COLLEGIATETIMES
wednesday september 10, 2008 blacksburg, va.
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news CENTER APPOINTS DUBINSKY AS DIRECTOR James Dubinsky has been appointed to lead Virginia Tech’s new Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships. The center was formed as a result of one of the three recommendations made by a committee for the future of Norris Hall. Dubinsky will work towards increasing student involvement in service, using Tech’s service learning center and VT Engage as part of the center’s foundation.
ANGELA TINCHER TO TAKE HOKIE AWARD The Virginia Tech Athletics Department will honor Angela Tincher in a ceremony prior to the Hokies’ football game against Georgia Tech. The former Tech softball Tincher pitcher will be presented with three of the five major awards she won this year.
TRACK AND FIELD NAMES ASSISTANT COACH Emmanuel Daux has been named the assistant track and field coach by the Virginia Tech athletics department. Daux was hired after former coach Lawrence Johnson was named the director of track and field and cross country at Clemson University. Daux served as the interim head coach at Hampton University last season and will be in charge of Tech’s sprints and hurdles groups.
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coming up TOMORROW’S CT Read about issues with the Athletic Department’s treatment of in-game signs.
index News.....................2 Features................4 0pinions................5
Classifieds..............9 Sports....................7 Sudoku..................9
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 78
Storm psychology: What comes after? RILEY PRENDERGAST
ct news reporter New Orleans citizens were all too familiar with the sound of gale force winds pounding on their doors and rain drowning their city’s streets. Though it had been about three years since the Hurricane Katrina disaster, recent Hurricane Gustav had many residents of Lousiana’s capital experiencing an all too realistic case of deja vu. One Virginia Tech researcher has been studying the psychological effects that the deadly 2005 storm brought forth. Russell Jones is a professor of psychology who teaches a graduate level course on the effects of trauma on the psyche. Jones has been working with groups in New Orleans that are attempting to help people cope with their tragedies. “I was there mainly to develop and strengthen mental health infrastructure, to find out what needs help, which areas needed work, and to find out where people were in terms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and depression,” Jones said. Jones has also held workshops in New Orleans to try and teach other mental health professionals how to deal with victims of massive mental trauma. Throughout his time in the disaster zone, Jones has learned a considerable amount himself. “When I speak with victims of a trauma, one thing they always say is, ‘It’s going to happen again.’ That’s their number one fear,” Jones said. “The mental health facilities in New Orleans were, as I saw, undermanned, underfunded and not at all ready for Katrina,” Jones said. “I was there to provide help to local heath associations and agencies, get the school programs up and running and getting people back and into their homes.” With this lack of mental health treatment options, people, especially those of lower income, were unable to seek treatment. This left the wounds torn by Katrina open and vulnerable to be exploited by a second storm. Jones said that as Gustav approached, thoughts of a mirrored tragedy intensified. Jones noted that though the storm continues to provoke terror in many of those affected, one thing they did not observe was a rise in suicide after Katrina. MIKE SHROYER/SPPS
see JONES, page two
Russell Jones, professor of psychology, studied the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Gustav while holding mental health workshops.
Presidential hopefuls, the future of health care, and you LAURA DUKE
ct news staff writer Words like premium, deductible and private coverage may not mean much to a typical college student. Almost 67 percent of all American college students are currently covered by their parents’ employer-sponsored health insurance plans, according to the United States Government Accountability Office. Seven percent of students are on private plans, such as student health insurance, and a public program, such as Medicaid, covers 6 percent. This leaves 20 percent of college students who don’t have health insurance at all. As for the first 67 percent, GAO reports that many will not be covered by their parents’ policies once they reach the age of 23, when insurance companies believe that the students can support themselves. And even though a majority of students may feel as though they need not concern themselves with the problems of health insurance now, it is likely that all will be forced to face them within the next president’s term. With health insurance premiums increasing at nearly three times the rate of inflation, both presidential candidates agree that the country’s health insurance system needs dramatic change. As college attendees, voters, and the next generation to be affected by changes to the health insurance system, it is important for all students to work past complex lan-
BECCA THOMAS
ct news reporter
OLIVIER DOULIERY/MCT
BRIAN BAER/MCT
Both presidential candidates have fashioned distinct plans to fix American health care. A fifth of college students do not have any form of health care. guage and detailed position papers to see what both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama propose. According to James Bohland, Virginia Tech Health Planning professor and researcher, one difference between the two
presidential nominees’ plans is their targets. “The McCain plan is more toward tweaking the private sector to try to make it more competitive, whereas the Obama plan says they’ll create a national health insurance
see HEALTH CARE, page three
Back to the big box battle: Wither a Sonic, round two GABE MCVEY
ct news staff writer A recent development in the ongoing dispute between Blacksburg’s town council and real estate developers over the First and Main project on South Main Street may result in a new Sonic drive-in restaurant on site after all. The council voted yesterday on a new resolution that may allow the once-rejected business to begin construction in order to avoid lengthy and costly litigation compounding the already long-running dispute with Ohiobased developer Fairmount Properties. The resolution revealed the companies have “stated their desire to submit a revised application for a special use permit with revised conditions that address concerns.” “The Town does not object to considering a revised application with revised conditions
Engineering residences boost young students
given the expense and uncertainty of the pending litigation,” the resolution states. A 4-3 June vote originally struck down the special-use permit requested by Sonic in order to comply with Blacksburg regulations specifically dealing with drive-in restaurants. In July, Fairmount Properties and Sonic filed a joint lawsuit against Blacksburg calling the decision “arbitrary, capricious and unfair,” and alleging that the council’s actions were discriminatory and an act of “political retribution.” Residents and council members criticized Sonic’s first plan for its lack of sidewalks, crosswalks and other pedestrian amenities. There were also concerns about noise from outdoor speakers and the pollution generated by cars idling at the drive-in. The property in question is commercially zoned and is in the town’s general commercial district. The lot abuts U.S. Highway 460 and
is designated for high-impact development. The land on all sides is developed or currently under development for commercial use. Council member Paul Lancaster said the property had been specifically set aside for such development. “If a drive-in restaurant is not appropriate there, it’s not appropriate anywhere in Blacksburg,” Lancaster said. Fast food establishments are by right permitted by the Blacksburg zoning code. Drive-in restaurants, however, must seek a special-use building permit to begin construction. The resolution will not grant Sonic permission to build. However it allows Blacksburg attorney Larry Spencer to pursue a court order directing the council to consider an amended application for the Sonic project. Without a court order, Sonic would have
see BIG BOX, page two
Two of Virginia Tech’s themed housing programs have proven successful over the last two years, The Hypatia Engineering Community designed specifically for firstyear women in the engineering college and the Galileo Engineering Community, created for first-year men also in the engineering program. There is limited space for second year students. The Hypatia Engineering Community was established in 2001 for women to have a support system and to show women that they aren’t alone in the engineering program, said Dee Miller, the graduate assistant for the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity. The Galileo Engineering Community began in 2005 with the same principles as Hypatia. The women who are in Hypatia reside in Slusher Wing and the men are located on the sixth and seventh floors of Lee Hall. Both programs are sponsored by CEED. “I thought it would be a lot easier to do homework with other engineers around,” said freshman general engineering major Johnny Goodnow, a student participating in the Galileo program this year. “The biggest thing is being in an environment where I can go next door and get help without having to go to the library.” There are 228 spaces in the Galileo program this year, with 192 freshmen and 36 sophomores, Miller said. One hundred female engineers can be accommodated in the Hypatia program, with 20 spaces set aside for sophomores. To achieve acceptance into either program, students must first go through Residential Life and submit an essay. Second year students go through an interview process. There is no GPA requirement as each application is looked at as a whole, much like a college application, Miller said. Second-year students who are accepted into the programs have leadership positions. They act as mentors to the new students. The sophomores are divided into four different committees: academic support, communication, seminar, and social and community service. CEED has a program during the summer that many first-year engineering students participate in, which helped some students realize this summer that the Galileo program would be beneficial for them. “We practiced college life,” said general engineering freshman, Ben Ernzen, a student who went through the STEP program, which stands for Student Transition Engineering Program, this past summer. “We took four classes every day and had study groups; having so many kids in the same major made it a lot easier to do work.” Both the Galileo and Hypatia program have seminars that are for professional and academic development, Ernzen said. In these seminars, students also work on goal setting and academic planning for their college careers. “The programs get a little repetitive,” Goodnow said. “But it teaches good study skills and time management.” Miller also added that students in both of these programs are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities and are taught to balance their schoolwork and personal life.
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