COLLEGIATETIMES
thursday august 30, 2007 blacksburg, va.
www.collegiatetimes.com
features SPIN CITY
Fans asked to remember Hokies Respect
Rec Sports is hosting a bicycling bonanza today on the tennis courts. page three
sports BEAMER, PLAYERS TALK ABOUT FIRST GAME The Hokies are gearing up for their season-opener against the East Carolina University Pirates. page six
news CHO’S WRITINGS FORESHADOW SHOOTINGS A recently acknowledged play written by Seung-Hui Cho references a school rampage similar to that of April 16. page two
bulletin board CONCERT ON HENDERSON LAWN Tonight at 6:30 Virginia Coalition will play on Henderson Lawn during the class of 2009 kick off concert and pep rally. The event will also feature free food and drinks as well as give-aways and prizes. The event is organized by the class of 2009 and Student Alumni Associates.
corrections In Wednesday’s article “Ring celebration kicks off with concert” Laura Prangley is a member of the Student Alumni Associates, not the Student Alumni Association. In that same article, ring gift certificates will not be given out for the best coach foster impersonator. They will only be raffled off. In Tuesday’s paper, Virginia Tech place kicker, Jud Dunlevy’s name was spelled incorrectly. The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
weather ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS high 89, low 65
coming up TOMORROW’S CT Governor Tim Kaine’s review panel will announce its complete findings following April 16. Read the whole story tomorrow.
ON THE WEB Wondering where “What’s Tech Saying” is? We’ve taken it to the web. Check out our web site to see what students think of Michael Vick.
index News.....................2 Features................3 0pinions................5
Sports....................6 Classifieds..............7 Sudoku..................7
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 104th year • issue 127
SARA MITCHELL
ct staff writer Football fans in Lane Stadium have always intimidated opponents during football games with their cheering and team spirit. However, this year the environment may change. Virginia Tech received support from hundreds of universities after the April 16 shootings, including fierce rivals. Schools all over the ACC lent a hand to Tech. Instead of jeers and boos from the fans, the athletics department hopes that every opponent will receive respectful acknowledgement from the stands. “This is actually the start of the fourth year of Hokies Respect,” said Jim Weaver, athletic
The five “prongs” of Hokies Respect are respect yourself, respect the opponent, respect the moment, respect the game, and respect the competition. The idea of Hokies Respect became more significant since April 16 and Tech will have the first opportunity to show its respect Saturday at the football game against East Carolina University. director and the creator of the awareness program. The five “prongs” of Hokies Respect are respect yourself, respect the opponent, respect the moment, respect the game and respect the competition. The idea of Hokies Respect became more significant since April 16, and Tech will have the first opportunity to show its respect Saturday at the football game against East Carolina University. Starting at 11:45 a.m., there will be a pre-game ceremony to observe the April 16 shootings and honor the lives taken on that day. After a moment of silence and the national anthem, representatives of East Carolina will present a check for $ 100,000 to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. There will then be a recognition of the police officers who first responded to the shooting, then a tribute video and balloon release. Weaver wants to stress that Tech can both be competitive and respectful toward ECU.
JEFF SLOYER/SPPS FILE PHOTO
The Hokies will take to Worsham Field for the season opener this Saturday against the East Carolina University pirates. “We can’t boo the opponent and have all their care and concern,” Weaver said. “We need to show that we appreciated that warmth through being respectful.” The expectation is that as the ECU Pirates, as well as every future opponent, run onto the field, they are not booed but welcomed. That doesn’t mean Tech has to lose the intimidation factor. “Virginia Tech has a reputation of a great home field advantage … but we can respect other teams’ efforts to compete,” Weaver said. The season opener will be the first opportunity at the football games to show a sense of Hokie Pride that came about after the shootings. ESPN GameDay will be at Tech starting at 10 a.m. on the soccer practice field, and will eventually move to the stadium. Tech can show the nation the sense of community as what Weaver predicts will be “an emotional a crowd as ever.” “You can rattle them, that’s fine,” said Dr. Beth Waggenspack, communication professor. “But to boo them, that has never made a whole lot of sense to me.”
Parking and traffic control an issue for upcoming season BEN J. BYARD
ct staff writer Sixty-six thousand is a fairly large number to grasp. During a Virginia Tech football game, such as this weekend’s match against East Carolina University, each of the 66,000 seats in Lane Stadium is filled, a tradition stretching back over the last seven years said Richard McCoy, Parking Services manager. In preparing for a new season of football, the Virginia Tech Police Department and Parking Services have arranged the campus streets and parking lots in order to reduce traffic congestion and general confusion due to the increased patronage of the area. Returning fans will notice few changes, as there is little to no increase in number of visitors; however, there are a few small, but
ct news reporter For most shoppers trying to buy milk, the color of the carton’s top and its expiration date could be the only deciding factors in the product they buy. Unfortunately, even the most diligent of shoppers could be buying a lower quality milk. New research from Virginia Tech scientists and researchers has indicated that the clear plastic containers that hold milk allow quality-altering wavelengths of light to come in contact with the milk. The idea of light affecting food and drink products is certainly not a new one. The effect, known as light oxidation, can alter milk’s flavor, odor and color. That’s why many other food and beverage products are packaged in ways to prevent differences in taste. “That’s the reason why a beer is in a brown bottle,” said Joseph E. Marcy, acting department head of human nutrition, foods and exercise and contributing author to the research. While many products are packaged in ways that attempt to counteract light damage, the same cannot be said for milk products. “With milk there has been a shift to clear plastic bottles,” Marcy said. What has resulted is a lower quality milk. “Light oxidation is the most common defect for milk products in North
America,” Marcy said. The challenge for the researchers was to create packaging that would shield milk from wavelengths of light while at the same time allowing for consumers to see the milk inside. “People are very interested in seeing if the milk they buy is still milk,” said Susan Duncan, professor of food science and technology and the research’s principle investigator. That preference has made it difficult to alter the packaging of milk products. “Effective bottling, by putting it in a brown or green bottle, would not be appropriate for milk products,” Duncan said. The researchers tried a variety of different solutions to decrease the impact of light on milk’s quality. “We researched materials that would reflect light instead of absorbing it,” Duncan said. “Our concept wasn’t to make a primary container but to instead make a sleeve to cover the container.” The researchers have been in talks with manufacturers of milk containers to attempt to improve the containers. However, the road to improved containers is admittedly a long, time-consuming process. “Most food industries have a ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’ approach to handling things. Packaging for milk hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years,”
see TRAFFIC, page two
History professor ends 14 year radio stint on WVTF
New study may spoil plastic packaging GORDON BLOCK
significant, alterations. Several streets in town become one-way roads before, during, and shortly after games and Spring Road closes for part of its length due to the large amount of pedestrians crossing it. All parking lots will close at 5 p.m. the day before a game and must be completely vacant by 10 p.m. that night. Captain Joey Albert of the Virginia Tech Police Department advises people not going to the game not to use campus streets to get from one end of town to the other during games due to traffic congestion. Lower Stanger Lot, which closed for construction last year, has reopened for donor usage during games. The price of parking has also increased from $5 per car to $10
PETER HURLEY
ct news reporter
said researcher and associate professor of food science and technology Sean F. O’Keefe. “Most manufacturers are happy with where they are right now.” And making a change in processing would involve more than technology. “It’s not really a technology issue but more of a consumer issue,” O’Keefe said. The results of the research, as well as the paper “Packaging solutions for sensory degradation in foods and beverages due to photooxidation” was presented in Boston Aug. 23 at the 234th American Chemical Society national meeting. The research was greeted with positive response. “The people in the audience received it very well, and recognized its real world value,” Duncan said. Though the research has been slow of late, plans are being made to integrate the new findings into future studies. “We’re continually looking for new areas to continue the study and funding,” Duncan said. The research will be presented again Oct. 22 to 24 at the 2007 Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute Technical Conference, which will be taking place at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.
After 14 years of presenting his Civil War radio essays on WVTFFM, Alumni Distinguished professor James I. Robertson Jr. has decided to end his illustrious series. Airing every Friday, each of these 350 five-minute essays attempted to highlight an emotional element of the Civil War. “I’m not motivated by battles, strategy and gunfire but by the human things,” said Robertson. This has always been the indelible mark of Robertson’s work, whether on the air, in the classroom or lecturing across the country. “When he told his stories there was a genuine empathy for the human experience,” said WVTF Station Manager Glen Gleixner. “He has the natural ability to connect one on one with people over the radio.” Though Robertson achieved this while covering battles, leaders and individual soldiers, the commentaries that received the most positive feedback were those based on the animals of the Civil War. One essay that stood out in Robertson’s mind was about a dog named “Little Sally,” the mascot for the 11th Pennsylvania who was killed during the last fighting of the war. “The 11th Pennsylvania put up its regimental monument at Gettysburg,” Robertson said. “On the little ledge on the bottom someone had created a little image of ‘Little Sally’ sleeping with the men who loved her.” As Robertson described the story, one of the hundreds that he researched, wrote and narrated, he began to become overcome with emotion. He was able to translate that same emotion to his
audience every week for the last 14 years. With an audience that included much of Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina, Robertson’s voice became a staple of public radio over the last 14 years just as he has at Virginia Tech over the last 45 years. When News Director Rick Mattioni approached Robertson in September of 1993 he did not expect that the long running series of commentaries would be the result. “All I was thinking was, ‘At least we can get a story out of this,’” Mattioni said. After meeting over lunch to discuss possibilities, Robertson returned to Mattioni’s car to record the first of the 350 vignettes off the top of his head. “Oh my God, I think we’ve got something here,” Mattioni said after completing the first recording. Mattioni said that 14 years later the audience of WVTF has more than doubled. His tremendous and continued success has led many to ask why Robertson would stop now. “Its like digging in the ground, the deeper you go, the harder the dirt gets,” Robertson said. “I’m not implying that there is nothing more to say about the Civil War, but I think I’ve said enough for the listening public.” Because of the immense popularity of these essays, they will be posted on wvtf.org every Friday. As Director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, Robertson continues to write books and essays on the conflict. He also will continue to teach his Civil War history class. “As long as I can serve Virginia Tech I’m going to keep on going,” he said.
Timeline of Virginia Tech Panel Investigation Releases April 18
May 21
June 11
July 18
August 30
-Governor Tim Kaine and President Charles Steger form the review panel
-Panel releases the fact that Cho did not fire half his ammunition. -Panel discusses the university’s response
-Families speak out to the panel addressing concerns about the panel and the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
-Panel releases info on a letter Cho sent to the English Department -Panel found gaps in Cho’s medical history and addressed his mental health issues
-Panel will release findings in a press conference at 11 a.m. Check www.collegiatetimes.com for news from the press conference.