Hotline 10.5.20
This week’s Hotline includes the following articles:
• COVID-19 testing to be held today at Winter Show
• District 24 Candidate Forum and Measures Discussion to be held Oct. 6 in Vangstad
• Battle of Badges Blood Drive to be held Oct. 13-14
• Flu shot clinics for students and employees to be held Oct. 15 and 22
• VCSU trio presents computational physics research paper
• Baughman paper on social media and anxiety published
• Brown’s ceramic work featured in national exhibitions
• Free Care19 Alert app available
• Coronavirus update
• Viking sports update
• What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…
The VCSU Hotline online newsletter is published weekly during the academic year. Deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 3 p.m. Friday.
COVID-19 testing to be held today at Winter Show
A free COVID-19 testing event for the VCSU and Valley City communities will be held today, Monday, Oct. 5, from 4-5 p.m. at the North Dakota Winter Show.
Preregistration at testreg.nd.gov is encouraged; one only needs to register once.
District 24 Candidate Forum and Measures Discussion to be held Oct. 6 in Vangstad
A District 24 candidate forum and a discussion of the two measures that will be on the ballot will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in Vangstad Auditorium.
Ellen Chaffee, Ph.D., former president of VCSU, will speak briefly about the measures, sharing her position on Nos. 1 and 2 and her thoughts on why No. 3 is no longer on the ballot. Chaffee is a board member of the group that initiated Measure 3.
Following Chaffee’s presentation, the six legislative candidates for District 24 will then be invited to respond to her presentation and also briefly state why each is running. Audience members will then be able to submit written questions on any topic for candidate response.
The District 24 Democrat-NPL candidates are Senator Larry Robinson, Senate candidate, and Naomi Muscha and Bradley Edin, running for seats in the House of Representatives. The Republican candidates are Senate candidate Mike Wobbema and Representative Dwight Kiefert and Cole Christensen, running for House seats.
The event, sponsored by “What in the World Is Going On?,” will be moderated by Anthony Dutton, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Social Science Department.
VCSU health and safety protocols will be observed, including physical distancing and mandatory face coverings.
Battle of Badges Blood Drive to be held Oct. 13-14
The 4th annual Valley City Battle of the Badges Blood Drive will be held Tuesday and Wednesday Oct. 13-14 from 11:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Stoudt-Ross Ford showroom in Valley City.
Team Fire and Team Law are sponsoring the blood drive. At least 188 volunteers are needed to donate blood while showing their support for their favorite first responders in Valley City.
Phone Vitalant at 877-25-VITAL to make an appointment or register online at www.bloodhero.com using the code “valleycity.”
Flu shot clinics for students and employees to be held Oct. 15 and 22
City-County Health District will hold flu shot clinics in the VCSU Student Center on Thursday, Oct. 15, and Thursday Oct. 22. High-dose and conventional vaccine will be available for ages 6 months through adult. See the influenza vaccine info sheet (2020-21 influenza vaccine info) for more information.
The Oct. 15 event will be held in the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The Oct. 22 event will be held in the Student Center Presidents Room from 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Contact person
• Please preregister by emailing Betty Tykwinski (betty.j.tykwinski@vcsu.edu)
• Complete the VAR form (2020-21 flu var form) through the acknowledgment section and bring it, along with your insurance card, to the clinic
What to bring
• Insurance card required to receive immunization
Insurance info
• Medicare Part B recipients do not pay at time of clinic
• Billable insurance: BCBS, Sanford Health, Humana, Medica, Health Partners, Medicaid
• CCHD cannot accept United Healthcare insurance for immunizations
VCSU Health Services encourages everyone — faculty, staff, and students — to get their flu shot.
VCSU trio presents computational physics research paper
Matthew Lein, a 2020 VCSU software engineering graduate, and Rachel Blomquist, a VCSU mathematics education major, teamed with Professor David DeMuth in presenting their paper “Teaching Computation in Introductory Physics” at the Intermountain Engineering, Technology, and Computing Conference (IETC-2020), held virtually Oct. 2-3 and hosted by the College of Engineering and Technology at Utah Valley University (Orem, Utah).
Their paper has been published in the I-ETC 2020 Conference Proceedings and IEEE Xplore Digital Library. The paper can be viewed at bit.ly/ietc2020-lein.
Both Lein and Blomquist earned VCSU minors in physics which requires University Physics, a two-semester calculus-based physics course.
Their work studied the mechanics of two 9,000 kilogram Soyuz space capsules which drift together under the influence of gravity, a problem which was posed in their textbook. First an analytical solution was developed to derive the elapsed time for two 4.0 meter diameter capsules when separated by only 10 meters. To test the validity of their 7.6 hour estimate, a 3D computer model using the VPython programming language in a web-based GlowScript system was constructed.
In addition, the authors recast the problem into a more compelling “context-rich” version and emphasized the importance of collaboration in problem-solving, citing well-established physics education research initiated at the University of Minnesota in the early 1990s.
They hope that their paper will be regarded among high school teachers as a resource that includes a straightforward but cumbersome analytic solution, the complete VPython code, and a content-rich version of the Soyuz problem.
Baughman paper on social media and anxiety published
“Constantly Connected: The Effects of Personal and Anonymous Social Media on Levels of Anxiety,” a paper cowritten by Kiersten Baughman, Ph.D., associate professor of social science, has been published in Volume 13 of the Undergraduate Journal of Psychology at Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley).
The research paper explores the effects of social media on anxiety levels and compares the differences between
personal social media (social media where the identity of the user is known) and anonymous social
media (social media where the identity of the user is kept anonymous).
The piece can be found online beginning on p. 66 (p. 78 of the PDF) at ujpb.org/vol13/vol13.pdf.
Brown’s ceramic work featured in national exhibitions
Ceramic artwork by Gratia Brown, MFA, assistant professor of art, has been featured in two national exhibitions this year.
Brown’s work was part of the “Small Favors: Expanding the Field” exhibition held March 6 – Aug. 17 at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pa.
In the “Visions in Clay” exhibition held Sept. 3 – Oct. 9 at the L.H. Horton Jr. Gallery at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif., a piece by Brown was awarded second place among 56 works by 40 artists.
Free Care19 Alert app available
VCSU students and employees are strongly encouraged to download a free smartphone app, Care19 Alert, to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by notifying users of possible COVID-19 exposure while protecting their privacy with technology developed by Apple and Google.
Care19 Alert uses Bluetooth proximity technology provided by both Apple and Google notification systems. The app provides proactive alerts and notifications to users based on anonymous keys exchanged between smartphones as users go about their daily activities.
Care19 Alert users will be notified if their device was in proximity of another device whose user tests positive for COVID-19. The app updates daily with positive COVID-19 results submitted by other users, which are then checked against the list of random keys that each device has encountered for more than 15 minutes in the last 14 days.
People who use Care19 Alert must explicitly choose to turn on exposure notifications, and they can turn off the app at any time. The Apple-Google Notification System utilized by the app does not collect, use or store any device location, including for users who report positive results.
Users have the option to decide whether to report a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, and identities are not known to Apple, Google or other app users. The system is only used for exposure notifications by official public health authorities and is not monetized.
The free app is available to download through the App Store and the Google Play Store. For more information, visit ndresponse.gov/covid-19-resources/care19.
Coronavirus update
Campus coronavirus updates can be found at www.vcsu.edu/coronavirus-information. Here you can find updates with news of positives cases within the campus community, along with information regarding impact to campus activities and facilities.
A dashboard detailing COVID-19 isolations and close contacts can be found at www.vcsu.edu/coronavirus-information/covid-19-dashboard/. This information will be updated regularly as needed.
There is also a host of resources with detailed information for employees and students on OneStop at onestop.vcsu.edu/support/solutions/folders/10000082374.
A reminder that all students, staff, faculty, affiliates and campus visitors are required to wear face coverings when interacting with others on the VCSU campus. The VCSU Safe Operating Procedures regarding face coverings can be found at onestop.vcsu.edu/support/solutions/articles/10000052288.
Viking sports update
Volleyball
Sept. 30: Jamestown 3, VCSU 0
Oct. 2: VCSU 3, Waldorf University 1
Oct. 3: Viterbo 3, VCSU 0
The Viking volleyball team returned to action this week with three matches, going 1-2. VCSU’s victory was a four-set conference win against Waldorf University on Senior Night. The Vikings are now 3-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play this fall.
Cross Country
The Viking men won the team title and the VCSU cross country teams had the top individuals in both the men’s and women’s races Sept. 28 at the Dickinson State Invite. Viking freshman Jasmine Barnes won the women’s 5K with a career-best time of 19:11, and freshman Mason Wendt was the top collegiate runner in the men’s 8K — crossing the line with another career-best time of 26:54. All VCSU runners ran season-best times. Read more at www.vcsuvikings.com/article/3812”>http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/3812.
Baseball
Sept. 29: VCSU 9, Jamestown 4
Oct. 2: VCSU 3, Mayville State 0
Oct. 4: Jamestown 7, VCSU 1
VCSU baseball posted a 2-1 record during a busy week, which included a 9-4 win over Jamestown and a 3-0 shutout against Mayville. The Vikings are now 3-3 overall with three games remaining this fall.
Golf
VCSU junior Jocelyn Braunberger won medalist honors Sept. 28 at the M-State Triangular in Fergus Falls, Minn. Braunberger shot a career-best round of 82 to win the women’s tournament. On the men’s side, Rory Gentzkow and Jayden Ewoniuk tied for third place with rounds of 78. Viking golf will conclude its fall season with a dual Oct. 5 in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Upcoming Events
Oct. 5: Golf @ M-State Dual, 11 a.m. (Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
Oct. 7: Volleyball @ Mayville State, 7 p.m. (Mayville, N.D.)
Oct. 9: Cross Country @ Jimmie Invitational, 4 p.m. (Jamestown, N.D.)
Oct. 10: Volleyball @ Presentation College, noon (Aberdeen, S.D.)
Oct. 10: Football vs. Presentation College, 1 p.m.
Oct. 11: Volleyball @ Bellevue University, 2:30 p.m. (Bellevue, Neb.)
What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…
Monday, October 5
11 a.m.-noon, ”Voting: It’s Your Right,” presented by North Dakota Protection and Advocacy (to receive your Zoom or call-in information RSVP to 701-252-4693 or email bethd@freedomrc.org)
4-5 p.m., free COVID-19 testing for Valley City and VCSU communities, North Dakota Winter Show
Tuesday, October 6
7 p.m., District 24 Candidate Forum and Measures Discussion sponsored by “What in the World Is Going On?,” Vangstad Auditorium
Wednesday, October 7
7 p.m., Viking volleyball at Mayville State University, Mayville, N.D.
Thursday, October 8
Friday, October 9
Viking cross country at Jimmie Invitational, Jamestown, N.D.
Saturday, October 10
noon, Viking volleyball at Presentation College, Aberdeen, S.D.
1 p.m., Viking football vs. Presentation College, Lokken Stadium
Sunday, October 11
2:30 p.m., Viking volleyball at Bellevue College, Bellevue, Neb.
Monday, October 12
4-5 p.m., free COVID-19 testing for Valley City and VCSU communities, North Dakota Winter Show
Tuesday, October 13
11:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Valley City Battle of the Badges Blood Drive, Stoudt-Ross Ford showroom (Oct. 13-14)
7 p.m., Viking volleyball at Dickinson State University, Dickinson, N.D.
Wednesday, October 14
Thursday, October 15
Payday
Friday, October 16
7 p.m., Viking volleyball at Dakota State, Madison, S.D.
Saturday, October 17
1 p.m., Viking football at Waldorf University, Forest City, Iowa
1 p.m., Viking baseball at Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa (doubleheader)
Sunday, October 18
8-11 a.m., Faith Lutheran Church Men’s Club Breakfast, Faith Lutheran Church
noon, Viking baseball at Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa