Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Print Edition

COLLEGIATETIMES

wednesday may 6, 2009 blacksburg, va.

www.collegiatetimes.com

Va. Beach parties list Tech players as promoters BRIAN WRIGHT

ct sports editor Virginia Tech is looking into promotional materials featuring several football players, including Tyrod Taylor and Kam Chancellor.

Pictures obtained by the Collegiate Times were found to have the name and/ or likeness of the team’s starting quarterback and safety — as well as tight end Greg Boone, former linebacker Purnell Sturdivant and former tailback Branden Ore — in a variety of posters publicizing different events in the Virginia Beach area.

Some of the fliers were found on Taylor’s Facebook page, where he had posted them as his main “profile” photo.

According to Tim Parker, Tech’s senior assistant director of athletics for compliance, the compliance department asked for their removal on Monday. As of Monday at 3:56 p.m., the pictures were no longer on the page.

“I don’t think that’s something that the football program would want up there because anything that any of our studentathletes put up there indirectly reflects on the whole team,” Parker said.

It’s unclear whether Taylor or Chancellor received any compensation for the events. Parker said he is hop-

ing to meet with the two in person on Thursday to discuss the matter.

Representatives of the football team authorized to speak to the media could not be reached for comment.

NCAA Bylaw 12.5.1.1, under Institutional, Charitable, Education or Nonprofit Promotions, states that a student-athlete can participate in a nonprofit promotional activity as long as it meets nine criteria, including: “The name or picture of a studentathlete with remaining eligibility may not appear on an institution's printed promotional item (e.g., poster, calendar) that includes a reproduction of a product with which a commercial entity is associated if the commercial entity's officially registered regular trademark or logo also appears on the item;” “All moneys derived from the activity or project go directly to the member institution, member conference or the charitable, educational or nonprofit agency;” “The student-athlete's name, picture or appearance is not used to promote the commercial ventures of any nonprofit agency;” In addition, NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1 speaks to non-permissible promotions.

According to the rule, after one becomes a student-athlete, he or she is not eligible for participation in intercollegiate athlet-

Safety Kam Chancellor and quarterback Tyrod Taylor pose with an unknown man at a party that promotional material said they hosted in Norfolk. ics if: “Accepts any remuneration for or permits the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind; or “Receives remuneration for endorsing a commercial product or service through the individual's use of such product or service.”

One advertisement was for a party

called the “Freakum Dress and Ralph Lauren Cabaret,” located at the Lake Wright Golf Course Resort at Comfort Suites. The March 1, 2008 event was hosted by both Chancellor and Taylor, according to the flier. In addition, the two are photographed together at the party.

Two of the contacts on the advertisement were Michael “Moe” Deloach and Qutrell Payton.

see PROMOTION, page eleven

SGA executive appointments rife with controversy CARROLL

TEN YEARS LATER, TECH STUDENT’S DISAPPEARANCE REMAINS A MYSTERY story by caleb fleming

M

others know fear.

They know it when their toddler first jumps

into a pool, they know it when their teenager stays out past curfew, and they know it when their child goes away to college.

Sometimes fear is replaced by relief, as a child’s head surfaces from under the water, the family car pulls in to the driveway late at night, or a reassuring phone call tells mom that her college student is doing OK. But sometimes fear does not go away.

So it goes for Jacqueline Kovack, who 10 years ago tried to call her son Robert, then a graduate student at Virginia Tech. She called on a Friday, but her son wasn’t home. She waited until Saturday, but her call was never returned. She called several times on Sunday, but Rob still wasn’t there.

Rob always called home on Sunday night, but this time Jacqueline’s phone never rang.

Jacqueline called again on Monday morning demanding answers. But this time, she was told that Rob had left Blacksburg on Friday evening, heading home to Rivesville, W.Va., for the weekend.

His vehicle was found abandoned three days later — Sept.

22, 1998 — on U.S. Route 19 near Fayetteville, W.Va. And so began one of the most mysterious cases in Virginia Tech history — a missing person investigation full of contradictions, loose ends and boundless conjecture.

But it’s also the story of a young man of modest means and tremendous potential. It’s the story of a brotherly love spanning decades. And it’s the story of a mother’s fear that, in 10 years, has never been replaced by relief or closure.

see MISSING PERSON, page two

MCCARTY

JUSTIN GRAVES

ct news reporter Allegations including bribery and illegal recording of interviews have been raised against newly elected SGA4YOU officers of the Student Government Association as a result of controversial interview practices.

The incoming SGA officers are accused of bribery, illegal recording of interviews, and ousting of individuals because of their UNITEDSGA loyalty during interviews for executive board positions by four students who interviewed for positions on the SGA’s Executive Board last week. The incoming SGA officers could face potential action from Judicial Affairs and the SGA legislative bodies.

In response to the allegations, SGA4YOU campaign strategist and executive assistant Taris Mullins said that little to none of the accusations are true. Mullins, a senior English major, was directly involved with organizing the interview process for executive board position appointments.

Several applicants interviewed for executive board positions said they were asked if they would accept $100 to cease pursuit of the position.

Mullins was solely responsible for the composition and content of each question asked to executive board applicants.

“This is a misinterpretation which we will take ownership for,” Mullins said. “This is not something that we intended to be misinterpreted, but the question was not worded one hundred percent correctly. We thought it was really clear what we were saying.”

SGA4YOU cites an article from a popular magazine as their inspiration for the controversial question.

“Our explanation for our process came from an article in Fast Company magazine and the company Zappos,” Mullins said. “It’s a billion-dollar company. Basically, what he did during his interview process is exactly what we did. They asked, ‘If we were to give you $2,000 would you leave the company and the process right now?’ We used that as an inspiration to model the question after.”

Of the 150 applicants for 41 positions, not all candidates received this question. In a group interview, members of the SGA4YOU ticket declined to say how many students received the question.

Former SGA Director of Transportation and sophomore Spanish major Ricardo Boulware, on the opposing UnitedSGA ticket in the SGA elections held in April, reapplied for his executive board position as director of transportation affairs, but was not chosen for the job.

“They did ask me the question concerning leaving the process for

BRADLEY

ZAKUTNEY

ALLEGATIONS Ricardo Boulware has filed a grievance with Judicial Affairs accusing the new SGA4YOU officials of offering some applicants bribes to leave the application process for the executive board.

Boulware accused SGA officials of illegally recording interviews for executive board.

SGA Justice Thomas Haghdal accused the newly elected SGA4YOU officials of rejecting applicants for executive board positions on the basis of their support for the UnitedSGA ticket. $100,” Boulware said. “I cannot put a monetary value on my service.”

SGA4YOU admits that there was, in fact, $100 on the table during the interviews where this question was asked. However, they said the money was not going to be given out.

“We never gave them $100; we said ‘if.’ There was money sitting on the table, but it is not money that was going to be given to anyone at any time,” Mullins said. “The purpose of that question was to determine whether or not people were actually approaching this situation in the right manner and whether or not they wanted to be involved with SGA for the right reasons or if they just wanted to do it for the status.”

Beyond the question involving the $100, the same questions, however, were not asked to every applicant.

There was a set of standard questions that was asked to every student that was interviewed. Then, based upon which position that person was applying for, there were two specific questions per position.

At the end of the interview, there were two different rotating questions that were asked randomly.

“The other question we would ask them was if we were to offer you an assistant directorship position or committee role, would you still want to be involved in the SGA,” Mullins said.

Former co-director of constituent outreach Jessy Miller served on the executive board this year, and applied to continue.

“My interview was on Tuesday evening, and that’s when I first heard of the bribery,” Miller said.

Miller, a sophomore history major, said the alleged bribery caught applicants off guard.

Applicant Nicole Zajowski, a freshman business management major, had an interview the same day as Boulware, and was not offered the $100.

“Even though they claim this is stan-

see SGA, page six

page

2 news

editor: caleb fleming email: nrvnews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: tth 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

may 6, 2009

editor: sara mitchell email: universitynews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Missing person: Kovack’s saga remains unsolved from page one

Chapter One: The last sighting Robert Kovack withdrew $80 from an ATM at Freedom First Credit Union on South Main Street in Blacksburg at 5:21 p.m. on Sept. 18, 1998. The ATM’s video surveillance confirms that this was the last record of Robert Kovack.

An hour before, Rob had been positively identified getting gas at the Wilco station on 825 N. Main St. He was wearing blue jeans and a polo shirt and had a brief conversation with the station’s attendant.

Rob told the man that he was heading home to see friends, and after paying for his gas with a check, he took off in his red Geo Tracker, heading up Progress Street toward his apartment.

Perhaps just after his sighting at the ATM, Catherine Porzio, a fellow architecture student, saw Rob in Cowgill Hall at approximately 5:45 p.m.

Porzio arrived at the building and entered the elevator. It stopped on the second floor, and as the doors opened, Rob stepped onto the elevator. The two had a brief conversation before Porzio exited on the third floor.

She said Rob asked her how she was doing, but nothing further.

She told police that he looked exhausted, with “bags under his puffy eyes.” He had also shaved his beard, something that, to her, made him appear considerably heavier.

Porzio was supposed to see Rob later that night at a party, but she heard through mutual friends that Rob would not be there, despite an invitation.

If her perceived timing is accurate, Porzio may have been the last known person to interact with Robert Kovack.

Chapter Two: Rivesville, W. Va By most measures, Robert Leroy Kovack was not someone who stood out in a crowd. He was tall and slender at just over 6 feet 3 inches tall and 175 pounds. Rob had dark hair, frequently sported a goatee, and by his brother’s standards, had the appearance of a typical college student.

But his physical appearance aside, Rob was an embodiment of the community he was brought up in.

Rob was raised in a rural coal-mining town in northern West Virginia, home to an average of just 900 people

SALLY BULL/SPPS

Rivesville is a small coal-miningtown in northern West Virginia that sits alongside the Monongahela River. The town has changed drastically — and for the worse — in the 10 years that have passed from when Robert Kovack was first reported missing. Residential areas, including the home in which Kovack resided prior to his time at Tech, overlook the town and river. on a given year.

Rob’s dedication to tasks and modest nature were reflections of his upbringing, though the perceptions of a small town atmosphere may be deceiving. Rob’s small frame and stature, as well as his boldness, made him an easy target for bullying — but not an easy victim.

“Where we grew up, you held your own or got picked on,” his brother Michael said. “He was small and scrawny, but he was scrappy. He wouldn’t take anything, despite the size difference. He would take his ass with him before he walked away.”

Michael said that Rob would not back down from any situation, no matter how high the odds were stacked against him.

“He was one of the nicest guys in the world, but if someone tried to pick a fight, I don’t care if they were 500 pounds and 10 feet tall, he’d go,” Michael said. “They might beat the hell out of him, but he wouldn’t shy away.”

The underdog trigger inside Rob that brought him into brawls also pulled him closer to Michael.

“There were times when we were growing up where someone would say something, an altercation would go on, I’d step in, and they’d say, ‘This isn’t about you,’ and I’d say, ‘It is now,’” Michael said.

As children, Rob and Michael were inseparable, in a younger brotherolder brother fashion. At close to one year apart, the two would patrol

the neighborhood together, looking for something interesting to do. If Michael went to a friend’s house, it was given that Rob would be just steps behind.

As the two grew older and went their separate ways through college, their brotherly bond faded but never dissipated. The two would get together as frequently as they could, usually in the summer.

Robert was a 1991 graduate of Fairmont Senior High School, and true to his roots, received his undergraduate degree at Fairmont State University in West Virginia, just miles from his home in Rivesville.

The two would talk infrequently, usually several times a month, but would spend the most of their time together when they could be home at the same time.

“In the evenings we’d go down to the local bars, have a beer, shoot pool, things of that nature,” Michael said. “We’d go about our business the next day, and in the evening we’d get together again.”

The summer before Rob’s disappearance, Michael’s home was being built in Martinsburg, W.Va., so he spent time in Rivesville with his brother and family.

And when Rob was accepted to Tech’s architecture graduate program, the brothers shared the excitement.

Rob was set to begin a new chapter of his life, much further from home

— a chapter that to this date still has no ending.

Chapter Three: The Geo Tracker Rob’s clean-cut appearance transferred into his lifestyle.

His immediate family insists that he kept his car in immaculate condition, refusing to let it collect dirt, and had a payment plan to cover its cost in a reasonable time. It was the first vehicle he’d bought himself, a financial decision he was forced to make because of transportation needs to and from Tech.

Yet when his soft-top 1992 Geo Tracker was found unoccupied at the intersection of Lansing Road and Route 19 near Fayetteville in West Virginia, investigators discovered that the car looked as though it had not been cleaned in some time.

But the dirt and grime found in his vehicle is the least puzzling to family members and investigators.

Sgt. Brad Mankins of the West Virginia State Police said there were no keys in the vehicle’s ignition, while Michael noted that the driver’s side door was locked, but the passenger’s side door was not.

State police crime lab technicians swept the Tracker for fibers or hair strands, but they were largely unsuccessful. Police found small, whitetipped black hairs from a Dalmatian dog in the vehicle. A friend of Robert’s came forward to police and said his

dog and he had ridden with Rob earlier in 1998.

Police found one latent print, or a fingerprint, that shows only a small portion of the finger’s surface that is often smudged. Investigators also found one palm print.

They were unable to positively identify either print and were also unable to find a laundry basket that Rob was thought to have taken with him. The only item Rob’s roommates remembered seeing him leave with was a blue clothes hamper. It has never been recovered.

A slit was also found in the soft-top canvas, near the passenger’s side door, and an amplifier that had rested in the rear part of the vehicle was missing, something investigators said may have been stolen by rafters frequenting the New River.

Police theorize that rafters spending their summer in the area may have seen the car abandoned for multiple days and gone to investigate.

They would have used a knife to cut through the soft-top roof and unlock the passenger’s side door. They may have then stolen the clothing and amp from the cargo area of Rob’s vehicle.

At one point, a resident of Craig County called a trooper involved in the investigation and said she had found an empty blue clothes ham-

see page three

page 3

wednesday, may 6, 2009 from page two

per, missing its lid, on her property while walking. The sheriff’s department investigated and described the hamper to Robert’s mother. But she said although it was similar, it was not the same size and did not think it belonged to Rob. When the Tracker was discovered, it was just beyond the New River Gorge Bridge, out of gas, just two and a half driving hours from where he was last seen, and engaged in 4-wheel drive, harvesting another unanswered question.

Rob had learned to drive on a stick shift, 4-wheel drive Subaru in Rivesville. He had then purchased the Tracker, a 4-wheel drive SUV, and driven it for several years before his disappearance. He was experienced with switching between 4-wheel drive and 2-wheel drive, and understood the use for each gear.

And in a mild September, there would be no need for Rob to put his Tracker in 4-wheel drive on the highway.

“My theory on that, and it is just a theory, is that something happened in Blacksburg,” Michael said. “Somebody that knew my brother knew where he was from, and just drove the vehicle as far north as they could. You go in 4-wheel drive because you’ll run out of gas much quicker.”

It was briefly conjectured that Rob had been 4-wheeling earlier, but the theory was ruled invalid shortly after, as the vehicle’s exterior was not dirty enough, Michael said. He thought most of the dust had been blown onto the car as it sat on U.S. Route 19, unoccupied.

The Tracker was also found a half-mile past the nearest gas station, Mankins said.

“This wasn’t a stupid kid,” Michael said. “This was somebody who was very smart, very intellectual, and had driven that same course multiple times. Anybody who has driven that stretch knows that if you don’t have gas when you hit Fayetteville, you aren’t getting any until you hit Mount Nebo, another 15 miles away.”

Lansing Road is the only access road to the Canyon Rim raft removal point after the Fayette Station rapids, though there are many other entrance and access locations along the New River for whitewater rafting. The road winds approximately five miles down to an area under the gorge bridge.

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center is located just a quarter-mile from the spot on Route 19 where Rob’s car was found.

Park Ranger Leah Ferkowski has been employed at Canyon Rim in its present location for more than 15 years and was vaguely familiar with Robert’s case. Though she was never interviewed by investigators, she did remember seeing fliers posted in the area and hearing of the disappearance.

Ferkowski was surprised to hear that Rob has been missing for more than 10 years, and she noted the difficulty search parties would have in finding someone in the region because of how open and immense the space is. Ferkowski said the park service occasionally acts on reports of missing hikers and hunters, but added that none has been as mysterious as Robert Kovack’s.

Dog teams, whitewater rafters and National Park Service rangers helped in multiple searches of the vicinity of where Robert’s car was found. Their searches included door-to-door visits to homes on Lansing Road and the Canyon Rim area.

State police also conducted helicopter sweeps, while Rob’s family and friends walked the area searching for anything that could shed light on his mysterious disappearance.

The searches turned up no useful evidence.

Perhaps one of the most inexplicable factors in the Kovack case is the absence of any signs of struggle or foul play in the vehicle, something extremely unusual for the 24-yearold who never backed down.

Chapter Four: Graduate studies Robert Kovack loved life in Blacksburg and at Virginia Tech.

He played softball in his free time and took up mountain biking as a student.

“He enjoyed the total atmosphere,” Michael said. “That was his first experience at a larger college or university, and he made the best of it. He enjoyed the fact that everything was really close to his apartment, and typically he would ride his bike back and forth to class.”

He excelled in Tech’s architecture program, quickly rising to the top of his class.

But as a young man from Rivesville, finances were a strain. In the 2000 census, the median annual household income in Rivesville was slightly more than $20,000, or approximately $10 per hour for standard, 40-hour-perweek employment. He had come to Tech for the architecture program’s prowess, but also for two other factors.

First, Tech was geographically close to home, something that Rob valued greatly because of his close relationship with family members. Secondly, with the program he was enrolled in, Michael said that Rob was offered in-state tuition to attend, despite his home residence being across state boundaries. Since there was no school offering the degree he wanted in West Virginia, he entered a program qualifying him for the reduced tuition rates at Tech.

During his time at Tech, Rob applied to be placed in a pool of students wishing to become graduate

teaching assistants. To be a GTA, one must demonstrate a clear financial need, as the position provides the GTA with money to be applied to the costs of their education.

Chapter Five: Terrace View Numerous questions surrounding Rob’s disappearance have surfaced from the place he was to call home for nine months out of the year.

Rob first met Jason Yoho growing up in West Virginia, and over time the two became good friends. As with most pre-college relationships, the two went separate ways and remained in touch.

But as fate would have it, Rob and Yoho ended up at Tech together for graduate studies. They lived together until Yoho’s fiancée announced her intentions of moving to Blacksburg to live with him.

Opting not to be a third-wheel, Rob elected to move in with two other people that he might have known through classes.

The roommates were part of 15 to 20 interviews conducted by Mankins and the West Virginia State Police.

It will never be known what state his room was in when Rob was last present, because his roommates had packed nearly all of his things in boxes and taken apart his bed before it was ever inspected, despite direct requests from the Kovack family to steer clear of the crime zone, Michael said.

When investigators and family searched Robert Kovack’s Terrace View apartment in Blacksburg, it appeared as though he may have never even left the town.

In fact, very few of Rob’s personal items were absent in the search. His backpack sat in the room, just as it would if he had stopped by after class to drop it off. Inside it investigators found unopened mail, including a bill for rent. No architecture supplies were discovered, but rather a single pen and two stamps. Rob’s bike was found in the apartment.

Rob’s shaving kit was also in the room, something that at first may have appeared unusual if he planned to go home for a weekend, as his roommates claimed he intended to do. But because Porzio had seen him earlier in the day clean-shaven, there may have been no need to shave.

“My theory on that, and it is just a theory, is that something happened in Blacksburg.

Somebody that knew my brother knew where he was from, and just drove the vehicle as far north as they could. You go in 4-wheel drive because you’ll run out of gas much quicker.”

- MICHAEL KOVACK ROBERT KOVACK’S BROTHER But in addition to shaving supplies, his toothbrush and toothpaste were also found in the apartment.

Though most of his personal belongings were found boxed up, Rob’s wallet and credit cards were never located in the apartment, or anywhere else. The bill for two cards amassed $12,000.

Since his disappearance, his bank account has remained unused.

“His bank account is still untouched,” Rob’s mother Jacqueline said. “The account is still open, and we get statements every month, but there was no credit card use, no phone bill to his phone, no link to him anywhere.

We’ve done everything and there is just nothing. He just vanished.”

Robert Kovack’s roommates insisted to family members and investigators that he was heading home, having left at approximately 5 p.m., possibly to attend a West Virginia University football game that Saturday. They said that Rob had been packing clothing earlier when they left the apartment, and when they returned, saw that the laundry hamper was gone, figuring he had left.

But Robert never called home to inform his parents that he was leaving his apartment for home and would be arriving late that evening, something that has never sat well with Michael or the rest of the Kovack family.

“It would be crazy to walk into my parent’s house at those hours of the morning,” Michael said. “You wouldn’t do it. He would have at least let them know, ‘Hey I’m on my way home. I’ll be there after midnight,’ or whenever, just to let them know it will be ‘me’ pulling up.”

Yoho had offered him a ticket to the West Virginia football game against Maryland, though Rob never confirmed that he would attend. Rob had told Yoho several times that if he could get there, he would try, but he wasn’t 100 percent sure he could make it.

In fact, Yoho drove the same route that Rob was supposed to have taken, only 12 hours later. He told investigators that he had no recollection of there being a vehicle parked where the Tracker was found.

“Had he seen it, obviously he would have stopped,” Michael said. “They were very good friends. That’s something you’d recognize, and he couldn’t even recall it being there on his way back on Sunday.”

Neither Yoho nor Catherine Porzio returned calls or e-mails from the Collegiate Times.

Sherri Shaffer of Morgantown, called police to inform them that she and her husband had been traveling to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and stopped at the Gorge Bridge between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. Shaffer

made it very clear that she always noticed vehicles parked on the side of the road, but she did not see the Tracker that day.

LOCATION OF KOVACK’S VEHICLE

Chapter Six: Graduate Teaching Assistant Rob met Jack Davis, the current dean of the College of Architecture, shortly after being chosen as a GTA. Davis met with Rob at least once a week for the year and half that they had a GTA-professor relationship.

“I met him when classes started in August 1997,” Davis said. “I had requested a GTA, and he was proposed. I reviewed his capabilities and said, ‘Sure.’”

Rob’s duties as a GTA included “the preparation of lecture materials and tasks that support the teaching missions,” Davis said.

“He was a kind person,” Davis said.

“He was conscientious and very interested and quite eager to be involved.

He did an excellent job.”

And in addition to helping Davis with lectures, Rob was also interested in having Davis review his own studio work.

Rob thoroughly enjoyed the architectural engineering that he was studying, and was hired to begin working for Blackwood and Associates, a reputable architecture firm in Fairmont, after he graduated.

At a time in the architecture industry that saw many college graduates hard-pressed to find work, Davis said that Rob’s portfolio and work experience would have been attractive to employers, even in the job crunch.

Though he had met with his employers, Rob was never actually able to experience his first day in the profession as he went missing just weeks into the first semester of his second year in Tech’s graduate architecture program.

Davis put Rob in touch with the New River Valley director of Habitat for Humanity.

“I put him in contact with Habitat for Humanity because there was a need to produce a document that would identify all the houses Habitat had done in the area,” Davis said.

“Since I was on the board then, I was working with him on that as well.”

Davis worked with Robert during his time at Habitat, but never truly became close with his GTA. But even with the professional relationship between the two, Davis was still selected to provide the opening remarks at a memorial event for Rob six weeks after his disappearance: “It has now been over six weeks since Rob Kovack, a graduate student in architecture, disappeared. His family is faced with many difficult questions and few answers. To this effort, they have established a reward for information and are considering the hiring of a private investigator to assist the police. This family of modest means is not asking for donations; however, as members of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies family, we can make a difference by making a contribution to help resolve this unfortunate situation. Rob was my GTA last year and I can tell you personally, he was the kind of person who would be active in an effort to support one of us,” Davis said at the memorial.

Though Davis could not remember specifics on when he last saw Robert Kovack, he noted that it would not have been long before his disappearance.

As Rob was expected to meet Davis in his office weekly to talk, Robert Kovack’s last trip to Cowgill Hall, the same trip in which he encountered Porzio, may have also been the final meeting to discuss architecture with his adviser.

Route19 New River Gorge Bridge Canyon Rim Visitor Center Fayetteville New River

Fayetteville

West Virginia Virginia

Roanoke Blacksburg Christiansburg SARA SPANGLER/COLLEGIATE TIMES

TIMELINE OF EVENTS Friday, Sept. 18, 1998 Blacksburg Wilco 4:00 p.m.

Rob was positively identified getting gas at the Wilco station on 825 N. Main St. He was wearing blue jeans, a polo shirt, and told the station's attendant he was heading home to see friends.

Terrace View 4:15 p.m.

Just after leaving the gas station, Rob took Progress Street to his Terrace View apartment. There his roommates confirmed seeing him packing a blue clothes hamper.

Chapter Seven: Halloween parties Oct. 31, 1996. For Michael and Robert Kovack, this signified two things. The annual Halloween parties were in full-swing downtown, paired with the celebration of Rob’s Oct. 30 birthday.

The family had their own party at home for Rob, consisting of cake, ice cream and everything else one would expect at a birthday festivity. But as Rob and Michael were growing older, so were the parties being held. After the family gatherings, the brothers gathered their friends and hit the bars in town that consistently hosted exceptional Halloween parties.

For a stretch of time, Rob actually bartended at a place holding several of the parties.

But after his disappearance, Michael said, the mood of the Rivesville gatherings became more somber. They no longer ended with friends lounging around drinking and playing games.

“We’d be rehashing it all again,” Michael said.

Be it to inquire about updates in the case or to offer their own two cents, Michael said, “There’s not a time that people don’t ask about it.”

Ten years have passed since Rob was reported missing, and as autumn fades to winter in Rivesville, the Kovack family, as well as the town, must again face a season of somber memories and dismal emotions.

Robert would have turned 35 on Oct. 30, 2008.

Chapter Eight: Private investigations and the paranormal The private investigator hired by the Kovack family was disturbingly unsuccessful.

Rob’s computer was inaccessible, as the P.I. could not crack his passwordprotected machine. None of his work panned out, and the investigator asked family members to conceal his identity, so as not to inhibit Rob’s case, or any other that he was involved in.

see page four

Blacksburg ATM 5:21 p.m.

Robert Kovack withdrew $80 from an ATM at Freedom First Credit Union on South Main Street in Blacksburg at 5:21 p.m. The ATM's video surveillance confirms that this was the last record of Robert Kovack.

Cowgill Hall 5:45 p.m.

Catherine Porzio, a fellow architecture student, saw Rob in Cowgill Hall at approximately 5:45 p.m. Porzio encountered and had a brief conversation with Rob in the elevator before he departed on the second floor. She noted that he looked exhausted,

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1998 Car found at corner of 19 and Lansing Road Rob's soft-top 1992 Geo Tracker was found unoccupied at the intersection of Lansing Road and Route 19 near Fayetteville in West Virginia. The car was unusually messy, and was found out of fuel with the keys in the BETHANY BUCHANAN/COLLEGIATE TIMES

page 4

wednesday, may 6, 2009

SALLY BULL/SPPS

The New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va., sits less than a quarter mile from the site where Robert Kovack’s Geo Tracker was found. The bridge is 3,030 feet long and carries U.S. Highway 19 876 feet above the New River. The bridge is directly above the Canyon Rim whitewater rafting drop location for kayakers. from page three

But Davis and Fitzwater both said that they were never contacted by the P.I., an alarming fact considering the general lack of evidence already present in the case.

“We had to let him go because there was nothing,” Jacqueline said.

Jack Cunningham, a private investigator from Lynchburg, Va., has been in the field since 1999, around the time that Kovack was reported missing. Though he was unfamiliar with the specifics on the Kovack case, Cunningham did say the investigator’s work did raise some questions. “(Cracking the password) would not be easily done by me because I’ve never attempted to do it,” Cunningham said. “But there are a lot of companies that offer that particular service. The police department, in particular, would absolutely be able to do that. Especially in a forensics investigation.”

Cunningham added that anything over $1,000 in credit card debt would demand his attention. And since Rob’s topped $12,000, the bill would likely be of interest.

“Most credit card companies will notify you at a certain amount to make sure you are the same person,” Cunningham said. “It would not be a lot different in 1999.”

Cunningham added that in some situations, it’s possible that someone could have made the person in question withdraw money from the bank or a credit card.

Rather than give up hope entirely when the private investigation turned up nothing, the Kovack family consulted a psychic to analyze Robert’s case. The results of the psychic session were expectedly strange.

Anticipating death to be the reason Robert Kovack has not been seen since September 1998, the psychic predicted that the motive for murder was money and gave a mildly detailed description of the suspect.

The psychic told the family that the suspect would have a tattoo on his upper right arm that reads “love,” and that he had an earring on his right eyebrow.

The family was told that Robert did not know his killer well, but that he had called Rob requesting a ride, feeling that he could trick the student and get him alone. The suspect was supposed to live in an area close to where Rob did, and the psychic predicted that Rob would be found in a pool of water that had numerous streams running into it, next to something burnt. The psychic thought the charred object could possibly be a wallet.

Sgt. Mankins, a presiding officer, said that multiple psychics mailed

information to police, but the WVPD did not specifically reach out to any of them.

“You take it with a grain of salt,” Mankins said. “We’d look at anything because we have a missing person that has still not been found.”

Chapter Nine: Commitment to service Just after the spring semester in 1998 concluded, Robert Kovack, beaming with self-satisfaction, handed Terri Fitzwater a book, pleased with his final product. It was the result of weeks upon weeks of work, though it never seemed like a chore.

Fitzwater was the New River Valley director of Habitat for Humanity and had a relationship with Rob that would later blossom into something that had a lasting effect on Fitzwater.

He had just completed a compilation of all of Habitat for Humanity’s homes, including detailed maps, descriptions and a manual.

Fitzwater was grateful and impressed with Rob’s submission, but far from surprised.

“He was very detailed-oriented and always had a smile on his face,” Fitzwater said. “His dedication to get things done struck me the most about him. He was a sweet young man.”

But the day Rob submitted the book was also the last time he and Fitzwater would meet face to face. Rob was soon to be headed home to Rivesville for the summer.

“He was such a likable person,” Fitzwater said. “He was friendly, open and volunteering for all the right reasons.”

Fitzwater said that in her position, she sees numerous students coming to her office just to boost their resume.

“You have volunteers that are just there, and you have volunteers that are very dedicated,” Fitzwater said.

“He was very easy to talk to and work with. He had a great sense of humor.”

Echoing Davis’ description of Rob, Fitzwater said he was a typical college student, though a small bond grew between them over the time they spent together.

From time to time, Fitzwater would go to meals with Rob to talk about life in general, not just his project for Habitat for Humanity.

While Fitzwater said that she would talk a lot about her fiancé, Rob often spoke highly of his family members, and expressed excitement over the job with the architecture firm he had already locked in.

And though she did not classify her relationship with Rob as friendship per se, their acquaintanceship had a profound effect on the Habitat’s direc-

tor, as she has spent considerable time in the past 10 years consumed by the Kovack case.

Fitzwater has compiled a case file of her own for Kovack, having acquired her information from countless interviews with numerous people from 1998 to 1999, immediately following Rob’s mysterious disappearance. She maintained contact with his family, giving and taking information as it became available.

Fitzwater talked to police investigators, demanding answers and names, collecting information from anyone and everyone who may have known information about Robert.

“It’s something you think about every day. I would like to see him found alive or dead so there is an end to it. Anytime there is any information that comes in, I pursue it. But there has just not been very much information coming in.”

- SGT. BRAD MANKINS WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE In fact, at times when police turned possible witnesses away and discredited their information, Fitzwater did interviews with them anyway, searching for potential clues that could shine light into an otherwise dark investigation.

Fitzwater even went to West Virginia with an architecture professor to conduct a foot search of the area Robert may have traveled.

She noted possible reasons for the general failure by police searches, be it with helicopters, dogs or troopers.

“From Blacksburg to where his vehicle was found, the whole national forest is right there,” Fitzwater said.

But instead of finding information to blow the case open, Fitzwater has found herself continually puzzled by the same questions that investigators have faced for years.

“If he was going home, why didn’t he get gas at that station?” Fitzwater asked. “Why didn’t he stop at that station, knowing it was the last station for a while? There’s no justified reason that vehicle should have been out of gas. None.”

“Why would he pack dirty clothes for a football game if he weren’t going home?” Fitzwater wonders. “And if he was going home first, why didn’t he call?”

Chapter Ten: Credit collectors and unanswered questions Michael Kovack still receives numerous calls every month from credit and collection agencies, demanding money due to them from years ago.

Though he tells the solicitors time and again that his brother has been missing for a decade, Michael says he can sense the uncertainty in their tones.

“They automatically think you’re lying to them, and that can just become so irritating,” Michael said.

“You try to be polite, but after they harass you it’s a never-ending battle.

They can’t collect on these outstanding debts.”

Somewhere since his brother’s disappearance, Michael had all of his brother’s bills forwarded to his address, hoping to ease the stress placed on his parents.

But before closure can be achieved in this investigation, a laundry list of questions linger.

Both Davis and Fitzwater are baffled at the lack of investigation from the FBI, and even Mankins struggled to offer an explanation for why the FBI was never actively looked to for support.

“I don’t know why they were never pursued,” Mankins said. “I’ve talked to a couple agents, but there’s nothing other than his vehicle that says he actually crossed state lines.”

The FBI will only get involved in cases that involve crimes crossing state lines, and because Blacksburg was the last place Kovack was seen, they have had no interest in an investigation, Mankins said.

And since the cause of disappearance has never been established, police have not given up on the idea that Robert may have chosen to walk away from his life and start over new.

“They kept saying that maybe there was no crime at all; maybe he elected to disappear, and a person can legally do that if they want,” Davis said.

Cunningham echoed that, on occasion, people do not want to be found.

“If he is wanting to not be found, it will be difficult to track him,” Cunningham said. “But on the same token, to have survived you would have to use your date of birth and Social Security number, or someone else’s. Changing your name doesn’t help because your social and date of birth still exist.”

And Kovack’s case is different, according to family members and police investigators. Even Cunningham said the typical character of a person starting a new life does not match what he was told about Kovack.

“The general mold is a person who is depressed and maybe running from something. Maybe he was afraid of failure, or not doing well in school and not wanting to disappoint,” Cunningham said. “But this sounds rather suspicious. He had everything going for him. He was doing well in school and was in communication with his family. He had no reason to leave unannounced like he did.”

Mankins said that there were potential sightings in West Virginia immediately after his disappearance, though they were all rejected for one reason or another.

“There were some within a few weeks after he came up missing,” Mankins said. “All of those were followed up and unfounded. There were reportings, but not sightings because they ended up not being accurate.”

Mankins added that the state police were asked to respond several times to what were potential breakthroughs, though none of the leads ever panned out.

“There were times where people called us to an area where they found bones and stuff in the woods, but we responded and they were always animal,” Mankins said. “There were other times when people thought they had seen him alive, but when we found the person they had seen, they are of another identity.”

And for Mankins, the case that is now a decade old still resonates within him.

“It’s something you think about every day,” Mankins said. “I would like to see him found alive or dead so there is an end to it. Anytime there is any information that comes in, I pursue it. But there has just not been very much information coming in.”

In fact, Mankins said investigators “have not got any one substantial lead or bit of evidence that will resolve the case.”

The lack of information only hinders the future of the investigation.

“The longer this trail is cold, the worse it’s going to be. It’s going to be hard at this juncture to go back, because everything has changed,” Cunningham said.

Though the case is cold, neither the West Virginia State Police nor the Salem branch of the Virginia State Police Department would relinquish documents regarding the disappearance. Special Agent Charles Eaton, a criminal investigator from Salem that handled the Virginia side of the investigation, declined to comment.

After the Collegiate Times filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for the police file regarding Rob’s disappearance with the West Virginia State Police, the department respond-

ed denying the request because the file was part of an on-going investigation.

The Collegiate Times is currently involved in litigation against the West Virginia State Police in pursuit of the documents.

Chapter Eleven: Closure Michael said Rivesville has deteriorated in recent years, becoming more of a passing-through town between Fairmont and Morgantown.

Rivesville rests on the banks of the Monongahela River and is dominated by an oversized coal power plant.

Residences occupy much of the land in the small town, though abandoned shops, bars and office spaces are also in abundance.

Michael said the bars they used to frequent and where Rob used to work have all shut down, and he said that while the city hall in the center of town remains, not much else is constant.

“Even the playgrounds at the schools are in shambles,” Michael said. “It’s completely different. You don’t see kids doing anything on the playgrounds, so there’s no incentive to fix them.”

The passing of each year ushers in a new mentality for the Kovack family and investigators.

Cunningham and Mankins agree that the entire scope of the investigation changes and becomes more challenging with each day.

“This person could have been killed or buried,” Cunningham said. “There are plenty of places in West Virginia with the mountains, not to mention with Kentucky and Tennessee and Virginia. You have coalmines and shafts that people fall in. There are a lot of ways for people to disappear.”

The once optimistic declaration of hope that Robert will be returned to them has begun to fade, something that Michael labeled as true reality setting in.

“At this point, I’d say in the first few years, you still had hope that he was alive somewhere,” Michael said.

“It’s pretty safe to say that if there were someway in which he was alive, he would have found a way to contact someone. He wouldn’t just leave everyone in limbo if he had any way. Even if it was just to say, ‘Hey, I’m safe, I’m fine, don’t worry about me.’”

“Deep down we all have hope that he is out there,” said Michael, who has named his son Robert in memory of his missing brother. “But as each day and year go by, you have to be a realist. The hope is diminished. All we as a family want is a little closure to put things to rest.”

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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.

may 6, 2009

EDITORIAL

NCAA rules should not hold Tech responsible for athletes’infractions Promotional materials featuring several football players used to advertise for parties in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach areas have surfaced, drawing the attention of the NCAA. The posters feature Tyrod Taylor and Kam Chancellor among others, and some of the photos show them in their Tech uniforms with their university emblems clearly present. Some of these photos were visible on Taylor’s Facebook page earlier this week.

While it isn’t yet clear whether these materials are an NCAA violation, it is something that the organization is looking into. As soon as the pictures and materials were reported to the university, they were promptly removed from the Internet. Unfortunately, when student athletes exhibit questionable behavior, much of the responsibility falls back on the university. If these promotional pictures end up violating NCAA rules, Tech takes the blame. So far, one finding of violations against the university is a “lack of institutional control and failure to monitor.”

Tech cannot be expected to control when Taylor and Chancellor host a party that happens at a commercial venue as it has nothing to do with the university. If three years ago, members of any student organization started a Web site advocating support for the recruitment of Taylor, that shouldn’t be the university’s responsibility either.

The university is being asked

to control things it cannot possibly monitor and then punished when students violate the rules.

It is not Tech’s fault that so many players on our football team grew up playing football together and decided to throw parties. While promoting these parties with materials linked to Tech was a poor decision, the fault shouldn’t lie with the university and its inability to closely monitor these players outside of school.

The NCAA issues sanctions on an individual basis, but the accusation of a “lack of institutional control” is based on a foolish rule in place to see universities fail. NCAA bylaws state that college athletes can’t be a part of anything that makes them money.

While Taylor’s name was on the promotional material for a party he was promoting and said to be hosting, that is not Tech’s fault.

In their current form, the rules are not set up in a way that makes any sort of sense in terms of personal accountability.

Hopefully the NCAA will use this situation as a test case in terms of realizing how little authority a university really has to monitor students in their personal lives. The rules need to be flexible in terms of not holding the university wholly responsible for the actions of its student athletes.

Proposed media law worries Iraqi journalists BASIM AL-SHARA, HADEEL KAMIL, AND DHIRGHAM MUHAMMAD ALI guest columnists A proposed law intended to protect the freedom of the press could end up being a major setback for journalists.

That’s what many reporters here say about a bill that would include tough penalties for those who attack journalists.

But the same measure would also give the government the right to withhold information it deemed not “in the public interest” or if it “threatens national security.” Journalists agree that any measure that might help improve their security is badly needed. Nearly 190 media workers have been killed in Iraq since 2003, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

As the level of overall violence in the country has declined in recent months, conditions for reporters have improved as well.

What has not improved, however, is the flat-out refusal of many officials to share information with journalists.

“Spokesmen at certain ministries have their favorite reporters and will only release information to them,” said one reporter who asked that his name not be used out of fear of reprisals. “If they don’t like you, they won’t take your calls.” Some officials, this reporter said, will only talk to reporters who share their ethnic background.

Other ministries have no mechanism for talking to the press.

“Questions will be answered by the minister himself,” this reporter said.

“He has not given anyone else in the ministry the authority to comment.”

Another reporter explained what happened when she attempted to investigate reports that some officials

have used forged documents in applying for their jobs.

“I wanted to find out why there was no mechanism for checking the authenticity of the certificates,” she said. “A manager told me he had nothing to say. He could neither clarify nor confirm anything.

“I tried several times but had no luck. They shut the door in my face,” she said.

As long as officials feel that they can ignore reporters’ questions, the public will be unable to hold them accountable, said Wathiq al-Chalabi, editor in chief of the independent newspaper al-Mowqif.

“The media are dealing with Iraqi officials, not Europeans. Democracy was imported to this country and is almost non-existent in the culture here,” he said.

“Journalists have always had a hard time because officials avoid giving details and only issue general statements,” he said. “The (proposed media) law would legitimize this culture.

“Government offices treat all journalists as dangerous,” he said.

Munshid al-Assadi, an anchor at state-run al-Iraqiya television, says there is an “urgent need” for legislation that gives Iraqi journalists better access to information.

“Officials have yet to learn how to deal with journalists in a democracy,” he said.

Most here agree that there is an urgent need for legislation overseeing the media in the country. The bill currently being considered was first introduced to the parliament in 2007.

Journalists largely support a clause in the new law mandating harsher penalties for those convicted of attacking their colleagues.

They also back a provision that would deliver government support to

injured or disabled journalists and to the families of those killed on the job — although these benefits only apply to members of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate — the country’s biggest and most powerful press union, which has helped frame the new legislation.

Saad Muhsin, a spokesman for the body, which has 11,000 members, says the guarantees offered under the bill may eventually be extended to those who are not union members.

Muayyad al-Lami, the chairman of the union, defends the bill as supporting “the interests of journalists.” He says it strengthens journalists’ right to information through a clause that allows them to appeal to a court if a request is denied.

Lawyers and media experts say Iraq’s journalists currently operate in legal limbo. Some worry that strict Baath-era codes could be used to prosecute journalists, though these have been largely ignored since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Others worry that regulations adopted shortly after the U.S. invasion in 2003 could be used to shut down media outlets, such as when former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi banned the Arab satellite news channel alJazeera.

Still, a bad media law would be worse than no law at all.

“It would be better for Iraqi journalists to have no media law at all than to have one that would restrict press freedom and could prove very difficult to revise,” said Hashim Hassan, a media studies professor at Baghdad University.

Basim al-Shara, Hadeel Kamil and Dhirgham Muhammad Ali are reporters in Iraq who write for The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains journalists in areas of conflict.

The editorial board is composed of David Grant, David Harries, Laurel Colella and Debra Houchins.

The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor in Chief David Grant Managing Editors David Harries, Sara Spangler Public Editor Cate Summers News Editors Caleb Fleming, Sara Mitchell News Reporters Gordon Block, Zach Crizer, Justin Graves, Kelsey Heiter, Riley Prendergast, T. Rees Shapiro News Staff Writers Debra Houchins, Phillipp Kotlaba, Gabe McVey, Will Thomas, Ryan Trapp Features Editor Bethany Buchanan Features Reporters Topher Forhecz, Teresa Tobat, Jonathan Yi Features Staff Writers Ryan Arnold, Mary Anne Carter, Drew Jackson, Tom Minogue, Alex Pettingell Opinions Editors Laurel Colella Sports Editors Thomas Emerick, Brian Wright Sports Reporters Joe Crandley, Justin Long, Ed Lupien, Melanie Wadden Sports Staff Writers Garrett Busic, Matt Collette, Lindsay Faulkner, Hattie Francis, Alex Jackson, Mike Littier Copy Editors Erin Corbey, Thandiwe Ogbonna, Kristen Walker, Michelle Rivera Layout Designers Go-Eun Choi, Velechia Hardnett, Kelly Harrigan, Rachel McGiboney, Mina Noorbakhsh, Josh Son Illustrator Mina Noorbakhsh Multimedia Editor Phillip Murillas Multimedia Producer Candice Chu Multimedia Reporters Kevin Anderson, Peter Velz Online Director Sam Eberspacher Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager Ryan McConnell College Media Solutions Staff Advertising Director Patrick Fitzgerald Asst Advertising Directors Tyler Ervin Jenna Given, Katelynn Reilly Ads Production Manager Anika Stickles Asst Production Manager Allison Bhatta Ads Production/Creation Breanna Benz, Jennifer DiMarco, Rebecca Smeenk, Lindsay Smith, Katie Sonntag, Lara Treadwell National Account Executive Kaelynn Kurtz Account Executives Nik Bando, Brandon Collins, Chris Cunningham, Lee Eliav, Judi Glass, Kendall Kapetanakis, David Morgan, Marcello Sandoval, Arianna Rouhani, Jennifer Vaughn Assistant Account Executives Madeline Abram, Katie Berkel, Diane Revalski, Devon Steiner Marketing Manager Amanda Sparks Office Manager Kaelynn Kurtz Student Publication Photo Staff Director of Photography Sally Bull Business Manager Paul Platz

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WAYNE STAYSKAL/TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

University community should respond to call to service CHRIS STROCK regular columnist Our university’s motto, Ut Prosim, stands in stark contrast to the “what can you do for me now?” mentality that permeates our modern culture.

Last month, Greg Mortenson and Paul Farmer, two of the most influential humanitarians of our time, visited Virginia Tech.

Their talks stand as capstone visits to a remarkable year of service for our community. The capstone process demands that we reflect on what we’ve done in order to readjust our course for the future with the hope of reaching our expectations.

We were inspired and encouraged

by Mortenson and Farmer’s example of service to others despite difficult odds, differences in culture and language, and distance.

Yet, their stories should also challenge us. Our responses to their calls for action-oriented service will determine the trajectory for how we invent the future.

The purpose of this piece is to initiate a community-wide discussion about how we might respond. I also want to challenge us each to meet the potential to change the world we all hold, even to exceed it. I realize that as I write this we are wrapping up the semester, or possibly an educational experience.

Many who may be open to this call for a considered response to the challenge to serve will not have the opportunity to read this op-ed, while others are already asking similar questions themselves even as they are pulled back into the end of the semester rush.

As we disperse for the summer, I hope this letter gives us all something to think about, so that when we return to campus in the fall we are ready to formulate a considered and courageous response to the challenges before us.

In order to facilitate the debate, please consider three possible outcomes from these recent visits as beginnings to an important call to service: One, we pat ourselves on the back for bringing in people like Mortenson and Farmer to campus, remind one another how cool and intellectual we are, and then go back to our safe and predictable lab reports, term papers, grant proposals and exams. It should be understood, but this is the least preferred option.

Two, we ease into a relationship with Partners In Health and start a Pennies for Peace project, guarded with a sense of caution, and start chipping away at large problems with small-scale projects.

This is the likely scenario, but it is one that I argue is still not enough.

Farmer told a small group of faculty that universities are uniquely connected to deep resources, yet their biggest failure is that their visions are too small compared to the scale of problems we all face.

Three, we use these visits as the mechanism with which to engage in a new and spirited call to action that unites many efforts and evolves from project-based interventions to long-standing relationships with those in need.

This last point raises a more important question that we must each answer for our self: Who benefits from service? Truthfully, and

contrary to common perceptions, the provider receives more than the beneficiary does.

For example, thousands of Hokies move out into the community during The Big Event to plant flowers, paint decks and improve the local community. Lending a hand to our neighbors is heartening and feels good.

Nonetheless, our influence in the world community requires an expansion of “neighbor.” Otherwise, we limit the power and influence we have to solve real problems that could influence the future of our larger community as well.

And what problems might those be? Farmer talked of the resource gap between Blacksburg and Cange, Haiti. The growing gap in regional and global inequality fuels so many of the world’s ills.

We often do not realize how our actions, including what we buy and consume, actually widen this gap and directly contribute to global inequality and poverty.

Let us not produce more producers, but instead citizens prepared to engage with and within their communities two feet and 2,000 miles away.

The tipping point to collective action starts with awareness — an awareness one should get with a university education. Once we are aware, then it takes everyday people and institutions like Tech to take action and make real change.

Farmer reminded us that land grant universities have a responsibility and a mandate to respond to public problems.

Tech has a long tradition of service to the Commonwealth. It is time to reconsider our impact to the com-

mon wealth.

Tech students are uniquely poised to act.

We have incredible resources at our disposal: one, a rich and productive intellectual climate ready to tackle socially relevant problems; two, a bureaucracy that can help institutionalize and support long-lasting efforts; three, an active alumni with relationships across communities, businesses and continents; four, the name recognition of a top-30 research institution built on Ut Prosim; five, the social networks that come from being competitive in athletics and academics; and let us not forget our most important asset, six, our students.

No social change has ever occurred without the direct involvement of students. The current undergraduate population is part of the rising “Millennial Generation.” They have a sense of service to others and the desire to make a difference.

Yet, the lack of opportunity to effect real change frustrates many I talk with who are also discouraged because they don’t feel that they can really make a difference.

The university community has an opportunity to enable the Millennials to make a positive mark on history, or watch idly by as many become members of the Disgruntled Generation.

How we respond to these urgent calls to service will determine our future.

We need to act urgently, and forcefully. Now is the time for Tech to put service on equal footing with research.

We must ask ourselves, how can we lead the country, if not the world, in creating an environment of community-engaged scholarship? We

are well poised to lead this shift.

The Graduate School has embedded transformative education into its mission, the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships has focused many campus-wide efforts, and the Graduate Network for Community-Engaged Scholarship supports research that makes a community-based impact.

However, until the university solidifies its support in the promotion and tenure of faculty engaged in such endeavors, and until the student body starts acting on its passion, regardless of university support, we will fall short of the promise of community.

Mortenson and Farmer’s work changes individual lives, but they do not work alone, and they don’t stop with one schoolgirl or one AIDS patient.

These people work in partnership with others to effect change in the social institutions that individuals rely on for health care, education, water and sanitation.

One of my friends noted that he wishes we had someone like them on campus, speaking to crowds in Burruss every month — imagine how that kind of influence could change minds and move bodies.

However, we all each have to remember that as individuals when we make the personal decision to make a difference, even when we think we have nothing to offer, we will encourage and empower others.

When Tech as an institution of individuals adopts and structurally supports a new definition of service, then we will fully and passionately deliver on our promise to the common wealth, and in turn, our Commonwealth.

365 Squires Student Center Blacksburg, Va. 24061 Fax: (540) 231-9151 opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com Students must include name, year, major and phone number. Faculty and staff must include name, position and department. All other submissions must include name, residence, and if applicable, relationship to Virginia Tech (i.e. alumni, parent, etc.). Letters should not exceed 300 words, and should be in MS Word (.doc) format if possible.

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6 news

editor: caleb fleming email: nrvnews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: tth 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

may 6, 2009

editor: sara mitchell email: universitynews@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: mw 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

from page one

dard practice or a business oriented practice, this is a student organization not a business,” said Miller, who did not receive the $100 question. “It’s just fishy because it seems that Ricardo was the only one.”

SGA4YOU said this question was to see whether or not the applicants simply wanted the title of director, or if they truly wanted to serve in the organization. They say it was not to target anyone.

“We wanted to make sure that people were here for students,” Mullins said. “That’s what our entire campaign was run behind. We wanted no one to feel biased or to feel jaded. People need to be here not just to bolster their resume. They need to be here for the students.”

Mullins says that the question was not a major issue for the interviewers and was simply used as an aide.

“This question was not the defining factor. It did not make or break someone’s candidacy,” Mullins said.

“We simply used this information in addition to the answers and information we already had as far as their qualifications and their resume.”

Others have also complained that the same questions were not asked to each candidate between positions.

SGA Justice Thomas Haghdal said the inconsistency is not a direct violation of SGA bylaws, but is out of the ordinary.

THE FUTURE SGA officers could face discipline from Judicial Affairs after Boulware’s grievance is investigated.

Haghdal said the SGA House and Senate can remove appointees from a position by a two-third vote.

Appointees can be removed because they are not qualified or a more qualified candidate is presented.

“Nothing in the constitution or bylaws says they need to be the same, but it’s highly advisable and has always been done in the SGA that for every interview, everyone is asked the same questions,” Haghdal said. “I have been speaker of the house in 2007-2008, and when we did executive interviews back then, we asked the same questions. It wasn’t like ‘This person is this; we’ll ask them this question.’”

Those making allegations against SGA4YOU also claim that the interview process was flawed in the fact that individuals who did not apply for a certain position were given that title in lieu of someone more qualified and who had actually applied for that role.

“A lot of things for government affairs require a lot of contacts, a lot of experience, and also a lot of things that need to be done quickly and on the ball,” Haghdal said. “You need more experience than that, and the best way to get it is from an assistant director position. They’ve completely eliminated that and now there are two co-directors. It’s never been done like this.”

Most upper level positions in SGA usually require prerequisites, and Haghdal, a senior engineering and economics major, says that the traditional system was not followed this year.

“Generally, executive positions are given to people who have been in SGA for a long time and have been on (the SGA executive committee) for a while,” Haghdal said. “These positions are basically oversight, and they coordinate what the people below them are getting ready to do.

In the past, that’s been the way things have been done.”

Miller found it odd that many positions were given to applicants who

applied for different positions. Miller’s 2008-2009 position, co-director of constituent outreach, was given to an applicant who did not apply for the position.

“Every former exec member was granted an interview. I received confirmation on Saturday that I was not reappointed to the executive board,” Miller said. “Sherry Meehan, who was given the position that I applied for did not apply for it. She did not apply for executive director of outreach because she had never served on executive board.”

Miller reiterates her belief that Meehan is very capable as she is also a member of class leadership, but cites other realignment issues.

Meehan declined to be interviewed for this article.

“They changed it from co-director instead of a director and assistant director of government affairs. In the past, it’s been a graduating program.

When you’re the assistant director and you’ve done your job, then you graduate to the next position,” Miller said.

Another example of the drastic realignment is seen with Scott O’Donnell, former assistant director of government affairs. He was not given a position, and that spot was given to individuals who had not previously served on executive board.

Haghdal believes positions were not given to active supporters of UnitedSGA, the opponent of SGA4YOU in the recent election.

“O’Donnell applied for directorship, and it wasn’t given to him because he was an active supporter of the other ticket,” Haghdal said.

Miller said the elimination of UnitedSGA supporters could hinder the organization moving forward.

“They have no former leadership returning, which is concerning due to the fact that they’ve got three executive director positions that are in charge of so much and this is only because people didn’t support them,” Miller said.

Many incoming executive board members will be disadvantaged because of the change in hiring strategies, Miller said.

“Once you serve as an assistant director, especially in government affairs, you have an advantage because you have experience,” Miller said. “It’s hard to come into that kind of position because there are so many factors. It’s more difficult to enter and be effective as somewhat of an outsider.”

Mullins says, however, that appointments were justified.

“I conducted the entire process, from writing every single question, to the applications, to the interview schedule, everything. As we reviewed applications, we made sure people who were applying for certain positions were applying for positions they wanted,” Mullins said. “If it came up in the interview process that they were interested in another position, then we would keep that in mind as we made our appointments.”

SGA4YOU says they had no intent to pigeonhole any applicant.

“While they might have said PR or technology on their application but during the conversation they are deviating toward something else, we would go with that train of thought,” Mullins said.

Accusation of Illegal Interview Recording Boulware said the alleged bribery was not the only suspicious part of his interview.

“My interview was Saturday at 5: 45 in the SGA Office,” Boulware said. “In the interview room, there were two open computers. One was (SGA treasurer) Joey Zakutney’s, and his iPhone was connected to his computer. Shane (McCarty, SGA vice president) told me he wouldn’t be

present for the interview, so he told me they may be recorded. When I entered the room, there were no formal cameras or notification that I would be recorded. They did not ask my permission. I sat across from the table with Taris on my left, he and Joey had an open computer, but there was no formal camera or note that the iPhone was recording.”

Mullins said recordings were made when certain officials were not able to attend.

“We only recorded a couple of interviews towards the beginning of the process when we weren’t necessarily able to have every single party present,” Mullins said. “Before we even began filming we had the consent of the individuals that were involved in that, and we offered them an explanation why the other stakeholders present for their interviews.”

Miller also noticed Zakutney’s IPhone, and questioned its use.

“Their executive assistant, Taris, was taking their notes. Attached to a computer was an iPhone. I know that Joey Zakutney has an iPhone and uses it regularly,” Miller said. “I heard that Saturday interviews were recorded, and no one had been informed of this. I asked in my interview if I had been recorded, and they looked at each other, and then looked at me and they said ‘No.’ When asked if names could be provided of those who were aware that the interview was being recorded, SGA4YOU could not furnish any names. SGA4YOU also claims that there were only video interviews, and no audio.

“After we completed the process, we shared the information with the other stakeholders and the video was destroyed,” Mullins said.

SGA4YOU claims the only computer in the room was a Dell belonging to Mullins. The only reason the computer was in the room was to ensure that the activities of the interview were monitored.

“At any point in the process, I don’t know where someone got that idea.

That was not part of the process,” Mullins said.

Allegations of political preference impacting interviews SGA4YOU says they did not necessarily bring back every single eligible person due to the number of applicants. While some say that this was due to favoritism, Mullins says this is not the truth.

“I don’t think there was any intentional effort from anybody on any side to oust anyone unceremoniously,” Mullins said. “It was a matter of us wanting to make sure we assembled a team that was extremely passionate about serving the students. That’s what our goal is. We have brought back members from exec last year to next year’s team, but it’s not fair to the student body to bring people onto executive merely because we felt obligated to.”

Shane McCarty, newly elected SGA Vice President, said some change was expected going into the interviews due to the high volume of applicants.

“In the past, it’s been a mindset of ‘I’m in SGA, I continue in SGA all the way up,’ but I think the point that isn’t mentioned is that when you have three times as many people apply, those are outside people and students who were affected by our campaign, saw student government out there, and really tried to make a difference.

We saw students come in here that had qualifications that I’ve never seen.

They may not be considered a student leader on this campus, but it’s because they haven’t been seen in this capacity,” McCarty said.

SGA4YOU believes the increase in applicants was due to an effective campaign.

“I think we really showed some-

thing different than most student governments. We let students choose our No. 1 platform, that’s how important the student’s voice is to us. I think that is really telling,” McCarty said. “They saw a group of students that wanted to change this school and make it better, and that’s what they wanted to be a part of.”

SGA President Brandon Carroll said the spike in applications showed a new group of people was interested in the organization.

“So many people that I’ve just never crossed paths will and so many different student leaders wanted to be a part of this,” Carroll said. “It’s an honor.”

Some proved they were not applying only for the positions of power.

“People came in here just wanting to be involved, even without high directorship roles,” said SGA Treasurer Joey Zakutney.

Mullins contends that there was no deception during the executive board interviews.

“Every single thing we did during the interview process, we tried to keep completely transparent. We were never trying to hide information from people, we explained the purpose of things right then and there,” Mullins said.

McCarty said applicants had a chance to confront he and the other SGA officials.

“At the end of every single interview, we said do you have any questions for us. We are trying to be approachable and get feedback,” McCarty said.

“Most people just said no and walked away.”

Several potential exec members also expressed disdain toward constant interview rescheduling. Erica Swanson, Kirsten Kube and Charlie Petty were all candidates for the chief justice position, with Swanson being appointed. Kube was a member of the UnitedSGA ticket that ran against SGA4YOU during the election process.

“Her interview was finally at 10:45 on Tuesday night,” Miller said. “It’s very hard to work for two years and spend endless hours in the office and in one fell swoop to be ousted.”

Mullins said Kube’s scheduling trouble was an isolated incident.

“The only interviews we moved around during the course of the process were the chief justice interview.

We allowed people to sign up for their own interview time, but Dana Gilmore needed to be present for this interview, and taping it was not an option,” Mullins said.

While the 2008-2009 officers, led by President Emily Mashack and VicePresident Rianka Urbina, brought some change, Miller said the organization remained on a steady track.

“Emily and Rianka brought in a lot of new faces last year and were somewhat criticized for that, but there are always a lot of returning experienced people as well,” Miller said. “It’s not like if you don’t know anything you’re not going to get the position, but if you are experienced it is easier to keep up with the program and help out.”

Issues have also been raised concerning the transition meeting that was held on Sunday. The former executive board was supposed to meet

JOSH SON/COLLEGIATE TIMES

SGA: Question irks applicants

with the new executive board for transition details.

“The former exec was told be in Squires at 1 p.m. The new exec was told to be in Squires at 2 p.m. by the new administration. This means that a majority of the new executive team has not been transitioned,” Miller said.

“Emily Mashack, former SGA president, did not require the new exec to wait around for an hour because they were given the wrong time by the new administration.”

SGA4YOU admitted there was a miscommunication with the outgoing president, Mashack. However, the matter in which the transition was essentially handled is also being called into question.

“Brandon and Shane said their people would not show up until 2:00.

Shane told us to drop off our binders, and they would go from there,” Boulware said. “It has been routine has been to meet in person, but they clearly did not want us to have interaction with the new team. “ Lastly, stolen ideas are another bullet on the long list of complaints against the ticket during executive board interviews.

Allison Parker, former Historian, also did not receive any executive position despite applying for the board.

“I gave a proposal for an event and I had several points planned for the event, and I introduced this during my interview,” Parker said. “In the end, they didn’t mention anything to me about the event, but there is now a conference coordinator on their exec board, and I was not appointed to an executive position.”

Boulware said the SGA should hire Parker, a sophomore Communication major, if they intend to use her thoughts.

“What SGA did, without permission, was take her idea with no credit given to Allison Parker,” Boulware said.

Haghdal believes that this was completely due to the fact that Parker supported UnitedSGA during the election.

“There were a number of people who were very qualified who did a lot of good things for SGA this year, and a lot weren’t appointed positions,” Haghdal said. “Most of that was because they didn’t support

SGA4YOU or they ran for or supported the other side. It’s very obvious there is a slight.”

The final list of executive board members that were appointed has more positions than were offered on the original offering list. The SGA4YOU ticket has significantly expanded their executive board membership, and Boulware believes the motives for this are questionable.

“The SGA4You ticket is looking for a lack of drama. They want to get as many people on their ticket that they promised positions to, and for that reason I feel as if that is why they are expanding their exec board,” Boulware said. “The SGA4YOU team claims that they are here to represent the student voice and represent the students, but I feel as if they have wrongly been disenfranchising those of us who are currently on the exec board and now were not selected due to personal endeavors and issues, such as those not being included in the social circle and feeling excluded from certain things.”

Some also believe that the overall composition of the SGA and their relationships with others at Tech will suffer from the questionable practices of the SGA4YOU ticket.

“The relationships the SGA has established with the university administration will suffer from this, and for that to happen to the organization we all care so much about is truly unfortunate,” Boulware said.

After consulting with SGA Chief Justice Dana Gilmore, Boulware has filed a grievance with judicial affairs.

“At least one grievance has been filed, and it’s really up to the judicial branch of SGA to deal with that in conjunction with the SGA advisor, Kim Timpany,” said Ed Spencer, Vice President of Student Affairs. “Really,

by SGA Constitution and bylaws, it is a matter for their judicial branch to deal with and maybe their advisor.”

“It’s getting vicious, and I think SGA is getting hurt by it because people who are good for the organization and do a lot of good work aren’t allowed to continue because they didn’t support SGA4YOU during the election,” Haghdal said. “It never used to happen like this.”

Haghdal said SGA legislation has the opportunity to take action if they see fit.

“The House and Senate have oversight as far as if they feel someone is incapable, and a two thirds vote can move them from that position,” Haghdal said. “Also, they can call a meeting if they feel someone else was more qualified. It doesn’t say they are required to keep the applications, but if they don’t, that seems like a breach of due process.”

page

features 7

editor: bethany buchanan email: features@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: w 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., f 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

may 6, 2009

LooP P h

ondering what's going on around the 'burg?

Check out the events of the upcoming week.

Where: Kent Square Shopping Center rooftop What: A Celebration of Diversity from the Rooftop- free condo tours followed by a reception with free finger food buffet, live music, and local artists.

When: Free parking after 4 p.m., first tour at 5 p.m.

Cost: Free

6

Wed, May 6

Where: The Lyric What: Plan Studios, a New York City based production company, will present a public performance and discussion of a new play, "Dear Blacksburg, I'm Dead" When: 3 p.m.

Cost: Free

7

Thurs, May 7

Where: McComas Hall What: Free Week- All fitness classes are free during exam week to reduce stress When: May 8 to May 13 Cost: Free

8

Where: Collegiate Square Parking Lot What: Spring Forward- Blacksburg's finest block party, featuring a DJ as well as four different live bands, a juggling show, pony rides, as well as food, arts, crafts and jewelry for sale.

When: Noon to 8 p.m.

Cost: Free

9 11

Sat, May 9

Where: D2 and Shultz What: Cram Jam Study Break- Make-your-own ice cream sundaes When: 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Cost: Free to all dining plan holders

Mon, May 11

144

Thurs, May 14

15 15 166

Sat, May 16

Where: The Lantern, 211 Draper Rd. What: Ooah of Glitch Mob- melodramatic hiphop/hyphy fusion When: Doors 8:30 p.m., show 9:30 p.m.

Cost: $12 in advance, $15 day of show

Where: Awful Arthurs, 213 Draper Rd. What: Might McFly- entertaining and energetic rock band from Athens, Georgia When: 10 p.m.

Fri, May 8

Fri, May 15

Where: The Lantern, 211 Draper Rd. What: Freekbass, funk-rock band from Cincinnati When: Doors 8:30 p.m., show 9:30 p.m.

Cost: $8 in advance, $10 day of show

Where: Holtzman Alumni Center Terrace and Lawn What: Class of 2009 Grad Bash- Free food, live music, games and inflatables When: Noon to 3 p.m.

Cost: Free

Where: Old Dominion Ballroom What: Lavender Commencement CeremonyTech's first ceremony honoring gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual students who will be graduating this spring. To participate, sign up on the LGBT Caucus website.

When: 3 p.m.

Cost: Free

Where: Lane Stadium What: University Commencement Ceremony- main commencement ceremony for spring semester. Students are recognized by college, not individually. Speaker: Gen. Lance L. Smith When: 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

Health experts reconsider aggresive school closures TONY PUGH

mcclatchy newspapers WASHINGTON — With more data suggesting the swine flu outbreak may not be as deadly as first feared, U.S. health officials are reconsidering their earlier advice on when schools should be closed over health concerns about the virus.

“We are looking at our school closure guidance, and we’re having very active discussions about whether it’s time to revise that,” said Dr. Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday.

Current CDC directives suggest school closings of up to two weeks for confirmed or probable swine flu cases. Local school officials also can postpone or ban large school-related gatherings and social events where the disease could easily spread.

These precautionary guidelines were developed weeks ago when little was known about the new virus, and reports of hundreds dead and thousands sickened in Mexico caused panic around the world.

As of last week, more than 430 schools in 18 states were closed because of the outbreak, leaving more than 245,000 students out of class nationally — about one-half of 1 percent of U.S. enrollment.

Because the disease is attacking mostly healthy young people, school closings were supposed to keep students from infecting one another and then spreading the disease further into their communities.

Researchers have found, however, that the disease is already “pretty-well established” in areas where schools have been closed, Besser said.

“So closing schools as a means of not letting it spread through a community isn’t very effective,” he added.

Instead, officials are considering putting more emphasis on personal responsibility to help fight the disease. Following the lead of schools in Canada and in the Seattle area, Besser said parents should check children for flu-like symptoms before they go to school each morning and keep them home for at least a week if they appear ill.

He said teachers should do likewise and send ill students home in the same manner. At the same time, Besser said schools should help reinforce basic hygiene that can help slow the spread of the disease, such as frequent thorough handwashings, covering coughs with arms instead of hands and keeping fingers out of eyes, mouths and

MCT

noses.

“These are things that schools can do,” Besser said, adding that new guidance for schools could be expected as more information and research on the virus becomes available.

As the virus continues to spread internationally, researchers are becoming more confident that — in terms of its severity — the H1N1 virus is more like the seasonal flu rather than the Spanish fIu pandemic that killed 40 million to 50 million people in 1918.

“Each day makes us feel more comfortable about the progress of this outbreak,” Besser said.

The World Health Organization reported Monday that 21 countries have reported 1,085 confirmed cases.

Among those countries, Mexico still leads, with 590 confirmed cases and 25 deaths.

The U.S. has confirmed 286 cases in 36 states, with one death, according to the CDC. Besser said another 700 probable U.S. cases in 44 states are awaiting lab confirmation. Nearly 100 percent of probable cases have been confirmed, Besser said.

The disease continues to strike young people, with 62 percent of infections involving people under 18; the median age for victims is 16.

Officials continue to get encouraging news about the virus, which appears to be leveling off in Mexico City.

Studies have shown the virus lacks some of the characteristics associated

with more serious strains in previous pandemics and it’s still susceptible to antiviral medications Tamiflu and Relenza. In addition, the virus has shown no signs of mutating into a more severe strain.

“We haven’t seen any changes that would cause alarm, so the viruses are remaining very consistent with respect to their genetic properties,” said Dr. Nancy Cox, the director of the CDC’s influenza division.

As the outbreak continues, officials will shift resources away from testing and more toward studying how the disease moves through the population, Besser said.

Researchers will be looking intently at the spread of the disease through the southern hemisphere, where winter is approaching.

Also, a new Ipsos-McClatchy Poll shows the public is split over the urgency of the flu outbreak, with 51 percent expressing concern that friends or family could get the disease, while 49 percent said they aren’t worried.

The poll found strong support for the health community’s response to the outbreak, with more than 80 percent expressing confidence in the way schools and local, state and federal health authorities are handling the outbreak. More than 90 percent of respondents said they hadn’t or wouldn’t change travel plans over the scare.

Where: Various locations on campus What: Spring Commencement- College and Departmental ceremonies; more information at www.vt.edu/commencement/index.html

TECH FUNDAMENTALS 2009 MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION...

HOKIE FAMILIES

BRAND LOYALTY

HOKIE FRESHMAN &TRANSFER STUDENTS

RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY JUNE 1 DEADLINE

CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE JUNE 1 DEADLINE (540) 961-9860 618 N. MAIN STREET BLACKSBURG VA 24060

RATES: LOCAL $9.21/COLUMN INCH

page 8

wednesday, may 6, 2009

Local spots offer natural summer entertainment MARY ANNE CARTER

ct features reporter Although a slew of responsible students forfeit all-night parties for academic all-nighters, trade in alcoholic beverages for empty red solo cups at the Math Emporium, and use the Internet for research rather than Facebook, most students find themselves unavoidably seduced by the summer mentality and weather during exams.

Floods of minimally clad students sprawl across the Drillfield, picnic by the Duckpond, and seek the belated spring weather that has finally graced Blacksburg.

Unfortunately, the outdoor liberation of the student body often leads to the overpopulation and exploitation of Virginia Tech’s hotspots, tainting the flora and fauna with discarded bottles of suntan lotion and aluminum cans, masking the refreshing spring breeze with the pungent smell of grilled meat, and drowning out the sounds of nature with shouts of, “Hey, man, watch this.”

Although no site is completely free from the occasional disruption, Blacksburg’s convenient proximity to the mountains, river and other natural phenomena provide a slew of options for those wishing to escape the classroom and hordes of sunbathers alike this spring.

Jefferson National Forest

Winding through rolling hills, cloaked in a canopy of trees, the “drive to Jefferson National Forest itself is overwhelmingly beautiful,” said Blacksburg resident, Jimmy Alvarez. He first visited the Jefferson National Forest on a trip with friends who spoke highly of the outdoor getaway.

“I expected it to be nice, but didn’t anticipate what I was about to see — the amount of breathtaking scenery is incredible,” Alvarez said.

Although Jefferson National Forest is hardly a secret, the forest, which offers hiking trails, fishing and camping “still has that personal, untouched feeling,” said Alvarez, whose favorite part of the forest is the hike to the Cascades, a 69-foot waterfall.

“I am continually overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the hike,” Alvarez said. “The length of the trail can become slightly tiring, but it isn’t difficult and the closer to the waterfall you get, the cooler the air becomes.”

MARY ANNE CARTER/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Mill Mountain Zoo in nearby Roanoke offers a menagerie of animals from the exotic to the domestic.

According to the Giles County Web site, gilescounty.org, the hike to the Cascades is two miles in each direction, alongside Little Stony Creek.

The park is open seven days a week and costs only $3 per carload of people.

“There are so many beautiful sights along the way, you should see it in person rather than hear about it,” Alvarez said. “Plus, it’s so close to Virginia Tech; there is no excuse for missing out.”

Crow’s Nest Farm: Berry Picking Expansive fields of pick-your-own berries provide hours of entertainment, bushels of treats and for some, an impromptu picnic.

“I just sat down happily between the rows of blueberry bushes and took in all the goodness,” said senior psychology major Alana Fragar, of her visit to Crow’s Nest Farm.

Located just five miles from campus, Crow’s Nest Farm offers freshly picked asparagus at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market in late April and seasonal pick-your-own berries beginning in the early summer months.

According to Local Harvest, a Web site for farms and organic produce,

early June typically marks blueberry season. While blackberries open mid-July, Primocane raspberries and seedless table grapes are available early August at Crow’s Nest Farm.

The vast berry fields provide both a rustic retreat outdoors and a bargain as blueberries, blackberries and raspberries cost only $2.50 a pint.

“It’s a really nice, inexpensive way to spend the day outside and end up with buckets full of yummy fruit,” Fragar said.

Fragar advocates picking your own berries because it supports local businesses and is healthier for the consumer.

“It’s better for you to consume fresh produce that hasn’t come from thousands of miles away — and you know this is fresh because you picked it yourself,” Fragar said.

Crow’s Nest Farm suggests calling ahead, 540-552-4195, to check the crop.

Dixie Caverns Located between Blacksburg and Roanoke, Dixie Caverns prickled the interest of junior English major Katie DeMoss, who recently visited the caverns with friends after hearing her friends discuss them.

DeMoss embarked on the 45

minute tour with little in the way of expectations.

“I expected a cave and the occasional rock formation,” she said. “But the enormous, winding cavern, covered in stalagmites and native bats took me by surprise.”

In addition to the caverns, the site offers an extensive antique mall and gift shop as well as a year round campground.

“There were some real treasures at the antique mall. Everything from vintage jewelry to baby quilts and unicorn mugs to walking sticks,” DeMoss said. “I went into this whole thing not knowing what to expect and came out of it really impressed.”

According to the Dixie Caverns Web site, www.dixiecaverns.com/, the caverns are open 353 days a year.

“I will definitely be back,” DeMoss said. “I hear they offer weddings — who wouldn’t want to be married under a ceiling of stalagmites and bats?”

Mill Mountain Zoo and Wildlflower Garden Separated only by a wire fence, visitors have the opportunity to observe the exotic animals in an intimate setting at Mill Mountain Zoo.

......radio for

MARY ANNE CARTER/COLLEGIATE TIMES

The Cascades, a 69-foot waterfall, is located in Jefferson National Forest.

“It’s the perfect type of zoo,” DeMoss said. “Although it’s smaller than many zoos, you are closer to the animals and can spend more time observing them. So many times, you go to the zoo and you barely see anything because it is so spread out and you are walking so much. Here, you can do the entire zoo in about an hour.”

Perched on Mill Mountain overlooking Roanoke, Mill Mountain Zoo features a collection of 35 species — including three endangered species, the Red Panda, Snow Leopard and White Naped-Crane — alongside a wildflower garden and park.

“The scenery around the zoo is gorgeous,” DeMoss said. “In addition to fascinating animals, you are surrounded by these breathtaking views and beautiful wildlife on every side. It makes for a great outdoor retreat.”

The zoo, which is open daily from

everyone

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., costs $7.50 for students. “(It) is worth every penny,” DeMoss said. “I have been here on multiple occasions and am always impressed.”

OTHER PLACES TO CHECK OUT:

- McAfee’s Knob - The Blacksburg Farmer’s Market - New River Junction Tubing, Camping and Fishing - The Natural Bridge - The Friday Night Jamboree in Floyd - Brown Farm (Heritage Park)

page 8

wednesday, may 6, 2009

Local spots offer natural summer entertainment MARY ANNE CARTER

ct features reporter Although a slew of responsible students forfeit all-night parties for academic all-nighters, trade in alcoholic beverages for empty red solo cups at the Math Emporium, and use the Internet for research rather than Facebook, most students find themselves unavoidably seduced by the summer mentality and weather during exams.

Floods of minimally clad students sprawl across the Drillfield, picnic by the Duckpond, and seek the belated spring weather that has finally graced Blacksburg.

Unfortunately, the outdoor liberation of the student body often leads to the overpopulation and exploitation of Virginia Tech’s hotspots, tainting the flora and fauna with discarded bottles of suntan lotion and aluminum cans, masking the refreshing spring breeze with the pungent smell of grilled meat, and drowning out the sounds of nature with shouts of, “Hey, man, watch this.”

Although no site is completely free from the occasional disruption, Blacksburg’s convenient proximity to the mountains, river and other natural phenomena provide a slew of options for those wishing to escape the classroom and hordes of sunbathers alike this spring.

Jefferson National Forest

Winding through rolling hills, cloaked in a canopy of trees, the “drive to Jefferson National Forest itself is overwhelmingly beautiful,” said Blacksburg resident, Jimmy Alvarez. He first visited the Jefferson National Forest on a trip with friends who spoke highly of the outdoor getaway.

“I expected it to be nice, but didn’t anticipate what I was about to see — the amount of breathtaking scenery is incredible,” Alvarez said.

Although Jefferson National Forest is hardly a secret, the forest, which offers hiking trails, fishing and camping “still has that personal, untouched feeling,” said Alvarez, whose favorite part of the forest is the hike to the Cascades, a 69-foot waterfall.

“I am continually overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the hike,” Alvarez said. “The length of the trail can become slightly tiring, but it isn’t difficult and the closer to the waterfall you get, the cooler the air becomes.”

MARY ANNE CARTER/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Mill Mountain Zoo in nearby Roanoke offers a menagerie of animals from the exotic to the domestic.

According to the Giles County Web site, gilescounty.org, the hike to the Cascades is two miles in each direction, alongside Little Stony Creek.

The park is open seven days a week and costs only $3 per carload of people.

“There are so many beautiful sights along the way, you should see it in person rather than hear about it,” Alvarez said. “Plus, it’s so close to Virginia Tech; there is no excuse for missing out.”

Crow’s Nest Farm: Berry Picking Expansive fields of pick-your-own berries provide hours of entertainment, bushels of treats and for some, an impromptu picnic.

“I just sat down happily between the rows of blueberry bushes and took in all the goodness,” said senior psychology major Alana Fragar, of her visit to Crow’s Nest Farm.

Located just five miles from campus, Crow’s Nest Farm offers freshly picked asparagus at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market in late April and seasonal pick-your-own berries beginning in the early summer months.

According to Local Harvest, a Web site for farms and organic produce,

early June typically marks blueberry season. While blackberries open mid-July, Primocane raspberries and seedless table grapes are available early August at Crow’s Nest Farm.

The vast berry fields provide both a rustic retreat outdoors and a bargain as blueberries, blackberries and raspberries cost only $2.50 a pint.

“It’s a really nice, inexpensive way to spend the day outside and end up with buckets full of yummy fruit,” Fragar said.

Fragar advocates picking your own berries because it supports local businesses and is healthier for the consumer.

“It’s better for you to consume fresh produce that hasn’t come from thousands of miles away — and you know this is fresh because you picked it yourself,” Fragar said.

Crow’s Nest Farm suggests calling ahead, 540-552-4195, to check the crop.

Dixie Caverns Located between Blacksburg and Roanoke, Dixie Caverns prickled the interest of junior English major Katie DeMoss, who recently visited the caverns with friends after hearing her friends discuss them.

DeMoss embarked on the 45

minute tour with little in the way of expectations.

“I expected a cave and the occasional rock formation,” she said. “But the enormous, winding cavern, covered in stalagmites and native bats took me by surprise.”

In addition to the caverns, the site offers an extensive antique mall and gift shop as well as a year round campground.

“There were some real treasures at the antique mall. Everything from vintage jewelry to baby quilts and unicorn mugs to walking sticks,” DeMoss said. “I went into this whole thing not knowing what to expect and came out of it really impressed.”

According to the Dixie Caverns Web site, www.dixiecaverns.com/, the caverns are open 353 days a year.

“I will definitely be back,” DeMoss said. “I hear they offer weddings — who wouldn’t want to be married under a ceiling of stalagmites and bats?”

Mill Mountain Zoo and Wildlflower Garden Separated only by a wire fence, visitors have the opportunity to observe the exotic animals in an intimate setting at Mill Mountain Zoo.

......radio for

MARY ANNE CARTER/COLLEGIATE TIMES

The Cascades, a 69-foot waterfall, is located in Jefferson National Forest.

“It’s the perfect type of zoo,” DeMoss said. “Although it’s smaller than many zoos, you are closer to the animals and can spend more time observing them. So many times, you go to the zoo and you barely see anything because it is so spread out and you are walking so much. Here, you can do the entire zoo in about an hour.”

Perched on Mill Mountain overlooking Roanoke, Mill Mountain Zoo features a collection of 35 species — including three endangered species, the Red Panda, Snow Leopard and White Naped-Crane — alongside a wildflower garden and park.

“The scenery around the zoo is gorgeous,” DeMoss said. “In addition to fascinating animals, you are surrounded by these breathtaking views and beautiful wildlife on every side. It makes for a great outdoor retreat.”

The zoo, which is open daily from

everyone

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., costs $7.50 for students. “(It) is worth every penny,” DeMoss said. “I have been here on multiple occasions and am always impressed.”

OTHER PLACES TO CHECK OUT:

- McAfee’s Knob - The Blacksburg Farmer’s Market - New River Junction Tubing, Camping and Fishing - The Natural Bridge - The Friday Night Jamboree in Floyd - Brown Farm (Heritage Park)

page

sports 9

editor: thomas emerick, brian wright email: sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com phone: 540.231.9865 office hours: w 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.; t 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

may 6, 2009

Tech’s karate kids: They’re the best around THOMAS EMERICK

ct sports editor While searching into the hidden world of Uechi-Ryu fighters at Virginia Tech, I encountered a daunting boundary between them and myself. The gateway featured a mural of the most intimidating and ferocious creatures that come to mind when thinking of martial arts.

Overhead, a dragon appears from hiding to roar dangerously close to flammability. Beneath crouches the head of a wise and knowing tiger.

To the left, a crane raises its wings in preparation to strike a Cobra Kai in the face.

Despite my fears of getting cranekicked by Daniel-San, I clicked through the homepage and ventured further past this front of spliced images. There was no going back, no backing down.

It was especially tough to get to that point considering that this organization lurks in the shadows of the “full club listings” for sports on Tech’s Web site, invisible among other hyperlinked clubs such as clay target and cycling.

Further digging revealed that components of Uechi-Ryu (pronounced “way-chee roo”) are blatantly noticeable in both American and Japanese culture.

“Chuck Norris got his first black belt from Master Kim.” - THOMAS DUSCHEID FOUNDER OF TANG SOO DO KARATE ORGANIZATION AT VIRGINIA TECH Much like Mr. Miyagi in the eternally revered “Karate Kid” movie quadrilogy, the traditional karate style Uechi-Ryu hails from Okinawa, Japan.

Kanbun Uechi founded this brand of karate, which bases its techniques on the movements of three animals that, many years later, would become tremendously glorified in cinema: the tiger, the dragon and the crane.

Simply punching “karate” into www.vt.edu’s search engine produced all the results I needed, which included a far more advanced Web site than a typical club sport — which this organization is not, but instead is registered as Tech’s martial arts organization — including the proper pathway to contact their Sensei.

Ben Hilburn’s eyes darted across War Memorial Gym Multipurpose Room B on Sunday while the class fired fists and feet in unison. Computer engineering graduate student by day, Sensei by night, Hilburn slipped tips to his students between repetitions of the words “ichi, ni, san, shi.” This mantra traces back even further than Uechi-Ryu’s development in the early 20th century, as it translates simply to the Japanese words, “One, two, three, four.”

At no point during warm ups did any of them practice the unstoppable “crane kick” that Mr. Miyagi taught young Daniel-San back in 1984.

When I asked Hilburn Sensei — who stands at a very Ralph Macchio-esque 5-foot-7 and 135 pounds — about the absence of a move that involves thrusting arms up like wings and lifting one knee, he destroyed the myth that Generations X and Y have grown up with and held so dear.

“Wherever you get hit from, you’re going to fall over. So, that’s not our cup of tea,” Hilburn said.

“I know (that) scene in karate kid. … Everything we do is meant to be defensive and on balance, so something like this where you’re up on one leg totally vulnerable, that’s not quite us.”

Hilburn Sensei would admit there is indeed a move in black belt styles similar to “the crane,” so we can all carry on cherishing childhood memories.

The other two animals of the UechiRyu trifecta found global fame in the Oscar-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” back in 2000.

Like Uechi-Ryu, this film draws upon Chinese styles of martial arts for its finished product. “‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ is principally about Kung Fu,” Hilburn said. “Uechi-Ryu came from a Chinese style called Pangai-noon, which is directly connected to Kung Fu and Wushu … as far as defensive blocks are concerned.”

Hilburn then rattled off a circular block that seemingly no fist or bamboo pole or Chow Yun-Fat could penetrate.

Kanbun Uechi developed his masterpiece after becoming disillusioned with the fight schooling he encountered in China in the late 1800s, yet he drew upon their many revered forms of Chinese martial arts in crafting his own.

While Uechi-Ryu focuses on selfdefense, this does not expel physicality from weekly practice, but in fact magnifies it. This caught the eye of Tech junior Nandi Stoja two years ago.

“I came with a friend. He decided not to stay, because he thought it looked weird and there was a lot of beating going on,” Stoja said. “(It’s) just conditioning your body to take hits. So he didn’t like it. … I thought, ‘That’s pretty awesome.’”

Stoja and 1989 Tech graduate Bill Woodward worked in a pair much like the rest of Hilburn’s class, trading both takedowns and advice. Woodward, 42, donned his third-degree black belt in Goju-Ryu, while absorbing moves in his latest style of interest.

“When I moved up here, there were no Goju-Ryu schools, and I was looking around for just a really good club that taught a similar style,” Woodward, who works at Tech’s corporate research center, said. “Once you start really understanding it, it’s pretty addictive, too. You start looking at things that are, for me, very simple techniques that are very effective fighting techniques. Things like …”

Suddenly — and in rhythm with conversation — Stoja’s hand shot at Woodward, which the graying eagle disarmed with a flat hand that fell inches from Stoja’s face, all the while narrating: “Punch. Bam. I’ve just blocked, and

blinded him.”

Woodward then demonstrated a number of other things you can do with someone else’s swinging fist, most of them aimed to end with the opponent’s feet in air.

“Okinawan karate tends to have a lot of hand techniques, low kicks, pinpoint fingertip strikes and closein techniques,” Woodward said. “You move from a position of equality to superiority, and it’s done.”

On other days of the week, this white painted training room — equipped with punching bag, rubber mat and numerous cooling fans — is occupied by the Tang Soo Do (Tang Sue Doh) Karate Organization at Virginia Tech.

Thomas DuScheid founded the student-run organization in 2005, which teaches a Korean form of martial arts that shares early roots with Tae Kwon Do. He said Tang Soo Do focuses more on the actual power of their foot or hand strike against the body and less on foot “sweeps” or “takedowns” than in Uechi-Ryu. DuScheid, a graduating management and marketing double major, feels he’s uniquely positioned his prized creation.

“I think the best part about what we have for our students is that we’re sponsored by the largest federation of any other martial arts clubs here,” he said. “If they join our club, they can take (part) in any of our International Tang Soo Do Federation classes …

“Actually, the man that’s in charge of it, Grand Master Kim, is a huge supporter of our club,” DuScheid continued. “He mentioned us at the seminar we went to in front of hundreds of people.”

Then DuScheid dropped the bombshell.

“And he actually trained Chuck Norris,” DuScheid said. “Chuck Norris got his first black belt from Master Kim.” Both DuScheid and Michael Okyen, the recently named TSDKO president, said they trained individually with Master Kim and were each lauded by him at that fateful seminar in Pittsburgh, just this past spring break.

“I think (the ITF) realizes that college students, especially at a school as good as Virginia Tech, are busy,” Okyen said. “We have very busy schedules, and they keep coming back and testing us every semester, STAFF/SPPS and the students keep getting better every time, and they keep seeing that Bill Woodward, right, a 42-year-old third-degree black belt in Goju-Ryu practices with Tech junior Nandi Stoja. students are staying.”

“I think this has gone way beyond what they’d expected,” DuScheid added. “I think when (the ITF) sees the quality of our students … the fact that these guys went to a tournament and they’re facing schools that have really good instructors and real (karate) schools, and they’re beating them — it’s amazing.”

In a tournament on March 21 in Odenton, Md., TSDKO’s Brittany Rouin and Tyler Smith finished in first place in forms for their divisions, while Adam and Aaron Blomberg each notched first place in their respective sparring heats.

see KARATE, page ten

page 10

wednesday, may 6, 2009

Karate: Fast as lightning from page nine

Forms competitions are solo efforts that focus on the art of the moves and technique, while sparring involves fighting against an opponent. Junior Cristina Adkins grabbed silver medals in each, but considers rank tests administered by the Masters from the Federation to be the most euphoric thrill of her time with Tang Soo Do. “When they drive about five hours up and down, and having them test you and then talk to you after and show you tips and stuff, it’s a pretty cool experience,” Adkins said.

When asked about a showdown between the Uechi-Ryu and Tang Soo Do factions of Virginia Tech, DuScheid dismissed it as not much of a viable option. He explained that TSDKO aims to participate only in Tang Soo Do competitions, and while open tournaments do exist, they are difficult to judge due to the vast variety of martial arts styles.

However, the two do share a crucial mentality.

“We practice self control,” Rouin said. “It’s not about trying to hurt the other person. It’s showing you have the potential to do it, but you’re in control of yourself.”

Woodward defined the idea similarly for Uechi-Ryu and emphasized its importance with fellow students.

“It’s relatively common when we’re doing the stuff that we’ve been doing — the twoman stuff,” Woodward said.

“Somebody flubs a block and gets punched in the face. You can’t go (growls while face turns red). You’ve got to go, ‘OK, that was my fault. I should’ve blocked that. We’re good.’”

He then told an old story that encapsulated the mindset entirely.

“Five guys attacked (a UechiRyu student) in an alley. He took them all out, did serious damage to them, actually put them in the hospital and then the next day took them flowers,” Woodward said. “It’s supposed to be really, really effective when you get violent, but it’s not about violence.”

Five years ago, Tech alum Ross Barnard created the Uechi-Ryu Karate Club of Virginia Tech with the help of Hilburn, a high school friend. The Tae Kwon Do Club at Virginia Tech had and has been thriving for years, among many martial arts organizations at the school, but Hilburn continued looking

until Barnard got in touch with him.

Now known as Hilburn Sensei to his students, he’s glad to have found his preferred form of martial arts.

“It works out really well because with this style, you don’t have to be a big guy,” said the diminutive Hilburn. “You don’t have to be really buff and strong to make these techniques effective.”

Behind Hilburn sat more than 100 years of heritage: pictures of Uechi-Ryu creator Kanbun Uechi, his son Kanei, and his grandson and current living leader of the style, Kanmei. In a portrait to the right Master Folta, the head of their Northern Virginia-based dojo, elevated high above ground executing an edge-foot kick; a strike special to Uechi-Ryu. “We’re just honoring the line,” Hilburn said. “That we’re directly connected to the Uechi Senseis.”

Master Folta will be in Hawaii to attend the funeral of his student around May 6, rendering him unable to attend this semes-

RADFORD UNIVERSITY

ter’s rank promotion test for Hilburn’s class, which usually runs about 10 to 12 students. Hilburn, a brown belt, ranked one notch below black, said that this time Folta has signed off for the promotion committee to consist of solely Hilburn Sensei.

This marks a milestone in the long way Hilburn has climbed in the realm of self-empowerment, from a shy computer engineering wiz to confident leader.

“I’ve never been a really big ‘stand in front of everybody’ performer, and there’s a lot of that in martial arts: To stand up and perform and show your skill and work with someone else, and show what you’re capable of,” Hilburn said, in between adjusting one student’s stance and praising another on improved punching technique.

“And that has really, really helped me in engineering because a lot of engineering is presenting your work to others or giving presentations, or selling somebody on a certain point.”

Powerlifters capture national records at local USAPL meet

COURTESY OF TERRY MITCHELL

Hap Brecht performs a squat at a USA Powerlifting meet in Mechanicsville.

RYAN TRAPP

ct staff writer

LUKE MASON/SPPS

It’s April 11 at Atlee High School in Mechanicsville, Va., and Virginia Tech’s strength and conditioning director Terry Mitchell crouches over to grip the cold metal barbell.

The final lift of a long day, Mitchell knows this one will count just as much as all of his previous lifts in what has been a tiring day at the USA Powerlifting meet.

“It’s an all-day affair,” Mitchell said.

“It runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and one of the hardest things to do is to stay motivated for that long of a time.”

The sport of powerlifting presents one of the most extreme tests of strength one can do.

Meets consist of three different events: the squat, bench and dead lift. Each contestant gets three lifts at each event, and the best lifts from each event are added together for an overall score.

Mitchell has been participating in power lifting for several years now.

However, he was not the only Hokie at the USAPL meet that day.

Mitchell brought his two interns, sophomore Hap Brecht and senior Kelsey Doucette, as well as senior Luke Hisghman to compete among the 60 contestants at the meet.

All four of the lifters qualified for

the national RAW Powerlifting Federation competition held in Charlottesville this July.

“I’ve brought some of my graduate assistants with me to meets in the past but have never seen this kind of success,” Mitchell said.

“Especially considering this was the first meet for all three of them.”

Qualifying was only the start of the team’s success that day.

Hisghman and Doucette each broke three state and two national records.

Doucette set the new U.S. records for the squat (198 pounds) and dead lift (252 pounds) for the under-114 pound weight class in the RAW division.

“She trains with more intensity than anyone I have ever seen,” Brecht said. “But she’s still a very humble competitor.”

Hisghman also set two American records in the squat and dead lift at 480 pounds and 464 pounds, respectively, in the junior division at the bodyweight of 170.

“Luke is insanely strong and genetically gifted,” Doucette said.

“He’s basically built for powerlifting.”

Doucette saw success as a bodybuilder before entering the world of powerlifting. Since her freshman year at Tech, Doucette has been competing as a bodybuilder and went pro last October.

She subsequently retired.

“Yeah, I figured it was enough for me, so I quit at the ripe age of 21,” she said.

She got into powerlifting just this year after winning the female division of a bench-press competition her friend convinced her to compete in. After the competition, Mitchell said she should keep powerlifting.

“I feel like the experience helps them in pursuing their careers,” Mitchell said. “The interns gain valuable practice in trying to be leaders in the strength and conditioning field.”

A beneficiary of this is Mason Baggett, a former Hokie football player and graduate assistant for Mitchell two years ago. Baggett trained with Mitchell and attended powerlifting meets as well. Now, Mason works as the strength coach at East Carolina University.

One thing the USAPL prides itself on is its claim to be a drug-free strength sport.

“Everyone at the meets is drug tested,” Mitchell said. “It makes the records and accomplishments you receive more gratifying, knowing that they’re clean.”

The meet on April 11 was the only one the students have competed in thus far, but the four will make the trip to Charlottesville in July for the 2009 RAW National competition.

page 11

wednesday, may 6, 2009

After great career at Tech, Hall taking it to next level MELANIE WADDEN

ct sports reporter What ever happened to Vince Hall?

The legend of number nine still haunts quarterbacks and running backs alike. His hard-hitting and quick reflexes combined with those of former Hokie star Xavier Adibi — currently with the Houston Texans – will not soon be forgotten.

But after missing four games his senior season after breaking his left wrist against Clemson and injuring his knee during a beach outing right before the Orange Bowl against the University of Kansas, Vince Hall was not drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft.

The All-ACC linebacker landed in St. Louis as an undrafted free agent in 2008 only to tear his hamstring and be cut the following September.

“When I first came in, I was a free agent with St. Louis. When I was with there, I tore my hamstring before the preseason started and they put me on injured reserve, but when I got healthy they cut me,” Hall said. “I was at home until about week 11 doing my workouts, then I got signed on the practice squad for the Buffalo Bills and they signed me back at the end of the season.”

On Jan. 15 2009, the Buffalo Bills signed Hall to their practice squad with a future free agent contract. This meant that he was automatically a part of the team when the NFL contract cycle for 2009 started in March.

Hall, a Chesapeake, Va. native, started turning heads in high school.

“My sophomore year we [Oakton] played them [Western Branch] on our way to states and he was Gatorade Player of the Year, the coaches were all talking about him,” said former teammate Cody Grimm. “We actually ended up beating them, and I remember he took his helmet off after the game and he had this like full beard and I was like, ‘Now that’s a man’. I’m still working on my ‘stache and this guy has a full beard.”

Little did Grimm know that the two would soon be teammates at Virginia Tech.

“I actually played middle linebacker for a little bit, which isn’t what he played,” Grimm said. “But just watching him on film, you know he’s a really good player, a great guy, good teammate, outgoing and stuff. Watching him on film and stuff, you can learn so much. How he plays, he’d see a lineman pull and not even look at a running back and run 20 yards to get that running back for a loss. That’s just the kind of football player he is. He’s not the fastest, or the quickest, or strongest or anything, but he can read stuff really fast and just puts himself in good situa-

tions to make plays.”

Tech Football defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Bud Foster had nothing but good things to say about Hall.

“Vince was one of the best football players I ever had the opportunity to coach. He had a great football IQ and he had the best vision of guys that I’d coached in a long time,” Foster said.

“He’s a very instinctive football player; he understood the game and knew his positions so well that he would just play; overall just a really complete football player. One of the best linebackers in the 23 years that I’ve been here, if not the best linebacker play in and play out that I’ve ever coached.”

As one of Hall’s mentors through his development as both a person and a player, Foster sees good things for Vince in the future, both in football and in life.

“He was a four-year starter and really was a big-time football player. I’m disappointed for him that he got hurt toward the end of his [college] career, because there’s going to be guys that are bigger size-wise, but I don’t know if there are going to be guys from a football standpoint that are better,” Foster said. “He just needs to get healthy. He’s in camp now and hopefully they’ll see up there what we’ve all seen the last four years that he is capable of doing.”

Since graduation, Hall still visits the Blacksburg area regularly. Hall comes down to visit his daughter, who lives in Christiansburg with her mother, and to visit teammates and talk to former coaches.

“Whenever he comes down, he pops in and talks to me,” Foster. “I’ve got his number, but it’s time for him to kind of move on to the next level. He doesn’t need me looking over his shoulder or anything.”

Now healthy again, Hall is looking to make a name for himself and prove to his new franchise that he can play at the next level.

“I’m ready to get it going,” Hall said.

“Spring practice, it’s going alright. It’s just getting all of their terminology down, making sure I got my two positions locked down. They’ve got me at outside linebacker and inside linebacker. I do both now.”

In terms of the future, Hall feels like he may have found a home in Buffalo.

“I could see myself here for awhile,” said Hall. “People at the Bills are really great and the coaches talk to me and everything. In St. Louis, they didn’t make me feel that much love for the staff, but here we keep up with our conversations and the players are really cool. I wouldn’t mind living up here, you know. Ain’t that much to do up here but work!”

Perhaps Buffalo feels like home

PAUL PLATZ/SPPS

Vince Hall brings down UNC running back Ryan Houston behind the line of scrimmage in 2007. Hall is currently under contract with the Buffalo Bills. because of its weather.

“I think it’s worse than Blacksburg, the weather I mean,” Hall said. “Blacksburg, you could have a cold day that turns out to be warm, but here when you have a cold day you know it’s going to be cold.

It still reminds me of Tech, though.”

Foster has one hope for Hall.

“The NFL is such a business, and a player’s days in it are not that long.

If he can get the opportunity to get up there and play a few years and be productive and he can stay healthy and he can have a great experience – that’s what I’m hoping for. If he gets in one of those situations where he can play for a long time, great. He’s a good enough football player to…I just hope that they give him a shot and if they do, I know he’ll take advantage of it and make the best of it. I’m proud of him, though, regardless. He’s a great person who will be successful in whatever he wants to do. If he’s motivated about it, he can be whatever he wants to be.”

With so many accomplishments behind him and so much potential in the foreground, Grimm agrees, “He’s such a great player, there’s no way he won’t make it [in the NFL]. He won’t let that happen.”

Promotion: Ads draw attention from page one

Deloach is a rising senior guard on the Norfolk State basketball team and said neither Taylor nor Chancellor was paid and did not recall either being present. Payton is a former football player for Hampton University.

Another flier, for a party on Jan. 4, 2009 at the Peppermint Beach Club, displayed action shots of Taylor, Chancellor and linebacker Purnell Sturdivant in their football uniforms with the Tech emblem visibly present.

A June 27, 2008 event, called the “V-Tech and NSU’s Baller’s Summer Jam,” featured both Taylor and Chancellor along with Shawn and Sherron Childress — two Norfolk State football players. In regards to NSU’s involvement in the fliers, Alisha Tucker, assistant athletic director for compliance, said the university is currently looking into the situation.

The party was located at Club Mystique and presented

by So Serious Corporate Club.

So Serious Corporate “is a non-profit organization,” said Michael Jackson, a member of Splendid Media Group — an organization that creates fliers for events run by So Serious. “(It’s made up) of everyone from the ‘757’ area who go to college and stay out of trouble.”

So Serious Corporate also sponsored the “Virginia Tech

ACC Champions Party” on Dec. 26, 2007. The Hokies mentioned on the poster were Ore, Sturdivant, Taylor, Chancellor and Boone.

Previous instances that involved student-athlete promotion and action from the NCAA include an infraction against Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro, Ky. One finding of violations of NCAA legislation against the school included a “lack of institutional control and failure to monitor.”

According to the July 14, 2006, infractions report, the Kentucky Wesleyan men’s basketball team was involved in impermissible promotional activities when team members appeared publicly at a booster’s business.

The report said the university did not “educate boosters and student-athletes regarding promotional activities and to monitor student-athlete participation in such activities.”

Another example is an incident involving the University of Miami (Fla.).

In a report released on Feb. 27, 2003, the assistant coach of the baseball team “permitted his sports club to use the names of student-athletes for promotional and advertisement purposes for his club.”

Infractions are often dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the NCAA.

page

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wednesday, may 6, 2009

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may 6, 2009

Hokies look to capture third straight title at ACC tourney JUSTIN LONG

ct sports reporter

JOSH MILLER/SPPS

Charisse Mariconda is greeted by her teammates after a Kristin Graham walk-off single sealed a Hokie win over Georgia Tech.

The No. 5 seed Virginia Tech women’s softball team (8-10, 27-27) will clash with the fifth seeded Maryland Terrapins (911, 29-25) in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C. Head coach Scot Thomas said, “Maryland is a very balanced squad. They can run a little bit, and they’ve got some power.

They are a consistent group at the plate, and they have a solid team as a whole.”

In their previous regular season meeting during the weekend of April 25, the Terps came to Blacksburg and took two of three games. The games were tight, however, and the entire series was decided by a difference of only five total runs.

“Our series kind of proves that we’re two fairly evenly matched teams … although we’ve had wins of Georgia Tech and Florida State, which I don’t think they’ve had,” Thomas said. “We have to be able to continue to utilize our speed. We have to have a good, solid overall game, and we can’t beat ourselves. It should be a good first round game for us.”

Maryland lost their last two games of the season to Georgia Tech, with their final match up with the Jackets being rained out on Sunday. Prior to those losses, the Terps went on a five-game wining streak, with one of those wins coming at the hands of Virginia Tech. The Hokies will be looking to cut down on some

mental mistakes that have recently cost them a few victories.

“I think the biggest thing is to make sure we’re finishing plays,” said Thomas. “It’s just a matter of playing the game hard no matter who we’re playing, and then continue to do what we’re doing, but just do it at a higher level.”

“This week, we’re going to focus on tightening our game up and making sure that we bring the best game that we’ve got to the ACC Tournament,” said sophomore pitcher Kenzie Roark. “The best thing that I can do is work ahead of the batter and get them to put the ball on the ground, so I’m going to work on getting command of all of my pitches and be confident with all of them.”

The Hokie squad consists of six seniors: Erin Ota, Charisse Mariconda, Kim Jalm, Jessica Everhart, Beth Walker and Jenna Rhodes.

“They brought us a good series the last time we played them,” said Rhodes, the team’s centerfielder. “We know what we need to do. We need to step up every aspect of our game to get the job done.”

“I think they know what’s at stake,” Thomas said. “It’s just a matter of taking pride in their game. … We’ll chat about that a little before (the game).”

Tech will be working in practice this week to ensure that everyone is playing at their highest level in order to give them the best possible chance in the single elimination format of the ACC Softball Championship.

“I think we have people starting to do what they need to do

individually,” Rhodes said. “We need to continue to work hard and believe in our own abilities that we’ve been given.”

With the single elimination format and because the first round plays like the quarterfinals of the tournament, the Hokies know that this is their big chance to show the rest of the league that they won’t go down without a fight.

“It’s three games to win the ACC Tournament, and that’s not impossible for us to do. … I think we’re all excited to see what happens,” said Roark.

The Hokies ended the regular season by winning eight of their last 12 games. Knowing that just one more loss calls for the end of their season, they are determined to keep their season alive as long as they possibly can.

“We know what we need to do.”

- SCOT THOMAS HEAD COACH “I think definitely I’ll go out there a little more amped up,” said Roark. “It’s the ACC Tournament and the postseason. Everyone steps up their game in the postseason and brings their A-game no matter what. I’m just going to go out there and pitch my heart out for our seniors because I’m really close with a lot of them and I don’t want our season to end.”

The winner will advance to the semifinals, which take place on Saturday, May 9 at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The championship game will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m.

page 14

wednesday, may 6, 2009

Despite improving season, Tech baseball not satisfied JOE CRANDLEY

ct sports reporter To the casual Hokie sports fan, Tech baseball still appears to be a weak program with no prospects for improvement, but that’s not the case this year.

The team achieved multiple milestones this season and seems to be moving in the right direction.

Despite four full seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hokies obtained their first series sweep over Maryland in April.

With three more ACC games left and six games total, the team has ten conference wins — an improvement from the previous record of seven, and four more total wins than in any other ACC season Lastly, Tech won a series against Clemson this year, a top-25 team all season.

Head Coach Pete Hughes realizes the strides the team has made.

“Obviously, I want to be at a different place right now, and where we’re at, sometimes you get caught up in wanting more and more and more because we’re competitive people,” Hughes said.

“But, if you sit back and look at the positives in the program, our record is completely flipped from where it was a year ago today.”

Still, that’s not quite enough for Hughes.

“I’m aggravated because there’s about nine or ten wins out there that we let get away for whatever reason, and that’s no one’s fault, but it’s true,” Hughes said.

“I think our guys are disappointed too, but we’re building, and I think we’ve changed the culture, and just the fact that I’m disappointed with our record flipped with a young team that’s coming back and doing what we’re doing in the ACC should tell you that

STAFF/SPPS

Justin Wright delivers a pitch against Wake Forest on April 5. Wright pitched a complete game and currently holds a 5-2 record along with a 3.99 ERA. the culture’s changed, because last year and the year before would have been, ‘what a great year,’ but no one in our dugout is saying that right now.”

Tech blew some key opportunities for wins this season, turning what could have been a great season into just a better season.

In March, the Hokies held a fiverun lead in the ninth over then No. 3 Georgia Tech but managed to lose the game in the last inning.

Even then, Tech picked up a win over the Yellow Jackets the next day, but a win the day before and a series win would have been much sweeter.

The Hokies didn’t just fall apart against the top teams, though.

“We let a couple slip away against the lower end teams that we should have beaten,” said starting pitcher Justin Wright.

Against North Carolina State, Tech produced 18 runs of offense but still

managed to lose by one due to an astounding seven errors.

The next week against Wake Forest the Hokies put up 14 runs, yet still lost in the ninth.

Despite these crucial defeats, Tech still believes that they can make it to the ACC Tournament, a feat never accomplished by the team — and the players feel that if they get there, they have a chance to make an impact.

“Right now, we get everyone healthy,

we can make a run to the championship game, and we could win the ACC,” outfielder Steve Domecus said.

“We’re good enough to do that, and we’ve shown that. I wouldn’t put it past our team. We’ve got the players, we’ve got the pitching. We’re good enough.”

Unfortunately for the Hokies, Domecus has been sidelined for the past two ACC series with a broken hand.

Domecus originally broke his hand against Georgia Tech, but the first x-ray came back negative, and he continued to play for an entire month before getting another x-ray, which revealed the break. Though injured, Domecus continued to produce and still leads the ACC with a .408 batting average.

At the end of the season, the top eight teams make the ACC Tournament, and after getting swept by Florida State last weekend, the Hokies need a bit of help and some excellent play to get the final spot.

To make the tournament, Tech must sweep No. 13 University of Virginia at home in a week and then have Boston College get swept by the No. 4 University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Hokies have struggled lately in conference play, dropping five of their last six to college baseball powerhouses at the University of Miami and FSU, so a regular season finale against UVa at home will be a welcome sight for Hughes and an opportunity for the team to prove itself to the rest of the league.

“No school in the ACC has ever had that schedule in back to back weekends. No college baseball team I guarantee you has ever played at both those places in back to back weekends, and our own conference does it to us, and I’m pissed at that, and if anything, I’m motivated by it, and our guys are too,” Hughes said. “Let me put it this way. It wouldn’t happen if the scheduling fell that way in Clemson’s lap, or Georgia Tech, or North Carolina or Virginia’s lap. They would have said, ‘Nah, we can’t do that to them, but we don’t have any respect, so who cares?”

“So, we’re all about trying to gain some respect in the league with the teams we play against and in the front office — change the perception — and I think we’re on our way to doing that.”