Wednesday, November 8, 2017 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1885 SINGLE ISSUE FREE
ABBY FULLENKAMP • The Collegian
Public library gives students more activities GARRETT AMMESMAKI News Editor While many South Dakota State students use the Hilton M. Briggs Library, the Brookings Public Library offers services for anyone looking for a quiet place to study or free activities. Director of Library Services Ashia Gustafson said students have told her they prefer the public library because it’s quieter. Morgan Aasness graduated in consumer affairs last May. She went to the Briggs Library while she was in school, but now chooses the Brookings library. “It’s smaller, so you get a different atmosphere than having to go through the higher bookshelves trying to find a little study space,” she said. Along with DVDs, CDs and physical books, the public library offers thousands of ebooks and e-audiobooks free with a library card and a mobile app. To get a library card, students need a photo ID and a Brookings County address. A library card isn’t needed to use the study space, including two private study rooms and many study tables, or attend any events. Events include crafting, movie nights twice a month, book clubs and, beginning in either February or April, a murder mystery evening. Programming Coordinator Rae Brecht said the murder mystery evening can have between eight to 28 characters. “They will receive information on what they should wear and what their character is all about. They’ll come that night and encounter a mystery where somebody died and they have to figure out who did it,” Brecht said. Sign-up will occur in either January or March, depending on when the event takes place. The library is expanding its programs, and along with new events, they have board games and will offer an Arduino collection. Arduino kits are an easily-accessible way to create circuits and electrical components. Currently, the library has 10 to 12 board games including Settlers of Catan and Pandemic. Technology Services Librarian Nancy Swenson said she is packaging them up so they should be ready for use soon. Gustafson and Brecht hope to offer free classes on using the Arduino kits and classes on bullet journaling, a new trend merging to-do lists and journaling into one notebook. They are also open to suggestions from students on how to target their events for a college-aged audience. The public library also has a coffee shop on the second level. Food and drink can also be brought into the library. “You can order from any delivery service and have them deliver to the library,” Gustafson said. The library’s newsletter, found at the library’s website, has a calendar for events.
Collegian graphic by BAILEY HILL
Always connected: digital stalking at SDSU Hanks was an 18-yearold freshman at South Dakota State when a co-worker began Her co-worker decided he was in stalking her. It would go on for the next five years. Despite golove with her. ing to various avenues for help, nothing was done and Hanks The only problem was she didn’t said a “campus culture” of viclove him — and some people tim shaming only made things worse. can’t take no for an answer. Her stalker wasn’t a student at SDSU, so he couldn’t be pun“He just had this idea that we ished under the student conduct had this weird connection that code. He couldn’t be arrested bewe didn’t have; he was very cause he never got violent, but much obsessive about it,” he was a constant specter that haunted Hanks for her entire said Alaina Hanks, now a postundergraduate career. graduate student in counseling. GARRETT AMMESMAKI News Editor
She lived off-campus and her stalker would park outside her house, waiting for her to go to class. He would send her flowers, message her on Facebook from multiple accounts and email her constantly. Being a student, Hanks’ email address is known to anyone that knows her name. Because of that, despite changing her phone number and moving away from Brookings, her stalker was still able to contact her. Hanks went to the support desk to delete her Jacks email, but said the support desk refused. Hanks said they told her “you
keep your Jacks email forever.” Ryan Knutson, Vice President of Information Technology, said the response Hanks received from the support desk shouldn’t have happened, but he understands why it may have. Though he is not fully aware of Hanks’ situation, Knutson said the support desk will give those answers for “normal activities.” But, in situations where there is harassment through email, IT would take steps to stop it from happening.
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Stay alert, prepare for approaching South Dakota winter SOFIYA ZYBAYLOVA Reporter Cold temperatures and harsh winds characterize South Dakota’s winter climate. Wind chill and frigid temperatures put everyone at risk for accidents and injuries. According to Bruce Millett, a South Dakota State geography professor, this year’s winter will bring colder temperatures than usual through March, but about the same amount of snow as last year. “We should expect the arctic air coming our way in January and February from Canada,” Millett said. “The temperatures will average highs about twenties and lows of zero degrees Fahrenheit throughout the season.” Jayme Trygstad, emergency management specialist at SDSU, said with snow beginning to fall, it is important students and faculty are prepared for commuting to campus. “Make sure that you’re checking the weather prior to leaving your house as part of your travel plans, as some of the roads could be closed,” Trygstad said. “It is also important to keep a safety kit in your car if
you get stuck.” According to the South Dakota Safety Council, an emergency survival kit should consist of at least a flashlight, blanket, shovel, sand, candy bars, matches, brightly-colored cloth, jumper cables, long-burning candles and a cup. Besides keeping these necessities in your vehicle, it is also important to stay alert on the road. Lowell Haag, a staff member in Yeager Media Center, was in several winter accidents during his time as a college student and urged others to take extra precautions while driving. “As you experience an accident, it is not a pleasant feeling and it is never fun,” Haag said. “Don’t rush. Drive slow. Take your time.” Safety rules also apply to pedestrians on campus. It is important to dress properly for cold temperatures. Trygstad said he has seen students wear flip flops and T-shirts during the cold weather, which can be dangerous. “You just never know what’s going to happen,” Trygstad said. “You slip and fall and you being outside for an additional 10 minutes can cause you to have frostbite.”
ABBY FULLENKAMP • The Collegian
Winter at South Dakota State could lead to frostbite if students don’t dress appropriately going to class. Dressing in layers and avoiding icy patches can help.
Genesis Duarte, junior political science and Spanish major, experienced signs of frostbite first-hand her freshman year. She said it was a learning lesson for her to dress appropriately and check the weather before going outside. “It was about 30 degrees. I was walking back to my dorm just in my sweatshirt and did
not even think it was that cold,” Duarte said. “An hour later, my thighs, arms and face were all in pain and it did not go away for several hours, even after taking a hot shower.” The SDSU Student Health Clinic sees about three cases of frostbite on campus each year.
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