February 2018
International athletes adjust to life at USD, find friendship with teammates
USD international athletes share unique obstacles and opportunities adjusting to American culture. Tomas Kamenik, Jana Lazarevic and Anastasiia Bondarenko are three international athletes overcoming challenges and exploring new opportunities on their journey at USD. Cultural differences Tomas Kamenik, a senior business and accounting major, came to Vermillion from his hometown in Prague, Czech Republic to […]
New student organization petitions for updated free speech policy
Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), one of USD’s newest student organizations, is working to promote free speech on campus. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) rates USD as a red light campus, which means that freedom of speech is restricted on campus, according to their guidelines for free speech. Formed only two weeks ago, […]
New dean of medical student affairs hired
Dawn Bragg was recently hired as the new dean of medical student affairs. Her first day was Feb. 15 and she accepted the position in November of 2017. Bragg said what attracted her to USD were several colleagues within the Sanford School of Medicine and the university’s commitment to South Dakota communities. Before coming to […]
Students present research to legislators in Pierre
Two USD students were invited to the State Capitol on Monday to present their research with 10 other students from South Dakota Board of Regents schools. Alexandra Dolezal and Kami Pearson were nominated by faculty they work with to represent USD. Kami Pearson, a senior psychology major, delivered her presentation “Psychological and Biological Indicators of College Students with […]
Student groups to move into North Complex commons
Construction will soon pave the way for a new office suite layout for several student services facilities in the North Complex commons area. John Howe, associate dean of students, said offices within the Continuing Education building will be moved to North Complex. These offices include the Student Veteran Resource Center, TRIO, University Housing and the on-campus Post office. […]
Women’s golf team excited for Kiawah Island Spring Classic
The USD women’s golf team will be competing for the first time at the Kiawah Island Spring Classic in Charleston, South Carolina on February 25-27. According to GoYotes, junior Lexi Petersen led USD’s golf team with 227 total strokes and a 58th place finish at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Senior Abby Dufrane finished five strokes behind […]
Head-to-head: Guns aren’t the problem
I am opposed to an “assault weapons” ban for a couple main reasons. First, because it does not fix the underlying problem. Second, there is a mental health crisis in the United States. Let’s begin by defining our terms. An “assault rifle” is defined as “short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power […]
Head-to-head: Restrict assault weapons
No one wants to take your guns. It’s your property, and assuming you don’t pose a threat to anyone, no one minds you keeping it. That said, we really, really need to talk about gun safety in general and assault weapons in particular, and that’s easier said than done. There is no formal definition of […]
Newly formed Indian Student Association strives to be a ‘home’
The Indian Student Association (ISA), a new organization on campus, hopes to help international students from India feel like they’re at home. Shaun Khatua, a first-year computer science major and Indian international student, formed the organization in the beginning of February. Khatua said he was inspired to start ISA at USD after learning about similar organizations on other […]
Music students fulfill graduation requirements with performances
As the spring semester progresses, students in the music department are making final preparations for their upcoming recitals. Students studying music performance or music education are required to give recitals in order to complete their degree. Recitals give students experience performing in front of an audience, as well as teach time management and planning skills. […]