The Exponent, 2007-02-14

              MERN T TE UNIVERSITY
February 14, 2007 • Volume 1 0 5 , Issue 5 • http://www.northern.edu/exponent/index.html
NSU hosts big basketball
action.
See page 13.
Photo by Cody Papke.
Check it out on page 10.
Photo by Exponent Staff.
NSU Exponent
Seymour Hall 101
Newsroom: 605-626-2534
Advertising: 605-626-3378
Fax: 605-626-2599
Email: stupub@northern.edu
NSU 2007 Spring Semester Political Interns.
NSU interns make their presence known in Politics
Kale Miller
Campus Reporter
The state capital is
bustling once again as
the 2007 South Dakota
Legislative Session commences
on Tues., Jan. 9, in Pierre.
This year commemorates the
82nd Legislative session, and 22
college students have been
selected as interns each year since
the 1970s to help with the
legislators.
Young men and women from
across the state applied to the
program this year. Northern
State University students
represent six of the interns
assisting the Legislature.
According to the Intern
Manual from the Legislative
Internship Program, in order to
be a Legislative intern, a person
must be a student at an
accredited college or university,
and it does not matter what
program or major of study the
student is studying, or what
political party they claim.
After an application process,
the next step was an interview
with members of the Legislative
Research Council.
Interns were selected based on
academic performance, work
experience, letters of
recommendation, interest, and
maturity. The intern is then
assigned to an individual
legislator, a group of legislators,
or a standing committee.
The duties of the intern vary
slightly based on what their
assignment is. The interns are
spread throughout the Senate
and the House of
Representatives.
Junior Stephanie Vostad, Volga
is the only NSU intern for the
Senate Republicans.
"I work with five Senators
(Lintz, Garnos, McNenny, Napoli
and Duenwald) and three
committees (Transportation,
Taxation and Ag and Natural
Resources)," Vostad said.
"As far as my Senators are
concerned, I do a wide variety of
things. I respond to emails, write
newspaper articles, help them
with their computers, write
commemorations, get sponsor
signatures for bills, etc."
"With my committees, I work
with the committee secretary to
set up the agenda for each
meeting according to the chair's
wishes. I have enjoyed my time
here as an intern thus far. I have
met a lot of people and made a lot
of contacts. I hope my internship
continues to go well as I serve the
Senators," Vostad said.
NSU Alumna Sharna
Thomason, is also working with
the Senate, on the Democratic
side.
"Though I do work for four
Senators (Heidepriem, Nesselhuf,
Kloucek, and Hanson) I end up
working for all the Senators-
Republican or Democrat, every
day is unpredictable. When it all
boils down, it really is about
teamwork and compromises. I
would like to strengthen my
people/communication skills,
through this experience"
Thomason said.
"I've learned that even though
political parties do come into
play quite a lot, Senators really
are trying to work together for
the good of S.D."
Thomason said she has a
multitude of duties, including
Sitting in on State Affairs
Committee and Commerce
Committee, taking notes and
summarizing the bills that pass
the committee, replying to
constituent letters, researching
bills to check what states have
bills like it, or what their policies
on the matter are, comparing
similar bills in hopes to reach a
compromise with both sides.
Junior Kristin Hargens, Orient,
is the intern for the Democratic
side of the House of
Representatives.
"The legislative internship is a
great experience for any college
student who finds the legislative
procedure interesting," Hargens
said. "You meet a wide variety of
people from all across the state of
S.D. This session has been very
interesting thus far and I believe
that it will remain interesting"
Hargens said.
"A lot has changed just in the
few years from when I was a
house page, such as the number
of Democrats and the number of
Republicans in each house of the
legislature. You definitely learn
and have many opportunities
that other internships may not
offer you" Hargens said.
The House of Representatives
has the majority of NSU interns
serving them. On the Republican
side, there are three- Senior
Ashley Glynn, LaMoure, N.D.;
Senior Warren Berry, Kadoka;
and NSU alumna Becky Meyers,
Aberdeen.
"I work primarily with
Representative Turbiville and
Krebs. But some days, I work for
up to seven representatives,
including working for the whips,"
Glynn said. "So far, I have been
doing a ton of research; for
example, the components of
lethal injections for Rep.
Turbiville."
"I love the internship," Berry
said. "It gives me a chance to
observe the legislature and
politics in action and get involved
in the process. Also, it gets me
away from the classroom. I (just)
hope it does not get too busy. The
legislature has a reputation for
doing things at the very end,
procrastinating until the last
weeks of the sessions and doing
all night sessions to get bills
passed and finished."
"I was assigned to
Representatives Pederson and
Cutler. Rep Pederson is the chair
of the Transportation Committee
and Rep Cutler is the chair of the
Judiciary committee; I am also
assigned to their committees. I
really like doing my job. I'm
pretty busy" Meyers said.
According to Meyers she is
learning a lot and the experience
is preparing her well to study for
a law degree.
"I found out that many Reps
and Senators are attorneys,
retired military personnel,
farmers and ranchers, etc. It's
nice to hear the stories that the
legislators tell about past
sessions. Most of all, I like just
getting the opportunity to work
with our legislators," Meyers
said.
"I think that this internship
will be a great starting off point
for my future. There is nothing
that I don't like- I'm an optimistic
kind of gal when it comes to
opportunities like this- once in a
lifetime. I hope the rest of the
internship goes well for all of
those involved and that the rest of
the session goes well", Meyers
said.
When talking about the daily
activities that they are faced with,
most interns stated their day
started between 7 or 7:30 a.m.
and work ceases at 5 sometimes 6
p.m. They can also take a class on
Mon. nights
"Throughout the internship, if
you take the class offered on
Mon. nights, you have the chance
to meet the leadership of our
state government, including the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
Majority and Minority Leaders,
and various other positions
required to complete the
legislative process," Hargens said.
"During the (Legislative
Issues) class, you have the
opportunity to ask any questions
you see fit to these respectable
people."
The interns can receive
academic credit for their
participation, depending on their
college or university. NSU is one
of the universities that provide
credit hours, regardless of the
major.
Interns also receive a $120 a
day stipend for their work. This
stipend is usually used for
housing, food, transportation or
other expenses.
This year's regular session lasts
until March 6, and after a two-week
break, the legislature
returns for their final day on
March 26.
For more information
regarding the Legislative Session,
or the Legislative Internship
Program, you can call the LRC
Office in Pierre at (605) 773-3251
or go to the website:
http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx
South Dakota Senator censured
Kale Miller
Campus Reporter
The South Dakota
Legislature has been in
the spotlight lately, with
allegations that a Senator acted
inappropriately with a Legislative
Page last year. Charges against Sen.
Dan Sutton — D, Flandreau, a
Northem State University alumnus,
came about after reports that he
fondled a high school aged male
serving as a page, a year ago.
According to Sutton's campaign
website, Sutton served as Student
Association President, Vice
President and Senator during his
time at Northern State University
With these charges, the safety of
high school pages and college interns
has been in question. As the 2007
Legislative Session began, legislators
got ready for the six hundred bills
expected to be introduced this
session. Unlike most years, the hills
were not the only things on the
legislatures minds. For three days,
Sutton was the subject of a Senate
hearing investigating the allegations.
The South Dakota Senate voted to
censure Sutton 32 to 2, after
defeating a motion that would have
expelled the senator. In order to be
expelled, a two-thirds of the vote of
the Senate was needed. The motion
was voted down 14 to 20. This is
possibly the first time that SD Senate
has censured one of it's own.
Although the Intern Program for
college students has not been
affected by the Sutton situation, the
Page Program for high school
students has. Estimates show that
applications for the program were
down forty percent. Although the
pages do not feel influenced by the
events, housing applications must
now be approved by their parents, a
page coordinator and the host
family.
According to the Legislative
Research Council's website, a new set
of pages go to work in the capital
about every two weeks. Their main
duties include "distributing
legislative documents, running
errands for legislators, answering
phones, assisting in the Legislative
Post Office, and attending
committee meetings. They may be
assigned to a specific group of
legislators, but it is also their
obligation to assist any and all
legislators as the process may
require."
Pages receive a compensation for
their work, usually used to cover
housing, meals, and other living
expenses.