Feature
Former USD student competes in Miss America pageant Sunday
By Gabby Ehlers and Katie McGuire Miss South Dakota is working to trade in her crown for a national title. Autumn Simunek, a former USD student, has been preparing for months to compete in the 89th Miss America pageant on Sunday. Simunek, from Hot Springs, S.D., was crowned the 69th Miss South Dakota this year […]
Painting professor’s past brings color to art department’s painting program
Every great painting is made of countless brush strokes, each adding color to the canvas. The result is a masterpiece filled with new techniques and colors. Like these paintings, USD’s newest painting professor, Andrew Leventis, has a colorful background of his own to guide his student artists. After graduating high school in Charlotte, N.C., Leventis […]
New dollar store opens on Cherry Street
As Dennis Whipple and Sarah Stewart unpacked merchandise and staged it on shelves and hangers in preparation for the opening of their dollar store, Whipple came across a handful of selfie sticks and questioned some of the product selection of his new store. “When I saw that, I said, ‘We’ll never sell this,’” he recalled. […]
USD English professor named S.D. poet laureate
South Dakota has a new ambassador of poetry. University of South Dakota professor Lee Ann Roripaugh was named the new poet laureate for the state of South Dakota over the summer, and will foster prose reading and conduct reading/writing workshops throughout the state for the next four years. Roripaugh grew up in Laramie, Wyo., and […]
Miss USD prepares to compete for state title
For one University of South Dakota senior, persistence has paid off. Stephanie Fischer, a communication sciences and disorders major, won the Miss USD competition held Feb. 8 in Aalf’s Auditorium after competing the past two years and getting first runner up. “It’s kind of just a thing where people you know push you to do it and […]
New campus group focuses efforts on supporting child cancer patients
When junior Morgan Moe found out her mom was diagnosed with cancer last summer, her life changed. She was attending the University of Lincoln-Nebraska, but decided she needed to be closer to home in Sioux Falls to be with family. After living in Sioux Falls and attending the University Center while her mom underwent treatment […]
Entrepreneurs strive to create next “big thing”
Michael Helgerson is after the next “big thing” in technology. The 31 year-old Vermillion native and senior business major said his new idea could revolutionize the way college students interact with universities. QUICKcampus or QUICKclass, a smart device platform, would provide indoor directions and information regarding news, student events, athletic events and student organizations via […]
Understanding attraction, sexual and romantic orientations
University of South Dakota students are celebrating LGBTQ+ communities during this year’s Pride Week. USD’s LGBTQ+ group on campus, Spectrum: Gender and Sexuality Alliance, is hosting the events all throughout the week. The Volante compiled a quick guide about terminology and the different types of attraction and orientations. This is by no means an exhaustive […]
USD alum Whitesock overcomes addiction, named a Bush Fellow
David Whitesock’s undergraduate experience at the University of South Dakota was a little bit different than the rest of the student body’s. “I lived in Brookman Hall, which as a 29-30 year old who lived in an apartment much of his life, living in that environment was tough,” Whitesock said. “But my whole day could […]
Speech and debate team to compete at national tournament
Five members of the University of South Dakota speech and debate team will travel to the University of Ohio in Athens, Ohio to compete in a nationwide tournament April 16-20. The team, which is affiliated with the American Forensics Association, currently competes in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, and attended eight regional tournaments this […]