We’ve just posted our new code of ethics on our Web site under the “About Us” section. Please feel free to check that out or send us any questions you may have about it.

A new comment policy will also be up soon, so please check back in the same spot later in the week to read that. Thank you!

Due to a power outage and printing problems at the Yankton Press & Dakotan, this week’s issue of The Volante will be delivered Thursday morning.

We apologize for this inconvenience.

Just a reminder: extreme and unwarranted personal attacks against people mentioned in our online content or against our writers are not allowed on VolanteOnline.com comments.

Also be aware that our spam filter automatically files comments with outside URLs as “Spam” and some comments may have to be manually approved by the editor before the show up on the website.

If you have questions about our online comment policy or are wondering why your comments did not show up online, please email the Volante Online team at volanteonline@gmail.com

In the “USD prepares for possible H1N1 outbreak” posted Sept. 9, The Volante incorrectly stated that the vaccinations for H1N1 would be available on Sanford Clinic in Vermillion Sept. 15, 17 and 23. These are vaccination dates for the seasonal flu, not H1N1.

We apologize for this error.

Ben Nesselhuf and Jared Higman, candidates for District 17 State Senate, debate at the Freedom Forum at the Al Neuharth Media Center. Follow the debate with our live blogger Patrick Morrison.

For live, streaming video of the debate, click here. Mac users will have to download Flip4Mac. Click here for a free download.

For a live blog with Assitant News Editor Patrick Morrison, click here.

As with all transitions, sometimes difficulties occur (just look at the new student center).

VolanteOnline.com is experiencing technical difficulties as we attempt to move to our new website. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The new site will have more connectivity and ability than ever. Nonetheless, our parent company, College Publisher, is having problems running their servers and, therefore, moving content to our server and allowing access to the inner workings of VolanteOnline.com

In other words, Online Editor David Whitesock and I are unable to upload any content, which explains why the stories featured in the site are up to two weeks old. As soon as we are able to upload content, the new print edition will be online, along with video and sideshows to accompany the print edition.

Also, shortly, VolanteOnline.com will be the place for all of the news that affects you as a University of South Dakota student and Vermillion resident. More updates, briefs, video, slideshows, blogs posts, podcasts and 24 hour news stories will come along with the new site.

Right now, all you need to do is sit back and be patient. Great things come with time, and we promise the new site will be up before the new student center.

– Drew Quandt | Web Producer

The beginning of the fall semester marked a change for The Volante and other campus media organizations, a change that is truly vital to the journalism students on campus but one that may be unnoticed by the average reader.

The market for newspapers and other media outlets is changing. Some grumble that the newspaper industry is dying, but I’m convinced the newspaper will never truly die, although it may and most likely will see a shift in its form.

It’s paramount for journalists to be ridding themselves of the old mindset that they are simply print journalists, or broadcast, or radio. The journalist of today must be prepared at every step to capture audio, video, photos, and then write a story besides all of that.

But I think it is important for journalists to realize that they can’t always do it alone, and it’s possible to share resources and some content, while remaining their own distinct identity. The Volante is joining a convergence team called the Cross Media Council at USD, where they will be able to share and cross-promote other campus medias like U.News and U.Radio.

For the reader, this means they will likely be seeing more promotion of the broadcast and radio station both in our print product as well as online at our Web site, VolanteOnline.com. They will also see The Volante featuring video and audio produced by students at other organizations.

This is an exciting avenue the USD media has chosen to explore, and I hope viewers appreciate the extra content we are now able to provide.

But, if your comments

caus[e] harm, harass anyone or which … prevent, prohibit, inhibit, restrict or otherwise impair others from using or enjoying the Site …

We, The Volante, reserve the right to remove those comments.

Also, if your comments are

abusive, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, in violation of copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights, [will] be in violation of this Agreement or to be unacceptable to MTVU Channel or the Parent Companies or Affiliates (The Volante), for any reason or for no reason whatsoever; provided, however, that MTVU Channel shall have no obligation or liability to you for failure to do so or for doing so in any particular manner.

The above legalese comes from the User Comment Submission Agreement located on our Web site here. When you register with the Site, you agree to these terms. You also agree to the more general use terms under the Terms of Use Agreement.

Our Web site allows any user to register and post anonymously. There are many individuals who want to comment on an article or column and register as John or Jane Doe with an email address such as test@test.org. For obvious reasons, we are unable to verify that you are registering with your real name and valid email address. Therefore, you are able to comment completely anonymously at VolanteOnline.com.

However, you are able to register under your real name and valid email address and still post anonymously (or using any name you choose). The only people that see your real name and email are the Online and Management staff of The Volante. We do not share this information.

We firmly believe in the right to freely express yourself, in this case, by speech online. It is your protected right to publish comments completely anonymously, but that does not protect you from using defamatory language. It also does not allow you to to inflict harm in any way.

The Volante wishes to provide a platform for all to converse, but the moment that discourse becomes libelous or slanderous or becomes abusive, we must take action. Initially, that will involve removing the comments from the Web site. If we find the comments to be a clear violation of the current User Agreement, then we will bar your use of the Site.

This is a policy which we will adhere to. It is a policy that is spelled-out in the above two policies and will be further defined in policy exclusive to “The Volante.”

Please use the First Amendment to its fullest by expressing your views at VolanteOnline.com. Do so anonymously, if you chose. However, for the First Amendment to be enjoyed by all, we must be responsible in our speech.

You’ll notice in this week’s print edition, an In The Know says The Volante has a new Web site. Well, if you’ve been to VolanteOnline.com, you’ll notice it is the same old site. Rest assured, there is a new site on the way. We were truly hoping to show off the new digs on Wednesday, but as anyone may know, things can go awry in the world of technology. So, our staff is working diligently to get the new site out there. Sometimes it’s difficult to but a definite time on such things, but our plan as of right now is to have the site online in time for our next print issue — Wednesday, Sept. 24.

In the meantime, we will still be covering the news as it happens at VolanteOnline.com.

While researching USD boot camp for my article for the Volante, I was given the opportunity to actually participate in the class. Thinking of myself as a generally fit person, I thought this would be no problem, a walk in the park, as the saying goes. Well, it was more like a vigorous run through the park.

The class, full of wonderful women whom I truly admire for going through this twice a week, started out with a brisk half-mile jog. Most of that jog, I settled for a brisk walk. Huffing and puffing when I arrived back to the exercise circle, I grabbed a mat and joined the rest of the stretching women. Stretching, thank goodness, I can actually handle that.

However, the stretching was there to prepare me for some exercises that used muscles I didn’t even know I had.  There was a lot of work to strengthen arms, muscles and, of course, legs. The next day, even laughter is painful for my muscles. After we finished all those very painful exercises the instructor announced that we would be embarking on a long, long, long run up hills. I bailed.

I waited around for about 15 minutes with the photographer, for the women to return. Return they did! They were exhausted, with good reason. I was exhausted just from the first run, not to mention all of those techniques we had done.

The teamwork among these women was something I found quite amazing. They all worked together and encouraged each other, and even through all the difficulty they kept their humor. One woman said something very hilarious. I believe it was “Don’t get out of shape, don’t drink all the time and don’t get out of shape when you have kids.” Along with myself, the rest of the women burst out in a fit of laughter.

So what did I learn from this experience? I am not at all fit, not even at a beginner level! It felt good though, being outside, breathing in fresh air, treating my body right. It was certainly a very interesting experience.

– Jessa Waters