A new South Dakota scholarship given out for the first time ever this fall has reached over $225 million in donations.
The Freedom Scholarship endowment was created in 2021 and this fall is the first year the scholarships were given to students attending South Dakota universities and colleges. The amount given out this year was $5.1 million, said Elli Haerter, Freedom Scholarship coordinator.
“Each year that number will grow and grow, next year a little bit more will be given out,” she said.
Over 1,200 students have accepted Freedom Scholarships this year and the awards range from $1,500 to $5,000 according to Haerter. The universities set the amount for the recipients.
Senate Bill 171 first authorized $50 million to be distributed for the scholarship but with donors, it is now up to $225 million in commitments. The scholarships are given to students who attend South Dakota colleges, in total there are 11 schools across the state that participate in the scholarship, including public universities, private colleges and tribal institutions.
The idea started at the end of 2020 with funds from First Premier Bank and Premier Bank card. It was then sent to the legislature in 2021 and other supporters started to donate to the endowment.
South Dakota was the last state in the U.S. to offer a needs-based scholarship. The scholarship started with $100 million from First Premier Bank and T. Denny Sanford, in partnership with the state of South Dakota and the Avera and Sanford health systems, according to an article published by South Dakota News Watch.
The scholarship was at $175 million at the beginning of September but has grown to $225 million in a little over a month after Premier donated another $50 million. Additional gifts were made from Avera Health, Sanford Health and the State of South Dakota.
Avera and Sanford have made 10year commitments to donating to the endowment.
“They will give a certain amount each
year until they get up to $12 and half million each,” Haerter said. “Between the two of them, they have committed $25 million over a decade.”
The Freedom Scholarship is a needsbased scholarship, which means students fill out the FAFSA and financial aid offices determine possible recipients of the scholarships. Students must have a 2.0 GPA, seeking a 4-year degree and graduate in 5 years or less.
Students who accept the scholarship must live and work in South Dakota for 3 years. If students accept the scholarship and choose to move out of state, or drop out of college, the scholarship reverts to a loan and must be paid back.
In an article published by South Dakota News Watch, Dana Dykhouse, who chairs the Freedom Scholarship board, said it is a worthy investment in the interest of strengthening the state workforce. From 2015-2019, only 53% of the nearly 35,000 students who graduated from South Dakota’s six public universities were working for in-state employers one year past their graduation.
“I hope other businesses and
organizations in South Dakota will join this effort to support needs-based scholarships that build our future workforce and invite our graduates to stay here and make South Dakota even better,” Haerter said in a press release.
478 students who are attending SDSU received a Freedom Scholarship, 186 of which are enrolled for the first time. Merci Arbach, an SDSU student and Sioux Falls Washington graduate, said in a press release the scholarship has allowed her to have more financial freedom.
“It helps more than just Sioux Falls – it’s the community of South Dakota,” Arbach said. “I don’t actually have words to express my gratitude other than thank you.”
Universities determine who might qualify and email those students with directions on how to apply, depending on what the university chooses to do. If you want to apply for the Freedom Scholarship, reach out to the school’s financial aid office or go to the South Dakota Freedom Scholarship website to learn more.
At the Oct. 18 Students’ Association meeting, senators were addressed by the Hobo Day Committee and swore in a new adviser.
Regen Wiederrich, the 2022 Hobo Day Grand Pooba, spoke to the Senate Monday night along with other mem bers of this year’s Hobo Day Committee about events that will be happening during the next two weeks leading up to Hobo Day.
Benjamin Connor, assistant pooba of the parade, and Tessa Holien, the stu dent entries coordinator, spoke about the need for volunteers for the Hobo Day Parade Oct. 29, and that they are still looking for student clubs and organiza tions to get involved and participate in the parade.
Thursday, Oct. 20 is Hobo gear prep night. The event is at 5 p.m. at the Market stage in the University Student Union. Both Trendz and Goodwill will be pro
viding clothing, and there will also be buttons from previous Hobo Days.
“The first 50 people to come (to Hobo Gear Prep Night) will get a goodie bag,” Anna Schwader, the apparel and merchandise coordinator, said.
The Paint the Town event will occur Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. Zoey Schentzel, the community outreach coordinator, announced that this year a “recordbreaking” 51 businesses signed up to get their windows painted by student clubs and organizations.
“It’s super fun and it’s awesome to drive around Brookings and see all the SDSU and Hobo Day pride,” Schentzel said.
The first event of Hobo Week is Bum-a-Meal, which occurs Monday night Oct. 24. Hannah Owens, the Rally at the Rails coordinator, took the mic to talk about what this event offers.
“Literally, it is free food. It is so wonderful,” Owens said. “We have host homes who are donating their time, their space, their cooking ability, their promise to get some really great home cooked meals for the students that sign up for this event.”
Owens also took the time to speak about her event, Rally at the Rails, which will take place downtown Oct. 27. There will be live entertainment, a button making station and photo opportunities with both Jack (the Jackrabbit) and the Bummobile, among other things.
Wiederrich closed out the Hobo Day Committee’s presentation by shouting out some other events going on during Hobo week, including University Program Council’s Jacks Got Talent event Oct. 25.
“I love all the events,” Wiederrich said. “I’m excited to see Brookings really rally behind what Hobo Day is for the community and Brookings county as a whole.
All events that the Hobo Day Committee puts on are free to SDSU students.
The Senate unanimously approved a new adviser for the Students’ Association.
Jennifer Zavaleta Cheek is a pro fessor in the natural resource man agement department and leads the conservation planning and park man
agement program here at SDSU and is now officially the new adviser for Students’ Association.
“I am eager to help and have a lot of experience in community service,” Zavaleta Cheek said.
Zavaleta Cheek expressed how important mental health and mental health awareness is, and she deems that an important topic for the Senate to keep focusing on.
“Whatever you all think is more important is fine by me, and I’m ready to support you all in doing it,” Zavaleta Cheek said.
Trinity Peterson, senator for the College of of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences and member of the University Food Service Advisory Committee, announced that Taco Tuesday will be returning to Larsons, Union Coffee is now reopened and serving Caribou Coffee and mobile ordering is open for Weary Wil’s and will be expanding to other dining locations soon.
South Dakota State University will host a flu-shot clinic for students Oct. 20 at the Miller Wellness Center MAC Court to help mitigate the spread of influenza this winter.
The clinic runs Thursday, Oct. 20, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is avail able to students at no cost.
Janae Jacobsen, a nurse practitioner at the clinic, encourages students to come into the Student Health Clinic in the Miller Wellness Center if they are sick.
“We are here for a reason; to help students with any health complica
tions and to provide health promotion,” Jacobsen said.
Seventy-five percent of the students the staff sees coming into the clinic are diagnosed with respiratory infections. This is due to having more contact with other students and different germs. To help prevent this, students should make sure to clean and sanitize often by wiping down everything in their dorms. Students should also make sure to wash their hands more often.
“Students tend to not get enough sleep and hydration, which are the most important things needed to stay healthy,” Jacobsen said.
Students should also take a daily multivitamin for their health.
If you want to take an over-the-
counter medication, Jacobsen rec ommends going into the Jackrabbit Pharmacy and talking to a pharmacist. The pharmacy is next to the student health clinic in the Miller Wellness Center.
“I make sure that I get plenty of rest and hydration and I also take over-thecounter medications,” said Anna Moser, a student at SDSU. “I feel unproductive and I can’t get everything done to the best of my ability, as I don’t feel my abso lute best.”
Jacobsen also recommends that stu dents get the flu shot. It helps students living in communal dorms, which have many contagious germs.
With students catching illnesses during the fall and winter months, some
professors see a decline in attendance.
“If something like COVID or a sim ilar epidemic is prevalent and is reducing attendance significantly, I would consider transitioning classes from in-person to online,” said Samitinjaya Dhakal, a graduate research assistant at SDSU. “However, online classes are not as interactive, and the student learning outcomes would be lower than in-person classes.”
To schedule an appointment, you can call in to the clinic or go online to schedule through your patient portal on MyState or the student health clinic website. Walk-ins are not accepted because of limited staff, but emergencies are permissible.
605 Vintage is now officially open at its new storefront after moving locations earlier this year.
The shop, at 410 5th street, opened the doors to its new location Oct. 7. At the event there were new products, food from Salas Salsas, as well as about 150 people customers.
605 Vintage owner Trevor Swift Hawk started out by hosting a few pop-ups for what is now 605 Vintage to determine if there was a market for what he was selling in Brookings. After seeing success from those pop-ups, he decided on a more permanent solution, a storefront downtown.
“I always had this idea of opening a store but never knew how to or if Brookings was a place to do it,” Swift Hawk said. “The pop-up shops went super well and then I got super serious … and the support from the community has been huge.”
Swift Hawk was extremely “swift” in snatching the storefront. The store owner was interested in the new location before the opportunity to take over the suite arose. When he received a call about the storefront, Swift Hawk jumped on the opportunity the same day.
“It was cool to watch [the store grow] and get a sense of pride because I was just really excited for him and everything that he was accomplishing. It was just really cool to see his growth through this,” Lexy McElroy, SDSU junior and 605 Vintage employee, said.
This permanent storefront opens up a whole new opportunity for the Brookings community to shop more sustainably.
“[I want to] help educate people about what it means to build a sustainable closet,” Swift Hawk said.
605 Vintage is more than just another shopping location in Brookings. This is the only vintage store you will find on the east side of South Dakota, and apart from selling clothes, you can also trade vintage clothing.
When buying from 605 Vintage, you are purchasing a product that will remain consistent in value. If there becomes a time when you grow out of an item you’ve bought, you have the opportunity to swap that item out for cash, store credit or a new item.
Swift Hawk is proud that he is able to offer fair and affordable prices to customers, especially when buying items back. It is an easy way to help others cycle clothing out of their closet in a more sustainable fashion than throwing them away or donating, Swift Hawk said.
“You’re going to buy something super unique that’s going to last you for a really long time,” Swift Hawk said. “One of one.”
Stop by 605 Vintage, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in downtown Brookings.
“The Brookings community has just been a huge support. I look forward to growing more and off ering better stuff each week,” Swift Hawk said.
Collegian photos by LEAH SIP (Far left) 605 Vintage customers peruse the selection of vintage graphic tees. (Left) A 605 Vintage shopper poses with her selection of clothing at the new storefront location.
Jack’s Cupboard will begin its eighth annual “Pack the Pantry” food drive Monday, Oct. 24 and with an increase of students in need, the pantry team is hoping to completely fill up the location’s space.
Pack the Pantry is one of Jack’s Cupboard’s largest nonprofit food drives of the year. While the pantry accepts donations year-round, this is the main food drive. The pantry puts this event on to bring the campus and community together in its mission to help students in need.
“We try to get pretty much everyone on campus and even members of the community involved to essen tially overfill the pantry as much as possible,” Dominic Meyers, Jack’s Cupboard’s public relations coordi nator, said. “Not only are we able to make it through for a couple weeks, but hopefully (we) build up enough supply to keep us going for a prolonged period.”
Along with food donations, Jack’s Cupboard also accepts utensils, bowls, plates, seasonings and other kitchen supplies.
The pantry is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays
from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Students, faculty and mem bers of the community are all invited to donate.
This year’s Pack the Pantry aims to address the uptick in the number of students who use the cup board this year compared to last year.
“Where last year we would see maybe 25 to 50 stu dents a week, we are now seeing anywhere from 60 to 120 a week,” Meyers said.
When Jack’s Cupboard does not have enough inventory, officials have to go out and buy it themselves, which can be a struggle because they are a nonprofit organization.
Meyers suggests students and other donors bring whatever they can for the pantry, with no donation being too small.
“Ramen is a really good, inexpensive form, because we are open to students also donating and I understand students, even if they aren’t facing food insecurities, are not the wealthiest population,” he said.
Some items are often in short supply because of the high demand from those who visit the pantry. These include laundry soap, dish soap, toilet paper and can openers. The pantry receives many canned items, but without a can opener, the students will not be able
to use those items.
Students can contact the Jack’s Cupboard team through its website or social media for assistance out side of the pantry’s hours or in case of an emergency.
Students can also volunteer with Pack the Pantry –or Jack’s Cupboard in general – by contacting the team on the pantry’s website.
“We do have a bit of training that we go through your first time coming, just so you’re not thrown into the fray for your first time,” Meyers said. “We want it to be a positive experience.”
Though the team wasn’t able to add anything new to this year’s event, Meyers says Pack the Pantry’s main focus is to fill Jack’s Cupboard as much as possible to help students, even to the point where “you can’t walk through [the pantry].”
The event will continue through Nov. 4.
The Jack’s Cupboard team consists of Keri Pappas, volunteer coordinator and president, Shannon Pappas, fundraising coordinator, and Meyers. The team is also putting together a student board for the pantry.
Are you into the Halloween spirit? If so, come get spooked at the Fear Asy lum for free Oct. 21 from 7-10 p.m. at 216 West 6th Street.
University Program Council is part nering with Fear Asylum, Brookings’ resident haunted house, to provide free tickets to SDSU students who sign up for the event before Oct. 20.
Ainsley Bennett, a junior in com munication studies, has worked for the University Program Council (UPC) as the recreation and travel coordinator since last spring. As the head coordina tor, she successfully got UPC to get in contact with the well-known haunted house.
UPC purchased 75 tickets for stu dents to attend the event Oct. 21 for free. The general admission is typically $25, so roughly $2,000 was spent, according to Bennett.
“It’s first come, first serve,” she said.
SDSU students who registered to ob tain free tickets, should come by the in formation exchange desk at the Union by Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. Any tickets not re treived will be given to other students on the waitlist.
Transportation will be available for students every half hour by the pay lot of the Union from 7-9:30 p.m.
Erin Carwright, a freshman double majoring in psychology and Spanish, plans to attend the Fear Asylum event, as she has a thing for haunted trails around Halloween time. She believes that it would be similar to a haunted house.
According to the South Dakota
Haunted Houses, the Fear Asylum is the largest budget haunted attraction aimed towards mature teens and adults, as it’s themed after a mental institu tion. It’ll be a safe way to face your fears while responding to threats in a “fightor-flight” response.
“I just hope everyone has a good time, as I think it’s gonna be fun,” Ben nett said. “I love Halloween and the spooky season… (so be) prepared to be scared.”
Sofia Brewster, a freshman in animal science, mentions that she mostly likes to dress up and attend the event be cause she loves getting scared.
Brighton McBride, a freshman in ag ricultural communications, mentions that she isn’t up to the challenge as she doesn’t like to be scared. But she doesn’t mind the kids when they dress up and go trick or treating.
For those that miss the event, Fear Asylum is open from 7-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It will also be open from 7-10:30 p.m. Oct. 20, Oct. 27 and Oct. 31.
Where: 216 West 6th Street
When: Oct. 21, 7-10 p.m.
Tickets available for pick up at information exchange desk in the Union
Other: Fear Asylum also open Fridays and Saturdays from 7-11 p.m.
Collegian photo by SAM SCHOENBAUER (She/Her) Fear Asylum is the highest-budgeted haunted attraction for mature audiences in the state.Live-in house mother cooks up meals and dispenses advice for fraternity brothers
KATHERINE MOENING Reporter
Donna Robinson didn’t know she would be getting a whole new “family” when she answered a newspaper adver tisement five years ago. But that’s pretty much what she got.
Robinson, known as “Momma D” around the Alpha Gamma Rho frater nity at South Dakota State University, is the house mother for the young men who live at the AGR house.
She lives at the house full time and works about eight hours a day cooking and baking for the chapter. Robinson said that she feels happy and blessed at the AGR house and hopes to be there for the chapter when they need it.
“I try not to overstep, you know. I don’t want to be over their head and be mom, but I just want to be sure they know I’m here,” Robinson said. “But really, I love what I do, and I’ll do it until I can’t do it anymore.”
One of Robinson’s favorite parts about her job is meeting the chapter members and getting to know them.
She has a hard time remembering all their names, especially when new members join, but still she enjoys devel oping relationships with them during their time at SDSU. However, at the end of the year, it’s always sad to see them leave.
“The hardest part of the job is when they graduate,” Robinson said. “I hate graduation day.”
While it’s hard to see the guys go, Robinson makes sure she welcomes them and their families when they first join Greek Life and after they graduate.
“I get their name, their address, their parents’ names and I write a letter welcoming them to the fraternity and letting them know what goes on here,” Robinson said. “And then when I get to meet their parents at graduation it’s really kind of neat to put a face with the name.”
Robinson creates weekly menus and gives the chapter members a grocery list. Monday through Friday she cooks
Name: Donna Robinson Age: 73
Home state: Colorado Hobbies: Reading, baking and cooking
Advice for college students: “Just not to give up, keep pushing forward.”
lunch and three nights of the week she cooks dinner. After supper time, Rob inson is free to relax and have her own time but she often spends it watching the chapter members’ sporting activ ities. She tries to be there for them whenever she can.
She thinks having a house mother is a benefit for Greek Life houses because the residents have someone there for
them when they need it.
Collin Powell, an AGR Noble Ruler, said he enjoys having a house mother for the cooking and support she pro vides. He likes having someone there to talk to about life decisions or career opportunities.
“She’s pretty much like a grandma to the whole house. Everyone loves her,” Powell said. “You can talk to her about anything. She’s always there for us.”
A house mother position isn’t an easy one to fill. The chapter must find someone who is willing to live with them. Robinson has her own section of the house connected to the kitchen and main living space.
To publicize the position, AGR put ads in the newspaper, Facebook and other social media platforms. As a chap ter, they hired the house mother. The noble ruler, finance chair and planning chair in the chapter are in charge of fill
ing the position when it’s vacant. They interview their potential candidates and decide as a chapter who to hire.
Robinson used to run her own daycare in Rapid City before moving to Brookings. She loved taking care of young kids and Powell thinks her job as the house mother isn’t really that different.
“The way I look at it, the chapter is pretty much adults that need that,” Pow ell said. “She’s still a daycare provider, but now it’s for 18- to 22-year-old men.”
This year will be the fifth year she has been with the chapter. Robinson is invited to weddings every year and en joys traveling to see the young men who previously lived in the house. Her first set of “boys” she started with graduated last year.
“I think that was a big milestone for her that she really enjoyed seeing,” Powell said.
Students at South Dakota’s six regental universities will receive additional money in their meal plans and other free offers from Sodexo after a shaky transition onto campuses across the state.
“[Sodexo] is owning the experience and saying, ‘hey, we understand that this isn’t where we expected it to be, and we wanted to make a gesture to students to apol ogize for the inconvenience,” said Douglas Wermedal, vice president of student affairs at SDSU.
The decision to give students flex money and other offers was discussed at the Board of Regents meeting Oct. 6 at Dakota State University in Madison, according to Blake Pulse, SDSU’s Students’ Association president and University Food Service Advisory Committee chair.
Damien Lewis, Sodexo’s general manager at SDSU, said that while his company has not decided how much money they will offer students, the company is com mitted to making things right.
“It’s a goodwill gesture toward the students of the
South Dakota system,” Lewis said.
At SDSU, Sodexo has come under fire for offering limited dining hours, the lack of mobile ordering, vacant locations and a delayed rollout for Starship food delivery robots — problems Pulse and Wermedal say Sodexo is making significant headway in.
“The transition in the last two weeks has gotten drastically better,” Pulse said, adding that Starship food delivery robots will be operational by the end of October.
Hot food vending machines are now available in Hansen Hall, and mobile ordering is now available for Shorty’s Hotbox and Union Coffee, and will soon be available for Slices and Grille, according to Lewis.
Additonally, a salad bar is planned for The Market and will be available in the next few weeks.
Last spring, the regents selected Sodexo to hold the statewide contract for all six regental universities. Prior to the transition, Aramark had served as SDSU’s vendor for over 20 years.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the BOR campus with the most difficult transition, is still recovering from its rough start with Sodexo. Cody
Marshall, the Students’ Association president for SDSMT, said while the situation is improving, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“We only have our main dining hall and then we have Einstein Bros. Bagels with Caribou Coffee,” Marshall said. “We’re supposed to have a 24-hour C-Store that hasn’t opened yet that’s supposed to be all self-serve. There’s supposed to be a grill … Miner Shack wasn’t even open for the first week or two of school, so the only places you could go on campus were Einstein’s — which was packed with 30 minute lines — or the dining hall.”
During the first weeks of the semester, the main dining hall was running out of food some nights during the dinner rush, leaving students waiting for over half an hour before food could be restocked, according to Marshall.
“The first week of service, only one hot entree option was available,” Marshall said. “Second week of service, only two hot entree options were available.”
Marshall also confirmed students are still using dis posable dinnerware in the dining hall since Sodexo hasn’t received its order of dinnerware to replace the stock the last vendor, Aramark, owned (and left with)
when Sodexo took over operations.
Additionally, hot food vending machines Sodexo ordered to increase instant options at SDSMT are stranded on cargo ships in the Pacific.
The problems experienced at SDSMT early in the semester led to a management shake-up. While Marshall is optimistic about the situation improving, he isn’t satisfied with Sodexo’s flex money offer.
“The biggest frustration with [the offer of flex money] is where do you spend it?” Marshall said. “Do you spend it at the Miner’s Shack that closes at 3 p.m. or do you go buy Einstein’s for the fifth time in the week?”
DSU was the only campus in the system contracted with Sodexo at the time of the transition. Amy Crissinger, DSU’s vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, said DSU is not immune to problems other campuses are experiencing.
“We aren’t having the big [problems],” Crissinger said, but listed increased catering costs, supply chain issues, a still-shuttered Starbucks and delayed renovations for campus dining locations as some of the setbacks Sodexo is working through.
Wermedal identified the biggest factors for the setbacks and less-than-optimal operating hours, noting the labor shortage as the most impactful problem.
“This entire industry, the food service industry, and particularly food service on campus, has experienced probably historic labor shortages and supply chain disruptions,” Wermedal said. “And you see that all over our town here. Campuses aren’t insulated from that reality.”
Historically, Aramark and now Sodexo relied on the wave of freshmen and international students at the beginning of the school year to fill campus dining positions, but with understaffed social security offices in Sioux Falls and Watertown, the wait to get international students on staff has been longer than expected.
Lewis said another problem they’re facing is students “ghosting,” or severing all contact, once they’ve
been hired.
Franchise locations like ChickFil-A and QDOBA can’t be run on a “skeleton crew” the way other campus locations can be (if necessary) due to franchise requirements.
One strategy Sodexo has implemented to combat the shortage is installing kiosks at Chick-Fil-A, which can allocate workers away from taking orders and toward other dining locations to expand hours and options.
The statewide transition to Sodexo was in response to Senate Bill 55, which required the state universities to look for ways to improve efficiency and run at a lower cost.
According to Heather Forney, system vice president for finance and administration at SDBOR, contracting with Sodexo statewide and having “economies of scale” benefits all universities in the system and passes savings on to students.
“When you’ve got a bigger volume of work that you’re doing in South Dakota, a vendor can come in and provide more services and essentially cut some costs,” Forney said. “[If a provider] is only at one campus, they’re not going to be able to capture the economies of scale like they would if they are providing service for all six institutions.”
In addition to labor shortages, Forney said the global supply chain disruption is another significant hurdle Sodexo is working through.
“We’ve got some [hot food vending] machines stuck [on a ship] somewhere between here and
Japan,” Forney said. “Nobody seems to know where they are.”
According to Forney, the amount of flex money added to student accounts may differ between universities and meal plans, but specifics are still being negotiated between Sodexo and SDBOR.
“I feel like we probably would have been in this situation regardless of which vendor we selected,” Forney said. “Whether it was Aramark in the past … or Sodexo now, I think they all really tried to keep the students at the forefront.”
Lewis credits the teams running dining locations around campus for his recent series of wins for Sodexo at SDSU, and remains confident campus dining will continue to improve.
“There are a lot of dedicated employees that come in every day to serve the students,” he said. “I’m proud of them, and that’s what drives me to come in every single day. We have some special people here.”
(Above) One of the new hot food vending machines in Hansen Hall was installed earlier this month. The vending machines offer warmed up cinnamon rolls, breakfast sandwhiches, pizza and chicken sandwhiches.
(Left) Students use the new kiosks located near Chick-Fil-A to cut down on order time and the need for student employees.
“The first week of service, only one hot entree option was available. Second week of service, only two hot entree options were available.”
Cody Marshall Students’ Association President School of Mines and Technology
The SDSU Horse Club host ed its annual petting zoo this past Saturday at the SDSU Horse Unit for the Brookings community. The event was meant to expose children to different species of animals and give SDSU students the oppor tunity to be role models in the community.
Jen Eide, the current Horse Unit barn manager, said this petting zoo has been going on since close to 2005. Eide be lieves what makes this event so successful is that it’s free and open to everybody.
“It’s a family activity and doesn’t cost anything. We’re try ing to serve the middle to low class in the Brookings commu nity,” Eide said.
A few weeks prior to the event, the club dispersed flyers to several elementary schools and daycares in the communi ty. According to Nicole Matter, the current Horse Club presi dent, the club printed and deliv ered about 1,200 flyers to invite Brookings families and their children to the event.
The Petting Zoo has animals such as goats, show steers, min iature ponies, sheep, Belgian draft horses, donkeys and the SDSU Horse Unit horses, as well as events that children en joyed like going on pony rides, brushing and petting horses, sitting on the western saddle, practicing with the roping dum mies, and even barrel racing with stick horses.
Mary Christensen is the co ordinator of Agricultural Lead ership, Education, Communica
tion and Science for the College of Ag, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) and brought her three children to Saturday’s event. She agreed that this event provides a positive representa tion of what CAFES clubs have to offer to the community and to CAFES students.
“There are many layers to this event. It’s a great opportuni ty for members and students to get involved while having a pos itive impact on the community and the college,” Christensen said.
The event had 25-30 students volunteering at the 3-hour event. The volunteers consist ed of current club members, the officer team and Horse Unit employees. To maintain safe ty during the pony rides Horse Club members helmeted and led children around during the
ride, and many of the children got to experience their first time on horseback. First-year Horse Club member Megan VanDen Hemel, who was in charge of putting helmets on kids for the pony rides, plans to help in the future.
“I enjoy working with kids, and this event is a great way to provide hands-on experience.”
VanDenHemel stated.
Prior to the event, families were encouraged to bring do nations for the Brookings Hu mane Society and Brookings Food Pantry. The club was able to collect and donate 380 food items to the Brookings Food Pantry and $158 to the Brook ings Humane Society.
Samantha Javier is the shel ter coordinator for the Humane Society and expressed her ap preciation for the support of
the SDSU Horse Club. Javier said the money donated will go towards much-needed medical and feeding supplies to help take care of the animals.
“I appreciate the support, since we are already working a lot with SDSU students. It’s nice to have that relationship of both people and support.” she said.
Carmen Paulson is the cur rent equine professor at SDSU and the Horse Club adviser and has been helping with the pet ting zoo since 2018.
“It’s a very good public rela tions event that challenges pub lic speaking, pushes students out of their comfort zones with children of all ages,” Paulson said. “And the horses are that common ground for student and child.”
Rival school fraternities teamed up in time-honored tradition for a football relay to raise funds for Feeding South Dakota.
Lambda Chi Alpha, one of the nine fraternities at SDSU, partnered with the University of South Dakota’s brother chapter to run a football from Vermillion to Brookings in a relay before the SDSU-USD game Oct. 8.
Together, the schools must run 50 miles each to total 100. However, with the school rivalry, both fraternaties try to run further and raise more money than the other.
is year’s run was a success with SDSU running 59 miles and USD surpassing them with 71 miles.
While SDSU may have come up short on their running, they surpassed USD with their own fundraising goal by raising $1,850.
“We fell just shy of our $500 goal,” said Ethan Riswold, USD chapter
president. In the end, over $2,000 was raised and donated to Feeding South Dakota.
is tradition has been in place since the 1970s but took a pause for eight years before coming back in 2016. Before the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity system changed its philanthropy to Feeding America, proceeds went to the Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls.
As times have changed, so too have the routes. Particpants used to run along I-29, changing out runners as needed until the halfway point where the ball would be exchanged. Now the chapters run on their own as they reach the miles needed.
Rules and regulations also changed. e NCAA no longer allows game balls to be brought from outside the facility for game use. e
SDSU chapter uses the same ball each year in their runs to symbolize the history of the run. However, the USD chapter has the original football from the rst run back in the 1970s.
Both chapters agree that helping
in any way they can to ght food insecurity is a success no matter how large or small the contributions are.
“We try to put something good back into the community,” Riswold said.
e members of the chapters look forward to the football run each year as it helps them build their brotherhood while having a good time connecting and later getting to relax at the football game.
e chapter gives back to the community, “through doing fundraisers and making sure everyone gets involved a couple times a semester to go to the warehouse of Feeding South Dakota,” Sam Morin, SDSU chapter president, said.
e chapter does this to encourage serving others and to show that giving back is something that Lambda Chi Alpha takes pride in.
Lambda Chi Alpha plans to host a pumpkin smash in November with proceeds also going to Feeding South Dakota.
Yik Yak is an anonymous social media platform that initially launched in 2013 and relaunched in 2021. The app, which is available for iOS and Android, allows people to create and view discussion threads within a 5-mile radius. Here are The Collegian staff favorites from around the SDSU community this week.
The 2022 general election is just around the corner, so the voter regis tration deadline is even sooner. South Dakota residents still have until Oct. 24 to register for the Nov. 8 election.
Regardless of where your home state is, students can register for Brookings County with their residence hall address. Voting is an integral part of the demo cratic process, and we at The Collegian encourage all students to exercise their right to vote. This is how we as young people can make our voices heard and actually have a say in the policies that will impact us.
In 2020, South Dakota had the lowest voter turnout for younger people aging from 18-29 in the Midwest with only 32% voting. This was only a slight improve
ment from the 31% voter turnout in the 2016 election. While this year is only a gubernatorial race and not a presidential one, it’s perhaps more important to vote in state elections because the policies affect us locally.
We’ve seen over the past few years
with the COVID-19 response, abortion rights and other legislation being turned over to the powers of individual states and just how vital state government is. We cannot have accurate and adequate
ALLISON DUERRE SDSU Extension Intern
College can be a great time, but it also comes with many different kinds of stressors. One of the main stresses as a college student, can be finances. Paying for college can be a difficult task to nav igate and understand. Borrowing money to pay for college may be the first type of debt young adults experience and is often scary.
A resource has been developed to help college students understand debt and learn how to navigate through this financial issue. SDSU Extension has pro duced the video, Debt, on YouTube. This video explains debt and provides tips for managing debt.
Understanding debt will help you better manage the amount you borrow. The more you know about debt, the better decision you will make. The main idea to remember is how you will pay the money you borrowed back. In the video, it discusses consumer debt, student loan debt, bad debt, how to determine how much to borrow as a student and how to
lower your loan balance.
Paying for college should not be a large burden, as it can be managed. Understanding your debt does not have to be an overwhelming task. For more information on debt and finances, visit extension.sdstate.edu. If you are finding that debt has become an issue, reach out to Lorna Wounded Head, accred ited financial counselor, lorna.wounded head@sdstate.edu for advice and strate gies to help with your situation.
representation for our state if we don’t vote in local elections.
Remember, the South Dakota voter registration deadline is Oct. 24 and early voting is happening now!
Stay tuned to The Collegian for more information about policies and politi cians that will be on the South Dakota ballot this year. We also encourage you to do independent research on the can didates to form your own opinion.
The Collegian Editorial Board meets weekly and agrees on the issue of the edito rial. The editorial represents the opinion of The Collegian.
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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.
Send letters to Editors@ sdsucollegian.com or to USU 069 Box 2815, Brookings, S.D. 57006. You can also post comments online at www.sdsucollegian.com. Please keep to less than 250 words.
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TRISTEN HANNA Sports Reporter
The Jackrabbit soccer team will head to Grand Forks this weekend to take on North Dakota Friday and North Dakota State Sunday for their final two regular-season games.
This season has been looking really impressive for the undefeated Jackrabbits, as they currently have an 11-0-5 record and are in second place in the Summit League standings with a 5-0-2 conference record.
“This time of the year it just feels like its playoff games,” coach Brock Thompson said.
“Because everybody’s vying for position for a spot in the (Summit League) tournament or where at in the tournament.”
UND is 6-7-4 overall this season and is 2-3-2 in the Summit League. They cur rently sit seventh in the con ference standings and are in a battle with NDSU for the sixth and final spot in the conference tournament.
The Fighting Hawks faced the Bison in their last matchup last Sunday. The Fighting Hawks could not hold on for the win against NDSU, who scored a goal less than 15 min utes into the match and held on
for a 2-0 win.
Hannah Olsen is UND’s leading scorer with three goals, while Irene Jirasevijinda and Sarah McCracken each have two goals. Madi Livingston is their goalkeeper, who has 81 saves and 19 goals allowed this season.
The Jackrabbits will then head to Fargo for their matchup with the Bison after their matchup against the Fighting Hawks this weekend.
The Bison are also fighting to keep their season alive. They are currently in sixth place in the conference standings. They are 7-7-3 overall this season and
are 3-4 in the Summit League.
NDSU has won three of its last four matches, including the 2-0 shutout of UND.
Last week, the SDSU wom en’s basketball team was picked to finish first in the Summit League in the preseason poll. This is fresh off the Jacks’ dom inant run through the WNIT last March where they won six straight games with wins over Alabama, UCLA and a 32-point victory over Seton Hall in the championship game.
In the poll, the Jackrabbits received 36 out of the 40 first place votes, with the other four going to South Dakota. Last season, each team tied for first in the Summit League with a 17-1 overall conference record. SDSU finished 29-9 overall.
Four players were given preseason honors. Here’s a look at each player.
Myah Selland – Player of the Year, First Team Redshirt senior Myah Selland is returning for her
sixth season as a Jackrabbit. She was named the preseason Player of the Year. It is the second year in a row that she has received this honor while also being named the WNIT All-Tournament MVP. After missing seven games because of an injury earlier in the year, Selland came back strong, aver aging a team-high 14.3 points per game.
Paiton Burckhard – First Team
Paiton Burckhard is heading into her fifth season at SDSU and was named to the preseason All-Summit League First Team. She has been named to the All-Summit League First team in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. She was an All-Summit League Honorable Mention a season ago, averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 38 starts.
Sophomore Paige Meyer was also named to the First Team and was having an impressive freshman cam paign until she suffered a sea
son-ending injury in their final regular season game Feb. 26. Meyer missed the Summit League Tournament and WNIT, but before that SDSU took lead with 4.1 assists and an average of 10.4 points per game. She was named the All-Newcomer Team in 2021-22.
Tori Nelson is in her fourth year with the Jacks. She has been named to the preseason All-Summit League Second Team. She has been an impact player since her freshman year, starting 19 of 29 games in her freshman year to starting all 38 games last season. She aver aged a career-best with 10.3 points last season along with 4.0 rebounds per game and shooting 55% from the field.
The South Dakota State men’s basketball team is again expected to compete for a Summit League title this season, as the conference pre season poll was released last week.
The Jackrabbits were picked to finish second behind Oral Roberts for the conference title. SDSU received 11 of the 40 first-place votes and totaled 668 total points in the poll. Oral Roberts claimed 28 first-place votes and 731 points.
SDSU has had at least a share of the regular-season conference title each of the last five years. They are also coming off arguably their most historic season, going 18-0 in conference play en route to their sixth con ference tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Two Jackrabbit players were also picked to make the all-Summit League first team. Here is a look at each player.
Forward Luke Appel returns for his junior season at SDSU after winning Summit League Sixth Man of the Year last season. He played in all 35 games last year with one start. He averaged 17 minutes a game last season and aver aged nine points and almost
four rebounds per contest. In conference play, Appel aver aged 11.1 points per game on 62% shooting, including a 41 point, 10 rebound performance against Oral Roberts on 16-20 from the field. That perfor mance was one of the 13 dou ble-digit scoring games he had last season.
Zeke Mayo Guard Zeke Mayo is now in his second season at SDSU. Last year, he experienced a breakout freshman season, being named to the Summit League AllNewcomer squad as the only freshman to be recognized with the honors. Mayo appeared in all 35 games last season, starting 21 of them. He scored in double figures in 20 games, including 11 of the 18 Summit League con tests. He averaged 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. In conference play, Mayo’s scoring improved to 10.6 per game. His career high in games against South Dakota and Omaha is 21 points. He also had a season-high nine assists in a matchup with Omaha.
The SDSU football team is on the road again this Saturday as they head back to North Dakota to take on UND in Grand Forks at 3 p.m.
The Jacks are coming off to a huge win in the Dakota Marker game as they defeated North Dakota State, 23-21 in Fargo.
It was SDSU’s sixth win of the year and their fourth in Missouri Valley Football Conference play to stay undefeated at 4-0.
The game was a tale of two halves as NDSU came out firing in the first half, scoring three touchdowns in their first three drives and taking a 21-7 lead into halftime.
Adjustments were made and SDSU flipped the game, scoring 16 unanswered points behind three Hunter Dustman field goals and an Amar Johnson rushing touchdown.
The defense stood strong and did not allow any points and only allowed 74 total yards in the second half.
They have defeated NDSU in five out of the last seven Dakota Marker meet ings, including winning three in a row.
“Really proud of our football team, they showed me and our fans what kind of team they can be,” coach John Stiegelmeier said.
With its win against the Bison, SDSU is now ranked No. 1 in the FCS poll for the first time in school history. They received 26 of 27 first-place votes in the coaches poll and 51 of 54 first-place votes in the media poll.
“It’s a neat accomplishment, it’s the nation saying, right now SDSU foot ball is the best team at the FCS level,” Stiegelmeier said.
Now they have their sights set on the University of North Dakota.
The Fighting Hawks are 4-2 with a 3-1 record in the MVFC. They have wins over Northern Iowa, Northern Arizona, Missouri State and Youngstown State. Their only two losses are at Nebraska and at Southern Illinois.
The North Dakota offense comes in averaging 372.2 yards per game behind quarterback Tommy Schuster. Schuster completes 69% of his passes and has
thrown for 1,425 yards to go with eight passing touchdowns.
Running back Tyler Hoosman is the leading rusher on the team with 477 yards on the ground and averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Hoosman also leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns. Isaiah Smith runs well for the Fighting Hawks, averaging 6.8 yards per carry to go along with two touchdowns.
Bo Belquist leads the team in receiving
with 34 catches on the year for 396 yards and two touchdowns. Garett Maag also has two touchdown catches along with 21 receptions.
Their defense is led by senior defen sive back Kadon Kauppinen who has 36 total tackles on the year. Linebacker Caden White also has 32 total tackles with a team-leading 22 solo tackles. The team defense allows 31 points per game, while they only score 29 points per game.
“UND is a great football program, great football team,” Stiegelmeier said. “You don’t have to get yourself up for this one, this is another tough road trip.”
The Jackrabbits have been clicking on all cylinders since losing week one to Iowa. They are scoring 26.4 points per game while only allowing 13.4 points to their opponents.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski con tinues to lead the offense during the win ning streak. He is completing 61% of his passes along with 10 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns.
Running back Isaiah Davis has rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games with a team-leading 756 yards and 6 rushing touchdowns on 5.7 yards per carry.
Jaxon and Jadon Janke are the leaders in receiving for the team. Jaxon has 30 receptions for 361 yards and four touch downs and Jadon has 26 catches for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Zach Heins has hauled in 16 receptions and two touchdowns as well.
All-American tight end Tucker Kraft, who’s been out with an injury since week one, could possibly come back this week, as he eyes his return to the Jackrabbits.
“Most people would say he’s our best football player,” Stiegelmeier said. “So it would give us three real tight ends to put on the field that are ready to play, which we wanted to do a bunch until we lost (Kraft) in the Iowa game.”
Adam Bock leads the SDSU defense in tackles with 57 total tackles and 31 of them being solo tackles. The Jackrabbit defense has forced an interception in every game this year with Colby Huerter and Cale Reeder each having two apiece to lead the team.
Next week, SDSU returns home to host Indiana State on Hobo Day Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
After dropping the last two games at Frost Arena, the Jackrabbit volleyball team travels to Omaha and Denver to continue their Summit League schedule.
“I think everyone in the program is very disappointed about the results this last week, and not just having two losses at home consecutively, but just the way we played at home was very upsetting,” coach Dan Georgalas said.
The Jackrabbits played both teams earlier in the season in Frost Arena. The Jacks had a tough victory over Omaha in five sets and fell to Denver in four sets.
“We are looking through the windshield and not the rearview mirror,” Georgalas said. “We got four straight road games coming up against the top four teams in the league.”
Omaha is currently on a seven-game win streak with
a conference record of 7-2. Their last loss was to the Jackrabbits Sept. 24. The Mavericks have been domi nating the conference lately, winning 18 of their last 19 sets. As a team, they have 1,001 kills and averaging 13.9 kills per set. Their opponents col lectively have put up 872 kills, which averages to 12.1 kills per set.
Although Omaha domi nates offensively, they are not at an advantage when it comes to defense. They average 14.3 digs per set compared to their opponents 14.5. They also are behind their opponents in blocks, achieving 2.4 per set with their opponents at 2.5.
“Since we beat Omaha a couple weeks ago, they had an amazing stretch of six straight sweeps,” Georgalas said.
The Mavericks have two big offensive players: Shayla McCormick and Marriah Buss. McCormick averages 3.85 kills and 4.51 points per set. Buss is next in line with 3.39 kills and 3.64 points per
set. Sami Clark helps her team get these stats by aver aging 9.9 assists per set.
After their matchup with Omaha, the Jackrabbits will then head to Denver.
The Pioneers are currently 6-3 in the Summit League. They won their most recent game against North Dakota in five sets. Denver also has a dynamic offense, averaging 12.7 kills per set while their opponents are averaging 11.8. They are also outperforming their opponents in both digs and blocks, averaging 13.9 and 2.9 respectively. Their oppo nents have an average of 13.4 digs and 2.3 blocks.
Hailey Green and Jordan Lockwood are the offensive powerhouses for Denver when it comes to kills. Green averages 3.47 kills per set fol lowed by Lockwood with 2.88. Green and Lockwood also lead the team in points per set scoring 3.72 and 3.41 points on average.
The Jacks are looking to
come home with a couple marks in the win column after a tough week at home. The Jackrabbits fell to Kansas City and Oral Roberts. After last weekend, the Jacks have less kills and assists. With that, there are multiple aspects in which the team is playing well. They are averaging 15.3 digs, 2 blocks and 1.5 aces per set.
Fifth year senior Crystal Burk leads the team in kills and digs. Sophomore Ella Thompson is second on the team with kills but is still 200 kills behind Burk. Transfer Raegen Reilly contributes to the team with a total of 816 assists. The defense relies on fifth year senior Sydney Andrews, who leads the team with 77 blocks, followed by Thompson with 47.
“I know our group is just real excited to get back out there again and prove that we are capable of something dif ferent,” Georgalas said.