By Margeret Dahlberg
Vice president of academic affairs

We are certainly pleased with the enrollment growth at VCSU this past year; many people have been working very hard to bring more students to campus and keep them engaged and successful.  One of the questions which we have to ponder now, of course, is which of our efforts were most effective, and which we should therefore continue to emphasize.
The billboards described in Steve Browne’s article last week (“Billboard Boom“, Feb. 11, 2010) are probably our most visible student recruitment effort; like other universities in the region, we are also seeking new students at college fairs, visiting high schools, sending out flyers, improving our web presence, developing and strengthening programs to meet new student and employer needs, and identifying new ways to contact the electronically-savvy students of this new, digital age.
Beyond these efforts, the comments of the students themselves in Browne’s article point to important ways all of us share in recruiting and retaining students at VCSU:
We provide a safe and responsive community.  The importance of the Valley City community on a student’s college choice cannot be understated—our students appreciate the safe, smaller town environment Valley City offers.  As Damchaa Batchuluun says, “I read it was one of the safest places in America…,” while Jenna Kolb appreciates the size of the community and its access to the Fargo area.  Recently some Valley City community leaders have met with the VCSU Student Senate to discuss ways the community can enhance students’ experiences; any efforts in that direction that provide on-campus students with evening and weekend activities will certainly play a role in improving retention and recruitment.
We offer a welcoming, friendly environment.  Hannah Zimmerman points out what we have heard from many students, “People are friendly and willing to talk to you [at VCSU].”  At a university our size, every student is important; every student has a name.  Our classes are comfortably-sized so every student can interact with his/her professor, and we prioritize and reward good teaching on our campus.  We boast a talented, caring faculty and strong student services and activities.
Finally, we offer programs that respond to the needs and interests of students and employers.  Sasha Miller points out that VCSU’s programs are another good recruiting tool:  “[VCSU is] known for teaching, and I want to be a teacher.” 
We are continually assessing and improving programs to be certain our students have access to the most up-to-date materials, technologies, and opportunities.  Our students who are interested in research may work directly with a university professor and then present their findings in a regional or national conference.  Our business students use Enterprise Software (including Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle) in their courses, so they graduate with hands-on experience.  Our education programs have received significant grant funding this year that will help ensure that our students have more classroom experience before they begin teaching and support from mentors to make certain their first year of teaching is a success.
Billboards and a good website may raise our visibility, but clearly recruitment and retention require the efforts of everyone—faculty, staff, other students, and the Valley City Community.  Together, we all make the difference for VCSU.

Dean Koppelman
Superintedent of Valley City schools

As I write this article our winter athletic teams are entering district and regional tournament play.  I would like to wish our students and coaches the best as we strive to reach our goals of advancing as far as we can in competition, hopefully to the state level.  The students involved in these activities have sure provided us some very enjoyable, exciting entertainment this winter.  
I hope many of you were able to attend the Cafe’ Concert.  All of our students involved in this concert (and there were many!) did a fantastic job.  I do believe we have a number of students who should consider entering the American Idol competition!  
I would also like to extend a huge thank you to our music instructors/advisors for the wonderful work they did in preparing our students for this concert.  Our Music Booster organization is also very important to our school district and I would like to thank them for their efforts in helping to put on a production of this magnitude.  
As we start to think about spring, I would like to wish our students and coaches/advisers of our spring activities the very best.  Let’s hope Mother Nature cooperates this spring in order for our activities to take place as scheduled.  I would ask that you attend as many of our spring activities as you can to support our students, coaches/advisers.
As a result of the recent vote to amend the North Dakota High School Activities Association By-Laws, we have officially been placed into the East Region of Class A for all of our activities as of July 1st.  Mr. Cruchet is hard at work now trying to schedule games for various activities.  We are not certain at this point what those schedules will exactly look like and who we will be competing with, but once Mr. Cruchet has these things finalized, I’m certain he will send some information out on this.  
I would like you to know that we are continuing to meet with other schools from across our state on developing a plan/s that would call for the possible restructuring of several activities, in particular the sports of basketball and volleyball.  I believe very strongly in trying to bring about this change and I will plan to see this through to the end of the process.  I view this as a change that would benefit our students and many other students across our state.
With having to make-up a day of school on President’s Day, I thought a friendly reminder would be in order to mention the dates for our remaining storm make-up days.  Friday, March 5, Friday, March 19, Monday, April 5, and Friday, May 28 are the remaining storm make-up days.  If we were to miss further days of school, these dates would be used to make-up the time and we would use those days in the order indicated.    
Once again, I would like to thank all of you for the support you give to our school district.  I look forward to working with you to make our school district and community “the best that we can be.”
 

By Lloyd Omdahl
Columnist

Now that the public is riled up about big government, the climate is right for the Tea Partiers to start a crusade to abolish half the elected state officials.
North Dakota leads the nation in elected officials, with South Carolina the only state coming close. Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana elect only half as many officials and democracy still prospers.
North Dakota has so many elected officials that  we have divided them into two contingents for election purposes, with some assigned to run in presidential years and some in nonpresidential years. In the upcoming November election, we will be filling the offices of secretary of state, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, tax commissioner and a public service commissioner.
In 2012, we will be electing the governor-lieutenant governor team, state auditor, state treasurer, commissioner of insurance and a public service commissioner.
The argument made for dividing the officials between two elections is also the best argument for eliminating half of them. With such a large cadre of politicians competing for public visibility, it was argued that it was impossible for the voters to become acquainted with the candidates.
It is true that the average citizen doesn’t even know the names of the elected officials, let alone their qualifications or performance.
The majority of these offices could be better filled by thoughtful gubernatorial appointment since they are purely administrative positions with very limited policymaking authority. Of course, there is opposition to this idea.
Whenever the abolition of  elective offices is suggested, all officials – Republicans and Democrats alike – vehemently insist that the government would collapse without their positions being elective.
At the top of the list of offices for abolition should be the state treasurer. The public spotlight shifted to this office recently when the treasurer erroneously advised the Office of Management and Budget that $12 million had been transferred to the general fund. On the basis of this advice, OMB cleared the way for releasing $8.8 million for the library at Dickinson State University contrary to state law. Because the treasurer is elected, there will be no accountability for this blunder.
While such an error by itself would not warrant abolition of the position, it does resurrect the question of whether the state needs a treasurer when it has the Bank of North Dakota and other agencies available to handle the duties of the treasurer.
It also raises the question of accountability for all of the elected officials. (I have had my own kingdom as tax commissioner so I know whereof I speak.)
The abolition of state officials is not going to end up saving barrels of money. Work will still need to be done. However, fewer elected officials would result in more efficient staffing, greater accountability and better coordination. The existence of these semi-autonomous empires results in a waste of thousands of employee hours with coordinating meetings to keep everyone on the same page.
Shaking our fists at public meetings over the size of the national government may be more exciting than taking on realistic reform right here in North Dakota, but the odds of achieving something are much better here than in Washington.

You’re not one of us.
That’s the message small towns can and do send to new residents. And for some who have relocated, “new” is defined as even a few years of living in a place.
Small-town locals can make life hell on newcomers. Sometimes by means of mere ostracism, sometimes by outright rudeness, and sometimes by just not trying. (“The path to hell is paved with good intentions.”) In smaller communities, where everyone who was born there knows everyone who was born there, implants frequently find themselves without a social network or so much as a chance to build one.
It’s a downside of rural living – for everyone.
The newbies often find themselves alone. And the lifers are perceived as good ol’ boys and gals, in every pernicious sense of the term. In some cases, the message of exclusion leads to plain prejudice. Even acts of hatred, sometimes from both sides. It can become a vicious cycle of illogical behavior.
It is true that tight-knit communities, by their nature, help maintain safety. Potentially dangerous rolling stones have less time to tear up a small city’s streets before they are recognized and called out. Atypical happenings are more salient than in larger cities, where they’re often taken as a part of life.
But a surfeit of safety should not be used to justify exclusion. Many residents in small communities could do more to be more welcoming. This is about basic decency, if not about economic prosperity or survival of a small town.
You could point to dozens of North Dakota communities where, if cliques don’t rule, they certainly have a strong grip. That includes, yes ladies and gentlemen, right here in Valley City.
We won’t name names, but an attitude that prevails among some here is the same one that a Florida family found when they moved to Hazelton, in south-central North Dakota, four years ago. The Associated Press reported on the family this week.
Some folks in Hazelton thought 42-year-old Michael Tristani was a drug dealer because he wore gold necklaces and a Rolex and drove a Lexus, the AP reports. When the family opened a bistro, the owner of an established Hazelton coffee shop purportedly drove by their house yelling obscenities and threats. What a shame.
“People prejudge you without getting to know you,” said Michael’s wife, Jeanette.
Added Michael: “No one really wants new people here.”
Now, there is a big difference between Hazelton, population 240, and Valley City, population 7,000.
And surely, not everyone here makes it hard for newcomers. Indeed, there are those wonderful people in Valley City who go out of their way, above and beyond, to bring new people into their friendship fold. And they do so consistently.
If only more people acted that way.
It may be that there are deeper questions here than established practices. Questions of culture, race, religion, ethnicity and background. What makes us see our differences more than our similarities?
Still, it sure seems as though small towns could be more welcoming.

– Lee Morris for the Times-Record