Students in the armed forces will have the opportunity this year to experience SDSU in a dif­ferent way.

An orientation session for stu­dent veterans will be held at 2-5 p.m. on Aug. 29 in room 169 of The Union.

“Anyone in the armed forces who (has) served or is serving in the military can come to the ori­entation,” said Andrew Ellis, fac­ulty adviser for the SDSU Armed Forces Association.

Ellis said there will be an orien­tation session at the beginning of every semester.

Ellis said the session will be, “above and beyond what SDSU puts on,” because it will be more structured than the normal new student orientation session. The orientation will involve showing the students where their classes and services are, including Win­trode, health services, counsel­ing services, dining facilities and UPD.

The session will have case man­agers from the Veterans Adminis­tration for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Endur­ing Freedom. Also, representa­tives from the Veteran’s Center in Sioux Falls, the Brookings County Veteran’s Service Office and the SDSU Veteran’s Office will present information.

Derek Douglas, former presi­dent of the SDSU Armed Forces Association, said the new student orientation is geared toward tra­ditional students rather than stu­dents in the Armed Forces.

“This session will present more useful information to former active duty, National Guard and Reserve,” he said. “It will show them what services are available on campus and there will be more awareness of what is available on campus, locally and nationally.”

After talking to veterans, Ellis said they found they are having a hard time finding a group to fit in with because many are non-traditional students with a mili­tary background.

“The military trains you for six months to be a solider and one week to be a civilian again,” he said. “We’re trying to ease them into the collegiate system.”

Douglas said the session will help ease the transition into college from the military, especially for those who served on active duty.

“You get your paperwork and [the military] sends you packing, there is no follow-up,” Douglas said. “I think the session shows the veteran population that the university does care about this group of students and creates a more welcoming experience.”

Nathan McMurphy, a senior geographic information system and geography major, said an orientation session like this one would have benefited him.

“It would have helped me out a ton,” McMurphy said. “I went to the orientation day at The Union during the summer and we weren’t taken around campus or shown where any of the services were.”

McMurphy said he hopes this session will be useful for incom­ing freshmen who are veterans.

“It will set an example for incoming freshmen … [who] will say ‘oh, they are taking the time to help us’ and they will hopefully pass that down,” McMurphy said.

McMurphy is volunteering to help with the orientation session.

“It’s going to be fun walking around campus,” McMurphy said. “There are still places on campus that I don’t know.”

SDSU is not the first school to have a veteran’s orientation. Black Hills State University and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology also have similar orientation programs.

The SDSU Armed Forces Asso­ciation was formally known as SDSU Veterans Club.

The Pride recently applied for and received their invitation to perform in the Citrus Bowl Parade. The parade is the prelude to the Capital One Bowl game on Jan. 1, 2012.

Few collegiate bands are selected to perform in the parade.

“Most of the bands that play in the parade are high school bands,” said Jim Coull, director of athletic bands. “For SDSU to get invited is a pretty good honor for us.”

Coull said the application process usually doesn’t start until August. He asked the committee to change the date because SDSU students are not in Brookings over the summer and need time to raise money.

“It is interesting,” Coull said. “The Citrus Bowl Parade committee held a meeting to specifically approve the Pride.”

Coull said it took a couple days to sink in the news when he received the invitation.

“At first, it was more of a big relief; you put so much into it,” he said. “It took me a couple days to get happy, and that lasted a week, then when we started working on all the details, I wished we were going to Volga instead.”

Coull said this invitation means a lot for the Pride.

“The prestige is good for the music department, SDSU and South Dakota,” he said. “It puts a good face on us as an organization and the school as an institution.”

Aaron Ragsdale, assistant director of bands, agreed with Coull.

“It is a good chance to show those Big 10 and [Southeastern Conference] bands that are used to being on TV what we do up here,” Ragsdale said. “We think our students do really good work. It’s nice to have that vindicated and validated by outside observers.”

Ragsdale said the number of students going to Orlando is still up in the air.

“We won’t really know until everyone signs up for classes,” he said.

John Daniel, one of the section leaders for the alto sax section, said he is excited about being invited to perform.

“Marching in front of a crowd bigger than Hobo Day will be exciting,” Daniel said. “I came from a small school, so it’s a rush.”

Daniel said he is looking forward to spending time with friends on the trip.

“It will be my senior year, and my best friends are in the Pride, so it will be a great last hurrah for all of us,” he said.

Coull said as of right now, the students will arrive in Orlando on Dec. 28 and will return on Jan. 1.

Ragsdale and Coull said they are considering various activities for the students, such as Pirate Dinner Experience, Universal Studios, Disney World, Kennedy Space Center, alligator farms and an aquatic park.

“There are so many things to do, and so little time,” Coull said.

The Pride has marched in two Rose Bowl Parades – one in 2003 and one in 2008. They marched in the 1981 and 1997 presidential inaugurations for former Presidents Reagan and Clinton. The Pride was also the featured band in the PBS Production of “A Capitol Fourth,” and they performed for the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C., in 2000.

Students Kaitlin Foster, Tyler Storms, Kent Kraft, Kody McCollum and Danielle McCollum competed in the scavenger hunt from last year’s race. - Collegian Photo by Stephen Brua

Reporter

Students’ endurance will be put to the test during the third annual Jacked Up Rabbit Race starting 7 p.m. April 8.

The 24-hour race features 30 six-member teams will race to retrieve and take pictures of items on two lists, along with participating in physically and mentally exhausting challenges.

The first-place team will get round-trip airfare vouchers, the second-place team will get $100 gift cards and the third-place team will get $50 gift cards.

“[The race] is similar to the Amazing Race, but SDSU-style,” said Bethany Fischer, Residence Hall Association publicist. “It is action-packed, and people love it.”

Registration for the race started March 25 at 11:59 p.m.

Fischer said the events for the race are being kept quiet.

“We like to keep things top secret, but there will be a lot of things to find and a lot of crazy things to do,” she said.

However, Fischer was able to talk about last year’s race.

“Pirate Duck was a big thing last year,” she said.

Pirate Duck was a stuffed animal that was hidden throughout campus. Teams were texted with a clue as to where Pirate Duck was.

Adam Schorzmann, a senior history education major and a volunteer for last year’s race, said the Pirate Duck was one of his favorite parts.

“One team found the duck like six or 10 times,” Schorzmann said. “I think they were following us [when we were hiding it].”

As a volunteer, Schorzmann said he enjoyed laughing at participants.

“Everyone was crabby,” he said. “Some people had four energy drinks ready to go at the beginning of the race and were crashing halfway through.”

Schorzmann said finding a creative challenge everyone can be involved in is “probably the toughest part of putting on the race.”

Fischer said the race committee and RHA have been planning for months.

“When the race gets close, it shows you what all the hard work was for,” she said.

Campus-wide unity is the goal, Fisher said.

“It’s a time where the entire campus can come together,” she said. “It is something that is really special to SDSU.  You can’t do it anywhere else.”

Drew Heemstra, a freshman general studies major, will participate in the race for different reasons.

“All the crazy stuff you have to find and bring back sounded like a lot of fun,” he said. “Maybe we can win and go on a trip somewhere.”

Heemstra said he thinks the worst part will be taking all the pictures.

“Last year, they had to take pictures of random state license plates,” he said. “That is a lot of searching.”

The Jacked Up Rabbit program won the Program of the Year award at the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls Conference in November 2010, one of the seven regionals in the nation. The race committee will present at the national conference in May at Western Illinois University to try and win nationals.

Jerry Jorgensen cites the relationships he has made at SDSU as the thing he will miss the most as he prepares to depart at the end of the semester.

Reporter

June 21 will be the last day for Jerry Jorgensen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Jorgensen has accepted a new position as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Park University in Parkville, Mo.
Despite a long run at SDSU, Jorgensen is excited about his new position at Park University.
“I am looking forward to the new challenges [that] lie ahead,” he said. “Like SDSU, Park University is an institution of vision and has a strong sense of purposes and I feel comfortable in that environment.”
Jorgensen said the thing he will miss most about SDSU is the people.
“I have made life-long friendships here that will undoubtedly continue in decades to come,” he said.
Laurie Nichols, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, said the feeling is mutual.
“Jerry is a good guy, and I will miss him,” she said. “He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to anything he does. Jerry draws energy from students, faculty and staff.”
Nichols went on to comment on Jorgensen’s loyalty to SDSU over the years.
“Jerry has a lot of pride in SDSU,” Nichols said. “He bleeds blue and gold through and through.”
Nichols also said Jorgensen has always been very student oriented.
“Jerry will always take the perspective of the students,” she said. “He always brings the student voice into any conversation that impacts students.”
Steven Grovenburg, a senior theater major, said Jorgensen will be missed because he comes to every theatre performance and is a big supporter of the arts. He also said Jorgensen is very personable and puts students first.
“He walks up to students and just starts talking to them,” he said. “I think that is something people overlook.”
Nichols said SDSU will open Jorgensen’s position in late spring or early summer to try and hire a replacement.
“Anyone internally can apply, and we will have a national search as well,” she said.
Nichols did say that they are looking for certain qualities in the new dean.
“We want a leader who will bring experience, vision and leadership,” she said. “We want a team player to provide strong leadership to the diverse disciplines within the college.”
Jorgensen said someone will be assigned to an interim role until his position is permanently filled.
Jorgensen came to SDSU in 1974 as a student and has been here since then, serving as the dean of the College of Arts and Science for the past 11 years.
“I always knew if I went to college, I would go to SDSU and that I’d be a Jackrabbit,” Jorgensen said. “This place became home for me and I have been here ever since.”
As the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at SDSU, Jorgensen oversees 15 departments that include 140 full time faculty and over 30 part time faculty members. The departments deliver 33 bachelors degrees, seven masters degrees and two Ph.D. programs. At SDSU, Jorgensen’s current responsibilities include all matters of budgeting, personnel management, fundraising, alumni and community relations, faculty development and enrollment management.”