Being Miss USD Will Take You Places

By Warren Egebo

This past Sunday was the 60th Anniversary of the Miss University (of South Dakota) Scholarship Pageant (there was no pageant in 1980 or 2004). Last January at the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, I met Morgan Peck, the reigning Miss South Dakota and last year’s Miss USD. I am a 1972 graduate of USD and eighth graduate from my family (my wife, my two sisters, my brother-in-law, and several nieces and nephews have all attended USD over the years). Currently a board member for the Miss Philadelphia Pageant, I have been involved with pageants in the Miss America system for over 30 years, and that all began with Miss University.

It all started in the summer of 1957 when my sister, Sylvia, brought home from Vermillion the USD annual: THE COYOTE. I immediately noticed the “GLAMOUR” section that had full page head shots of Miss Vanity Fair (the yearbook queen), fraternity queens, Miss Dakota, Honorary Cadet Colonel, and the queen of queens on the USD campus – Miss University.
When my sister Hazel attended USD in the 60′s, she gave me a copy of the 1963 Miss University Pageant program that had Tom Brokaw as the emcee of the pageant. As many USD alums know his wife Meredith Auld won Miss South Dakota in 1959 as Miss Yankton. During those years when it was held annually at Slagle Auditorium each of the five sororities and the four girls’ dormitories fielded a candidate.

When I arrived at the USD campus in 1968 there were 20 or more candidates each year. Oh, how I remember Cecilee Streetman with her long chestnut hair winning the title in 1973 after singing the song “Killing Me Softly with Your Eyes”! She went on to be the first runner-up to Miss South Dakota that June.

The very first Miss University (1948), Carol Quinn, won Miss South Dakota in 1949. Then in 1950 Irene O’Connor not only won Miss University and Miss South Dakota, but in September in Atlantic City she became the first runner-up to
Miss America 1950. Other Miss University/USD titleholders who then captured the state crown and went on to the Miss America Pageant were 1957- Pat Miller, 1966 – Deborah Molitor , 1975 – Gina Campbell, 1995 – Kimberlee McKay and now Morgan Peck, Miss South Dakota 2009. Many a Miss South Dakota competed in the Miss University/USD pageant, but won the state crown with another title; some that come to mind are June Delbridge, Ann McKay, Sara Frankenstein, and Nikki Grandpre.

I congratulate the candidates for Miss USD this weekend. You are a part of a great tradition on the USD campus. And good luck to this year’s winner Valerie Menning as she competes for the state title in Hot Springs in June! Bring home another state crown to Vermillion!

Warren Egebo
Miss Philadelphia Pageant Committee member
Hegins, PA
USD grad 1972, BS in speech education

Monopoly Money

By Thomas Emanuel

I am a dietary ethicist. I don’t eat meat and only drink milk rarely (hurrah for soy protein); I buy organic and/or local whenever possible and try to avoid brand names. I don’t eat junk food, and I refuse flat-out to eat fast food or shop at Wal-Mart.

I do this because I don’t like the means by which big companies produce their food – paying immigrants 30 cents an hour to pick tomatoes, for instance, or razing the rainforest in order to make room for cattle so McDonald’s can get cheap hamburgers.

Therefore, I alter my shopping habits, withdrawing my support from objectionable companies and throwing it instead behind brands and products that I can feel good about buying. In my own small way, I use the laws of economics against the likes of Chiquita.

By forcing me to pay $650 a semester for a meal plan, however, Aramark and USD have robbed me of my choice to eat ethically. U.Dining offers commercial, brand-name products: enriched macaroni product and bleached white bread, Frito Lay and Sara Lee. Don’t eat meat? Hope you like salad and… salad. If I had my druthers, I would never eat any of the food offered at the MUC.

Theoretically, I could still choose not to eat there. But that would be wasteful – they’ve already got my money. I might as well get some use out of it.

The problem is, I don’t even get that much bang for my buck. Not only purchase a meal plan for mass-produced, unhealthy meals; we are also made to pay exorbitant prices for them. A cup of cantaloupe costs $3. I could buy a whole cantaloupe for less than that!

It could be argued that we’re paying for the convenience, but we should be able to choose to pay for the convenience. For my part, I’d rather make the walk to Jones. Furthermore, it’s not as if we can force prices down by refusing to buy, because we are required to pay in the $650 or $1,000 in order to live in the dorms – it’s either use it or lose it. It gives new meaning to the term “Monopoly money.”

I am not advocating USD get rid of meal plans altogether. Many students have no problem with having a meal plan; it certainly makes life simpler when you live at North Complex to walk downstairs and have an all-you-can-eat buffet at your fingertips. Then again, it makes life simpler not to think about where your food comes from too.

Perhaps USD could make meal plans default, but not mandatory. That is, they could offer students the possibility of opting out of meal plans, with the understanding that if a student does not actively opt out, she will automatically be charged for one. This way, most students would probably still end up paying for a meal plan, while those of us who don’t want to have to choose between eating at the MUC every night and wasting our money would be left with other options.

Of course, I should be thankful – and trust me, I am – that I’m even in a position to complain about meal plans; my life could be much worse. But despite my great good fortune, it would still be nice not to have to pay too much money for food that I neither want nor feel comfortable purchasing.

CORPORATE INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

By Senator Jason Gant (R-Sioux Falls)

On January 2, 2010, the United States Supreme Court, issued a historic ruling in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission with regard to political communications by corporations. The Justices stated that because the First Amendment applies to corporations they should not be completely prohibited from being involved in political campaigns. This decision does a lot to change the political landscape in South Dakota.

Although the State of South Dakota won’t now have the ability to decide whether a corporation should be allowed political speech, we have retained the responsibility of ensuring openness and transparency in this new time. To that end, I authored an amendment to House Bill 1053 and current South Dakota law to clarify this emerging campaign finance issue during the 2010 legislative session.

I have long believed that the residents of South Dakota should be keenly aware of where political contributions come from. With the Supreme Court’s ruling as guidance, I was determined to ensure that the public knew who was funding corporate political speech. I started drafting with the premise that all corporate political speech would include the language of disclosure that has become commonplace throughout the states: “Paid for by . . . “. South Dakotans are comfortable with this language and it was important to me to keep that disclosure.

My amendment also ensured corporations are held to the same open and transparent standards as candidate campaign committees or political action committees or even political parties. It only makes sense that these groups should be treated equitably.

In order to avoid the mistakes of our past, I also included language addressing the ownership of corporations paying for political speech. I wanted to be as sure as possible that all owners were listed with the Secretary of State, but I wanted to keep the process least onerous on South Dakota corporations. The result is a simple filing requirement for our domestic corporations since they are already required to file their articles of incorporation and annual reports with the Secretary of State.

Further, I required that if another corporation or LLC was an owner of the corporation paying for the political speech, that their corporate information would be filed with the Secretary of State. This helps to keep closed loopholes that might have been opened and helps ensure that different corporations or LLCs or LLPs aren’t created to try and hide their true intentions. Foreign corporations would also be required to comply with the same type of disclosures, although they would have stricter time and financial requirements.

The final result of all this work is that South Dakota will comply with federal precedent and allow corporations to be involved in political activities, but that those corporations will be held to the same standard as all other groups involved in political campaigns.

I believe it is paramount to ensure that political campaigns in South Dakota are open and transparent. I trust that this new law on corporate political speech will do just that.

Note: Senator Gant’s House Bill 1053 of the 2010 Legislative Session passed the Senate and House of Representatives unanimously and the Governor signed the bill into law on March 29, 2010.

Submitting OverHeards, In the Know & In the Dark

By  Volante Opinion Editor Heather Fluit

Many people have been wondering both aloud and on www.VolanteOnline.com how to submit ideas for the Opinion pages’ weekly features. There are a few ways. Members of the USD community can email Volante@usd.edu or, for the duration of the Fall 2009 semester only, Heather.Fluit@usd.edu. Also, we advertise in our print edition every week the option to submit OverHeards, In the Know & In the Dark and editorial ideas on Twitter. Our Twitter username is VolanteOpinion, so just reply @VolanteOpinion to send us your suggestion. I check that account regularly, especially to see if anyone has sent us new ideas or suggestions.

It is always hard to keep the Opinion pages diverse and fresh from week to week and I welcome any and all input from the USD and Vermillion community at large. I hope this blog post clears up some confusion and that it will generate some fresh ideas. Thanks everyone!

The domestication of a feminist

By Volante Opinion Editor Heather Fluit

It took me 20 years to learn how to be a mediocre cook. Growing up, I subsisted on a steady diet of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Old Dutch Dill Pickle chips. Even when I played volleyball or basketball, my eating habits resembled more of a garbage disposal than a healthy, balanced human being.

At USD, I was spoon-fed (well, force-fed if you consider the required costs of on-campus meal plans) mass-produced food. I had zero motivation to drag my meager cooking utensils down to the oft-disgusting common kitchen to make a pot of overcooked spaghetti. I could have just walked to the Commons for that.

However, my very first apartment changed my appreciation of cooking — and, not to mention, made me less apt to think that if I cook, I am giving in to “The Man.” My first kitchen was about the size of a small closet and I shared it with three other people. In fact, I think it might actually have been a closet at one point in time. The doorway, which I’m convinced was designed with short people in mind, was even adorned with an unfortunate looking beaded curtain. It was an apartment in Florence, Italy, where I studied for a semester. I had a mildly functional gas burner, a small dented pot, a lukewarm refrigerator and leftover spices and olive oil from the former tenants.

I was mortified. I was convinced I would either starve from my lack of cooking ability, or rather, my lack of ability to order food in Italian. One of the two was going to do me in.
I started slowly, trying to work with the cards I’d been dealt. Spaghetti with tomato sauce was my first attempt at feeding myself. It was sufficient, though an embarrassing substitution for the authentic Italian cuisine down the street.

As the months wore on and I eventually returned home, I changed. I am not yet a “good” cook. No, not even close. Creative and resourceful,  maybe. But, good? Not by a long shot.

What had changed was my perception of cooking, of caretaking. The ability to bring together family and friends around a table is not about the food, it’s merely the incentive. The power of cooking and a few plates of food was something that was lost on me until I learned that cooking isn’t about eating. It’s not about sustenance. It’s not about being domestic and subservient for the greater good of one’s family.

Cooking can lead to conversation starters, dinners, laughter and relationships. For many, it’s not about domesticity. It’s about learning to appreciate the draw of a home cooked meal.

Spice up your Halloween

By Volante blogger Taylor Poro

Halloween is less than a week away, but how can college students have fun during what is decidedly a children’s holiday?  Halloween can still be enjoyable for those whose beards make trick or treating impossible.  The trick is creativity, planning and not caring what people think about you.

First of all, who says that 18, 19, or even 23 is too old to go trick or treating?  It’s free candy and veiled blackmail (unless your tricks are just empty threats) given out by people who obviously don’t understand the concept of bartering.  Trick or treating can still be done as long as candy is more important than dignity.

Try dressing up as a very tall kid.  The costume involves gear from the local high school, pins from whatever is hip and happening with the young people and an external costume so it doesn’t look like the tall kid isn’t wearing a costume.  Shaving is also a must, because nothing says opportunistic college kid like a full beard.  This goes for trick or treaters without Y chromosomes as well.

If that doesn’t work, try trotting out a young sibling as an excuse to go trick or treating.  Kids have to be good for something, right?  Free candy is just about the only reason to have kids or put up with siblings.

For those who don’t want free candy, there are always Halloween pranks.  The purpose here is to find a group of people that deserves to be pranked.  Nothing makes a person seem like a bigger jerk than tormenting an unsuspecting person for no reason.  If you’re going to hassle people, choose those that deserve it.

“Twilight” fans are always a good choice to hassle because it’s actually quite scary. Nothing livens up a boring Halloween more than finding a pile of hate letters and death threats in your mailbox because you claimed “Twilight” fans aren’t smart enough to be considered people.  The fear subsides quickly though considering the letters are written with sparkly glitter ink and each “i” is dotted with a heart.

The campus jerks are also a good target. If eggs are to be thrown (and history shows that they must), target the jerk that holds up the line because he’s on the phone, or the guy that plays loud music in his room at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday.  Never go after the nice guy, karma sucks.

Dressing up is a must for the holiday, but as what?  The pre-packaged costumes from Wal-Mart seem to come in two categories, insulting and slutty.  Maybe I’m getting old, but who wants to see a slutty brick house?  Then there are the “nerd” costumes and “trailer park king costumes.” Maybe it’s not the best idea to make costumes out of a sizable chunk of your consumer base.

Try buying costume supplies from Civic Council which has a much larger supply of items to choose from.  As for costume ideas, too many costumes these days are unoriginal.  Slutty Dorothy, sugar daddy — OK, we get it.  Make a costume that no one could reasonably figure out without being told.  The Doppler Effect, as shown on “Big Bang Theory” or a favorite character from a movie or television show no one has ever heard of.  Being recognizable is for N00Bs.

As for entertainment, there are a variety of options on campus this weekend.  The monster bash, which is being held in Julian Brookman lounge Oct. 30, will have good music, food, prizes and costume contests.  There are also a number of great movies playing.  “Zombieland” will still be in theaters (if not here than Sioux Falls or Sioux City, Iowa) as will “Where the Wild Things Are,” and “Paranormal Activity.”

These are a number of ways to enjoy Halloween as a college student.  These aren’t the only ways though, do whatever seems fun interesting but not felonious.  A funeral might make a good event too and everyone can come to mine after the “Twilight” fans read this and carryout their sparkly terrorism.

Bar time is not for politics

By Volante blogger Matthew Hittle

Most students and faculty know my political leanings because I used to write about them. Until they stopped reading my column, that is. Because of that, people often approach me about political issues in the news. And that’s OK. Through the graduate school haze of reading, reading and more reading, I still catch snippets of the news. And hey, I like politics.

But all too often, this political conversation arises at the worst possible place: the bar. I’ll be having a drink with friends and another politically-minded soul greets me with a smile and a well-placed jab about Fox News or some such. I’ll laugh along and return a jab about Keith Olbermann, but that’s normally where I draw the line.
That’s because politics during bar time is dangerous.

Case in point is this past weekend during D-Days. A particularly less-than-sober friend slurred something about Rush Limbaugh not earning the Nobel Peace Prize. I laughed along with him and retorted that neither did President Obama. He grabbed my shirt at the neck (something I’m sure many liberal readers would like to do) and demanded I speak well of the president.

There was no harm done that night, just a slightly torn sweater and free drinks bought for me by an apologetic friend. 

The moral of this story is that, like driving and baking homemade pizza, politics is dangerous when mixed with alcohol.

A day in the life of ‘us’

By Volante blogger Darcy Semmler

It all started with the fuzzy pink diary.
The idea of journaling is a time-tested practice that dates back to Charles Darwin, Christopher Columbus and more. In more recent years, though, it entailed a little notebook with the funky ink pens that girls were hooked on writing down every little event that happened in their lives. From the macaroni and cheese they had at lunch to playing with their friends at a sleepover, these essential events were written down so we’d never forget them.
As time went on and the Internet thrived, journaling took on a whole new life.
Blogging has become the new wave of journaling that spans generations and genders. Web sites such as Blogger.com and Vox.com have created a new outlet for those who want to vent, criticize, rejoice or journal about current events and their personal lives. Even KELO-TV and The Volante have blogs at the staff members’ disposal as a way to reach out to the community and discuss the everyday news happening around us.
Now with YouTube bursting in popularity on the Web, video blogging has also emerged as another outlook. People can share videos with others around the world. And some have taken on the challenge of creating a daily video blog as a way to document their everyday activities. Look up YouTube aliases such as ShayCarl or CharlesTrippy, and you’ll find second channels dedicated to their own daily video blogs — just check out a couple of their videos, and you’ll get an idea of what the video blog is all about.
Some people wonder about the point of video blogs, especially if they’re day-to-day. Whether it’s a privacy issue or an entertainment issue, some question if it’s really worth the effort to record and edit all of your personal events for the world to see. Wouldn’t they grow tedious after a few weeks, or just plain grow boring? Do we really have nothing else better to do than to waste five or 10 minutes of our day watching clips of what they did?
Well, we manage to waste our day away watching much worse on YouTube. Many comedy videos are a stretch … there are only so many videos that one can handle before the crude humor becomes overdone and is in bad taste. When someone gives us a peek into their normal lives through video blogs, it suddenly shows us what the American life and culture is about. Even though we live it every day, sometimes people need to take a step backward to see it from a different perspective to really appreciate life. It also shows us who these comedians are as a real person, separate from the written script — that’s when we can appreciate their skits all the more.
Plus, it is a person’s prerogative as to whether they share these videos with the public or not. In a way, the public gives these daily videos a purpose. It’s easy to record important or unique moments in our lives, but it’s also easy to put the camera away and forget about it for weeks on end. These videos remind us to capture the little things in life, along with the big moments.
I admit, I do have my own Blogspot Web site, along with many of my classmates. I also know of a group of friends who set up their own YouTube channel so that they can keep in touch and report on the goings on of their college lives. These versions of journaling have become a way to not only record the little moments, but to share what is going on with friends. It’s amazing how a girl’s fad can grow into something so much larger.

The Real Deal

By Volante Blogger Darcy Semmler

Recently, I had one of the greatest highlights of my short time here at USD when I was given the opportunity to shadow Sheri Levisay and Lloyd Cunningham of the Argus Leader. I never thought opportunities like these would present themselves so early in college, especially in my freshman year.

In typical teenage fashion, the best way I can describe it is: absolutely awesome.

For once, I was able to ask any and all questions pertaining to the newspaper and what they did best. From other stories that Sheri’s written to her experiences as a copy editor, she was kind enough to give me the honest truth of what it’s like to write for a large newspaper. Lloyd had plenty of stories to tell, which were just as fascinating. As a photographer for my high school yearbook, I was really missing out on the fun of photojournalism. But one thing was clear: they love what they do, and that speaks volumes.

Not only did I have the chance to talk with seasoned reporters, but I was able to watch Sheri as she worked, interviewing and chatting with the Freedom Forum’s Executive Director, Jack Marsh. It’s one thing to go out in the field as a high school student and try to interview, but to see a reporter with experience sparking a conversation with the interviewee really gave me an understanding of how reporting works. I could see where I’ve done right in the past, but also where I can definitely loosen up in later interviews.

In addition to shadowing, we were all looking forward to opening the case containing the Magna Carta, circa 1350. The “Words that Changed History” exhibit is being featured in the Al Neuharth Media Center right now. It is a world-class collection of rare books and manuscripts that Jack Marsh allowed us to touch and examine. There are just some perks to being a reporter that must be taken advantage of when we can, right? However, as they propped up the glass case and pulled out the Magna Carta, Sheri pointed at me and said, “Why don’t we let Darcy hold it?”

Really? I was left speechless. I was thrilled just to have a chance to watch them in action (let alone meeting these two in person), but to touch the Magna Carta? I highly doubt job shadowing in high school would have resulted in something this amazing.

For the duration of my Monday, I had one phrase running through my head: I got to touch the freaking Magna Carta!

I cannot thank Sheri and Lloyd enough for allowing me to follow them around as they worked. They’ve given me an experience I’ll never forget, and I learned an immense amount in such a short amount of time.

The Sophisticated Mind of Kanye West

By Volante Blogger Frederick Adams

Aw man, slept in at twelve o’clock, what was I thinking? Well better get dressed for my wonderful day. I should check my Gmail. Gmail, I love that word because I am awesome. Well look at that, I have some e-mail. The VMAs are today? I certainly hope my girl, Be, will win “Best Female Video.” Hopefully today I will use my awesome mind skills to actually speak correctly. No one apprehends words that come out of my mouth. They are not the words that I am actually thinking.
I should find something nice to wear. Oh like this cardigan sweater, hopefully the mothballs didn’t stink it up too much. Are you kidding me? My pink and orange sweater became a pink and orange baby shirt?! I can’t wear this tonight for the VMAs I need to find something else. Well I have this black button down with jeans, it really brings out my photographic brown eyes. Everything else is at the cleaners in Denmark.
Well I am at the VMAs. I surmised to wear glasses because the lights on stage hurt my corneas. I sure hope “Be” wins. It would be mortifying for her if she didn’t. Why would you let a country singer win at a music award show? It just doesn’t make sense.
Okay, it’s time for Beyoncé to win this award, I know she has this in the bag. No one has a chance except for my girl. The tension for her to win is making my stomach hurt. The winner is, please be Beyoncé, please be “Be”, come on ex- Destiny… TAYLOR SWIFT!!! Wait, what are you doing body. Don’t go up there. Calm yourself. Sit back in that chair. Just look like you are going to make an important call. Why are you getting on that stage! Why are you going up to Taylor! Why are you taking that microphone out of her hand?! What are you saying?!
“Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for ya. I’ll let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all times.”

You idiot, what are you doing! This is going to ruin our reputation!

“One of the best video’s of all time!”

That’s it. I am not giving you anymore advice. You are a ridiculous human being. Don’t even try and think because your conscious is out of here.