During the Aug. 29 South Dakota State University Students’ Association meeting, senators were addressed by SDSU President Barry Dunn, Steve Erpenbach and Erin Glidden from the SDSU Foundation. They approved a special allocation and approved its new diversity liaison position. 

President Dunn:

Dunn spoke for almost 30 minutes Monday night in his first address to the Senate for the 2022-2023 academic year. He spoke about the new South Dakota Freedom Scholarship and campus renovations and took questions from senators. 

Dunn was thrilled to announce the new freedom scholarship to students. This scholarship is funded by major donors and the state of South Dakota. This scholarship will help hundreds of students here at SDSU, according to Dunn.  

A year from now, Lincoln Hall will be fully remodeled and opened. This hall will be the new home for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social sSiences, and the School of American and Global Studies.

“It’s going to be a beautiful facility and a great addition to our campus life,” Dunn said. 

Dunn also announced that the Pierson Hall renovation will be complete next year and that Matthews Hall will be the next project the university takes on. 

Erpenbach and Glidden:

Year six of One Day for STATE is coming up Sept. 8. SDSU Foundation President and CEO Steve Erpenbach, and Director of Pipeline Strategy Erin Glidden made an appearance to talk about the purpose of One Day for STATE and how to give back. 

“We are trying to really rally people to take that opportunity to give back,” Erpenbach said.

Student tailgating special allocation:

The Senate approved a special allocation of $29,000 towards student tailgating. SA President Blake Pulse explains how this program is a way to eliminate factors when it comes to safety and security if students were to tailgate elsewhere. Different SDSU student organizations will take turns hosting tailgates on different game days. This fall will function as a trial run, and if successful, could become a sustainable program.

Other:

Pulse shared that in the previous week, he has been conducting interviews for a Senate member to fill the diversity liaison position. Sentor Harley Fisher was approved to fill that position. 

Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Michaela Willis gave an update on how the university will handle COVID-19 during the upcoming academic year. SDSU will no longer be tracking positive cases or offering isolation housing; however, the vaccine clinic will be open this fall. 

University Program Council is holding a deal for SDSU students to get exclusive $25 Brett Young tickets to see him in concert at the Swiftel Center Oct. 13. The sale will be available until Sept. 5, and the UPC currently still has 28 tickets available.