February 10, 202

February 10, 2021

Collegian photos by BECCA YMKER (She/Her)

Jackrabbits take on Coyotes over weekend contest Men’s team splits with USD, while women’s team pulled ahead with huge runs to win 64-45

SEE BASKETBALL ON A12

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SD LEGISLATION Students can get involved with state legislature from the comfort of their homes.

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RABBIT RIDE Students can travel around Brookings and campus with BATA bus’s free transportation.

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February 10, 2021

NEWS

Student Senate tackles state legislation J. MICHAEL BERTSCH Managing Editor (He/Him) The Students’ Association Senate is collectively taking stances and testifying in support of South Dakota state legislation, including Senate Bill 27, SB 171 and House Bill 1210.

The Feb. 8 SA meeting resulted in the passage of Resolution 20-19-R, which voices SA’s support for SB 27.

According to Vice President of Student Affairs and SA Adviser, Michaela Willis, SB 27

will give the South Dakota Board of Regents control of online and in-person course costs.

“What this bill does is basically … allows the Board of Regents the flexibility to set tuition based on their understanding of the market and the environment,” Willis said.

“It would give the Board the ability, should they choose, to simplify tuition rates, or they could decide to leave it the same … but it does give local control.”

According to the text of the resolution, SA supports the bill because, if passed, it would “elimi-

nate the mandated difference in cost” between on and off-campus courses, and give the SDBOR “freedom to provide the optimal cost of education for students.”

In addition to SB 27, SA will be voting on resolutions to support SB 171, which would establish a needs-based scholarship called the “South Dakota Freedom Scholarship,” and HB 120, which would provide money to the SDBOR for a new bioproducts facility at the research park.

Members of SA are also testifying for these

bills at the state Capitol building in Pierre.

According to SA President Hattie Seten, her and Vice Pres. Reis Bruley went to the Capitol to speak in favor of SB 171 during committee. “ We d o n’t h ave any issue that is more important legislatively than SB 171,” Brian Maher, executive director and CEO of the SDBOR, said.

“I was tickled to hear your president and vice president speak (to the Senate State Affairs committee).

They gave a powerful message … on the importance of SB 171.”

Other updates from SA 

Christopher Svarstad and Nathan Price announced their intent to run for president and vice president of the Students’ Association during public comments; however, the pair will need to either be nominated by a current member of the Senate or file a petition with signatures from 5% of the student body.

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Charter Day, Feb. 21, celebrates the founding of SDSU. This year will be the 140th anniversary of SDSU’s founding.

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The SDSU Rodeo Team is hoping to hold its annual competition April 9. The team is in contact with the Swiftel Center and looking at other outdoor venues.

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sdsucollegian.com

NEWS

February 10, 2021

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Noem creates Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources KATELYN WINBERG Reporter (She/Her) Gov. Kristi Noem signed an executive order Jan. 12 to merge the Department of Agriculture (SDDA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Hunter Roberts, the intended head of the new Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR), says the move was made to consolidate resources and reduce costs for taxpayers.

“The merged department will continue all existing duties and implement all the programs the two departments had in the past,” Roberts said.

“Agriculture, conservation and natural resource protection go hand-in-hand, so it makes sense for South Dakota to regulate these industries under one department.”

Roberts also points out that although one cabinet secretary position has been cut, the hole will be filled by Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden as he acts as an ambassador for agriculture and a liaison between commodity groups and the governor’s executive team.

The decision has split the agricultural community. While many organizations have remained neutral, two major factions have arisen in opposition and defense.

The South Dakota Fa r m B u r e a u h a s endorsed the measure.

Although President Scott VanderWal admits that much of their organization’s board were initially skeptical, they were eventually swayed by a visit from Roberts and Rhoden where they presented their argument.

“The governor is on the right track with trying to cut back on some expenses and streamline the department,” VanderWal said.

VanderWal claimed that the state will save about $450,000 as a result of this merger.

In regard to streamlining the department, VanderWal says that effi-

Opportunity available to students who plan to intern with a non-profit organization or human service agency for academic credit.

APPLICATIONS are available from your department’s internship coordinator, from the SDSU Foundation at 815 Medary Avenue, or online at: www.sdstatefoundation.org/GroveLaw For questions, call (605) 697-7475 or email Jillian.Baldini@sdstatefoundation.org

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE MARCH 5, 2021

ciencies like combining regulators will help producers, specifically dairy farmers. Currently the SDDA inspects dairy facilities while the DENR takes care of the different management plans. The merger will help simplify the “red tape” that producers have to go through.

H o w e ve r, S o u t h Dakota’s largest agricultural organization, the South Dakota Farmers Union, has opposed the measure, stating that it was their members who voted against endorsement, not their board.

“In reality, the environment and the number one industry, agriculture, are the last places we should think about saving money,” Doug Sombke, president of the union, said.

Sombke also said that the only other states to do a similar merge are Alaska and Rhode Island, two states that don’t have heavy agriculture industries. His fear is that agricultural and environmental issues have a potential for conflict with a smaller workforce.

SUBMITTED Hunter Roberts is the intended head of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Environmental groups have also weighed in on the issue.

One in particular is the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, the state’s oldest conservation organization. Executive Director Chris Hesla claims that although it is important for the SDDA and the DENR to work closely together, agriculture is only a small part of the latter’s job.

“The DENR regulates mining, clean water in

the Black Hills, uranium mining in southwest South Dakota and tracks the daily loads of pollutants that go into our water,” Hesla said.

Many environmental groups, including the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, are pushing for state lawmakers to block the governor’s executive order.

The measure goes into effect April 12, 2021.

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NEWS

sdsucollegian.com

February 10, 2021

How to use your voice in the Legislative process BROCK BROWN Reporter (He/Him) South Dakota’s state Capitol is nearly 190 miles away from the South Dakota State University campus, and, at times, the actions that occur in Pierre may seem distant or out of reach to SDSU students.

However, there are many ways that SDSU students can get involved in the legislative process and have an impact on what bills become law here in South Dakota.

There are a variety of ways that SDSU students can get involved, both in the Capitol building and

from their dorm room.

One benefit of COVID-19 was the implementation of virtual committee testimony in all legislative committees.

If any SDSU student wishes to testify on legislation, they may contact the committee through information listed on SDLegislature.gov.

There are currently 22 college students working as interns for the Legislative Research Council, who are assigned to specific parties, committees or legislators.

Their duties range from committee operations to research, along with other tasks depending on assign-

ments from the legislators or committees.

The application for this internship is available each fall and is announced before the start of the spring semester. “ T h i s i nte r n s h i p allowed me to develop skills including leadership, networking, legal writing and communication,” junior political science student Rachel Schoon, a 2020 Senate Intern, said.

Students can also get directly involved with legislators by voicing their opinion on legislation, asking questions or even asking a legislator to sponsor legislation on their behalf.

“ I a l ways e n j oy hearing from students, especially SDSU students,” Rep. Tim Reed said. “I consider all of them my constituents, and I always tell them if they are from South Dakota to make sure they contact their hometown representatives.”

Students can also get involved in special interest and lobbying groups; in fact, as members of the student body, they are already represented by the Students’ Association Senate, which has registered lobbyists that travel to Pierre and testify on their behalf.

The Students’ Association has already

taken a position on 2021 legislation including needs-based scholarship funding, and in the past, worked closely with legislators to achieve their goals.

Rep. Larry Tidemann says he worked with SA student leaders to pass multiple pieces of legislation.

“I worked with the student body leadership on the wellness center and the Good Samaritan bills,” he said. “SDSU students also helped get bills passed for the new swine building and the cow calf unit.”

If students don’t feel comfortable directly contacting their legislators,

there are other opportunities to learn more about the issues important to their communities.

The Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce hosts legislative town halls Feb. 13 and 20 from 9-10 a.m.; students can register on the Chamber’s website.

At the end of the day, if students don’t agree with the legislation that passes or dies in Pierre, they have the opportunity to be involved in the process as a legislator.

The next general election is in November 2022, and students can find the requirements on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website.

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LIFESTYLES

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PHOTO FROM 2019 The SDSU Wind Symphony performed Feb. 5 at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center. The Wind Symphony will perform again March 22 at 7:30 p.m. and April 11 at 2:30 p.m.

Wind Symphony showcases 10 pieces to limited audience GRIFFIN TONSAGER Copy Editor (He/Him) T h e S D S U Wi n d Symphony performed for a very limited number of guests in Larson Memorial Concert Hall at SDSU’s Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center (PAC).

Fr i d ay ’s co n ce r t, featuring 10 pieces, marks the first time that the SDSU Wind Symphony has performed for an audience during the Spring 2021 semester.

Opening with Aaron Copland’s explosive “Fanfare for the Common Man,” this was Director of Concert Bands and conductor Jacob Wallace’s

first time conducting this piece with the Wind Symphony at SDSU. “There are some things I’ve never been able to do before that we’re doing, Copland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ and Paul Dooley’s ‘Masks and Machines’ are two great examples,” Wallace said. “I love everything we’re doing, which tends to be the case for me. I find little pieces of joy in all the things we program.”

Part of Friday’s concert employed a unique performance technique called “cori spezzati,” in which players are positioned across the auditorium from each other to play to one another over

the heads of the audience.

This technique was used to perform Italian c o m p o s e r G i ova n n i Gabrieli’s “Canzon primi toni á 8.”

During the concert, Wallace also recognized four graduating seniors who will be leaving the wind symphony at the end of the semester: Principal B-Flat Clarinet Player Alyssa Anderson, Principal Trumpet Player Liz Pauli, Tuba Player Garret Buchanan and Principal B-Flat Clarinet Player Emily Pierce.

“I am incredibly proud to be able to say that that was my last performance because we put in so much work and it went really well,” Anderson

said. “I will miss playing with such an amazing group of people, but I’m grateful for the opportunities Wind Symphony gave me.”

The wind symphony has been practicing for Friday’s concert since November.

“We started rehearsing a few weeks before winter break,” Izzy Carlson, a freshman music entrepreneurship major, who plays B-flat clarinet, said.

“Then we had our big break, and we came back to our pieces and we’ve been rehearsing those since the beginning of the second semester.”

As far as PAC staff, not much was out of the ordinary for preparation for

the concert.

“What we did on Friday night involved very little additional production for PAC staff outside of videorecording responsibilities,” Wallace said.

Wallace, currently in his sixth year of conducting at SDSU, stressed his gratitude to his fellow SDSU faculty and staff who make the process of conducting concerts easier.

“This year has had a lot for us to deal with, but I’m grateful for really supportive colleagues who have made tremendous efforts to help get all of these things taken care of,” Wallace said.

As a venue, Wallace says PAC is great for

groups like the Wind Symphony.

“I think it’s a really lovely facility,” he said.

“The acoustics are very nice, and they’re adaptable for every group that goes into the performance spaces. It’s also aesthetically quite pretty, so it’s fun to invite people from throughout the region because they’re usually extremely impressed by being in the building.”

The concert from Feb. 5 will be available to stream Feb. 12, coinciding with SDSU’s virtual hosting of The 85th Annual South Dakota Bandmasters Association Clinic, which takes place Feb. 11-13.

sdsucollegian.com

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Safe Ride rebrands, introduces Rabbit Ride for ride requests

Collegian photo by FRANKIE HERRERA (He/Him) Coby Reetz, Tristen Bent, Jacob Suter and Braden Holland used Rabbit Ride’s free services to travel downtown Feb. 6.

ANDREW RASMUSSEN Opinion Editor (He/Him) Rabbit Ride is a program housed in the Wellness Center aimed at giving safe transportation to students and community members on Friday and Saturday nights.

The program, previously called Safe Ride, started in 2006 and was rebranded this past year.

Changes to the program include a new name, logo and the introduction of an app, TapRide, to request a ride.

Rabbit Ride is free of charge for anyone that would like a ride, regardless of if they attend SDSU or not.

While the overall ser-

DWI RATES 2016-2020

vice is open to anyone, only SDSU students are able to use the app by logging in with their SDSU student credentials. Users can also call 605-695-3984 to request a ride.

“The program functions very much the same, the big difference is there are not stops anymore,” Mariah Weber, assistant director of the Wellness Center, said. “It’s more of a ride share, so we function a little bit more like an Uber or Lyft.”

TapRide allows students to request the bus pick them up and drop them off at any location.

This is a change from the previous system of a continuous bus route with predetermined stops around town.

The system is funded

from a variety of sources, including the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety, SDSU Student’s Association and the City of Brookings.

A majority of the funding is through a grant provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), at just under $45,000 a year, which is administered by the SD office of Highway Safety. Students’ Association provides funding for the student monitors at $9,000 a year, and the City of Brookings provides an additional $5,000.

“Without the monitors, the program does not run,” Weber said. “They pay attention to behaviors on the bus, help the driver, help with navigation, help

with the app and the answering the phone.”

During a Saturday ride along, Jan Miedema, a BATA driver, and Cora Harris, a student monitor, had plenty of stories to share about the service.

“There is an awful lot of oversharing,” Miedema said. As of 10 p.m. Saturday, the bus had already dropped off a birthday party of 27 people. “We have a birthday sash out there for you to pick up later,” Miedema said over the radio.

When boarding the bus, neither the driver nor the monitor will ask to verify the age of the passenger.

“Our focus is to provide safe transportation,” Harris said.

The service operates from 9 p.m. until approximately 2:30 a.m., according to the Rabbit Ride website.

“It’s always a full bus at 2 a.m.,” Miedema said.

When there are no request rides, the bus will drive around to popular pick up spots in an effort to reduce wait times, according to Harris.

These locations include Meadows, The Blues and the middle school townhomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic environment has slowed numbers for the service.

While Harris said most of the passengers are using the service for alcohol related reasons, anyone can request a ride for any reason.

Rabbit Ride’s service is aimed at keeping people safe by providing an alternative to driving home or riding with someone who should not be driving.

Even with other ride sharing services similar to Rabbit Ride, like Lyft or taxis, Brookings’ DWI rates have remained stable over the past few years.

2016 266

2017 233

2018 235

2019 237

2020 258

RABBIT RIDE SERVICE NUMBERS      

2015-16 - 20,250 2016-2017 - 18,167 2017-2018 - 12,263 2018-2019 - 9,502 2019-2020 - 5,590 (COVID-19) 2020-2021 - 5,132 (COVID-19 and one semester down)

Information from States Attorney Dan Nelson

February 10, 2021

LIFESTYLES

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Students shoot for the moon in NASA challenges JORDAN RUSCHE Lifestyles Editor (She/Her) A team of senior mechanical engineering majors have been busy designing a drill that could be used to drill for water on the surface of the Moon and Mars for a national contest sponsored by NASA. The contest, called the “Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge,” asks teams of both undergraduate and graduate students “to design and build hardware that can extract water and assess subsurface density profiles from a simulated offworld test bed,” according to NASA’s website.

Todd Letcher, associate mechanical engineering professor and adviser for the team, said that if NASA was to create a base on the Moon or Mars, astronauts would not be able to bring all of the supplies necessary to live on either surface.

Therefore, they would need a way to extract these supplies, like water, from the ground.

“On Mars, water is stored in basically large frozen ice blocks underneath a layer of topsoil, and to get to that, you’re going to have to either dig down or drill down,” Letcher said. “Then on the Moon, this machine would be used for prospecting, basically determining what the layers of crust look like on the Moon. The machine has to serve two different purposes.”

South Dakota State University’s team, made up of students Gabe

Peters, Matt Dentlinger, Dylan McMahon and Sajan Karki, is one of 12 semi-finalist teams from universities across America.

Semi-finalists were announced in December after teams submitted a proposal explaining their designs and how the machines would be used for water extraction and prospecting.

Letcher said that he knew making it to the semifinals would be difficult based on the results of previous years.

“It kind of seemed like it was the same top 10 teams that were getting to the finals every year, so we knew right away that we had our work cut out for us,” he said.

Letcher is also confident in the team’s design and he said the way they have designed the drill itself is what makes it unique from the others.

“Our drill is also our first filter for the water,” he said. “We’re using an inner and outer drill. Our outer drill will stay in the hole for the entire process, and … we’re hoping the outer drill will prevent the hole from collapsing and prevent any sand or rubble from going down in the hole.”

The drill also features a 3D-printed heater core.

Letcher says the shape of the heater will promote faster melting, which will hopefully result in more water being extracted more quickly. They’ve named their design the “Jackrabbit Automated Moon to Mars Extractor and prospectoR,” or JAMMER.

Collegian graphic by OMAR IMRAN (He/Him)

Sajan Karki, one of the students on the team, said different team members will focus on different parts of the machine’s design.

“I’m working currently on the filtering side of it, and then I’m going into the heating side,” he said.

“Two of our members are working on the drill and one person is working on the controls.”

Semi-finalists received $5,000 from NASA to fund the manufacture of their designs. In mid-March, after reexamining their machines, 10 teams will be selected as finalists and will receive another $5,000 to be used to prepare for the final competition in June, where teams will demonstrate their finished technology this June to a panel of judges, including NASA engineers.

So far, the team has spent the spring semester testing the actual capabilities of their design. They have been practicing on frozen five-gallon buckets, though Letcher said they are in the process of building a larger box that can be filled with water and covered with sand and rock to better mimic the conditions the drill will have to face during the final demonstration.

Though Letcher said figuring out the concept and manufacture of the design has been a challenge, he also thinks the team has one advantage when it comes to preparing for June: South Dakota winter weather.

“A lot of the other teams are West Coast, East Coast, down south, so they are definitely not testing outside,” he said.

“And some of the setups

that they have made to try and freeze a large block like that is pretty elaborate, so we’re lucky that we can just go outside.”

In addition to the Moon to Mars challenge, SDSU will be competing in two other NASA challenges this semester with two teams of students.

These other competitions are called the “Break the Ice Lunar Challenge” and the “Deep Space Food Challenge.”

The purpose of the lunar challenge is to design a rover and equipment that can extract and move water from the surface of the Moon to a populated base. As he says, the way water is frozen on the Moon differs from the way it freezes on Mars, according to Letcher.

“On the Moon, water is stored in tiny little ice crystals mixed into the

soil on the surface, so you have to extract the water in two different ways,” he said.

The food challenge asks teams to design a “greenhouse” or other room that can facilitate food production for four astronauts on Mars so they can sustain themselves for extended periods.

SDSU has also taken part in the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, also sponsored by NASA, in which teams of both amateurs and professional engineers had to come up with a way to create structures on Mars by designing the material, printer and actual building used.

Only two teams have ever finished the challenge, according to Letcher.

Letcher hopes that this challenge will help these students acquire highpaying jobs in the future due to their involvement in the challenge.

“That’s going to look really good on a resume, to say that you won a NASA challenge,” he said. “A lot of the students someday want to work for a big, high-tech company like NASA, SpaceX or Tesla.”

Both Letcher and the students feel confident about their chances come March.

“We are a lot more confident than we were, because it was just a concept at the very beginning, and now we’re actually building it,” Karki said.

“It’s coming together, and obviously that helps boost the confidence a lot.”

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LIFESTYLES

sdsucollegian.com

February 10, 2021

Wellness Center to reopen pool, allow court use MARA WHEATON Reporter (She/Her) As the new semester began at South Dakota State University, so did changes to the Miller Wellness Center, including a new face covering policy and intramurals.

Back in August, Pres.

Barry Dunn made the decision that all individuals are required to wear a face covering while in the Wellness Center. This semester, it was added to this policy that people are also required to wear them while resting between exercises.

“Aug. 1, President Dunn said everyone is wearing masks, we had a struggle of having to fight for taking (facemasks) off when exerting yourselves, but we did some research and we felt pretty confident about that,” Shari Landmark, director of recreation and fitness at the Wellness Center, said.

Making sure to enforce this new policy, staff members give intercom announcements every 30 minutes to remind users to keep their masks on.

However, some staff members do not agree with the new mask policy.

“It makes sense to let us not wear them when we are actually working out, but when we aren’t working out, having to wear them doesn’t really

Volume 136 • Issue 14

Collegian photos by HOLLIE LEGGETT (She/Her) The Miller Wellness Center has taken precautions to maintain social distancing, the attendance has been lacking due to these restrictions.

seem like it would make a difference,” a Wellness Center employee who wishes to remain anonymous said. “Seems pointless if we we’re working out and heavy breathing without them.”

Students should be advised that continuously disregarding the face coving policy will result in a seven-day suspension from the facility.

Already this semester, five students have been suspended, along with o n e S D S U f a c u l ty member.

“We do a pretty good job of trying to, and I hate to say the word but, police it and make sure people wear them,” Landmark

said. “It’s not even students, I have a couple of faculty and staff that we constantly have to remind to put [on] their face covering.”

Landmark is excited to announce that the pool, which has been closed since October, is on track to reopen soon for the public.

“We have a lot of people who utilize our pool since there really isn’t another pool in town,” she said. “That is supposed to be filled [the week of Jan. 25] and ... hopefully it will be up and running by Feb. 15.”

Although people do not need to wear a mask in the pool, it is required

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.

to wear one until you arrive at your swimming location.

Those who frequented the Wellness Center last semester would be aware that for the last couple of months, court one housed a majority of the cardio equipment to maintain social distancing.

Now, courts one through three are open for students to resume recreational sports such as basketball.

Attendance these last couple of months have been at a low considering the amount of space available due to social distancing.

Landmark and the Wellness Center staff are

hoping that the reopening of the courts will increase the attendance rates.

“I am glad the Wellness Center is allowing more activities this semester, because I believe many people didn’t come because of the new rules,” Jaedyn Finkbeiner, sophomore b u s i n e s s e co n o m i c s major, said. “I did a lot of home workouts because I did not like the social distancing in the workout space. Sometimes it is hard to find a space because there is a small number to allow social distancing.”

Intramural basketball is resuming Tuesdays through Thursdays with a

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limited capacity.

According to Courtney Berntsen, coordinator of competitive sports and camps, the number of teams participating is limited to 72, but have completely filled up already.

Teams are limited to eight or nine participants, but only seven members are allowed to show up to each game.

A precaution that is being implemented this semester is that no spectators are allowed, in order to maintain social distancing on and around the courts.

The tallest amenity at the Wellness Center is the 35-foot rock climbing wall, which is open seven days a week with limited hours. The user numbers have increased from eight climbers per 50 minutes to 14 climbers.

The Wellness Center is still closed daily from 1-3 p.m. for a deep clean of the entire facility.

Employees will also be sanitizing equipment around the facilities during their open hours.

“Hopefully (during the Fall 2021) semester, we will be able to take off our masks and open the group fitness studios back up,” Landmark said.

“Respect others – that is the biggest thing I want to convey. And wipe your equipment off, just keep things clean.”

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.

Main line: 605.688.6164 Newsroom: 605.688.6166 Editor-in-Chief: 605.688.6178

sdsucollegian.com February 10, 2021

OPINION

A9

EDITORIAL

Issue: Voters’ wishes overturned due to amendment technicalities.

Amendment A, which legalized recreational marijuana in South Dakota and was approved by 54% of voters in the 2020 general election, was declared unconstitutional by a South Dakota court this week.

A c i rc u i t j u d ge appointed by Gov. Kristi Noem, argued that the amendment would have “far-reaching effects on the basic nature” of the state’s government

to the point of being unconstitutional.

This rejection comes after two law enforcement officers sued on the grounds that the legislation was considered a revision to the constitution, not an amendment.

This has us wondering, why wasn’t the amendment proposed the correct way before putting it before the voters?

Is this a creative loophole

to stop the legalization of marijuana?

According to Keloland, the director of the Legislative Research Council, a nonpartisan policy support office, warned backers of Amendment A that it had constitutional issues, but no changes were made prior to it being put before voters.

This is a severe disservice to South Dakota voters who voted in sup-

port of the amendment only to be let down due to legal jargon.

Who should get the blame for this? The court?

Those that challenged it?

Or the group that failed to properly vet their legislation?

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, a statewide political action committee, was the main driver of the legislation.

The committee has said that their mission

was to “provide relief to patients, improve public safety and strengthen South Dakota’s economy.”

South Dakotans voted in favor of recreational marijuana, not on the precise language of the legislation.

They voted for the possession, taxation and licensing of marijuana products, not whether the legislation was an amendment or a revision.

With a clear poll on

Marijuana popularity, it’s time for petitioners to write ballot measures to vet their legislation properly and the South Dakota Legislature to take up marijuana laws and give the people what they clearly want.

The Collegian Editorial Board meets weekly and agrees on the issue of the editorial. The editorial represents the opinion of The Collegian.

The Collegian 2/10/21 Crossword

2/10/21 Sudoku

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7 3 5 9

2 6 2 5

6 7 1 8 9

8 3 2 6

7 1 4

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Across 1 Optimistic 5 Nevada city 9 Table scraps 13 Pot builder 14 Dodge 16 Pinnacle 17 School peers 19 Entertainment award 20 Young fox 21 Quarries 22 Give a hoot 24 Compass dir.

25 Chowed down 26 Champion 29 Exams 31 Puff up 33 Altar avowal 34 Little devil 36 ___ vapeur (steamed) 37 Exploit 38 Ariz. neighbor 40 Black ink item 42 Botanist Gray 43 One Beatle 44 Kind of instinct

45 Annex 47 Superlative ending 48 Gave up 50 Dog tether 54 Anxiety disorders 56 Lyrical Gershwin 58 Jacuzzi 59 Family group 60 Pudding fruit 61 Sweltering 62 Achy 64 Minstrel 67 Wistful word 68 Fry quickly 69 Gaelic 70 Guinea pigs, maybe 71 Summers on the Seine 72 Garden intruder Down 1 Auditory annoyance 2 Surfing, in a way

Across

1 13

2

3

4

5 14

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1 Optimistic 5 Nevada city 19 17 18 3 Union9 members Table scraps 21 22 23 20 4 Survey choice 13 Pot builder 24 25 26 27 28 5 Send,14asDodge 16 Pinnacle payment 31 32 33 29 30 17 School peers 6 Delights 34 35 36 37 19 Entertainment 7 Bar freebies award 38 39 40 41 42 8 Poetic 20 tribute Young fox 44 45 46 21 Quarries 9 La Scala offering 43 22 Give a hoot 10 Curatives 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 24 Compass dir.

11 Scottish cap 56 57 58 54 55 25 Chowed down 12 Wild 26 blue Champion 59 60 61 yonder29 Exams 64 65 66 62 63 31 Puff up 15 Intensify 33 Altar avowal 18 Involuntary 68 69 67 34 Little devil twitch36 ___ vapeur 71 72 70 23 Totally(steamed) Copyright ©2021 PuzzleJunction.com 26 Brazilian soccer 37 Exploit 57 Bumpkins 39 Despot 9 La Scala 38 Before crop or legend38 Ariz. neighbor 68 Fry quickly 41 Lather 60 Sulkregister 69 Gaelic offering 40 Black ink item 27 Brainchild 10 Curatives 62 Tree 70 Guinea pigs, 39 Despot 42 Botanist Gray juice 43 Energy 28 Silent assent maybe 41 Lather cry 43 One Beatle 46 Guanaco’s 11 Scottish cap 63 Corrida 30 Cultivate, like 43 Energy 44 Kind of instinct 71 Summers cousin on the 12 Wild blue 65 Arctic explorer land 45 Annex yonder Seine 46 Guanaco’s 48 Cloak-andJohn 72 Garden intruder 15 Intensify cousin 47 Superlative 32 Garbage drops dagger org. 18 Involuntary 66 Morning 48 Cloak-and35 Some ending Down49 Thin out twitch dagger org.

48 Gave up ceremonial 23 Totally 49 Thin out 50 Dog tether 51 On dry land displays 1 Auditory 54 Anxiety 52 Better half26 Brazilian soccer 51 On dry land 37 Chip’sdisorders partner annoyance legend 52 Better half 53 Loathing 27 Brainchild 2 Surfing, in a 53 Loathing 56 Lyrical 38 Before crop or 55 Sanctify 28 Silent assent way 55 Sanctify register Gershwin 3 Union members 30 Cultivate, like 57 Bumpkins 58 Jacuzzi land 4 Survey choice 60 Sulk 59 Family group 5 Send, as 32 Garbage 62 Tree juice 60 Pudding fruit 35 Some payment 63 Corrida cry 61 Sweltering 6 Delights ceremonial 65 Arctic explorer 62 Achy 7 Bar freebies displays John 64 Minstrel 37 Chip’s partner 8 Poetic tribute 66 Morning drops 67 Wistful word

A10 OPINION

sdsucollegian.com

February 10, 2021

Trendy place. Trendy plate. Agua Fresh.

HEMISHKA LOBIN Guest Columnist (She/Her) Scrumptious, healthy and refreshing. Those are the three words for Agua Fresh.

Located at 420 Main Ave. in Brookings, the fairly chic restaurant is not hard to spot. If you want decent music, a place to do homework and, of course, delicious paninis, this is the place to go.

Agua Fresh indeed has a mouthwatering menu with grilled sandwiches made of panini bread, wraps, salads, soups, super bowls and not to mention, their wellknown smoothies and freshly made crush juices.

With six different classic smoothies, four

specialty smoothies, three fruits and veggies smoothies, five crush juices and five coldpressed juices, Agua Fresh is the way to go. Besides, don’t you get bored with going to the same restaurants and same fast food chains repeatedly?

My favorite crush juice is Pineapple Passion.

It’s vegan (obviously), organic and has pineapple, kiwi and pear. It’s a very unusual combination, but once you’ve tried it, you are addicted for life. There’s no turning back.

If you did not try their chicken pesto panini, you are missing. The grilled chicken, the pesto sauce, the provolone cheese and the tomatoes are the perfect combination. On top of that is the aromatic

smell; it makes me drool every single time (insert drooling emoji).

One unique thing about Agua Fresh is that they do not sell soft drinks. Yes, it is true.

The only drink options available are smoothies and juices. But when you have 23 different options of drinks, why would you need other beverages anyway?

Is Agua Fresh supposed to be a place of only healthy food? Because one thing that left me open-mouthed is that their combo meals come with a bag of chips. If the restaurant is considered as healthy, why the bag of chips?

They have so many different options of nutritious smoothies and juices, but for their

combo meals it’s Block & Barrel’s “Plain Potato Chips?” I believe there are undeniably a lot of other healthier sides that could substitute the bag of chips.

Maybe some good alternatives would be a small bowl of different fruits or a small bowl of any fruits of your choice?

Or even a small salad bowl?

Apart from the potato chip whining, Agua Fresh is worth the try. The prices are reasonable and affordable. There has not been one single time that I went there and the food was inedible. Agua Fresh might be my favorite restaurant in Brookings after all, considering the health freak that I am.

Again, might be.

Collegian photo by HEMISHKA LOBIN (She/Her) Agua Fresh offers many items including the chicken pesto panini and pineapple passion crush juice.

Protecting yourself from identity thieves LORNA SABOEWOUNDED HEAD Family Resource Management Field Specialist, SDSU Extension (She/Her) You may not think you have much information to form your financial identity, but identity thieves can take one piece of identifying information to cause you financial problems for the rest of your life.

Your financial identity includes your social security number, bank account information and login data to streaming services of other accounts that link to your bank account.

If someone steals any of your financial information, your ability to get and use credit and build a credit score, will cost you a lot of money, time and stress.

Tips to avoid identity theft:

Patrol your wallet You shouldn’t be keeping important documents like social security cards in your wallet.

If it gets lost or stolen that is much more dangerous than a credit card with a $500 limit you can call your bank to cancel.

Speaking of lost or stolen, be mindful about where you keep your wallet and try not to let that happen.

Read your bank statements and check your credit report

The next best thing to making sure your identity isn’t stolen is to make sure you find out right away if it is.

Keeping on top of your bank records will alert you of any weird purchases you know you didn’t make, and you can get one free credit report (more in-depth than just a credit score) from each of the major three credit trackers annually.

Don’t give out information over the phone

No one should call you to ask for your social security number, banking information or anything of that sort even if they say that they are with your bank or the IRS. The exception to this is if you make the call to your bank they may need an account number or something sensitive to verify that it is you, but often they will have security questions or other means of doing so.

If at any time you don’t

feel comfortable giving out that information, ask for another way to verify or hang up the phone.

If you do notice something, contact the bank or credit card company immediately.

For more information about managing your finances go to the SDSU Extension website (https:// extension.sdstate.edu/ family/family-finances).

sdsucollegian.com

SPORTS

February 10, 2021 A11

Francom breaks personal, school record at Summit League championships SYDNEY SMITH Sports Reporter (She/Her) It took a sibling rivalry and some guts for senior track athlete Trent Francom to try pole vaulting in high school.

“My older brother did it in high school, and I literally just thought I could do it better than him when I got older,” Francom said.

That determination and drive led to Francom becoming one of the best pole vaulters to come out of Huron High School, as he holds the school’s pole vault record. In addition, he was also a three-time place winner at state, earned an all-America honorable mention and received the South Dakota

High School Coaches’ Association Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year in 2017.

This high school success helped turn him toward the bigger goal of being a college athlete. He eventually found a home at South Dakota State University.

“As a school, I really like SDSU,” Francom said.

“It was a very homey vibe and the fact that it was Division 1 was big for me.

That, and the coaches. So all together I thought it would be the best college experience.”

Francom’s career has developed into one of the best for pole vaulters in SDSU history, according to the GoJacks website.

He kicked off his

freshman indoor season with the 10th-best mark in school history at the SDSU Holiday Open and ended the year in similar fashion. Francom tied his older brother, Reagan, for the school record at the Summit League Championship with a finish of 16 feet, 6.75 inches.

Francom did it again at the outdoor Summit League Championships his freshman year by again breaking a school record for outdoor pole vault, becoming the first Jack to finish over 17 feet.

A month later, he became the first male from SDSU to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims and finished 28th.

Qualifying to compete

we are

e W

for a spot at the national meet was the most special event of his career, Francom said.

“It was definitely one of my biggest accomplishments,” he said.

His sophomore season brought just as much success, as he competed at the Summit League indoor and outdoor championships. But the outdoor competition brought the most excitement.

Francom broke his own personal and school record with a finish of 17 feet, 5.5 inches, earning him a third-place finish and a return ticket to the NCAA West Prelims, where he took home a 14th-place finish.

Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com

GOJACKS.COM Francom’s career has developed into one of the best for pole vaulters in SDSU history, according to the GoJacks website.

e r a

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A12 SPORTS

From A1

BASKETBALL

sdsucollegian.com

February 10, 2021

Jackrabbit Women defeat ‘Yotes EVAN PATZWALD Sports Reporter (He/Him) The South Dakota State Un ive rs i ty wo m e n’s basketball team won both of their games against University of South Dakota in the South Dakota Showdown Series over the weekend.

Number 23 South Dakota State (15-2, 8-0) won in a blowout 64-45 Friday night and went on a huge run in the final minutes on Saturday to steal one from South Dakota (10-5, 6-2).

Coming into the weekend, both teams were tied for first in the Summit League standings, each sitting at 6-0. The Jacks came in having won 10 in a row, while the Coyotes had won their last seven games.

The first quarter was pretty close, but the second quarter is when the Jackrabbits took a big lead. They went on a 10-0 run over a four-minute stretch in the second to go up 12, leading 30-18.

Sophomore forward Tori Nelson picked up two early fouls at the beginning of the game and only played four minutes

in the first two quarters.

This made way for junior guard Sydney Stapleton to step up and come off the bench. She scored 11 points in the first half, shooting three for three on 3-pointers. She was only averaging 1.3 points per game for the year coming in.

“Anytime anyone has success, it’s great,” coach Aaron Johnston said postgame. “She’s worked really hard over several weeks, and Sydney took advantage of her opportunity tonight.”

Liv Korngable led the Coyotes with 11 points at halftime, shooting 50% from the field. USD trailed 33-24 heading into the second half.

Poor shooting would end up being the downfall for USD, as the Jacks put the game away in the third quarter outscoring them 21-9 in the period.

The Coyotes shot 28.4% from the field and 10% from 3-point range.

“I thought we played really well defensively,” redshirt junior Myah Selland said. “I thought we knew our game plan and executed it well.”

SDSU led by as many as 23 points in the second half.

Selland scored a game-high 17 points for the home team to continue her season after last year’s injury.

Senior guard Tylee Irwin chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds on the way to the 19-point victory Friday night.

“Tylee’s really good because she’s shifty to the basket,” Johnston said of Irwin. “She was injured early and a little banged up and has been fantastic for us for a number of weeks.”

Korngable finished with 16 points for the visiting team and Hannah Sjerven put up 10 points in the loss.

Game two of the rivalry matchup proved to be much more competitive.

Neither team led by more than eight throughout the entire game. The Jackrabbits held a 24-20 lead with 4:32 to play in the second quarter, until the Coyotes went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 29-26. USD led by one at the half.

Pa i t o n B u r k h a rd scored seven of SDSU’s first eleven points in the third quarter and Nelson would get a layup off just in time off a scramble play to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter.

Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com

Collegian photo by BECCA YMKER (She/Her) SDSU’s women’s basketball wins twice over rival USD 64-45 and 80-75 over the weekend.

Collegian photo by BECCA YMKER (She/Her) Men’s basketball lost 64-56 in the first game and won 89-79 the second in the doubleheader with USD.

Men’s basketball splits games ISAAC HANSON Sports Reporter

A slow opening to the night’s game kept South Dakota State (11-4, 5-1) from overtaking the Coyotes (11-7, 9-1) as USD slipped by 64-56 in the South Dakota Showdown Series opening game. It was the Coyotes first win in Frost Arena since 2000.

Once again, the Jackrabbits found themselves coming off a twoweek hiatus due to canceled games with Denver.

As the Jacks struggled to put together scoring possessions, they just could not find the right pieces to pull past the Coyotes.

“We have to be ready to go and execute,” coach Eric Henderson said after the loss. He did not use the lack of games as an excuse for the performance. “They executed their plan better than ours.”

T h e Ja c k r a b b i t s opened the night shooting 8 of 31 from the field, yet only trailed 23-29 going into halftime. Their biggest lead was at 3-0, and that came on a Noah Freidel 3-point play.

Within the last three minutes of the first half,

the deficit was cut down to six points from a ninepoint run on 3-pointers from sophomore guard Baylor Scheierman and Freidel. This came timely, as SDSU hit its first 3-pointer of the night at the 2:44 mark.

Coming into the game, SDSU was shooting 41.9% from the 3-point land.

Friday was a different story.

While it was not a season low, the Jackrabbits would finish the game shooting 7 of 28 (25%) from behind the 3-point line.

“We had chances to get over the hump,” Scheierman said on the long scoring droughts through tonight’s game.

T h e Ja c k s we nt through scoring lapses of 3:03, 3:57 and 3:11.

SDSU was not the only team to feel the struggle, as the game’s first 3-pointer came at the 7:41 mark from South Dakota.

Opportunities at the free-throw line presented themselves throughout the game, but the Jackrabbits were unable to capitalize.

A team averaging 72% from the line throughout the season, Friday was an uphill battle finishing

11-22. Douglas Wilson finished 4-12 from the line.

After shocking the Jackrabbits in the first meeting, Stanley Umude was limited to 14 points Friday night as the tandem of Wilson and David Wingett took on the task of slowing him down. Redshirt sophomore A.J. Plitzueweit caused problems for the SDSU defense as he capitalized multiple times throughout the night, leading to a game-high 19 points on 17 attempts.

Friedel led the way for the Jackrabbits, scoring 18 points on 21 attempts.

Scheierman piled 15 points onto that total and added a team-high four assists.

Saturday night seemed to open similarly to Friday night, as the two opened on slow scoring starts. The Jacks were able to fight their way back into the game and pull out a 89-78 win over the Coyotes.

Read full story online at sdsucollegian.com