Editorial: Dakota Days isn’t About Students
It’s Dakota Days again! For some of you, this week represents a week of partying, excitement and questionable life choices. For others, D-Days is nothing more than one continued headache of noisy neighbors partying it up at 3 a.m. on a Thursday. A third group of students treat D-Days with the same indifference as any other week.
Regardless of your excitement heading into D-Days, this week isn’t really about us students.
If D-Days isn’t about students, you may inquire, then who, or what, is D-Days about? The correct answer is the alumni.
Sure, there are some events that happen during the week like the football game and street dance. At the same time, D-Days is home to many different alumni events, mostly for donors.
As you’re probably aware, most students are broke and don’t have money. However, USD has many alumni who are not broke. For example, the political science department hosts events for their endowment donors, called the Farber Fund.
The political science department isn’t the only department hosting alumni events. The law school and education department also have events published on the Alumni calendar this week.
The school also hosts the annual Alumni Achievement Awards in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center this Friday evening. Five individuals were recognized at last year’s award ceremony for professional achievements, service to the university and as emerging leaders.
The alumni events aren’t just about money; many alumni also come back to Vermillion this week to visit old friends and have a good time. The Saturday parade hosts many alumni, community leaders and public figures.
Now, this isn’t to say there isn’t anything for students this week. There’s a lot going on. D-Days has plenty of opportunities to engage in social activities. There’s a parade Saturday morning, a football game Saturday afternoon and events going on in the MUC during the week.
Bar-hopping remains one of the quintessential Dakota Days experiences. It’s what we’re best known for, and the first thing that most of us think of when we think of D-Days.
However, if you can’t or don’t drink alcohol (which is a lot of us), then the experience just isn’t the same (we’re not telling you that you should drink, we’re just noting reality).
Regardless of how you view D-Days week, use this time to relax a bit in whatever way you see fit.
If college should teach people anything, it is how to make the most of the opportunities laid out in front of us. Whatever you choose to do this week, keep in mind that it’s not just about us.
