TRANSCRIPT

VICE PRESIDENT PRINCE ADHIKARI'S MID YEAR ADDRESS

18 February, 2025 

Thank you, President Johnston. What a joy it is to be here, to be joined and be accompanied by all of you. We have all our senators, administrators, leaders of different student organizations, and God is here with us as well. Thank you, Julie, Lydia and Maggie for arranging this wonderful night, also to Carson and Blen for taking care of everything in the background, and especially to you, the Augustana students, for caring enough about the state of our student body and being here tonight. 

I will continue with the updates but I want to actually give an introduction to myself as I recognize a lot of you don’t know who I am. My name is Prince Adhikari, and for the past nine months, I have had the pleasure and privilege of guiding our student body as the Vice President, along with President Annie Johnston. Three years ago I came to Augustana, leaving my home in Nepal. 

“Studying in the U.S. is a significant investment of time, energy, and financial resources.” I remember reading that line in my admission counselor’s (Wade’s) email, and it stuck with me. At the time, Augustana was the 13th school on my list. And guess what? I had only applied to 13 colleges. But after many conversations and Zoom calls with Wade, it moved to number one. Even though I had just moved to a new country, there was still a part of me that felt like I was taking a risk. But looking back now, it’s clear—no matter where you're from, or what your identity is, you can fully thrive here. And that’s something I’ve seen firsthand, especially when I look at the fact that the student body has both a South Dakotan and a South Asian as their President and Vice President. [Laughs] [Applauds] It’s proof that when we open our doors to everyone, we create a space where all of us can succeed. So this journey from South Asia to South Dakota has been incredible! 

To be here, in this land of opportunities, is a privilege—not one that everyone gets to experience. Many dream of coming here, but not all have the chance. I’ve had friends call me, asking, ‘Did you hear about so-and-so being denied a visa, even after a third attempt?’ And it’s hard, when those denials start to affect their lives, their dreams. But no matter where we come from; whether international or domestic, we all share a common goal: to make the most of the opportunities this land offers. And it’s not just about those coming from abroad. There are stories right here, on campuses across the country, where students are still struggling to access those opportunities. The difference often comes down to the tools we have to harness those chances. As your President and Vice President, we set out with a clear goal—to equip our peers with the right tools. 

Innovation has always been at the core of what makes this country great. It's the reason America led the way in inventing the internet and so many other groundbreaking technologies. And today, that race for innovation is more intense than ever. This spirit of innovation is ingrained in Augustana's identity. Horizon 2019, Viking Vold 2030 – all of these strategic plans are the results of keeping innovation as a priority. While podcasting had just begun to get popular but was still an underrated platform, our university started a podcast in 2019 itself because our outlook has always been forward and we believe in the potential of embracing emerging technologies. Last year as we  started the Media Revamp Initiative to revamp the transparency in ASA while embracing different digital media solutions. After a year of experimentation and success, today we have officially launched ASA Media, a team of five passionate individuals dedicated to sharing what’s happening in ASA. The goal is to make our communication more relatable and transparent, breaking down the technical jargon we often use, so that all students, especially those less familiar with our processes can easily understand and stay informed.  And I have some people to recognize here. If we have gone to Augustana Student Association Youtube channel and seen the podcasts hosted by Lydia and formerly Domanic, and I think now Maggie is taking over soon, but this is an example of how new media solutions inform our wider student body. And I want to recognize Eli Fogel, who is here this night with us - he has been helping in editing this podcast, and I want to thank you, Eli for your contribution!  [Applauds]

Students here don’t only come to study but actually be prepared for a rapidly evolving world where adaptability and creativity are key. At Augustana, we enter to learn, and leave to serve. And it is our belief that actual learning happens when it is applied. In our efforts to harness the technologies of tomorrow, we launched STEM and Emerging Technologies Research Fellowship, a program that allows STEM students to pursue their research interests in sciences. Five of our fellows will be conducting their research spanning from environment, AI, medicine, to automation.   

What makes Augustana truly exceptional is the diversity of thought and the boundless creativity of its students. That creativity is a gift, especially when channeled into the passion for strengthening our community. For too long, the ideas that shape our campus have been confined within the walls of our senate chamber. But passion? Passion lives everywhere. It thrives in classrooms, residence halls, and late-night conversations among friends. Yet, far too often, when students have bold ideas to enhance our campus, they find themselves held back—not by a lack of vision, but by a lack of resources. Our administration announced Viking Ventures, a seed funding opportunity, for students to pitch ideas on their passion to improve any areas of campus life. And we are proud to award this grant to Rachel Johnson for pursuing a project to enhance habitat for the mutual flourishing of the Augustana community and nature through the riparian of the Viking Oasis. She has spent over a semester conducting her research with guidance from Dr. Julie Loveland Swanstrom and we thank you, Rachel, for your passion towards our community. 

Last year, we announced modernizing our election system to make it more efficient and user-friendly. Have we ever voted in the ASA elections? Now, if you say "yes", then our trunout numbers do not really reflect the number of students we have here on our campus, and if you say no then that's disappointin to us [Laughs]. But we understand that this is because our current platform Viking Central, is not so reflective of the time that we are in. I would not say it is outdated but it definitely is not so reflective and efficient. As a college campus, we are not immune to the trends happening in the market. Many of our students are pursuing careers in software engineering, yet the market here, particularly in Sioux Falls, is saturated with limited opportunities. In light of this, we made a deliberate choice: instead of outsourcing this project to a company that could have cost us over $20,000 from our student activity fees, we decided to involve our own students. Through the Election Infrastructure Reform Program, a paid fellowship this semester, students are gaining hands-on experience while contributing to the campus community. This initiative not only addresses market volatility but also provides opportunities for students to earn money, gain experience, and contribute to campus development.

Our next goal is sustainability. There has never been a more important time to take action and uphold the responsibility towards the environment that we live in. And I think saying that climate change is real is less controversial as we just had about 3 snowy days this January. There will be a day when some of us from this room will go on to discover effective technology to address the climate crisis but here’s the thing -  Martin Luther once said, “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” Taking steps regardless of capacity today itself is crucial instead of awaiting the future. This is why our administration has announced the Green Certification Program. This program will assess the sustainability practices that organizations adopt in their events and reward them with fiscal incentives based on their commitment to environmental responsibility. However, while we ensure that the administration’s agenda is being pursued and campaign promises are being fulfilled, we do not believe in imposing anything on our organizations and overwhelming them with burdensome rules. That is why this is a voluntary program giving flexibility to those who chose to participate without unnecessary constraints. 

Sustainability, however, is not only about the environment. It is also about finances. ASA monies come out of student activity fee dollars that all students on campus irrespective of any status pay. And it is the most important duty of ours to ensure that these monies go towards serving the purpose and aspirations of all students. Our approach has been clear: while we are fully committed to making sure that we help our organizations, departments and individual students achieve their full potential, we also ensure to remain in the context of what’s happening with our peer institutions, and not one group or department is heavily prioritized and others are overlooked. 

Last year’s administration acquired a heavy deficit from the previous year, and we all saw how the spending had to be significantly reduced in multiple areas, all of which directly had an impact on the student life on campus. This year we had to further take some bold steps. We restructured our transportation program in multiple phases with the intention to invest in a larger segment of our student body and not just on a few. We also repealed the solar panels project and invested that same money in students. And as we continue to address various financial needs with groups and stakeholders coming up to ASA with innovative ideas to enhance campus life, experience has taught us that a strong fiscal position today is not a guarantee of the same in the future. We have understood it as our responsibility to ensure that future administrations and the student body at Augustana do not have to face similar challenges as we did last year, which is why we have introduced a reserve fund that provides more flexibility for future fiscal priorities. But this does not mean that the allocations and fundings locked in our by-laws are permanent or set in stone. It should come as no surprise that when I say that to add a dollar, we need to cut a dollar from somewhere else. Our governing documents are all dynamic and we believe in a responsive and adaptive government. And to that note, in the coming days, we will review these set allocations in order to make it more reflective of time and demands of the student body. 

These past months have been a journey of progress and forward vision. In September, I had the privilege of representing our university at the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities, where I joined representatives from 28 other sister institutions. We shared the challenges and initiatives that our student bodies are addressing. And it was so inspiring to see how far we've come, as the issues we were grappling with five years ago are now the very challenges they are facing today. When we presented the accomplishments and strides made by our student body,  the response was one of awe. Next year, whoever follows will have an even greater list of achievements to share, leaving them equally inspired and amazed.

Augustana’s journey has been one of dreamers and persistence. When the Vikings sailed from distant shores, they brought with them not just resilience but a vision—to build a community rooted in strength, unity, and opportunity. Though they could not have known the many moves we would make or how we would come to be known as the “college on wheels,” they set a course that would endure. In 1862, during the Civil War, the university faced a major challenge—recruitment and fundraising were at a standstill. But President Rev. Lars Esbjorn, the first President of Augustana, refused to give up. He traveled to Sweden to raise the funds needed to continue the mission. Despite the hardships, the values of service, persistence, and divine blessing have remained constant. And not only hardships, our rich history also comprises major events in the world.  Last month, as a part of my service towards our great state, I was at the tourism conference, and there a lady came up to me and asked if I was from SDSU, I said, no, I’m from Augustana (the better one!). After hearing that, she immediately pulled out her phone and showed me a screenshot with an old archive about a ski hill at Augustana College being used for ski jumping during the 1932 U.S. Olympic trials. This was at the time when we used to be in Canton, SD, and she was from there too. And this little nugget of history had her absolutely thrilled. It’s really cool how our history and heritage spark pride to so many across the state—even SDSU grads, believe it or not! We've been part of some pretty big national moments, and in our own way, we're all carrying that legacy forward.

Today, I stand in tribute to those leaders, past and present, whose courage and determination have shaped this university and whose legacy continues to guide us. Over the last three years, I have been blessed to serve you in different capacities. Augustana is more than just a place; it is a community, a home, and a guiding light for the future. And for that, I am forever grateful.

I thank you all, and may god bless you!

Read the President's address here. 

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