COLLEGIATETIMES
tuesday april 15, 2007 blacksburg, va.
www.collegiatetimes.com
news POLICE PRESENCE TO BE HEIGHTENED ON APRIL 16 With the anniversary of the shootings last year comes a natural increase in security for the university and surrounding community. Virginia Tech police are acknowledging that throughout the events planned for Wednesday, there will likely be an influx of visitors, and the department has accepted the offer of assistance from other law enforcement agencies around the state. The increased security and law enforcement agencies should not be cause for alarm, but are simply present to help manage the increased presence on the campus, and are a symbol of the support that is still available for Tech.
LAUGHTER FOR LOVE WILL SUPPORT NORTHERN ILLINOIS On Wednesday, April 16, Attitudes Bar & Café will host Laughter for Love at 9 p.m on its usual Comedy Club night. The entry fee of $12 will go to the Hokies for Huskies Memorial Fund, and $5 raffles will also benefit the fund. Attitudes Bar & Café is located 900 Prices Fork Rd. Call 540-552-7001 for more information.
ANNIVERSARY EVENTS PLANNED EVENTS ON CAMPUS AND ACROSS THE STATE OF VIRGINIA WILL REMEMBER APRIL 16 ONE YEAR LATER NEW RIVER VALLEY COMMUNITY SETS PLANS FOR APRIL 16 REMEMBRANCE CANDACE SIPOS
ct news reporter A few miles away from various memorial sites and events on Virginia Tech’s campus, the town of Blacksburg will also be involved in commemorating the lives of those lost last April 16. Some businesses will be directly involved by donating a portion of proceeds earned that day to memorial funds, providing free or reduced-priced offers, or setting up makeshift memorials. Others have yet to decide what route they will take, and a few will change nothing in the hopes of instilling a sense of normalcy in the community. Although the town is not holding any official events, Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam said he encourages all town residents to do what they feel will be helpful on Wednesday. “We made a conscious decision that it should be a Tech and student-driven day,” Rordam said. On the night before the 16, the Center for Community Healing After Tragedy (CHAT), Tech’s SGA, and Hooptie Ride’s Designated Driving Service are providing free transportation around the town from Hooptie Ride. Patrick Halpern, executive director of the Mental Health Association of the New River Valley, one of the organizations involved in CHAT, said the partnership raised close to $1,200 to provide this service. After then contacting Hooptie Ride’s founder David Robinson, he agreed to provide the rest of the funds needed to cover the expense. Usually, the ride is $8 minimum per destination. “On the eve of such an important day in our community, we wanted to try to make sure that everyone would make it home safely,” Halpern said. On Wednesday, some businesses in Blacksburg will provide products specialized for the day of commemoration. Eugenie Ranck, owner of Chocolate Spike, will be making chocolate clay ribbons for customers to purchase. Some of the proceeds from these orange and maroon snacks, which can also be air-dried to be preserved, will go toward the April 16 memorial fund.
see COMMUNITY, page three
LOCAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
word of the day abulia uh•BOO•lee•uh (verb) 1. loss of ability to make decisions After a day spent playing video games, Kelly was suffering from a severe abulia.
weather SUNNY high 50, low 30
corrections “Students embrace ambassador roles,” (CT, April 10) had a mistake. Linsey Barker worked in D.C. for three years. “New outreach project challenges freshmen engineers,” (CT, April 10) should be clarified. Christopher Williams is the assistant mechanical engineering professor. This sentence should have read, “They’re not true engineers yet (because they don’t know how to do formal engineering analysis), but we wanted to show that it wasn’t the case.” The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
coming up TOMORROW’S CT A year after the shootings, Tech is a very different place — see how the university has changed in the past year. Check out a video of the pylon ceremony held on Friday for two Corps of Cadets alumni.
index News.....................2 Features................4 0pinions................5
Sports....................7 Classifieds..............6 Sudoku..................6
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year • issue 49
APRIL 15 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. Free transportation from Hooptie Ride 7:30 p.m. Memorial Service at Blacksburg Jewish Community Center 11:45 p.m. The Cellar Restaurant is closing early in remembrance of April 16
APRIL 16 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Open Sanctuary and counseling at Blacksburg Baptist Church 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Interfaith gathering at Blacksburg Library 10:30 a.m. – noon Live broadcast of the campus commemoration in the food court at the New River Valley Mall 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Interfaith gathering and counseling at Price’s Fork Elementary School 6:16 p.m. Downtown Ecumenical Fellowship at Blacksburg Baptist Church 9:30 p.m. Laughter for Love 2 at Attitudes Bar & Cafe to benefit the victims of the Northern Illinois University shootings. Cost is $12
NICK JEREMIAH/SPPS
VIRGINIA TECH CAMPUS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS APRIL 16 10:30 a.m. – noon Commemoration on the Drillfield with University President Charles Steger and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine 8:15 p.m. Candlelight Vigil on the Drillfield 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Memorial Slideshow at the Holtzman Alumni Center 10 a.m. –10 p.m. April 16 art exhibit at the Perspectives Gallery in Squires Student Center 7 a.m. – midnight Meditation in the Jamestown Room in Squires Student Center 10 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Free admission for students to BreakZone noon –3 p.m. Dance performances in Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires Student Center noon – 5 p.m. “Remembering through Art Creation” in Old Dominion Ballroom in Squires Student Center
Garden Tours of the west patio of the Peggy Lee Hahn Garden Pavilion. Tours begin every 30 minutes 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Chess for Fun in the Brush Mountain Room in Squires Student Center 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Open Microphone in Deet’s Coffee Shop 1 – 4 p.m. Open Microphone in Deet’s Coffee Shop 3 p.m. Women’s Softball vs. Liberty at Tech Softball Park 3 p.m. “Remembrance For Dance” performance in memory of Reema Samaha in Haymarket Theatre in Squires Student Center 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Art Exhibition in the Alumni Center Museum of the Holtzman Alumni Center 2 p.m. Tree dedication in memory of Austin Cloyd and Maxine Turner on the front lawn of Hillcrest Hall
noon – 8 p.m. Reflection and Music in War Memorial Chapel
4 – 5:15 p.m. “We Are Prevailing” discussion in Litton Reeves 1760
12:15 p.m. English Department Commemoration in Shanks 370 and 380. English majors only
6 p.m. Remembrance For Dance performance in memory of Reema Samaha in Haymarket Theatre in Squires Student Center
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch on the Drillfield 1p.m. – 3 p.m.
6 p.m. Candlelight Vigil and joint prayer service at Blacksburg Baptist Church For additional events across the state of Virginia, see page three
SGA’s ticket split generates unexpected outcome KEVIN ANDERSON
ct new river valley editor Despite a rare split ticket in last week’s SGA elections, the newly elected SGA officers have accepted their positions and have already begun working together. Nevertheless, the split ticket outcome was unexpected and has not occurred in quite some time. “It doesn’t happen very often,” said Emily Mashack, the newly elected president. “I think the last one was five years ago.” Mashack, who ran on the ‘yourSGA’ ticket, won with 2,323 votes, beating her counterpart Jen Vaziralli by 87 votes. The other three elected officials came from ‘The Total Package’ ticket. While the elected officials were elected from opposing tickets, Mashack stated that everything was run-
see TICKET, page two
THE ELECTION’S MISSING WRITE-IN OPTION STILL UNDER REVIEW BY THE COMMISSION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS ASHLEY OLIVER
ct associate news editor After much controversy occurred surrounding SGA elections, the results that had been announced last Thursday are still being reviewed. Debates about the election arose after junior civil engineering major Billy Brubaker, along with others, noticed the absence of a write-in option on the election ballot. Brubaker presented his arguments to the Commission of Student Affairs, an organization designed to make recommendations to the University Council regarding polices that affect student life. He submitted “a list detailing where the SGA is clearly working outside the constitution,” primarily discussing that he felt the missing write-in option
on the ballot was unconstitutional. The judicial branch of the SGA was then able to provide an argument addressing the issues brought up by Brubaker. Junior finance major and Chief Justice of SGA, Aaron Bock was firm in stating that the removal of the write-in option was valid according to both the constitution and bylaws. Graduate student in the department of dairy science and Chair of CSA Joseph McFadden said in a statement that CSA had heard the issues from both sides, but concluded that the CSA did not have the authority to overturn the election based on a prior decision in 2005. “The results of the 2008 Student Government elections should be considered valid and reported to the Virginia Tech student body,” said McFadden in the statement. “As determined in 2005 in a meeting of CSA, it is beyond the scope of Commission
to overturn an SGA election.” While CSA cannot deem an election fraudulent, it has the right to hold any University Chartered Student Organization responsible for complying with its constitution. Therefore, at a meeting on Thursday, CSA will discuss all of the various constitutional issues with an appeals committee formed by SGA to determine whether infractions legitimately occurred in the process of removing a write-in box from the election ballot. “After discussion, necessary or appropriate actions/recommendations regarding SGA may be taken at that time,” said McFadden in the statement. There is a slight chance that the elections
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see SGA, page two