Two USD students enter their app idea in $5,000 contest
Two USD students are hoping to score $5,000 from the state to help them develop an app. Sam Hummel, an MBA graduate student, and Tyler Frank, a senior accounting major, are competing in the Governor’s Giant Vision Student Competition. Their app idea is called “The Knack.” “The Knack is an e-commerce based app focusing on hand-made goods and services,” […]
SGA makes international club a large student org
The Student Government Association debated for more than an hour Tuesday whether to make international club a large student organization. Being designated a large organization allows international club to ask SGA for more money, and to be a part of the large organization funding pool. International club needed 15 votes in order to remain a large […]
Recent bill brings Internet privacy to forefront
A bill recently signed into law by President Trump allows Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to sell customers’ browsing data to advertisers. According to the New York Times, Verizon, Comcast and AT&T can continue tracking and sharing people’s browsing and app activity without permission. There’s been some pushback since the bill was announced, but QuocNam Tran, chair of […]
SGA introduces bills to increase transparency
The Student Government Association introduced legislation Tuesday night to make SGA more transparent. Senator Malachi Petersen, former Volante editor in chief and current representative of the graduate school, introduced three bills that would increase the transparency between SGA and students. The first bill would amend the SGA constitution to require the organization’s weekly meetings to […]
Greeks raised a combined $130,000 for charity in 2015-16
While most Greek chapters may be stereotyped as encouraging a raucous party lifestyle, an often overlooked aspect of fraternities and sororities is their intensive fundraising efforts. All 12 USD Greek houses are active in the community, raising money for the respective charities they support. In the 2015-16 school year, fraternities and sororities raised more than $130,000, and put in almost 40,000 […]
Ph.D. student researches how classes affect alcohol, drug use
A Ph.D. student is looking into what impact, if any, entry-level addiction studies courses have on students’ lifestyles and choices regarding alcohol and drug use. Melissa Dittberner, a Ph.D. student studying human development and educational psychology, is researching the correlation between knowledge and behavior for her dissertation. “What I’ve done is survey students about their substance […]
Students help community members file their taxes
USD students are helping the Vermillion community file their taxes. Junior law student Mallory Schulte, the site coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in Vermillion, is teaming up with other students to make sure people get their refunds filed correctly. The VITA program offers free tax help to taxpayers who make under $54,000. […]
New law aims to make it easier to prosecute sex traffickers
It’s about to be easier for prosecutors to take on sex-trafficking cases in South Dakota. House Bill 1118, signed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard on March 10, will eliminate “the need to prove the use of force, fraud or coercion in the human trafficking of minors” when prosecuting cases. Before the bill was passed, victims of trafficking […]
Vermillion Dart League headline Monday night bar scene
In bars across Vermillion, Monday nights are reserved for darts. Ten teams compete for bragging rights in the Vermillion Dart League at Leo’s Sports Bar, Varsity Pub and Eagles 2421. Nicholas Haley, captain of the Cat on a Leash team that plays at Varsity Pub, said the teams play games of 501. “Each player on […]
SGA swears in new president, vice president
The Student Government Association swore in their new president and vice president Tuesday night. Teagan McNary and Josh Anderson were voted into office during the election that took place Feb. 28 and March 1. The pair won the race in a landslide, receiving 835 of 1,137 votes. “It’s definitely really exciting for it to be our administration and […]