washington and the Fighting Illini Spring Invitational in Illinois for their spring season. Following the regular season, the Coyotes will compete in the Summit League Championship which will take place in Lincoln, Nebraska in April.
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Webber and Coyotes Prepare for Nationals Trevan Rychlik
Trevan.Rychlik@coyotes.usd.edu
The Coyotes women’s triathlon team won an at-large bid for the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships at Tempe, Arizona. They will next compete on Nov. 11. One of the top performers for the Coyotes this year is sophomore Chelsea Webber. At the West Regional Championships this season, Webber finished second overall for the Coyotes and 15th overall in the event with a time of 1:05:42.68. Webber, a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, said she competed in cross country and swim and dive, which is a big reason why she decided to join triathlon. “I grew up swimming competitively and running in high school, and during (COVID-19) when all the pools shut down, my parents told me to bike a little bit to keep up with my fitness,” Webber said. “That summer, my parents told me to try a triathlon, and there were colleges at that competition, and my parents told me to try and do it in college.” Webber decided to do triathlon in college after her senior year of high school, and she credits the people at USD for why she is here. “The people make it so fun and they make it easy,” Webber said. Webber finished 28th in the National
Championships last year as a freshman and hopes to do better this year. Webber said her teammates are a big reason she is where she is today. “It feels like such an honor, and I feel like our team is really strong,” Webber said. “We all work so hard when we come to practice everyday, and everyone has their own individual personality so that they can lead in their own way.” While the team can help Webber, she knows she has to come into practice and work everyday to be the best she can be, but in the end, it will all be worth it. “We swim in the morning, and in the afternoon, we do a long bike ride into a run or a track workout,” Webber said. “It takes quite a bit of work, but I think once we get to the race it makes it all worth it.” Webber said her team is a family to her. Webber also said head coach Kyle Joplin is the “team dad,” and she enjoys having him as the coach. “Coach Kyle always puts us first and does everything for us, and he is like a team dad,” Webber said. Webber and the Coyotes will compete in the USA Collegiate National Championship in Tempe, Arizona on Nov. 11. There, the Coyotes will come into the event as the ninth-ranked team, and they will compete in “Heat 1.”
Submitted | Black Hills State Sophomore Chelsea Webber has been a top performer for the Coyote triathlon team. Webber finished second in the West Regional Championships this season.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 8
Opinion
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023
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Editorial: How Old is too Old for Halloween? Halloween approaches fast, just in time for some potential snow as the last vestiges of warm weather disappear. Downtown Vermillion will host a trick-or-treat for kids in the afternoon, but what about us? Are we too old to celebrate Halloween? To answer this question, we need to understand the history of Halloween. Many believe Halloween’s origins come from the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, which marks the end of harvesting, the beginning of winter and the beginning of the new year. There would be feasts, drinking and a large bonfire. The ancient pagans also believed that the new year marked the time in that the passage between the realms of the dead and living were opened. Much of our modern-day Halloween traditions come from Samhain. Children would put on costumes and sing songs at doorways in exchange for cakes. People would wear scary masks so the
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As most of Halloween’s traditions were celebrated by people of all ages, it seems reasonable that Halloween is not just for kids.
souls of the dead wouldn’t recognize the living and snatch them away. The jack-o’-lantern also traces its roots back to this time period, although turnips and gourds would have been carved as pumpkins are native to North America. Jack-o’-lanterns were used to ward off the souls of the dead from the houses of the living. Bonfires were placed to help guide the spirits to the portal of the afterworld. When Christianity spread throughout Europe, many of Samhain’s traditions were adopted by Christians. Most Christian feasts get their date from pagan festivals. Christmas was placed on winter
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
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Send letters to: Al Neuharth Media Center 555 N. Dakota St. Vermillion, S.D. 57069
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solstice and Easter is around spring equinox. Nov. 1 became All Saints’ Day (known as All Hallows’ Day in Old English), a day to honor the saints, and Nov. 2 became All Souls’ Day, a day to remember the dead. The celebration of Christian feast days often begins the evening before; for example, Christmas Eve. Thus, All Hallows’ Eve became Halloween. As Irish immigrants came to the United States in the 19th century, they brought their traditions with them. Since Halloween became a major hit in the United States. Today, Americans spend nearly $7 billion per year, some of
which goes toward buying 600 million pounds of candy. As most of Halloween’s traditions were historically celebrated by people of all ages, it seems reasonable that Halloween is not just for kids. Throw a party, dress up as Hans Solo or the Joker. Scary movies can be fun, the same way you might find a root canal operation fun. Whatever you decide to do, just don’t be an idiot, please. Halloween serves as a good excuse to hangout and meet up with friends. Most of us will probably stop celebrating Halloween altogether once we have real jobs. As for trick-or-treating, most people report stopping as early teenagers. But, that’s not all that Halloween has to offer. So no, you’re not too old to celebrate Halloween, but you might be too old for downtown Vermillion’s trick-or-treat aimed at schoolchildren. We don’t know what would happen if you show up.
The deadline for letters is 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. Letters must be typed and fewer than 300 words.
“Oh My God! I almost dropped my bologna!” - Spruce St. “It just turns into ranch, but peanut butter flavored.” - Cherry St. “Why do I hear hellish demon screams everywhere?” - FA
Opinion
The Volante
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 10
Cross Country: The Most Character-Building Sport
Karlee Phillips is a senior majoring in Media & Journalism.
All athletic involvement has room to shape a person’s character, but cross country tops the list. When I reflect on my years as a competitive runner, I see someone who’s learned the importance of dedication and patience. Its values have the power to follow me on and off the course, and that’s one of the most admirable things about cross country. The lessons an athlete takes away from distance running are incomparable to any other sport. Here’s the three most impactful ones: You are going to fail.
Get used to it. My first race was when I was 10-years-old. I finished last. Not all races will be good ones just like not all things in life will go as planned. Not selected for a job, failing a test, the list goes on and on but how you react, how you learn from your mistakes and how you apply your failures to achieve greatness. That’s how you build yourself up again. As motivational speaker Catherine Plano said, “The comeback is always stronger than the setback.” You can give up now, but it’s going to be far more painful than anything else you could
have done. Running fast hurts. The feeling of accomplishment at the finish makes it worth it. The feelings of self-doubt and stress when starting your career can be exhausting, but giving up on yourself will haunt you much longer than persevering through those emotions. Cross country teaches you that you’re far more capable of things you never thought you could do. Enjoy “The Now.” Eleven years after my first meet, I’m running down the final 100 meters of my last collegiate cross-country race. For
a split second, I’m tempted to slow down, to soak up the feeling just a bit longer because I’m not ready to say goodbye. But I don’t, and I finished in the top 20 that day with a season best time. In life, it’s easy to want to hold onto a moment forever. Goodbyes are tough. But trying to hold onto a memory forever makes it hard to create more, and in doing so, you’ll never know what else you could have accomplished in that period.
Bring Back Student ID for Sporting Events
Charles Streeter is a senior majoring in political science and psychology.
Last week, I attended the USD versus SDSU volleyball game in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Those who were also there knew it was an exciting game. One thing I couldn’t help but notice was the lack of students at the game. I’ve seen more people at Charcoal Lounge’s Drown. At the beginning of the 20232024 season, USD Athletics announced students would no longer be able to attend athletic events by tapping their student ID. Instead, students must use a link to redeem a free ticket. Since I’ve been to USD, most of the student attendance for sports has been pretty abysmal. The university spends a lot of money on athletics. So much so that they have an obligation to encourage students to watch the
events. After all, we pay hundreds of dollars every semester towards “General Activity Fees” that go toward paying for student services. This can’t be a money-saving measure. In fact, setting up a website takes much more time and energy than putting the tap machines at the door. So why did the school go out of their way to make these changes? It’s almost as if the athletics department wants even less people to attend games. This policy is also wildly unpopular. I made a poll on Fizz asking; “Which system do you prefer for attending games? Get a ticket or Show Student ID.” With 1,684 responses from USD students, 1,479 (88%) chose showing their student ID.
The new system had its first major stress test this week when football tickets for the SDSU game went on sale Monday morning. 1,700 student tickets sold out in just 45 minutes. There was a virtual waiting room because the website had so much traffic. Maybe you didn’t get a ticket because you had a 10 a.m. class, and you weren’t on your phone. Some of you may think I am overreacting to a seemingly insignificant issue. In my defense, this is about much more than taking the five minutes to get a football game ticket, this is about what we choose to tolerate. The students, faculty and administration share the responsibility of making this university better. Functionally discouraging
students from attending sporting events does not make the university better. We deserve what we choose to tolerate, good or bad. If we allow ourselves to be conditioned to jumping through ridiculous hula hoops to simply watch a game, then we deserve to jump through them. If you don’t like the new policy, then let the school know! Change doesn’t fall out of the sky. This is a great opportunity to advocate for an issue, a skill we’ll all need at some point. Maybe, just maybe, the school will listen if enough of us say something.
Verve
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023
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Theatre Club Helps Refine Students’ Craft Sydney Kolln
Sydney.Kolln@coyotes.usd.edu
One of the organizations part of the Theatre Department is the Student Theatre Cooperative (STC), an independent student theatre organization. The group produces original and cutting-edge theatre that typically would not get produced in the Department of Theatre’s main stage season. Vivian Klein, the president of STC, said the group is a way for people in theater to develop their skills and craft. “STC provides opportunities for any theatre kid on campus to develop leadership and management skills while also refining their craft on and offstage through theatre production,” Klein said. The group has public meetings every other month, with the STC Board meeting every Tues-
day evening. Their next meeting will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. in the Arena Theatre in the Fine Arts Building. Other than their regular meetings, the organization holds events such as movie nights, trivia nights and even their annual Halloween party. “Our Spontaneous Combustion is an event in which student playwrights, directors and actors write and produce original ten minute plays in a 24-hour period,” Klein said. While STC takes place in the Theatre Department, its members are not limited to the major. “STC is here for any student on campus who is interested,” Klein said. “We love when non-majors get involved, and we’ve been so happy to see our club grow in the past few months. Theatre is an art to be shared with the community, not kept under
wraps by fine arts majors.” Klein says that it’s important to have an organization like this on campus to allow students the right to express themselves. “This club is crucial in giving students creative freedom to express themselves in ways they otherwise may not be able to,” Klein said. “It brings together students with common interests and gives students a much-needed break from the stresses of college life. We have so much fun at STC and would love nothing more to see you at our upcoming events.” For more information about STC and their events, check out their Instagram at https://www. instagram.com/usd_stc/.
The Student Theatre Cooperative produces original theatre pieces that would typically not get produced in the department’s main stage season.
Submitted | The Volante
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Verve
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 12
International Club Creates New Food Show Nathan DeGreef
Nathan.DeGreef@coyotes.usd.edu
According to enrollment statistics, USD has had a high influx of international students this year. Many students can feel disconnected and lonely, especially being so far from home. The International Club is meant to create a community where international students can connect. President of the International Club Sushant Mukhai said they are trying to form a community that will help people feel less lonely and represent where they are from. “We try to form a community where all these international students can feel homely, and they can express themselves and also represent their country to the university,” Mukhia said. The International Club is comprised of all the international students and extends to whoever would like to join
and experience different cultures. Mukhai said the club’s group numbers have only gotten bigger this semester. “We have recently gotten a lot more international students than we used to have,” Mukhia said. “The international student count has gone up way higher; maybe it has doubled to tripled since the last two years.” Recently, the club has developed a new cooking show where a student from a country cooks traditional dishes. Then three other students from different countries and the production team try the food. They discuss their countries and what is going on. Mukhia said they try to focus on certain events happening in those countries. “Majorly, we try to focus on holidays or special occasions back home so that those can be put across at that time,” Mukhia said. “It’s how you can represent your country.”
At the moment, the club plans to make two videos a month, each one focusing on a different country and a different student. Mukhia said they are trying to broaden the show’s awareness because many people do not know about it yet. They know that it is going to take some time. “I think the International Club is reaching out to the local people more now so that we can show you guys what we are because our cultures are very different,” Mukhia said. “Most people don’t know about (the new show) yet. We’re trying to get as much media based exposure as possible, so it will probably take some time.” To find out when the club is hosting events, check out their Facebook page USD International Club or Instagram @usdinternationalclub.
Nepalese Night Provides a Taste From Home Sien Hermans
Sien.Hermans@coyotes.usd.edu
The Nepalese Student Association (NSA) organized a Nepalese Night on Sunday to celebrate the Dashain festival. Students dressed up in their finest attire and got treated to an evening full of music, dance and Nepalese cuisine. Dashain is a festival in Nepal where people celebrate light and goodness for 15 days. It’s a time for family reunions and exchanges of gifts and blessings. They celebrate that good will always win over evil. Many Nepalese students aren’t able to attend the festival due to their studies at USD, so NSA hosts an event every year to celebrate Dashain. Preeti Mainali, an NSA member, said she misses her home, and with this event, she feels less homesick. “Because of this event, the homesickness goes away for a while, and we can celebrate Dashain with all the Nepalese students,” Mainali said. “We also get to share a part of our tradition with international students, and that’s very nice.” The evening consisted of speeches, traditional music and dance and Nepalese food. The event was hosted in the MUC ballroom, and all of the guests dressed up in either formal or traditional clothing. The second host of the event and NSA member Prasana Dawadi said the group did everything from decorating to even cooking the food. “We did everything ourselves,” Dawadi said. “From getting the decorations and organizing entertainment to cooking the food. To be able to cook with Nepalese ingredients,
we went to Omaha. There, we could buy some Nepalese products.” On the menu were traditional Nepalese dishes such as Pulau rice, Khasi Ko Masu (halal goat curry) and Aloo Ko Achar (seasoned potato pickle). Entertainment was provided by Nepalese USD students and alumni. The Dhaka Topi band was one of the musical performers of the evening.
Pragati Rouniyar, NSA president, said they have been planning the event since the beginning of the semester and made sure everything went according to plan. The Dashain festival is one of the two main events hosted by the Nepalese Student Association. Other than smaller gatherings, their next main event will be the Festival of Color in March.
Maddie Martinez | The Volante
The Nepalese Student Association celebrated the Dashain Festival through Nepalese Night on Oct. 22.