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President's Desk

President’s Column: Beat the winter doldrums with campus events

Feb 4, 2025

VCSU basketball player Ellie Braaten runs through a line of teammates during starting lineup announcements.

By VCSU President Alan LaFave

Greetings from Valley City State University!

As we enter the month of February, you may wonder how to battle the “winter blues.” Even though the weather outside is colder than desired, there are plenty of opportunities on the VCSU campus to help beat the traditional winter “doldrums” of February. These include some exciting athletic contests, art and music events, and other special community events. I’d like to draw your attention to just a few of these.

Come out to The Bubble on February 7-8 for the last women’s and men’s basketball home doubleheaders of the regular season. Friday brings rival University of Jamestown back to the Bubble while Saturday will feature another doubleheader with Dickinson State University.

The Bubble is also home to the Class B District 1 High School Girls Basketball Tournament, which runs Feb. 14, 15 and 17. This postseason tournament features eight area high school teams vying to advance to the Region 1 Tournament.

Sunday, February 9, brings guest artist Eric Lemmon to the VCSU Art Gallery as he presents a performance of his work “Reticulations” with percussion duo low pass (featuring VCSU music faculty member Taylor Long.) This free event is one night only and will be held at 7 p.m. in the Art Gallery at the Larry J. Robinson Center for the Arts.

On Tuesday, February 11, the EDC ensemble music contest will be held all day on campus. This event will bring hundreds of high school musicians to campus to perform for adjudicators and receive a rating on their performance.

Just two days later, on Thursday, February 13, VCSU will host a guest piano recital by visiting artist Helber Fernandes Ribeiro. The show is free and open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. inside the LJR Center for the Arts Performance Hall.

This flurry of upcoming events represents only two weeks of activity in February. Between the events hosted by VCSU, Valley City Public Schools and other community groups, you’ll be sure to find something that captures your interests. Be sure to check out the VCSU calendar and the Valley City community calendar to stay abreast of current events.

Other recent events we’ve hosted on campus include the 3rd annual Marketplace for Kids which brought over 400 students to campus. This was a day filled with exciting sessions featuring projects, experiments and presentations from area professionals representing numerous careers and industries. VCSU hosts one of the several educational days across the state by the Marketplace for Kids organization, which promotes entrepreneurship and career awareness among 3rd-8th graders.

This past week the VCSU Department of Business and DECA hosted almost 600 high school DECA and FBLA students for the annual Emerging Leaders Competition. This is an outstanding opportunity for business and leadership focused high school students to participate in a variety of skills competitions throughout the day.

Wishing you all an enjoyable month ahead, and we look forward to welcoming and greeting you at campus events in the future.

Go Vikings!