Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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Kaine levies another round of budget cuts PHILIPP KOTLABA university news editor In an attempt to expunge a $1.35 billion shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, Gov. Tim Kaine is eliminating $21.8 million of state support from Virginia Tech’s general fund. Kaine moved $10.1 million in stimulus funds earmarked for the year 2011 one year earlier to 2010 in an effort to cushion the impact on Tech. Accelerating the use of these funds allowed Kaine to lessen this fiscal year’s cuts to all state institutions of higher education by as much as 50 percent. “By doing that, he’s able to mitigate the impact of the higher education institutions so that the total cuts to all the higher education institutions just average 7.7 percent,” said Gordon Hickey, press secretary for the governor. However, the shift means that Tech
will not be able to count on the expected 2011 stimulus allocation to shore up already-existing cuts. “They’re reducing our base budget by $21.8 million but they’re offsetting it with ... monies that were supposed to be given to us in the next fiscal year,” said Larry Hincker, university spokesman. “The net effect is that it’s just going to make the hole that we have to fill the next fiscal year that much larger.” The $21.8 million cut amounts to a 15 percent reduction in Tech’s general fund. Including the 2011 stimulus funds, the net reduction for Tech is approximately 8 percent. Cuts to public universities ranged from 5 percent to 14 percent. No layoffs for state universities have been mandated in the latest cuts. However, a one-day furlough, or unpaid leave of absence, is also being mandated for all university employees in the latest plan from the governor.
The mandate eliminates 0.4 percent of the university payroll, netting between $1.2 million and $1.5 million on top of the general fund reduction. “We’re not exactly sure how that’s going to be effectuated,” Hincker said. “All we know is that the plan is to reduce your salary by ... 1/260.” In restructuring their budgets to accommodate the latest loss of state support, universities are advised in the budget reduction plan to “give consideration to preserving the core mission” of the university. In 2008, $8.9 million was cut from the university’s academic budget, a 4.4 percent reduction. After having $42 million cut from the general fund earlier this year, the university was asked to prepare 5, 10 and 15 percent budget reduction scenarios for an additional cut. “This is the worst-case scenario,” Hincker said. “We’ve got a 15 percent
budget reduction.” Across three fiscal years, Tech’s base budget has been reduced by $68.5 million. The university experienced $72 million cuts over four years earlier in the decade. “This is very significant reduction to higher education, and frankly it’s a very significant loss of revenue for the state. The total shortfall for the biennium is $7 billion. That’s a lot of money,” Hincker said. It is the fourth time Kaine has cut parts of Virginia’s two-year budget. As early as next week, Kaine will be looking forward to the next biennial budget. “We know that the economy isn’t doing all that well, and while it seems to have bottomed out, it isn’t exactly racing to the top,” Hickey said. “We’re going to have to look at some serious budget considerations as we go into the next biennium.”
Virginia Tech: 2010 General Fund Appropriation: $173,887,269 General Fund Reduction: $21,846,706 Total Position Level Changes: 0.00 Total Layoffs: 0 Public Universities in Virginia: Cuts range from 5% to 14%; average is 7.7% (including stimulus offsetting costs) Virginia: $1.35 billion shortfall; two-year shortfall is $7 billion A mandated furlough for all university employees will yield an aditional $1.2 to $1.5 million in cuts
JOSH SON/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Race intensifies after Labor Day
FILE/SPPS
Deeds (above) and McDonnell (below) both visited Blacksburg.
STUDENT GROUPS PREPARE TO PROMOTE VOTER AWARENESS IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE RILEY PRENDERGAST news reporter As Labor Day weekend fades into the rear view mirror, the Virginia gubernatorial race is kicking into high gear. The two front-running candidates are Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee hailing from Bath County, and Bob McDonnell, the Republican nominee hailing from Fairfax. Mike Gehrke, Deeds’ director of communication, said he is pushing the plan for economic development he spoke about at a Democratic primary debate in Blacksburg in April. “Most of Deeds’ stances have remained the same since the debate,” Gehrke said. “He is still looking to build the economy long term with a strong focus on higher education.” Deeds’ plan would aim for 70,000 degrees earned in 10 years and additional financial help for students looking to go forward with careers in education. Students looking to go into education would be offered state-funded support if they plan to enter the fields of math or science. McDonnell has a similar plan in relation to reforming higher education in Virginia. He is calling for 100,000 four-year degrees over the course of the next 15 years, along with an increase in the number of students graduating with degrees in high-income, highdemand fields such as science, technology, engineering and math. Deeds is particularly focused on the economy of underdeveloped portions of Virginia. “Deeds believes that it is important for every part of the Commonwealth to participate in economic growth,” Gehrke said. “He just completed an 11 day swing through rural Virginia.” Student political groups have also started to step up campaign activities. The Young Democrats and the College Republicans began preparing for the gubernatorial race. “We’re going to be knocking on doors and making phone calls,
we’re just trying to inform people about our candidate,” said Kathleen Newbould, president of the Young Democrats at Virginia Tech. “We don’t currently have an office in Blacksburg, but we have a great office in Radford.” The College Republicans operate from their office downtown, on Draper Road next to She-Sha Café & Hookah Bar. “(The College Republicans) have been very active in general in the community,” said Judi Lynch, the advisor for the College Republicans. ”They have been keeping up with training programs and have been making phone calls and getting themselves out there.” The groups will be canvassing Montgomery County encouraging voters to become aware of the candidates’ policies, as well as voter registration deadlines. “We are very excited about this election,” said Carlin Crowder, chairman of the College Republicans. “The polls are showing that Bob is very well liked by Virginia voters, and I think students will like him as well. We have been involved in the normal recruiting efforts, but we are also on campus. We are participating with the SGA in their voter registration drive.” McDonnell currently leads in Virginia’s polls by Public Policy Polling, but his lead shrunk following the introduction of his master’s thesis from when he was a 34-yearold grad student. The Young Democrats are looking to bring their candidates to campus in an attempt to grasp the attention of young voters. “We have Deeds coming for Homecoming and we are working with SGA to have a speaker series with all of the candidates running for office,” Newbould said. “The governor’s race is really big, but we want people to really know about our candidate.” The College Republicans are looking to collaborate with multiple see RACE / page two
Clandestine collectors Tech recycling efforts come full circle
BY RYAN ARNOLD | features reporter
he earliest of birds were nestled in their overhead homes, the worms still encased in the earth. Yet I was upright, my cozy sheets a more distant memory with every pedal of my bicycle. They lay at the foot of my bed, wrinkled much like my brow as I strained to see Harrell Street in the initial glow of mid-August dawn. Soon I breached the rear entry gates of the Sterrett Facilities Complex, a cluster of buildings adjacent to Lane Stadium. My destination was the Virginia Tech Recycling office, and its location in the Grounds Department building was immediately before me. As I locked my bicycle frame to the front stair handrails, I looked out upon rows of university vehicles. Many of them emitted plumes of exhaust, the seats already occupied by staff ready to file out. Inside I met Russell Caldwell, operations manager for VTR. It’s with his help that I would explore the three main realms of VTR collection: commingled items, corrugated cardboard and mixed paper. It’s easy to dust off our hands with pride as that Coke bottle, flattened UPS package or draft print lands in a three-arrowed container. And it’s OK to feel good; the landfill is less of a mountain thanks to our conscientious disposal. But what is the next step? Who are the phantoms behind the scenes discretely taking our hand-offs? Caldwell donned seasoned low-top boots, worn blue jeans, a faded maroon short sleeve button-down shirt and an Atlanta Braves cap. Such attire, I found, is the VTR uniform. They’ve got to be comfortable hauling around our wellintentioned garbage. Caldwell led me around several corners into a large, fluorescent-lit communal room. Its seats were dotted with men turning their cups upright for last drops of coffee — their fuel. Grounds worker Doug Shaver rose to meet us. Caldwell asked him to get me started on a commingled route, during which we’d be responsible for aluminum and steel cans as well as plastic and glass bottles. Caldwell opened a cabinet, the two sides covered with grounds vehicle keys. He scanned their labels, handing “GR-2” to Shaver. Outside, we met the white Ford F-150 whose BRIAN CLAY/SPPS bumper was tattooed “GR-2” with decals. Once Tech recycling grounds worker Doug Shaver empties commingled bottles and cans in the truck, Shaver lowered his window and Caldwell propped his left arm on the side mir- into a main repository, also known as a “hopper.” ror. Surprisingly, he’s yet to endure a sting. I leaned over and asked what he thought about residence halls depend on students to stockpile As we made our way back to the Grounds materials at central locations, custodians of recycling at Tech. “People are just realizing that this is something academic and administrative buildings tote it to Department, I felt we’d accomplished a lot. drop points. We hopped out of “GR-2,” grabbed Shaver, however, said we’d managed only a fracthat has to be done,” Caldwell said. And the awareness has had ample time to the few commingled bags at their ties and swung tion of the total stops. A look at the collection schedule revealed more than 50 locations, some develop. Having emerged in 1992, VTR is them into the truck bed. It seemed like no big deal: find it and toss it. of which were drastically summarized — “CRC approaching two decades of activity. Sustainability buildings” for the entire Corporate Research Program Manager Denny Cochrane noted the Why were we there at such an early hour? “It can kind of be an eye sore, so we try to get at Center. Further, those on the list accompanied efforts of a catalytic individual. by a “2” — rapid producers like dining centers “I think there’s no question Larry Bechtel is it quick,” Shaver said. He also reminded me that it was summer; the – need a follow-up purging each collection day. viewed on the campus as being Mr. Recycling,” The checklists for corrugated cardboard and Cochrane said, later stressing that Bechtel “started fall influx of students changes everything. “‘The herd,’ I call them, starts coming out,” he mixed paper have similar numbers. VTR is conthe program for Virginia Tech for nothing.” stantly navigating the campus and its extensions. Bechtel, former recycling coordinator, was an said. For ride two, Caldwell said I’d have to catch By 7:30 a.m., “GR-2” was full, and we parked English instructor at Tech when he and other faculty volunteers rallied a paper collection behind Owens Dining Center to transfer the up with a corrugated cardboard truck. The large startup. He hoped to combine his creation with cargo to a main repository more commonly trucks can only have two trained occupants. The a pre-existing commingled collection program called a “hopper” by Caldwell. We tore open the driving — reversing specifically — demands managed by Physical Plant. Physical Plant hired bags, pouring their odorous contents through finesse, and the passenger has to be a keen the square portals, sometimes failing to dodge guide, constantly in and out of the vehicle. I was him part time in 1991 to oversee the merger. clearly neither of those. Instead, grounds worker One year later, Bechtel initiated VTR as a full- the soured liquid remnants. I asked Shaver how he handles the frenzied Joe Hines and I chased “VTR-5,” navigated by time employee. highway equipment operator Rick Johnson “GR-2” turned off Southgate Drive onto Duck insects surrounding the containers. “I don’t like bees,” he said sternly. When Shaver and grounds worker Don McClure, in “G-2,” a Pond Drive as Shaver and I began our loop. As we approached the loading dock of the Virginia- joined VTR over a year ago he thought, “Those spunky John Deere Gator. We first raced down Kent Street to meet them Maryland Regional College of Veterinary things are everywhere, and they’re going to get see RECYCLING / page five Medicine, we could see the goods. While you.”
2 news
new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
september 9, 2009
COLLEGIATETIMES
Consumer credit down record amount in July WASHINGTON — U.S. consumers sharply reduced their debt in July, posing another threat to the nascent recovery, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. Total seasonally adjusted consumer debt fell $21.55 billion, or at a 10.4 percent annual rate, in July to $2.47 trillion. The drop in credit in July is rewriting the record books. This is the sixth straight monthly drop in consumer credit _ the longest consecutive string of declines in credit since the second half of 1991. Consumers have retrenched since the financial crisis hit in full force last September. Credit has fallen in every month except January. In percentage terms, the drop in credit is the biggest since June 1975. And on a year-on-year basis, credit is down 4.3 percent, the biggest drop since June 1944. The retrenchment was much more than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected consumer credit to decline by $4.3 billion. There were also sharp downward revisions to June data.
Economists said shrinking credit might strangle the recovery. “There is no real way to put a positive spin on these data. Credit is still shrinking and that is going to have an impact on consumption,” wrote Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist at TD Securities, in a note to clients. “Without the smooth functioning of credit markets, the recovery may stall,” Buskas said. Josh Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc., said he’s one of the most pessimistic economists regarding the outlook because consumers are drowning in debt. Fed data has shown that the value of both household net assets and net worth has plunged by about $12 trillion from the peak in mid-2007, Shapiro said, and households are struggling to get their balance sheets in order. The retrenchment of credit “is still in its early days,” Shapiro said. “Consumers are doing their best but it took a long time to build up the debt and it is going to take a long time to work it off,” he said. by greg robb, marketwatch
Former officials find climate bill crucial to security WASHINGTON — America’s national security is at risk unless Congress and the Obama administration end partisan wrangling and agree on legislation to reduce U.S. contributions to climate change, a bipartisan group of former presidential advisers, Cabinet members, senators and military leaders said Tuesday. The energy and climate debate is nation & world divisive, but it’s headlines possible for the government to devise a “clear, comprehensive, realistic and broadly bipartisan plan to address our role in the climate change crisis,” declared the Partnership for a Secure America, a group that seeks a centrist, bipartisan approach to security and foreign policy. It broadly sketched a plan for emissions reductions, less dependence on foreign oil, more renewable energy and aid to poor countries that will be hard hit by inevitable climate changes. “Doing so now will help avoid humanitarian disasters and political instability in the future that could ultimately threaten the security of the U.S. and our allies,” the statement said. Failure to lead, it added, would give the U.S. little leverage in pending international negotiations for a global emissions reduction agreement.
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Among the 32 who signed the statement were former Republican senators Howard Baker of Tennessee, John Danforth of Missouri, Slade Gorton of Washington, Nancy Kassebaum Baker of Kansas, Warren Rudman of New Hampshire and John Warner of Virginia. Among those who served Republican presidents were George Shultz, secretary of state, and Robert McFarlane, national security adviser during the presidency of Ronald Reagan; Thomas Kean, a former New Jersey governor who was the chairman of the 9-11 Commission; and Christine Todd Whitman, a former New Jersey governor who led the Environmental Protection Agency under George W. Bush. Democrats included former Secretary of State Warren Christopher and national security advisers Sandy Berger and Tony Lake (all of the Clinton administration); Ted Sorenson, special counsel to President Kennedy; former Sens. Gary Hart and Timothy Wirth of Colorado and Sam Nunn of Georgia; and former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton, who was the vice chairman of the 9-11 Commission. The House of Representatives narrowly passed an energy and climate bill in June by 219-212, with most Democrats voting for it and most Republicans against. by renee schoof ,mcclatchy newspapers
Race: VT students involved from page one
groups on campus, including the political science club. “We’re hoping to collaborate with the political science club for their Great Debate,” Crowder said. “We were involved last year and it was really great. Last year it got a lot of really awesome dialogue going.” The lines between the two branches on campus have become slightly blurred as they collaborate in campus events to bring students into the political realm. “What’s important to us more than anything is that students are engaged in the political process,” Crowder said. “Whether that is as a Republican or a Democrat.”
opinions 3
editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
september 9, 2009
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Our Views [staff editorial]
Obama’s speech to schools not offensive Politics, with all its intricacies, subterfuge, and bureaucracy, is an adult concept. Earmarks and income taxes are words that are almost foreign to many elementary and middle school children. It’s not until end of middle school and in high school that these concepts really begin to solidify into genuine aspects of government. For children, the government is not about health care reform, gun control debates, corrupt representatives or political lobbyist. For children, government is part of community and civil studies. It’s a subject in school that gives them a taste of how their country works, generally in a very patriotic way. It’s not uncommon for elementary age children to write letters to the president or even to see cartoon representations of him on television shows — like an episode of the children’s show “Arthur” when the character D.W. gets lost in the White House. The president is that person who most children idolize at some point or another. The president is the embodiment of the American dream, no matter what party. By the age when this image of the president has faded, children have most likely already been indoctrinated with parents ideals, or aggressively fought against it, enough to understand that just because the president says do well in school, it doesn’t mean you have to adore the guy. Yesterday President Barack Obama asked schools around the country to show a speech he gave to Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. People of all ages, including students here at Virginia Tech, were concerned that exposure to the speech would leave the
kids more sympathetic to the president’s policies, possibly forming an unwanted bias. The speech itself contained no political lesson. Obama simply told students to take personal responsibility for education and tried to inspire students with examples of kids who have faced tough life experiences and still managed to dedicate themselves to their studies. The only part of the speech that can be considered controversial is when he said that by quitting school, students are “quitting their country.” Of the five elementary schools in Blacksburg, one school chose to postpone viewing the speech until the faculty watched it themselves to decide whether it was appropriate. If the faculty decides it is, they’ll send home letters alerting parents so that they can decide if they want their children to see it. One decided not to show the speech at all, and another was unavailable for comment. Two schools showed the speech and said they found it appropriate for the children and without any real political bias. Administrators from these schools said only a handful of parents chose for their children to not participate in the viewing. So, while parents do have the right to have their children abstain from participation in activities they do not agree with, this speech was nonthreatening. To a child, he’s just a man in a position of high respect — the President of the United States — encouraging students to do their best in the upcoming school year. The editorial board is comprised of Debra Houchins, Sara Mitchell, and Peter Velz
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MCT CAMPUS
High price of hypocrisy: Our workers deserve more A
ccording to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, the poverty level is $10,830 for an individual and $14,470 for a person with one dependent. Virginia Tech hires a category of workers who are limited to 1,500 hours per year and earn $12,750 at the advertised starting wage of $8.50 an hour. I contacted university spokesperson Mark Owczarski by e-mail and he wrote, “Currently, we have 652 wage employees in the ‘1,500 hour nonstudent wage’ category. ... Of those, 31 make less than $8.50 per hour, 204 make $8.50 per hour, and 417 make more than $8.50 per hour.” Tech restricts hundreds of its workers to earn either slightly above or slightly below the poverty level, depending on whether a worker cares for a child. Tech’s human resources Web site states, “these positions are considered part-time and are currently not eligible for benefits.” This means no maternity leave, sick days, holiday pay, health insurance, life insurance, vacation or pension. There has been a wage freeze for Virginia state employees since November 2007 that will continue until at least 2011. In response to the question, “How many of these wage workers were fired last year?” Owczarski wrote, “None. By the nature of this job classification, these jobs are intended to be temporary in nature. People leave this employment because the job ends, not because they are fired.” The 1,500-hour limit results in a full-time job during the school year and months of no paychecks during the summer. Thanksgiving, spring break and Christmas are also a time of no pay for many “temporary” wage workers, who are often employed for years. During times when school is not in session, workers are unable to draw unemployment benefits under Virginia law (60.2-615) because employment at educational institutions is considered seasonal. A single worker earning this little amount (and presuming a generous $3,000 in savings) is eligible for food stamps and energy aid, but not for Medicaid (low-income government health insurance) in Virginia. (For rare exceptions, see the Department
of Medical Assistance Web site). A worker with the same earnings who also cares for a child is eligible for food stamps, energy aid, children’s health insurance, childcare and additional food. Statistics for the number of Tech workers who are beneficiaries of these programs are confidential. In economic terms, paying workers so little that they are forced to seek external assistance to get by is called externalizing costs and is encouraged because it increases profits. But to pay state workers so little that they are forced to seek state aid is inefficient and often humiliating. The simple solution to this problem is to pay people a decent wage. (For people who criticize government aid, we should remember that the three-quarters of our undergraduates who pay in-state tuition are receiving it; the government subsidizes our tuition because education is seen as a good investment for society.) On Dec. 18, 2008, President Steger sent a letter to the university about budget cuts. He wrote, “the scale of these reductions will require that we dig deeper, and it will be difficult.” As part of the “natural introspection necessary for cost-cutting,” he promised to “reduce, and in some cases eliminate, discretionary items, such as printing costs, travel and outside training. ... With your help, we will weather this also. And, as we do so, we will remain focused on our priorities.” According to the Collegiate Times public university salaries database, Steger will make $457,040 of state money this year. The government will pay President Barack Obama $400,000. Kim O’Rourke, the chief of staff of the Office of the President, stated in an e-mail, “It is the Board of Visitors of the university that sets the president’s salary.” This indicates who is in charge of maintaining Steger’s pay and whose responsibility it is to lower it. Many presidents who took salary cuts last year received favorable press. To the question, “When the budget was cut last spring, was there any consideration given to cutting his salary?” O’Rourke responded, “Like everyone else, President Steger received no salary increase last year.” This vulgar populism recalls the saying of Nobel
laureate Anatole France: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges.” In the article “Steger lobbies in Richmond” published in the CT on March 23, 2009, in the two months after he sent this letter, Steger took a private plane to Richmond at least twice, which cost “$800 per roundtrip flight,” in order to ask for more money for the university. It is doubtful that his arrival in a private plane had any effect on the amount of money we received. Using a private plane to fly to Richmond, Va., which costs about $25 in a car, shows his contempt for his professed “natural introspection necessary for cost-cutting.” In 2008, he took “four expeditions to Richmond across a total of nine days, staying five nights. He flew in the university plane each time” for a plane allowance of “$3,200. Lodging and meals averaged $200 a night.” If Steger believes what he wrote, he must not think his personal plane flights to Richmond are “discretionary.” If not for Steger, then for whom will the budget cuts “be difficult?” In-state tuition has risen by more than 15 percent over the past two years. Even the cheerful April 23 press release, which explained how generous Tech is being in raising our tuition, concluded that Tech is the third most-expensive school for in-state students of our 24 peer institutions. The “we” who must “dig deeper” are workers mired in poverty and students saddled with debt because of “necessary ... cost-cutting,” while the “we” who “will remain focused on our priorities” express solidarity by spending a month’s salary in Richmond hotels. On the first day of freshman biology this year, alumni distinguished professor Emeritus George Simmons quoted the captain who made headlines this spring when he gave himself up to pirates to save his crew: “Leadership is taking care of your people.”
BURKE THOMAS -regular columnist -international affairs graduate student
Misconceptions about libertarians’ stances T
he men and women sitting at the Libertarians at Virginia Tech booth during Gobblerfest 2009 were asked a single question more than any other: “Are Libertarians liberal or conservative?” The question is reasonable, but difficult to answer. First a libertarian and a Libertarian (a member of the political party with the same name) can often have huge separations in terms of beliefs. The answer to the question could be different depending on the actual subject. It’s very true that modern libertarians share many similarities with the classical liberals of the Enlightenment. However, the modern term “liberal” is used to describe an ideology that has less in common with libertarianism than it does with its “conservative” opposition. It’s fair to say that libertarians mostly reject labels of liberal and conservative. Instead libertarians hold a system of beliefs that emphasize maximum individual liberty. This is a viewpoint often in opposition to modern liberal and conservatives who tend to speak in terms of national identity and common good. I reject these types of collectivist concepts as nothing more than baseless catchphrases — each of which gives me an unpleasant sense of Orwellian vagueness and false unity for all. For those who were wondering — I didn’t just make a typo. I
am a libertarian and have been identifying myself as such for many years. Coming out of the closet in a world full of leftright thinkers and party politics wasn’t easy. I soon learned that there were others like me, each also falsely being identified as Republican or Democrat depending on the daily topic of conversation. Feedback for my past editorials has been mixed unpleasantly with comments involving pesky phrases like “liberal” and “conservative.” I certainly may find myself occasionally sharing viewpoints with each of these labels. I point to this as evidence that I am an individual with my own brain. I hope most readers understand that not everything is left or right. So what is a libertarian? A libertarian is an individual who believes in the values of small government and free market economics. In both social and economic issues, libertarians tend to favor personal liberty over state involvement. Ideally, this means a nation with fewer laws and less government involvement in every aspect of your daily life. Libertarians specifically tend to favor certain stands on issues, such as: less gun control, an end to drug prohibition, less taxation and absolutely no foreign military intervention. Libertarians also oppose
any crime where a victim — other than the accused — is not expressly identifiable. Libertarianism is all based on the concept of self-ownership. This is a belief that you own your own life and that absolutely no person or group can claim ownership over your life. With this comes a concept called the nonaggression axiom, which states that it is wrong to use aggression as a means to personal, political or economic gain. If you own your own life, you must also respect that others own their own lives as well. I think this is a concept that a lot of people from all political affiliations can really get behind. Most people certainly do not enjoy violence, and they certainly do not thrive on the concept of harming their neighbor. Yet, a lot of people seem to support various government programs that are funded — under threat of violence — through forced taxation. If I choose not to give a percentage of my income to elected people in government, then there is little doubt that the end result is that I will be thrown in jail. Taxation by its very definition is an act of aggression; it’s a system that allows one group to steal from another without fear of legal repercussion. Are you in favor of the War on Terror or Obamacare? The system allows you to elect people
into office who share your viewpoint, and then, using taxation, turn these terrible ideas into an unfortunate reality. If someone opposes your idea, you can steal their money anyway and send them to jail if they resist. If I gathered a group of armed friends, and together we went from house to house demanding money, my friends and I would certainly (and with good reason) be sent to prison. Elected officials operate in the very same manner, but they are completely immune to prosecution. Governments certainly have a very powerful cloak of legitimacy. When broken down, there is little difference between the ways in which the government and an organized criminal organization operate. Each uses aggression against others as a means to meet its goals. My goal as a libertarian is to limit the use of force as much as possible by reducing the size of government in all areas. I believe in the voluntary interaction of individuals as a means to an end. So are libertarians just anarchists hiding in their basements with bags of weed and AK-47s? I’m afraid that image doesn’t fit me very well. I simply know how to read the Constitution. As scary and unusual as the libertarian philosophy of individual prosperity and less government may seem, the fact of the matter is that
this country was founded on those same values. Along the way, the role of government has evolved from being a necessary evil that protects liberty into the modern standard of viewing government as a mechanism that keeps order and solves problems for the common good. I simply want to roll back the clock, and, with it, hopefully roll back the size of government. Before thinking in terms of Republican and Democrat, remember that there are more viewpoints out there than the media-favored right-left system. On this very campus there is a libertarian group ready to oppose both the Republicans and Democrats whenever possible — even if we’re banned from doing so. In the past, the Libertarians at Virginia Tech have even united with other campus groups in opposition to the university’s policies on drug possession and concealed carry. A lot of political organizations have come to accept the libertarians as a legitimate force. Still, the two parties continue to be unified in their disregard of libertarian ideals. Regardless of what the two parties want to believe, they cannot monopolize everything forever. We’re here to stay.
CHAD VAN ALSTIN -regular columnist -senior communication major -libertarians at Virginia Tech president
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features 5
editors: topher forhecz, teresa tobat featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
Armory Art Gallery exhibits Recycling: Climate Action Commitment Resolution sets goals for program’s future tension between art and utility DAN WAIDELICH
from page one
at the Graduate Life Center. On its loading dock, Johnson and McClure tipped over long plastic bins designated for cardboard. What didn’t fall directly into “VTR-5” they shuffled in by hand. The powerful truck hydraulics then devoured their corrugated meal. Through this compression, the “VTR-5” can shoulder more than two tons of cardboard. Leaving the Newman Library loading dock minutes later, I casually noted Hines’s Pittsburgh Steelers hat and matching watch. The mention inspired a passionate declaration of his excitement for the coming season. When we returned our full attention to the road, “VTR-5” was gone. How did that beast outrun “G-2?” VTR stresses radio contact, though, and Hines made a quick call to “VTR-5.” The prompt response sent our convertible charging to Pamplin Hall. Throughout the morning, I’d heard Caldwell checking in on various grounds workers. He also makes rounds in a vehicle, warning others of obstacles or fine-tuning their routes. The dialogue was always brief, smooth; indicative of a seamless group. Hines suggested there isn’t really another choice. “You’ve got to work with anyone regardless of who it is,” he said. They’re typically in pairs after all; personal space isn’t an option. To be anything other than amiable could mean disaster for the operation. The good will was again evident on the ride back to the Grounds Department as Hines waved to passing co-workers. After parking “G-2,” Caldwell told Hines and me to join Shaver for my final route in “VTR10,” a box truck designated for mixed paper collection. The three of us squeezed into the hot cabin. After turning the ignition, Shaver immediately reached for the air conditioning. “It’s one of the many luxuries we have,” Shaver said sarcastically. Mixed paper collection almost mirrored commingled. Custodians roll marked-paper cans to drop points, and grounds workers form assembly lines to load them onto VTR trucks. With the coiled “VTR-10” back door open, Hines raised the cans to me at the truck’s edge. I then carried them
into the truck depths where Shaver poured them into larger bins. Sometimes the train wasn’t even necessary. At Lane Hall, two cans bulged with discarded textbooks. Far too heavy to lift, we lowered the “VTR-10” hydraulic platform to expedite the process. “Take us up, Joe!” Shaver shouted with a grin, Hines only feet away. As Shaver and I rose, I felt we should’ve been wearing capes. Behind Owens Dining Hall, Hines ran inside to check the building’s mixed paper status. Eventually through the side mirror I saw him return cradling three doughnuts against his shirt. Owens employees offered Hines baked goods that would have otherwise been discarded. Shaver said a variety of treats somehow find their way into the truck. “You’ve got to learn to adapt,” he said, “whether it’s a Hershey’s Kiss or a big old doughnut.” With the 2:30 p.m. quitting time approaching, “VTR-10” made a trip to the Material Recovery Facility at the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority in Christiansburg. While VTR has the means to transport corrugated cardboard and mixed paper, it locally outsources its commingled hoppers to Bob’s Refuse Service in Christiansburg. “VTR-10” first weighed in at the scalehouse. It then entered the 47,000square-foot building through one of three massive bay doors that align with three conveyer belts of recycling traffic. The system is called a “dual stream.” The two exterior lanes are reserved for mixed paper and commingled items respectively. They rise like escalators to a platform where workers manually separate articles and place them in storage cells. The flat center belt leads to the baler, a machine that packs everything into shippable units. Corrugated cardboard can be fed directly onto the center belt, and the storage cells release the proper materials to be baled. Jim Ketterer, director of recycling services at Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority, described the bales by their weights, not dimensions. Aluminum can bales, he said, are usually around 900 pounds, while magazines can surpass 2,000 pounds. In August alone, Ketterer prepared more
than 600 tons. The colorful, waist-high bricks line the rear walls like dynamic collages. Eventually they’re sent to mills and processors in the Southeast where materials are often returned to their original forms. “For our number two (bottles) ... we usually send that down to Reidsville, N.C.,” Keterrer said. “Your detergent bottles — your Tide orange, Downy blue — they’re ground up, washed and sold back to the manufacturer.” The same will go for this issue of the Collegiate Times. “The mill that we use (for newspaper) will recycle it and put it back into newsprint,” Ketterer said. On that specific visit, “VTR-10” dumped heaps of newspaper in a 1.26ton load. With the semester underway, delivery numbers will surely balloon, placing exponential demands on the six-member VTR team. They’ve always been a slim group, but a recent period of budget cuts and title shifting has left the outfit breathless. New to his position, Grounds Superintendent Leon Law commended VTR’s perseverance through the reorganization. “They work extremely hard,” Law said, “and they’re not always appreciated as much as other trades.” The Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment Resolution may very well change that. Approved by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors in June, the document lists 14 points to improve the university’s eco-health. Goal number eight introduces a 35 percent recycle rate by 2012 and 50 percent by 2025. Sustainability Program Manager at Virginia Tech Denny Cochrane affirmed it isn’t hot air. “The beauty of this document is that the 14 points are policy,” he said. “That means we’re going to do that.” Cochrane said the accompanying sustainability plan “is a living document and a way to get there.” The plan dedicates two full pages to the names of students, faculty, staff and Blacksburg citizens who helped create it. With such an array of buttresses, Cochrane said, it’s hard to doubt VTR will flourish, and it is nimble enough to overcome the economy’s challenges. He assured: The mission will continue.
Express Yourself. Write Design Paint Draw
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features reporter The rectangular room looks like the kitchen of a mad man. Random, utterly useless contraptions line the walls surrounding beautifully crafted and purposeful ceramic bowls and cups. David Detrich and Denise Woodward-Detrich, the married couple responsible for the carefully designed chaos, are not insane inventors. They are Clemson University faculty members and the featured artists in FUNCTION NOT FUNCTION, the new exhibit in the Armory Art Gallery. The gallery’s visitors will be immersed in an intriguing world where every piece explores the idea of the functionality of fine art. “When you think about utilitarian pottery like what Denise makes, it is something that you touch. It is a very physical experience, and you don’t do that with art,” David Detrich said. “So what is the potential functional attribute of fine art that you can’t really touch? What is the function of art?” Denise, who is the curator of the Rudolph E. Lee Gallery at Clemson University, can answer that question concretely. Her earthy ceramics are strikingly colored and shine with a glazed outer layer. Each piece beckons to be held and used, but still seems too fine to dirty with food or drink. The contradiction in her work speaks to the theme of the exhibit: the tension between art and utility. “I’m the dysfunctional one,” said David, who is an associate professor at Clemson and head of their sculpture program. His pieces look like elaborate machines constructed out of irregular, discarded bits of junk. The artwork looks fragile, often standing on spindly legs, but like the cups and bowls Denise made, they scream to be touched. As Clemson faculty, both artists see the value in bringing a themed exhibit like FUNCTION NOT FUNCTION to a small, Southern town setting. “It is somewhat of a challenge to be an artist in the South,” said Denise, comparing her current lifestyle to her upbringing in the Northeast. “It’s more of a missionary thing. We’re artists, and we’re going to make an impact.” David, a St. Louis native, agreed.
HANNA TEACHEY/SPPS
Married couple David Detrich and Denise Woodward-Detrich curated the latest show at the Armory, FUNCTION NOT FUNCTION.
[
check it out
FUNCTION NOT FUNCTION is open free to the public in the Armory Art Gallery until Oct. 18.
]
“You don’t need to live in New York City or Los Angeles or Chicago to have a quality artistic experience or education,” he said. Using unusual methods to expose people to art is not new to the couple. They helped coordinate a fundraiser held in Clemson’s Memorial Stadium to foster a bond between the arts and athletic programs at the university. “We had a few eyebrows raised
when we proposed the idea, but the athletic department has been incredibly supportive,” said Denise with a smile on her face. “During one of the fundraisers, the starters for our basketball team were at the live auction and were up there holding the artwork up and raising the bid prices.” Featuring artists who have had plenty of success in highlighting a unique way to consider art, FUNCTION NOT FUNCTION aims to make visitors ask important questions about how they can experience art. “My favorite saying about art is that it allows you to see the familiar from an unfamiliar point of view,” David said.
sports 6
editors: joe crandley, alex jackson sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ telephone number: 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
september 9, 2009
Don’t lose faith yet, Hokie football fans .
R
emain calm Virginia Tech fans, all is well — for now. That Alabama defense put on a show, and did anyone really expect the offense to shine against what might be considered the best defensive unit in the country? The University of Florida only put up 31 points on that team last year, and Alabama got better in the offseason. The Hokie Nation probably reserves the right to expect more than 155 total yards of offense and just under 23 minutes of possession, but when was the last time Tech came out firing on all cylinders in its first game? The only issue with that question is when has Tech come out firing at all? Tech performed well against Nebraska and Cincinnati last season, but the offensive dud against Alabama this past week seemed all too familiar to the weak games against Duke and Virginia late last season. Those games are in the past, though, and the true state of the Hokies’ offense should be realized in
MICHAEL MCDERMOTT/SPPS
Fans look on in disappointment during Saturday’s loss to Alabama. the coming weeks with games against Marshall and Nebraska. What the Hokies proved in the Alabama game is that they have offensive playmakers, and if offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring cannot get them going against weaker
defenses in the next two weeks, Tech might be in for another long season of offensive ineptitude and a slim chance at a third Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. The ACC really embarrassed itself this weekend by not winning
a Football Bowl Subdivision Game against an out of conference opponent and actually lost games to FCS teams William & Mary and Richmond, but there was a lone bright spot. The showdown between Miami and Florida State Monday night provided a glimpse of actual football being played by ACC teams and the presence of some real offense. If Tech does not get its offensive act together against Marshall and Nebraska — the defense should be fine — but Miami just might waltz into Lane Stadium on Sept. 26 and put a beating on the Hokies. After this weekend, the North Carolina and Georgia Tech games also appear that much more daunting. However, let’s take a leap of faith and assume that Stinespring gets the offense going. The expectations of another ACC title are within grasp and the chance to play in the national championship still exists. Provided the ACC does not keep humiliating itself the rest of the season, another leap of faith, Tech plays one of the toughest schedules in the country, and beating good teams each week is a surefire way to climb back into the national picture. Assuming the University of Florida makes it to the national championship game and represents the Southeastern Conference, the opportunity for the Hokies to lose to it is pretty wideopen. With the defeat to Brigham Young University and the temporary loss of Sam Bradford at Oklahoma, the Sooners’ chances to reach the title game seem to be severely in doubt. Oklahoma State has a pretty easy road to the championship game, but it still faces Texas at home and Oklahoma away at the end of the season when Bradford should be healthy. Southern California must play difficult away games at California, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Oregon, all with a true freshman quarterback. National championship aspirations for USC seem to be out of reach. Texas faces Oklahoma when Bradford should be back as well, and it also travels to Missouri and faces Kansas at home. Penn State and Notre Dame seem to have the easiest paths to the national championship game despite having arguably weaker teams than the other contenders. The Nittany Lions play only four road games and get their only real test against Ohio State at home. An away game at Michigan sounds interesting, but the Wolverines, despite their improvement, should not provide much of a challenge. Like Penn State, Notre Dame only plays one big-time team in USC, and it is a home game. Otherwise, it will be feasting on bottom level Big Ten, PAC-10, ACC and Big East teams in addition to Navy. An away game against Michigan this weekend could derail its season, though. What this means for Tech is that if the offense finally kicks into gear, appearing in the national championship game is still an attainable goal. If the Hokies win out from now on with victories over Nebraska, Miami, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and the Atlantic division champion, it will be difficult to hold Tech out of the national championship game unless another team goes undefeated. A close loss to Alabama should not hold the Hokies out of the game, but had Tech repeated its 2007 performance against LSU, then maybe its hopes would already be extinguished. The players still believe they can reach their goal, and as long as Stinespring finally works everything out, the national championship goal is within reach. So, Hokie Nation, take a deep breath, and maybe the next couple weeks will be a breath of fresh air. Again, all is well — for now.
JOE CRANDLEY -sports editor -senior -communication major