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The Volante
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The Volante has been University of South Dakota’s student newspaper since 1887. Through a special partnership between USD and the Student Media Board, The Volante is entirely independent of the university.

volantehistoryNotable alumni of The Volante include Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today.

In Fall 2012 Cristina Drey wrote an article about the history of The Volante.

While the University of South Dakota celebrates its 150th anniversary, The Volante is celebrating a milestone of its own — 125 years as USD’s student-run newspaper.

Patrick Lalley, managing editor at The Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., worked for The Volante his senior year of college at USD and said working for the newspaper opened a door for him.

“Every opportunity that I have gotten, every level that I have achieved was because of the time I spent at The Volante,” Lalley said. “It taught me that I was good at something.”

Back in Lalley’s day, The Volante had a different location and was much smaller than it is now.

“We had an office in the old union that had two rooms,” Lalley said. “You came in and there was a desk and the other room behind that was the production room which had one whole glass wall and on the other side there were pool tables, so while we were in there laying out the paper, there were guys out there playing pool and watching us, so we’d wave. It was a very strange situation but it was fun.”

Mary Jo Hotzler, editor of the Grand Forks Herald in Grand Forks, N.D., was involved with The Volante all throughout her four years of college as a reporter, sports editor and then the managing editor for her junior year and part of her senior year.

The biggest change in The Volante since Hotzler was involved is the website that had just started, she said.

“It was quite a challenge and now the big difference for the students there is that the web and mobile media is a big part of what they do and what they talk about,” Hotzler said. “Even though it is a weekly newspaper, there is more of a push to get the news out there as it happens in the world.”

One of the major skills Hotzler learned from her time at The Volante was professionalism, she said.

“When you are putting out a newspaper, it’s for so many people to see and that is a serious job,” Hotzler said. “That is something that I learned there, and I applied every day since.”

USD graduate Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today and former Volante staffer, said  The Volante’s independence is important.

“When I was there, sometimes we paid a little too much attention to the administration,” Neuharth said. “Now, it’s strictly a students’ newspaper and does a very good job of all aspects of student activities — educational, social and sports.”

Some advice Neuharth has for current students involved with the media is to be well-rounded.

“They need to recognize that it is no longer just journalism, it’s media,” Neuharth said. “They need to make sure they aren’t just print journalists at The Volante because when they get out and get into a paying job, they are going to have to have overall media interests or experiences.”

Hotzler had similar concerns for students, saying having internships was just as vital.

“It’s important for student journalists to remember that there is a world outside of student journalism, and it’s important to connect with that,” Hotzler said. “Students need to be pushing their comfort zones, stepping outside of them and finding ways to learn journalism everywhere they go and at every opportunity.”

Lalley emphasized the need for journalism students to keep journalism ideals and faith in themselves at all times.

“Every step along the way there are people who will exploit your self doubt,” Lalley said. “You will never be perfect and you may never convince people but you have to believe. You have to believe in a mission and have to believe what we do is vital for a free society, that we protect individual rights and that we guard against abuse and injustice.”

Upon the 125th anniversary of The Volante, Lalley expressed his congratulations on the overall progress and the students’ work.

“It’s an amazing institution, and I think that the incredible strive that the organization has made underneath the Neuharth center is really unparalleled in college journalism,” Lalley said.

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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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The Volante

The Volante is the University of South Dakota’s independent student-run newspaper since 1887. Al Neuharth Media Center The Volante 555 N. Dakota Street Vermillion, SD 57069

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