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State/Local
Vermillion Police Department

SGA supports county alcohol diversion program

January 29th, 2014 Trent Opstedahl Campus, SGA, Vermillion Police Department comments

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The University of South Dakota Student Government Association will support a resolution in favor of a program allowing people over the age of 18 who received a Class 1 or Class 2 misdemeanor in Clay County to forgo conviction by completing a series of activities.

Senators of SGA voted 18 to 5 Jan. 28 on Senate Resolution #11, which supports the proposed diversion program in Clay County.

“I’m very excited about the passage of this bill,” Senator Rachelle Norberg said. “I think it’s evident students are very much in favor of the bill because of the feedback we’ve received and not hearing negative, but hearing the positive.”

Norberg, who serves as chair of the State and Local committee, first presented the resolution to SGA Jan. 21. SGA voted the resolution into the committee to allow senators time to gather student input.

“This was a way for us to get more discussion about it and make a decision together to see if this is something we want to go forward with and support,” Norberg said.

The proposed diversion is to be presented to Clay County State’s Attorney Teddi Gertsma before March 10, Norberg said.

The program would not require changes to the law, but it would require a change in the way the Clay County State’s Attorney does business.

As the diversion program currently stands, Gertsma would have the discretion to recommend the diversion program to offenders in lieu of conviction.

Junior Sam Young said he is in support of the program.

“It sounds like a good idea, because they give them a second chance,” Young said. “They might have made a mistake and didn’t realize until after the fact.”

If granted eligibility to complete the diversion program, minors would need to complete a set of criteria, which would include a 24/7-sobriety program.

Developed by the coalition of SGA representatives, Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe and Vermillion Chief of Police Matt Betzen, the proposed diversion program comes as an alternative to the Good Samaritan Alcohol Policy (GSAP), which has been supported by representatives of SGA in conjunction with the South Dakota Student Federation.

Presented to the South Dakota Legislature in 2011, 2012 and 2013, GSAP has failed to become law at each of its three appearances.

According to Betzen, eligibility for the diversion program will only be considered to those who meet outlined criterion.

“It’s an opportunity for minors committing a first-time minor offense to do a series of activities to make up for violating the law, and really the real focus is on rehabilitating potential behaviors so that they don’t continue to cause that problem or move in that direction,” Betzen said.

The diversion program has been in the works for about a month Norberg said.

Aside from SGA, Howe and Betzen, Caleb Fink, a South Dakota State University Senator for Student Government, has been involved in the planning process.

Sophomore Samantha Drapeaux can see how the bill might work for some people.

“It might depend on the situation,” Drapeaux said. “Some people might just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but others might take it as a freebie and it wouldn’t stop them.”

Depending on how the diversion program plays out in Clay County, Norberg said, Brookings County could implement a similar program in the future. If all goes according to plan, Norberg said the diversion program could become active late this spring or early next fall.

Betzen said the diversion program is a way to rehabilitate people in ways the current system might be lacking in.

“Most of us cross that line (of underage drinking) before we’re supposed to,” Betzen said. “This would be an opportunity where you could learn those lessons that I’m not sure we’re teaching with simply a fine or even jail time.”

Follow reporter Trent Opstedahl on Twitter @TrentOp

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Trent Opstedahl

Trent Opstedahl is a senior at the University of South Dakota, working toward a bachelor's degree in media and journalism with a minor in Spanish. He is the news editor for The Volante, and has also served as a full-time news intern at the Bemidji Pioneer in Minnesota and at the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. This past summer he interned as a page designer/copy editor at The Forum in Fargo, ND.

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People of the Pack

"I like a lot of music a lot of other people like, so if I’m just playing a lot of loud music to a crowd and getting paid for it, that sounds awesome."
"The nature here is amazing. The Vermillion River, the park, hanging out with my friends and I like cooking."
"I’ve had a couple uncles and a couple aunties come here. My grandmother attended USD in 1970. So they really inspired me and encouraged me to come to USD. They made it sound really awesome and it is an awesome school. I like USD."
"I’m most active with Alpha Phi. We have a lot of philanthropy events like we have our Red Dress Gala, which is just an event we hold every year to raise money for women’s heart health. I’m pretty involved with that, and we also do the Backpack Program where you pack lunches for kids in Clay County."
"After this year I will be doing my MBA after this. Hopefully I can get into a marketing firm and just work my way up. That’s what I’m hoping."
"I find it fun to go to the library in the student-athlete's section. It's nice because you can go there every night. I have been there every night this week just studying and stuff for my test tomorrow."
"USD really cares about its students. They just keep everything really nice here and it’s personal."
"I want to be a politician just for the simple fact of genuinely educating and helping people who don't understand certain policy issues. I want to help them see beyond the biased media so they can research on their own."
"I want to end up being a delivery nurse, anywhere honestly. That’s the end game. I want to travel a lot."
"I want to be a nurse somewhere, but I don’t really know what kind of area. I just want to help people and watch them achieve their goals and get better."
"I just love singing — singing’s my favorite thing to do. It’s always my escape for everything."
"I am going to become a counselor and try to create a safe and welcoming environment. I'll help them where they are, and try to get them where they want to be."
"I very much care for my family and try to take care of them in any way I can. Part of that when I lived in California was trying to take the stress off of my parents. I would do everything around the house: cooking, cleaning, yard work, taking out the trash, grocery shopping."
"I would travel anywhere, I don’t care. I just really like being in new places and meeting new people."
"I can deal with his (stuff), and he can deal with mine. We’ll be up until four in the morning."                         "We’re just social people, we like to talk and have a good time."
"I’ve definitely met people who are more free-spirited and not judgmental and more interested in the same things as I am. I studied abroad last summer in Ireland."
"(If I could go back) I would’ve stuck with basketball and played basketball in college. I just feel like I missed out on an opportunity. I still could’ve gotten a business degree while playing basketball. I just wish I would’ve worked harder at it. I played at first and then I quit. I signed at USF, University of Sioux Falls. I played summer ball with them, with their team, so I didn’t get to experience the full effect."
"I don’t think I’d change anything, because then if I changed something then something else wouldn’t have happened. Why change? My life is pretty good right now. Life is completely about perspective."
"My favorite artist is my band, Bread of Stone. We are growing up with Christian music and we have a lot of shows too. We already have a couple albums out."
"I was a sophomore in high school when my grandma Betty passed away, and it was two years before that when my grandpa Walter passed away. I don’t remember much of Betty because she had Alzheimer’s, so we would go see her once or twice a year in her home. I know that she liked to bake a lot. She would bake all kinds of things — cookies, pies, cakes. She was known for her little tea parties when we came over. The only thing I remember is her sitting in the back porch with my grandpa when we would go to visit them before they both moved to homes. I remember lots of my grandpa. He was a fiery, grumpy old man. He used to give us Sunkists and cookies every time we went to see him. We’d bring him meals when he still lived in his house, and later when he had moved, we would take him to church every Sunday and go for hour long drives that he loved and we all had to suffer through."

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