Finals week has everyone stressed, sleep-deprived and on edge. For most, it gets to the point that one more second at the library makes them that much closer to a nervous breakdown. But no worries. Jacob Limmer, the Cottonwood Coffee owner, had these very students in mind.

Cottonwood Coffee has been going strong for three-and-a-half years, and thanks to Limmer’s careful consideration, there is hope for those poor, desolate, studious souls.

“Cottonwood is a very welcoming environment, the staff is always bright and cheery, the décor, including the mellow music and white noise – it’s good for studying and just hanging out with friends,” said James Rupp, a senior history major.

The coffee shop provides free wireless Internet, as well as a quiet environment for studying. Yet, this does not mean that if students just need to relax, it is not a welcoming place, as well. Cottonwood has a variety of board games that people are welcome to try out.

Limmer envisioned a true coffee shop and had wondered why a community like Brookings could not support that.

“I went to college where there was a great urban coffee shop. ? [Cottonwood] is a cliché coffee-house environment. It’s all those things a coffee house should be,” said Limmer. “We really focus on quality, and our prices aren’t any higher than anywhere else. I price on what it costs me, not how much I can make off of others. It’s an escape, a mental escape since you’re not on campus.”

Simeon Brown, a senior English major, said even though he doesn’t come down to study, he really enjoys what it has to offer.

“I like just hanging out here. It’s a cool place – even if you’re not here for the coffee or the Wi fi,” he said. “People here are just nicer than other places. It’s all the studiers and coffee drinkers. “

Right now, the coffee shop located on Main Street is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“I always try to extend my hours during finals week. I want to be open 24 hours a day for finals, but I employ almost exclusively college kids, so it’s harder since they have finals as well,” said Limmer.

He does suggest that students call ahead to be sure the shop will be open later during the dreaded week of doom, also known as finals week.

Cottonwood’s name is also gifted to its sister store on Sixth Street, near The Outlet. Cottonwood Bistro, also a relaxed and cozy atmosphere, provides its costumers with a full menu and offers alcoholic beverages.

The Bistro also provides free Internet and a quiet environment, even though it is not designed for the same laptop capacity as the coffee shop.

The coffee shop quite literally has an outlet located about every foot along the walls ready for eager students to use. These two locations are focused on different targets even though they share name and ownership.

There are high hopes for this coffee shop. As of right now, it only can hold up to 50 people, but Limmer said they would like to expand to almost double the seating. From time to time, Cottonwood is also a host to local entertainment, even having a variety show starting at 7 p.m on Dec. 12.

If anyone would like to keep up with the events that the coffee shop is hosting, it has a Facebook group under Cottonwood Coffee and Bistro. The phone number is 605-692-7009.

On Nov. 24, the American Association of University Professors held a local reception at the Brookings Public Library to honor SDSU’s Sherwood Berg for 50 years of membership. Berg was also recognized nationally at the AAUP’s annual meeting in Washington D.C.

Former alumni and SDSU president, Berg has been a member of the organization since 1958 and is one of only 70 members in the organization to have been involved for 50 years or more.

“The AAUP is a very effective organization when it comes to legal and professional advice as it pertains to education; including issues like less funding by the state for public intuitions,” said Berg.

Berg served as president of SDSU from 1975 to 1984. His administration created lasting programs and helped to increase enrollment.

Even though SDSU’s chapter nearly died out, it was revitalized in 2004 thanks to members such as Berg.

“The AAUP is an organization that supports interest of faculty both as a professional organization and a bargaining association for faculty jobs and works; it’s the key institution on academic freedom,” said fellow AAUP member Meredith Redlin of the Sociology Department.

“The organization is vigilant on assuring that the professors have academic freedom. Allowing the professors to have different views to present to students.

The AAUP is very interested in the tenure program-especially the tenure program of those forced to work only part-time,” said Berg.

Berg and his wife Elizabeth fund the Sherwood and Elizabeth Berg Faculty Award for faculty who are in the first five years of their academic career, and have “demonstrated commitment and encouraging potential to carry out the land grant philosophy of integrating teaching, research and outreach.”

During Lyndon Johnson’s presidency which began in 1963, Berg did research in Yugoslavia, Norway and Denmark for the U.S. to be “the eyes and ears of American agricultural helped them get set up after the war.” Berg’s passionate research and work strived to increase U.S. exports.

The AAUP was founded in 1915. SDSU’s only chapter is relatively small but continues its activities to this day.

Provost Laurie Nichols announced at a town hall meeting on Nov. 9 that SDSU has been recommended for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission.

The team recommended a 10-year full accreditation after concluding their exit report on Nov. 4 and was pleased with many of the university’s programs and functions.

Nichols said that the team requires an update by 2013 on the diversity enhancement strategic plan, as it is too soon now to evaluate the changes the team would like to see in the university.

The evaluators were very impressed with student organization and leadership.

“They commented that student leadership was ‘remarkable’ and ‘sophisticated’,” said Nichols.

She went on to say that campus fund raising was ‘exceptional’.

Although students may find the continuous construction bothersome, the team felt that SDSU had “extraordinary facilities development”, also commenting that facilities such as the Wellness Center were excellent. They believed that the “Wintrode Center and Support Systems are assets to the university”.

Not only did they believe that the leadership on campus was “collaborative” and “engaging”, but also that the staff and faculty was very dedicated and had a robust learning assessment program.

The team also commented that SDSU handled the switch from Division II to Division I quite well, making it a smooth transition.

SDSU President David Chicoine thanked all who continually contribute to making this college such a success in the new Monday message that will be sent out weekly to staff and faculty.

“A recommendation for continued accreditation is the result of all our collective efforts, and I thank all of you for those daily contributions,” wrote Chicoine.

Another point the team chose to recognize was the outstanding functional relationship that the university has with the community as they help each other grow and better themselves.

According to the Higher Learning Commission’s Web site, the team evaluates an institution based on five general themes. These are the mission and integrity of an institution, the allocation of resources in preparing for the future, student learning and effective teaching, discovery and application of knowledge and engagement and services.

The probable accreditation of SDSU demonstrates its prestige and dedication to higher education. The decision of the evaluators extends to distance learning programs as well as those offered on campus.

The Higher Learning Commission oversees the accreditation of 19 Midwestern and South-Central state universities.

A survey on gay, lesbian and bisexual identity development is being done amongst SDSU students for one graduate student to gain a better understanding.

Margaret Sykes is a graduate student in the Counseling and Human Resources Department getting her master’s degree in education in Student Affairs Personnel. Sykes conducted a study and presentation about gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) identity development.

She focused on how a person’s “coming-out” experience affected their development.

“I contacted the Gay Straight Alliance on our campus to see what it was like for SDSU students to go through this experience and see if looking at the affects of society, personal relationships and personal actions in fact did hinder their development,” said Sykes. “The information I gained from the organization did show a definite impact of these factors on GLB identified individuals.

“Having this information was significant because knowing what factors we should be aware of will help us as student affairs professionals ensure we direct our efforts to aid GLB students in the more effective ways,” said Sykes.

Sykes said members of the homosexual community have to go through steps of acceptance to come to the realization of their true identity in society. Once a person “comes out” they can then form their identity as a homosexual.

“These are all additional steps of identity development heterosexuals don’t have to go through since they never have to figure out who they are apart from society, because society accepts who they are,” Sykes said. “This means heterosexuals get to start identity development much earlier.

“My overall goal is to build understanding of the needs of this community, so we understand areas we can help these students with when we work with them,” said Sykes. “As far as helping, as student affairs professionals we work with these students all the time.

“If they needed support then we would need to know the campus resources available for them to turn to or ones we should make available, where they are coming from, and what causes this to be such a difficult event in their lives,” she said.

Tyler Peck, president of the Gay Straight Alliance, said that the GSA was happy to help Sykes with her study.

When Sykes came to a GSA meeting, she used a questionnaire with questions including: “How does your sexual orientation affect relationships with family, friends and your community?” Or “What is your personal ‘coming-out’ story?”

The GSA, which meets Mondays at 6 p.m. in the Black Hills room in The Union, is open to the entire community.

“What we really need is the community to be more open, tolerant and understanding,” said Susie Rodriguez, a member of GSA and sophomore majoring in psychology. “Coming out is and being open with your sexuality is one of the scariest things, and support really helps.”

Jackrabbits are in the national research spotlight.

SDSU is site to one of the seven Vanguard Centers in the National Children’s Study for health research in Brookings County, S.D., as well as Yellow Medicine, Pipestone and Lincoln counties in Minnesota.

The National Children’s Study began recruiting participants through SDSU in May.

Its main goal is to find what factors contribute to the development of childhood diseases such as asthma or diabetes and other conditions and decrease their prevalence.

The study, which is being conducted by the National Institute of Health, focuses on 105 sites throughout the country. These sites are located in rural, urban and suburban areas to provide an accurate sample.

The Children’s Study will follow 100,000 children and will observe the effects of environmental factors, including air, water, what they eat and how often they see a doctor.

Participants who sign up for this study are women between the ages of 18 and 49. Women may enroll if they are either pregnant or might possibly become pregnant.

Once the expected child is born, researchers follow the child from the very moment of birth to the time he or she is 21 years old. Researchers report that they will actually wake up at 3 a.m. to come to the hospital if that is when the child has decided it is time to make its worldly debut, turning the study into a very time-consuming job.

This summer, 70 part-time staff members were employed for recruiting-most of whom were students.

“I worked for the study as a summer job. I went to towns and went door to door looking for women who would be eligible to take part in the National Children’s Study,” said Lindsey Reid, a junior mathematics major. “I picked the National Children’s Study for a summer job because it was a good-paying job in Brookings that had very flexible hours.”

Part-time help is now down to just 20 employees since school has started, but the staff is still working hard to gain participants.

Bonny Specker, who heads the study, said the goal is to enroll 250 births each year for the next five years and to have 100,000 children throughout the nation. Those who participate are compensated monetarily and through gifts.

The study was awarded through a request for proposal where those wishing to conduct the study submitted applications. The research and planning for the study in this area began on Nov. 3, 2005, long before recruiting could even begin. Throughout the study, SDSU will be expected to collect and interpret data and then report it to the program’s main office.

Even though it is a time-consuming job, it is not without its awards, said Tianna Beare, the Ethel Austin Martin Program Manager.

“It’s nice to hear people say ‘we want to help, we want to find out what’s causing these diseases to rise,’” said Beare. “People feel a sense of pride knowing that they can help. South Dakota State is very lucky to have this study.”

Deb Burlage, certified nurse practitioner, will soon dedicate her days to educating students and community members on reproductive health.

Starting Nov. 2, Burlage starts full time at the Family Planning Services located on the first floor of the Wellness Center. Family Planning came to SDSU as part of the Student Health Clinic and began services June 29. Since that time, they have seen 749 unduplicated clients.

“When Sanford discontinued their contract with Family Planning, which is a government program, we knew it would be a great addition,” said Brenda Andersen, who oversees most of the Student Health operations. “Student Affairs really insisted on the follow-through so we applied for the grant.”

The full-time position was being filled by three people on separate shifts, one of them being Burlage.

“We had great candidates, and we’ve had great feedback on Deb,” said Andersen. “She really focuses on being healthy. She looks at Pap smears as being a well-woman exam that focuses on a person’s overall well-being.”

Heidi Schultz, another practitioner at the clinic, said that students should know about the great services offered at Family Planning and that one need not be a student to benefit.

“Our services are for men and women both, from puberty to age 53. We provide counseling for STDs, birth control, infertility and family planning,” said Schultz. “The number of male students we get is really great, as our services are for them too. It’s important to know that we can provide HIV testing results in as quick as 15 minutes and other tests in four to five days.”

Family Planning provides care based on a sliding poverty scale. If a person makes less than $900 a month, paying for his or her services is strictly by donation. Since the on-campus pharmacy works with the clinic, many students can pick up prescriptions such as birth control right on campus.

“Having the Family Planning Clinic on campus is more convenient than somewhere else in town because you can stay on campus and get all the help you need,” said Julie Jaeger, a junior mathematics major. “Parking on campus is a pain, so if you have class all day with an occasional break, you don’t want to have to leave then come back to campus and deal with the hassle of finding another parking spot just because you had an appointment.”

Burlage will be working Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Schultz will be available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 605-688-6622 to make an appointment.

#1.881357:668616440.jpg:IMG_2320.1.jpg:SDSU recently added family planning services to Student Health. :Briana Troske

The Wellness Center is receiving a few equipment upgrades this week.

Shari Landmark, community fitness coordinator, said the new equipment will include four new ellipticals, four new treadmills, three flat benches and ten more spinning bikes.

“The equipment was decided through our comment cards we receive from students and members,” Landmark said.