State Reps Steve Haugaard and Taffy Howard are certainly setting themselves apart today as they vote no on the Bio-medical research facility in Sioux Falls. And then reject upkeep for the world class music museum facility in Vermillion.
Music museum funding bill narrowly passed. Initially, it only had 46 yes votes – which would be short of passage – but House Speaker @SpencerGosch changed vote to yes pic.twitter.com/Nt7AL6tyz9
— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) February 23, 2022
and..
Discovery District passes with 53 votes. It will next be considered in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/6tpcDRV6tb
— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) February 23, 2022
If we’re honest about this, the Discovery district is 90% wishful thinking. The State has been trying to prop up some sort of University Center, USDSU, Discovery District, etc for two decades in that part of Sioux Falls. It just hasn’t caught on. I suspect this is more money to build another building that won’t find much interest. There’s just other options for most start up businesses out there. The most viable businesses have investors propping them up and don’t need a state research facility. What’s left is usually not much. To think that this cures the brain drain in SD is just really wishful thinking. The money would be better spent propping up our science and health care programs in South Dakota. How about funding the med school to produce 10 more physicians each year? How about a vet school at SDSU rather than shipping our kids out to Iowa State and other places? All big investments, but will yield better results and be better for SD than constructing a new building and hoping someone wants to rent some space.
And a lot of the families struggling desperately against inflation will probably resent wasting our money on the “world class” music museum they couldn’t care less about (and wouldn’t have the time or money to visit even if they did care about it). This is yet another case of politicians kissing the butts of university officials at our expense. It’s theft, and it’s immoral.
The problem with the Discovery Center is that it’s a blind bet. Unlike the DSU cybercrime building, we don’t have any idea if any business or student with an idea will ever come knocking. If I’m wrong here, please correct me. The cybercrime building is already projected to bring in hundreds of employees and students. Further, it’s only a few blocks away but it’s in an area of SF that people want to be in.
The proponents keep talking about keeping the best and brightest students. This doesn’t do it. You keep the best and brightest by getting them to stay here for college. Once they are here they are likely to stay. If you want to keep those students, you need to compete by building better university programs, offering better scholarships, and building things like better dorms – at USD in particular. We can do better by investing in the right things, not in buildings like this.
Dorms?
Dorms don’t give anyone an incentive to remain in an area after graduation; they do the opposite: they terminate your lease when you graduate. You have to move out, and you have to go somewhere. Once you’ve packed up all your stuff, moving 1000 miles and starting over isn’t that daunting.
Nice off-campus housing you can continue to live in after graduation is a better inducement, because you will have already established a home. Graduation looms and looking around your apartment you decide packing up your stuff is too much trouble, and anyway, you like your roommate. So you stay. Dorms don’t let you do that.