Brookings has gone loco for fro-yo now that CherryBerry is open.

CherryBerry has seen about 600 to 700 customers daily since its soft opening on April 18, where customers were allowed to pile high the frozen yogurt and assorted toppings free of charge.

“The first night was supposed to be more of a family and friends sort of thing but then it turned into a Twitter event so lots of people started showing up and we just ran with it,” said Libby Mulder, CherryBerry’s store manager.

That many customers means the current staff has “had to hustle” to keep up with the long lines, which at times curve around the red and green store and out the door.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge and I was excited, but nothing could have prepared me for it to be this busy,” Mulder said.

Despite the long lines, Mulder said supplies are holding up. Currently, the “fro-yo” store has 12 different frozen yogurt flavours for customers to enjoy, including: White Chocolate Wonder, Birthday Bash, Cookie Monster and others. There are also sorbet options for people who might be lactose intolerant. Toppings include fresh fruit, granola, candy bars and other sweet treats.

“We just hope to keep on keeping up with Brookings, basically,” Mulder said. “We had an awesome weekend and definitely appreciate [those] who came out to support us and [we] hope to see that continue.”

CherryBerry is located at 2216 Sixth St. next to Q’Doba. The store is open 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“I like making people feel better and helping others,” said the senior from Sturgis. “It doesn’t bother me that it’s a field dominated by women.”

An increasing number of men, like Potts, are entering the nursing field. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, three percent of all nurses were men in 1980. Today, that percentage has grown to 6.6 percent, or one in every 15 nurses.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported between 2006 and 2016, registered nurses (RNs) are projected to add the largest number of new jobs among all occupations — 587,000. Although finding a job in the nursing field may not be a challenge for students pursuing a degree in nursing regardless of their sex, Potts and other male nurses could still run into instances where their gender does matter to hospital patients.

Potts said during his clinical training for SDSU a female patient asked that he stay out of the delivery room when she was giving birth. Although this happens, Potts said it’s few and far between and most patients are positive about him being a male and a nurse.

“There are always times when someone says, ‘Oh, another male nurse,’ but it’s usually a positive reaction or more of a surprise than a negative reaction,” he said.

By entering a field dominated by the opposite sex, Potts and other male nurses might be perceived as being at a disadvantage, but according to an article by Joan Evans, “Men in nursing: issues of gender segregation and hidden advantage,” from the Journal of Advanced Nursing, this is not the case.

According to Evans, because the United States is a patriarchal culture, men’s greater status awards them “situational dominance” even when they are the minority and even gives them a special privileged minority status.

“I think being a male will actually be more of an advantage,” said Potts. “Places are always wanting to hire male nurses.”

There is another advantage males see working as a nurse: higher pay. In 2008, the BLS reported female RNs earned a median weekly salary of $1,011, while the median weekly earning for male nurses was $1,168. This means that women made only 86.6 percent of what men made as nurses.

This number might have less to do with whether a nurse is a male or female and more to do with rank. According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, nearly half of their number — 46% — were male during 2008. These positions pay significantly more at about $160,000 to $180,000 per year. Floor nurses, who are mostly women, get paid about $50,000 a year.

Potts will begin as an RN when he enters the workforce, but doesn’t plan to stay there. After two years of critical care training he plans to climb the healthcare ladder and become a CNRA to earn more money, status and respect.

“You definitely see more men in that field. You can make more money, claim a higher status and you just receive more respect from doctors and health professionals overall,” Potts said.

“I was anxiously waiting for that day to come, like all do, and I just thought why not try to go on Feb. 28? Plus I was the youngest amongst my friends and they thought I should just try it as well. And the bars downtown here let me celebrate on the 28th,” she said.
The chance of having a Leap Day birthday is about one in 1,460, while people with other birthdays have a chance of one in 365. This rare occurrence causes some hype surrounding Thompson’s birthday, but to her it’s no more special than anyone else’s birthday. “People seem to get pretty excited when I tell them I am a Leap Year Baby. They will ask, ‘So what day do you celebrate?’ or ‘How old are you really?’” she said.
Besides the birthday hype, this unique day is responsible for other traditions around the world. Leap Year is a popular Irish legend that switches-up the traditional gender roles and gives women the opportunity to propose marriage to men. On “Bachelor’s Day,” men are expected to accept the proposal or pay a penalty if they decline. It is said in European upper classes, men who refused a proposal were expected to buy 12 pairs of gloves so the woman could wear them to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring.
To some cultures, Leap Year isn’t all fun and games. A Greek superstition states bad luck will come to couples that marry during a leap year. It’s possibly a silly superstition, but one in five Greek couples don’t want to run the risk and purposely make sure not to plan their weddings during leap years.

Thompson chooses to look past all the hype, wacky traditions and superstitions, though, taking a more low-key approach to her birthday.
“As I get older my birthdays feel like every other day, except I get presents,” said Thompson. “[Though] It is always fun celebrating anything with my family and friends.”

Leap Year Birthdays Run in the Family

According to the Guinness Book of Records, a family in the United Kingdom has three generations born on Leap Day: Peter Anthony Keogh, Peter Eric Keogh and Bethany Wealth.
A Norwegian family named Henriksen from Andenes holds the official record for number of children born on Feb. 29. Karin Henriksen gave birth to three children on consecutive Feb. 29; her daughter Heidi in 1960 and her sons Olav and Leif-Martin in 1964 and 1968 respectively.

Famous Leaplings

Chinese Leap Year: The Chinese leap year has 13 months, with a leap month added about every three years. The name of a leap month is the same as the previous lunar month. The leap month’s place in the Chinese calendar varies from year to year.
1468 Pope Paul III – last Renaissance pope (1534-1549)
1692 Edward Cave – England, printer (Gentlemen’s Magazine)
1792 Karl Ernst Baer – Embryologist, found mammals develop from eggs
1904 John “Pepper” Martin – Feisty third baseman for St. Louis ‘Gashouse Gang’
1916 Dinah Shore (Frances Rose Shore) – USA, actress, singer, talk show
host.
1920 Louise Wood – director of Girl Scouts of USA (1961-72)
1936 Sharon Webb – Science fiction novelist (Earthchild)
1944 Dennis Farina – USA, actor
1944 John Niland – NFL guard for Dallas Cowboys.
1956 J. Randy Taraborrelli – American celebritiy journalist
1968 Cary Conklin – NFL quarterback (SF 49ers)
1968 Bryce Paup – American football player, NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills)
1976 David Kendall, Sr. – Actor, USA
1976 Ja Rule – American rapper and actor
1980 Taylor Twellman – American soccer player
1992 Caitlin E.J. Meyer – Actress
FAMOUS
leaplings

Other Leap Year Traditions

Jewish Leap Year: A leap year is referred to in Hebrew as Shanah Me’uberet, or a pregnant year. A Jewish leap year occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle.

Bahá’í Leap Year: The leap day is inserted in the days of Ayyam-i-ha, a period of intercalary days devoted to fasting, hospitality, charity and gift giving from Feb. 26 to March 1. Most leap years in the Bahá’í calendar are at four-year intervals, but three out of four years are non-leap, causing eight-year intervals at those points in time.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a plan to authorize the South Dakota Board of Regents to spend more than $200 million in the next 10 years to construct new buildings and either renovate or demolish existing buildings at state universities.

The projects at the six universities, including SDSU, would be financed by up to $107 million in bonds, which would mostly be covered by students. No state tax dollars will be used to fund the projects and private donations are expected to cover the rest of the costs.

The bill will now be passed on to the full Senate for final approval.

The eyes of the entire nation have the opportunity to watch the Jacks in action on ESPNU. Beginning at noon, ESPNU will televise live from Frost Arena while the Jacks host the University of Buffalo Bulls in the SEARS BracketBusters game, both  for the first time in history.

Upon hearing the news that the Jacks were chosen to host the game, SDSU Director of Athletics Justin Sell said in a written statement that this was a great opportunity to present SDSU, and the state of South Dakota, to the nation.

“It gives us a chance to showcase this group of guys and a competitive basketball team that scores 80 points a game and is fun to watch,” he said. “Hopefully we can use this game as a building block to carry us into The Summit League Tournament and beyond.”

Buffalo currently ranks third in the MAC East Division with a 12-6 overall record and a 5-2 record in conference play. The Jacks rank second in The Summit League standings with a 17-6 overall record and a 9-2 mark in league play.

“It’s really exciting and we worked hard for it. I think it will be fun [for] ourselves and our fans and get our name out there a little bit,” senior Griffan Callahan said.

Sell said staying at home for the televised game is a great way for SDSU fans and the rest of the nation to take notice of the Jackrabbits.

“I think our style of play, the quality of our players and our unique Jackrabbit mascot should help us pick up fans from across the country that would like to see us do well and advance to the NCAA Tournament,” he said.

It will be the first time that the Jackrabbits will be on national television since 2005, when SDSU opened the season with games in Lexington, Ky., against Kentucky and Northern Colorado as part of the Guardians Classic on ESPNU.

Men’s basketball head coach Scott Nagy said having this game at home is important, as it gives the Jacks a home-court advantage and also the ability to showcase the SDSU basketball program.

“We’ve been at home so much this season and we’re going to have six of our last eight games at home and that’s the biggest part of the BracketBusters game,” he said. “It’s important that we get an ESPN game in here and it will be good for South Dakota State and good for our program.”

The players themselves are also gearing up for the game and are looking forward to how it could impact the basketball program.

“I think it will mean a great deal for our program and that recruits will be able to see us on TV, and all of our fans that will be able to see us on TV, is big for us,” said sophomore Brayden Carlson.

The noon start time and televised game has forced SDSU Athletics to change the start time for the Jackrabbit women’s game against North Dakota State on Feb. 18; the game will begin at 3 p.m. rather than 5 p.m.

Marcus Traxler, Collegian sports editor, contributed to this report.

(Photo by Kenzie Clayton)

For the first time ever, there are more women receiving advanced degrees than men in the United States — a trend also seen at SDSU.

Census data shows among adults 25 and older, 10.6 million American women have master’s degrees or higher, compared to 10.5 million men.

Ronald Stover, professor of sociology and rural studies at SDSU, said this is no surprise to him, as women have continued to be successful in universities and the workforce since the “Baby Boomer times.”

“If you look around women have destroyed any idea of glass ceiling. It’s gone,” he said. “Women are doing extraordinary things.”

Like the national trend, there are also more women enrolled in advanced programs at SDSU, with the exception of doctorate degrees.

In 2011 there were 527 women enrolled in the SDSU graduate program, compared to 438 men. There were also 99 women enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy program, as opposed to 41 men. However, men still lead the doctorate degree category by 46 students, with 185 men and 139 women.

Women first exceeded men in bachelor’s degrees over a decade ago, a trend that has increased steadily in recent years. Roughly 20.1 million women have bachelor’s degrees, compared to an approximate 18.7 million men.

“Some [women], after they finish their undergraduate, will think ‘Why stop there?’ and go on to more schooling,” Stover said. “There was condemnation for women who would do that in the ‘50s, but not anymore.”

Becca Swords, a senior exercise science, pre-physical therapy major from Rosemount, Minn., is one of those women. Although she will be taking a year off after she graduates in May, she is currently applying to graduate schools to pursue a doctorate degree in physical therapy in the fall of 2013.

“Even when I was in high school I knew I wanted to have a career that involved getting more schooling and keep going after four years,” she said. “Taking a year off will be difficult and people say ‘good luck going back,’ but I know I will because it’s something I’m really passionate about and want to do.”

Although more women are now earning advanced degrees, there are still a high number of stay-at-home-mothers despite the declining rates. As of 2010, there were 5 million stay-at-home-mothers, down from 5.1 million in 2009 and 5.3 million in 2008.

Stover said although there are many mothers choosing to stay at home, he expects this number will continue to decrease until the stay-at-home-mother role is almost obsolete, or at least much lower.

“Stay-at-home-moms may disappear,” he said. “Anytime you drop out of workforce there are disadvantages, and women aren’t going to want to do that. If you have blank spots in your work history the employer is going to want to know why and if there’s a good reason, and sometimes taking time off for family isn’t considered a good reason.”

Because women are staying in school longer to further their education, Stover said this could be a contributing factor to the reason why young people are waiting longer to marry and have children. He said this is a “huge change” from 50 years ago when women felt extreme pressure to hurry and find a husband and begin a family based on the concern of a ticking biological clock.

The tick-tock of the biological clock is still a factor, but Stover said women today are more inclined to put off marriage and starting a family so they can begin careers first.

“I think people are concerned with being well-trained and then coming out of school, settling down and having careers and then having children,” he said.

As the number of stay-at-home-mothers declines, the number of stay-at-home-dads is increasing slowly. In 2010, Census data showed there was an estimated 154,000 stay-at-homes-dads, with children under the age of 15, who remained out of the workforce for at least one year while their wives worked outside the home—an increase from approximately 140,000 fathers staying at home in 2008.

Also, now that the normal family dynamic no longer necessarily consists of women staying at home, Stover said it’s possible men might choose to stay home because it’s more financially feasible for the family if the woman makes more money.

“Before, men who had wives who worked were viewed as failures because they couldn’t solely provide for their families,” he said. “This is no longer the case.”

Now that the roles for men and women of who goes to work and who stays home are changing, Stover said a positive effect could be the lessening of “mean prejudices” toward women.

“The glass ceiling is gone,” he said, “and that’s a good thing.”

South Dakota is one of 15 states currently without a law prohibiting texting, reading emails, and the like, while driving. In December, The National Transportation Safety Board recommended all states ban cellphone use while driving, prompting the South Dakota legislature to look at its own laws. If a new texting-while-driving bill is introduced, it will be presented in the South Dakota House of Representatives in the next few weeks.

Sen. Craig Tieszen, R-Pennington, co-sponsored a ban on texting while driving last year, but it died in the House. He said he would support another bill this year, if it’s introduced.

“More and more evidence is showing that accidents are happening [because of texting while driving],” he said. “Something should be done before other bad results.”

However, not everyone agrees with a texting-while-driving ban. Rep. Betty Olson, R-Prairie City, said it’s impossible to pass a law banning every “stupid thing” a person does.

“A lot of times when people are texting they are holding their phones up by the wheel, but if we pass a law making this illegal they won’t quit texting, they’ll be trying to hide it and text from their laps,” she said. “This would be far more dangerous than it is right now because then people will be looking down.”

During 2010, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety reported that Brookings County had four instances where an accident occurred that reportedly involved cellular or electronic devices. There were also 22 instances where distracted driving was at play.

Olson, who has been an EMT for over 30 years, said passing a law would not make texting while driving disappear.

“We have a law against drunk driving and that doesn’t make every person stop from driving drunk,” she said. “If I thought there was any chance this could pass I’d be in favor of it, but I’ve been around a long time, being an EMT and my dad’s been a cop, and I know passing a law won’t stop it.”

According to AAA, the foundation for traffic safety, most people view texting and emailing while driving as a very serious threat to their own personal safety and consider it completely unacceptable. However, more than 1 in 4 (26 percent) admit to typing or sending a text message or email while driving in the past month. Also, more than 1 in 3 (35 percent) report reading a text message or email while driving in the past month.

Tieszen said he believed if there was a law prohibiting texting while driving, most people would put down their cellphones while behind the wheel.

“You heard stories how people wouldn’t comply with the smoking ban, but people are. Most people would comply with a law on texting, too—not everyone, but most,” he said.

Despite not believing texting will disappear in response to passing a law, Olson said enforcing such a law would be impossible for law enforcement officers. She said, while it is obvious when people are talking on their cellphone, it would be very difficult to prove that someone was actually texting while they were driving.

“To have the cops have to pay attention while they’re enforcing real criminal acts – like someone weaving down the road drunk or speeding in and out of traffic – but some little old lady talking on their phone who isn’t weaving all around, makes no sense to lock her up for it,” Olson said.

Brookings Police Chief Jeff Miller if a law were to pass, the best way he sees it being enforced is if a driver were stopped for something else first, like running a stop sign or speeding and not wearing a seatbelt at the same time.

“Otherwise it would be very hard to detect,” he said. “But if an accident happened, those cellphone records could be subpoenaed and then we’d be able to see if the driver was texting when the accident occurred, which then depending on how the law is written the driver would have charges added.”

Miller said he suspects most law enforcement officers would be in favor of the law if it was introduced and passed.

“Texting is even more dangerous than drunk driving because you’re already distracted and then your head is facing your lap,” he said. “…texting can cause accidents.”

Trevor Potts, a senior nursing major from Sturgis, said, although he regularly texts while he drives, having a texting ban would be beneficial for safety on the road. However, like Olson, he said enforcing the law would be nearly impossible.

“Texting definitely slows down your reaction time so it could be a good thing [to have a law prohibiting it], but how could you prove something like that?” he said. “There’s no way to enforce something like that and I think that’s where they’ll have trouble drafting and passing the law.”

A matchup between SDSU and USD has the potential to bring out the best and worst in fans. No matter which side shines through on Jan. 12 and 16, they will bring out one more important thing: their wallets.

Christi Williams, assistant athletic director of Ticket Operations, said every seat is expected to sell out for both games and the 6,107 capacity limit will be met. This is significantly higher than the average of 1,800 tickets sold for regular conference games.

All those people, not to mention a house filled with rivals, means the Athletic Department is not taking any chances when it comes to safety.

“Every time you get more people you increase security,” Williams said. “The rivalry aspect was taken into account slightly, but the increase had more to do with the fact that we have so many more people than that we need more security. It’s nothing different than any other major game.”

Much like a football game, people and their bags will be searched upon entering the arena. Williams said she and other staff working the event are pushing for good sportsmanship among the audience and no one wearing an offensive shirt, holding an inappropriate sign — or especially concealing a dead animal — will be let into the game.

Although the rivalry died down for a few years when SDSU went Division I and USD remained Division II, Mayor Tim Reed said some heat can be felt from a rekindling of the rivalry now that USD is transitioning into a Division I spot.

“I hope we don’t go back into the ugly parts of rivalry,” he said. “I hope the animals on the floor doesn’t happen — we want an event that represents Brookings, SDSU and USD positively.”

Frost Arena is not the only place in Brookings planning to be bursting at the seams Jan. 12. Ryan Brunner, project coordinator for the Brookings Economic Development Corporation, said the Brookings community in general is expecting to receive its own fair share of Coyotes and Jackrabbits swarming in and out of gas stations, shops, restaurants and taverns.

“People make an evening of it,” he said. “They go out to eat before or after the game, not just downtown but in all of the food and drinking establishments in Brookings.”

Despite the games being on weeknights rather than a weekend, Brunner said the warmer and drier weather is a helping hand in getting people here safely. He said if Brookings or the surrounding area had snow then that might keep some people away who didn’t want to face the roads, but blue skies and no snow mean this year that’s not an issue.

Brunner said the EDC estimates that a one-day visitor will spend $60 during their stay in Brookings after factoring in going out to eat, buying gas on their way out of town or shopping. With the bus loads of people traveling from Vermillion, Sioux Falls, and everywhere else, Brunner said he suspects the Brookings community “will do very well” in terms of bringing in the money.

“When we win on Thursday it will bring a lot of people out and it’ll be good for us all,” he said.

Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill is always a lively pre and postgame hangout, before and after the game on Jan.12 that will be no different. Chris Stoltenberg, a manager at Cubby’s, said they expect a “mad house” by 4 p.m. before the game. Several huge reservations have been made of 40-plus people, including a large amount of out-of-towners, which will result in standing room only as the night progresses.

“Well, now that the rivalry is back in full swing, it’s going to be an extremely busy night in Brookings in general and a big night for us,” he said.