Legalization of medicinal marijuana in South Dakota moves forward despite lawmakers’ objections
Recently, the South Dakota state legislature failed to pass House Bill 1100, which would delay medicinal marijuana. Because of this, Initiated Measure 26 will go into effect on July 1, 2021, which will allow medicinal marijuana to be legal in South Dakota. People can visit site if they need options of medical marijuana. Associate professor of political science and […]
Annual Special Education Conference hosted for educators
The annual South Dakota Special Education Conference is hosted by the Center for Disabilities in collaboration with the South Dakota Department of Education. The event is targeted towards special education staff and educators across South Dakota. This year the conference was held virtually due to COVID-19. Ryan Groeneweg is the Director of Community Education. He oversees a team of training and […]
Dakotathon continues despite COVID-19
This year’s Dakotathon, an annual fundraiser at USD, will be held virtually because of COVID-19 restrictions. However, this hasn’t stopped students from choosing to participate. Junior medical biology major Leah Drengenberg said she had never heard of Dakotathon until the end of her freshman year, but had heard of dance marathons. Drengenberg said she was sitting in class when people came in to talk about the Dakotathon and she decided […]
Charlie’s Cupboard fights food insecurity
The student-led organization Charlie’s Cupboard opened last September after two students were introduced to food insecurity on campus. Co-president senior political science and criminal justice double major Hannah Booth said Charlie’s Cupboard had a lot of support on campus and from the Vermillion community that allowed it to support over 1,000 students since opening and grow into the organization it […]
Symphonic Band performs music with a message
Thursday, Feb. 25, the Symphonic Band will perform their annual February concert in recognition of Black History Month. Director of Bands and conductor of the Symphonic Band John LaCognata said the concert is an acknowledgment of conversations that need to be had and progress that needs to be made. “It’s really just an opportunity to musically […]
Eats with Ashley brings African food to Vermillion
Beginning in January, a USD student used her personal cultural knowledge to bring diverse eating options to the Vermillion community once a week. Junior exercise science major Ashley Charlie started Eats with Ashley when she noticed that there was a lack of cultural foods in Vermillion. When Charlie came to USD, she made connections within […]
Professors celebrate their published books despite COVID-19
In 2020, three books were published by professors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Ben Hagen, Marcella Remund and Sara Lampert all discussed their new books with professor Zoli Filotas during an author panel. The panel was held online to celebrate the teacher’s publications. All three teachers said they participated in the author panel to increase awareness for their […]
Cheerleaders to business owners: Bougie Berries launches in Vermillion
Bougie Berries is a brand new strawberry decorating company in Vermillion owned by three USD cheerleaders that was launched last month. Junior interior design major Asiah Jackson and junior pre-law major Aliyah Jackson are sisters who met sophomore media and journalism major Kayla Saleem through cheerleading a year ago. Bougie Berries was not their original plan, as they had […]
Clarinet masterclass: Learning how to enjoy the music
The Music Department has been hosting Clarinet Day since 2016 where students are able to learn new things from teachers from across the country. However, due to COVID-19, the event has changed and will now be entirely online, spanning the course of a couple months. Dr. Luis Viquez, the director of orchestras and assistant professor of clarinets at USD, is […]
How the Cook House finds methods to help students
COVID-19 has changed how counseling looks on campus and has even given students a new app to use to help with their mental health. Michele Turner, a staff counselor, said that even with the struggles of COVID, The Cook House offers one-on-one counseling, group counseling, crisis intervention, consultation, education and prevention services. “The biggest change with […]