Friday, November 6, 2009
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COLLEGIATETIMES 106th year, issue 112
News, page 2
Features, page 5
Opinions, page 3
Sports, page 6
Classifieds, page 4
Sudoku, page 4
Alumnus suspected in Fort Hood shooting A
Virginia Tech graduate is accused of killing 12 and wounding 31 at Fort Hood, Texas. The Collegiate Times has confirmed through the university’s alumni database that Nidal Malik Hasan graduated from Tech in 1995 with a degree in biochemistry and nutrition. According to Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the base commander, Hasan is in stable condition and in custody. Military authorities said in a press HASAN conference this evening that Hasan, 39, was shot by military police after opening fire in the Texas U.S. Army base. The identities of the dead or wounded were not released. “We will bring in the expertise necessary to properly investigate this case,” Cone said at the press conference. He refused to speculate on whether the shootings were random or targeted. The Fort Hood shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. CST yesterday at a personnel and medical processing center, when Hasan allegedly opened fire with two weapons on soldiers receiving medical checkups while preparing to be deployed overseas. Hasan used two firearms during the attack, Cone said. A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses during their deployment was going on in an auditorium at the Readiness Center at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman. A public affairs officer at the base said sirens sounded on the base to alert all personnel to remain where they were. A scrolling notice on the base’s Web site declared, “Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of all personnel. This is not a drill. It is an emergency situation.” Cone described the shootings as occurring between two facilities, in “a large waiting area.” “I have to describe this as a very enclosed area. That’s why I think you get that large number of casualties,” Cone said. Cone said all casualties were military personnel. “It’s a terrible tragedy. It’s stunning,” Cone said. Cone said the quick response from the soldiers and their training in first aid helped avoid an even greater loss of lives. “Thanks to the quick reaction of our soldiers they were able to close off the doors,” Cone said. “As horrible as this JOYCE MARSHALL/ FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM was, I think it could have been much worse. God bless these soldiers.” Daniel and Rachel Clark wait to hear news on their child in lockdown on base at Fort Hood after the In a 1994 article in the Roanoke
shooter opened fire on the base in Killeen, Texas.
Insurance ‘Power’ survey Campus power results on generates BOV agenda plant new controversy SARAH WATSON news staff writer Opinions on graduate student health insurance will be presented to the university’s Board of Visitors Monday. The BOV will have its quarterly meeting Sunday and Monday at the Inn at Virginia Tech. A survey created by the Health Insurance Review Work Group will be presented at the meeting. This survey addressed graduate student health care, which is currently provided through GM Southwest and has elicited many complaints from those using the service. “I’m very happy with that process,” said Rebecca French, graduate student representative to the board of visitors. “It went very well.” The survey consisted of a variety of questions about students satisfaction level with coverage and administration. Students were asked to rank choices, complete multiple-choice and open-ended questions. According to French, it gave students an opportunity to express their opinions about health care. “It really gave a voice to students that the administration hadn’t heard before,” French said. There will be a general information session on Sunday that is open to the public along with meetings for the executive committee and research committee. The board will receive its biannual budget update from the state, which is looking “rather grim,” according to university spokesperson Larry Hincker. The board will also discuss revisions in Tech’s severance policy.
politics
news staff writer
news staff writer
HUSSEIN AHMED/SPPS
Participants of the “Clean Energy, Bright Futures” rally in front of the Graduate Life Center holding signs on Sept. 17. “We are working to move the school beyond coal to alternate energy sources just because coal is an old technology,” Still said. “We used it 200 years ago, and it’s time that we get off it.” However, the coal power plant produces only a very small portion of Tech’s energy needs, said Dennis Cochrane, sustainability program manager at Tech. Nearly all of the university’s electricity — 93 percent — is purchased through American Electric Power. The remaining seven percent is produced by the on-campus power plant, which does not actually always use coal. Weather, the season and other aspects decide which fuel source the plant use most frequently. “When it’s cold, that’s when your capacity is in the greatest need,” Cochrane said, “so it depends upon a variety of factors that will dictate what fuel you use, as a matter of time.” “We can generate (the remainder) here ourselves, either by burning coal in our two coal boilers,” Cochrane said, “or in burning natural gas, or number two fuel oil in the remaining three burner units.
“In essence, we produce a very small amount of electricity (from the plant),” Cochrane said. Haiz Oppenheimer of GreenCore Capital, a private-equity firm, was hired by the Sierra Club to help spearhead and mentor the student organization behind the campaign. Oppenheimer said that although the university has done a good job of studying possible energy solutions, it has not done a good job of implementing its goals. “Virginia Tech is one of the best technical research institutions in the world; we can do this,” Oppenheimer said. “There’s already been several other institutions to go completely away from coal.” He suggested exclusively burning of natural gas as a short-term solution because it produces a considerably less amount of carbon dioxide than coal does. The primary use of the campus plant is to produce steam and hot water used by campus facilities. “One of the major benefits of it is that it’s heating the campus and producing some electricity as a see GREEN / page two
attending a ceremony in Arlington, Va. When reached by phone, Bill Stringer, the corps’ deputy commandant of cadets, could not confirm that Hasan was a member of the corps. Virginia medical licensing records indicate Hasan completed training earlier this year in disaster psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. He also served in a residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007. In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting “a horrific outburst of violence.” He said it’s a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil. “We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident,” Obama said. “We are going to stay on this.” Fort Hood, adjacent to the city of Killeen and about 60 miles from Austin, is the largest active duty armored post in the U.S., with about 52,000 troops from the 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division and other units stationed there. Nearly all of its units are currently deployed in Iraq. by ct news staff Dave Montgomery and Nancy A. Youssef of McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report
Delayed construction begins at McComas LAURA JENSEN
ALLISON SANDERS Although Virginia Tech’s coal-powered power plant satisfies only 7 percent of the university’s energy needs, it continues to be a point of contention as groups attempt to pressure the university to use cleaner energy sources. A recent campaign titled “2 Dirty 4 College” was initiated by The Sierra Club in order to motivate college campuses reliant on coal as a power source to find renewable energy means to move “beyond coal”. Allison Still, a freshman majoring in fisheries, is a member of Campuses Beyond Coal Campaign and rejects the idea of clean coal outright. “All coal is dirty,” she said. “Everybody should care because we’re losing the world for the future generations our children, our grandchildren,” Still said. “We’re going to leave the world in a terrible state if we’re blowing up mountains and destroying ecosystems and polluting water and air.” The ads depict classic “dirty” college scenarios including mud wrestling, eating a cheeseburger after it has fallen onto the floor, and waking up handcuffed to bed. All videos convey the sense that coal is even too “dirty” for college behavior. Tech is one of 17 campuses in 11 states targeted by the campaign. Other colleges in Beyond Coal’s crosshairs include the University of Georgia, Penn State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the University of Southern California.
Times, Hasan, raised in the Islamic faith, was listed as a native of Vinton, Va., and was named to the dean’s list. Fox News questioned Hasan’s cousin, Nader Hasan, regarding the suspect’s religious beliefs. The cousin said Hasan was Muslim, but had never voiced any radical or anti-American beliefs. Student Muslim leaders on campus were quick to denounce the shootings and rule out religion as a legitimate factor. “Virginia Tech is a very close knit community, we’re all there for each other,” said Asif Akhtar, president of Tech’s Muslim Students’ Association. “That’s not our religion, that’s not our culture (to commit violent crimes) ... it just happens to be that some Muslims do act this way.” “I find the attack inhumane and uncalled for,” said Hazima Javaid, last year’s MSA president. “No religion permits something like this; in Islam it’s wrong to kill just an ant. It’s wrong and very sad that it happened. “Hopefully everybody’s negativity won’t be pointed at Muslims,” Javaid added. “Islam doesn’t teach to murder people or do inhumane acts. Innocent (Muslim) students shouldn’t have to suffer because of somebody else’s actions.” Several media outlets reported Hasan was a member of the ROTC while at Tech. The Collegiate Times could not reach Rock Roszak and Jerrold Allen, of the corps of cadets, becuase they were
The planned 26,000-square-foot expansion of McComas Hall gym facility has begun construction. “Pouring the footers will be going on all this week, and we expect steel to be put up within the next three weeks,” said Chris Wise, director of recreational sports. “Once steel is up, you’ll actually really be able to see the work being done.” McComas Hall gym currently totals 61,000 square-feet. With the expansion, McComas will increase by nearly a third, adding 26,000 square feet. However, that number is lower than the original 2005 proposal, which called for an expansion of 43,000 square feet. Tech is ranked among the lowest of ACC schools in terms of recreational space per student. With roughly 5 square feet per student, Tech lags far behind other universities such as the University of Virginia, which offers nearly 15 square feet per student in its facilities. “You and I and everyone here all know that this facility as it exists wasn’t
really adequate in some ways for the expanding interests of the gym,” said David Shooster, assistant director of recreational sports. “We’re addressing that now.” Weight room expansion, new stretching areas, 100 more cardio machines, including treadmills, cycling bikes and ellipticals, and 30 new bench presses will fill the space. “You’ve all seen sports and gym facilities across the country that have the huge glass windows and the rock climbing walls,” Wise said. “They all have that wow factor. McComas doesn’t have that.” New technological advances include new exercise TVs, naturally-lit walls and ceilings, Hokie Passport scanners, and 50 large-screen televisions. Completely new walls will also be put in. Instead of the traditional white walls, the gym will have a wide wall of glass windows in addition to a skylight running from the roof above the second floor to basement level. As of November the plans are still considered to be in the beginning of the construction phase. see McCOMAS / page two
Mini Hokie Birds to benefit community Building on the success of the Gobble de Art program, the Blacksburg Partnership will be selling 2-foot miniature versions of the Hokie Bird statues seen around town. “This continues the community art project that we started a few years ago with the larger Hokie Bird effort to bring attention to the arts in the community,” said Diane Akers, president of the Blacksburg Partnership. The birds will feature all new designs, beginning with the “Letter Sweater” statue. “It helps us to promote commercial and retail development,” Akers said. The statues are priced at $495 apiece.
Akers said that the sale of the Hokie Birds acts as a fundraiser for the Gobble de Art organization to benefit the community. A sample for the next statue, the “Gridiron Gobbler,” will be available by Dec. 1 and orders may directly follow. Additional designs will become available every quarter, and 50 statues will be released of each individual design. The Blacksburg Partnership works with Bill Gaither of Wild Art Gifts, LLC in Texas to create the designs. Gaither is also the artist. by allison sanders
2 news
new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
november 6, 2009
COLLEGIATETIMES
Tech professor leads New River Valley Symphony McComas: Expansion aims to in bringing sounds of Russia to Blacksburg raise the bar on Tech facility LENISE PHILLIPS
from page one
features staff writer The New River Valley Symphony is bringing the sounds of Russia to southwest Virginia. The orchestra will perform pieces by three famous Russian composers: Tchaikovsky, Nicolai RimskyKorsakov and Sergei Prokofiev on Saturday. Professor of violin, viola and string methods, James Glazebrook will be conducting the group’s first concert of the year. This season’s debut concert is unique because the two winners of the Virginia Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition will accompany the symphony. The Department of Music hosted the fall conference for the Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition and the department was responsible for providing the two winners with an accompanying orchestra. The winners, pianists Kimberly Hou and Ina Mirtcheva, performed works by Russian composers during the competition. It was Glazebrook who decided to give the concert an all-Russian theme. Tackling the works of these Russian composers is no easy feat, Glazebrook said. “When (Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto) was first offered to the most prominent Russian pianist of the day, he dismissed the pieces as unplayable, and now high school and college students play it,” Glazebrook said. “It’s a very famous, important piece that pianists measure themselves by and audiences measure pianists by. So, it’s terrific to do it.” For John Helveston, a senior engineering science and mechanics major who plays in the first violin section, the opportunity to play alongside these two talented musicians is one of the most exciting aspects of this concert. “Getting to perform with them is quite an honor,” Helveston said. “Being on stage with them, being a support for them and making some awesome music — that’s part of it all.” Other members of the NRVS
COURTESY OF JAMES GLAZEBROOK
This Saturday, the New River Valley Symphony will be performing pieces by three famous Russian composers in Burruss Auditorium.
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check it out
When: Nov. 7 Where: Burruss Auditorium Time: 8 p.m. Cost: $8 general admission $5 students and seniors
]
are also excited to play alongside these two award-winning musicians. At 15 years old, Hou has more than 10 first place awards for performances on the piano under her belt and has even performed at Carnegie Hall. Mirtcheva has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in piano performance and a second master’s in instrumental collaborative piano. She has won several national competitions and recently won the Schlern International Competition last August. “They’re very young, and they’re extremely talented,” said Nicole Daddio, the section leader of the second violin section and a senior human, nutrition, foods and exercise major. The NRVS also boasts an eclectic collection of dedicated musicians. The orchestra of 80 members is open to students, faculty and community residents.
“It’s very much a part of Blacksburg,” Helveston said. “It brings in people from all over the region.” A large number of the students who participate in the symphony are not music majors. And even though preparation for a show like this one requires a big time commitment, members do not feel stressed or pressured and instead find playing the music therapeutic. Hannah Pierce, a senior music performance major and a cellist in the NRVS, said the time required to be in the orchestra helps her with schoolwork. “As a music major, I actually learn a lot by just being in rehearsal,” she said. Conductor Glazebrook also benefits from leading the orchestra in other non-musical ways. “I love working with this broad array of students,” Glazebrook said. “I think of that as my mission to do that and find ways to do that (to) make it exciting and interesting and teach them what they need to know to make a great performance.” NRVS sets the bar high with the goal of filling all 2,887 seats in Burruss Auditorium. “I’m really excited about seeing people in the audience,” Daddio said. “I feel like the more people who are in the audience, the better we play.”
Gym memberships throughout Blacksburg have increased over the past two years, possibly as a result of campus gyms’ perceived inadequacies. “We need more weights, more cardio. I think it would bring more people here since now they go everywhere else,” said Tommy Miller, a sophomore finance major. “With the amount of students that go here, it would be nice to have a bit more space. It gets pretty crowded,” said Jonathan Shaeffer, a senior marketing major. However, before the physical outside ground could be pummeled over and dug-up, much preparatory work needed to be completed beforehand. “That’s what many students don’t seem to understand,” said Shooster.
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It’s crowded in here, and people aren’t getting the fullness out of their paid fee money. CHRIS WISE DIRECTOR OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS
“So much work goes on behind the scenes that a lot of students don’t get to see.” Since students thus far have not seen any actual “work,” many students might wonder when the actual gym would be built. According to the directors, the McComas expansion project is happening under a series of steps. The first step was the identification of a need, established long
ago. “(McComas gym) is too small. It’s crowded in here, and people aren’t getting the fullness out of their paid fee money,” Wise said. The second step toward expansion, the design phase, was completed in February 2009. The third phase was dominated by contract negotiations and the budget. The project likely to finish under budget, possibly by up to $1 million, Wise said. The administration hopes to finish on schedule on October 2010. However, Wise said the administration was willing to spend more money to move that date up to August when students arrive for the fall semester. “I think once we get people back and show them,” Wise said, “they’re gonna be like, ‘Wow, how did we ever do without this?’”
Green: Sierra Club targets campus power plant in lastest ad campaign from page one
cogeneration (simultaneously),” said Stephen Schafrick, a research engineer for Blacksburg-based Virginia Energy Patterns and Trends. Activists also point to climate change as a cause to fight coal power on campus. Nationwide, 30 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions come directly from coal power plants. Coal does not produce a majority of Tech’s energy. However, Oppenheimer maintains that coal is the single highest carbon-releasing fuel. More directly relevant, may be damaging to student and faculty health on campus. Carbon monoxide and dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, arsenic and other toxic and heavy metals including trace amounts of uranium are all typical coal plants byproducts. Oppenheimer said that the pollutants released from the coal plant contribute to global warming and can cause an increased number of respiratory infections in the surrounding areas, particularly to those suffering from asthma.
“Direct emissions in terms of direct pollutants would affect the whole campus without a doubt,” Oppenheimer said. Kelly Rogers is a sophomore human development major and was a resident of Thomas Hall last year. She was not aware of the side effects associated with the power plant located across from her dorm room when she began her freshman year, but noticed some of the effects of living close to the plant. “In the side facing the power plant, when you would have your windows open and your fan on, the air from the plant would be drifting into your room faster than normal,” Rogers said. “There would be soot gathered on the screen of the window in the shape of the fan because it would be sucking it in so fast.” Soot would occasionally make its way in smaller quantities onto desks or other pieces of furniture nearby. Compared to the $3,300 cost of primarily freshman and sophomore on-
campus housing facilities in the lower quad, residents of dorms located in the upper quad such as Brodie, Monteith, Rasche and Thomas are only charged $3,094 a year. However, the lower cost of living in Thomas is “not at all” related to the proximity to the power plant, said Kenneth Belcher, associate director for occupancy management. Belcher attributed the lower cost to the relatively old age of upper quad residence halls. “Thomas was built in 1949 … Most of our cleaning comes from cleaning up after students. It’s not something that has to do with its proximity to anything,” Belcher said. Oppenheimer said that the system of producing on-campus energy would have to evolve from one centralized power to a distributed power in order to make the change away from nonrenewable resources. “Virginia Tech can do it. We’ve got the people, we’ve got the expertise, all we need is the commitment,” Oppenheimer said.
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editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
november 6, 2009
Hockey history in New River Valley: There is hope T
he areas of Roanoke and Salem are not totally unfamiliar with ice hockey. There has almost always been a team here since the early 1980s. It started with the Virginia Lancers as part of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. They bounced leagues until they wound up in the ECHL in 1988. This team then changed names a few times to Roanoke Valley Rebels and Roanoke Valley Rampage, but was virtually the same team. One notable person was a coach who led them to record seasons in their league: John Tortorella (who is not the head coach of the New York Rangers). Unfortunately, this team folded after the 1992-1993 season. In 1993, a new team was created. This was the Roanoke Express. During most of the 1990s, it used to sell out the 9,000-seat civic center in which it played. Into the late ’90s, it was dropping to about 50 percent. Then in 2004, the team folded. For the 2005-2006 season another team called the Roanoke Valley Vipers formed and folded too. There are a couple of main reasons hockey fails in this area. The number one reason to me was the quality of play. I see this a lot since I am a fan of the minor leagues more so than the majors. In the early 2000s, when I arrived at Virginia Tech, I got to watch a lot of the games. For the most part, it was just a goon-fest with people that spent more time in the penalty boxes than on the ice. Fights were more the norm than the exception. This, in my opinion, drives down attendance. In hockey, for fans at least, a fight gets that immediate crowd reaction. But this for the most part only really applies to the people wanting to watch fights. Your repeat customers are there to watch a good game. Those coming for the games are more likely your season ticket holders while the fight watchers tend
CALLIE HYDER/SPPS
Forward Nicholas Vukmoravich skates down the ice in the Hokies’ 2-0 win on Friday against Maryland. to be a few-games-per-year type of fans. By having a lot of fights, you turn off your reliable base of fans and only get unreliable fans. The next reason was the ticket prices. I cannot recall what they are now, but I remember they were a bit high for the level of play. They were more expensive than the Oklahoma City Blazers and Anchorage Aces. I went despite the cost because I love hockey. The only problem is this part
of the state is not exactly flush with money, so they were locking out a lot of people who would want to come but couldn’t afford it. Thirdly, there was a severe lack of advertisement for the team. I don’t remember ever seeing commercials for them. I never heard advertisements over the radio. If I had not been active in hockey when there were adult leagues, I would never have known that there was semi-pro hock-
ey in Roanoke. This lack of exposure helped contribute to hockey’s demise in southwest Virginia. There is a glimmer of hope, though. Virginia Tech has a men’s club team that plays in Roanoke since it is the only sheet of ice for about 100 miles. It has been a pretty good team that I watched even when it played in a tiny ice rink in Roanoke before it closed. I even continued to watch it after I got cut from the team when
I tried out, but to be fair, there were seven goaltenders vying for three slots. There are several things I like about Tech hockey. First off, it is a good team. It is fast, and it has a good level of skill, though I wouldn’t match it against the UAA Seawolves. But as a non-NCAA hockey team, it is really good. In addition to this, it is there to play and to win, not to fight. In fact, the only game that seems to have fights is the one against the religious school Liberty University. (I avoid that game since I hate the unnecessary fights.) And the best part for this area: It is dirt-cheap. If you are a Tech student, faculty or staff, you have no reason not to be there because it’s free. If you are not a Tech member, the ticket prices are only $4. So for about the same price as a Big Mac, you can watch a good hockey game. While the Roanoke area of Virginia will probably never have another chance at professional hockey again, there is that glimmer of hope. Tech continues to have a strong level of participation with its hockey team. They also are getting more and more people out every year. I remember when I first started going — I might have been one of 10 fans there, if not the only one. Now it is into the hundreds. It would be even better if it could find a good way to advertise for cheap because I would like to see the crowd reach into the thousands. There are 9,000 seats in that civic center — they should be full again.
JOHN PATES -guest columnist -graduate student, masters information technology
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Your Views [letter to the editor]
Why is tuition so expensive?
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MCT CAMPUS
How graduate students can serve the community W
hat exactly do graduate students do with all our time? Some of my friends outside of academia think I just couldn’t get enough of undergrad and kept going. After all, I work at coffee shops and do my laundry midafternoon. Of course, what they don’t see is that I also, conversely, work on a Sunday and have many early mornings. Point being, graduate school, for all its affronts, really is a unique experience. But you know what else graduate school is? Opportunity. Not only to receive specialized training in a discipline, but to use that training for the betterment of society. Not later, but now. Graduate students, I understand. You are busy. And unfortunately, with American society’s work-as-life mentality, this probably won’t ease up anytime soon. So, I challenge you to get involved. Today. Last year, Virginia Tech was fortunate enough to hear from Paul Farmer and Greg Mortenson. Farmer, the subject of last years’ common book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, is a physician who partners with poor communities to combat poverty and disease. Mortenson, best known for his story in “Three Cups of Tea,” promotes peace in
Afghanistan and Pakistan by building schools (particularly for girls). Farmer and Mortenson separately encouraged audiences to partner in local and global initiatives. There is a lot of need and, conversely, a lot of opportunity. As graduate students, one of the ways we can help is through our scholarship. Become a citizen-scholar (also the name of a program offered through the graduate school). Ask yourself how you can apply your scholarship beyond the classroom and academic journals. Reach a broader audience. Volunteer at a local school. Teach children and adults alike how to best care for the environment. Teach people computer skills. Offer nutrition counseling. The possibilities really are infinite. Others of you may think that none of the above applies to you (or your scholarship). Well, what is it that you enjoy? Are there other people around the New River Valley who may enjoy company doing the same thing? Have a soft spot for mentoring? Become a Big Sister or a Big Brother. Want to make sure people have food? Volunteer at the Interfaith food pantry or work on food security issues. Want to help women who are survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence? Volunteer with RAFT (rape
crisis hotline) or the Women’s Resource Center. As small as Blacksburg may seem, there are still many needs. We can, and should, help meet them. One final caveat. It is important to reach out. It is important to apply our scholarship to society. But, it is equally as important to do so on equal grounding. It is often all too easy to think, or be perceived, as the ones with all the knowledge. Although in certain situations, we may be the ones with the “formal education,” others are equally as educated. We must not forget that. In the end, it is less about what you do, and more that you do something. It’s difficult, I know. There are a thousand different things pulling us in opposite directions. But, I encourage you to just try. For one month, or one week. See how much that time well spent really is returned to you. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
MEREDITH KATZ -guest columnist -Ph.D. candidate sociology
decided to go online to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, recently. I took a look at their report, the 2008-2009 Tuition and Fees at Virginia’s State-Supported Colleges and Universities. What I see is that every school in Virginia increased tuition. That is understandable because of inflation, tax income issues and the bad economy. What is alarming to me is that Virginia Tech had the largest increase in tuition from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009. We are the second most expensive state-supported university in Virginia. We trail only UVa. Even more alarming, we had the largest percentage increase in tuition year-over-year. We are now only $603 behind UVa We far out-paced JMU, RU, CNU and ODU. Most of those schools don’t even have a football program to bring in money. We will soon surpass UVa for tuition at our present rate. So what is the deal with Virginia Tech and money? We are the biggest school in the state. We have the most land. We have low utility rates. I don’t claim to understand everything behind all this. What I do know is that Tech now offers a large proportion of math classes online to save on teachers. Our professors have lower salaries than UVa professors overall, and we have very large classes in comparison to other universities in Virginia. The class size information is from
personal experience and hearing from friends at other schools, but you can look up the salaries online. My question is where are we losing money that other schools aren’t? We have accountants and business majors and engineers all over campus. Can we not figure this out? I understand we are growing at a much faster rate than other schools, but my understanding was that that money is not coming out of the tuition budget. I would appreciate it if somebody could explain to me why, when I look at the Tuition and Fees Report from 20012002, all the major Virginia schools except RU and ODU cost more than Virginia Tech. Obviously, other schools are coping with budget cuts better than we are. So whose fault is it? I think it is nobody’s fault, and everyone’s fault. Virginia decided years ago to start cutting higher education budgets. It has happened in good economic years and bad over the last decade. Investment in education is a great idea, and it won’t start again in Virginia until the governor and legislature start re-investing. I will simply leave it like this ... NC State only costs a few thousand more out-of-state than Tech does in-state, and Tech is increasing faster. At our present rate, we are going to start watching Virginians choose North Carolina schools over their home state based on cost.
Lucas Pincklney graduate student biological systems engineering
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ACROSS 1 Alaska’s state gem 5 Sonora natives 10 Soup du __ 14 Shepard in space 15 Designer Simpson 16 Biblical preposition 17 Nursery rhyme dish? 19 Island garlands 20 Uncanny ability, for short 21 Blond Wells race 22 Pained reaction 23 Toaster Swirlz brand 25 “Time is fleeting” philosophy? 28 Tumblers and tongs, e.g. 31 Booty 32 Beneath 33 Bloke 35 One of a cup’s 48: Abbr. 38 Reasons? 42 Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly 43 Actress Skye 44 Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina 45 Gag 47 Reaganomics principle 49 “Good grief!”? 53 “Just the facts, __” 54 Posture-perfect 55 Brest milk 57 Garb for dreamers, briefly 60 Really smell 61 1999 Kidman/Cruise film? 64 Pencil puzzle 65 Pothole sites 66 Mother of Pollux 67 Sit tight 68 Up to now 69 Sign that something has turned? DOWN 1 Wisecrack 2 Heidi’s home 3 Well-groomed guy
By Sharon E. Petersen
4 “Ambient 1: Music for Airports” composer Brian 5 Game room 6 Prefix with -syncratic 7 Military physician 8 African country on the Med. Sea 9 Understand 10 “’Tis but thy name that is my enemy” speaker 11 Interminably 12 Erie Canal city 13 Grier of the Fearsome Foursome 18 Think highly of 22 Identity question 24 Singer Stefani 26 Bordeaux wine 27 Drink excessively 28 Purchases 29 Romance novelist Seton 30 Bounces back 34 Farm female 35 Came out on top 36 On its way 37 Awarenessraising TV spots, for short
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11/6/09
51 TV host Gibbons 52 Legendary Broncos quarterback 56 Helper 58 Japanese martial art 59 Paparazzi prey 61 Savings vehicle for later yrs. 62 Cyclades island 63 __-pitch softball
features 5
editors: topher forhecz, teresa tobat featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
he she
SAIDsked:Would you rather...
Given these options, which would you choose?
a
W
JAMIE MARTYN/COLLEGIATE TIMES
W
ould you rather be haunted by the spirit of Billy Mays or by the spirit of Michael Jackson? I’d have to suggest that Michael Jackson was essentially a ghost since 1987 when his complexion became a steadily fading gradient. He pretty much haunted pop culture with his mask and baby-dangling antics. I’m not knocking his tunes, though. I’ve previously admitted the movie “Free Willy” brought me to tears, and Jackson’s song “Will You Be There” on the soundtrack contributed. But if I had to have a translucent houseguest, Mays gets the invite. While Jackson would just wander my halls like a frail doe, at least Mays would engage me with (abrasive) chitchat. And I could be an absolute slob since he’d have all the infomercial cleaning solutions. Plus he could coach me toward a flawless beard. It’s
no-shave November, after all. Would you rather have your own theme song that played anytime you entered a room or have your life be broadcast as a television show? I’m sitting under dim light watching the World Series while typing on a Dell whose internal fan is too loud — no one would tune in to my show. And that’s precisely why I’d choose television. If someone happened to find a facet of my life intriguing, it would be up to him or her to pick my channel. (Maybe my failed bar flirtations would offer some humor.) I think I’d lose friends and never gain new ones if they had to suffer an unwelcome tune each time I switched venues. I do think the song would be awesome, though, but I’d save it and others (Michael Jackson) for the network soundtrack. Would you rather be abducted by aliens or have a close encounter with
Bigfoot? I love the Radiohead song “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” which glorifies traveling with space dudes. But I suspect extraterrestrial folk don’t offer their saucers for galactic joyrides. Rather, they have walls of polished tools with which they want to twirl my insides like spaghetti. And there’s no way you can evade them; aliens can turn your body into flying particles at will with a light beam. Assuming both potential encounters are in a darkened forest, Bigfoot actually has mobility limitations. The hairy beast would clip his massive shoulders on trees as I darted through them like a cheetah, screaming in Mariah Carey octaves. Would you rather streak across the Drillfield during a class change or up an entire set of Lane Stadium stairs during a game? Although the celebrity of the jum-
ould you rather be haunted by the spirit of Billy Mays or the spirit of Michael Jackson? Though I own several of the products Billy Mays has put forth, I’d have to go with Michael Jackson on this one. Michael Jackson seems much less abrasive than Billy Mays. When not making a career out of imitating a zombie in your living room, old Jacko would probably just be reclusive and quiet, only waiting for his bust-a-move opportunity. He’d be a fantastic tutor. Imagine your friends’ envy when they roll up for a dance party and suddenly, you know how to do the moonwalk and belt out “Billie Jean” like a pro. With Billy Mays, I wouldn’t be able to handle his enthusiastic yet bossy screaming in the middle of the night, and he might become a vengeanceseeking poltergeist since I use my Slap Chop and ShamWow way more than I use my HandySwitch or OxiClean. Not to mention that I’m miserably allergic to the latter, and that’s the last product I would want demonstrated on my clothes. Would you rather have your own theme song that played anytime you entered a room, or would you rather have your life be broadcast as a television show? If my life were a television show, it’d be so boring that I would get cancelled immediately.
botron is tempting, I easily side with the Drillfield sprint. It’s just inherently easier, and you can dip into a nearby building to re-clothe. I convince myself that riding my bicycle is adequate cardio, but I know Lane Stadium would crush my endurance. I’d rest hands-to-knees every so often, and my pale skin would be more distracting to the game than the sun. And there’s no swift exit. I’d touch the top row and have to awkwardly return to an entry tunnel. Or maybe the student section would crowd surf me back down. Of course, only after they used me to count out the last touchdown. Would you rather take a full-speed pass from football quarterback Tyrod Taylor from 10 yards out or take a charge from basketball forward Jeff Allen? Tyrod’s option makes me think of karate. Specifically when a black belt
It’s not like I live in a mansion with Criss Angel or Kathy Griffin or anything interesting. (My ideal show: living with Jon Stewart. Mrrrow.) I go to class, go to work, study and occasionally take naps with my fat dog. My pride couldn’t handle my own show getting the can. So on this question, I opt for a theme song — and it’d be along the lines of the ominous “Imperial Death March.” I mean, if I walk into a room and that song follows me, I’ll guarantee that nobody will screw around with me. I might have to choke a fool ... with The Force. Would you rather be abducted by aliens or have a close encounter with Bigfoot? At least with aliens, if they abduct you, you’ll come back. I’d rather be abducted simply to know what the criteria are for their selection process because they pick some unfortunate candidates.With Bigfoot, he would probably just rip your arms off and carry you into the woods as a snack for later. I’d prefer to be probed and sent home than mangled and partially digested. Either way, it’s not like anyone’s going to believe you. Would you rather streak across the Drillfield during a class change or up an entire set of Lane Stadium stairs during a game? Without going into any gratuitous detail, I’d much rather take my chances on the Drillfield. I’d blind fewer people that way. Sleep through your graduation cer-
emony or a sibling’s wedding? And death isn’t an option? Both of these are pretty horrible. If it came to sentimentality, I feel like I could sleep through my graduation and be completely fine. Since I have student loans up to my eyeballs, graduation is simply a reminder of how I finally have to pay back Sallie Mae. But sleeping through a ceremony in which you’re participating is a little tougher than sleeping through a wedding you’re not directly involved in. I could probably go to my brother’s wedding and pass out under a table at some point and no one would notice I was missing. So I say yes, I’d sleep through my brother’s wedding. (Sorry, Bubs.) Take a full-speed pass from football quarterback Tyrod Taylor from 10 yards out or take a charge from basketball forward Jeff Allen? I’d have to take Taylor’s pass. No offense, Jeff, but I weigh 110 pounds and you weigh 260 pounds. I would implode on impact if I took that kind of force. And although I’ll probably lose some teeth and some dignity while attempting to catch Taylor’s pass, at least I’ll escape with an intact ribcage.
delivers a hypersonic palm to a slab of wood and it splinters like a soup cracker. I’m pretty sure that’s how my sternum would respond to his pigskin toss. This isn’t to say Jeff Allen isn’t a tank, because he is 260 pounds of almost-certain injury. Still, I imagine I could avoid blunt trauma by crossing my arms to absorb his slam-dunk leap. But I do realize my oxygen supply would exit my lungs, and I’d probably lose all the skin along my spine as I slid at 17 mph on the hardwood floor. Would you rather sleep through your graduation ceremony or a sibling’s wedding? Coincidentally, both of these are quickly approaching for me, but my older brother is getting hitched before I get my $40,000 piece of paper. Despite the sea of loans I’ll endure, I’d gladly forego the hat-tassel formality to see my only sibling put on his
eternal shackles (kidding). By the time I walk across the stage, nearly all of my good friends will be alumni anyway, so my cheering section is only family. I’d rather have my pillow drool disappoint one instead of two sets of kin at the wedding. I happen to be the best man, so my list of responsibilities is basically a scroll. If I slumbered, there’d be no ring for the bride, and I couldn’t make the proper first toast (which I’m convinced will melt even the most leaden hearts).
LAKEN RENICK -features staff writer -owns a keytar -had a pet rat named “Uglie”
RYAN ARNOLD -features reporter -owns a calculator watch -collected Pogs
sports 6
editors: joe crandley, alex jackson sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
november 6, 2009
Wrestling team to begin campaign toward ACC title NICK CAFFERKY sports staff writer Despite setting school records in team wins (20) and wrestlers sent to the national tournament (eight) last season, the Hokies come into the 2009-2010 season with a sour taste in their mouths. The regular season was almost perfect for Virginia Tech wrestling team, which went 20-2 overall and 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, the team couldn’t convert its success in dual matches into tournament wins, and the Hokies finished third behind UVa and Maryland in the ACC championships. Tech defeated both teams in the regular season. In addition to underperforming in the ACC tournament, Tech was disappointed in how it performed in the national tournament as well. “I think we lost focus a little bit,” said sophomore Jarrod Garnett. “We had five guys that made it to the finals of our weight class, and all five of us lost. Yeah, some of that’s youth, but it’s also us not being as well prepared as we should have been.” Due to the incredible success in last year’s regular season, the team goes into this year with much higher expectations. After sending eight people to nationals last season, the Hokies won’t be able to sneak up on
anyone. That being said, Tech isn’t ranked in the preseason polls despite being ranked in the top 15 for much of last season and having five players ranked nationally. In addition to not being nationally ranked, Tech is listed at fourth best in the ACC behind Maryland, UVa. and Duke, who are all in the top 25. With all of the talent that the team has returning, some feel disrespected by the lack of recognition they are receiving. “We definitely have something to prove here because we all feel we are the number one team in the ACC and a top 10 team in the nation, but at the same time, we probably deserve the ranking we have just because we finished so bad last year,” sophomore Pete Yates said. While last year’s postseason might not have gone quite as planned, the experience of being there might just be enough to change the outcomes if the opportunities present themselves again. “I think that having the confidence we have now going into the season is going to help a lot,” Garnett said. “Last year, we were so young that we didn’t develop that confidence until midseason. If anything, it gives us a better feel and more cohesiveness going into the season.”
Because of last year’s success, the Hokies cashed in with yet another outstanding recruiting class. While this year’s crop of freshmen might not be asked to do as much as last year’s, there will be several thrown into starting roles immediately. “I think that there are a few individuals that are going to make an impact right away,” said head coach Kevin Dresser. “Our 133-pound, (Erik) Spjut, and our heavyweight, Andrew Miller, when we eventually get him, will have the same opportunity that Yates or Garnett did last year.” Miller is currently redshirting his freshman season with the football team and will not be available to the wrestling team until he is released by head coach Frank Beamer. With so many sophomores returning from last year’s team, the question becomes whether or not this team can avoid “the sophomore slump.” However, Dresser thinks that the way last season ended will keep the team from getting lackadaisical. “I think we can avoid that just because we didn’t finish the way we wanted to last year,” Dresser said. “From a coach’s standpoint, I know we’re hungry because we thought we were good enough to win the ACC Tournament last year. Hopefully, we come out this season as if we have something to prove to ourselves.”
LUKE MASON/SPPS
Junior Chris Diaz, of Camden, Del., wrestles against Rutgers’ Trevor Melde last season in Cassell Coliseum. Diaz is ranked No. 7 in the preseason poll this year and is one of five Hokies ranked in the top-20.
Seniors lead women’s soccer team to most successful season in program history HATTIE FRANICS sports reporter Seniors on the Virginia Tech Women’s soccer team have played their last games at Thompson Field and now will participate in their final games as Hokies in the postseason. It has been a good year for the seniors as they have helped to push the team to 13-6 overall and 6-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Robin Chidester, Julian Johnson and Emily Jukich have all played their parts to help bring the Hokies to this point in their season. Chidester has helped to play both forward and goalie through her college career. “I was goalie back in the day,” Chidester said. “Growing up, I played half the game in goal and half the game on the field. “I was mainly a field player all through high school, but they just needed me to hop in goal,” she said. As keeper, Chidester helped the Hokies to beat Virginia Commonwealth University, UNCGreensboro and the College of Charleston. As a fielder, Chidester contributed to the Tech victory over UVa this year when she scored the first of two goals for the Hokies during the 38th minute of the first half. “I’m just really good out wide on the flank,” Chidester said, “just getting out players and getting crosses off, kind of helping make things happen.” Fellow senior Julian Johnson helped to score the winning goal against UVa in the second
CALLIE HYDER/SPPS
Julian Johnson races past a UNC Greensboro defender on Sept. 11 in Blacksburg. half. It was her second winning goal against UVa in the last two years. “It’s just a great feeling to score the game winners against UVa,” Johnson said. “It’s really interesting and has a personal undertone for me because they recruited me heavily until the second ACL injury, and they
kind of backed off,” she continued. “So it was almost a slap in my face for what they did, and it was kind of my chance to get back at them.” Senior Emily Jukich commented on how this year’s team looks in comparison to teams the three have played on from 2006 to 2008. “I feel like we’ve been more of a cohesive unit
than any other season that we’ve had before,” she said. “We don’t have to rely on just one person to do any single job like we have,” Jukich continued. “We’re so much deeper. We have so much more talent. It’s a lot of less pressure knowing that someone is going to get the job done.” When asked what their most memorable moment was from the past four years, all three answered slightly differently, but their replies had one common theme — the team’s win against No. 1 North Carolina at home. “It would definitely be UNC,” Johnson said. “That was amazing. It was like a dream come true. Something we’ve always wanted to do and to have a dream like that and finally accomplish that your senior year is just amazing.” Jukich was the second to admit that her most memorable moment was UNC. “Not even just beating them, but us coming together that week,” Jukich said. “With the two wins (UVa and UNC), we realized as a team how much potential we really had that week. It was just a big turning point in our season. It gave us confidence moving forward.” “Each year has a moment,” Chidester said. “Freshman year, Boston College was awesome. We knew we weren’t going to have a postseason, and it was our last game before our season was over. We came out so hard and we beat them 3-0. I was a freshman, and I scored — it was just awesome.” “Obviously, beating UVa the past couple of
years has been awesome,” she continued. “One of my brothers graduated from there and the other one is there now, so I got excited when we beat them.” Though the three seniors’ impact has been great this season, they have impacted the team from the moment they committed to Tech. “This is a class that has made an impact since the second they got here,” said Kelly Cagle, women’s soccer coach. “Robin started impacting the team before she even got here by recruiting other people in the Virginia Beach area,” Cagle said. “She knew she was coming, so she talked to people about how excited she was. “That’s just an example of the impact this group has made to the program from the second they decided to come here, not to mention the on the field impact,” she said. Cagle pointed to this senior class as one of the main reasons for the swift development of the program. “Goals scored, records broken, leadership qualities and buying in,” are some on the field impacts Cagle rattled off. “You try to develop a culture that’s bigger than any of us as people and one that’s going to stay even when these guys leave,” Cagle continued. “We talk about it, obviously in the form of leaving a legacy.” “Their legacy is going to be felt in a lot of different ways,” she said. “They should be really proud of that, and we’re going to miss them.”