Hotline 3.22.21

Brown to give artist talk on March 31

Gratia Brown, assistant professor of art, will give an artist talk on March 31 at 11 a.m. The event will be livestreamed on VCSU’s YouTube channel.

Gratia loves to make things, break things, and create pieces that celebrate fragments and debris’s poetic nature. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art & Architecture and Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Valley City State University (N.D.), where she teaches ceramics, sculpture, art methods, and art history. She will participate in the Studio Paducah artist residency program in the summer of 2021.

van Gijssel participates in Pfizer vaccine clinical trial

Hilde van Gijssel, Ph.D., professor of science, was part of the Pfizer vaccine clinical trial. She was one of 43,998 people the company needed to participate to get enough data for emergency approval. Participants were recruited in over 10 different countries and there were around 147 testing companies in the US that participated in the study. Her clinical trials took place at Lillestol Research in Fargo.

In order to get the right data and to determine effectiveness, they need to compare people that receive the vaccine with people that get a placebo (an injection of salt solution). In this case, 21,999 volunteers received the placebo and 21,999 received the vaccine. This study is a so-called double-blind study which means both participants and evaluators do not know if the volunteers received the placebo or the vaccine. This is to make sure that the effect is due to the vaccine and not because people change behavior because they think they received one or the other.

van Gijssel signed up in Aug. 2020 and was asked to join in early Oct. She received two shots: the first on Oct. 22 and the second on Nov. 12. They then take blood at 1 month, 6 months and 1 and 2 years to see how her immune system is responding. She must also record symptoms for Covid-19 once a week. Some of her data was included in the emergency approval request for the FDA. At the time of the injections, she did not know what she received but she was unblinded in January and found out that she did receive the vaccine as part of the study. Those who received the placebo can opt to be added to the vaccine arm of the trial once their priority group is up or at their 6 month visit.

Additional COVID-19 testing event this week

Free COVID-19 testing events for the VCSU and Valley City communities will be held this week from 1-2 p.m. at the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse, “The Bubble”. Rapid and conventional testing will be offered at each event on March 22 and March 26.

An additional testing event will take place for VCSU students, faculty and staff only on March 23 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. This will be rapid testing only and preregistration is required at the NDDOH site.

Care19 Alert App

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.

Find more information or download the app here.

Coronavirus Update

Stay informed about campus coronavirus information with the following resources. Click each link to learn more.

• VCSU Coronavirus information
• COVID-19 Dashboard
• COVID-19: Campus Health & Safety Information
• Campus face covering policy
• Required Quarantine/Isolation Procedures for Employees

Vikings sports update

Softball
March 20: Doane University 5, VCSU 4; VCSU 1, Doane University 0
VCSU senior Emily Smith pitched a no-hitter in game two Saturday as VCSU split its softball doubleheader against Doane University. The Vikings are now 7-3 overall. 

Baseball
March 18: Mayville State 8, VCSU 3
March 20: VCSU 15, Dickinson State 7; Dickinson 8, VCSU 6
The Viking baseball team collected eight extra-base hits in game one Saturday, erupting for a season-high 15 runs in a victory against Dickinson. The Vikings are now 6-14 overall this season. 

Volleyball
March 17: Mayville State 3, VCSU 0
March 19: Presentation College 3, VCSU 0
The Viking volleyball team is now 4-17 overall and 3-9 in conference play. The Vikings wrap up the regular season with road games this week at Dickinson State and Dakota State. 

Upcoming Events
Dates and locations for softball/baseball subject to change as the teams monitor weather and field conditions.
March 23: Volleyball at Dickinson State, 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT
March 26: Baseball at Dakota State, 2/4:30 p.m.
March 26: Volleyball at Dakota State, 5 p.m.
March 27: Baseball at Dakota State, 12/2:30 p.m.
March 27: Softball at Dakota State, 1/3 p.m.
March 28: Softball at Dakota State, 1/3 p.m. 

What's happening at VCSU and around Valley City...

Monday, March 22
6:30 p.m. Valley City Lions regional meeting, Valley City Eagles Club

Tuesday, March 23
10 a.m. ND Ag Association meeting, Valley City Eagles Club
7 p.m. central time, Viking Volleyball @ Dickinson State, Dickinson, N.D.

Wednesday, March 24
10 a.m. VCBC public library virtual story hour spring flower crown craft on YouTube. Call 845-3821 for kit.

Thursday, March 25
8:30 a.m. Barnes County township meeting, Valley City Eagles Club

Friday, March 26
2 and 4:30 p.m. Viking baseball @ Dakota State, Madison, S.D.
5 p.m. Viking volleyball @ Dakota State, Madison, S.D.

Saturday, March 27
Passover begins at sundown
10 a.m. Spring Vendor Show, Valley City Eagles Club
noon and 2:30 p.m. Viking baseball @ Dakota State, Madison, S.D.
1 and 3 p.m. Viking softball @ Dakota State, Madison, S.D.

Sunday, March 28
Palm Sunday
1 and 3 p.m. Viking softball @ Dakota State, Madison, S.D.

Wednesday, March 31
10 a.m. VCBC Public Library story hour with Reada Reddy on Facebook. Call 845-3821 for kit.

Thursday, April 1
April Fools’ Day

Friday, April 2
Good Friday

Sunday, April 4
Easter Sunday

Go to www.valleycitynd.org/calendar.php to see more events happening in and around Valley City.