Opinion
Editorial: How Old is Too Old for Halloween
Halloween approaches fast, just in time for some potential snow as the last vestiges of warm weather disappear. Downtown Vermillion will host a trick-or-treat for kids in the afternoon, but what about us? Are we too old to celebrate Halloween? To answer this question, we need to understand the history of Halloween. Many believe Halloween’s […]
Editorial: ChatGPT Hurts Our Writing Skills
The Volante staff aims to highlight the power of artificial intelligence (AI) generated content by using ChatGPT to write this week’s editorial on why using AI negatively impacts an individual’s writing capabilities. Relying solely on AI for writing comes with a set of limitations and concerns that should give pause to those considering it as […]
Positive Change Starts When Mediocrity Ends
Have you ever thought about why you exist? I know I have. I try to ask myself that question on a fairly regular basis. There was a time in each of our lives when we gained self-awareness, around the age of four or five. Clearly, we all know we exist. I don’t want to kickstart […]
Campus Dining Leaves Much to be Desired
Should we as students expect more from campus dining based on what we are paying for? A common grievance among many students is about the quality of meals on campus, in particular the residential dining cafeteria. Sodexo contracts as the catering company that serves all South Dakota public colleges, a decision made by the South […]
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 […]
Editorial: Combat Suicide with Meaning
September marks National Suicide Awareness month since its inception 15 years ago. Mental health has continued to make an impact on not only certain groups but entire generations. Mental health arguably ranks as one of the most important issues for Gen-Z. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists South Dakota as having the fifth-highest suicide […]
Should USD Bring Back Paper Towels?
When I transferred to USD last year, one of the first things I noticed was the complete absence of paper towels in the restrooms. Instead, USD has hand dryers installed in every restroom. Should the school bring paper towels as an option to dry your hands? In order to answer that question, we need to […]
The Impact of Online Learning on Students
As I enter my final year of college at USD, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my studies as a student. Many recent graduates and seniors entered their introductory college years during the COVID-19 pandemic and four years later, the education system is starting to see the impacts online learning had on […]
South Dakota Has No Place for CO2 Pipelines
Last Wednesday, the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) denied a permit for a CO2 pipeline in five South Dakota counties. Earlier this year, Navigator CO2 Ventures, a Texas-based carbon management company, announced plans to build a carbon dioxide pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline would carry carbon dioxide from around two dozen facilities […]
Editorial: Report Crimes That Happen on Campus
Since the beginning of the school year, USD has issued three timely warnings about sexual assaults that occurred on or near campus property. Currently, we as a school average one sexual assault per week. Based upon past crime data, that is not a good track record. Thanks to the Clery Act, the University Police Department […]