Before this school year, residence halls’ main doors were open to students, passers-through and anyone else who needed or wanted to get in and out of the buildings. This year that changed and residence halls are now locked during all hours of the day and night. Even residents only have access to their own halls.

“There are three real factors that were included in the decision to change the lockdown policy. These include embracing increasing security, the technology that allows for stronger building protection and real attacks that point at creating unforeseen risk,” said Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Doug Wermedal.

However, students, like former Students’ Association President Mark York, do not feel that safety is an issue on campus.

“I feel that by keeping the dorms locked it is tougher to interact and build community,” he said. “It also creates problems with retention and student connection on campus.”

Another argument York had for why the lockdown policy should be removed, is because he believes it does not hinder others from opening the door for someone. Doors are often opened for people who stand and knock at the doors if they have forgotten their ID or are not a resident of the building.

“I am a 23-year-old man with a beard, and I can still easily get into the dorms,” he said. “It’s not making it more difficult for anyone who wants to get in to be able to do so.”

He is not alone in his beliefs. Jay Wright, a sophomore political science major from Brandon, S.D., said the policy is more or less an irritant because he feels “more than safe” on campus.

“I guarantee I’m not the only student who is annoyed by it,” Wright said. “Maybe it would be nice to change it so I don’t have to set down what I’m holding and swipe my card to get in. It doesn’t seem like a big deal but two to four times a day gets old, especially since we live in South Dakota and not New York.”

Although Wermedal said this policy may not be the most convenient for students, it is in place to help bring higher safety to the residence halls.

“There has to be a balance between convenience and security. It cannot be so secure that it is utterly inconvenient but convenience can’t be put ahead of security,” Wermedal said. “Each year, 4,000 sons and daughters from South Dakota and the upper Midwest are entrusted to our care. Policies that protect students are critical.”

There are some students, though, who feel safer due to the 24-hour lockdown policy.

“I am in favor of keeping the 24-hour lockdown policy,” said former SA Senator Rebecca Powell. “It is a way for students to feel safe and a good precaution because you never know what’s going to happen. It is about trying to find common ground for safety. It is, above all, a safety issue.”

New SA President Jameson Berreth said he will try to make the policy more convenient for students next year, while taking both points of view into account.

“We will work with student groups to see what groups are affected,” he said. “Then we will work to make it more convenient but also keep in mind the safety concerns.”

Even if students don’t feel the policy affects them personally, the policy may affect a group they belong to. Nickollette Larson, a medical lab science major from Groton, S.D, and a member of Sigma Alpha, said the group had to find a new place to meet after the policy was enacted.

“The sorority that I am in used to meet in the basement of Hansen. Since most of us don’t live on campus we had to move the meetings to a different location,” she said.

The change in policy is in response to incidents that happened in places other than the residence halls and downtown, York explained. Because the issues have not been attributed to SDSU, he sees no need for a policy of this nature in the residence halls.

“There are many other solutions, such as allowing everyone with an SDSU ID to get into the residence halls between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. and then only students who reside in each hall could get in from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m.,” York said.

Wermedal said SDSU is too deep into the semester to change the policy now.

“The extra traffic from construction also makes a poor time to change the policy now,” Wermedal said. “I know [SA president] Jameson [Berreth] and [vice president] Wyatt [DeJong] well and will work closely with them during the summer and next school year. Now they and everyone else are focused on finals. We have to let them be students first.”

Another point made by administration and residential life is that most schools already have a 24-hour lockdown policy in place.

“In general, campuses across the United States have not just their residence halls, but all other public buildings, locked,” Wermedal said. “The potential for large-scale events such as an active shooter is reality.”

Before any changes are recommended, Berreth said SA would look at the issue from the standpoint of both students and Student Affairs and come up with a plausible compromise.

“Many of the conversations will begin outside of the (SA) senate and later may be brought up in SA meetings either as a resolution or a discussion topic,” Berreth said.

“It is 100 years of Hobo Day being celebrated. For two years during World War II there was no celebration. Hobo Day has been officially celebrated 98 times,” Wendell said.

This year a centennial committee has been established from alumni of past Hobo Day Committees. In keeping with tradition, Ed Bain will drive the Bum Mobile. The Grand Pooba for the 2012 Hobo Day Celebration is Abby Settje, an advertising and graphic design major and also the student manager for Blue Print in The Union.

“Most of my duties are the same as past Poobas, but there have definitely been changes to the committee. For the past few years, the committee has been a part of the University Programs Council. After much thought, it was decided to try the committee on its own again like it was in the distant past. I am confident in the committee of students and cannot wait to see how the change evolves,” Settje said.

Many people are excited for this Hobo Day, as it is a chance for both old and new traditions to come alive.

“Right now the committee and I are working to develop a schedule of Hobo Week events. Nothing has been finalized, but we plan to have a mix of old traditions as well as some newer activities,” Settje said.

In the past, floats in the Hobo Day parade have been very beautiful and elaborate—truly Rose Bowl quality floats. This year the Committee is trying to get sponsorship for clubs so they will be able to build high quality floats again.

Other traditions that are being brought back include the “one month club” where males don’t shave their facial hair and women don’t shave their legs. The person with the most hair in the end wins.

Another old tradition being considered is a bonfire — 2008 was the last time it was held. The week leading up to Hobo Day will include activities to get alumni back, to redesign spirit points to get more students involved and to put renewed energy into the Hobo Day activities.

“We want to get students excited about things that have happened in Hobo Day’s past,” Wendell said.

To promote the Hobo Day celebration, members of the Hobo Day committee are taking the message to towns and county fairs around the state. Traditionally done in years past, the Bum Mobile will be going on tour to promote the Hobo Day celebration.

“The goal for this Hobo Day is that it will be a campus-wide celebration. Not just the Hobo Day Committee, Greek chapters and the Residence Halls. The hope is that it brings back alumni and also gets all students more involved,” Wendell said.

“There is always a little stress involved with an event as big as Hobo Day, especially this being the 100th, but right now I am mostly excited. Hobo Day is one of the biggest traditions at SDSU, and I am honored to be part of such a memorable day,” Settje said.

Hobo Day is one of the most highly anticipated and celebrated events on campus.

Jordan Goodall, a freshman from Centennial, Colorado said “I’m excited for the parade this year because I did not get to attend last year. I would love if they brought back the bonfire tradition because it is a big part of the Hobo Day tradition and everyone says it is so much fun.”

While this Hobo Day will not have a true theme, the goals are for more broad campus involvement by incorporating traditions from the past and present.

“My vision of Hobo Day is a combination of old and new. We are working hard to keep the tradition of Hobo Day alive while still keeping it relevant to today’s student body. Hobo Day is a great time to be a jackrabbit, and I hope to see students, alumni, and faculty celebrating the biggest one-day event in the Dakotas” Settje said.

The Hobo Day game is on Saturday October 27 at 2:00 p.m. against Youngstown State. The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. that morning.

Jeff Weldon, Brookings City Manager, said the City Council is planning to eventually examine a 12-block area located south of SDSU extending to Highway 14 and possibly convert it into a retail and commercial area that will offer services for the community and campus.

“Change takes time to put the moving parts together,” York said. “Communication is key. People on the board at SDSU, the mayor and business don’t always talk — they are too busy. Communication needs to happen for everyone to get together and plan.”

Jacob Vukovich, a freshman early childhood education major from Brookings, said it would take both Brookings residents and SDSU working together to make it happen.

“Growing up in Brookings, I can see how [residents] may not like it because they might have to move, or if the homeowners chose not to, something they own in the area of development could be affected by all of the new businesses coming in,” he said.

The area from Taco Johns to Wal-Mart is what will potentially be zoned for commercial use in the long run. To start to implement the idea in the community, four and a half blocks between Medary and an alley right behind 14th Avenue and south between 7th and 6th streets are being considered first. In order for developers to turn the rental properties into commercial properties, they may have to adhere to specific guidelines.

“Things such as the businesses being set back a certain distance from the street, a specific sidewalk width, certain amounts of trees being planted and the developers will not be able to buy less than a half a block,” said York. “We are going for a big scale change here.”

Homeowners can keep their lot a house, or allow developers to buy it.

“It could take 10 years for someone to buy a lot and develop it,” York said. “This will take time and cooperation from the community.”

The Brookings City Planning Commission presented its recommendation at the March 27 City Council meeting. The commission only recommended that one block east of Medary Avenue be re-zoned, falling far short of what both the Council and SA wanted. The council voted three for the changes and three against creating a deadlock that will to be decided when council member Jael Thorpe will be present at the next meeting.

Both people from SDSU, as well as people from the community, are supportive of the proposal so far.

“The campus town will bring in more things to do for young college students, make the town and campus more attractive, offer opportunities for students to socialize, keep students in town on the weekends, heighten recruitment and help with retention rates. It will also be profitable for the business owners so everyone wins,” York said. Weldon said transitioning toward a campus town is a “good thing.”

“In the long run this will be good for the city as well as the university. It will bring in more commercial businesses in a good location,” Weldon said.

“By changing rental properties to commercial use and allowing developers to come in and buy property, it could be very beneficial to the city in the long run,” Weldon said. “It will be very expensive and require small steps to convert [the residential area] into a town campus environment.”

Brookings needs to continue changing to keep up with SDSU’s growing campus, said Students’ Association President Mark York.

“The area around campus was zoned as residential in 1966. This was before many of the dorms were even built, and now as the campus is being updated, the town zoning hasn’t been updated in almost 50 years,” he said.

The area targeted for development has been up for discussion for about a year and a half. Up to 62 percent of the properties in the area are rental homes, while the other 38 percent are owned by their residents, this could mean a very long transition to a campus town.

Many campuses around the country already have a campus town community nearby. Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, is one example. The area and campus are twice the size of Brookings and SDSU, but it is one of the models SA is looking at for examples of how to incorporate a campus town environment into Brookings.

“Iowa State’s campus town has clubs, restaurants, businesses and an underage pub,” York said. “Dinkytown at the University of Minnesota has a wide sidewalk for pedestrians and lofted apartments above the shops. We want to bring something like this to Brookings.”

According to York, both students and the city of Brookings will benefit by bringing businesses closer to campus. The hope is to keep students in Brookings over the weekends.

“The idea is that many students won’t go downtown and the mall is far away,” he said. “Students have to get into their car to go to Village Square and it is just easier to go to Sioux Falls because it offers more to do for students age 18 to 20 anyway.”

Eileen Kokesh, sophomore biology major from Minnetonka, Minn., said she would enjoy not having to travel very far for a good place to hang out.

“I think it would be nice to have somewhere for the students to go and hang out, which we really don’t have much of right now,” she said. “I think it would also be a great way for the community to become more involved in campus life as well.”

If the city does zone the residential properties as commercial, letters will be sent out to homeowners and another public hearing would be held. Then each individual property owner would have to agree to sell their property to business owners.

A hookah is an oriental tobacco pipe with a long, flexible tube that draws the smoke through water contained in a bowl. Recently, hookah cafés have popped up all over the United States. In 2006, there were 300 hookah cafés in operation and that number is growing as hookah use increases in young adults.

So why the increase? For students like Brandon Westergaard, who smokes and owns his own hookah, it’s because it’s entertaining and it tastes good.

“I smoke hookah because it’s relaxing and a good way to socialize. I do it about two to three times a month at most, and usually with a group of four or five people my age (19-20),” said Westergaard, an engineering student at the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. “My favorite flavors are pumpkin pie and orange dreamsicle (a combination of orange and vanilla shisha).”

A 2011 study done by the American College Health Association surveying 1,165 SDSU students showed 23.1 percent of male and 14.1 percent of female students have smoked hookah in their lifetime, although not necessarily in the past 30 days of when they were surveyed.

The trend of smoking every once in a while includes more students than Westergaard.

“I do smoke hookah, and I own my own hookah because I got one from a friend. It is cheaper than going to a hookah bar,” said Brody Heid an SDSU freshman from Rapid City. He smokes once every three weeks, on average, with about eight people and prefers the watermelon and double apple flavors.

Even though it might not taste like a cigarette with its orange, watermelon and other fruity flavors, hookah still carries many of the same health risks as other forms of tobacco.

“The tobacco inhalation is quite concerning,” said Brenda Anderson, SDSU Student Health Clinic associate director and nurse practitioner. “Nicotine consumption (while smoking hookah) is more than a cigarette because people usually smoke hookah for about an hour and they [inhale] between 100 and 200 times more nicotine than cigarettes.”

Because students like Heid and Westergaard smoke hookah in groups, several different mouths touch the same hookah, facilitating the spread of germs.

“People are always getting sick, and when you are sharing something the risk of transmitting disease is much higher,” Anderson said.

Risks resulting from smoking hookah are the same as cigars or cigarettes, including oral cancer, lung cancer and stomach cancer, because it carries many of the same cancer-causing chemicals such as tar and heavy metals. It is also dangerous to non-smokers just as cigarette or cigar smoking is.

One student has declined the use of hookah after smoking it regularly resulted in pains in her chest.

“I used to [smoke hookah] more and I also used to own one. Now I just do it with other people usually anywhere from four to 20 people,” said Kaila Vetch, a freshman journalism student from Rapid City, S.D. “I don’t do it as much because it hurts my lungs when I do it a lot.”

According to the Center for Disease Control, the charcoal coals used to heat the shisha to smoke it increases the carbon monoxide intake, which could contribute to reduced fertility among smokers.

“I do not smoke hookah but I guess it’s better than doing illegal drugs,” said Anna Full, a senior biology and pre-med major from Marshall, Minn.

Anderson said she is not a fan of smoking, no matter the form, and wishes students would think about the consequences before joining a hookah circle.

“I hate to see people smoke in general. I encourage people to think about long-term implications and also think of the oral risks and [possible] infections,” said Anderson.

A new treat is coming to town in the form of frozen yogurt chain: Cherry Berry.

Cherry Berry will be located in the Calla Center next to Qdoba. Cherry Berry’s real estate broker, Scott Blount of Lloyd Companies in Sioux Falls, says the people of Brookings can expect to taste the new frozen yogurt by the end of March.

Cherry Berry is the fastest growing specialty yogurt licensee. Originating in Oklahoma, Cherry Berry is a frozen yogurt and ice cream business offering 14 flavors of frozen yogurt and over 50 toppings to choose from.

According to Cherry Berry’s website, the toppings they offer range from “granola, cereals and fresh fruits, to all kinds of candies, sprinkles and even specialty items such as a variety of nuts.” It is a self-serve restaurant and charges by the ounce.

SDSU student and Brookings native Ashton Hanson said she’s excited for the new frozen treat to come to town.

“Cherry Berry is a healthy way to eat ice cream. It is also a fun experience with an endless amount of options,” Hanson said. “I can’t wait for it to come to Brookings.”

Jeff Weldon, Brookings City Manager, said Cherry Berry chose to come to Brookings because they believe the community is the right fit for their market. With locals and the SDSU campus down the road, Weldon said Cherry Berry “feels that they can be successful.”

Because of the success Cherry Berry has seen in Sioux Falls, Bloundt said he’s hopeful the same trend will take place in Brookings.

“[Cherry Berry] is looking forward to expanding to Brookings among other places in South Dakota because of the viable market and great space,” he said. “It has been wildly popular in Sioux Falls and it is not uncommon to see lines out the door at the two Sioux Falls locations in the summer.”

Blount said because Cherry Berry is expanding into Brookings and beyond, the licensee company’s main costs are the building space and expanding the market.

“Cherry Berry found a suitable location to rent and came [to Brookings] on its own,” said Weldon.

The licensee owners are not the only ones who feel Cherry Berry will do well in Brookings. The community and college student response has also been positive.

“I’ve never actually been there but I’ve heard that it’s fantastic. With Brookings growing so much over the years, any new addition we can get to the town is great,” said Sara Johnston, an SDSU student from Rapid City.

Weldon said Cherry Berry fills a hole in Brookings that many will find appealing.

“With [Cherry Berry’s] niche, they will be very successful,” said Weldon. “More business and commerce are helpful to increase the opportunity and variety of businesses in Brookings.”

The Cherry Berry licensee also plans to open locations in Mitchell, Watertown and Aberdeen.

Matthew Cecil, associate professor for the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications (Photo by Kenzie Clayton)

Cecil has been actually writing the book, “Molders of Public Opinion: The Press, Public Relations and J. Edgar Hoover’s War on Crime and Dissent,” for six months. In order to obtain the FBI files on reporters, over the course of 15 years, he used the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, which is why it has taken so long.

Through FOIA, he has obtained more than 300 FBI files, which equates to about 100,000 pages.

“It takes a really, really long time, but I think of it as a treasure hunt. Every little notation, signature, or underlined passage on a document means something,” Cecil said. “Once you get good at reading those documents, you get a pretty clear idea of what the FBI was up to and how it went about doing its work.”

Cecil has been studying those FBI files so closely he can now identify Hoover’s handwriting among others on the files just by looking at it.

To get his work noticed, Cecil first began publishing scholarly journal articles. These illustrated interesting stories where journalists didn’t act like journalists. According to Cecil, examples of this include most of the FBI’s “friends” in the news media. Several Pulitzer Prize winners allowed Hoover’s public relations staff to review and edit their news stories prior to publication.

“FBI public relations staff changed facts, rewrote quotes and removed information that wasn’t flattering to the Bureau. That is just not journalism,” Cecil said. “They had no personal ambition or drive in their work and they harmed democracy in the process.”

Kinsey Gustafson, a sophomore journalism student from Sturgis has heard of one of these incidents, the story of Ray Tucker, a journalist while Hoover was in the FBI. Tucker hinted about Hoover’s sexuality in print, and, after doing so, the FBI did an investigation on him, leaking information about his personal life. After this incident, other journalists were too scared to do any further reporting or investigating about Hoover.

“The resources [Hoover] had to scare away the press were abundant, but that doesn’t necessarily make it right,” Gustafson said.

Cecil’s interest in the book began when he was in high school, working at The Ram restaurant in downtown Brookings. Posted on a wall are newspaper clippings about two robbers of The Ram in 1938, which was then used as a bank. He wrote a paper about the robbers in college and later wrote a master’s thesis on the subject. When he got the FBI files to write the thesis, he became interested in Hoover’s dealings with the press.

Then, 17 years ago, Cecil came across a story that really sparked his interest. He discovered that FBI officials concocted a fake story after they shot and killed a fugitive in St. Louis in the 1930s.

“The FBI officials wanted to make sure the shooting fit the “heroic” FBI story. The truth was they had shot the guy in the back as he ran away,” said Cecil. “The new story the FBI concocted and then told to the media and under oath at a Coroner’s Inquest, had the fugitive pulling his weapons and threatening the agents, who responded by shooting him. In that story, the shooting was justified. It was a total fabrication.”

After that, Cecil said he began to wonder about how the FBI used public relations to spin the truth and how journalists would take their statements as fact without challenge or question.

Cecil’s work is well supported by his colleagues, including Mary Arnold, the department head of mass communications and journalism.

“Dr. Cecil brings [a special piece] to research on Hoover. His area of scholarship has a far-reaching impact on journalistic aspects of how journalists themselves were targeted by Hoover’s public relations efforts,” Arnold said.

Arnold said, through Cecil’s book, the public would soon see how the FBI manipulated the media.

“Journalists turned stories into the FBI for editing,” said Cecil. “They were feeding their ambition and doing anything they could to get [ahead].”

While doing research on this book has taken years, there are still hours of work ahead of Cecil before the idea of a published book becomes reality. Cecil said the book could finish and be published within a year to a year and a half.

“There’s still a lot left to do. I still have to finish two-thirds of a book. The next step is to find a publisher which I hope to do this summer,” Cecil said.

Arnold is planning to hold a Fillbrandt Forum revolving around Dr. Cecil’s work, in particular his use of FOIA requests to get the FBI files, correspondences, letters, etc.

The Fillbrandt Forum is a meeting held in the journalism department each year and is sponsored by an endowment from the Fillbrant Family. The meeting is held in cooperation with the South Dakota Newspaper Association, as Casey Fillbrandt was the first general manager of the SDNA. At the meeting this year, Arnold plans to discuss the movie “J. Edgar,” as well as the process of collecting information on a case study throught FOIA.

“It is cool that he is at the point of his research going to a book,” said Arnold.  “Not many professors get to that step, and it is exciting to watch the process unfold.”

Both Cecil and Gustafson understand that a part of journalism is about exposing corrupt information and informing the public of the news, no matter the consequences.

“The purpose of the book is to show how J. Edgar Hoover was complicit in civil liberties excesses, and how the journalists let Hoover get away with it, or helped him in doing so,” said Cecil.

Gustafson said scaring away the press does an injustice to public awareness, because without the press, the public cannot be as informed.

“The point of being a journalist is finding the story the world should and wants to know about,” Gustafson said.

Lisa Moran, a senior from Box Elder, S.D believes double majoring is a good way to set herself apart in the competitive job market. (Photo by Cassie Malik)

“If it takes an extra year to get a double major, that is a year and money spent that could be instead spent in grad school,” said South Dakota Board of Regents Executive Director, Jack Warner. “As a general rule, if it is going to take students an extra semester or year to obtain a double major, no don’t do it.”

The extra time taken to double major can be spent other ways.

Lisa Moran, a senior from Box Elder, S.D., is obtaining a double major. She does not feel getting a double major in English and German with a double minor in Spanish and computer science is much more work than obtaining only one major.

Moran has to go an extra year because certain classes are only offered certain semesters. She decided to use her extra time to add another minor. She only needs 10 credits to complete her degrees and has taken an average of 16 to 17 credits each semester, which is about average for students getting one major to graduate on time.

“If students can obtain a double major in four years, that’s fine, but the extra credits are still costing extra money,” said Warner.

“If the two majors a student chooses are in the same college and a student is able to get either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science for both majors, it may not take any extra time at all,” said SDSU Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mary Helling.

Warner disagrees.

“Double major graduates delay students and gives them a disadvantage in the long run,” said Warner.

Warner’s claims are backed by Billie Streufert, an academic advisor at the University of Sioux Falls, who says by getting a double major, students are disadvantaging themselves by spreading their skills thin in multiple subjects and taking too much time from extracurricular activities.

Moran feels differently. She said she believes she is getting more out of college by not narrowing her choices of study.

“However, as much as it has cost me in time, money, and effort, I would say it’s worth it to be able to study multiple interests of mine. It certainly does make for a more diverse and interesting education, in my opinion,” said Moran.

According to Warner, other students who only have one major and a minor in a related field, in addition to a master’s degree, will make more money than a graduate with a double major and only a bachelor’s degree.

“Getting a master’s degree in one [subject] is ultimately a better payoff,” said Warner.

Helling says double majoring will give students a “strong background in the two fields of study,” therefore making them more competitive in the job market. This is part of the reason Moran decided to double major.

“It is a well-known fact that the job market is getting more and more competitive, and a college degree is essential to finding a decent job,” said Moran. “By studying more than one subject, I hope that I am able to compete more effectively, and portray myself as a more desirable candidate to future employers.”

Whether a student chooses to obtain a double major or a master’s degree in one field, is ultimately up to them. It is all about finding a balance, said Warner.

“[Each student must decide] how to best invest our two scarce resources: time and money — and come out with the highest degree level,” said Warner.

Ed Bain, who worked SDSU for years, has a special connection with the famous Bum Mobile (Collegian photo by Kenzie Clayton)

It takes a person certain skills and talents to do it. Ed Bain was just the man for that job, and he happened upon it almost by accident.

Bain worked at SDSU for just shy of 37 years. He began working for SDSU in 1974, and in 1976 he began working maintenance in the Student Union.

His work on the Bum Mobile began by chance in the early 1980s.

Before Bain, Reuben Granham from Agriculture Engineering worked on it. Bain started because around Hobo Day, there was trouble getting the Bum Mobile to run, and there was no one to fix it.

Bain had a friend with a Model T so he decided to go take a look at it and was able to get it going.

It became an annual occurrence.

Since he worked maintenance in the Student Union, he was naturally involved with Student Activities, and since Hobo Day is the biggest student activity of the year, it was fitting.

Nick Wendell, assistant director of Student Activities, worked closely with Bain both when he was a student at SDSU and now as an SDSU staff member.

“Ed has been a big part of the restoration of the car,” Wendell said. “We needed Ed to define the projects needed for restoration and also for the store and showcasing of the car, as it is over 100 years old.”

Driving the Model T is a lot different than a modern car. There are three pedals: the left pedal is forward, the middle pedal puts it in reverse, and the right pedal is the brake.  The throttle is near the steering wheel as is the gearshift.

Over the years, Ed taught many Grand Poobas how to drive the Bum Mobile, which includes some accidents. The car has been backed into buildings and has even caught on fire, though never during the parade.

Bain said when he was teaching Sarah French — a past Grand Pooba — to drive the Bum Mobile they were driving down Medary and a tire flew off.

“She handled it very well,” he said.

Wendell said it takes a certain type of person to teach others how to drive the Bum Mobile.

“Ed is very patient. To him driving the car is second nature, but he has a special appreciation for the car and passes that along each year when he teaches students to drive it,” Wendell stated.

Although he taught others to drive the Bum Mobile, Bain has sat in the driver’s seat a time or two for the Hobo Day parade.  He said around 2000 he drove the car personally, fully dressed as a Hawaiian Hobo to correspond with the Hobo Day theme that year.

Another year, he dressed as a woman on the prairie, complete with a dress.

“Ed really loves it,” Wendell says.

Working on the car is mostly maintenance to keep it running.  The maintenance begins in the spring so it is ready for Convocation.  Bain says after Hobo Day it seems everyone is relieved after the parade and then it gets cold so no one is thinking about it much. Then there always ends up being a rush to get maintenance on it going again, he said.

“Getting it to run has to do with many things. You have to have a feel for it. It’s about adjusting the carburetor, knowing whether or not to give it more choke, and to advance or retard the timing, among other things.”

Bain has made it through every parade that he’s been a part of except for last year.  The Model T died during the parade.

“It was neat, though, because alum and old Hobo Day members came out of the crowd and pushed it through the rest of the parade,” he said.

Wendell said one thing about Bain being a part of the Bum Mobile is that he makes sure each driver knows the importance of the car.

“Ed is really a bigger part of the process than just doing maintenance on the Bum Mobile,” Wendell said. “He really makes sure that students understand the history of the car and that the Grand Poobas are simply stewards of the vehicle, who continue the tradition and pass it on year after year.”

One story Bain told was about the 2005 Hobo Day when the theme was “Hobos Under Construction.”  Since it was so late in the year he wanted an original costume and he dressed up as Santa Claus. His suit had blue and gold patches to look like Hobo Santa, and as usual, he had a cigar.  As he drove past the Campanile a little boy yelled out “Santa! Stop smoking!”

Bain has been imperative in helping the Bum Mobile work. However, he said he cannot take all the credit.

“I have also had a lot of help over the years, so you can’t give me all of the credit said Bain. “Randy Lund and Jim Dimmit had a hand it the process.”

His thoughts on being the “Bum Mobile Whisperer,” he laughed and said, “I don’t know if I’m the only one to get it running, maybe I’ve just been lucky.”

The University Center offers SDSU classes to students in the Sioux Falls area. The pharmacy building (pictured) is home to Pharmacy students in their third and fourth years of the program. (Photo by Aaron Stoneberger)

University Centers offer the same courses as university main campuses.

The South Dakota University Centers provide non-traditional students a smooth transition into college career.

University Centers allow non-traditional students to get an education in a setting less like a college campus, but still allow students to mingle with other students working to obtain a degree.

In South Dakota, such centers are located in Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

“The University Centers are made up of all the state colleges in one location, with the exception of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology,” said Jennie Doyen, the marketing director of the Sioux Falls University Center.

All classes offered at South Dakota universities are offered at both centers, but only 60 majors can be obtained taking classes solely at a UC.

Many people go to the UC for general requirements and then commute to a campus to finish out their degree. Of these students attending classes at either UC, most are non-traditional students and hold a full-time job.

On average, there are about 3,400 students a year attending classes at the University Center in Sioux Falls. That number is on track to be surpassed this year with 2,100 students enrolled in the Fall Semester alone.

“There is no quality or expectation differences, it is just the location of the classes that are different,” said Doyen. “Many of the faculty employed here commute from an actual university campus to teach here.”

Andrew Ellis, an SDSU instructor, is an example of one of these commuting professors. He drives to Sioux Falls twice a week to teach physiology and the corresponding lab.  He teaches two three-hour labs and one three-hour lecture.  These classes encompass a weeks worth of material covered in one day.

“It is not a completely designed course, I have to mirror it to SDSU’s course to the best of my abilities to give students a course as close as possible to one offered at SDSU,” said Ellis. “Many of the students I am teaching are getting ready to or waiting to get in to the nursing program at SDSU.”

Teachers at the UC are all commuter teachers and must use the materials they bring with them.

“Each time I have to set up the lab from scratch in an empty lab. I am both the lab instructor and the lab tech, so I have to do it all. I have no assistant with me,” said Ellis. “There is a great support network at the UC, but I have to implement, to get all of the help I need.”

“I really enjoy teaching at the University Center, I am so used to teaching younger students and these are a completely different genre of students.  The students attending the University Center may or may not know how to be a successful student and it is fun to get them to understand how,” said Ellis.

Johnson is well-qualified for the job, though, as a graduate from multiple South Dakota universities.  She has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Black Hills State University, a master’s degree in chemistry from Iowa State University, and a doctorate in geology with an emphasis on geochemistry from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

“Kathy Johnson has a really great background, having a Ph.D. from the School of Mines and Technology.  She has both the awareness of the Board of Regents priorities and also research experience,” said SDSU President David Chicoine.

She has 30 years of experience in environmental sciences, particularly mining, and is the owner of Johnson Environmental Concepts of Rapid City.

According to the BOR, Johnson was appointed to the Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology. She is also a member of the National Research Council Committee on Women in Science and Engineering. Johnson has had a distinguished career and is a member of several environmental and chemistry societies, both nationally and at state level.

Having a doctorate gives Johnson a perspective not many other past presidents have had.

“She is one of very few people who has chaired the board with a Ph.D., so she has both the experience of being a South Dakota Board of Regents graduate herself and has the knowledge to address issues,” said Chicoine.

Johnson has two main goals: to support every university in the state system equally, and to reverse the trend of shifting the cost of higher education on to students.

“Our public universities play a critical role in producing a competitive workforce and building a more robust economy for South Dakota,” Johnson said. “It is critical to be thoughtful of how resources are used for this process.”

Funding is a chronic problem in South Dakota’s higher education.

“Part of the struggle is the state has disinvested and now the problem becomes how to have a tuition and fee policy that both assures quality but does not limit access to education,” said Chicoine.

Johnson said each university adds a different value to South Dakota’s education system as a whole, and it’s important to implement proper policies to support each individual institution without hindering support to the others.

Johnson wants to reverse the trend of shifting costs to students by limiting the increase in tuition and increasing the amount of state funding for education. Johnson hopes to establish a stabilized funding system for students enrolled in South Dakota universities.

“Students graduating from SDBOR schools in South Dakota are critical to the economic development of the state,” she said.

Chicoine said Johnson has “great leadership, good educational background and is able to provide resources and understand the issues; we are fortunate to have her as our Board of Regents President for the next two years.”

Johnson is from the Black Hills, and in her free time, she enjoys being outside, whether it’s hiking in the summer or skiing in the winter.