Flood 101: The Campus Impact

The Sheyenne River in Valley City is forecast to reach 18.5 feet on Monday afternoon according to the Valley City Times-Record. According to the Fargo-Moorhead Forum this would put Valley City at an alarming 3.5 feet higher than flood stage. Valley City native Aaron Heck shares his cloudy memory about flooding throughout his years in the valley.  “The odd thing is that I don’t remember Valley City flooding as I was growing up. In 1997 I had to leave town and go to my grandparents, but that’s all I remember,” said Heck. Valley City is more prepared than the previous years of 1997 and 2009 partially because of the crucial relationship with the VCSU campus. The campus has made an impact!

Notable volunteerism from Valley City State has made a significant difference. According to an email from President Steven Shirley, VCSU classes were cancelled on Thursday, April, 7 to contribute to the flood efforts. “The entire student body and campus faculty and staff were encouraged to begin the sandbagging process April 1st. Since then, the call for help from the campus of VCSU has been ongoing. Within a time span of two days the number of sandbags went from 30,000 to 150,000 and VCSU has been a consistent fighter,” said Joy Smith.

The Valley City State Vikings have been doing a considerable amount of work to help the community and should be commended. Matt Karlgaard of Facility Services said, “Student involvement is key in situations such as a flood. Students not only provide the manpower needed for constructing dikes, but also create a personal connection between the school and the community.” Among extracurricular activities, sporting teams, paperwork and schoolwork the VCSU population has made a difference.

One particular Valley City State student spent an entire spring break volunteering and continued to volunteer upon his return. Ian Keller, VCSU football player, explained that he volunteered from place to place throughout his break and learned a valuable, but simple lesson. The more people who volunteered directly related to the amount of time it took to finish a project. “With a big number of the football players and other students we were able to protect a house in just a couple of hours. Who knows with just a couple of people how long it would have taken,” said Keller.

 To volunteer by definition is to perform or offer to perform a service of one's own free will according to the online Free Dictionary. The Valley City State campus has offered and performed its service of free will throughout the start of April and will continue to do so. “I didn’t want to leave campus because of the flood so whatever I could do to help I was going to try make time,” said Garret Anderson, Improv Club President. It is important to note that just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your property according to the National Flood Insurance Website. The campus and the community have and are currently working on keeping even an inch of water out. Come out and support the 2011 flood fight; it isn’t over yet!