South Dakota
‘Are You Ok?’ project gives voice to transgender kids in South Dakota
![‘Are You Ok?’ project gives voice to transgender kids in South Dakota ‘Are You Ok?’ project gives voice to transgender kids in South Dakota](https://www.keloland.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/103/2022/04/alex-and-fam2.png?w=1280)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Within the first half of 2022, payments in state legislatures focusing on transgender people are already outpacing 2021 laws based on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The exponential development of anti-transgender laws over the previous few years impressed one Santa Fe-based photographer to start the Are You Okay? venture to share the tales of these most impacted by the laws.
For the final 12 months, photographer Jesse Freidin has been travelling by way of the South and the Midwest assembly with transgender and nonbinary youth to provide them visibility and a voice in gentle of current legislative backlash.
“I simply received very activated and offended and felt like I wished to get entangled and do what I might, and pictures and storytelling is a device that I’ve that I do know that I can do,” Freidin mentioned.
To date this 12 months, Freidin has introduced the venture to Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota along with his most up-to-date cease in Sioux Falls on Sunday.
Since he started the venture greater than a 12 months in the past, a number of states within the nation have handed anti-LGBTQ laws such because the ‘Don’t Say Homosexual‘ invoice in Florida and the current order from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to analyze the mother and father of transgender youngsters for youngster abuse.
“I believed the tales could be totally different now, nonetheless, the tales are the identical,” Freidin mentioned. “Children and households are scared and offended.”
Amy Rambow is the mom of a transgender youngster and he or she and her household participated in Sunday’s photoshoot. For Rambow, the current laws in South Dakota, and throughout the nation, has been irritating to witness as a mum or dad.
“It’s extraordinarily irritating as a result of they don’t wanna hearken to the communities they’re attempting to make payments and legal guidelines in opposition to,” Rambow mentioned. “So, you get actually pissed off, like, simply speak to me… Why are you coming from this place?”
Throughout the 2022 legislative session, Rambow and her household travelled to Pierre with different LGBTQ+ advocates to attach with lawmakers. Rambow mentioned she tried to talk with the governor and different lawmakers, each in individual and through electronic mail, however was not capable of join with anybody.
“That’s irritating,” Rambow mentioned. “You’re there, you’re voting on these payments, however you received’t speak to the folks.”
Rambow and her household determined to take part in Freidin’s venture to carry visibility to the transgender group in South Dakota.
“I really feel like my voice must be twice as loud for individuals who can’t communicate out or worry in the event that they communicate out,” Rambow mentioned.
“There are these payments and all that that maintain popping out which can be simply attempting to place us down, you recognize? And never permit us to be ourselves and that’s actually simply what I wanna be, I wanna be myself.”
Max Bruguier
Mitchell Excessive Faculty sophomore Max Bruguier and his mom, Kim, additionally participated in Sunday’s occasion. Additionally they have been a voice in Pierre as they watch LGBTQ+ payments debated every year. Max describes the legislative session as angering, however his mother mentioned they nonetheless attain out through cellphone and electronic mail to representatives to share their household’s story.
“We discovered that our story did make a distinction,” Kim Bruguier mentioned. “No less than one legislator modified his vote due to a dialog that we had with him.”
![](https://www.keloland.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/103/2022/04/max-e1650912534110.png?w=559)
For Max, the choice to have his picture taken was about placing himself on the market to indicate who he’s.
“One of many issues we talked about is, ‘Are we okay placing out our story for folks to listen to?’” Kim Bruguier mentioned. “And he mentioned, ‘Effectively, yeah mother I’m happy with who I’m and the life we reside.’”
Max used to take part in class sports activities in center college however stopped when he entered highschool. His mom mentioned it was out of worry of being focused by different college students as a result of he was overtly out. Now, Max is the drum main within the college band and a tenor in present choir. In these actions, Max mentioned he can nonetheless take part and really feel protected doing so.
“I’m surrounded by individuals who I like and who love me,” Max Bruguier mentioned.
As a mum or dad, Kim says it’s ‘terrifying’ to have a baby who’s out.
“I do know that there are individuals who have a hate with out figuring out who the children are,” Kim mentioned.
Freidin mentioned that in his expertise travelling throughout the nation, that worry is frequent among the many mother and father of transgender youngsters.
“Now, these households have far more worry about talking out,” Freidin mentioned. “Loads of households are going into hiding, leaving the state.”
However whereas there could also be worry and anger amongst members of the transgender group, Freidin mentioned he has frequently heard the identical message in his travels…
“They’ve the very same message that there’s hope, you simply maintain preventing,” Freidin mentioned.
Freidin hopes to ultimately flip the Are You Okay? venture right into a e-book and a travelling gallery exhibit however for now he’s working to make it to each state affected by anti-transgender laws. His web site serves as a direct, on-line exhibit for the images and tales he’s captured up to now.
“I need this to be an academic piece of advocacy that can be utilized instantly now.”
Right here in South Dakota, the Rambow and Bruguier households need the transgender group to know that there’s love and assist for them to be themselves.
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South Dakota
Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State
![Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State](https://pistolsfiringblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/53962121679_afc402ad55_k-1000x600.jpg)
STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State football team beat South Dakota State 44-20 on Saturday to start the season 1-0. After the game, Mike Gundy, Ollie Gordon, Alan Bowman, De’Zhaun Stribling, Collin Oliver, Korie Black and Trey Rucker met with reporters to recap the game.
South Dakota
South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online
![South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online](https://www.nj.com/resizer/v2/P2NH7TDAORCA3K2CFKZ3D37LHE.jpg?auth=27a73779c5e6defa1fa563e3ee42ddc0fe62687da0c8b6ecc5664751c4c0c4a2&width=1280&quality=90)
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits face the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 (8/31/24) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Fans can watch the game with a subscription to ESPN+.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NCAA Football, Week 1
Who: South Dakota State vs. Oklahoma State
When: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 (8/31/24)
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium
Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: N/A
Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice,Cox,DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.
Live stream: ESPN+
***
Here’s a college football story from the Associated Press:
Y’all ain’t played nobody!
It might as well be college football’s slogan. Debates about strength of schedule are part of the fabric of the sport, like marching bands, cheerleaders and tailgating.
With the size of the College Football Playoff tripling in size from four teams to 12 this season — including seven at-large bids — expect the arguments over the relative difficulty of teams’ schedules to increase exponentially.
The posturing and politicking has already begun.
“This is the NFL of college football in my mind,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said during Big Ten media days. At Southeastern Conference media days, the NFL was also invoked when the topic steered to schedules.
“As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you’ve spent time in the NFL, every week was like that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder.”
The debates aren’t just about which conferences are the best. With super-sized conferences of 16-18 teams, the differences in strength of schedule within leagues can be significant.
The CFP selection committee uses a strength-of-schedule rating provided by SportSource Analytics that includes components such as wins and losses, scoring differential and game location.
Balancing who you played with how you played will be harder than ever.
“There’s a weight on the committee that’s new. I want to see how the committee processes that,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said during spring meetings. “And my encouragement is that this, ‘Well, we have an undefeated team so they’re in’ is not the standard. It never was the standard. Obviously, that stirred up controversy last year.”
Toughest schedules in the Power Four
There are dozens of data-based rating systems to measure the relative strength of college football teams, and all have some type of schedule-rating component.
The AP took three systems — ESPN’s SP+, FEI and KFord Ratings — and averaged their strength of schedule rankings for all 134 Bowl Subdivision teams to determine where each Power Four team’s schedule ranks nationally (all games, not just conference games, are factored in).
Using those projections, SEC teams on average will be facing the toughest schedules this season.
The average strength-of-schedule ranking among the 16 SEC teams is 11.2, from Florida (a unanimous No. 1 among all three systems) to Missouri at 36.7.
Half the teams in the SEC have schedules with an average national ranking of 10 or better, including No. 1 Georgia at 3.7. No. 11 Missouri is the only SEC team with an average schedule-strength ranking below 25.3.
Rating the rest
The Big Ten, now including Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, is next with an average strength-of-schedule ranking of 26.9 among its 18 teams.
Purdue’s 7.7 average ranking is the highest followed by No. 23 USC at 9. Big Ten favorite No. 2 Ohio State’s average is 34. No. 3 Oregon’s is 26.7.
The ACC and Big 12 are about the same. The 17-team ACC has an average strength of schedule ranking of 49.9. The 16-team Big 12′s average ranking is 47.3.
Assessing strength of schedule
Straight up rankings can be deceiving. How to quantify the difference between facing the sixth-ranked schedule and 26th?
Brian Fremeau, the creator of FEI, does it three ways, asking three questions: How many games would an elite team lose facing a particular schedule? How many would a good team lose? How many would an average team lose?
AP used FEI’s strength of schedule ratings based on good teams in its composite rankings, since good teams are going to be the ones in the CFP race.
Based on FEI projections, the difference between playing Georgia’s schedule (rated 3.4 among the hardest in the nation) and Ohio State (34) is about one more loss for a good team against the Bulldogs’ slate. The difference between Alabama’s schedule and Big 12 favorite Utah’s is about two losses for a good team against the Tide’s.
If these schedule strength projections held — they will change throughout the season — it would then be reasonable to compare an 11-1 Utah to a 9-3 Alabama.
Reasonable to compare doesn’t necessarily mean the one with the tougher schedule should automatically be ranked higher.
“I don’t judge a team on its schedule. I judge a team on how it performs against a schedule, or my system does. And that is a little more of a nuanced take then, ‘Well, we played a tougher set of opponents than you did, therefore, we’re better,’” Fremeau said. “There’s a bit of a balancing act between the two.”
Intraconference debates
The SEC and Big Ten are both bigger and division-less for the first time. That necessitated new tiebreaker procedures to determine which teams qualify for conference title games featuring the top two teams in the standings.
Within the guidelines is an acknowledgment that the rigor of conference schedules will vary when teams are playing barely half the league. After head-to-head and record vs. common opponents are used to break ties, both leagues go to results that favor the team that fared better against the better conference opponents they play.
The ACC, a year ahead of the the SEC and Big Ten in abandoning divisions, has a similar nod within its tiebreakers to strength of schedule.
ACC Associate Commissioner Michael Strickland said the conference used 10 years of data that measures the success of its football teams to help create a new schedule rotation that would be competitively balanced. But the ACC also to had weigh travel now that Stanford, California and SMU are members, as well as protecting some traditional annual rivalries.
The ACC’s fourth two-team tiebreaker is combined winning percentage of conference opponents.
“Our head football coaches suggested that we insert that during our review process,” Strickland said.
The CFP choices
The CFP field announced Dec. 8 will be comprised of the five highest-ranked conference champions, regardless of league, and seven at-large selections. There is no limit to the number of at-large bids a conference can receive.
The most interesting comparisons for the CFP selection committee might end up being between the many conference rivals that do not play each other in the regular season.
What to do with a 10-2 Missouri and a 9-3 Alabama (composite strength-of-schedule ranking, 9.3)? Or Iowa (37) at 10-2 and Michigan (16) at 9-3? Over in the ACC, what would happen while assessing a 10-2 Virginia Tech (68) and a 9-3 Florida State (30.3)?
“Especially when we’re picking (seven) teams now, we’re looking at the loss column with a bit more scrutiny,” Fremeau said. “They’re going to be debating teams like that with a one or possibly two-game difference in record, but a comparable difference in expected schedule rating and they’re going to have that debate about which one they value more.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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South Dakota
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