Nov. 18, 2020 by SDSU Collegian

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November 18, 2020

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COVID UPDATES SDSU and SDBoR give updates on what to expect for the spring semester with coronavirus response.

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BASKETBALL Women’s and men’s basketball starts up next semester, hear from some key players and coaches on what to expect.

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November 18, 2020

NEWS

SA in brief: Nov. 16 J. MICHAEL BERTSCH Managing Editor (He/Him) What happened at the Nov. 16 Students’ Association meeting? Library During the summer, the Hilton M. Briggs Library started a pilot program to give students free, unlimited access to electronic textbooks for classes. Currently, the library has purchased 70 electronic textbooks for student use.

“Now we’re working proactively with faculty to help them as they’re choosing textbooks,” Chief University Librarian Kristi Tornquist said. “We’re trying to get them on your behalf, and then they can put those directly into the syllabi for you.” The library has also installed highly requested software on some computers for student use, including AutoCAD, SolidWorks and Adobe Creative Suite. New senator The Senate approved

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and swore in Anna Shane as a Senator At-Large. Kappa Sigma The Senate approved the bylaws of the South Dakota State University chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Kappa Sigma is the largest social fraternity in the world with over 17,000 students and 305 chapters. AIGA funds The Senate approved a reoccurring allocation of $350 to the American Institute of Graphic Arts student group.

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CRIME LOG NOV. 8-14 November 9, 2020 10:49 a.m. Lost Property @ 1405 Jackrabbit Ave November 10, 2020 2:17 p.m. Miscellaneous Incident @ Daktronics Engineering Hall 10:16 p.m. Drug/Narc violations, underage purchase or possession of alcoholic beverages; ingest, inhale substance to become intoxicated; possession of marijuana two oz or less @ Meadows South November 12, 2020 2:19 a.m. Liquor/Possession/Consumption, underage purchase or possession of alcoholic beverages @ Mathews Hall November 13, 2020 1:27 a.m. Nuisance/Noise Complaint @ Native American Center 9:31 a.m. Int. Damage/Vandalism @ American Indian Student Center 10:32 p.m. Theft from Building @ Meadows North November 14, 2020 11:02 p.m. DUI, zero tolerance DUI/consume alcohol or any drug under 21; underage purchase or possession of alcoholic beverages; possession of ﬁctitious license @ 700 12th Ave

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NEWS

November 18, 2020

Collegian graphic by HOLLIE LEGGETT (She/Her)

University president optimistic about spring semester GRACIE TERRALL News Editor (She/Her)

Increased testing and accountable behavior. That is what South Dakota State University President Barry Dunn says will keep students on campus for next semester. “We’ve tested well over 2,000 students on campus, it was a big breakthrough for us,” Dunn said. “But if we had tested 10,000 students instead of 2,000, we would have done better.” This semester started

with a few “bumps,” Dunn said, with ill-prepared quarantine housing and a spike in positives in August, but now the university has a better understanding of how campus can operate under these conditions. SDSU introduced a color coded severity system to measure safety levels of COVID-19 that includes green, yellow, orange and red zones. The campus has stayed at an orange safety level the entire semester with limited gatherings and hybrid

classes encouraged. To get to a yellow zone, where more face-to-face classes and larger gatherings are allowed, aggressive testing is needed. “Right now, our test positivity is so high, and we have to get that down,” Dunn said. “Which means we need to do more testing.” As spring semester approaches, the university has a better idea of the student population and is more prepared to handle capacity issues in the classroom and with

COVID-19 response. H o w e v e r, Brian Maher, the executive director and CEO of the South Dakota Board of Regents says there are always ways to improve the university’s response to the pandemic. “Much has been learned at the campus and system levels as we progressed through the fall semester,” he said. “Those ‘lessons learned’ are very useful to all of us as we look to the spring semester. The universities and their administrators

and staﬀ were proactive in sharing information and health-related guidance.” As for the breaks, the Board of Regents voted to keep spring break and three-day weekends in a board meeting which took place Oct. 7. The decision came after consultations with multiple health experts and considering student feedback. “There were pros and cons to all,” Maher said in a press release. “Absent a clear preference for changing the calendar, we opted to recommend

the regents maintain the spring semester schedule as originally adopted … Students wanted their holiday and leave breaks maintained.” Dunn is still worried about the potential spike in cases that come from spring break travel, though. He did say that testing both before and after spring break will help minimize potential spread on campus.

includes the COVID-19 response on campus. The dashboard has served as a resource for students, staff and community members to get updates on COVID-19. “The goal was to take a unified approach to reporting our own self-reported data, so each university is consistent in what we are putting out,” Dirks said. While the COVID-19 dashboard serves an important role, Janelle

Toman, the director of communications at the South Dakota Board of Regents and an assigned member to the South Dakota Department of Health’s Focused Team on Childcare, Schools and Universities stresses that the data is unoﬃcial. “Campus officials receive voluntary reports about positive cases,” she said. “We do stress that our data, shown on the public university dashboards, is unofficial and

voluntary, self-reported data as shared with us by individual students, staﬀ members and faculty.” Due to the voluntary nature of the data shown on the dashboard, both Dirks and Toman insist that the SD Department of Health is the best resource for official case information. “The South Dakota Department of Health is the official entity for COVID-19 reporting and statistics and is the best

resource,” Dirks said. Despite its self-rep o r te d n at u re , t h e COVID-19 dashboard still serves as a simple way for community members to receive important updates. The color-coded classification system as seen on the top of SDSU’s homepage acts as an almost second nature status update. “It just gives an idea of where we are at right now based on the diﬀerent criteria we’re looking at …

we thought that the colors rather than a number or some other scale represented better where we are ... green, yellow, orange, and red is kind of an inherent pattern that everyone is comfortable with,” Dirks said.

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SDSU to continue using COVID-19 dashboard COLETTE GANNON Reporter (She/Her) After a fall semester with a COVID-19 dashboard on its website, South Dakota State University will continue its use indeﬁnitely. “We will keep it up until it’s not needed anymore...when we don’t have cases or we don’t feel the need to give updates,” said Laura Dirks, SDSU’s public health specialist whose main focus

Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com

NEWS

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November 18, 2020

Veterans Day provides sense of community to students, staﬀ JORDAN RUSCHE Lifestyles Editor (She/Her) Those walking through the Union last week may have noticed flags signifying the Hall of Heroes in remembrance of South Dakota service members who have died. South Dakota State University recognized its veteran students, staff and faculty members throughout “Warrior Week,” Nov. 9-13, with both the Hall of Heroes and other events. Some events, like the cornhole tournament and obstacle course, had to be canceled, but the Veterans Affairs Office still provided several opportunities despite

the pandemic. One of which was David Flute, secretary of the South Da ko t a D e p a r t m e nt Tribal Relations and veteran, who spoke about his experiences Wednesday, Nov. 11. The event was sponsored by both the Veterans Affairs Office and the American Indian Student Center. “This is our ﬁrst year having a keynote speaker, of that caliber at the least, so that was pretty cool,” Cole Hennen, president of the Armed Forces Association on campus and former army truck driver, said. Hennen says that in the past, they have also promoted events like a weightlifting competition and cook-out, though

these were not possible this year. One event he would like to bring back is the discounted meals for veterans at Weary Wil’s that was provided last year. “I think that was a great program,” he said. “I would love to see that going forward, cause that’s the biggest thing for us, during Veterans Day, is being able to eat and relax and hang out with our veteran friends.” There are also plans to start a program in the community called Shoveling for Soldiers, in which AFA members and other veterans/active duty students would help shovel snow for elderly veterans around Brookings, according to

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AFA adviser and lecturer Andrew Ellis. “A lot of them want to get some volunteer work in, because they have a couple scholarships through the Veterans Affairs Office that we require they have a few hours community service,” he said. Ellis is also a veteran, serving in the army from 1993-2003 as sergeant ﬁrst class. Hennen feels hosting these events on campus helps bring veterans at SDSU together and builds a community for them to share their experiences and feel connected to others. “The biggest concern we see as veterans is the high suicide rate,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like a lot

Collegian graphic by OMAR IMRAN (He/Him)

of people know there are other options around here … that’s one of the big things I want to take with AFA, is just building com-

munity, that way people know there is someone there for them.” Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com

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NEWS

November 18, 2020

Brookings County breaks records for 2020 election

Collegian graphic by HOLLIE LEGGETT (She/Her)

ANDREW RASMUSSEN Reporter (He/Him) The 2020 election has come and gone, ending with some historic results in South Dakota. Brookings County, home to part of District 4 and all of District 7, saw a 74.9% voter turnout during the general election. Re p u b l i c a n s w i l l control both the House and the Senate of the SD Legislature. Ninety-four of the 105 legislative seats were won by Republicans. A record number of women were elected to the South Dakota State Legislature with 30 female legislators set to take oﬃce in January. Twentyﬁve of the 30 elected are Republican legislators. In Brookings, Rep. Tim Reed (Republican) says his priorities in Pierre include

legislation aimed to improve rape and domestic violence laws in South Dakota. One speciﬁc piece of legislation will allow for “escalating penalties” in cases of repeated domestic violence. Reed also noted he is working on a transparency bill with the SD Newspaper Association that will affect public notices in newspapers. In addition to these priorities, Reed also said COVID-19 will be a prevalent topic of discussion. “Following up on small business relief will be really important,” Reed said. “Also, how are we doing, we are having a surge right now, I don’t know how long that will last, but I think it is something that we may have to be still looking at in the legislature.” Marijuana will also

be a topic in the legislature with the passage of Amendment A and Initiated Measure 26, which legalized both recreational and medical marijuana. “There may be some changes that have to be made to that measure [Initiated Measure 26],” Reed said. “I agree that now that people voted it in, we have to leave medical marijuana, but when a bill is that long … there may be people that want to weigh in.” Former state senator and representative-elect Larry Tidemann (Republican) said he will prioritize funding in both K-12 and higher education, especially how it relates to COVID-19. Tidemann also noted the one-time funds that are available could be used for university projects,

like a new biosystems building, which is proposed to use both private and public funding. Both Reed and Tidemann encourage students to reach out regarding legislation. As District 7 representatives, they represent students as well as the Brookings community. Legislative contact information can be located on the SD Legislative Research Council website. In addition to the many local and statewide elections, the presidential election has concluded with Joe Biden as the projected winner. President Donald Trump carried South Dakota and its three electoral votes with 62% of the vote.

November 18, 2020 sdsucollegian.com

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LIFESTYLES

TREES

Brookings Arts Council celebrates 25 years of Festival of Trees HOLLIE LEGGETT Graphic Designer (She/Her)

Take a break and enjoy some cheer at the MidCentury Modern themed Festival of Trees hosted by the Brookings Arts Council. For 25 years, the BAC has hosted the Festival of Trees, a free event where local organizations can sign up to decorate a tree. Each year, the council picks a different theme for the trees that are submitted, last year’s theme being Snowﬂakes. Executive Director of the BAC, Ashley Ragsdale, came up with this year’s theme: Mid-Century modern. “I like mid-century

modern furniture and vintage stuﬀ,” she said. “I decided we’re doing really oversized ornaments that go up and down the walls of the Arts Council.” Although the theme of this year’s festival is mid-century modern, many organizations decorate their trees based on something that they want to promote or something that is happening in the community. “We have a theme, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow that theme,” Ragsdale said. Some of the organizations who are participating this year include the Children’s Museum, the Public Library, Habitat for Humanity and McCrory Gardens.

The Public Library incorporated literature to the mid-century modern theme by basing their tree oﬀ of the Dr. Suess books. “We decided to do

Festival of Trees open until Jan. 2    

Thursday, 6-8 p.m. Friday, 12-6 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.3 p.m. Sunday, 1:30 4:30 p.m.

our tree in the style of Dr. Seuss because he wrote his books between this time period,”Mikaela Neubauer, community

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services coordinator at the Brookings Public Library, said. “I think it really embodies that optimism and the modern look of the era.” On most weekends in December, local music teachers bring students to play their instruments in this space. “I started working here last year,” gallery assistant at the Brookings Arts Council, Kirsten Schmidt, said, “but I’m from Brookings, so I’ve played piano for The Festival of Trees for a long time before that, too.” This year, The Festival of Trees has adjusted hours to allow people to spread out their visit. Usually they have a hot chocolate bar, but this

e r a

year they will not be having that due to the pandemic. “We will have some trees outside if people don’t feel safe going into buildings,” Ragsdale said. “We require masks, but some people are hesitant and we definitely understand that and still want them to enjoy the holidays.” Along with the decorated trees, there is also a local artisan shop in the Brookings Arts Council called the Holly Leaf Gift Shop. “We have things from paintings and prints, to ceramic and jewelry makers too,” Ragsdale said. “We have some unofﬁcial jackrabbit paintings that come through here,

as well. Everything from holiday items, to just prints, from artists and painters that live around here.” The Festival of Trees has 15 trees all with unique decorations. Don’t put your holiday cheer on hold; come out and see what the local organizations and artists have to oﬀer. “I’m always super excited to see how people have taken their organizations and condensed them down into a tree and something that represents what they are doing in town,” Neubauer said. “It’s always lovely how much eﬀort these organizations put in.”

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November 18, 2020

LIFESTYLES

Collegian photos by HOLLIE LEGGETT The theme this year for the Festival of Trees is mid-century modern with 15 different trees from local organizations and vendors selling crafted products.

LIFESTYLES

sdsucollegian.com November 18, 2020

Professor works to conserve lemur populations in Madagascar The Living Ad (5.25x9.5) COL, 1st draft.qxp_Layout 1 11/3/20 3:30 PM Page 1

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November 20-21, 2020 l 7: 30 p.m. Oscar Larson Theatre l OLPAC In-person & Live-streaming Social distancing guidelines will be observed at live performances. The use of masks is strongly recommended.

Both IN-PERSON and LIVE-STREAMING tickets will be available online only at SUT’s ticketing website: sdstate.tix.com. Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center Box Office will be open Monday-Friday beginning Monday, November 9, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. to provide assistance or by calling 688-6045. $20 Adult | $18 Seniors/Military/SDSU Employee/Non-SDSU student

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NICOLE HUDSON Reporter (She/Her) T h e ra i n f o re s t s o f Madagascar are the only place in the world where wild lemurs can be found. Onja Razafindratsima, assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota State University, has devoted her career to the research and conservation of the lemurs of Madagascar. Due to deforestation, many lemur species have gone extinct, and over 100 of the surviving species are endangered. Many researchers and activists, including Razafindratsima, are working to protect lemurs as well as preserving the rainforests. Lemurs play a crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem of Madagascar’s rainforests. Several plant species are dependent upon lemurs for seed dispersal. By dispersing seeds throughout the rainforest, lemurs are maintaining forest health and helping the forest grow. “Being a seed disperser means they aid in the process of moving seeds or pollen from one area to another,” the Lemur Conservation Network said. “Ruffled lemurs, like the black and white ruﬄed lemur, are a prime example of a lemur species that acts as a key seed disperser.” Every s u m m e r, Razafindratsima travels back to Madagascar to spend months in the ra i n f o re s t s t u d y i n g

the eating habits of lemurs. Razafindratsima and a group of fellow researchers camp in the rainforest in Southeast Madagascar and follow a group of lemurs to study their habits. While in the field, the researchers will wake up with the lemurs and follow them throughout the day, only stopping once the lemurs have settled in for the night. She uses a GPS tracking system that records location data every five minutes. This data is later analyzed to understand their movements and how they travel through their habitat. Razafindratsima and her colleagues watch what they eat and where they go, taking notes on the speciﬁc plant species the lemurs are ingesting. They also study the dispersal of seeds from the plants

ingested by the lemurs by collecting and analyzing the lemurs’ feces. The data collected in the field is then used to determine the dispersal patterns of the lemurs. They take samples they collected and count the seeds, looking at which seed species are found as well as the concentration of each species. Razafindrasima joined the faculty at SDSU in August 2019. She has applied the research methods she has used for lemurs to fruit eating animals that are native to Eastern South Dakota. “I am trying to figure out what animal species are performing the seed dispersal, the same way lemurs do in Madagascar,” Razafindrastima said. Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com

sdsucollegian.com November 18, 2020 A9

OPINION

EDITORIAL

Issue: For god’s sake, get tested South Dakota has the second-highest rate of COVID-19 cases per capita in the U.S. and a test positivity rate of nearly 60%. It’s not hard to see that the state we live and go to school in isn’t doing too hot. Of the over 18,000 active cases of COVID-19 in the state, 20-29 year-olds make up the highest percentage. Of course, that isn’t great for twenty-somethings, but it’s not the end of the world. Less than 2% of our demographic’s (age 20-29 in SD) cases have resulted

in hospitalization, and less than 0.02% have died. That being said, students should all stay safe, wear a mask and socially distance as much as possible to keep ourselves safe. You may not care if you get COVID19, but it’s not cool to bring it home to your family. Fifty-seven people roughly our parents’ age (40-59 years) and nearly 600 people at or above the age of 60 have died in South Dakota due to COVID-19. That’s why we’re writing this. We at

CROSSWORD

n 11/18/20 Sudoku

PuzzleJunction.com

SUDOKU

To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

1 3 7 2 8 6 1 5 4 8 5 2 7 8

2 3 9

The Collegian encourage all students to get a test before leaving for home to keep our families alive. There are so many reasons to test, including the goals of the university’s push to “Test Before Turkey:” To protect our loved ones, to help ensure health care systems don’t get overwhelmed and to reduce the chance of spread to communities outside of Brookings. The test is free, you get to sit in your warm car while you test and you get your results fast, sometimes even the same day.

9 1 9 7 5

Contact sdsuadvertising@gmail.com to sponsor this puzzle!

Across 1 Elmer, to Bugs 4 Alaskan native 9 Ancient 12 Tibetan monk 13 Tether 14 Cancel 16 Show horse 17 Also-ran 18 Thus 19 Subway handhold 21 Dutch city 22 Siesta 23 Drive away 26 Contribute 28 Precise 31 Question 34 Mine entrance 35 Insect eggs 38 Phobias 40 Plum part 41 8th century epic tale 43 Bark 44 Kind of energy 46 African nation

Though comments like, “I heard they stick a Q-tip in your nose and poke your brain!” are common regarding testing, we can guarantee that’s not true. No, the test doesn’t feel good. But we promise a cotton swab for 10-seconds per nostril is worth keeping COVID-19 away from your grandma. For god’s sake, get tested. The Collegian Editorial Board meets weekly and agrees on the issue of the editorial. The editorial represents the opinion of The Collegian.

The Collegian 11/18/20 Crossword

47 Cola 48 Precept 50 Lines of approach 52 Wonderment 53 Field of play 54 Squabble 57 Caviar 59 Upright 63 Besides 64 Softens 67 Zhivago’s love 68 Verse 69 Stir up 70 Balanced 71 Manner 72 Poplar variety 73 Condensation Down 1 Feathered missile 2 Actor Epps 3 Nightclub 4 Entirely 5 Sign before Virgo 6 Artist’s stand

Across

PuzzleJunction.com

7 Preowned 12 13 14 15 1 Elmer, to Bugs 8 Seamstress 4 Alaskanneed native 16 17 18 9 arriving Ancient 9 Late 21 22 19 20 12 Tibetan monk 10 Elders’ teachings 23 24 25 26 27 13 Tether 11 Excavates 14 Cancel 28 29 30 31 32 33 16 Show horse 12 ___ Tunas, 34 35 36 37 38 39 17 Also-ran Cuba 18 Thus 41 42 43 40 19 Subway 15 Flyspeck 46 47 44 45 handhold 20 According to 21 Dutch city 48 49 50 51 22 Siesta unit 24 Glazier’s 52 53 23 Drive away 25 Four Quartets 26 Contribute 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 poet28 Precise 64 65 66 67 63 31 Question 27 Remove, as a 34 Mine entrance 69 70 68 hat 35 Insect eggs 71 72 73 38 Phobias 28 Pool exercise 40 Plum part Copyright ©2020 PuzzleJunction.com 29 Bonehead 41 8th century epic 71 Manner 41 Beer tale 30 Deed 51 Compass pt.11 Excavates 12 ___ Tunas, 72 Poplar variety 42 Cherish 43 Bark 53 Fable writer 32 Louisiana Cuba 73 Condensation 45 Med. school 44 Kind of energy course 46 African nation swamp 54 Tree juice 15 Flyspeck 20 According to Down 47 Held up, like 47 Cola 55 Farm 33 Swap 24 Glazier’s unit traffic 48 Precept 36 Duet equipment 1 Feathered 25 Four Quartets 49 Mother ___ 50 Lines of missile 51 Compass pt. approach 37 Sweetener 56 On the briny27 poet Remove, as a 2 Actor Epps 53 Fable writer 52 Wonderment 39 Jacuzzis 58 Feedbag fill hat 3 Nightclub 54 Tree juice 53 Field of play 4 Entirely 28 Pool exercise 55 Farm 54 Squabble 60 Roof overhang 41 Beer 5 Sign before 29 Bonehead equipment 57 Caviar 42 Cherish 61 Work party 30 Deed Virgo 56 On the briny 59 Upright 6 Artist’s stand 32 Louisiana 58 Feedbag fill 63 Besides 45 Med. school course 62 Summer shade 7 Preowned swamp 60 Roof overhang 64 Softens 47 Held up, like 65 ___ out a living 33 Swap 8 Seamstress need 61 Work party 67 Zhivago’s love 9 Late arriving 62 Summer shade 68 Verse traffic 66 D.C. bigwig 36 Duet 37 Sweetener 10 Elders’ 65 ___ out a living 69 Stir up 49 Mother ___ 39 Jacuzzis teachings 66 D.C. bigwig 70 Balanced

A10 OPINION

sdsucollegian.com November 18, 2020

Territory and states do not vote; people do BECCA ADY Guest Columnist (She/Her) When looking at past elections, there have been instances where the winner of the popular vote has not won the presidency because of the electoral college. No other developed country has an electoral college, and it works perfectly for their elections. The United States could easily do without the electoral college and still have fair elections, just by using the popular vote. During the 2020

election, Joe Biden was in the lead the entire night of Nov. 3 and the weeks after while states were still counting votes. Without having an electoral college, we would know the results much faster because we would not have to wait until the Monday after the second Wednesday in December to figure out the official results. Since 1888, there have been three instances of the candidate losing the election but winning the electoral college. In 1888, Grover Cleveland lost the popular vote, but won the electoral college. In 2000, George Bush lost the

popular vote but won in the electoral college. And as we all know, in 2016, Donald Trump lost the popular vote but won in the electoral college. In all of these instances, we should have had a different person become president than we actually did. Without the electoral college, we can have a more accurate representation of the U.S. population in the White House with just the popular vote. The electoral college is problematic in that the people who vote in the electoral college do not have to vote the same way their states do. This

causes distrust in the system. It does not say in the Constitution that electors need to vote the way their states do in the popular vote. The move to abolish the electoral college would need a constitutional amendment, which would be highly unlikely today, considering how polarized the parties are. A way to get around this is to require states to vote in the electoral college the way they do in the popular vote. For instance in 2016, since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2 million votes, she should have become president.

The founders set up the electoral college because they wanted to make the north and south equals and because they believed most people were not informed enough to make smart decisions on who their next leader should be. The electoral college forces candidates to focus on swing states, such as Florida and Pennsylvania, which causes them to not think about other states, like California and South Dakota. If we got rid of the electoral college, candidates would have to go to more states to try and win their votes. The electoral college

is an outdated idea that should no longer be in place. Many people have said it should be abolished, and I agree. Without the electoral college, candidates will have to convince all states to vote for them, not just a few swing states. By going with the popular vote alone we will have a more accurate representation of the United States in the White House, and get results out much faster, which I think we can all agree is a step in the right direction.

Current presidential administration detrimental to LGBTQ rights BAILEY BIEGLER Guest Columnist (She/Her) While these last eight months have been awful to say the least, the outcome of this election was one of the few positives. The current president and his administration have repeatedly made jabs at the LGBTQ community, especially when it came to taking away rights for transgender individuals. Although Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not a fan

Volume 136 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 10

of the president-elect, he offers more possibility for positive change in the years to come than the current president. But with the appointment of new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, I fear that progress will be slowed. The Supreme Court case, Fulton vs. the City of Philadelphia is a very monumental case when it comes to the adoption rights of same-sex couples, and Barrett has a

reputation to forget to separate faith and government. In the past, she has stated her support for a baker in Colorado who wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sell a cake to a gay couple because of the fact that they were a gay. From this, many people, as well as myself, are led to the conclusion that given the choice in deciding to defend the right of a Catholic adoption agency to deny same-sex couples the right to adopt a parent-

The Collegian is the independent student newspaper at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. The Collegian is published by and for South Dakota State University students under the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and a free press. Opinions expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty, staff or administration. The Collegian is published weekly on Wednesday during the academic year of SDSU.

less child or insurance for same-sex couples that an adoption agency cannot deny them a child due to their sexual orientation, Barrett will very likely choose the former. The appointment of Justice Barrett not only saddens me as a gay person but makes me fearful for the future. The appointment of someone who so blatantly shows disregard for members of the LGBTQ community and is now put in a place

Emily Seaton Editor-in-Chief

of authority in which she can slow the advancement of equal rights is yet another jab from the current president and his administration. This is another step in the opposite direction when it comes to the protection of rights of queer people. While the current circumstances are not in our favor when it comes to preventing discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, I personally still want to

J. Michael Bertsch Managing Editor

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try and be hopeful of the situation. In the summer of 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII applies to sexuality and gender identity while holding a conservative majority. I hope that the current judges continue protecting the rights of individuals, especially within the LGBTQ community, and I hope that they do not perpetuate the issue of adoption discrimination.

Letters to the Editor Send letters to letters@ sdsucollegian.com or to USU 069 Box 2815, Brookings, S.D. 57006. You can also post comments online at www.sdsucollegian.com. Please keep to less than 250 words.

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sdsucollegian.com November 18, 2020

SPORTS

A11

Track athletes ready for return after shortened season SYDNEY SMITH Reporter (She/Her) The South Dakota State University track team has been constantly preparing for their long-awaited return to competition, and this year holds both an indoor and outdoor season in their future. After their outdoor season was canceled earlier this year, the staﬀ and athletes are ready to be back. “I’m looking forward to this season more than ever because of the cancelation of it last year,” junior sprinter Emmanual Phoulom-Smith said. “I didn’t really get a chance to show what I could do

and now, hopefully, I’ll get that chance.” According to head coach Rod DeHaven, the path to prepping for this season has not been like usual, much like many other teams. “We started a bit later and tried to ease into it a bit, but certainly we’ve had stoppages like most teams,” DeHaven said. “We’ve just been doing normal for as much as possible.” Practices have happened in smaller groups than usual while requiring masks and constant sanitization. “Now after those ﬁrst few weeks, that just all seems normal,” said ﬁfthyear senior hurdler Haley

Mottinger. “It’s been pretty high energy and you can tell that everyone’s still excited to just be back.” She went on to say that the excitement and drive is helping push a lot of the athletes through these months of practicing, all anxious to have a real meet. As for what is to come, DeHaven is hopeful that the team is able to have both indoor and outdoor meets this season. “This year there’ll be some challenges and some things that we’re working on with the JacksRBack group to try and host a track meet initially before Christmas,” he said. DeHaven added that he hopes the season can

continue after the holidays and that SDSU could potentially host the Summit League Indoor Championship this year, which was moved from Vermillion last year due to a schedule conﬂict. He said that an indoor and outdoor season is typical for a college athlete to go through and is anticipating that it works out as planned. “After completely missing last year’s outdoor season, we’re very hopeful that we can get that in as well,” DeHaven said.

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Senior Haley Mottinger competed in 10 events during the 2019-20 indoor season and earned two PRs of the year in the 60m dash and 60m hurdles.

GOAL REACHED Thank you students, faculty and staff! We are days away from meeting our goal of having on-campus instruction until Thanksgiving. We couldn’t have done it without your help and support. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

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11/13/20 11:39 AM

A12 SPORTS

sdsucollegian.com

November 18, 2020

Jackrabbit women ready for conference competition SYDNEY SMITH Sports Reporter (She/Her) The Jackrabbits will kick-oﬀ their season, after a semester postponement, with a home game against Iowa State Nov. 28. Following are two more home games against Creighton (6 p.m. Nov. 30) and Gonzaga (2 p.m. Dec. 6). The season will run until Feb. 27 with a ﬁnal home game against Kansas City. Despite the loss of three graduating seniors, the Jackrabbit women’s basketball team is hoping to use their chemistry and returning athletes to their advantage for the upcoming and revamped

conference season. The Summit League conference game schedule looks different than usual, as it is now set up to have back-to-back doubleheader games on the weekends. South Dakota State University will host Western Illinois, University of North Dakota, University of South Dakota and the newly added University of Missouri-Kansas City. “In one way, you really get a chance to prepare for one team and you’ll play them back to back, so you know what you’re going to get,” head coach Aaron Johnston said. Johnston said that this new setup “simplifies things” in terms of

prepping for opponents, as well as helping the team decrease contact and interaction with other people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic also impacted how much the team would be able to practice during the summer, but it didn’t hinder the team’s ability to form a bond. “We have a group of people on the team that are phenomenal teammates and they all care for one another, think about one another, value each other and listen to each other,” Johnston said. He added that the team, who brought in three new freshmen and one transfer, have

embraced each other and have a goal to help everyone be their best. “They have a great understanding of what it takes to be successful and how important it is to value each person,” Johnston said. “I always feel like our chemistry is good.” Another strength of the team is their amount of returning players. The Jacks only lost three seniors last season and now have four new players on top of Myah Selland and Kallie Theisen’s upcoming returns from injury.

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Redshirt junior guard, Myah Selling (no. 44), suﬀered a season ending injury last year, but averaged 13.8 points in her nine appearances on the court.

SDSU men’s basketball has high expectations for spring season SKYLER JACKSON Sports Reporter (He/Him) The South Dakota State men’s basketball team heads into the 2020-21 season with aspirations of a conference championship after going 13-3 in the Summit League last year with a share of the regular-season title. After a challenging year for the SDSU basketball team and continuing pressure to succeed, the Jackrabbits believe they have all the pieces to make a run at the Summit League Tournament. The expectations for this year’s basketball team are high. In late October, they were picked no. 1 in the Summit League men’s

basketball preseason poll. Second-year head coach Eric Henderson said he’s familiar with the pressure for his team to perform well. “It’s something that’s not new to our program,” he said. “We’ve had expectations for a really long time.” SDSU will have all ﬁve starters from last season returning this year, further adding to its expectations. Henderson hopes that the returning starters will have a positive impact on this year’s success. “To have all five starters back and even our sixth and seventh guys coming oﬀ the bench from last year, they understand what the expectations are,” Henderson said.

“They don’t take anything for granted, and they’ve been good leaders.” One of those key returning starters is senior Douglas Wilson, last season’s Summit League player of the year who led the team with 18.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Henderson credits Wilson’s unselfishness, mentioning how it affects the team’s success. “He infatuated our team with that unselfishness,” Henderson said. “He’s so talented, finishes so well and can score at a high level. But as talented as he is, he’s an even better teammate.” Another critical starter to watch for is junior Noah Freidel. Last season, he averaged 12.2

points per game and led the team with 66 made three-pointers. Along with Wilson, Freidel was chosen as a preseason all Summit League player, as he looks to have a more signiﬁcant impact on the Jackrabbits this season. “It’s been fun to watch Noah get more consistent and mature as a young man, both on and oﬀ the court,” Henderson said. “I think he has a greater appreciation for our team and what we’re able to accomplish together and what role he can have in it.” Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com

FILE PHOTO Senior forward, Douglas Wilson (no. 35), averaged 18.6 points per game last season with 20 or more points in a game in 12 of his 29 appearances.