April 27, 2022

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Study abroad back in action SDSU’s international affairs department is working to rebuild their education abroad programs. Hear from some students about their trips this semester and over spring break to Italy and South Africa.

See STORIES, PAGES 10-12.

The University Program Council’s end of the semester events like May Day and the Color Run are this weekend. See STORIES, PAGES 6 and 7

Scheierman enters transfer portal Guard Baylor Scheierman is testing NBA draft waters while keeping his remaining eligibility open.

See STORY, PAGE 18

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NEWS

April 27, 2022

STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION BRIEF

SDSU prepares for Student Union renovation JACOB BOYKO News Editor (He/Him) At South Dakota State University Students’ Association meeting April 25, senators were addressed by Jennifer Novotny, senior director of the University Student Union, approved student club constitutions and allocated funds.

Novotny: Phase III of the Student Union renovations will begin this summer. The renovation of Volstorff Ballroom will be the largest part of the operation. The Student Union is not going to be fully closed at any point during the operation according to current plans.

“We’re going to start as soon as the semester ends,” Novotny said. “We have Mills Construction coming in immediately after to start the demo.”

Sections of the Student Union will be closed intermittently throughout the summer, and campus dining options may be limited to the Dairy Bar for durations of the operation.

“We’re gong to have Einstein’s open a bit during orientation, and we’re going to have Chick-fil-A open a bit during orientation,” Novotny said.

Grab-and-go options will still be available during the summer.

“Hopefully by the time you come back next semester, you’ll see some big changes,” she said.

The Market kitchen area will also be updated.

Clubs: The Senate approved the club constitutions for the Collegiate 4-H Club, the Recorder Club, the Respiratory Club and the Circle K Club, which SDSU hasn’t had since 2012.

The Circle K Club SDSU chapter will focus on community service. Members talked about volunteering at the humane society, food pantry and recycling as part of giving back to the community. The club is planning an ice cream social to recruit members.

The Recorder Club will give members colored strings, similar to karate belts, as they learn new recorder skills. There are

currently about seven members.

Other: A special allocation of $2,047.75 was approved for new bike towers. The towers will be situated at the Wellness Center, the east side of Hansen Hall and in Jackrabbit Village. Students will be able to maintain their bikes without having to go off campus to fix their bikes or fill their tires with air.

The Senate also passed a special allocation for Agricultural Communications of Tomorrow. This is the first time the event will be held at SDSU. The allocation will help cover the venue and food costs.

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NEWS

April 27, 2022

SDSU joins the Metaverse A3

Virtual reality biochemistry coming this summer Bailey Juhl Reporter Two weeks ago, it was announced that South Dakota State University has been selected as one of seven “Metaversities” created by the company VictoryXR and funded by Meta.

Students can participate virtually, from hundreds of miles away, in classes using an Oculus Quest headset provided by the university.

“We’ve all watched zoom remote learning and seen the inadequacy,” VictoryXR CEO and founder, Steve Grubbs said. “We know we could create a better way to learn remotely that was fun, engaging and dramatically more educational.”

So far, there is only one class at SDSU using the virtual reality headsets announced for summer 2022, and that is organic chemistry.

Sara Madsen, a senior lecturer for chemistry and biochemistry, will be teaching the organic chemistry class this summer. She has many ideas for how she hopes her course will run, but has not decided whether to do the VR part of the class as a pre-lab or the lab itself.

Both would have their individual benefits, she said.

“They get to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes,” Madsen said about the program.

She is supportive of an environment that lets students experiment on their own without the danger of chemicals and with the potential to learn and absorb more information.

Fall 2022, however, has significantly more potential.

Other classes in the science departments and other

areas of campus may also see an integration of VR learning.

“Now we’re at the early stages of this,” Greg Heiberger, associate dean in the College of Natural Sciences said. “Two months ago, I couldn’t have told you these things, we didn’t have the agreements in place and what does this look like in two more months? It could be we’re seeing pharmacy, vet science, engineering, [communications and journalism], and all these other spaces.”

Class availability has not proven to be the only aspect of the new technology the university will have to work out. There is also the training of the staff on how to teach the new curriculums, build their own shapes and events in the VR format, as well as technological troubleshooting.

There will be virtual seminars and in-person classes over the summer about teaching practices and how to navigate classrooms in this format.

“They have curriculum already built for faculty, so our faculty will be able to engage in asynchronous training,” Heiberger said. “Then there’s some synchronous pieces, so they’ll actually get some live time with a trainer at VictoryXR in VR. They’ll be in Iowa or wherever the VictoryXR staff might be.”

All this training and building of new classes, programs, headsets and even the virtual campus itself, costs quite a bit of money. The virtual campus is funded

by Meta, the social media company previously known as Facebook, at a cost of $50,000.

When asked about the involvement of Meta in the actual educational environment, Heiberger said, “that’s

Photo by UNIVERSITY MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

one of the benefits of this Victory relationship; is that they’re at arm’s length.”

Currently, SDSU has around 75 headsets spread between the people helping with the technical troubleshooting, as well as the professors who are being trained and those working in the outreach programs.

At the start of classes, the headsets will be distributed differently. One to a professor teaching the class, and one to each of the 24 students enrolled in any particular class. 50 of these 75 headsets were provided by VictoryXR and the rest are being paid for by free-will donations to this program.

ROTC cadets sweep proficiency test

SDSU Army ROTC

The weekend of March 26 and 27, 11 cadets from the SDSU Army ROTC attended the German Armed Forces Proficiency Test at Camp Ripley, Minnesota.

The test consisted of a cone shuffle,

flexed arm hang, 1000-meter sprint, pistol qualification, four-minute 100meter swim and ruck march.

Sunday, March 27, Lieutenant Colonel Barth, a liaison officer for the German Bundeswehr, presented and pinned the cadets with their respective awards.

Cadets Bain, Vargas-Kunkel, Venable,

Gibney, Bulfer, Stegmeier, Grasma and Natvig earned the silver badge and Cadets Murray, Sanders and Stavig earned themselves the gold badge.

South Dakota State University had more gold standard Cadets thwan any other battalion present at this year’s GAFPB.

“Everyone showed up with a great attitude and really worked hard. The cadets earned their medals,” Sergeant First Class Armstrong, an SDSU Cadre member, said.

Keep up with all things SDSU this summer at

SDSU

OLLEGIAN.COM

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NEWS

April, 27 2022

DoArch students call for administrative action Collegian photo by SAMANTHA SCHOENBAUER (She/Her) Architecture studio space inside the Chicoine Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering (AME) Hall.

MARA WHEATON and BRINA STURM Asst. News Editor and Lifestyles Editor A nine-page grievance letter written by the South Dakota State University Department of Architecture (DoArch) Student Advisory Board (SAB) has called for attention from SDSU administration.

The letter was posted April 14 in various buildings around campus and was also delivered to a handful of university officials. In it, architecture students outlined a list of about six grievances that they say are threatening the quality of their education.

The DoArch student body addressed their open letter to the following individuals: Dr. Pat Crawford – Director of the School of Design Dr. Jason Zimmerman – Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Dr. Lynn Sargeant – Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Dennis Hedge – Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs Douglas Wermedal – Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Michaela Willis – Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management Barry Dunn – President of South Dakota State University “The student body and SAB have brought these concerns to the administration numerous times, and they have yet to be resolved,” the letter says.

“There has been a conscious effort to ig-

nore these issues by both the School of Design and university administration.

These grievances need to be taken seriously as they negatively affect the trajectory of DoArch.”

Sixth-year representative and SAB coordinator Dakota Mathews Schmidt said: “Student Advisory Board of the SDSU School of Architecture is a departmental organization made up of eight representatives from each year.”

Of the 144 architecture students in DoArch, about 75% signed the letter, Mathews Schmidt said.

“The board wrote the letter in response to what the student body was talking about, their concerns,” Mathews Schmidt said. “We (SAB) presented the letter to the student body and collected signatures.”

Signatures that were collected from the DoArch student body were not posted with the letter in the various halls, but were given to the administrators who received the letter. Five copies of this letter were posted in the Chicoine Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering Hall, two in Grove Hall and additional copies in The Barn, McFadden Biostress Lab and Wagner Hall.

The copies in The Barn, McFadden Biostress Lab and Wagner Hall have been taken down, Mathews Schmidt said. The reasoning and individual(s) behind the removal of the letters is unknown.

The letter has caught the attention of university officials. Director of University Marketing and Communications Mike Lockrem says Academic Affairs has

and will continue to meet with students on the issue.

“The students are concerned, and they’ve raised some questions, and we’re going to do our absolute best to address both,” Lynn Sargeant, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, said.

The SAB met with Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dennis Hedge, who was addressed in the open letter, this past Tuesday to voice their concerns and further explain the goals outlined in the letter. They will have a second meeting with Hedge April 29.

“It’s pretty important that the provost be allowed to have that conversation with them,” Sargeant said, “so they can have productive conversations. I can’t really speak on those (concerns) at the moment.”

Prior to the release of the letter, there was a meeting held April 7 between the SAB and the Director of the School of Design Pat Crawford.

“The SAB did not see the meeting as a productive step forward, but rather a continuation of the manipulation of faculty and students, and gross mismanagement of DoArch,” the letter says.

The letter also brings to light student worries for the future of DoArch.

“The student body identifies the program-wide downsizing, the lack of faculty retention and the insufficiently maintained fabrication lab as harming the ability of the student body’s education,” the letter says. “A lack of transparency in fiscal management, as well as inadequate lines of communication be-

tween administration and students, has caused disruption within DoArch that, if left unresolved, will continue to deteriorate the quality of education. We believe these concerns need to be addressed as it is our education that is most affected by this change in leadership.”

The students of DoArch hope to have more answers and solutions to their concerns in the future.

“The point of the letter is a lot of our needs have not been met,” Mathews Schmidt said.

The Collegian will continue to follow this story as more information is available.

The six sections of the open letter are as follows: SECTION 00 - Intro SECTION 01 – Change from Department to Program SECTION 02 – Faculty Retention SECTION 03 – Fiscal Management SECTION 04 - Technology and Human Capital Management SECTION 05 - Senate Bill 55 Concerns SECTION 06 - Meeting with the school of design director

Read full letter online at SDSUCOLLEGIAN.COM

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April 27, 2022

NEWS

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SDSU researchers hope $10.8M grant helps unlock biomedical answers

SAM SCHAUER

Reporter

A $10.8 million grant has been given to South Dakota State University for its work in biomedical research and will fund work in continuing research for the next five years.

The National Institutes of Health will fund the biomedical research in the newly created Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, which is an extension of the South Dakota BioSystems Networks and Translational Research center built in 2013, according to a press release.

“What the center aims to do is really build strong biomedical research at SDSU,” said Adam Hoppe, the primary investigator and center director.

Hoppe cited Radhey Kaushik, head of the biology and microbiology department, for “playing an integral role in developing the proposal and contributing to the project by providing his immunology expertise and administrative support.”

The award will serve as an “accelerator” to advance the work of junior researchers to the level they can receive sustained funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, Hoppe said.

The researchers whose work will be funded are Natalie Thiex and Darci Fink.

Thiex’s work is mainly with macrophages, which are the white blood cells that work during wound repairs.

Macrophages are the most important in inflammatory responses and regulating them as they help clean out the wound. There is a balance between the start of the healing process and the ending. When left unchecked, there is an increased risk for various diseases, Hoppe said.

The question that Thiex will try to solve is how cells communicate with each other in a wound site to begin working.

Thiex, who has done work in this area, has been awarded smaller grants from the National Institutes of Health in the

Photo by University Marketing and Communications South Dakota State University researchers Adam Hoppe, Natalie Thiex and Darci Fink will benefit from a nearly $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The five-year federal grant will help researchers look into inflammation.

past, but the latest grant will make it possible to answer the question.

Darci Fink studies the lymphatics and the formation of lymphatic vessels. The lymphatic system is a network of vessels and organs that regulates the amount of fluid in the human body and defends it against infection.

Around the site of inflammation, you can grow new lymphatic vessels. What remains a mystery is how these cells grow, organize themselves into functional structures and how they communicate with each other and the tissue they’re growing in, Hoppe said.

Fink, who has received smaller awards as well, will try and answer that question.

“To me, research is about channeling endless curiosity into a structured project with outcomes that might someday make a difference for someone else’s

health,” Fink said.

A third project leader is on the to-do list, and it will be a lengthy process as it involves advisory committee recommendations and approval from the National Institutes of Health, according to a press release. Any junior faculty member at SDSU who has research relating to inflammation at cellular or molecular level would be eligible to apply.

Equipment and facility upgrades are also planned, according to a press release.

A $300,000 microscope will be housed in the McFadden Biostress Laboratory and will help with the imaging of cellular and molecular organisms during inflammation, Hoppe said.

Another purchase will be an addition to already existing equipment. The $100,000 item will help researchers de-

termine gene expressions within individual cells, helping understand how they communicate during inflammation.

With those purchases comes an immediate $300,000 update to the small animal research facility within the university’s animal resource wing, according to a press release.

While the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence is focused on SDSU, it will expand partnerships with the School of Mines and the University of South Dakota, who were a part of the original South Dakota BioSystems Networks and Translational Research Center.

“Basic biomedical research has always been a part of what we have been doing at SDSU,” Hoppe said. “This is taking it to the next level.”

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LIFESTYLES

April 27, 2022

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL The Collegian

@sdsucollegian @CollegianSports @collegian_live

sdsucollegian COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO Students, faculty and community members enjoy the outdoor performances at the 2021 May Day Music Festival on Sylvan Green. This year’s event will feature student performers, games and free food.

May Day Music Festival to take place this weekend REGAN WIEDERRICH Reporter This year’s May Day Music Festival will be on campus this Saturday, April 30, featuring live music, prizes, food trucks and more.

The University Program Council, or UPC, is gearing up to host its final large event of the semester.

The programming board, made up of current SDSU students, plans a significant number of university events throughout the year.

The May Day Music Festival has become an annual tradition on campus since 2015. This year, the event will be held on the Sylvan Green, adjacent to the Campanile. The event is being planned by Jacki DeYoung, the UPC concert coordinator, and Anna Orr, the UPC special events coordinator.

DeYoung oversees the musical act lineup. She said she is excited that the event will host a mix of different acts.

This year’s lineup consists of Emmarie Kaiser, Lex Kuske, Grayson Dewolfe, Fox Royale, Alex Macgillivray and Stay Outside. The first two student performers each have a 30-minute set. Then, starting at 5 p.m. and

each hour on the hour, the final four acts will perform.

Alexa Kuske, a current junior at SDSU and an avid UPC event attendee, is one of the two student performers in the lineup for the May Day Music Festival.

Kuske was the recent winner of Jack’s Got Talent, a fall UPC event that takes place over Hobo Week.

“This is going to be the biggest concert I am going to be putting on in a way, and that is a huge honor,” Kuske said when asked what it meant to be a student performer for the festival. Kuske said that her set will be “happy upbeat music” with a mixture of Indie, TV show songs, 2000s throwbacks and more.

Orr is primarily in charge of the non-musical part of the event, she said. Two food trucks, “Rub ‘N Tug BBQ,” which is a bar-b-que style option, and “El Charrito,” a Mexican style food option, will work the event.

UPC will be handing out food vouchers to a select number of students at the beginning of the event. After that, the food trucks will still be open for anyone to enjoy. The food vouchers will be available at the main UPC table. This is also where students can show their Jacks ID to try to win prizes. The main prize this year is a Bluetooth speaker. In addition to winning prizes,

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students can receive free T-shirts and other giveaways for attending.

DeYoung and Orr are in their first year as members of UPC. “I am excited to have a bigger event on campus to kick off the spring season,” Orr said.

Though UPC has experience in planning numerous events, this year’s May Day Music Festival is their first time hosting the event alone, previously partnering with KSDJ. Pending inclement weather, the event will move to the lower level of the Student Union in Jack’s Place.

The food trucks would then be moved to the Wagner lot just west of the Student Union.

Emma Brookman, the next UPC president, said that she is excited about the May Day Festival too.

“I am excited to get live music on campus and get one last big event in before finals,” she said.

Though the May Day Festival will be the final event of the year for UPC, it is not the only event happening on Saturday. The suicide prevention and mental health awareness color run will start Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Student Union.

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April 27, 2022

LIFESTYLES

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Annual run raises awareness for suicide prevention SARA ERAZO Reporter “The happiest 5K on the planet” will hit the road in Brookings Saturday, April 30 at the Hobo Day Plaza.

The University Program Council will host Be the Light! Color Run! to raise awareness for suicide prevention while creating a space for people to heal, learn from others and have fun. Beaded necklaces will be available at registration as a way for attendees to “share their story” of mental health and the impacts of suicide and relate to other participants.

“Suicide prevention and mental health awareness is really important ,and it is something everyone should be talking about,” Anna Schwader, UPC social awareness coordinator, said.

Tickets are $7 for students and $25 for community members. The money made from the tickets will be donated to the Lost&Found Association, offering

resource awareness and support communities for South Dakota college students at risk for depression and suicide.

Registration will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Volstorff Ballroom Lounge in the University Student Union. The run/ walk will start at 9 a.m. Tickets can be purchased during UPC’s tabling hours in the Union or on the day of the event at registration. Cash or Hobo Dough is accepted.

The first 50 people to sign up will receive a coffee mug with the Color Run logo, and each participant will receive a white T-shirt and water bottle.

Prizes include an Apple Watch, backpack, Hydroflask and more!

For more information or questions, contact Schwader at SDSU. UPCSocialAwareness@sdstate.edu.

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LIFESTYLES

sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

State FFA returns to Frost Arena CHLOE RISSE Reporter Over 2,400 high school FFA students were on South Dakota State University’s campus this week to compete in 16 different contests at the 94th annual State FFA Convention, April 24-26.

The CDE (career development event) contests were held at different facilities across SDSU’s campus including Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Animal Science Arena, the Student Union and many others. The FFA students came from long distances across the state to compete for a chance to advance to the National FFA convention, which will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana this upcoming fall.

Some of the contests the students competed in included Livestock Judging, Agriscience, Horse Judging, Floriculture, Vet Science and more.

Many of the students came to the contests with one goal in mind: to qualify for the National Convention.

Only the top team from each contest will qualify and proceed to compete at the national level.

“Our school has won state in the Agriculture Communication contest eight times in the last 10 years, so we want to win,” the West Central Agriculture Communications team said. “We have been practicing for a long time.”

Burke High School, a new FFA chapter, competed at state convention for the first time in over 50 years.

“When our last chapter disbanded, it was before girls could even join FFA, so all the girls in our FFA chapter right now are the first girls in Gregory County to be in an FFA chapter,” Avery Ziesler said.

Other students came to campus not to compete, but to earn their “State FFA degree.” The ceremony for the awarding of state degrees was held Monday night.

Some of the requirements to get the State degree include having worked 25 hours of community service and demonstrating leadership abilities. This spring, 280 students received the degree.

Schools have prepped all spring for the State FFA convention. FFA advisors have been pushing their students to learn the skills needed to be successful in the contests.

“They’re supposed to develop skills they can use in future careers and everything,” Morgan Ackerman, Parkston FFA adviser, said. “I want them to learn a lot of life lessons too, like how to be responsible and interact with people who are different than you. I want them to take pride in all of the stuff they have worked all year for.”

With substantial numbers of students dressed in blue corduroy jackets coming to campus, State Convention has been fittingly nicknamed “The Sea of Blue” and “The Blue Plague.” Many contestants stated that

Collegian Photo by ZOEY SCHENTZEL (She/Her) President Barry Dunn addresses State FFA Convetion attendees while outgoing State FFA Treasurer Paige Lehrkamp, left, and outgoing State FFA Sentinel Trinity Peterson look on.

they enjoyed coming to SDSU’s campus for “the good food” and “Chick-fil-a.”

“I really enjoy the very nice facilities here,” Sierra Hilgenkamp from Wall High School said.

While the high school students were competing, many SDSU students were helping run contests, move livestock, grade written exams and help contestants to the correct locations. There were volunteers from numerous campus clubs and organizations, along with help from the animal unit managers and employees.

There are also six students currently attending SDSU who were this year’s outgoing State FFA officers.

These students are: Tessa Erdmann (President), John Petersen (Vice President), Hadley Stiefvater (Secretary), Paige Lehrkamp (Treasurer), Trinity Peterson (Sentinel) and Alexis Hughes (Reporter). Each member of this officer team has a specific and important role to make the

convention run smoothly and is enjoyable for contestants.

The State FFA Convention has been held on South Dakota State’s Campus since 1928, except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic where the convention was held virtually. The 2021 convention was in Rapid City, SD to ensure that the contestants would be able to compete without the fear of being canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions the campus had in place. The only other time state convention had been canceled was during World War II. Both contestants and volunteers have had a busy week bringing the state convention back to campus.

With almost 100 years under its belt, SDSU has become the home for state convention and will hopefully continue to be the home of convention for 100 more years to come.

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April 27, 2022

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April 27, 2022

A10 LIFESTYLES

Study abroad

students travel to

ROME OAKLEY JANDREAU Reporter

South Dakota State University’s Education Abroad programs are picking back up after the pandemic lull with many new opportunities, including a group of students currently studying in Rome.

The university has many Education Abroad opportunities for students with any major, according to Sally Gillman, the director for Education Abroad at SDSU. Her office offers faculty-led programs, single student trips and many other options.

Faculty-led programs are the most common, Gillman said. In this situation, an SDSU faculty member travels with students to another country to teach them an SDSU course.

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Some faculty-led programs are short, taking place during spring break, while others are longer.

Most are three-weeklong trips, but they can be up to seven weeks, especially language-based programs, Gillman said.

Before the pandemic, there were 501 SDSU students who participated in an education abroad trip in 2019. Post pandemic, the numbers have been lower, as expected, according to Gilman. Many universities across the nation have experienced the same decrease.

“Looking at the fall 2021 and spring 2022 school year, our numbers will not be great, but we are building back and looking at new opportunities for our students,” Gillman said.

There are 1,012 locations available to students.

“Students can travel almost anywhere,” Gillman said. “Our Health and Safety Committee looks at some locations as dangerous or unsafe, but other than that, we can always find a fit for the students.”

Many countries are also reopening without many restrictions, Gillman said.

“South Dakota State University does not require students to have the COVID-19 vaccine, but some countries require it, which has been a slight hurdle at times,” Gillman said.

SDSU is always looking for new partnerships and opportunities that will benefit students, according to Gillman. The Education Abroad and International Affairs offices have many options for students. They prioritize finding the best opportunity for each student.

She added that the life experience students gain from studying abroad is worth the effort.

“Education abroad is something that employers value,” she said. “Students demonstrating that they could go abroad, live like a local and have the self-confidence to do so is very important. It matters for the degree you are working to attain and later in life for the employers.”

A group of SDSU students recently got back from a program in South Africa. This summer, there are programs to London, Italy, Canada, Costa Rica, Spain and Turkey.

Currently, there are students studying abroad in Rome. Sophomore Lainey Aasby left for Italy’s capital city at the beginning of the new year and will return to South Dakota in May. When studying abroad, there are three blocks students can fill with classes. Aasby chose to spend her first two blocks in Rome and her last block in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“The trip to Italy has been great. I live and study in Rome, but have traveled all over,” Aasby said. “I have been to Florence, Venice, Naples, Pompeii, Pisa, Milan, Como, Tiyoi, La Spezia (Cinque Terre), Vienna and Austria so far.”

Aasby also explained why she chose to study

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abroad.

“I wanted to go on an adventure, and this was a great way to do so,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy being gone for so long, but I have grown a lot as a person.”

Aasby and a few other students were involoved in the Council on International Educational Exchange provider program, where they flew to Italy themselves and moved in with other U.S. college students with similar goals and personalities.

Another SDSU student who studied abroad was Carleen Burger. Burger filled her 18 weeks and three blocks completely in Rome.

“When you study in one place for 18 weeks, you have to get a visa,” Burger said.

Students have been busy working on school, but they have prioritized getting the full travel experience as well. Burger said she is taking some interesting classes.

“We have three-hour-long classes that are Monday through Thursday with two special Friday classes. The Friday classes are field trips that we either do as a group or on our own,” she said.

Gillman said studying abroad might seem daunting at first, but most students come to love it.

“Many people focus on how hard it will be to study abroad, but often what happens is tremendous growth and development,” Gillman said.

Many students change their mind and can’t believe they are living their best life.

“It doesn’t matter where you go for education abroad. It’s the process that is a rite of passage,” Gillman said. “This fuels your self-confidence, abilities to adapt and problem-solving skills.”

Photos SUBMITTED Lainey Aasby, a business economics major, traveled to Rome for her study abroad program this semester.

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April 27, 2022

S.Africa offers ag, wildlife, culture Study abroad trip features this lesson: ‘Life is lived so differently, yet so similarly, too’

MAX BALOUN Reporter A group of South Dakota State University agriculture students had a once-in-a-lifetime experience during spring break.

Rather than spending their time away from class on a beach, these students went on a faculty-led trip to South Africa to further their agricultural knowledge.

Samantha Thyen, an animal science major at SDSU, talked to the Collegian and touched on many aspects of the trip, such as the reason behind it, how it came to be and what she took away from it.

Here’s what she said.

QUESTION: What was the reason behind taking the trip to South Africa?

ANSWER: South Africa/Africa in general is a place I have always wanted to visit, and this international experience opportunity seemed like the safest and best way to travel there. I also wanted to be able to compare agricultural practices in South Africa to the United States.

Q: Had you ever been out of the country before this?

A: No, I have not traveled out of the U.S. before.

Q: What was your favorite part of the trip?

A: There were so many great aspects of this trip that I will forever treasure. We were able to see a large variety of agriculture, wildlife and culture. However, my favorite part of the trip was Trekpad Safaris. Here, we had a great combination of agriculture (both cattle and crops) and wild game sectors to interact with and see, which are both important to South Africa. On their wild game farm, we helped move two nyala bulls.

Q: Did COVID affect any part of the trip?

A: COVID did have some impact on our trip. We all had to have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test result before leaving and returning to America.

Additionally, masks had to be worn in public areas.

Some places that would have normally been on the itinerary, like the Apartheid Museum were closed due to COVID, but most stops were open for tourists.

Q: What were some of the activities you did?

A: Farm visits were a main activity of the trip to South

Photos by ZOOEY SCHENTZEL (She/Her) ABOVE: South Dakota State University agriculture students get a lesson on South African agricultural practices during a spring break trip to the African nation.

LEFT: Samantha Thyen, Danika Gordon, Cara Teigum and Zooey Schentzel grab a group selfie while touring the Trekpad Safaris in South

Africa. In addition to submerging ourselves in their agriculture, we had the opportunity to visit national monuments and museums significant to their history. We were also able to take a safari ride at Pilanesberg National Park and at a cheetah preserve.

Q: How long had this trip been planned out or a bucket list item for this group?

A: Two other groups of SDSU students have gone to South Africa in the past, so I knew this may be an opportunity I would possibly want to take advantage of. We were the first group of SDSU students to study abroad since COVID-19 began. Although I know there were people working in the background for the past three years to allow this trip to happen, Dr. Gonda [Michael Gonda, professor of animal science] did not start reaching out to students to plan travel until last fall around October-November. Even at this point we were unsure if this trip was going to happen or not.

Q: Why was South Africa the location chosen?

A: The location of South Africa was predominately chosen because of connections we had there. It was formed by Michael MacNeil. He received his PhD at

SDSU and is a beef geneticist. He served as an adviser to the South African Agricultural Research Council and reached out to Gonda to make this trip possible.

I also think this location is special to have available as a study abroad trip because there is such a widespread of agriculture that is eye-opening to see.

Q: What were some of your fears about this trip before leaving and did any of them come true?

A: We had fears about COVID not allowing us to be able to take the trip at all. One of the biggest concerns from multiple people in our group was the safety of South Africa. However, those that formed this trip, truly did an amazing job by picking areas that were secure and safe. I never once felt unsafe on this trip.

Q: What was the biggest thing you took away from this trip?

A: Something I took away from this trip was being able to see how life is lived so differently, yet so similarly too. Comparing agricultural practices was such a huge part of this trip, and I realized that we need to be accepting to production differences and to be open to implementing new ideas too. I became more thankful for what I have, and this trip was truly a humbling experience.

sdsucollegian.com

LIFESTYLES A13

April 27, 2022

SDSU promotes sustainability through move-out event

BRINA STURM Lifestyles Editor (She/They) Don’t Dump! Donate! is an annual event during spring move-out. Facilities & Services - Sustainability partners with Residential Life to collect unwanted, but good quality, items from students as they move out of the residence halls. These items are diverted from the landfill and donated to local non-profits.

Common items that are donated include: Appliances, carpet, cleaning supplies, clothes, food, furniture, hygiene items, kitchen supplies, laundry supplies and office supplies.

Don’t Dump! Donate! will take place April 29 & 30 and May 1, 5, & 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This program keeps reusable materials out of the landfill by providing students the opportunity to donate quality items they no longer want to

local nonprofits.

Drop off locations are located north of Honors Hall, west of Larson Commons and west of Abbott Hall. If you live in Hansen, Meadows or the Southeast Apartments, call (605) 688-4136 to coordinate a donation pick-up.

Accepted Items Include: Appliances, blankets, carpets, cleaning supplies, clothing, fans, food, furniture, hygiene items, lamps, laundry supplies, mirrors, office supplies, outdoor

Canceled due to COVID-19

Graphic by ABBEY NIELSEN (She/Her)

winter clothes, reusable water bottles, sheets, shower caddies, towels and more! *All items must be in reusable condition. Acceptance of items is at the discretion of the Don’t Dump! Donate! volunteers.

Sign up today at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d4faeaa2baafa7-dont3 to help volunteer for Don’t Dump! Donate!

A14 LIFESTYLES

sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

Hauff brings Lakota language to new generation Jacob Boyko News Editor (He/Him) When South Dakota State University students tell their peers they’re taking a foreign language class, the assumption is usually Spanish, French or German. For senior Native American studies major Jessica Arkeketa, that’s not the case.

Arkeketa is a part of the entry-level Lakota language class. The four-day per week class, instructed by assistant professor of Lakota and American Indian and Indigenous Studies Tasha Hauff, is part of a larger mission to help connect younger generations of students with Native American heritage to their culture and community.

“I want [students] to be able to speak with their grandparents, their great-grandparents, and if they’re not Lakota, then the Lakota community that they build through my class,” Hauff said.

Arkeketa, who is from Oklahoma and has Otoe-Missouria tribe lineage, said she was initially “grumpy” about having to take two years of Lakota as part of her major.

“My thought was if I was going to learn a language, I’d rather learn my own language first,” Arkeketa said.

But through her time in Hauff’s course, Arkeketa said she doesn’t hold that view anymore. Since taking the course, she has been able to sharpen her Lakota skills at her job as a park guide at Pipestone National Monument.

“A lot of stories (on the plaques) are in Dakota and Lakota,” Arkeketa said.

“Living up here and learning the language has really helped out understanding the things that go on [in Oklahoma] as well.”

Dakota and Lakota are regional dialects; to someone learning one dialect, the other will probably sound different.

According to Tauff, the languages are mutually intelligible, meaning a fluent speaker in one dialect can communicate with a fluent speaker of the other dialect without much trouble.

“We’re working hard to make a bigger effort … to include more Dakota patterns and words,” Hauff said. “Sometimes it’s just a pronunciation difference.

Someone who wants to learn Dakota will get a lot from the (Lakota) classes.”

For example, in Dakota, someone may refer to coffee as “phezuta sapa,” or “black medicine,” while in Lakota, a speaker may say “wakhalyapi,” or “heat it up.”

Hauff acknowledges learning Lakota has some unique challenges.

“I think some of the challenges Dakota and Lakota people feel learning Dakota or Lakota are generational trauma,” Hauff said.

Additionally, there is added pressure to help preserve the language for their communities and to speak fluently with elders.

On top of that, Lakota has mechanics many English speakers would find challenging to comprehend. Hauff’s favorite Lakota phrase is one example of the complex conjugations found in the language.

“Philamayaye,” Hauff said. “We use it in place of ‘thank you,’ but it actually means ‘you make me grateful.’ And you can conjugate it and do all of these fun things with it, like ‘you make us grateful’ (philaunyayapi).”

Hauff encourages SDSU students— Native American or not—to take a Lakota class if they’re interested, but to do it for the right reasons.

“Some people have really excellent linguistic skills that they can use to help the community … that’s a good reason to learn an Indigenous language,” Hauff said. “I would also argue that there are some not-so-good reasons.”

Submitted Assistant professor of Lakota and American Indian and Indigenous Studies Tasha Hauff Hauff encourages “language collectors” who want to learn Lakota just to say they can speak it to become more involved in Native American communities and to not just “take.”

“You’re disregarding all of the colonial context that made this an endangered language to begin with,” Hauff said. “It can become more like appropriation

than actually helping.”

While some view Lakota as a “dying language,” Hauff fervently disagrees.

“It’s right here, isn’t it?” she said.

And the class of SDSU students willing to learn shows Lakota is still very much alive.

sdsucollegian.com

OPINION

April 27, 2022

Book review: Fish in a Tree ANDREA HUETE Reporter

As an Early Childhood Education major, I was required to take a class called Survey of Middle-Level Education, EDFN 300. My instructor, Betsy L. Schamber, had us read a novel, “Fish in a Tree,” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. After reading it, I want to encourage others to read it as well, as it’s worth a read!

Hunt spoke in a “Fish in a Tree” welcome video, she had mentioned that teachers didn’t care whether or not she completed her work and turned it in. However, her 6th-grade teacher, Constantine Christy, completely changed her life.

“He completely changed my own perception of who I was and what I could accomplish and what I would be when I grew up,” Hunt said.

In 6th grade, she was able to read a book for the very first time. And from that day, she thought of becoming a teacher, and she did. She also began writing and eventually became an author, and because of her experience, Hunt decided to write the book, “Fish in a Tree.”

The main character in the book is Ally Nickerson.

Her father is in the military and her mother works as a waitress in an ice cream shop. She also has an older brother, who is just the sweetest. Ally struggles in school because she has dyslexia.

Ally doesn’t know about her condition, as she thinks that what she had is normal. Because of her condition, she is portrayed to be a trouble maker who often gets sent to the office because of her disobedience and outbursts. Throughout the book, one sees how her character develops. We see how some people encourage her and how others make fun of her.

According to Decoding Dyslexia TN, “dyslexia is a neurobiological brain difference that affects people’s ability to manipulate language.”

“Dyslexia never goes away, but people with dyslexia can learn to read if, and often only if, they are taught with structured literacy with helps to rewire their brain,” Decoding Dyslexia TN reads.

People who have dyslexia don’t have problems understanding their language, but it does affect their reading, writing, spelling, math and many other areas of life and learning, which is why they suffer low self-esteem and feel stupid.

The setting of the novel mostly takes place at school.

Ally is overwhelmed with emotions and often thinks of becoming invisible and starts devaluing herself. It’s important to reach out for help, or accept the help of others even if it may be difficult.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading the book. I even teared up at the end as I wasn’t expecting the book to end in such a way. But, I still encourage others to

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read it. Not only will people get to view dyslexic people in a whole new way, but they’ll also get to ride a rollercoaster of ups and downs in Ally’s life.

Paying attention to federal student loans during deferment LORNA SABOE-WOUNDED HEAD Family Resource Management Field Specialist, SDSU Extension Since March 2020, federal student loans payments have been deferred and interest rates are zero percent. The student loan payment relief will continue until Aug. 31, 2022. For current students, the payment suspension hasn’t been a financial impact other than having unsubsidized loans not accrue interest. For graduates, the payment relief could have eased a stretched budget or provided an opportunity to reduce loan balances if payments continued.

For those of you who have not been making regular payments, it may be a shock to have to start the process in September. Over the next four months, make a plan for restarting the payment process. If you have ignored the situation for the past 24 months, the place

Volume 138• Issue 24

to start is www.studentaid.gov. Log in to review your current loan balances and payment amount. If you have questions, go to https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/covid-19 to get answers about what to do if you can’t afford the payment, what your interest rate will be and other repayment plan options. You could start repaying your loan at any time. This will help you to get back into the routine of making the payment and seeing how it affects your cash flow. Another benefit is that your entire payment will go towards the principal, which will save you money over the life of the loan.

There are repayment and loan forgiveness options.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program has been revamped. If you work for a qualifying employer and have made 120 regular payments on federal student loans, you may qualify to have the balance forgiven. For more information about this program, go to: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/

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.

Jordan Rusche

Gracie Terrall

Mara Wheaton

Brina Sturm

Jacob Boyko News Editor

Lesly Abarca

Ad Sales Representative

Adriana Garcia

Abbey Nielsen

Hemishka Lobin

Josie Nelson

Elise Heesch

Editor-in-Chief

Lifestyles Editor Graphic Designer

Ad Sales Representative & Designer

Managing Editor

Graphic Designer Ad Manager

Skyler Jackson Sports Editor

public-service.

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

Asst. News Editor

Social Media Representative

Evan Patzwald

Asst. SportsEditor

Lorna Saboe-Wounded Head

Samantha Schoenbauer Photographer

Andrea Huete Copy Editor

Emily Urban

Ad Sales Representative

Lucia Frias

Social Media Representative

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

A16 OPINION

sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

“Behind the scenes:” The Collegian advertising team How they do what they do, and advice on how to work together as a team

JOSIE NELSON Advertising Representative and Designer When you look at this picture, you probably haven’t seen us before associated with this newspaper–maybe you have. This unbelievable, all-female team is a crucial reason for your picking up of this publication or however you are reading these words.

Hello, we are The Collegian advertising team. Elise Heesch, Lesly Abarca, Emily Urban and me, Josie Nelson.

We come from different backgrounds and expertise in advertising, but we all share one common goal: continuing the grand legacy of our independent studentrun newspaper, The Collegian.

What most people don’t know, is that behind every good newsroom, publication or organization, is a team of creatives working to provide full funding for their outlets. That’s us.

Each week we collaborate with a multitude of different businesses and organizations within our town.

Sometimes, we even go door-to-door– literally. We understand their needs and provide top-tier advertising as well as a friendship between the business and The Collegian.

And believe me, we have a lot of friends.

Not only do we highly appreciate our supporters, but their business and our determination allow us to fully pay for our staff and our weekly print publication. Let me repeat that.

Our work pays for these stories, our incredible editorial staff, the designers, photographers, our advisers and more.

Curious how we do it?

Here are 3 ways we work together as a team: 1.

Motivate one another We have been working with each other for a while now. But sometimes we have to keep each other on our toes. This includes check-ins, meetings and asking our teammates how we can help them.

Motivation has been especially necessary for the past few years with pandemics and whatnot. If we stay motivated, we are able to build connections not

only with eachother but with our clients. Relationships are everything in organizations, you never know where one connection might lead you.

2.

Stay Inspired When our idea doesn’t work one way, we ask ourselves, how can we look at this differently? For example, an online campaign turns into a yearly calendar publication. Cool, right? We’ve got inspiration from other creators on being a team. When we stay together as a unit, it’s obvious in the work we produce.

3.

Friendships are forever Believe it or not, we are actually friends outside of The Collegian. Put a few people in a group and let them soar and this is what you can get out of it. We are all so different, whether it’s age or interests, even lifestyle, yet we mesh together so well. There’s something to be said about how wonderful it is to work with people who are different from you–we got lucky for sure.

To our past and current clients, thank you for working with us and taking a chance on Collegian advertising.

Your contributions, along with our entire team’s dedication, have kept this publication ongoing for decades, as well as motivated the numerous editorial staff and advertising teams that have come before us. And thank you, to The Collegian teams before ours, for instilling what publication is really about for us, our relationships with one another.

To be honest clients, we’ve been on a team together all along, putting our passions into one publication collaboratively.

Now, when you get put into a new job or group with people you don’t know, try to find some common ground with them. And remember, a lot goes into the production of one organization. Usually, theres a couple of teammates behind the scenes that do extraordinary work. Hey, maybe one day you will be as lucky as us to be a part of something so special.

Want to be our new friend? Reach out to advertising@sdsucollegian.com to learn more.

Photo by KAYLA WISNIEWSKI The Collegian advertising team poses for a picture. Clockwise left to right: Josie Nelson, Emily Urban, Lesly Abarca and Elise Heesch.

sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

SPORTS

A17

Track & field compete in Vermillion and Arkansas MARSHALL MINIHAN Sports Reporter The South Dakota State track teams traveled south to Vermillion for the South Dakota Challenge and to Arkansas for the Red Wolf Open.

South Dakota Challenge Faith Leiseth beat her own record and had the farthest women’s discus throw in school history with a distance of 174-01.50, good for fifth place in the event. She also placed fifth in the shot-put event.

“Faith comes out against a field of women that had their game faces on,” director of track and field Rod DeHaven said. “Everybody was throwing big and (Leiseth) managed to take down a school record and jump over some pretty big names.”

Also placing in the discus event was Mildred Young, who placed 10th with a throw of 167-06.00, which puts her at sixth all-time for SDSU. Kaylee Edmonds competed in the pole vault competition, placing sixth in the event, and is the new seventh-place holder on the program’s all-time pole vault list.

Collette Wolfe and Lizzy Gillingham both placed in the 100-meter dash. Wolfe placed fourth with a time of 11.89 seconds and Gillingham took 10th at 12.10 seconds.

Wolfe also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash at 24.84 seconds. Finishing 10th in the same event was Ashtyn Bertram, whose time was 25.27 seconds.

Laura Bogue tied for eighth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.86.

SDSU had three women place in the 800-meter run.

Grace Waage placed sixth at 2:18.83. Running a 2:20.21 in the event was Kasey Klocek who took tenth place, and Harley Fischer who grabbed 14th at 2:21.62 seconds.

The Jacks also excelled in the 1,500-meter run.

Earning second place was Nicole Geyer running an impressive 4:41.63, followed by fellow Jackrabbit Caitlin Bright, who placed third at 4:43.62. Kayla Christopherson grabbed sixth with the time of 4:51.89, and finishing at 4:56.01 for ninth place was Bailey Dergan.

On the men’s side, SDSU took four of the top-10 spots in the 100-meter dash. Leading for the Jacks was Daniel Clarke, who placed fifth at 10.56 seconds, followed by Matthew Stahl in seventh with a time of 10.59.

Taking eighth was Emmanual Phoulom-Smith in 10.61 seconds, and Evan Henderson placed ninth with a 10.71second run.

Stahl competed in the 200-meter dash as well, taking third place with a time of 21.30 seconds, with Jake Werner taking 12th at 21.90 seconds. Phoulom-Smith also competed in the same event, taking 13th.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Tegan Bock took sixth in 56.28 seconds for a personal record, with Braxton Karnik also getting his personal record in 57.52 seconds

Photo by DAVE EGGEN from GoJacks.com Faith Leiseth set a program record for women’s discus throw over the weekend at the South Dakota Challenge in Vermillion, beating her previous record with a distance of 174-01.50 and finished fifth in the shot-put event in Vermillion, South Dakota.

• • • •

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

April 28-30: Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA

April 30: Rock Chalk Invitational in Lawrence, KS

May 6: USD Twilight in Vermillion, SD May 12-14: Summit League Indoor Championships in Tulsa, OK

to take ninth place.

In the hammer throw, Dawson Schroeder threw a 185-08.00, which landed him the 10th-place spot and ninth all-time, followed by teammate Hunter Wallster, who took 11th place with a throw of 184-11.00 and 10th all-time.

Finishing fourth in the shot put was SDSU’s Dominick Etherington. Etherington threw the distance of 56-02.75, followed by Schroeder with a 52-00.00 for tenth.

“I think that’s one of those things where he’s a bit frustrated with not having bigger marks,” DeHaven said. “(Etherington) gets that done and hopefully be able to mix it up with some of those throwers at NDSU

and USD that are going to be critical when you start looking at the conference championship.”

Tyler Goehring finished with a distance of 44-08.00 landing him fourth in the triple jump.

Red Wolf Open Trent Francom took second in the pole vault with a height of 17-05.50, with teammate Jaden Peters ending up in 10th with a personal record of 15-05.00.

In the javelin throw, Tristen Hanna placed fifth with a throw of 182-05.00, his new personal record, and fifth all-time in school history. In the triple jump, Hanna took third in the event, jumping the distance of 47-07.25.

Fourth place in the women’s pole vault was Wendy van Nes, who scored a 12-02.00 in the meet.

In the high jump with a clearance of 5-07.00, Addison Eisenbeisz took third place.

Also placing third was Annie Wendt with the jump of 38-06.75 in the triple jump.

Jaiden Boomsma took home first place in the long jump with the leap of 18-11.25, followed by teammate Wendt who stole the fourth spot at 18-06.50.

Boomsma also competed in the 100-meter dash, where she ran an 11.93-second finish and placed in the runner-up spot.

Up next, SDSU will send its athletes to both Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays April 28-30 and to Lawrence, Kansas April 30 for the Rock Chalk Invitational.

A18 SPORTS

sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

Sports in brief EVAN PATZWALD Assisstant Sports Editor (He/Him) Baylor Scheierman This past season’s Summit League Player of the Year Baylor Scheierman has entered the transfer portal.

“The most coveted in transfer portal history,” Jeff Goodman of The Stadium tweeted Tuesday after reporting out the names of schools who had reached out to Scheierman in the last day since the news broke.

The teams on the list that have shown interest in Scheierman include many of the nation’s top basketball programs like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Michigan State and UCLA, among others.

Scheierman previously declared for the NBA Draft March 24 via his Twitter account. While he declared for the draft,

Photo from GoJacks.com Rozelyn Carrillo is the Summit League leader in batting average at 0.500. She also leads the conference in RBIs and hits.

he also announced he was maintaining his college eligibility, meaning he can attend the NBA Draft Combine, taking place May 16-22 in Chicago, and meet with teams and get feedback while still having the option to return to school.

The early entry withdrawal headline for players wishing to return to school is June 1.

The 6-foot-6 Aurora, Nebraska native has three years under his belt at SDSU, most recently averaging 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and shooting 47 percent from 3-point range and leading his team to an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2018. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

“Crying on the inside but beyond proud of you bro,” teammate Zeke Mayo tweeted Monday. “If you end up somewhere else, see you down the road.”

A few years back, Mike Daum declared early for the draft after his junior season to test the NBA waters before returning for his senior campaign.

The NBA Draft will take place June 23 in Brooklyn.

Photo by JOCLYN HAVEN (She/Her) Baylor Scheierman has put his name in the transfer portal weeks after declaring for the NBA Draft. Some of the schools showing interest include Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Gonzaga.

Softball The SDSU softball team continued its strong conference play this past weekend, picking up two wins on the road against North Dakota State before their final game of the weekend was canceled due to the weather.

Heading into the series, the Jackrabbits (31-10, 12-2) were coming off a three-game sweep over Kansas City two weeks ago at home. They won their games 9-0 Friday, and 10-2 and 1-0 victories in a Saturday doubleheader. SDSU is the Summit League leaders in ERA (0.85), home runs (23), on-base percentage (.418) and slugging percentage (.579).

Rozelyn Carrillo leads the league in batting average at 0.500. Carrillo is also leading the conference in RBIs (18) and hits (19).

In the first game with the Bison last Saturday, the Jackrabbits won 8-1 in 10 innings. Through the first eight innings,

neither team scored, and they were each knotted at one after the nine innings.

In the tenth, the Jacks scored seven runs to take the game.

Grace Glanzer improved to a 16-4 record after the game, striking out seven batters and not allowing any walks.

In game two later that day, there was again no score through five innings. In the sixth, an RBI double from Lindsey Culver and an RBI single from Allison Yoder put the Jacks up 2-0 and held a 2-1 lead after the inning. The Jacks had six runs in the next inning, carrying them to an 8-1 win.

With the wins, the Jacks surpassed the 30-win mark for the seventh time in program history and fourth in the last five seasons. They also have 56 home runs so far on the year, the most in program history only behind last year’s mark of 73.

This week, the Jackrabbits are set for a doubleheader against St. Thomas Thursday at noon and at 2 p.m. They will wrap up the series Friday at noon.

Baylor Scheierman Career Stats • • •

2019-20: 6.0 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.2 ast

2020-21: 15.4 pts, 9.2 reb, 4.0 ast

2021-22: 16.2 pts, 7.8 reb, 4.5 ast

sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

SPORTS

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Jacks compete in spring football game SKYLER JACKSON Sports Editor (He/Him)

South Dakota State concluded spring practices Saturday with its annual spring football game at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex.

In the intrasquad scrimmage, the Jackrabbit offense rolled past the Jackrabbit defense 57-25 (with the defense scoring points via sacks, turnovers, negative yardage plays, etc.).

Numerous Jackrabbit starters did not play. Projected starting quarterback Mark Gronowski, wide receiver Landon Wolf, defensive end Quinton Hicks, defensive backs DyShawn Gales and Chase Norblade, among others, were held out to give other players key reps.

Even with Gronowski not playing, quarterbacks impressed. Sophomore Rudy Voss, a former walk-on who was primarily used as a short-yardage running quarterback last season, completed 13 of 26 passes for 176 yards and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Canyon Bauer.

Senior Keaton Heide was excellent Saturday, going 6-7 for 125 yards and three touchdowns. And despite throwing an early pick-six, redshirt freshman Jon Bell also showed some promise.

Running backs and wide receivers impressed Saturday, showing they could add more depth to an already stacked offensive roster.

Kickers were a perfect 6-6 on field goals. Hunter Dustman connected on tries of 48, 36 and 40 yards, while Jack Green hit field goals of 28, 23 and 28 yards.

Another key takeaway from Saturday was that the defense needs to improve in certain areas. Coach John Stiegelmeier mentioned tackling and covering the deep ball as things the defense could improve on. Despite the offense exploiting those areas, the SDSU defense did make some plays, like redshirt freshman safety Ryan Swoger’s 45-yard pick-six.

SDSU will now look ahead to summer practices, concluding a spring season focused on transitioning to new leaders and coaches.

Four assistant coaches from last season have gone elsewhere. Offensive co-

ordinator and offensive line coach Jason Eck is now the head coach at Idaho, and the Passing Game coordinator, Luke Schleusner, went with him. Co-defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom is now the head coach at Winona State, and the assistant defensive line coach, Spencer Erikson, went with him.

The most significant coaching transition will come at the offensive coordinator position, with Zach Lujan taking Eck’s place in running the offense.

Stiegelmeier knows that it will come with an expected change in play calling.

“It’s totally different,” Stiegelmeier said. “Whereas Jason (Eck) might have called a play-action pass on second and short a lot because you can kind of waste a down, Zach Lujan may run 90 percent of the time to get the first down and move on. Balling a game is an art; it’s an instinctual thing.”

Along with the change at the offensive coordinator, Ryan Olson moves from tight ends coach to offensive line coach.

He takes over an offensive line unit moving on from veterans Wes Genant, Aron Johnson and Eegan Lickiss.

Other key Jackrabbits who moved on were quarterback Chris Oladokun, running back Pierre Strong Jr., linebacker Logan Backhaus, cornerback Don Gardner and safety Michael Griffin. Still, Stiegelmeier looks forward to the challenges of filling those roles.

“Every time you lose a player or every time you lose a coach, as a head coach, you have to have this attitude,” Stiegelmeier said. “It’s an opportunity for us to improve our program.”

But even with those players leaving, the Jackrabbits expect to have other key players returning from injury. Gronowski is pretty much recovered from the knee injury he suffered last spring that kept him out of the fall season.

Other key players returning are Wolf, who suffered a knee injury early last season, and running back Isaiah Davis, who missed eight weeks in the middle of the season before returning for the FCS playoffs.

“It’s good to have them back,” Stiegelmeier said. “Their presence, their leadership and their ability are really good, and we’ll build on that.”

Collegian photo by ZOEY SCHENTZEL (She/Her) SDSU quarterback, Jon Bell, is in a shotgun formation in the Jackrabbits’ annual spring game. Despite an early interception, the redshirt freshman showed some promise as the Jacks offense scored 57 points.

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sdsucollegian.com

April 27, 2022

Experts, coaches expect Strong to get drafted SKYLER JACKSON Sports Editor (He/Him) With the NFL Draft set to begin Thursday, a few Jackrabbits have been getting the attention of NFL teams.

The main Jackrabbits with draft potential are running back Pierre Strong Jr. and offensive tackle Aron Johnson, but other Jackrabbits have been getting workouts with NFL teams and could possibly be signed as free agents.

Here’s a deeper look at Jackrabbit football players as prospects and where they’re projected to go in the draft.

The Jackrabbit that’s been getting by far the most attention is Strong. The all-American running back from Little Rock, Arkansas was already projected to maybe be a late-round draft pick heading into last season. After a career season and impressive showings in scouting events, Strong has continued to move up the boards of draft analysts.

“It’s a privilege, and honor and blessing to be around a guy with really special athletic ability,” Jacks coach John Stiegelmeier said of Strong. “And those words are magnified when you take a guy that’s the type of person and the type of leader Pierre is.”

Strong continued to showcase his athleticism throughout the offseason. He ran a 4.37 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine in March, tied for the fastest time among running backs. At SDSU’s pro day later that month, Strong continued to turn heads, showing his agility in the running drills and displaying good hands in the passing drills.

On top of those performances, Strong has also dazzled scouts throughout his college career. He finished his Jackrabbit tenure with 4,527 rushing yards, third alltime in program history.

“He’s very fast, and he proved that at the NFL Combine,” Stiegelmeier said.

“So that, coupled with his instincts, his ability to read blocks, make the right cut and run out of tackles. If you get him isolated in open field with a safety or a linebacker, it’s advantage Pierre.”

He was even brilliant as a passer, going 9-9 for 208 yards and six touchdowns in his career, which makes him

Collegian file photo by EVAN PATZWALD (He/Him) Former South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr. sheds a Southern Illinois defender in a regular-season game last season. That year, Strong had his best season as a Jackrabbit, leading the FCS in rushing yards (1,686) and scoring 18 rushing touchdowns.

JACKS IN THE DRAFT Here’s a look at SDSU football players who’ve been drafted in the John Stiegelmeier era.

1999: Steve Heiden, TE. Round 3, pick 69, San Diego Chargers 2010: Danny Batten, DE. Round 6, pick 192, Buffalo Bills 2018: Dallas Goedert, TE. Round 2, pick 49, Philadelphia Eagles 2019: Jordan Brown, CB. Round 7, pick 223, Cincinnati Bengals an even more intriguing NFL prospect.

In an ESPN article from last week, draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. picked Strong as his favorite running back prospect.

“He has great balance through the hole, can hold his own in pass protection

and was durable for the Jackrabbits,” Kiper wrote. “Strong is really good at most everything. He has a chance to be a starter in the NFL in the right situation (and given a little time to adjust).”

Kiper projects Strong to be taken in the third or fourth round. Other experts are predicting Strong to go anywhere from round three to round six.

Listed at 5-feet-11 and 207 pounds, Strong’s drawbacks as a prospect include average build for the position and below-average contact balance, according to Bleacher Report.

Another Jackrabbit who has been getting some draft attention is Johnson, who blocked for Strong at SDSU. Johnson has been getting less attention than Strong and isn’t projected to go as high, but he has been getting attention as a potential late-round pick.

“I think I’m a pretty flexible guy,” Johnson said “I think I do a good job getting myself into good football positions and getting my pads low, so I’m able to move defenders doing that.”

The 6-foot-6 Chisago City, Minnesota

native began his Jackrabbit career at right tackle before moving to left tackle for his final two seasons.

An NFL Draft analysis article from CBS Sports rates him as an NFL role player and says he does a good job sealing blocks and doesn’t have a tendency to overset. Some weaknesses the article mentioned were below average top-end speed and that speed rushers could give him problems around the edge.

“I think getting stronger; that’s the biggest feedback I’ve gotten from various scouts,” Johnson said. “They just want to see me have more finishes and a little bit more nastiness.”

Other Jackrabbits who’ve been mentioned were quarterback Chris Oladokun and safety Michael Griffin. At pro day, Griffin’s vertical jump was a whopping 43.5 inches, which got the attention of all the NFL scouts in attendance.

Oladokun showed accuracy in his passing drills. Along with his role as a leader last season, he could attract some NFL attention as a potential practice squad quarterback.