COLLEGIATETIMES Who would you play for?
THURSDAY
www.collegiatetimes.com
November 16, 2006
After Election Day, party signs are an eyesore OLGA MARTIN CT Staff Writer
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News Notes Roanoke Airport warns of busy travel times Roanoke Regional Airport has released a holiday air travel advisory for their busiest days this year, Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18, and again for November 25, 26 and 27. Air travel during the holidays is expected to reach a record high this year. Almost all of the available departing seats are sold out for this Friday. Roanoke Regional Airport recommends everyone who has a flight scheduled for this Friday to arrive two hours before takeoff time. Airlines are expecting long lines at the ticket counters. New rules regarding liquids and gels in carry on bags have been set by the Transportation Security Administration. Only three 3ounce containers of liquids or gels (such as shampoo or lotion) are allowed in carry-on bags and they must be in one 1-quart sized Ziploc bag. More information is available on the TSA website.
Tech signs new pole vaulter The men’s track and field team welcomed its newest member on Wednesday, pole vaulter Hunter Hall. The senior at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., signed his National Letter of Intent to Virginia Tech. Hall is a two-time high school All-American and is ranked as the No. 4 pole vaulter in the nation. He also holds several Indiana State Championships and has set multiple records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault.
Students get new ticket for basketball games The Virginia Tech Athletic Department has announced a new system for Tech fans who don’t have tickets to Hokies’ basketball games. A ticket exchange feature has been added to hokietickets.com and can be reached at www.hokietickets.com/exchange. The feature will allow ticketholders to sell their unused tickets for no more than face value to persons who will be able to attend the games. The feature will be available for select games for both men’s and women’s basketball.
Steger announces conflict resolution program at Tech President Charles Steger announced in a campus-wide e-mail yesterday the implementation of a new conflict resolution program at Virginia Tech. The program, coordinated by the Office for Equal Opportunity, will offer mediation services and conflict resolution presentations to faculty, staff and students. Mediation will be available on campus as well as other sites by trained members of the Tech community to help resolve university-related issues. The program was designed in collaboration with the Department of Human Resources, the Office of the Provost, the Faculty Reconciliation Committee, the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. More information is available from the Office of Equal Opportunity at (540) 231-7500 or at their website, www.oeo.vt.edu.
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WEATHER
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An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 104th Year, No. 51 Blacksburg, Va. November 16, 2006
Every year, thousands of yard signs cover highway medians, front lawns and just about every piece of land a stake can be driven into. This form of advertising costs a large sum of money to the candidates, but after the elections, it can cause a great deal of headaches to the residents who see the signs as trash on the side of the road. Approximately 20 million campaign signs are used across the United States each year. A typical candidate will buy anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 signs. Most of those are not removed until weeks after the elections are over. County and state officials in nine states have imposed restrictions on the location of the signs and the appropriate time to take them down. However, local elections are much smaller in scale. “We put up approximately 100 large signs and 500 yard signs,” said losing Democrat Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate Dennis Nagel. “We spend anywhere from three to four thousand dollars on signs.” The Town of Blacksburg has specific regulations for the signs. “Political signs are considered temporary signs. They can cover 32 square feet per lot,” said zoning inspector Lisa Browning. “They can’t be in the public right of way, but they can be on private or commercial property.” Some states, like Delaware, fine a candidate 25 dollars for each sign that is not removed after 30 days. In New York City, political signs are banned from all public property. The penalties are not as severe in Blacksburg. “If the signs are violating the regulations, the sign is removed and confiscated. If the sign is replaced, the property owner gets a zoning violation,” Browning said.
MICHAEL BERGER/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Jim Webb supporters rally on election night by raising signs into the air. The signs have certain regulations in Blacksburg and are coming down since the election is over. The local candidates have done their part in cleaning up the signs post-election. Blacksburg is just about free of any campaign signs. “I try to get them down as soon as I can. Every night since the election I have been taking down signs. The large ones are more time consuming, but I still try to get them down as soon as possible,” Finch said. “I do quite a bit of it on my own in the evening.” “The Democratic party made arrangements to begin picking up the signs the
day after the election. Win or lose,” Nagel said. For some politicians, these signs serve a valuable purpose: name recognition. “Signs, in part, are vehicles for name recognition. They are not typically designed to convey a message or theme,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Bradley Finch. “Other types of advertising are more persuasive because you deliver a message that you cannot deliver through signs.” Although messages cannot be deliv-
ered, an effect is made with simple name recognition, he said. “The best example of the impact of signs is before Jim Webb was considered a legitimate contender, an organization called Democracy Prevails obtained signs for him and put them up around Montgomery County. Webb followed that up by making two visits to Montgomery County and he ended up with the highest percentage of votes in any county in Virginia during the Democratic Primary,” Nagel said.
Hokie football parking: an unusual fundrasing resource ANA FONTES CT Staff Writer
Harding (E) $5 per vehicle
Blacksburg (HS) $5 per vehicle
Blacksburg (MS) $10 per vehicle
Gilbert Linkous (E) $5 per vehicle
Old Blacksburg (MS) $5 per vehicle
Margaret Beeks (E) $5 per vehicle
Where to park for games? ALLISON JARNAGIN
Some of you may remember selling overpriced items from a catalog to family and friends to raise money for your elementary or middle school, but students of the Montgomery County public schools have a different resource at hand: gameday parking. Parent-teacher groups and other associations in the surrounding area lobby for the use of public school parking lots to raise extra money for school supplies and equipment while providing convenient parking for Hokie fans. “About five years ago, Virginia Tech expanded the south end of the stadium, adding thousands of seats but no extra parking, so they partnered with the town and the school system to come up with additional parking to compensate for the growth of the stadium,” said Dan Berenato, facilities manager for the Montgomery County school system. All Montgomery County public schools and school associations are invited to participate in this project. “The county schools have a lottery system,” said Gwen Godfrey, PTA president for Gilbert Linkous Elementary, “any school who wants a chance to participate can put their name in a hat.” This system ensures that all schools have equal opportu-
nity to tap into a lucrative resource. “A small school like Ellison Lafayette Elementary, for example, that is in a less affluent community, can come use the new Blacksburg Middle School lot and make a couple thousand dollars in a day,” Berenato said. If a school is selected, they are responsible for finding volunteers, usually parents or high school students, who are willing to work the parking lot, doing things like showing drivers where to go and collecting money. “That’s always hard because a lot of the parents do go to the games,” Godfrey said. Six school parking lots are available for use, but the Blacksburg Middle School is most popular because of its prime location and number of available parking spots. It is also conveniently served by a free game-day shuttle. Because of its accessibility, the price for that lot went up from $5 to $10 this year, while the other five schools available for use stayed at $5. During each game, a school can make $1,800-$2,000 at the middle school and $500-$1,000 at other lots. “It depends on the caliber of the team that Tech is playing, too. If it’s a game people want to come out and watch, then we can make a good sum of money,” Godfrey said. All types of Hokie fans use the public school parking lots, from visitors to local residents. Directors of this program are currently looking to increase marketing and promotion so that the parking lots can be filled. “I just wish people knew how far reaching this program is. Local residents love it because they can put their donation in, have a direct route to the game and know that the money is going right back into the local schools,” said Kim Kirk, neighborhood services coordinator for the Town of Blacksburg. “This is a wonderful tool, and we’re really thankful to all the school groups who have been so helpful in this, especially school principals.” Blacksburg is fully supportive of the program, providing permits and policies to keep the streets safe and traffic flowing, Kirk said. “It’s a win-win-win situation,” Berenato said, referring to the cooperation among Tech, the Town of Blacksburg and the Montgomery County school system. “The school associations get extra funding for their programs, Hokie fans are satisfied and traffic is controlled. We’re thrilled to be able to use this resource.”
Students discuss campus issues and concerns in check-up forum KATHERINE LEONBERGER CT Staff Writer To provide a forum for students, staff and faculty to discuss issues of tolerance and the campus’ current atmosphere, the Campus Climate Check-Up was held last night in Squires Commonwealth Ballroom. “This program is a worthwhile opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to get together and discuss these issues,” said Steve Burrell, assistant director of Student Activities. “For some people, this is the first time they’re hearing about these concerns.” The program began with a welcoming speech from Ray Williams, the Director of Multicultural Services and Programs. “We try to provide this type of forum at least once a year,” Williams said. “It began in 2000 as a way for the staff to interact with students and hear any of their concerns about issues that may be affecting campus life.” Williams announced that this year’s Campus Climate Check-Up was to be different from those in previous years. “There was one thing missing from past Campus Climate events, and that was a team with direct student involvement,” Williams said. “We now have student representation on the Campus Climate planning team. As a result, they have designed the program that you will see this evening.” An icebreaker activity was then initiated so that the participants could become more comfortable with one another. Participants were divided into tables with faculty/ staff members and students. Everyone was asked to reflect on a brochure that read “perpetrator,” “bystander,” “victim” and “healer.” The tables were then opened up for discussion of these roles. After the icebreaker activity, Mike Taczak, the Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs for the Student Government Association and the head of the student planning association for the Campus Climate team, announced the procedure for the small group discussions.
SPPS
Students and faculty discuss Campus Climate issues in Commonwealth Ballroom last night. As the members of the planning committee read a series of controversial questions aloud, participants were asked to raise a green sign signifying that they agreed with the statement or a red sign to show their disagreement. Faculty and students at each table were then divided to discuss their opinions separately. Finally, each table came together for discussion, and a representative held up a sign to show the majority opinion of the table. At the end of the small group exercise, Taczak made one final request. “Please put up the green sign if you were in the minority for any of these questions,” Taczak asked the participants. Examining the room full of green signs, Taczak announced: “That would be the majority of you.” “There are two purposes for this activity,” Taczak said. “The first is to emphasize the differences in opinion between faculty and students. The second is to show how minority opinions are often pushed to the side. This exercise will show you which of your opinions you must fight
for once you leave this room.” Williams closed with a final note about tolerance on campus. “Campus climate is not something the administration controls. It is in each one of us as we go about our day-today lives. This dialogue is the first step in making us more comfortable talking about how we each see the world differently,” he said. During the final 10 minutes of the program, the floor was opened for any participants who wanted to raise concerns or comments regarding the evening’s discussions. Participants were optimistic about the change that the Campus Climate Check-Up will initiate. “I came to this event last fall and last spring,” said Annamarie Ammen, a sophomore English major at Tech. “It interests me to see how campus climate progresses over time, and how tolerance and understanding grows. I think that the awareness of these issues has definitely improved since last year, and awareness is the first step.”