BY DAVID [email protected]
VERMILLION — South Dakota Chief Justice DavidGilbertson told graduates of the University of SouthDakota Saturday that what they’ve learned duringtheir time at the university is no doubt important, ex-ceeded only by “how” they’ve learned.
“The world’s knowledge is increasing every 10years, and in some areas, every four years,” he said.“Coming out of this institution knowing how to thinkand how to reason may be your greatest asset as youhead out into your life, because your education isgoing to continue, whether you go on to further yourformal education or whether you do it in a self-taughtmanner. The days when you can leave a universitywith a degree knowing you are set for life are gonewith the wind.”
Gilbertson was keynote speaker at USD’s 37thwinter commencement exercises at held Saturday atthe DakotaDome. He is a native of northeast SouthDakota and a 1975 graduate of the University ofSouth Dakota School of Law.
Putting a somewhat contemporary twist on thestandard graduation speech format, the chief justiceoffered to the university graduates what he describesas “the top 10 things I think you should know:”
10: Do not be afraid of failure. Learn from yourpast experiences and your past mistakes, and the ex-
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PRESS&DAKOTANYA N K T O N D A I LY
VOLUME 138NUMBER 198
MONDAY n DECEMBER 17, 2012
The Dakotas’ Oldest Newspaper | 12 PAGES | www.yankton.net
REGION 2 | WORLD 3 | OBITUARIES 3 | MIDWEST 7 | SPORTS 8 | CLASSIFIEDS 10 | HEALTHLINES 12
TOMORROW: Yankton Native Writes Of Battle With Breast Cancer Print
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS
BY LOLITA C. BALDORAssociated Press
WASHINGTON — Former Nebraska Sen.Chuck Hagel is a contrarian Republican mod-erate and decorated Vietnam combat vet-eran who is likely to support a more rapidwithdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
As President Barack Obama’s top candi-date for defense secretary,Hagel has another credentialimportant to the president: apersonal relationship withObama, forged when theywere in the Senate andstrengthened during over-seas trips they took together.
Hagel, 66, emerged lastweek as the front-runner forthe Pentagon’s top job, fouryears after leaving behind a
Senate career in which he carved out a repu-tation as an independent thinker and bluntspeaker.
Wounded during the Vietnam War, Hagelbacked the Iraq war, but later became afierce and credible critic of the Bush admin-istration’s war policies, making routine tripsto Iraq and Afghanistan. He opposed Presi-dent George W. Bush’s plan to send an addi-tional 30,000 troops into Iraq — a move thathas been credited with stabilizing thechaotic country — as “the most dangerousforeign policy blunder in this country sinceVietnam, if it’s carried out.”
While Hagel supported the Afghanistanwar resolution, over time he has becomemore critical of the decade-plus conflict, withits complex nation-building effort.
Often seeing the Afghan war through thelens of his service in Vietnam, Hagel has de-clared that militaries are “built to fight andwin wars, not bind together failing nations.”In a radio interview this year, he spokebroadly of the need for greater diplomacy asthe appropriate path in Afghanistan, notingthat “the American people want out” of thewar.
If nominated — an announcement couldcome this week — and confirmed by the Sen-ate, Hagel would succeed Defense SecretaryLeon Panetta. Panetta has made it clear heintends to leave early next year, but has notpublicly discussed the timing of his depar-ture. He took the Pentagon job in July 2011.
At the same time, Obama is consideringone of Hagel’s former Senate colleagues, De-mocrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, for thejob of secretary of state.
To political and defense insiders,Obama’s preference for Hagel makes sense.
BY MATT APUZZO AND PAT EATON-ROBBAssociated Press
NEWTOWN, Conn. — The gunman in the Con-necticut shooting rampage was carrying an arsenalof hundreds of rounds of especially deadly ammuni-tion — enough to kill just about every student in theschool if given enough time, authorities said Sunday,raising the chilling possibility that the bloodbathcould have been even worse.
Hours later, President Barack Obama told mourn-ers at a vigil that the nation is failing to keep its chil-dren safe. He pledged to seek change in memory of
the 26 staffers and schoolchildrenwho were killed in the second-dead-liest school shooting in U.S. history.
“What choice do we have?”Obama said. “Are we really preparedto say that we’re powerless in theface of such carnage, that the poli-tics are too hard?”
The gunman, Adam Lanza, shothimself in the head just as he heardpolice drawing near to the class-room where he was slaughtering
helpless children, but he had more ammunition at
the ready in the form of multiple, high-capacity clipseach capable of holding 30 bullets.
The disclosure on Sunday sent shudders through-out this picturesque New England community asgrieving families sought to comfort each other dur-ing church services devoted to impossible questionslike that of a 6-year-old girl who asked her mother:“The little children, are they with the angels?”
With so much grieving left to do, many of New-town’s 27,000 people wondered whether life could
Some members of the Yankton AreaSummer Band wore their holiday spiriton their sleeves — and heads — duringSunday’s annual holiday concert, heldat the YHS/Summit Activities Centertheatre. The band, led by guest conduc-tor Kevin McLouth of Bon Homme, pre-sented a rousing performance to thecrowd of approximately 250. Scheduledselections included “Jingle Bell Rock,”“Yuletide Fantasy” and the summerband’s signature holiday tune, “SleighRide.” To see or purchase images fromthis event, visit spotted.yankton.net.
MMC, USD: December’s Rites
‘You Are Not Alone’
BY JEREMY [email protected]
Already an established professor and publishedwriter, Jim Reese walked into his first day of a creativewriting workshop at the Yankton Federal Prison Campand quickly realized he was in for a challenge.
The first question tossed at the associate professorof English at Mount Marty College?
“What’s the difference between poetry and prose?”Re-tooling his approach to the course, Reese eventu-
ally spent seven months with the prisoners that firstsession — a “hardcore writing process,” he calls it —and helped them eventually develop a book.
“Everyone wants to be a writer, but they have to earnit,” said Reese, the commencement speaker at Saturdaymorning’s Mount Marty College fall graduation cere-mony at Marian Auditorium. “They have to come upwith something that really matters, something from theheart.”
Speaking to just more than 50 graduates, Reese re-flected on his time with the inmates. He said that morethan simply showing them how to craft sentences andconstruct paragraphs, he tried to go deeper.
“The thing about prisoners is, you can teach them atrade in prison, you can teach a person to be aplumber,” he said. “That’s all great and good. But unlessyou can teach that person to tap into the emotional in-stabilities that brought them to prison in the first place,you’re just going to send an angry plumber right backout into society.”
Reese, who also serves as director of the GreatPlains Writers’ Tour at Mount Marty and editor-in-chiefof Paddlefish (MMC’s literary journal), said that while“tension was present” in his session with inmates, he isconfident that he was able to break through. He sharedwith the graduates a class reflection that one inmatewrote at the conclusion of the session.
“‘I have learned so many wonderful things about cre-ative writing from the teachers and the writers thatwe’ve had the pleasure to meet,’” Reese said, quotingSmith. “’I now understand the actual mechanics of writ-ing and sculpting involved in developing a good piece ofliterature. I now write every day, and although it’s work,it is work that I now find very enjoyable.’”
It’s that enjoyment that was a prevalent theme inReese’s nearly 10-minute speech Saturday.
Following the statement, “Don’t ever underestimatethe power of your own voice,” Reese said that the firstessay he has his beginning writing class students tackleis to share an example of how they use their voice tomake a difference.
“Sometimes they look at me oddly. Some say, ‘I’m notsure I’ve ever used my voice to make a difference,’” hesaid. “I reassure them that they have. And with time andfurther discussion, they produce some wonderful writ-ing.”
The classroom can be a “haven” for creativity and aplace where ideas can eventually be turned into wordson a page, Reese said. He encouraged the graduates to“read and write frequently, never a day without a line.”
“I find it imperative to help students find their voicethrough extended practice writing and speaking, discov-ering and developing uses for writing that will serve
MMC: Reese TellsGrads To Use Their
Voice, Enjoy Creativity
MMC | PAGE 2
MITCHELL (AP) — Family mem-bers of the late Sen. George McGov-ern say his cremated remains willbe buried early next year in a his-toric Washington, D.C., cemetery.
The remains are currently inSioux Falls, where McGovern diedin October at the age of 90, nephewMatt McGovern told the Daily Re-public.
“We plan to do it sometime inmid-February,” Matt McGovernsaid. “It’s just a matter of when wecan come together to do it. He’sbeen cremated. It’s something hedecided to do.”
McGovern, the 1972 Democratic
nominee for president, lost the elec-tion to Richard Nixon in an elec-toral landslide.
In his later years, McGovern be-came known for his advocacy forworld nutrition, a cause he contin-ued long after leaving public office.In 2008, he was awarded the WorldFood Prize along with former Re-publican Sen. Bob Dole.
When McGovern’s 85-year-oldwife, Eleanor, died in 2007, she wasinterred at City Cemetery inMitchell. Her remains were movedto Rock Creek Cemetery in Wash-ington later that year.
DAVID LIAS/VERMILLION PLAIN TALK
Mary L. Collins of Vermillion is “hooded” by ProfessorGarreth Zalud during the 37th winter session com-mencement exercises of the University of SouthDakota, held Saturday in the DakotaDome at Vermil-lion. The hooding ceremony marks Collins’ earning adoctor of education degree from the university.
USD: Grads Get A List For Success
USD | PAGE 2
Hagel InLine For
PentagonTop Job
Hagel
HAGEL | PAGE 5
SHOOTING | PAGE 7
KELLY HERTZ/P&D
Jim Reese, associate professor of English at Mount Marty College, spoke to the school’s fall graduates duringDecember commencement exercises Saturday at Marian Auditorium.
OH, DEER! McGovern To Be Buried In D.C.
OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT
Residents of Newtown, Conn., comfort each other duringan interfaith vigil on Sunday. Twenty-six people wereshot dead, including twenty children, after a gunmanidentified as Adam Lanza opened fire in the school.
Obama Speaks At Newtown Vigil; Gunman Had Many Ammo Rounds
YANKTON RECYCLING THIS WEEK:
SOUTHOF 15TH STREET
Obama
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