Dining on the South Dakota State University campus will be a new experience for students next fall.

With construction on the current student union, the SDSU Dining Services has made a few changes to the meal plans and dining service locations for next year.

All of the changes were made through the University Food Service Advisory Committee, a committee made up of staff, students, faculty and food service managers, said Dave Menzel, food services director.

Dining locations will be spread throughout the campus next year.

Larson Commons will have a north and a south side. Larson North will continue to hold an all you care to eat section while Larson South will host Jack’s Place and a grille area comparable to The Market with chicken strips, mozzarella sticks, sirloin burgers and more. A Grab & Go station will also be available.

The south side will be open weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Jackrabbit C-store will stay in the same location.

To replace the Market, Depuy Military Hall will be converted to an all you care to eat dining hall for lunch only. Menus will include Mexican entrees, wraps, sandwiches, a salad bar with soup and Grab & Go items.

According to Menzel, the hall will feature carpeting and big screen televisions. The dining hall will also try to incorporate events to interest students in eating at the hall.

“The key to all of it regards the Depuy plans,” Menzel said. “We’re trying to get 600 or more through Depuy to take away stress from Medary and Larsons.”

The Depuy Dining Hall will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Java City, which is currently in the student union, will move to NFA 232 and will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. A hot lunch option will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m and a Grab & Go station will also be available at NFA 232.

Yeager Hall lobby will host another Grab & Go area along with a microwave.

Medary Commons will continue to have the same dining options as this year. Medary’s food court features Grille, Home Zone, Blimpie Subs, Salad Garden, Kettle Classics, Bakery and Grab & Go items.

The Hobo Stop C-store will also continue to be located in the building.

Meal plans will also be undergoing some changes on the SDSU campus.

A majority of flex plans will be changed to a meal allowance, said Jessica Morgan, SDSU dining services marketing manager.

“That’s because of adding Depuy,” Morgan explained. “We can’t do any cooking in Depuy so we have to prepare food elsewhere and bring it in.”

Two meal plans will be just for Depuy Dining Hall only with varied amounts of flex dollars.

The Hungry Hobo meal plan no longer exists. The name of the meal plan has changed to the Running Rabbit. Morgan said the reason for the change was because of confusion between the terms Hungry Hobo and Hobo Dough.

“It’s still the lowest plan,” Morgan said.

Morgan said the SDSU Dining Service prefers to look at the changes as a positive for the university.

“We have the chance to capture some commuter students,” Morgan said.

Three of the new dining areas are located in the center of campus so they will be more convenient for student commuters, Morgan said. New brochures have been released to students who live in Berg Hall and to commuters. Students who participate in the student commuter meal plan will get a bonus 10 percent for purchases over $100.

“We’re hoping to launch a pretty extensive marketing campaign,” Morgan said. “If we make it a positive from the start, it makes change easier.”

For more information about the dining service locations and meal plans, contact Morgan or Menzel at the University Student Union.

Their footsteps are difficult to follow. Their career and educational paths have left a distinct impression on the campus of South Dakota State University.

So just who are these super heroes? They’re four women that are on the campus every day and have become positive role models for those around them.

On Thursday, the four women were honored with the 2004 Women of Distinction award at a tea in NFA 232.

The four women honored are: Mary Kay Helling, Administration Category; Suzette Burckhard, Faculty Category; Paulette Heesch, Career Service/Exempt Category; and Melissa Pater, Student Category.

According to Mary Perpich, Women of Distinction committee chair, this year 14 people were nominated for the the award in the four categories.

“Each of the winners must have excelled in her career to be considered for the award,” Perpich said in an e-mail response.

Helling is recognized for her service to SDSU as a faculty member, department head and assistant vice president of academic affairs. As department head of human development consumer family sciences, Helling merged two departments into one, oversaw the remodeling of the preschool and wrote a Bush grant to train those who work with pre-schoolers.

Burckhard, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, was chosen for her role as mentor to women engineering students and advisor to the SDSU chapter of Women in Engineering. She also participates in the Success Academy and advises international graduate students.

Burckhard holds a bachelor of science degree in engineering physics, two master’s degrees and doctorate degree in civil engineering.

Paulette Heesch is honored for her dedication to her career as program assistant in the plant science department. She has worked there for 30 years.Heesch and her husband are licensed foster parents. Heesch is active in her church, teaching Sunday school and serving as secretary of the church council.

“She is the glue that holds the department together,” said Dale Galenberg, plant science department head.

Melissa Pater is honored for her dedication to SDSU as a member of the national champion Jackrabbit Women’s Basketball team in 2003 and her work as a graduate student in supporting the team from off the court.

According to Aaron Johnson, coach, Pater has served as a strong role model to girls and women in sports. She goes out of her way to speak to young people at schools, local organizations and any individual that wants to get an autograph.

Nancy Nieber, senior women’s administrator and a 2001 Women of Distinction award winner, said of Melissa, “In my 27 years of coaching, I have never witnessed a young woman with such determination and drive.”

Others nominated for the awards were:

*Faculty: Karen Cardenas, professor and acting head, modern language department; Nancy Fahrenwald, assistant professor, College of Nursing; Patricia Hacker, professor, HPER; Madeline Rose, associate professor emeritus and coordinator, SDSU science fair; Patricia Smyer, associate professor, College of Nursing; and Kristi Vensand-Hall, associate professor, music.

*Career Service/Exempt: Michele Kemp, program assistant, College of Arts and Science; and Mary Davenport, senior secretary, College of Nursing.

*Student: Suzanne Parker, family and consumer science and dietics major; and Amanda Mattingly, SDSU Students’ Association president.

Diane Novotny-Young did not talk about her last job at Stroh Brewing Company in St. Paul for 10 years.

“I spent the last 10 years trying to forget,” Novotny-Young said.

On Wednesday night, she finally spoke out about her job and the sexual harassment she encountered as she gave her talk, “Sexual Harassment and Issues of Power.”

Novotny-Young spoke to a crowd of about 200 in the Rotunda on her experience working at the Stroh Brewing Company and the landmark lawsuit that linked the media to the hostile work conditions for women at the plant.

Novotny-Young began working for the company in 1985.

“From the very first night, I realized this was a little different work environment than I’d ever been in before,” she said.

Novotny-Young explained to the audience the types of sexual harassment and assaults the women at the plant encountered. Cat-calling, pornographic cartoons and pictures, sexist and racist remarks and even the the company’s advertising did followed Novotny-Young and her fellow women employees daily.

After receiving the job as shop steward, she realized that sexual harassment was a major problem in the plant. She tried to get diversity training programs into the plant but was denied repeatedly by management and the corporate offices.

After the unsuccessful attempts to combat the problem, some of the women in the plant came together. In 1991, five women filed separate law suits against the Stroh Brewing company.

Besides dealing with the issue of sexual harassment, the lawsuit brought attention to the sexually explicit advertising of the Swedish Bikini Team.

“It sends a message to women what the standard is,” Novotny-Young said.

The litigation lasted two years and was finally settled in 1993. The Stroh Brewing company shut down several years later.

“It does not matter whether you’re in a boardroom or in the back of a laundromat,” Novotny-Young said. “No matter what career you choose you’re going to encounter this, either you’re going to be a victim or be called to recognize it. It starts with each one of us. You’ve got to be able to stand up and say stop it.”

South Dakota State University students, faculty and staff as well as Brookings and surrounding community members will have the opportunity to indulge themselves in ethnic culture this Friday.

The SDSU Festival of Cultures will be held Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Frost Arena. Admission will cost $1 and is free to SDSU students with identification.

Approximately 27 different countries and cultures will be represented at the festival.

Countries and cultures represented this year will be Africa, African American, Bolivia, China, Columbia, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kurdish, Latin America, Mexico, Morocco, Muslim, Native American, Nepal, Norway, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Turkey, United States and Vietnam.

“The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to celebrate the ethnic cultures they represent,” Al Branum, director of diversity, said.

According to Branum, the festival will host three varieties of booths.

Display booths will showcase cultures, bizarre booths will sell artifacts and the food booths will sell ethnic foods.

Scheduled for the entertainment stage are:

* 9 a.m. Jerry Cooley, bagpipe player

* 9:30 a.m. David Miralles, Latin American song

* 10 a.m. SDSU international students, song and dance

* 11 a.m. Sioux Falls Mariachi Band, Latin American song

* 12:15 p.m. Jackie Bird, Native American traditional dance and songs

* 1:15 p.m. Sons of Norway, Scandinavian dance

* 2 p.m. Angie Rolling, Latin America interpretive dance

High school programs are also scheduled during the event.

A Spanish language and culture contest will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in the Performing Arts Center Fishback Hall.

A German language and culture contest will take place from 10 a.m. to noon in the Performing Arts Center lobby.

Sandy Newman, coordinator for the Festival of Cultures, added that other entertainment will be going on throughout the day.

The Indian Student Association will give a cricket demonstration on the Intramural Field from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Art in Motion members will juggle while riding unicycles in an open area in Frost Arena during the day.

Newman said that she thinks more people should attend the festival.

“I think the festival prepares people globally and provides global appreciation,” Newman said.

Branum agrees. The festival has been going on for more than 20 years. This year Branum hopes more people will attend the event.

“We usually have at least 2,500 people come to the festival and we’d love to see that double,” Branum said. “I’m confident that it will be enlightening for anyone who attends to see the variety of cultures that we have represented here and the detailed information available from those who are representing them.”

The Festival of Cultures is presented by the International Relations Club and the Office for Diversity Enhancement with sponsorship by the Students’ Association, the TriO program and the University Diversity Council.

A crowd of South Dakota State University students and Brookings community members descended on Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill Friday evening, but this time it wasn’t just for the food and drinks.

Cubby’s hosted a benefit Friday evening for the six SDSU students who lost their home to a fire on Feb. 19.

According to Justin Gilmore, Cubby’s bar manager, the benefit raised a little over $2,000 for the students.

“It was amazing how many kids showed up to support them,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore said he got the idea to have the benefit after visiting with Greg Geary in the sports bar the night after the fire.

Geary had the same pants and shirt on from the night of the fire and said that was all he owned.

Geary and the other victims lost nearly everything in the fire. One of the men was hospitalized with burns on over 50 percent of his body.

Gilmore said that they are not only good friends of some of the Cubby’s workers, but they’re also good customers of the bar.

“We felt like we could help them out,” Gilmore said.

The event began at 10 p.m. and lasted until closing time.

Customers were charged a minimum $5 charge at the door and then could drink free all night until the kegs of beer ran dry.

According to Gilmore, the four kegs of Coors Lite, Miller Lite and Bud Light went fast.

“It was crazy in here,” Gilmore said. “All at once we had 250 in here.”

But Gilmore said that many people were not there just to drink beer.

Many people offered side donations.

“People just stopped in and gave money, some threw $20 to $30,” Gilmore said. “Wells Fargo donated $150.”

Gilmore said that the fire victims were present at the benefit and that one even was accompanied by his parents.

Gilmore said that the students knew their friends would be there, but were surprised at the overwhelming support.

“They couldn’t believe it,” Gilmore said. “They were amazed by all the support on their side.”

Gilmore said the benefit was a good turnout among the community.

“A lot of support from non-students as well as adults,” Gilmore said.

Vannapha Thammavong sits down to watch her favorite shows on Friday afternoons after class.

During the week she’s so busy she resorts to taping her beloved shows, CSI, True Calling and Orange County, and then saving them up until the weekend.

In high school, Thammavong was active in extracurricular activities. Most nights she never was home before 7 or 8 p.m.

At South Dakota State University, Thammavong has continued to get involved in various organizations.

“I love to be involved. I love to know what’s going on,” Thammavong said. “I want to have my foot in the door.”

One event that Thammavong had her foot or hand in making a success was the SDSU Wacipi. The Wacipi or powwow was held Saturday at Frost Arena.

Thammavong, a junior advertising and consumer affairs double major, is the president of the Native American Club. She was responsible for overseeing the whole operation and giving speeches during the event.

“For Native American Club this kind of gathering is not just for dancing. It’s about coming and seeing people you know,” Thammavong said. “It’s a great recruitment to experience SDSU if you haven’t been through 2+2+2 or the success academy.”

The 2+2+2 program is what brought Thammavong to SDSU. Originally from Portland, Ore., the 2001 Tiospa Zina graduate planned to attend Portland State University but financial aid fell through. The same week a scholarship came from SDSU and Thammavong knew she was coming to Brookings.

“I was a little disappointed at first but now I love it here,” Thammavong said.

Thammavong, who is half Laotian and half American Indian, visited the SDSU campus several times during her high school years. She attended the 2+2+2 program in the summer where she received a hands-on application for the different majors offered at SDSU.

“It wasn’t the typical sit-down tour of campus,” Thammavong said. “You knew you’re way around campus by the time you left.”

Today Thammavong remains active in the program, helping coordinate the program in June and setting up recruitment for tribal schools.

The program is designed to give tribal students a three-step program for going to college, 2 years of high school, 2 years at a tribal college and 2 years at SDSU.

Besides the Native American Club and the 2+2+2 program, Thammavong is involved in Native American Journalism Association, Alpha Zi Delta and the Minority Peer Mentor Program.

She is also an orientation leader and is currently running for Student Association Senate from the College of Family and Consumer Science.

Thammavong said she decided to run for Senate because as an orientation leader she has seen what students in her college need.

In her spare hours of time, Thammavong enjoys scrapbooking, getting her nails done and watching her favorite shows.

But time is spare for Thammavong.

She said she plans to continue staying active at SDSU.

“I want to get the most bang for my buck. This is college,” Thammavong said. “I want to know when I’m done I’ve experienced college.”

Coming Soon!

Sitting in the driver’s seat of a classic ’57, L’il Bit adjusts the rear view mirror, snaps her seat belt on and tries to find the right radio station.

Memories of her driving coach, intimate friend and uncle, Peck, float through her head as she starts the ignition.

From the beginning of the play to the end, the audience hangs on to each word, emotion and action of the young woman with curly red hair, a tight blue cardigan and a nervous, excited disposition.

“It’s been her secret and I don’t think that would be easy to tell anyone,” Callie Jacobsen says. “At the same time I can’t help but feel sorry for Uncle Peck. They both truly care for each other.”

This past weekend audience members watched Jacobsen play the role of L’il Bit in the South Dakota State University production, “How I Learned to Drive” by Paula Vogel. The production will continue this week with performances at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Onstage she’s L’il Bit, a young southern gal with naivety, charm and sarcasm, but who is Callie Jacobsen offstage?

Jacobsen, a junior theatre major from Dubuque, Iowa, began her acting career in eighth grade. Theater was in her blood, Jacobsen explains. Her grandmother and father were both active in productions and the tradition carried on to her in the next generation.

Her first performance was Bea Shacter in “Up the Down Staircase.” Jacobsen says she experienced “a whole surge of nervousness and excitement” during the performance.

“It was an exciting feeling and I didn’t want it to go away,” Jacobsen says as she leans back in her chair at Jack’s Place. “No matter what you do you always take something away about that person.”

Dressed in a gray sweater and jeans with her red hair in two braids tucked under a navy blue New York Yankees baseball hat, Jacobsen begins to list the performances she’s been in since the eighth grade play.

In high school, she starred in “Flowers for Algernon,” “Voices 2000,” “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night,” “The Secret Garden,” “All I Need to Know About Life I Learned in Kindergarten,” “All in Americaland” and during her senior year, she restarred in “Up the Down Staircase,” this time capturing the lead. Jacobsen also took part in small and large group theater during high school.

At SDSU, she’s starred in “Equus,” “And a Nightingale Sang,” “Boys Next Door,” “Tartuffe” and “Foreigner.”

When Jacobsen doesn’t have a role, she takes part in the technical aspects of productions.

“That’s the best part of the program,” Jacobsen says. “You learn how to perform as well as do technical.”

Jacobsen hopes to graduate next May. After SDSU, she plans to apply to Emerson College in Boston where she will seek her master’s degree in theater education. Jacobsen credits her professors for her interest in teaching.

“They all push us to succeed,” Jacobsen says. “Because of this faculty, I know I want to teach it.”

Since she arrived at SDSU, Jacobsen has also learned a few secret techniques to her performance. Her first technique is to carry her lucky objects, her pictures of her parents, grandparents, three sisters, boyfriend and friends, with her.

“I look at all the pictures to take them all out of my mind. So my personal feelings for everyone are set aside,” Jacobsen explains. “I start thinking about the character and recite monologues. By the time I step on stage I’ve lost everything about me.”

Jacobsen also carries her lucky script with her everywhere. She pulls out her copy of the script to “How I Learned to Drive.” A bent yellow pamphlet with rips, tears, tape and highlights, the script is Jacobsen’s right-hand man.

“When learning my lines, it’s always in my back right pocket,” Jacobsen says. “I lose pages after having it for three days.”

With four more performances to go, Jacobsen still has some expectations for the production.

“I just hope people come to the show,” Jacobsen says. “I think it’s a story that needs to be told and needs to be heard. Hopefully they’ll enjoy it and appreciate it.”

Eric Erickson casually sits back on the midnight blue love seat in the Student Association office as he reflect on his career as South Dakota State University student body president.

With his feet propped up on the cherry wood coffee table, Erickson gives a warm greeting to a student who walks in the door. A janitor comes in minutes later and is greeted in the same way.

Erickson pushes his glasses up on his nose and smiles as he gives the reason why he has enjoyed his administration as president.

“You can always help them out, make things easier for people,” Erickson says. “I want to continue that.”

Erickson and Vice President Justin Larson took office in March 2003. On Mar. 22, Erickson and Larson will hand the gavels over to the next student body administration.

A senior political science major from Summit, Erickson became involved with student government as a freshman at SDSU.

The young democrat ran for Student Association Senate and was elected.

At the end of his sophomore year he ran for president but lost to Dan Hansen. Erickson then became Hansen’s administrative assistant.

“The chief of staff kind of job,” Erickson explains helped him learn how to run an office.

His job as administrative assistant came in handy as Erickson was elected president in March 2003.

The list of improvements Erickson and Larson have made for students at SDSU is long. The 3rd B tax, Division I and the union expansion are just a few to name.

Erickson blushes. He says he’d rather discuss the improvements he and Larson are still planning to install in their last month of office.

Erickson pulls out a five inch blue binder from his desk. Flipping through the documents and papers, he finds the goals they still have for their administration.

One goal is to get a new wellness center built at SDSU. Erickson explains that $1.5 million of students’ money will be used to buy the new facility.

A bill is currently in the legislature to get more money to build it.

Erickson would also like to see full-time students enrolled in summer classes get use of the wellness center without having to pay. If students are enrolled full-time in fall classes, Erickson feels that they should not have to pay for use of the wellness center during the summer.

Erickson and Larson are also trying to get any money raised by the 3rd B tax from students in the residence halls returned to campus. This way the money could be used to benefit students and for University Program Council events.

The ride home project is their fourth goal. The program would provide a safe ride home from the bars.

The service would be free for students. The president is currently working with bars, beer distributors and the city of Brookings to help fund the program.

A push button door and a handicap accessible elevator at Pugsley Center are in Erickson’s plans.

Student input in the student codes and putting up Daktronic signs at the main entrances of campus are just a few more items Erickson and Larson have on their agendas for the next month.

Erickson said he has enjoyed helping others through his role in the student association.

“People stopped in my residence hall room if they had problems with their advisor. I helped people get jobs, internships,” Erickson says. “I talked to state officials like Senator Johnson and Senator Daschle about changing things to make things better for students.”

Erickson also serves his time as an aircraft mechanic in the air national guard. He is stationed out of Sioux Falls.

While Erickson has not been called up for duty, he has great respect for those that have.

As Erickson snaps his pen, he tells what he’s learned from his year in office.

“A better understanding of how the university works,” Erickson said. “And a greater desire to continue doing public service type of things.”

Erickson has two pieces of advice for the next president.

“Make sure and continue doing the people’s walks,” Erickson says. “Make sure you work on the big goals and the little ones.”

Students at South Dakota State University will be dancing around the clock Friday night.

The third annual Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon will held Friday from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. in the Volstorff Ballroom.

“We’re expecting to have 260 dancers,” said Mandy Warner, Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon coordinator and social awareness coordinator for the University Program Council.

Warner and other members of the Children’s Miracle Network executive board began planning for the event in September.

Press releases were sent to newspapers, cans were placed in local businesses for donations and door prizes, food and T-shirts were donated by area businesses.

Last week the Children’s Miracle Network raised $120 at a fundraiser at Pizza Ranch.

Each participant who signed up by Monday was required to participate in a letter-writing campaign. Each person who signed up was asked to send 10 letters to family and friends and raise $100 for the event.

This week the Children’s Miracle Network board members will be selling balloons in the breezeway. The balloons will then be used to decorate the family area Friday night.

For those who did not sign up and still want to participate in the dance marathon, they can pay $10 an hour to attend.

All the money raised will go to the Sioux Valley Hospital where it is distributed among families in the area.

Warner explained that the families’ problems can range from injuries and illness to premature birth complications.

The money raised will help cover travel costs, medical expenses and new equipment.

“They try to help as many people as they can,” Warner said of the Children’s Miracle Network.

Five families will be attending the event at SDSU. Last year only 3 families were able to attend.

“Families are there as a morale boost,” Warner said. “You get to meet the families. It really hits home when you meet a kid who’s had over 30 surgeries.”

The SDSU Children’s Miracle Network executive board members have a goal to raise $15,000. Last year they raised about $10,200.

A trophy will be awarded to the top organization, top male and top female fundraisers.

“It’s a really great cause,” Warner said. “Once you participate in it, it’s a really fun event. You get a lot out of it.”