Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Print Edition

COLLEGIATETIMES

tuesday september 25, 2007 blacksburg, va.

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Board weighs suggestions from panel

news LAUGH RIOT CANCELED Tonight’s Laugh Riot featuring Nick Swardsen has been cancelled and rescheduled for November 13. “Nick has fallen ill and is unable to make the travel requirements necessary to be here,” said Ben Redding, special events coordinator for the Virginia Tech Union. All tickets purchased for tonight’s show will be honored at the door on November 13.

THE BOARD OF VISITORS MET SUNDAY TO DISCUSS HOW TO BEST CARRY OUT THE SUGGESTIONS MADE BY KAINE’S PANEL LAST MONTH PETER HURLEY

ct news reporter

VIOLENT CRIME UP WASHINGTON — The number of violent crimes increased by a larger amount than expected last year, extending the first significant rise in murders and robberies in a dozen years, according to an FBI report released Monday.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program shows that robberies surged by 7.2 percent and murders rose 1.8 percent from 2005 to 2006. Violent crime overall rose 1.9 percent, notably more than an increase of 1.3 percent estimated in a preliminary FBI report in June.

The increase was the second in two years, following a 2.3 percent jump in 2005. Taken together, the two years comprise the first steady increase in violent crimes since 1993.

— The Washington Post

sports DRAGER OUT FOR THE SEASON

SHAOZHUO CUI/SPPS

Latin Link performs in Haymarket Theatre last night as a part of “Celebration of Diversity.” The group performed a dance titled “Rueda” during the tenth annual event.

Student groups celebrate diversity EMILY FEENEY

ct staff writer The rows of Haymarket Theatre in Squires Student Center quickly filled with a lively and excited audience last night as a slideshow of pictures with people of different cultures and countries projected on the screen. This joining of people from all different nationalities marked the Tenth Annual Celebration of Diversity.

Juanisha Brooks opened the celebration with her original poetry as her supporters wore T-shirts bearing her homecoming queen campaign slogan, “Put down your books, vote for Brooks.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that Virginia Tech’s Oct. 6 road game at Clemson will kickoff at 6 p.m.

The game will be televised nationally and air on ESPN.

KERRY O’CONNOR

ct staff writer

JACKIE PETERS/SPPS

Kevin Kim, graduate biology student, and Becky Sinnott, senior biochemistry major, battle with pugil sticks by Squires yesterday.

PARTLY CLOUDY high 86, low 58

coming up WEDNESDAY’S CT People can now purchase rooms from the Holiday Inn in a new project called Collegiate Inn. Check out the story tomorrow.

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Sports....................6 Classifieds..............7 Sudoku..................7

An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 104th year • issue 141

the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

Then the Filipino American Student Association, “FASA”, performed their traditional rural Subli dance.

“I never knew anything about my culture before being a part of the club,” said Marissa Ferraro, a freshman and new member of the group.

“It has really opened my eyes.”

The celebration wrapped up with “Muslim Experience” by the Muslim Student Association and a salsa dance by Salsa Tech.

The multicultural program shared the special aspects of each culture with the Virginia Tech Community, exhibiting everyone’s differences and a way in which the nation can join together in celebration.

Anyone walking past Squires Student Center yesterday between 5 and 7:30 p.m. was invited to ignore their start of the week instincts and prolong their weekend for one day. The Virginia Tech Homecoming Board sponsored a kick off event where people were encouraged to learn about different organizations, participate in fun activities, and meet the Homecoming candidates.

Activities included a DJ blasting music from the Au Bon Pain balcony, a blow up obstacle course, sumo wrestling, a moon bounce, and other air filled plastic games set up on the Donaldson Brown front lawn. Participants were seen walking through the area licking

ice-cream cones and chugging Vault soda which was being handed out of trucks.

While many of the people present were affiliated with Greek life, wearing t-shirts advertising their candidate, many of the students, like Carl Prosack, a senior international studies major, were unaffiliated.

“I was walking to the bus and I saw a kiddie blow up jungle gym and then I heard Soulja Boy and they were giving out free Vault, so I stuck around,” Prosack said.

Various organizations and sponsors had tables set up encouraging passer-bys to check out brochures, sign-up for e-mail lists and take free T-shirts. Members of the Tech Homecoming Board were

see HOMECOMING, page three

The current enrollment is over 1,000 students higher than planned for this year. According to Steger, 400 of these would have been placed on academic suspension for this semester, which was waived after April 16.

In response to to April 16, Dancing under the moon Harvard unveils alert system ASHLEY OLIVER

ct news reporter

weather

dedicated to sharing their culture with the Tech community, performed the Rueda, a playful dance incorporating Salsa and Cuban elements. The group was composed of both Latinos and non-Latinos.

Anthony Ponce, sophomore university studies major, said that the group, “(brought) freshman and many others to feel more comfortable and a more active part of their culture.”

The Baha’I Student Association, and association for the Baha’i Faith, performed a prayer of unity.

Among those contributing to the celebration was the Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Transgender Alliance, with a community skit entitled “Did You Know?,” and a Step Show from

Homecoming kick off event draws crowd

Virginia Tech true freshman tight end Chris Drager will miss the remainder of the 2007 Drager football season after partially tearing his right ACL during the third quarter of Saturday’s game against William & Mary.

Drager caught two passes for 23 yards this season and was a regular contributor on special teams.

Director of Athletic Training Mike Goforth said Virginia Tech will apply for a medical hardship waiver, allowing the 2007 season to not count against Drager’s eligibility.

CLEMSON GAME TIME ANNOUNCED

“Juanisha Brooks is one of the most genuine people and it shows in her poetry,” said Whitney White, a senior communications major.

“She has touched everyone she knows on this campus in her own way.”

The main focus in Brooks’s opening remarks was the different aspects of diversity. As an evolving nation, Americans need to love one another and accept one another, regardless of skin color, religion, or sexual orientation, Brooks said.

“Love is the food for the spirit,” said Brooks in her speech.

The closing of Brooks’ speech initiated the beginning of a variety of unique cultural performances.

Latin Link, a Latino organization

In a special meeting at Torgersen Hall Sunday afternoon, the Board of Visitors discussed the process by which the recommendations of the various reports concerning the April 16 shootings will be analyzed and implemented.

The board also took the opportunity to express its support for university president Steger who has received much criticism in recent weeks.

“President Steger has been the glue, and the leader that has been an inspiration to us all,” said vice-president of University Relations Larry Hincker in an interview after the meeting.

A “policy group,” appointed by Steger and directed by senior resource fellow and former chief operating officer Minnis Ridenour, was charged with developing a process by which the university can analyze and enact the recommendations given by six different reports, including Gov. Tim Kaine’s review panel report.

The policy group developed an intensely detailed process that prioritizes each of these recommendations. For instance, a recommendation with a “Priority 1” classification should be completed within two months.

The process also allows the administration to easily outline the necessary staffing and funding required to carry out these endeavors.

But with an unexpected increase in enrollment and future budget cuts expected from the state level, additional funding may be hard to come by.

“As we look at the recommendations it is not only important, it is absolutely essential that they be linked back to our financial management strategies and they be focused in a way that reinforces our long term objectives and strategic plan,” Steger said at the meeting.

The university has received $6 million in federal grants from the Dept. of Justice and $960,000 from the Dept. of Education to implement new programs and services that will act as examples to the rest of the nation.

According to Steger, the university has spent $8 million on changes made around campus in response to April 16. One endeavor has been the addition of the VT Alert system which currently has over 17,000 subscribers. According to university officials, this is the most expansive campus alert system in the nation with the closest being the University of Florida system, which 30 percent of the student body subscribes to.

Two million dollars have been spent on the addition of doors that lock from the inside in many classrooms and the removing of hardware on building entrances to prevent chaining such as on April 16.

In addition, a new public awareness program has been implemented which has placed posters in classrooms alerting students and faculty of emergency protocol. The Virginia Tech police have also received additional funding for increased staff and equipment.

There are also plans for a new public safety building which will house police, fire, and EMT services.

The strategic objectives of the university were also discussed at the meeting including the unexpected rise in enrollment.

“The number of students is higher than we expected, and higher than we have funding for,” said University Provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs Mark McNamee, “so we have to bring that back into balance.”

In mid-August, Harvard University activated a campuswide text messaging system to ensure a speedy notification of emergencies.

Harvard was prompted to buy this system after news spread that the shootings in Norris Hall could have been prevented if the campus had been alerted more quickly that there were two killed earlier in West Ambler Johnston Hall.

“The Virginia Tech incident definitely focused our attention on this system,” said Joe Wrinn, head of news and public affairs at Harvard.

People with Harvard IDs are able to sign up for this system by providing their names and cell phone numbers.

Harvard assures users that their information will remain private and that the system

will only be used in the case of extreme emergencies.

“It’s extremely limited to when it will be used and only few people can access it,” Wrinn said.

Omnilert, the company providing this system, allows administrators to send an alert via text message to the entire campus as soon as an emergency occurs.

“Virginia Tech caused a wav of need at colleges to elevate their emergency capabilities and be proactive.”

- PETER LESTER HEAD OF OMNILERT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Head of Omnilert Business Development Peter Lester said, “The key to it is reaching everybody, no matter where

they are.”

While Harvard has other ways to communicate emergencies, including e-mail, web pages and an emergency call-in phone line, text messaging is the quickest way to notify everyone on campus because most students have their cell phones with them all day.

“I can’t emphasize enough that this is an evolution,” Wrinn said. “We try to better our communication system according to what students are paying attention to.”

While the system has been available for over three years, before April 16 only 30 schools had installed it.

However, 220 additional schools have made the purchase since then.

“Virginia Tech caused a wave of need at colleges to elevate their emergency capabilities and be proactive,” Lester said.

SHAOZHUO CUI/SPPS

Shuo Chen performs the Tibet Dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival, held by the Chinese Student Association Saturday in the Graduate Life Center. Turn to page 4 for additional coverage of the event.

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september 25, 2007

campus news editor: meg miller email: campusnews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Final Fight: Halo 3’s release Tech drops in Trojan rankings stretches students’ wallets SARA MITCHELL

ct staff writer

T. REES SHAPIRO

ct sports reporter Millions of enthralled addicts and fanatics of one of the world’s most widely recognized video games, “Halo,” will hit the stores, hit their wallets, and then hit the couch today for the American release of the series’ third and final installment.

The world-wide hit, created by Microsoft gaming software imprint Bungie, has had stores like the Spradlin Farm Gamestop in Christiansburg preparing for a release party and “Midnight Madness” launch for months. They have been taking preorders, guaranteed purchase receipts for the day of the release and stocking their shelves with Halo memorabilia to capacity since word of the game’s ultimate finale was in production.

“This will be, by far, the craziest event ever,” said Chris Merrill, store manager at Gamestop on Monday. “Microsoft has given Gamestop privileges, allowing us to have a midnight launch, which we can offer our customers.

We are the top reserve store in the region, from South Carolina up to New York, with 750 copies preordered here. We expect about 1,000 people for the midnight launch. We will line them up officially by 9 p.m., but we expect them to come much earlier than that.”

Merrill noted that by 11 a.m. on Monday, he had received an email saying several locations around the country already had a line of 50 to 60 people waiting for the release at midnight outside their doors.

The game is being released in three editions. Normal, priced at a modest $60; limited edition, slated at $70; and the behemoth of them all, the legendary edition, coming in at $130. The limited and legendary editions come with Halo memorabilia, including an interactive X-Box 360 disc and a beastiarum featuring all of the creatures of the Halo universe.

Pre-orders began months ago, and according to Merrill, over 1.5 million copies of the game have been reserved in the United States alone.

But the consensus says the wait, four years since the “Halo 2” release, has been well worth it. All for the glory and anticipation to learn just exactly how the epic battle lead by the ultimate

warrior Master Chief Spartan 117, against the Covenant Army, the alien foes, will finally come to an end.

“I’m most excited for the story,” said Karl Albert, freshman Tech student and veteran Halo player. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen. They tell the story really well, and make you feel like you’re in the game, like it’s really happening to you. When Halo 2 came out, a friend of mine and I stayed up all night playing the cooperative campaign, had a Redbull and went to class.

As soon as we got home the same day, we finished it.”

That kind of enthusiasm isn’t uncommon, as players often become engrossed with the gameplay that Halo offers. The kind of enthusiasm that can dent a student’s GPA. “I’m not sure if I’ll skip class,” said Albert. “I’d rather not, but if I have to, you never know, I might.”

Albert and his friends log up to 10 hours a week battling online on “XBox Live,” though the longest stint ever playing the game he admitted was nine hours. (For the record, during a 25 minute phone interview, Albert was playing “Halo 2” online, which can attest to the voracious appetites Halo players have for the Master Chief.)

Matthew McClanahan, freshman from Charlotte, North Carolina, felt the same sentiments as Albert.

“I can’t wait. As soon as I get it I’m going to come home and play it ‘til class starts at 12:30 the next day,” said McClanahan. “I’ve been waiting for this since Halo 2 came out, I remember finishing the game and saying ‘Oh my God, they left it hanging, there’s going to be a third.’ There’s a good possibility my homework might not get done this week, but I’m going to try to have it not affect school … try.”

The social aspect of the XBox live network, and the real relationships players develop going at each other in the game, has helped McClanahan foster a stronger bond with some of his residence hall mates.

“XBox Live was made known because of Halo,” McClanahan said.

“We play online all the time. I think it’s going to be a big aspect of Halo 3; it’s going to be pretty sweet. You get to talk to people, get to know them, and play with a real person besides the computer. Everybody can relate to Halo, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t

Places to buy Halo G stop

where: Spradlin Farms Road how much: 750 reserved “a few” extra

Re-Play where: Blacksburg how much: 92 reserved 20-50 extra, 50 more on thursday

Target

where: Christiansburg how much: 40 copies all reserved, no more till next week

Wal-Mart

where: Christiansburg how much: 200 copies for the week

Amazon where: online how much: overnight shipping is $20 BEN MACDONALD/COLLEGIATE TIMES

know what Halo is.”

The excitement built up for the new game’s launch has stemmed from a progressive marketing campaign which allegedly has cost around 10 million dollars, an unprecedented sum for the console video game business. An allegiance with the PepsiCo brought “Mountain Dew Game Fuel.

The super caffeinated drink, 73 mg per can, complete with Halo 3 symbol and a Master Chief portrait, hit grocery store shelves in mid-August to help energize upcoming gamer’s efforts.

The Halo3.com Web site shows a massive clay diorama depicting the final battle of the game, and several TV commercials which have aired showing Master Chief in battle, or the “Believe” ad campaign, which plays on the final moments of the game and the hero’s bravery in action.

Both McClanahan, and Albert have pre-ordered the game, A testament to the game’s reputation and advertisements, and were planning on attending the “Midnight Madness” launch held last night at the Gamestop location in Christiansburg, in anticipation to hurry home to continue the Halo journey.

“That’s my tagline right now,” Albert said. “I ‘believe.’ Let’s finish this damn fight!”

Virginia Tech has received a lot of rankings: No. 1 in food, No. 17 this week in college football. Now Tech can add another ranking to the list: No. 64 in sexual health, according to Trojan Condoms and BestPlaces.net.

This is the second year that a survey was conducted by Trojan Condoms in conjunction with its “Evolve” campaign, which works with students to determine the sexual health education conditions in colleges.

“Trojan decided to say, ‘What’s going on in college campuses?’” said Melle Hack, media contact for Trojan Condoms. Hack said that during student forums, Trojan Condoms learned that students were unsure of the availability of contraceptives and other resources in their student health centers.

Trojan Condoms, in hopes of improving sexual education on college campuses, solicited help from BestPlaces.net to conduct a survey of college health centers. BestPlaces.net is a research firm that rates cities in various categories such as crime, homes, and education. Bert Sperling, the owner of BestPlaces.net, along with four other researchers, came up with a way to rate 139 colleges in the country, representing all 50 states.

“We thought, ‘How can we measure the level of sexual health?’ We proposed different ideas and we came up with what we thought was a good

plan,” Sperling said.

The five researchers came up with 11 categories relating to sexual health, such as availability of contraceptives, HIV testing, sexual health awareness programs and student health center hours of operation.

Each health center was contacted and questioned about the programs and resources made available to the students. Then, the researchers gave subjective grades in each category based on the responses. The grades were then averaged into a “Student Health Center GPA,” on a 4-point scale.

Tech received a 2.91 GPA. Schiffert Health Center received A’s when it came to HIV and STD testing and B’s in availability of programs, sexual assault groups, and the website.

However, the availability of contraceptives and condoms received a C, as did the availability of anonymous advice.

Dropping from No. 46last year, Tech ranked higher than Boston College (120) and Clemson (82) but scored lower than University of Virginia (27) and University of Maryland (56).

In addition to the survey conducted with the health centers, Sperling created a survey through Facebook.com where college students had the option of answering questions about their health centers. Thirty-one Tech students filled out the survey.

Seventy-seven percent of the Tech students said that they would contact Schiffert Health Center, should they

Trojan Condoms and BestPlaces.net survey says:

* the survey rates 139 colleges in the country, representing all 50 states * It includes 11 categories relating to sexual health: such as availability of contraceptives, HIV testing, sexual health awareness programs and student health center hours of operation.

• • • •

Tech received a 2.91 GPA. Schiffert Health Center received A’s when it came to HIV and STD testing B’s in availability of programs, sexual assault groups, and the website.

C in the availability of contraceptives and condoms received

* Tech ranked 64 in the survey: higher than Boston College (120) and Clemson (82) but scored lower than University of Virginia (27) and University of Maryland (56)

• • •

Seventy-seven percent of the Tech students said that they would contact Schiffert Health Center, should they have a reason.

Eighty-three percent said that Schiffert did a good job 77 percent said that Schiffert has complete services 87 percent called Schiffert “trustworthy.”

BEN MACDONALD/COLLEGIATE TIMES

have a reason. Eighty-three percent said that Schiffert did a good job, 77 percent said that Schiffert has complete services, and 87 percent called Schiffert “trustworthy.” The responses did not affect the subjective grades but provided Trojan Condoms and BestPlaces.net with more information.

He added that they have seen schools working to improve on the grades they received last year.

“Many took their low ratings, realized they had some deficits and improved their facilities… we saw that many listened.”

Schiffert Health Center would not comment.

Schiffert offers affordable birth control EMILY FEENEY

ct staff writer Many students have occasionally noticed the buckets overflowing with condoms, scattered along the pathways on the Drillfield. Then there is the “Condom Coupon” given out at the beginning of each school year, offering two-dozen condoms for only $5 at Schiffert Health Center. That offer can save students up to $43 on condoms, which cost students about $6 for a box of three at 7/11 or Kroger.

A freshman, who asked to remain nameless, went to Schiffert to fill her birth control prescription and received a bag with her pills. It

included a pamphlet on how to protect against STDs and two condoms.

“Just because I’m on the pill doesn’t mean I’m having sex,” she commented on the surprise gift from Schiffert.

According to a survey released in February by the University of North Carolina, one in every two sexually active college students will come in contact with a sexually transmitted disease by age 25.

Bruce Ragon, the director of health education at Schiffert, said that they are being pro-active in helping protect student’s health by being realistic, logical and concerned for the student body.

“Our charge in health education is

not about teaching social or religious morals or telling students how to behave; it’s about helping students protect themselves from disease or disability,” Ragon said. “Our goal is to assist them in making an informed decision about sex. Research shows that some sexually active college students will not buy or use condoms because they are too embarrassed to ask for them.”

Janet Harer, an adult nurse practitioner and the Women’s Clinic coordinator, agreed with Ragon.

“Most women we see who are concerned about STDs or pregnancy tell the Women’s Center that a condom wasn’t involved for a variety of reasons.”

page 3

tuesday, september 25, 2007

news in brief STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO START SAVING VT Saves, a pilot organization for a national campaign called America Saves, handed out flyers on the Drillfield yesterday encouraging students to commit to a short-term saving goal, instead of accumulating credit card debt.

VT saves is one of three pilot organizations for America Saves, sponsored by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and the Consumer Federation of America. The other two universities that have a pilot program this year are Kansas State and Utah State.

According to the flyer that was handed out, VT Saves encourages anyone to agree to work toward a savings goal such as a spring break trip, school tuition, or even debt repayment. Students can set monthly savings goal of as little as $10 and save that amount each month, which begins to add up.

“What we are trying to do is get

people to not use credit,” said senior apparel housing and resource management Matthew Jones, who is a member of the organization. “We’d like people to start saving, and then once they save they wont have to go into debt.”

Jones said that, for example, when it is time for spring break and students don’t have the money, they will put it on their credit card and then accumulate debt. VT saves gives students strategies and simple tips on the best ways to save so they won’t have to deal with that debt.

VT Saves is a consumer interest organization for apparel housing and resource management majors, but anybody can join. The organization existed a couple of years ago but went dormant until it was started up again two weeks ago.

“We are trying to inform the whole campus of our program and hope it grows,” Jones said.

-CT News Staff

Virginia Tech researchers attempt to answer questions on predation BEN J. BYARD

ct sta! writer John Warren Huntley, a postdoctoral scientist here at Virginia Tech, has pursued his career aspirations and through research, has attempted to solve an old geosciences conundrum.

“The last 35 years or so, there’s really been this debate between paleontologists, and ecologists, and evolutionary biologists on the role of ecological interactions on evolution. Things like predation,” Hurley said.

A friend of Huntley’s during his sophomore year of college travelled in Southwest Virginia, returning with numerous marine shells, which he promptly shared with Huntley.

“I was just really intrigued by that, and I thought, ‘I’m gonna become a geology major’ before I even took a class,” he said.

That single incident set Huntley firmly on the path to his Ph.D. and his current research. Aided by geosciences professor Micha Kowalewski, a Tech researcher of nine years, he began recently to work with fossilized eukaryotes, multi-cellular life forms more complex than bacteria, dating from 1.8 billion years ago to modern fresh water mussels.

According to modern theory, evolutionary change occurs in three tiers: the bottommost represents individual evolution, above that is evolution on a population scale, and beyond that is mass extinction.

“So the idea is that you can have any three of these tiers affecting the evolution of organisms through time,” Huntley said, “but any change made at a lower tier can be wiped out by processes happening at a higher tier.”

With this belief, many scientists believe that individual evolution, natural selection to some, plays a

relatively small role in long-term evolutionary changes.

Huntley and Kowalewski began by looking at various marine invertebrates to piece together the history of predation. These invertabrates often show easy-to-identify predation marks such as repair scars from where its shell was partially peeled off or drill holes where a snail drilled a small hole and ate the tissue underneath. These sorts of marks exist on many organisms of this type even to the present day.

“You see an interaction between predator and prey preserved right here on the shell,” Huntley said.

Several other researchers have been working on this for numerous years, so Huntley and Kowalewski began looking through literature on this subject covering the last 540 million years, known as the Phanerozoic.

They found the frequency of drill holes and repair scars over that span

and plotted it on a timeline.

With that graph, Huntley realized that it followed the same trend as Sepkoski’s diversity curve, which shows the general trend in overall organism diversity over a course of time. Placing the two graphs on top of each other demonstrated a strong correlation between the two, hinting that somehow predation and organism diversity are linked, with perhaps one causing the other.

“So now you’re faced with the classic problem of ‘How do you interpret a correlation?’” said Huntley. “X can cause changes in Y; Y can cause changes in X; or there could be something else that’s influencing both.”

With three options ahead of them, Huntley and Kowalewski plan to test all three hypotheses and, with a little luck, discover just what the correlation between the predation and evolution means.

begun and suggested that such a move was unforgivable in a university setting.

Ahmadinejad, who in the past has argued that Israel should be “wiped off the map,” repeated his assertions that the Holocaust should be researched “from different perspectives” and said Palestinians should not be “paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with.” The Iranian leader also blasted U.S. sanctions against his country, insisted on Iran’s right to nuclear development and declared his willingness to “dialogue” with U.S. leaders.

The war of words at Columbia was, in many ways, a herald of Ahmadinejad’s unwelcome reception in New York, a city both scarred by terrorism and at the heart of American Judaism. The controversy began even before the Iranian leader landed Sunday night for a three-day trip on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly, which Ahmadinejad will address Tuesday afternoon.

As it does for many a dignitary, New York, home to the United Nations, provided extra security for Ahmadinejad along with the U.S. Secret Service and Iranian security.

But luminaries, leaders and the local

media made it abundantly clear that much of New York is holding its nose while Ahmadinejad is in town.

“The Evil Has Landed,” declared the New York Daily News alongside a mug-shot-like photo of Ahmadinejad.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) minced no words. “I happen to find his views disgusting, disgraceful, abhorrent,” he told reporters Monday.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., joined a host of presidential candidates in blasting Ahmadinejad, and Columbia for even asking him to speak. “If I were the president of a university, I would not have invited him,” Clinton told CNN. “He’s a Holocaust denier.”

Several Jewish schools in the New York area gave their students a halfday off so they could attend a large anti-Ahmadinejad rally near the United Nations. Thousands turned out, including some family members of Sept. 11 victims, outraged that Ahmadinejad had requested to lay a wreath at Ground Zero. The muchpublicized request was denied by the New York Police Department, which publicly argued that the site — now in the midst of construction — is simply too dangerous for the Iranian leader.

“The nerve of that guy,” said Mark

Sohn, 82, a Holocaust survivor and Queens resident who held a sign with Ahmadinejad’s face and the words “Hitler Lives.” “What’s he think he’s doing here? Huh? In New York? I don’t think so. Makes me sick.”

But the appearance at Columbia proved to be the tense focus of Ahmadinejad’s day. The university had come under extraordinary criticism for giving the Iranian leader a public platform, with state and city lawmakers threatening to strip the school of government funds if it did not rescind the invitation. Rather than bow to pressure, Bollinger — who is also a director of The Washington Post Co. and a noted legal scholar on free speech and affirmative action — pressed on with the forum, citing the importance of free speech.

But Bollinger went on to condemn what he said is the Ahmadinejad government’s expanding crackdown on dissent. He gave a rundown of Iran’s human rights abuses, including the 210 executions so far this year, and its harsh treatment of women, gays, the news media, academics and religious minorities. Ahmadinejad’s past remarks questioning the Holocaust were “absurd comments” that defy historical truths, Bollinger said.

Homecoming: Laugh riot to be rescheduled Ahmadinejad gets hostile reception in New York from page one

on hand making sure the event ran smoothly.

“This is a kick-off event for Homecoming, we’re promoting homecoming week and upcoming events we have. It’s the first time we’ve done it and we’re just trying to get the word out there and trying to make Homecoming more than just a one-day Greek event,” said Lauren Robinson, a senior psychology major and Assistant Hokiefest on the Tech Homecoming Board. “We are just trying to get a lot of people out here and have a good time.”

Around 6:45 p.m. the candidates for Homecoming King and Queen were introduced from the DJ station where they were interviewed by Sumeet Bagai and Amy Gray, last year’s Homecoming King and Queen.

They asked all the candidates questions ranging from “why did you want to be Homecoming King or Queen?” to “what is your favorite TV show?”

While many of these answers were pretty standard — answers included Grey’s Anatomy and The Hills — there were a few candidates who improvised some interesting answers.

When one homecoming king candidate was asked where his favorite place to eat on campus was, he launched into a diatribe about the amount of

barbecue given at Hokie Grill. He coined a term for the method for proportions of barbeque “the shake,” where employees grab a big portion of barbeque and shake it until there is little left in the tongs.

“I thought it was really cool, but they need to find a way to get other people out who don’t know who they are going to vote for out here so they can decide,” said CJ Reiser, a junior fashion merchandise major associated with Alpha Phi, when asked what she thought about the kick off event.

The event concluded with a performance by Soulstice, an all female Tech a cappella group, and the promise of an eventful upcoming week for the Tech campus.

Other events are being held every day of the week through Saturday. On Wednesday, the Roots will be play a concert in Burruss Hall and voting for King and Queen will begin. Thursday night there will be a HokieBird dedication at the Haymarket Theatre. Friday there will be a pep rally at Cassell Coliseum and a NPHC Stepshow.

Finally on Saturday there will be a Homecoming parade and game against UNC. Laughriot featuring Nick Swardson scheduled for tonight is being moved to November 13 due to issues concerning Swardson’s health.

ANTHONY FAIOLA & ROBIN WRIGHT

the washington post NEW YORK — Greeted by large protests and jabs from local politicians and U.S. presidential candidates, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faced a public skewering Monday at the first stop of his three-day trip here: As he prepared to deliver a speech at Columbia University, the university’s president, Lee Bollinger, introduced the Iranian leader as a man who appeared to lack “intellectual courage,” had a “fanatical mind-set” and may be “astonishingly undereducated.”

“Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator,” Bollinger told Ahmadinejad from a lectern across the stage. He said that Ahmadinejad’s past denials of the Holocaust might fool “the illiterate and ignorant,” but that “when you come to a place like this, it makes you quite simply ridiculous.”

A leader known to live largely protected from criticism at home, Ahmadinejad appeared shocked and insulted. He chastised Bollinger for judging his speech before it had even

homecoming 2007 HOKIE PRIDE WORLDWIDE

Come out and celebrate Homecoming!

Wednesday, Sept. 26 • Concert featuring The Roots, 7 p.m.

Burruss Auditorium • Voting for King and Queen, starts 10 a.m., visit www.vthomecoming.org to vote Thursday, Sept. 27 • Squires HokieBird dedication and viewing Hokie Nation, 7 p.m., Haymarket Theatre • Voting for King and Queen ends at 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 28 • Canstruction food drive displays, 4 p.m., basketball courts by Lee Hall • Order of the Gavel inductions, 5 p.m. War Memorial Chapel • Pep Rally, 6 p.m. Cassell Coliseum • NPHC Stepshow, 7 p.m. Burruss Auditorium Saturday, Sept. 29 • Homecoming Parade, downtown Blacksburg • Football game vs. UNC, Lane Stadium (Maroon Effect)

COLLEGIATETIMES

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4 features

editor: sharon pritz email: features@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 4 -6 p.m.

september 25, 2007

Hokie Nation brings authentic fan emotion to the big screen In his career as head football coach at Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer has been busy transforming the program he once played for EVAN from little known LUZI to championship contender. regular Along the way, columnist he’s developed such NFL-caliber players as Bruce Smith, DeAngelo Hall and Antonio Freeman. However, what has been a constant through the years is the huge fan base known as the Hokie Nation.

It seems fitting that a movie about Tech football fans would premiere at the Lyric, a staple of Blacksburg, not unlike the crowds that flock to Lane Stadium on Saturdays. Being in Blacksburg on game day is an experience MOVIE REVIEW that is hard to describe to those who have never experienced it themselves.

But that’s exactly what former Tech alumni Sean Kotz (’89, ’91) and Chris Valluzzo (’98) set out to do when they spawned the idea for “Hokie Nation: A Team, A Town and the Best Darned Fans in College Football.”

The film is a documentary made to showcase the unity, passion and

oftentimes craziness of Virginia Tech football fans. Using a local crew with the same passion for Hokie football as themselves, Kotz and Valluzzo, both producers and co-directors of the project, began filming their documentary in 2006.

“Hokie Nation,” which is officially licensed by the university, is a documentary less about the football team and more about the fans who have stuck by them through many milestones in the program’s history. The movie features interviews with alumni, fans, radio announcers, police officers, former players, coaches and even former governor Mark Warner and his successor, Tim Kaine. The movie is narrated by these voices, among many others, and their stories, opinions and overall reactions to Hokie football and its followers.

The movie begins with a dedication to the victims of the April 16 tragedy.

Following the chilling reminder is the sound of the trademark “Let’s Go! Hokies!” cheer growing louder and louder over a blank screen, eventually fading into the title of the movie and shots of the mountains around Blacksburg. The movie, as the producers put it before the lights went down, isn’t about the team or any one season, but “about a culture.”

While the movie’s primary focus is Hokie fans themselves and not the

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Fans, like those who attended last week’s game against Ohio, are the focal point of “Hokie Nation” which is showing Thursday in Squires. team, it does lend itself to exploring the history of Tech football and how Beamer has changed the way football is played on Saturdays in Blacksburg.

The movie also explores the traditions inherent in Tech football, such as the question every Tech student has to answer at one point: “What’s a Hokie?”

It can be said that, at its core, “Hokie Nation” sets out to answer that ques-

HOKIE NATION DIRECTED BY: Sean Kotz and Chris Valluzzo SYNOPSIS: A documentary that showcases Hokie football fans and their pride, unity and passion for the game in Blacksburg GRADE: ASHOWTIME: 7 p.m. Thursday, in Squires Haymarket Theater Its sound is sometimes inconsistent, lending the audience to sometimes be subjected to overly loud volumes or struggling to hear what someone says over the crackling of the quality.

These issues are few and far between, though, and rarely take anything important away from the movie.

The film also runs a little long for a movie about football fans, although just when it began to feel too long it started to end.

“Hokie Nation” is a movie that every Virginia Tech student should be proud of; it focuses on how great our fans can be. The mood throughout is proud and light-hearted, and never once does the film lose sight of what it’s trying to prove: that Blacksburg is a town that comes alive on Saturdays and that the Hokie Nation is composed of the best fans in college football.

Association celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival KATIE MCLOUGHIN

ct staff writer Hundreds of Chinese students at Virginia Tech, as well as Chinese living in Blacksburg, gathered together in the Graduate Life Center on

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tion in rather large detail.

The movie does a good job of showcasing many great aspects of Tech football, and its interviews range from the very serious to the very sincere to the hilarious.

A highlight comes when a UVa fan proclaims that she loves coming to away football games at Lane Stadium even though they’ve never won.

There are also quirky and often funny

interviews with the hardcore tailgaters who dress up in the unimaginable and paint their RVs or vans Chicago maroon and burnt orange.

What carries the movie along best is the pace of the editing between the interviews, never letting any one person talk too long and mixing up not only who is on screen but what is on screen.

Kotz and Valluzzo have managed to dig up footage from football games long ago and have captured much of their own from the modern day era. They showcase Lane Stadium beautifully and do their best to capture what it looks like to have 66,000 people cheering as loudly as they can.

What is best about the documentary, however, are the tiny tidbits of information revealed throughout that many don’t know. One of those being that the jumping during Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” originated from a band member trying to warm up on a cold Thursday night game.

Another tidbit is Shayne Graham’s description of what he was thinking during one of his game-winning kicks. It even explores Mark Warner’s involvement in getting the Hokies into the Atlantic Coast Conference.

While the charm of the movie is strong, it still possesses a certain hometown quality about itself, which may or may not be good for some.

Saturday to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and eat moon cakes. The event was sponsored by the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon Cake Festival, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the

eighth lunar month in observance of the plentiful autumn harvest.

This year, the provost, the dean of graduate students and the director for Multicultural Affairs all gave speeches prior to the show.

Moon cakes are puck-shaped pastries consisting of a thin crust enveloping a thick pasty filling that may contain yolk from salted duck eggs.

They are very rich and dense and are usually served with Chinese tea.

“The moon cakes have different flavors in them and are round to celebrate this time of the year when the moon is the most round,” said ACSS vice president Hui Lin. “The roundness of the moon is a symbol for all the family members to come home and come together.”

Although there are many different varieties, all moon cakes have an imprint on the top containing the Chinese characters meaning “longevity” or “harmony.” Moon cakes are very difficult to make and are very expensive, costing up to $5 a piece.

“The moon cakes are hard to find in the United States; we had to get the moon cakes here today

from Washington, D.C.,” said ACSS President Liguang Xie. Moon cakes and other authentic foods were served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. followed by a special show at 7:30 p.m. The show consisted of speakers, a traditional fan dance and a medley of traditional folk songs. There was also a performance by children from the Blacksburg Chinese School and a performance by the Chinese American Society.

“The community here, all their family members come from China, so they are most likely spending time with their friends but cannot be with their family,” Lin said. “We have this event every year so they will not be homesick and can all come together as a community.”

Bin Zhang, a Chinese graduate student who did his bachelor’s work in China and is getting his Ph.D. at Tech, enjoyed the festival for the second time.

“It is a unique party to China, and there is a Chinese traditional performance that they do here,” Zhang said.

“The festival is really a time for the whole family to get together.”

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opinions 5

editor: laurel colella email: opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

september 25, 2007

Hypocrisy running rampant at Columbia University The Ivy League schools have given us one more reason to proudly call ourselves Hokies.

In an effort to promote free speech at Columbia ALLISON Un i v e r s i t y, president Lee ALDRICH Bollinger hosted regular Iranian President columnist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak to students and faculty on campus Monday afternoon.

Bollinger claims that despite Ahmadinejad being an ardent Holocaust denier, a supporter of terrorist activities, and a repressive force against human rights, he should still be given a platform to speak.

“But why?” You may ask.

Because Bollinger believes it is his duty to encourage free speech on campus and to allow students to hear from all kinds of leaders, even ones such as

Iran’s, who calls for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

I agree that it is important for students to be exposed to all different types of people and viewpoints. Unfortunately for Bollinger, however, this is one of the first times he’s actually showing any interest in First Amendment rights.

Columbia University has had trouble living up to its goal of freedom of speech in the past. In 2006, Jim Gilchrist, the president of the Minuteman Project, an organization devoted to securing the border to end illegal immigration while at the same time helping to promote legal immigration, was invited to speak on campus during a discussion on immigration. During the event, several students stormed the stage, causing a violent confrontation and an end to the speech.

It is hard to control the passions of a student body, but when event organizers moved to bring Gilchrist back this year for an engaging discussion of immigra-

tion, they were met with a great deal of resistance. Last week, the Columbia Political Union retracted Gilchrist’s invitation to speak, claiming that they had discussed the event with other student groups and individuals and decided it was not appropriate for Columbia.

The question of what is or is not appropriate doesn’t seem to enter into Bollinger’s mind. He has come out numerous times in support of Ahmadinejad’s appearance but was strangely absent during the discussion of Gilchrist’s. It is not just with controversial speakers that Bollinger’s case for students’ rights falls short.

Here at Virginia Tech we are used to seeing students in ROTC all around campus. Not only do they have their own dorms and training grounds, but they also participate in separate military classes and wear their uniforms almost daily. Our school prides itself on the support and respect given to those individuals who have decided to devote themselves to our country.

Beyond support and respect, however, the most fundamental thing we allow our ROTC is a voice on campus.

President Bollinger, supposedly a beacon for free speech, denies that fundamental right to ROTC at Columbia University.

During a vote in 2003, Columbia students came out overwhelmingly in support of allowing ROTC back on campus after it had been kicked off in the late sixties. Despite Columbia students’ support of free speech for ROTC recruiters and their programs, the faculty, with Bollinger casting the deciding vote, rejected the reestablishment of an ROTC program on campus.

Why is it that the administration of this Ivy League school supports a dangerous tyrant’s free speech yet rejects the ROTC’s? According to Columbia’s administration, it’s because ROTC’s values are not in line with the university’s due to the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” which supposedly discriminates against homosexuals.

I find this perplexing because President Ahmadinejad is the leader of a nation that is at the forefront of the battle against homosexuals. This intolerant nation punishes lesbians with public whippings and sentences gay men to beatings and sometimes execution.

I’ll give Bollinger the benefit of the doubt and assume that he must just be overlooking this slight violation of human rights for the greater good of Columbia and the promotion of free speech on campus. If he would like to avoid being labeled a hypocrite, however, perhaps he could show the same backbone in his defense of the Minuteman Project’s president and of ROTC’s rights on campus.

Someone who has the audacity to admit that they would host Adolph Hitler at Columbia University prior to World War II must be strong enough to defend those who wish to join the ROTC or hear from a leader in the fight against illegal immigration.

Letters to the Editor Right to voice your opinion I don’t know about the writer of “Is this what we have become,” but booing has been a staple of spectator events since the time of the ancient Greeks. It is a sign of displeasure and not a sign of outright hate, as the writer would lead one to believe. I agree, though, with the point that a student athlete should never be booed unless they absolutely deserves it (if he speaks badly of the school, flicks off fans, etc.). And maybe the “We are Virginia Tech!” chant shouldn’t have been booed, but it was pretty lame and Penn State is famous for it.

I don’t agree with the assessment that Jim Weaver should not have been booed. He has done some good but with only one goal in mind: money.

He could care less about the opinions and requests of the students, and it is evident by the way he presents himself and the actions he has taken in the recent past. During the past Hokie Hotline, Weaver shrugged off any responsibility for the “We Are Virginia Tech” chant and placed it squarely on the cheerleaders. Does that not deserve a “boo”? During the same show, he said he wasn’t aware that the banning of “Stick It In” was an issue to the students. Does that not deserve a “boo”? Again, during the same show he announced that the band would not be traveling to a lot of away games because of busing issues (a poor excuse; with no band filling those seats, it just means more donors can pay more money for them).

Does that not deserve a “boo”?

He treats students and fans like children with the already playedout “Hokie Respect” campaign. We did not and still do not have the same character of the West Virginia University or even Maryland fan base. Why try to sanitize us even more by curbing booing, the “Stick It In” chant and goodbye songs by replacing them with lame traditions that were lifted from other programs?

Does that not deserve a “boo”?

Lane Stadium has always been an intimidating place to play, but Weaver wants to sanitize the atmosphere. Weaver has stated that he would like to see the Hokie nation cheer as loudly for the opponents as

they do for our team. Does that not make you want to boo?

Please, if he does not have a pulse on the students then how else will I voice my displeasure? Maybe an angry scowl or frown will do.

Jimmy Kruyne senior, interdisciplinary studies

Health care reform needed On August 29, I stumbled across a poorly written story from NewsBusters.com entitled “Media Wrong On Census Uninsured Data By 10 Million People,” and I’ve since heard this data trumpeted by a number of talk-show hosts and pundits. I never imagined, however, that I’d see a Collegiate Times columnist using this same data as a platform against health care reform.

The reasons why 37 or 47 million Americans lack insurance seem inconsequential, especially in light of data offered beyond the recent census.

Both the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Coalition on Health Care report that 16 percent of the U.S. economy is devoted to health care, that health care spending has exceeded economic growth in every recent decade, and that health insurance premium increases consistently outpace inflation and the growth in workers’ earnings.

More importantly, uninsured Americans — regardless of the reason they’re uninsured — don’t receive treatment from primary care physicians, instead generating costly emergency room bills that are ultimately passed along to insured citizens. And as our population ages and the cost of insurance continues to rise, this problem will only grow.

I don’t have space to discuss how health care reform will remove the ugly tether between jobs and insurance, how there’s no way to enforce fiscal responsibility on a free society (or how our current economic growth depends on mass consumption), or how students can take a look at their university health care plan for a hands-on view of the health care crisis. I will, however, ask that the next time a CT reader hears “someone droning on about the health care

crisis,” they begin a conversation by noting that, according to the Kaiser Foundation, the average premiums for family health coverage are more than the gross yearly earnings for a full-time minimum wage worker.

The “best (health care) system in the world”? Hardly.

Tim Lockridge graduate student, English

Practicality of abstinence The column “Being realistic about abortion and abstinence” was a huge breath of fresh air. It’s really encouraging to hear sensible opinions about a topic that can be so controversial. We need more people like this who are willing to speak out against what is so obviously unrealistic – abstinence-only education.

The documentary “The Education of Shelby Knox” sheds light on this topic. Knox is from Lubbock, Texas – a town with one of the highest teen pregnancy rates and with abstinence-only education in schools. She takes a stand against this damaging form of “education” in her very conservative town. As a Christian who has just taken her abstinence pledge, she still realizes that abstinence cannot work for everyone and that teens should be taught about birth control options so that they can make wise decisions if they choose to be sexually active. In the end, education is the most important thing.

From learning about contraceptives, the difference between the morning after pill and the abortion pill (they are not the same thing!), and the reasons why women choose to get abortions, our minds can be opened to things we wouldn’t normally think about. No one in the world is in the same situation as anyone else and there are many different options that can work for everyone. Abstinence may work for some, but not for others, and this should be taken into account in schools.

Dominique Montgomery junior, interdisciplinary studies

Editorial national issue

Editorial responsibility A four-word editorial published in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, Colorado State University’s student newspaper, has garnered nationwide attention and put the student editors at risk of losing their jobs. The student editorial published last Friday read, in total, “Taser this… F--- BUSH,” spelling out the expletive completely and offering no explanation other than “This column represents the views of the Collegian’s editorial board,” in small font underneath. The four-word editorial itself, is written in extremely large font, with the words “F--- BUSH” more than twice the size of the words before it.

The newspaper’s editor in chief, J. David McSwane, defended the Collegian’s editorial saying, “We felt that maybe four words were more impactful than 250 … Our intentions weren’t hey, lets really upset the community, our intentions were let’s get the college students talking about freedom of speech,” in an interview with CNN. The editorial, that referenced the incident where a University of Florida student was tased last week at a political forum, was apparently meant to catch student attention and get the entire campus thinking about free speech. McSwane said the seven-student panel came up with the column to get attention.

If that was their intention, then they certainly succeeded.

Since publishing the editorial, many people’s jobs are in jeopardy, advertisement revenue has been lost and many of the paper’s readers are upset about the lack of judgement shown by the editorial board.

In an e-mail addressed to

the members of the media and the university community, McSwane stood by his editorial saying, “Our intention was to make a statement in support of the First Amendment by exercising the rights therein.”

Because the Collegian is independent of the University and self-funded, not relying on student fees for publication, CSU retains little control when it comes to handling the situation.

The First Amendment is one of our most precious gifts as citizens of this country. However, with the rights that we were granted, also comes tremendous responsibility to represent ourselves maturely. While the Collegian certainly has a right to express their views through an editorial, the way in which they did so, is more laughable, than actually a legitimate step toward getting people to take free speech seriously.

Aside from that, aligning oneself with, or against, a political candidate in such an outspoken manner doesn’t reflect well on any serious news outlet aiming at bipartisanship. While readers may suspect a certain political affiliation based on research, facts, opinions and findings, publishing an obscenity within such an editorial reflects poorly on the writers and editors. Most newspapers make the decision not to run such words, out of respect for their readers and professionalism.

If the Collegian wanted to bring attention to the First Amendment, they succeeded.

If they wanted to make a big statement, in order to get people talking, they succeeded.

The question lies in whether representing themselves and CSU in this light was really worth it.

Artist’s work honors victims and gives hope to all ALEX CHAPPLE regular columnist At the beginning of the semester, I was speaking with a member of the Virginia Tech faculty about what it is like to be back on campus after April16. We both agree that everything is different, even if the differences are subtle. The most notable thing for me is the quiet. Everything is more quiet, on campus and around Blacksburg. I think it is the lingering shock, but also an intentional part of the reverance everyone is showing for the school and the lost lives. The other thing that is impossible to miss are the hopeful smiles on almost every face I see. The members of the Virginia Tech community are positive; they know we will get through this together.

I was pondering these things recently when I got a phone call from my greataunt Carla, who lives in Maine. She, an artist, told me a story about one of her artist friends, Jonathan Carlson.

Jonathan is the uncle of Emily Jane Hilscher, the first victim of last year’s tragedy. My aunt told me that he had recently completed a project in memory of Emily, a construction of one large, metallic, self-lighted word: HOPE. I decided this story needed to be shared with Tech students, who, in my opinion, are a walking example of that word.

I called Jonathan and asked him about Emily, whom I sadly never met.

One specific description struck a chord within me and spoke to the true sadness of the event. He said, “She was an exceptional woman on the launching pad of life.” This is true of the other young lives lost, students at the pin-

nacle of their growth, ripe and ready to use all their acquired knowledge to change the world. For me, each lost life signifies one less educated and inspired person helping to change the world for the better.

Jonathan primarily works as an illustrator, doing work for many leading magazines, but around a year ago he decided to construct the sign as a way to get in touch with his creative roots. After some deliberation, the word “HOPE” was chosen as a positive response to some challenging years in his life. The inspiration for the design came from a large, rusty letter “C” he acquired years previously in Baltimore.

He began construction but found the metals he had did not weigh enough to be shaped the way he desired. The project was not going as he expected and suddenly he was caught up in other work, so he had to put the sign to the side for a while.

But then April 16 came along and his sign took on a new meaning. Jonathan said, “It was apparent at Emily’s funeral how much impact she had on the people around her. She won’t be forgotten, I can promise you that.”

When he returned to Maine after Emily’s funeral, Jonathan purchased new metals and lights and began working on the sign again. It needed to be finished for Emily. With his father’s help the sign was completed in three weeks.

It now hangs on the side of his barn in Camden, Maine. At dusk each evening it emits a soft-glow that lasts through the night.

Jonathan told me he has had positive responses from his community, even from people unaware of his inspira-

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Jonathon Carlson, Emily Hilscher’s uncle, created this memorial to his neice on the side of his home in Maine after she was killed on April 16. tion.

“I wanted it to be a positive message.

I wanted to make people pause when they see it. I also did it to remind myself, a message to myself to be hopeful.”

I was inspired by Jonathan’s story because I believe his work represents Tech’s response to the tragedy: constructive and hopeful. The Tech community has worked and labored and pulled together. For what? Hope.

People are commited to making Tech

better than ever before; we are working hard to do so and are hopeful that it is possible. The Commonwealth of Virginia, and each individual university and institution within the state, must work hard to revamp their mental health policies and make sure incidents like this are prevented.

I also like to think that state and federal legislatures will be proactive in making sure that such actions are prevented in the future too, by

strengthening gun laws, if not abolishing gun ownership entirely. But we too, students, faculty, and staff of Tech, must continue to labor creatively like Jonathan. We must find new and positive ways to be hopeful about Tech’s future, and work harder than ever to show the world what greatness can come from this place.

I ask that our signs of hope continue to shine through the darkness, just like Jonathan’s.

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6 sports

editor: ryan mcconnell email: sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw noon - 2 p.m.

september 25, 2007

Just another confidence-building romp What does Virginia Tech’s 443 rout of Division I-AA (oops, I’m sorry … I mean Championship Subdivision) William & Mary BRIAN prove? Well, I WRIGHT can tell you that my outlook on ct sports this team has not reporter changed much with the result of this game.

The defense is very strong and reliable, just as we expected.

Week 2 in COMMENT Baton Rouge was definitely an aberration, because the way the LSU team has been play-

Offensively, Tyrod Taylor brings a new dimension to the table. His ability to open up the field with his legs and give his receivers time to get open certainly helps. ing on both sides of the ball, it looks like they could beat the New Orleans Saints.

Even with the starters giving way to the reserves after the outcome had been decided and with such a small sample size to judge, the defense once again did its part on Saturday.

The Tribe ran 6 drives in the first quarter against Tech's starting defense.

The Hokies held William & Mary to a measly six total yards in that span, including four drives that lost yardage.

Tech shut down the Tribe’s highlytouted air attack, led by quarterback Jake Phillips. In the first half, before the game had been put out of reach, Phillips was 10-for-26 with 134 yards and two interceptions.

Offensively, freshmen quarterback Tyrod Taylor brings a new dimension to the table. His ability to open up the field with his legs and give his receivers time to get open certainly helps. However, there needs to be

improvement from the entire unit if Tech wants to establish itself as the force of the ACC. On the ground, the Hokies rushed for 133 yards against a porous Tribe run defense that allowed 237.3 per game against the imposing likes of Delaware, VMI and Liberty. Tech’s offensive line once again was far from dominant and has been mediocre at best this season. So far this season, the running backs have gained 104.5 yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry, which is one yard fewer than their 2006 average.

Although Tech scored five touchdowns, all of them coming in the first half, only three came on offense.

In addition, the Hokies missed two early opportunities to strike paydirt.

Following a 45-yard keeper by Taylor that put them on the Tribe’s 12-yard line, Tech failed to punch it in on three straight plays, leading to a 23-yard field goal by Jud Dunlevy. The next drive was much similar. After gaining 29 yards, the red zone offense halted and only managed three points.

In a lopsided game, there was no need to play the first team in the second half and try to run the score up.

Still, both Taylor and the offensive line needed the reps.

The good news was that the special teams got plenty of work and they seemed to take full advantage of it.

After nearly blocking the first two Tribe punts, an errant snap on their third effort put the Hokies on the doorstep of the game’s first touchdown. Now, was it pressure from the earlier punts that forced the longsnapper to rush or was it just the poor execution of William & Mary? I’d say the latter.

In the second quarter, Eddie Royal’s 60-yard punt return for a touchdown was set up by great blocking and a bit of No. 4’s speed and elusiveness.

Tech’s punt and kickoff coverage was extremely solid. Four of Jared Develli’s kickoffs sailed into the end zone. Even when Develli ended up just short of the goal line, the William & Mary return men were constantly met by a curtain of Hokies who never

Weekend Recap MEN’S SOCCER PLAYS TO DRAW

SALLY BULL/SPPS

While the Virginia Tech football team was busy taking care of business against William & Mary at Lane Stadium Saturday, the No. 15 men’s soccer team traveled to Williamsburg for a tough road game against the Tribe. Tech’s squad got off to a sluggish start and surrendered a goal just three minutes into the contest. The Tribe lead held throughout the first half, but the goal appeared to rouse the Hokies, as they controlled the game from that point on and eventually responded five minutes into the second half off a corner kick. Sophomore midfielder James Gilson took the corner for Tech and delivered the ball to senior midfielder Georg Zehender, who drove a header home for his second goal of the season. Neither team found the net following Zehender’s goal, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The draw extends Tech’s unbeaten streak to six games – they are 5-0-1 in that span – representing the second-longest unbeaten streak under head coach Oliver Weiss.

However, Weiss is careful not to allow the team to relax following their early season success.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Weiss said. “For the record and for confidence, it can be very beneficial to win games early … But it definitely

also gives you more of a bulls-eye on your chest.”

The Hokies will look to extend their unbeaten streak Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they take on the Richmond Spiders at the Tech Soccer Stadium.

TENNIS TAKES INVITATIONAL CROWN A couple members of the men’s tennis team turned in strong individual performances in the Southern Intercollegiates at the University of Georgia over the weekend.

In Athens, Ga., Tech freshman Sebastian Jacques had a stellar weekend of play and captured the Division III singles title in his first collegiate event.

Jacques, a native of Quebec, defeated Vanderbilt’s Alex Zatov 36, 6-3, 6-1 Sunday to take home the championship in an event featuring some of the nation’s top collegiate tennis players.

Tech’s Brandon Corace also enjoyed a successful weekend and won his Division II consolation match in straight sets.

The men’s tennis team has the week off, but will return to the court next weekend in Charlottesville for the Virginia State Open.

- Torrey Smith

Kenny Lewis Jr. (foreground) and Branden Ore celebrate a Virginia Tech touchdown during Saturday’s 44-3 win over William & Mary. let the Tribe obtain good starting field position.

It took nearly 19 minutes for punter Brent Bowden to see any action. Still, he managed to average just over 43 yards per boot, with three of them downed inside the Tech 20 yard line.

In their first meeting since 1985, both clubs got very little from Saturday’s game at Lane. The only thing William & Mary got was a hefty

......radio for

$200,000 check, a swift butt-kicking from the Hokies and maybe the realization that they shouldn’t play Tech for another 22 years.

Tech got a win which, if nothing else, builds confidence. As for next week, North Carolina and new head coach Butch Davis come to town. Might I add, this is a Tar Heel club that sits with a record 1-3. Sounds like another good confidence builder to me.

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page 8

tuesday, september 25, 2007

Hokies back stroking

Defense and special teams shine through in rout of William & Mary TECH ROLLS TO A 44-3 VICTORY OVER THE VISITING TRIBE; THE HOKIES NOW PREPARE TO TAKE ON TAR HEELS IN ACC OPENER JACOB MINNICK

ct staff writer

MIKE SHROYER/SPPS

Sara Smith, a sophomore, competes in the backstroke during the season-opening intersquad pentathalon on Sunday, September 21. The swim and dive team returns to the pool Saturday, September 29 for the alumni relays in War Memorial Hall.

The Virginia Tech football team has taken two confidence-building steps forward after getting knocked down fairly hard against LSU three weeks ago.

The Hokies are now enjoying a twogame winning streak after soundly defeating the William & Mary Tribe by a score of 44-3 this past weekend.

Tech barely needed a full half to put away the Tribe as the Hokies put on a show and scored in a hurry, taking a 27-0 lead in the first quarter and going into the half with a comfortable 41-3 lead.

The flurry of points came as a collective effort of solid runs, tight defense, and nearly flawless special teams play.

Even though Tech looked slightly sluggish in the second half, the second team offenses and defenses showed signs of improvement from last week against Ohio.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor got a second start under his belt, but continues to develop his game as he has not faced a tough test since leaving Baton Rouge.

He threw his first career passing touchdown this weekend, but he will be forced to grow up quickly as stiffer competition rolls around this October.

“There are some things that Tyrod will just have to learn from playing each week. He’s going to improve, and as he improves our football team will be able to do the same.”

- FRANK BEAMER HEAD COACH “There are some things that Tyrod will just have to learn from playing each week,” said head coach Frank Beamer in a post-game press conference.

“He’s going to improve, and as he improves, our football team will be

SHAOZHUO CUI/SPPS

Dorian Porch upends William & Mary’s Andrew Atchison as Purnell Sturdivant and Stephan Virgil look on. Porch and Sturdivant led Tech with eight tackles each, and Sturdivant added two sacks and two interceptions. able to do the same.”

Taylor has shown flashes of brilliance in approximately two and a half games this season, putting together 435 total yards on offense and two rushing scores, doing so with limited playing time because of score.

“Ideally we’d like him to get a few more plays in during the game but with the score the way it was we just wanted him to be ready for next week,” Beamer said of Taylor’s playing time against William & Mary.

Beamerball reared its head against William & Mary with several game

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changing performances. Cornerback Brandon Flowers, a third team AllAmerican in 2006, started the party, scoring on a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.

“The receiver came out of his break and I felt really good on my coverage so I sliced in front of him in order to try and get to the ball and that’s what I did,” said Flowers.

Meanwhile, Eddie Royal showed speed and moves that brought the special teams back to life with a dazzling 60-yard touchdown down the middle of the field on a punt return early in the second

quarter.

“I just think that anytime I am able to touch the ball I need to try and make something happen out there,” said Royal.

Defense and special teams, hallmarks of Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s squad, flexed their might just before the crucial conference slate.

“It’s really good to see that Beamerball’s back,” said Flowers, “Our defense came out ready to play and we definitely showed them last week wasn’t a fluke and it’s just what we needed to get our confidence before this ACC run.”

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