COLLEGIATETIMES
wednesday april 30, 2008 blacksburg, va.
www.collegiatetimes.com
bulletin board CT ON VACATION Today’s issue marks the end of CT spring publication. Weekly publication will resume May 22.
Blacksburg’s balancing act SIXTEEN SQUARES COMMITTEE LOOKS TO GUIDE REVITALIZATION OF DOWNTOWN, WHILE STILL PROTECTING LOCAL LANDMARKS
news NCAA DOWNPLAYS HEELS-OBAMA HOOPS ISSUE CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s men’s basketball team on Tuesday had what a team official called an extraordinary chance to play basketball with presidential candidate Barack Obama. So extraordinary that an NCAA rule appears to have been broken — and the NCAA is apparently going to ignore it.“This was a unique situation and not an NCAA issue,” NCAA media relations director Eric Christianson said in an e-mail message to The News & Observer on Tuesday. “It certainly was a great opportunity for the student-athletes to interact with a presidential candidate.” At issue is the timing of the informal scrimmage and the fact that UNC coach Roy Williams watched it from the sideline. According to NCAA bylaws, coaches are not allowed to watch pick-up games at any time during the offseason. Division I basketball teams also are prohibited from any mandatory athletically related offseason activities through final exams. Exams began Monday at UNC. Team spokesman Steve Kirschner said Williams knew he wasn’t supposed to be at the Smith Center practice gym under the letter of the NCAA rules, but that these were “extraordinary circumstances,” and, with the number of Secret Service personnel on site, the coach wanted to be there to make sure that everything went OK.Kirschner also said the Tar Heels play voluntary pick-up games all the time that are within the rules because they are not mandatory. That’s what took place on Tuesday, he said. –McClatchy Newspapers
weather SUNNY high 64, low 41
corrections “Sharing stories of hope and revelation,” (CT, April 24) had a mistake. Bob Canter is an instructor in the English department. “Dave Cianella nabs fourth straight Coach of the Year honor,” (CT, April 25) misspelled Cianelli. “Students make environmentally-conscious decisions,” (CT, April 29) misspelled Myles Killar. The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
coming up TOMORROW’S CT Check out our special graduation section for the information on when and where each department’s graduation ceremony will be held.
index News.....................3 0pinions................5 Features................6
Sports....................7 Classifieds..............8 Sudoku..................8
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year • issue 58
MIKE SHROYER/SPPS
Top: The Alexander Black House, the home of a prominent nineteenth century Blacksburg businessman, was moved from its location in one of the town’s original sixteen squares in 2002 to make way for the Kent Square retail development. Below: Jonathan Strumfeld, a senior in landscape architecture, was hired as a student intern to assist the Sixteen Squares committee.
CALEB FLEMING
ct news reporter The Town of Blacksburg will host a meeting tomorrow to discuss ways to sustain the town’s historic district in the midst of renovation and revitalization. The meeting will be open to the public and play host to community members, the Sixteen Squares committee and Virginia Tech’s Community Design Assistance Center. The gathering will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Kent Square Lobby, located at the corner of Main and Washington Streets. In 1798, the Town of Blacksburg was laid out in a 16-square grid, which covered a 38-acre land plot bordered on four sides by Jackson, Draper, Clay and Wharton Streets. Inside this original grid, is an assortment of establish-
ments, ranging from homes and rental properties, to churches and businesses, to open space and parking lots. Though many of the 16 blocks now serve a different function than they originally did, a committee was formed this year to promote community awareness of the historic significance of downtown Blacksburg. The Sixteen Squares committee has been working closely with Tech’s Community Design Assistance Center. The CDAC was presented with the committee’s four goals to identify, educate, preserve and develop, and with plans to share what ideas they have formulated to meet these points. The CDAC is an outreach center that communities hire on a project-by-project basis. Kim Steika, the CDAC landscape architecture coordinator, said that the meeting is not to establish any formal plans for the downtown area; rather, it is a gathering for information
sharing and collecting. Steika said that community input is extremely important to the project and encourages town inhabitants to attend and voice their opinions and ideas. Steika added that she hopes those who attend can leave the meeting better informed. “For some people who live in the area, it will increase the awareness of the assets here and help spark some enthusiasm for the great potential in this area,” Steika said. “We are also hoping to take from the residents some ideas on how we can achieve goals.” Blacksburg museum administrator Terry Nicholson said the original idea was to establish a plan that could implement education programs about what the 16 squares are, as well as the value of the historic district.
see BALANCING, page three
Judicial Affairs sees spike in violations SAIRA HAIDER
Honor code violations
ct managing editor Alcohol violations among student organizations have increased to 27 incidents to date this year, a number which university officials from the office of judicial affairs believes is high risk compared to previous years. Francis Keene, director of judicial affairs, said that violations among organizations commonly occur when people do not realize how much alcohol they are consuming. “The most concerning thing is that I don’t feel student organizations as a whole understand the personal risk that goes on, especially with alcohol, not even just formal events, but even things that go on in apartments,” Keene said. “There could be criminal actions, ramifications from a legal perspective.” Ed Spencer, associate vice president for student affairs said that organization leaders need to be concerned about these issues. “If you are an officer here and your name is on the line, you need to realize the position you are in with university policies,” he said. “27 is heavy, it is heavy. Even taking into account cases that were adjudicated (because of April 16).” The Office of Judicial Affairs is notified in a few different ways when an organization violates university rules. “There are some who walk into the office (and report an incident), we sometimes receive anonymous complaints, but most of the time it’s a police-generated or RA-generated report,” Keene said. “The organization affiliation is determined by what someone says, what someone is wearing, or what others who observed the behavior is affiliated on. We have had students just walk in and hand us a complaint and sometimes citizens will send us complaints when events are held outside on other property, even away from our campus.” Recently Facebook has gotten some organizations in hot water. “We don’t spend our time routinely searching for things on Facebook,” Keene said. “What happens is someone says, ‘hey, you need to take a look at this page’ and that’s not different to us when someone says you need to see these photos that were taken, or a notice on an engineering billboard with a notice for a party — we have to be reactive to something that comes in. People forget that the Internet is a public forum. If you put things up publicly, I’m not going to ignore them if someone brings them to my attention. I think that students think we look for that, but we don’t have that time to do that.” Spencer agreed and noted that students should be aware of how ubiquitous Facebook is,
2005-2006
GORDON BLOCK
• 19 student organization cases • 15 involved different student organizations • 7 cases were adjudicated in the fall and 12 in the spring • 2 cases were withdrawn
ct news reporter
2006-2007 • 18 student organization cases • 15 involved different student organizations • 2 cases held over from 05/06 were adjudicated in Fall 2006 • 4 new cases were adjudicated in the fall and 9 in the spring
Criteria for Determining An Organization Event are as follows: An incident may be an organizational activity, for which the organization itself may be disciplined, if any two of the following characteristics are present:
A. The faculty adviser (if applicable), or any of the executive officers of the organization is aware of the incident sufficiently in advance of its occurrence to prohibit its taking place, and takes no action to prohibit it.
B. The faculty adviser (if applicable), or any of the executive officers of the organization knows the identity of the members involved in the incident and refuses to divulge that information to the appropriate university authorities or the police.
C. The incident takes place in any public area within a chapter house or in any public place.
D. The incident involves the expenditure of any organizational funds. E. The incident involves or is actively or passively endorsed by a majority of the members of the organization.
F. The incident involves six or more members of the organization. BEN MACDONALD\COLLEGIATE TIMESS
even if their profile is limited. “When people restrict pages to friends, don’t forget that friends don’t always stay friends and friends don’t always keep things to themselves,” he said. Facebook was used as a tool when the former Virginia Tech Snowboard Club was under
‘DISPUTATION’ DOCUMENT DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS
investigation for an organizational violation. As a result, the club recently had its charter revoked and is under deferred suspension for two semesters. Nina Eerry, junior industrial design major
A newly posted document criticizing the Student Government Association has generated a great deal of reaction from members of the organization. The document, titled the Disputation of Student Body on the Representation and Efficacy of the Student Government Association, is a collection of 68 points covering a variety of different issues including student outreach, the handling of April 16 events, and the recent SGA elections. The posters, who wished to remain anonymous, posted the disputation around campus, including the SGA office and Burruss Hall. The writers cited the work of reformist Martin Luther, author of the “95 Theses,” in producing their disputation. “We got inspiration from the 95 Theses, and wanted to work off that,” said one of the writers, who wished to stay anonymous. “As Martin Luther had a motive to write against an overbearing and corrupt Catholic church, we too have a motivation to write against an overbearing and corrupt student government.” With the recently decided SGA elections, the disputation focused on the decision to give yourSGA candidates a major infraction, which, according to the disputation, unfairly altered the outcome of the elections. Student government officials adamantly disputed the findings. “There was no bias in any part of the election process,” said Aaron Bock, chief justice for the SGA. “Nobody in the judicial board had any preference on who won the election, and if they did they would’ve been replaced by someone without any bias.” Also noted in the disputation were the SGA’s efforts in preparing and coordinating for the one-year anniversary of the April 16 shootings, in particular the incorrect naming of a victim during the candlelight vigil. The disputation labeled the mix-up as “truly a travesty.” SGA members spoke out about the incident, including Community
see DOCUMENT, page four see VIOLATIONS, page three
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