Thursday, February 4, 2010
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 11
News, page 2
Features, page 4
Opinions, page 3
Sports, page 7
Classifieds, page 6
Sudoku, page 6
Student’s Sign on the bottom line Delegates hear from death students ruled a on budget homicide SARA MITCHELL editor-in-cheif
GORDON BLOCK news reporter The death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington has been confirmed as a homicide. The determination, made by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, was confirmed Wednesday in an e-mail from Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller. HARRINGTON Police officials have not announced the timing or cause of Harrington’s death, and the release from Virginia State Police did not reveal how the police investigators came to their conclusion of homicide. An investigation into Harrington’s death is ongoing, and no arrests have been made in relation to the case. Harrington, who went missing Oct. 17, 2009, during a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena, was uncovered at Anchorage Farm approximately 10 miles away from the arena along Route 29 in southern Albemarle County. Harrington was last seen hitchhiking at the Copeley Road Bridge, less than half a mile from the arena. A Mass service for Harrington will take place Friday, Feb. 5, at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Roanoke, Va., at 3:30 p.m. A reception at the Hotel Roanoke is scheduled after the service. The service is open to the general public. news reporter liana bayne contributed to this report SARA SPANGLER/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Business, engineering create new joint degree CALEB FLEMING news staff writer Pamplin College of Business and the College of Engineering have collaborated to offer a joint master’s degree program to Virginia Tech graduate students. The new two-year program will provide students the opportunity to earn a Master of Business Administration and Master of Industrial and Systems Engineering and will replace the current concentration in systems engineering management. Patrick Koelling, director of graduate programs in industrial and systems engineering, called the partnership a natural marriage, noting the overlap in both fields. “Our students often times take classes from the business school,” Koelling said. “This gets students a very technically-oriented degree in combination with the exposure to all of the business topics that companies like to see.” The notion for a dual-degree was first contrived nearly five years ago, Koelling said, though serious discussions did not begin until March 2007. Koelling worked alongside Steve Skripak, associate dean of graduate programs in Pamplin College of Business, and with university committees in both fields. Skripak said the original idea came about when a student working toward a doctorate in building construction came to the business school and expressed interest in receiving her MBA at the same time. “I wondered how many other people would like to do something like that,” Skripak said. “I sat down with someone in the College of Engineering, and they were very receptive to the idea. It really just kind of germinated from that one student raising interest.” Skripak emphasized the benefits of a diverse classroom environment. “Students on the business track will get exposure to additional background and points of view,” Skripak said. “One of the things I think is most valuable about getting an MBA is you have people from all different backgrounds coming together bringing different viewpoints to class. You’ll see a whole lot of diversity.” Skripak added that for industrial and systems engineering students, an MBA could be a great career advancer. “They are getting access to a repsee DEGREE / page three
Hokies ink 20 new recruits on National Signing Day ALEX JACKSON sports editor The Virginia Tech football team announced the addition of 20 student-athletes, including five prep All-Americans Wednesday. After all was said and done on national signing day, the Hokies signed seven of the top 13 players in the state and 10 of the top 25 in Virginia, according to the Roanoke Times. “I think it’s been another very successful recruiting year,” said Tech head coach Frank Beamer. “I like the talent level, the athletic ability of this class. I think we’ve got some guys that are versatile in a position they can play. I think academically, character-wise — it’s very, very good.” The highly ranked Virginia products include Brookeville High defensive end Zack McCray, ranked No. 5 in the state by the Roanoke Times, Fork Union Military Academy offensive lineman Mark Shuman (ranked No. 7), First Colonial High outside linebacker Nick Dew (ranked No. 8), Fork Union Military Academy offensive lineman Nick Acree (ranked No. 9) and Loudoun
County High linebacker Chase Williams (ranked No. 11). They all officially signed letters of intent to join the Hokies. “These are guys that — a lot of them we saw in our one-day camp,” Beamer said. “We know some things about them first hand, so I think that always helps.” McCray, Shuman, Dew, Acree and Williams all were SuperPrep All-Americans this year, while McCray and Acree also earned All-America nods from PrepStar. “I’m particularly proud of the fact that 13 of these players came from and went to school in the state of Virginia,” Beamer said. “I think that continues to be a priority with us. You know, we get our share of the better players from Virginia and I think that has |happened.” In addition to the five AllAmericans, eight other players who hail from the state of Virginia officially signed with Tech Wednesday. The in-state class features five other players ranked in the Roanoke Times Top 25. Highland Springs High defensive end Derrick Hopkins (ranked No. 12), Robinson High linebacker Brian Laiti (ranked No. 13),
Symposium invites student research LIANA BAYNE news reporter Virginia Tech students involved with research can now submit the results of their projects to the 26th Annual Research Symposium. Sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly, the symposium will feature five different categories of presentations along with work done by graduate and undergraduate students. “We hope that every department will be represented,” said Ganesh Balasubramanian, symposium chair and graduate student. Keynote speaker Andrew Weaver, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner and lead author of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will speak at the awards reception on March 24. “This is the first time we are having someone of such high profile come,”
Balasubramanian said. Graduate students can submit their work in the oral, poster or video categories. Undergraduates can submit posters to the advanced undergraduate category. Both graduate and undergraduate students involved with the School of Performing Arts and Cinema can enter the performance session, which is joining the Research Symposium for the first time. “The performance session is going to be very exciting,” Balasubramanian said. “Most people don’t really understand they research a lot.” Students placing in first or second places in each category are eligible to win between $250 and $500 for their findings. The symposium accepts research submissions until Feb. 26. Submission guidelines are available at www. gsasymposium2010.uusa. vt.edu.
Midlothian High offensive lineman Matt Arkema (ranked No. 18), King’s Fork High free safety Dominique Patterson (ranked No. 21) and Brooke Pointe High wide receiver E.L. Smiling (ranked No. 25) all decided on Tech as their school of choice. Two local standouts also signed letters of intent Wednesday. Pulaski County High linebacker Tahrick Peak, ranked No. 30 in the state by the Roanoke Times and Rockbridge County High offensive lineman Caleb Farris (ranked No. 39) signed with the Hokies as well. “Tahrick, he can run,” Beamer said. “You know, he needs to get bigger and he understands that. So, I think his future is in front of him, but he’s got to get his body a little bit better to take advantage of that and he knows that. “Farris — you know, he’s a Virginia Tech guy,” he continued. “He wants to come here and we want him to come here and I think he’s athletic for a guy as big as he is. He really has good feet and that’s what we’re looking at — toughness and good feet and redirection, and I think Caleb fits that perfectly.”
Also included among Tech’s instate signees is defensive tackle DeAntre Rhodes, who actually signed with the Hokies last February but went to Hargrave, where he is still attending school. Rounding out Tech’s 2010 recruiting class are seven players from six different states outside of Virginia and one from the District of Columbia. “I think the guys from out of state — there’s a high quality of player there,” Beamer said. The out-of-state class includes offensive lineman Laurence Gibson, who hails from Sierra Vista, Ariz., and comes to Tech after spending some time at Hargrave as well. Rivals Recruiting ranks Gibson as the No. 2 prep school player in the country. Also joining the Hokies is tight end Jerome Lewis from Rochester, N.Y., defensive back Kyle Fuller from Baltimore, Md., cornerback Detrick Bonner from McDonough, Ga., and defensive end Justin Taylor from Norwood, N.C. see SIGNING DAY / page seven
Rescue in action
Members of the Blacksburg Rescue Squad conduct a training exercise. photo by luke mason/spps.
More than 50 Virginia Tech students made their voices heard in Richmond Wednesday, specifically lobbying against a potential amendment to move a portion of student fees from university funds to state funds. The lobbying action, called “Hokie Day,” is an annual student government tradition. It had an added urgency at a time when state support has already been cut to Tech by $21.9 million this year. Brittany Anderson, SGA director of government affairs, said students spoke with delegates about their specific concerns for an amendment that would move a total of $19 million from a higher education auxiliary fund to the state general fund. The amendment was proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine and would go into effect in 2011. Anderson said delegates who were not directly involved with education-related committees were uninformed of the amendment. “The people were really taken aback,” she said. “We talked to some delegates that said they wouldn’t be for that,” said Brandon Carroll, SGA president. However, he said it was difficult for delegates to make any promises on voting down the amendment yet. The lobbying came a week before Gov. Bob McDonnell will unveil his state budget for the 2010-12 biennium. “I got a lot of, ‘This is something we’ll analyze,’” Carroll said. Carroll said student government representatives from across the state hope to meet with McDonnell on Feb. 18 to discuss the budget. “We’ll know what the budget implications are, and have a united front,” he said. Carroll said he believed McDonnell knows the importance of higher education but it will be tough to stop the cuts without increasing taxes, an action McDonnell has been keen to oppose. “Basically you’re cutting the longterm investment of the state,” Carroll said. “You might not see everything immediately, but over time ... there are implications of cutting higher education.” With a $3 billion shortfall in the Virginia budget, state support to Tech dropped by 15 percent in the past year. The university announced last September that federal stimulus money would alleviate the cut for a year, but that Tech would be under pressure again afterwards. Across three fiscal years, Tech’s base budget has been reduced by $68.5 million. Anderson said the state needs to acknowledge and support the efforts Tech has made to alleviate economic issues. “The state puts pressure on public universities to take so many transfer students,” Anderson said. Tech takes in about 1,000 transfer students a year, half of them coming from Virginia community colleges. “They also want the universities to do their part in tuition and emergency relief, especially for families that their parents are unemployed,” she said. A year ago Tech created a $500,000 emergency aid fund for families who recently lost jobs. Anderson said the delegates were generally very receptive to what the students had to say. Students from all four-year universities travel throughout the year to Richmond to lobby, with all schools working alongside lobbying group Virginia21, created in 2002. Brittany Tyler, membership director of Virginia21, worked with Tech students to prepare them for Hokie Day and educate them on the current economic situation of state universities. She noted the importance of a personal interaction between students and the policy makers. Politicians “don’t ever get to hear or see the students,” she said. A student presence makes college budget woes more of a reality for the delegates. “I think telling someone their story is different than throwing numbers at them,” Tyler said. “Having students there helps them make decisions.” Tyler said the trips were crucial, given the current situation for higher education. “The only thing I can say is keep having students come,” Tyler said. “For our end that’s the best we can do.”
2 news
new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
february 4, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
If you would like an event featured in our calendar, e-mail featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com with event details, including cost.
Wondering what's going on around the 'burg? Check out the events of the upcoming week.
[Thursday, Feb. 4]
[Sunday, Feb. 7] What: Free Texas No-Limit Poker Tournament Where: Bud Foster's Restaurant When: 7 p.m. Cost: Free Note: 18+
What: Re:Fill Where: The Rivermill When: 10 p.m. Cost: Free Note: 21+ What: Seminar Series on Academic Success — Time Management Where: Femoyer 111 When: 4 p.m.
[Friday, Feb. 5]
[Saturday, Feb. 6] What: Momentary Prophets Where: Gillie's When: 7 p.m. Cost: Free
What: Where the Wild Things Are Where: Squires Colonial Ballroom When: 8 p.m. Cost: $2 for students (w/ student ID), $3 for non-students
What: Boogieburg's Bob Marley Party Where: Cabo Fish Taco When: 10 p.m. Cost: Free before 11 p.m., $3 after Note: 21+
What: Trainwreck Where: Awful Arthur's When: 9 p.m. Cost: $2 Note: 18+ until 10 p.m., 21+ after
What: Midwinters 2010: An African Adventure Where: Squires Commonwealth Ballroom When: 8 p.m. Cost: $5
[Monday, Feb. 8]
[Wednesday, Feb. 10]
What: Monday Blues Jam Where: The Cellar When: 9 p.m. Cost: Free What: Seminar Series on Academic Success-Tackling Your Textbooks and Lecture Note Taking Where: Femoyer 111 When: Noon Cost: Free
What: John Brown's Body w/ Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Where: Attitudes When: 9 p.m. Cost: $13 in advance through InTicketing.com, $15 at the door What: Hokies Helping Haiti — Backflips for Bucks Where: Outside D2 When: 5 p.m. Note: Virginia Tech Parkour Club performs for charity
[Tuesday, Feb. 9] What: The Real Coach Carter Where: Squires Haymarket Theatre When: 7 p.m. Cost: Free What: Connection Job Fair Where: Cassell Coliseum When: 10 a.m. Cost: Free
GO
to collegiatetimes.com/calendar for a full listing of events. TO DO
Degree: Colleges collaborate to enrich MBA from page one
utable, highly recognized, highly regarded MBA program,” Skripak said. “When they get into the working world, they find out they are real well educated as an engineer, but they don’t know much about business. To manage people or advance their career they need to understand how the numbers are put together.” Students enrolled in the program would be required to complete the standard core requirements for an MBA and then use the remaining elective credit space to earn their Master of Science in industrial and systems engineering. This arrangement between the two departments may be new at the graduate level, but students currently enrolled in industrial and systems engineering at the undergraduate level are able to obtain a business minor with just two additional courses, said Eileen Van Aken, associate professor and associate department
head for industrial and systems engineering. Van Aken said in a typical year, 60 percent of undergraduate students in industrial and systems engineering opt to receive a business minor. Because of this, Van Aken noted that considerable interest could be garnered. “This is new, so we’re not quite sure, but we’ve often had industrial and systems engineering students have a lot interest in topics covered by college of business courses,” Van Aken said. “Of course it is a lot of credits, but we are excited about this moving forward.” In total, students would take a minimum of 53 credit hours, three credit hours more than what is presently required of MBA candidates. Koelling emphasized that the program was designed to ensure neither side would be forced to make sacrifices, perhaps explain-
“
The challenge is that it will be very selective. We don’t see the program being very large. PATRICK KOELLING DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
ing the length of the planning stages. “Every student in that program meets or exceeds, actually exceeds, our requirements for a master’s degree anyway,” Koelling said. “When we designed it, we wanted to make sure neither program compromised in any way.” Unlike the current industrial and systems engineering program, which on a given year sees between 35 and 50 new students, Koelling said he expected the number of students attempting the dual-degree to be
smaller. “I think it’s going to be really successful, in high demand,” Koelling said. “The challenge is that it will be very selective. We don’t see the program being very large. We don’t expect to see more than five or 10 new students enter the program each year. “Generally each fall we have anywhere between 35 and 50 new students in our graduate program. So this is quite small in comparison. It accommodates those students much better. It is not designed for students who have working experience. They can move right into it ... without a problem.” Admission-wise, students must meet the guidelines and criteria of both programs to be accepted, though unlike many graduate degree tracks, Skripak and Koelling’s program is not catered to a student who has just finished their undergraduate degree.
“We generally like to have students with work experience,” Skripak said. “(Approximately) 75 percent of our students, depending on the year, have worked at least one year in the business world. It makes them more ready. They are more able to contribute to class discussions and relate the academic concepts to something they have lived through.” The process for establishing the dual-degree was done entirely through the university. Because the program came from entities inside of Tech, Skripak said there was never a need to introduce a higher outside authority. “Both of our college committees had to review and approve, but after that its pretty much a done deal,” Skripak said. “We also did a two degree program with (Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine), but that one had to go through the University Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies.”
Corrections -In “Year-long wait ends for historic home” (CT, Jan. 29), the land at 103 S. Main St. is valued at $242,200 and the house at $177,100, with a total cost value of $419,300. These assessments were conducted for the 2010 tax year. -In “Hokies United to continue Haiti relief fund campaign” (CT, Feb. 3), the date for Phi Beta Delta’s panel discussion is Wednesday, Feb. 10. -In “Budget amendment could cost state universities millions” (CT, Feb. 3), SGA President Brandon Carroll was misquoted. Gov. Kaine’s office refused to raise taxes. Also, the deckhead should have read “Budget amendment proposed by Kaine could draw $19 million, with $600,000 from Tech.” The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
opınıons 3
editor: debra houchins opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
february 4, 2010
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Your Views [letters to the editor]
Health care needs mandate
O
n Monday, the Virginia State Senate passed three separate measures outlawing a government mandate for private citizens to purchase health insurance policies. These measures are expected to pass the Republican controlled House of Delegates and be signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell. The House of Delegates intended its vote to be a message to Congress and President Barack Obama about turning a substantial healthcare reform bill into law, like the bills the House of Representatives and Senate have both already passed. While a federal mandate would override any state law, the House of Delegates took a dangerous step in sending this message to Congress on Monday. According to the Pew Research poll, more than 80 percent of Americans support reforms that would require insurers to provide insurance to everyone regardless of gender or pre-existing conditions. However, without a mandate guaranteeing a sufficiently large and diverse pool of customers, insurers would be forced to raise prices to rates where only the sickest Americans would be willing to buy insurance. This would defeat the purpose of those stricter regulations. The United States and Mexico are
Support men’s basketball
F
reezing rain, sleet and snow cannot keep our students from rockin’ the Cassell! In a pivotal week for our basketball team, I am counting on you, the Cassell Guard, to come help us defend our home court. As I watched games this weekend, I heard announcers talk about the atmosphere at Kansas State and other venues and it confirmed to me that our environment at Cassell is as electric as any in the country. Others might have great passion and energy when the lights of “Game Day” arrive, but the Hokie faithful don’t need to be seduced by Game Day. You are there because you want to make a difference because of your passion and ownership of our program. Both games this weekend will
the only Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries in the world that do not provide universal health insurance to their people, despite the fact that we spend far more on health care than any other country. While the proposals in Congress are far from perfect, they would extend insurance coverage to roughly 30 million Americans, while cutting the deficit by taxing the most generous health insurance plans and cutting wasteful Medicare spending. The proposal is a far cry from the socialist health care systems that exist in Canada and Europe. The Democrats have accepted Republican proposals such as medical malpractice reform and Sen. John McCain’s idea of selling insurance across state lines. The Democrats have compromised, dropping their wishes of a public option or Medicare buy-in, trying to moderate their proposals in the spirit of Brooke Leonard’s call to moderation in Tuesday’s Collegiate Times. Congress should move forward in making one of the bills that both houses have already passed into law. The moral and fiscal difficulties with the status quo are too large to ignore any longer.
Mike LaHaye sophomore economics major have the possibility of having runs in both directions. I am counting on you to help us get through the times when we are struggling and take us to another level when we are on that special run. With Thursday night’s 9 p.m. tip-off, we need you there early to set the tone for a frantic 40 minutes of Hokie Hoops. Saturday’s 4 p.m. tip should give you enough time to recharge your batteries after an enjoyable start to the weekend. Don’t forget, we will have another Chalk Talk at noon today at D2. Come enjoy the tasty smorgasbord and get the inside on our preparations for the UNC and Clemson games. As always, I thank you for your support.
Seth Greenberg head coach men’s basketball
Super Bowl ads not the place for politcs T
oday, there are few corners of our communal life untouched by rancorous political division. CBS guaranteed that there will be one less when it broke with long-standing tradition and sold an evangelical Christian group time in which to air an anti-abortion ad during this year’s Super Bowl. If this were a football game rather than life — or, at least, commerce — it’s the kind of ruling you’d want to send up to the box for a review of the call on the field. The Super Bowl, which is this country’s most-watched television event, also has evolved into the world’s premier showcase for video advertising. Until now, though, the networks always have declined to accept issue-oriented or political spots. In recent years, for example, they’ve turned down ads from the liberal activist group MoveOn.org and the United Church of Christ. This year, after a bit of back and forth, CBS agreed to broadcast a commercial purchased by the Colorado-based Focus on the Family, whose founder — James Dobson — is one of the religious right’s most influential personalities. Both Dobson and his organization are longtime opponents of legalized abortion. The ad reportedly will feature the University of Florida’s superstar quarterback, Tim Tebow, and his mother, Pam. She will describe how, while working as a missionary in the Philippines and seven months’ pregnant with Tim, she contracted dysentery and fell into a coma. When she awoke, according to her account, doctors said the drugs they’d used to treat her virtually guaranteed a life-threatening stillbirth. They advised an abortion. She declined out of religious conviction. Asked about the sudden change in direction, CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said the network had “moderated our approach to advocacy submissions” because it “did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms.” He said CBS “will continue to consider responsibly produced ads from all groups for the few remaining spots in Super Bowl XLIV.” Notice that phrase “few remaining”? This year, a 30-second spot is going for about $2.8 million. Perhaps necessity was the mother of moderation here. Whatever its motives, CBS has made a bad call. There ought to be places in our lives that are free from profound confrontation. Focus on the Family has every right to produce its ad, of
course, and CBS — so long as its policies are evenhanded — has every right to run issue-oriented spots. It really comes down to a question of taste and civility. You don’t talk politics at the Thanksgiving table, and you really ought to be able to watch a football game without being confronted with another person’s views on abortion, or the treatment of veal calves. Is there really a difference between this sort of Super Bowl ad and the other 60-odd trying to sell you beer or cars or computers? Yes. One is a pitch; the other is proselytizing. We suffer the former as the price of life in a consumer society; we abhor the latter as a coarse invasion of privacy. There are moments when we open ourselves to moral persuasion, and moments when we’re entitled to simple recreation. It’s the sort of distinction on which civility relies. Ever wonder how the Tebows’ heartwarming story won nearly $3 million worth of Focus on the Family’s attention? Both Tim and Pam Tebow are active, committed members of an evangelical ministry run by Pam’s Baptist minister husband, Bob, one of the founders of Campus Crusade for Christ. Both mother and son are vocal opponents of abortion, though there’s a curious aspect to the story she’s told in numerous interviews. Pam has repeatedly said that all this happened in the Philippines, where she delivered Tim in 1987. But as a letter to CBS from the Center for Reproductive Rights notes, the Philippines criminalized abortion in 1870. Since 1930, its criminal code governing abortion makes no exception to save the life of the mother and requires prison time for doctors and women involved. It’s remarkable that Pam’s doctors were willing to give advice that put them at such risk. More than most, the Tebows have benefited from the reverence American society accords the religious consciences of its people and the decisions based on those consciences. The Tebows’ story is a tribute to this country’s respect for choice — though somebody else will have to pay to get that message across.
TIM RUTTEN -los angeles times
MCT CAMPUS
Energy companies must be responsible for crises P
erhaps the greatest hurdle we will face this century will be how to reconcile our human ambition with our environmental health. At the fulcrum of this conflict rests the energy industry. No one enjoys polluting the air and waterways of our environment, but everyone enjoys light bulbs, air conditioning and automobiles. Headline grabbing environmental disaster stories almost exclusively involve the energy industry. The parties named responsible in these cases are usually not considered criminals for valid reasons. They can usually plead ignorance or claim an honest mistake as the origin of the environmental disaster. For example, the General Electric Co. dumped 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyl into the Hudson River throughout the middle of the 20th century. PCBs were widely used as industrial coolants and dielectric fluids in transformers. PCBs have also been shown to cause birth defects and cancer when consumed by humans. When news of the harmful effects broke in the mid 1970s, PCBs were banned and GE stopped using them in their plant on the Hudson. Although GE legally dumped the chemicals in the river without knowledge of the environmental health consequences, the company has been involved in the effort to help clean up the river. Working with the Environmental Protection Agency, GE has committed to pay for this superfund site, a federal program instituted in 1980 to clean up the most dangerous hazardous waste sites in the U.S., with a price tag estimated at $750 million. Probably the best-known environmental disaster is the Exxon Valdez oil spill that occurred in 1989. An over-worked and under-trained crew ran the oil tanker into a reef in the middle of the night. This resulted in 11 million gallons of crude oil being spilled along the pristine Alaskan coast. This natural disaster could not have been predicted and was certainly not planned by anyone. The punitive damages that Exxon has to pay now total in the billions. Since then, great efforts have been taken by Exxon, as well as governmental regulatory bodies, to see that
such disasters will not happen again. Although companies such as GE and Exxon Mobil may not be eager to spend large sums of money on projects that have zero return on investment, we cannot fault them for being evil. As tragic as these disasters are, it can at least be said that the companies involved cared about their environmental impact, acknowledged their responsibility and are involved in the clean up efforts. Unfortunately, not all companies in the energy industry will take this stance. Dominion Virginia Power, which produces most of the electricity for Virginia, is one of these companies. It hid 1.5 million tons of toxic coal fly ash under some turf near residential areas in Chesapeake, Va., and labeled it a golf course. Fly ash is left over particles from parts of the coal that don’t burn in the furnace. It contains many heavy metals like lead, mercury and arsenic. These elements have been known to be toxic to humans for decades. There are regulated and responsible ways of dealing with waste fly ash. It can be used as an ingredient in cement for construction projects, but is more commonly stored underground in lined landfills away from water supplies. These landfills can be expensive and generally cannot be used for anything because they are full of toxic waste. If coal fly ash is not stored properly, then rainwater can leach heavy metals into the aquifer that is connected to the local water supply. The Chesapeake Energy Center is a large coal fired power plant owned and operated by Dominion. With a net capacity of 760 megawatts, it consumes 4,500 tons of coal every day. All that waste fly ash needs to go somewhere. And in 2001, Dominion did not want to purchase a new environmentally safe landfill. Instead, it decided it would be cheaper to use the coal fly ash as filler in a golf course and tell people in the immediate vicinity that the toxic material is “safe as dirt.” That was a lie. In 2001, Dominion hired outside contractors to assess the environmental risks associated with its golf course scheme. Those initial reports showed that local residential groundwater could become contaminated. Dominion cannot
plead ignorance or blame an honest mistake on this issue. In a textbook example from any engineering ethics class, Dominion decided to ignore those reports and instead shop around to other consulting firms until they could buy the results they wanted. To make matters worse, Dominion decided to keep those initial reports hidden from the public for seven years. When news of the possible environmental disaster broke, local residents filed two class-action lawsuits totaling more than $2 billion. The money will be used to remove the toxic waste from their neighborhoods, monitor their drinking water and health and recover losses from their home values, which plummeted as a result of the news. Dominion has argued that the cases should be dropped because no specific health damage has been proven yet. The cases are still pending. Recently the EPA has intervened and found elevated levels of arsenic and lead in groundwater at the golf course. These elevated levels were not there before the golf course was constructed. Although local drinking water did not show elevated levels of these toxic metals, it may only be a matter of time. One might wonder why local government didn’t put a stop to this. Why did the Chesapeake city council allow Dominion to store their coal fly ash in their neighborhood? Maybe it has something to do with the $700,000 that Dominion donated to statewide political campaigns in the 2005 election cycle. Battlefield Golf Club opened for business in 2007. The course does not have a liner, but does feature several lakes — bringing new meaning to the term “water hazard.” Chesapeake, and the whole Norfolk area, is home to thousands of our fellow Hokies, past and present. If anyone is going to hit the links there this year, err on the side of caution and bring some bottled water.
ERIC WOOD -regular columnist -graduate student -mechanical engineering
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4 features february 4, 2010
editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
Going Wilder: Constant repetition helps actors find their ‘vibe’
DANIEL LIN/SPPS
Virginia Tech’s Department of Theatre Arts and Cinema will be putting on a production of Thorton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” starting Feb. 18. Writer Dan Waidelich is a member of the cast.
OUR INSIDE MAN GETS A TASTE OF HOW MUCH PRACTICE IT TAKES TO MAKE THE SHOW PERFECT
I
n the past weeks, the cast and crew of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” have been working hard to make this allegory of humanity’s struggles coherent and entertaining. After three weeks of production, I’d like to talk to you a bit about how we are doing. The rehearsal process is a rough road, long and chaotic, but the success of any show weighs heavily upon it. At this point, we have passed the initial days of getting comfortable with our scripts and each other. The end result of this is that the true body of the performance has begun to take shape. From the outside looking in, people might think of a play in terms of casting, learning lines and then deciding how everyone moves around the stage, but there is another important piece called “blocking.” Blocking involves the constant running of scenes, over and over, until cast members know their way around the stage and each other. It’s a redundant process and it can exhaust a person very quickly. Greg Justice, our director, has made it clear to the cast that he considers blocking one of the most integral parts of the rehearsal process. I would challenge you to put yourself in the shoes of an actor. Walk on stage, deliver your line and find a way out of the scene. Repeat this for four hours, every night of the week. Why do we block? Greg told us something that I took to heart. If we can get the soul-crushing tedious bits out of the way, the actors have a rock solid framework from which we can build whatever we want on. So it’s week three and we have been in the middle of this process day in and day out. Aside from the brief interruption because of the massive dumping of snow we just received, it’s been a blocking storm. How do 17 people remain sane when they miss marks and work their way through the show?
going
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Senior theatre major Jarreau Williams plays George Antrobus, the star of the show, and I had a conversation with him about the frustrations of blocking. “It’s so easy to get worn down,” Williams said. “We just have to turn it off and turn it on again. I just need to find my vibe.” The “vibe” is different for every actor in the cast, but I’m sure everybody has one. It’s that will to keep on going and the way we deal with the tough nights. “For me, it’s like when I dance,” Williams said. “Something just vibrates through my entire body. I take a breath and I turn my switch on and I’m ready.” My “vibe,” however, is a slightly different beast. Frankly, I get high on attention. Performing for an audience and writing articles helps to feed that fire. Week three of the rehearsal process finds the cast of “Skin” in the grind of blocking and finding our way into a more stable, performanceready place. This not only takes repetition, but a search for what will motivate us to succeed in this production. In the coming days, “Skin” will be ramping up to a new level as we get ready for the home stretch, a time full of new stresses and intrigues. I’ll update you on all that as well as my upcoming costume fitting.
DAN WAIDELICH -features staff writer -junior -communication major
february 4, 2010
page 5
Rapper comes to speak about ‘building bridges’ ANDREW REILLY features staff writer Describing Litefoot as a rapper is a bit like calling Oprah Winfrey just a talk-show host. Indeed, the Cherokee-born actor and musician, familiar to many students as “Little Bear” from the film “The Indian in the Cupboard,” has released 12 albums over the past two decades in his award-winning “tribalistic-funk” style. What his discography doesn’t reveal, however, is the dozens of directions his career has taken — everything from motivational speaking tours across American reservations to creating his own clothing company. Litefoot will be at Virginia Tech’s Haymarket Theater at 8 p.m. on Feb. 5 to deliver a speech titled, “Building Bridges Between Native Americans and African Americans.” The event is free of charge and will be followed by an autograph session. The Collegiate Times spoke to Litefoot over the phone from his home in Seattle about Friday’s presentation and modern challenges facing Native American communities. COLLEGIATE TIMES: Why do you think it’s important to build these bridges and what are you going to talk about in your speech? LITEFOOT: It’s going to focus on the fact that together we can accomplish much more than remaining separate communities, that there’s much that we need to learn to understand each other, and that much of our plight mirrors the circumstances that we experience every single day and in some instances the history of our people. I think that there’s a lot that can come from uniting and looking at a lot of the same issues that we uniquely have in our own communities and understanding that they’re shared. CT: Do you feel that both communities feel connection in a history of struggles in achieving success in America? LITEFOOT: Between African American communities and Native American communities, I think maybe uniquely there are some struggles we both share. My community, the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma, did much in the way of trying to unite the African American folks into our own communities. ... We didn’t really subscribe to the fact that because you’re of a different skin color we have no need for you, which is something I think a lot of folks coming from there experience (on) a daily basis. African Americans have moved forward to gain advancement in their communities. We as a native people are still struggling with our own civil rights and with equality on issues that many other communities take for granted, so definitely I think that there’s a lot of similarities. There’s uniqueness in the traditional aspect in the fact that we both come from tribal background and I think it’s important to remind folks who might have forgotten those things that there’s way more similarities than differences. CT: Describe some of the struggles Native American communities face in the 21st cen-
Metal pioneers are bangin’ thanks to documentary KEVIN C. JOHNSON mcclatchy newspapers
COURTESY OF LITEFOOT
Cherokee rapper Litefoot will be discussing links between the Native American and African American communitites. tury. LITEFOOT: Well, as the United States of America rallies around Haiti right now and justifiably so, with all due respect to all the people that are suffering in Haiti right now, millions of dollars have been put towards helping those good people over there get the services that they need during this time. People have come out of the woodwork all across the United States in all facets, from athletes to celebrities to politicians and civic and political leaders. But right now as I’m speaking to you, the people on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota have no water. People in Pine Ridge South Dakota, as I’m having this interview with you, have no heat in their homes. So I guess we probably don’t have to go into much more detail than those two things right now. That conversation could last all day and tomorrow and probably the rest of this week into next week. CT: As one of the few prominent Native American artists in the mainstream, do you feel pressure and responsibility to represent your cultural identity? LITEFOOT: I think I would probably feel pressure to represent my culture and who I am as a Native person if I just really started to come into understanding of that right now. If I just started to realize I’m out here getting attention now as a mainstream artist you know, “I better not forget who I am as a person.” But fortunately, I think because of the way that I was raised and because of what has been important to me as a person, I’ve never not had that involved in my life. CT: Why did you choose rap music as your medium of expression for these messages? LITEFOOT: Rap music came to me because
[
check it out
Where: Haymarket Theater When: Monday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. Cost: Free
]
first I was a fan. I think equally with that it was very easy for me to write poetry and write words that just kind of flowed; it was never really hard for me. It was really my sister who was the one who wanted to sing. She wanted to be engaged in music and acting stuff and I was more into sports and athletics. It’s crazy the way it turned out: She helped me actually to write a rap for one of her songs that she had put together. I told her that I didn’t want to do the rap, but I would write it for her and she got someone else to come in and perform it. At that time I had never recorded anything. Every rap or every song I’d ever written had stayed in my folder and notebook and that was about it. So I went in and the producer asked me to rap it so I did and he said, “Okay, well now say it again just a little bit more like this.” I did it and they said, “Thank you very much. You can chalk that up as your first rap in your record book.” I didn’t really realize I was rapping the first day that I rapped and that it was going to be something that would be the beginning to many more things in my life. I’ve always been a fan of music and still to this day I am, so it wasn’t too hard for me to find that bridge. I just knew very much so that from the beginning I was going to definitely attack my journey in music as a Native person first and everything else second. CT: Where do you see yourself going in the future and what would like to see for the Native
American community? LITEFOOT: If I could just limit it to one thing, I would like to see our people around the world understood and appreciated for what we’ve endured and at the same time recognized and given a place that we’re more than ready to earn in the world. To delete “used to” and “were” and “had” and “did” and replace those words with the current tense of “do” and “have” and “will” and “are” as opposed to what continues to be written in history books that eliminates us from modern society and reality today. We have so much to offer. We have so much that we’ve already offered the U.S. from day one, from the origins of the Constitution, to the food that probably 90 percent of people eat every night at their dinner table, to some of the greatest leaders and patriots that this world has ever known that go unrecognized on a daily basis to the world. I think that if we can create understanding and if I can help build that bridge, then it will be one of the most important bridges that have ever been built in the history of our people. It’s possible. I truly believe that with every fiber of my being. If my life serves as nothing more than a catalyst for some Native person that is somewhere in an Indian country right now, or some young person no matter what race they are or where they come from to understand that they can achieve, that I’ve come from nothing and I’ve come from a lot of hardship and a very unique struggle and I’ve been able to be successful. We have many things that we can learn from each other and I think that that’s coming back into why I’m coming to Virginia Tech, to show that we truly all can accomplish more together than apart, that we have more commonalities and more similarities than we do discrepancies.
Vintage metal band Anvil wasn’t supposed to be here like this. Yet this past year, Anvil’s been all over the place, beginning on the big screen in last year’s documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” which became a critic’s darling and earned special mentions in documentary-film circles. The Toronto band’s latest album, “This is Thirteen,” was released in September; it’s working on a CD titled “Juggernaut of Justice”; and it’s on an energetic, in-your-face tour. Anvil is even playing itself in an upcoming film, “The Green Hornet,” with Seth Rogen. “This is the best it has ever been,” Anvil drummer Robb Reiner says. “We’re superfamous now. We don’t have day jobs anymore.” Anvil also includes Steve “Lips” Kudlow on vocals and guitar, and Glenn Five on bass. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” looks at the influential yet obscure band’s return to the music scene. The film is giving the band the type of fame it never experienced during the period that should have been its heyday. Anvil debuted in 1981 with the album “Hard ‘n’ Heavy” and has released music consistently ever since. But, as the documentary details, bands influenced by Anvil — such as Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer — found the fame. “The name Anvil has been exposed quite a bit now,” Reiner says of appearances on VH1, “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and more. The idea for the documentary came from director Sacha Gervasi (writer of the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks film “The Terminal”). “He was 15,” Reiner says. “We hung out for years and years. Then he lost touch, became a Hollywood big boy, and he came back. And he felt compelled to make this movie and tell our story.” Reiner’s immediate reaction was, “Who the hell would care about us?” Kudlow, however, felt this was just what the band had been waiting for. Kudlow, Reiner says, “felt that all the years of work we’d put in were for this moment.” Reiner says he had no idea his band’s story was one that would engage people. “It’s inspirational,” he says. “People saw families and friendships, and they related.” Big-name celebrities, including Slash, Metallica, Anthrax and Motorhead, related, too, practically lining up to say some words about Anvil on camera. “Two hundred people wanted to participate,” Reiner says. “Everybody wanted to say something about Anvil. “Our music made a difference.”
february 4, 2010
page 6
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editors: joe crandley, alex jackson sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
february 4, 2010
Hokies’ tourney hopes slipping
Signing day: Hokies pick up 13 from Va. from page one
The Hokies also added two quarterbacks from out-ofstate — Ricardo Young, from Washington, D.C., and Mark Leal from Greenacres, Fla. Young is rated the No. 21 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals and was the Gatorade State Football Player of the Year for the District. Leal is ranked the 28th best dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals. Of the 20 players in the 2010 recruiting class, 12 are projected to play on the defensive side of the ball, while eight players are projected to play offense. Five are offensive linemen. Beamer said that while the number of offensive linemen signed may seem high, Tech followed its original plan. “We have an overall of how many offensive lineman we’d like to have in the overall scheme, you know, and how many defensive ends we’d like to have, how many defensive tackles you’d like to have in the program, and we try to stay fairly close to that,” Beamer said. In past years, the Hokies went out-of-state often, signing highly recruited offensive linemen who never made it to the field due to struggles such as academic ineligibility or injury. In recent years, however, they’ve looked more toward homegrown products. “I think what’s happened is — well, some of those misses ... caused us to continue to catch up as to the number of offensive lineman we’d like to have in our program,” Beamer said. Some familiar names highlight the 2010 recruiting class as well. Four brothers and one cousin of current or former Hokie football players signed Wednesday, including former Hokie and current NFL safety Vincent Fuller’s brother, Kyle; former Hokie Ryan Shuman’s brother, Mark; current Hokie Antoine
RECRUITS NICK DEW -Virginia Beach, Va.
ZACK MCCRAY -Forest, Va.
TAHRICK PEAK -Radford, Va.
MARK SHUMAN -Fork Union, Va.
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on the web
For the complete list of Wednesday’s signees, please visit the Collegiate Sports Blog at collegiatetimes.com.
]
Hopkins’ brother, Derrick; and current Hokie Nubian Peak’s brother, Tahrick. Also, Zack McCray is the first cousin of current Hokies’ backup quarterback, Logan Thomas. “When we get brothers coming, like Tahrick Peak, Mark Shuman, Kyle Fuller and Derrick Hopkins, and a cousin, like Zack McCray, you like the statement that it makes about your program and how you treat people,” Beamer said.
NIELS GOERAN BLUME/SPPS
Hokies’ freshman guard Aerial Wilson drives to the basket in Cassell Coliseum during Tech’s 82-46 victory over Elon University on Nov. 28.
LOSSES, INJURIES PILE ON AS TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM CONTINUES TO DECLINE
A
t a crucial juncture of the season, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team (12-9, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) has hit a cold streak, one that likely knocks it out of contention for an NCAA Tournament bid and possibly any sort of postseason play altogether. Since their victory over Miami on Jan. 24, the Hokies have faced quite a bit of adversity. Last Tuesday, starting point guard Nikki Davis injured her knee in practice, sidelining her for both games against Maryland and No. 25 Georgia Tech. Davis leads the team in assists and is the team’s fourth leading scorer. Against Miami, the Hokies were led by Davis’ 29 points, and as a team shot 47.8 percent from the floor. Without Davis in the lineup on Thursday against Maryland, the Hokies were limited to 44 points and had difficulty scoring in their half-court sets. “(Nikki) helps get us in sync on offense and I think we struggled to get in sync as evidenced by us shooting 29 percent from the field,” Tech head coach Beth Dunkenberger said following the loss. “We had (Utahya Drye) play a little bit more on the wing, but we were really just trying to find a combination that worked. We subbed a lot and I just didn’t see any sparks from it.”
Drye agreed, citing the lack of movement on offense. “I feel like we just stood in our offense,” Drye said. “We got out of sync and didn’t really free up anybody else.” Tech has yet to find a rhythm since losing Davis. In their previous five games with Davis, the Hokies shot 41.2 percent and dished out 14.6 assists per game. Against Maryland and Georgia Tech, the Hokies’ shooting percentage plummeted to 29.9 percent, as the team averaged three fewer assists per game. Former ACC Player of the Week Lindsay Biggs has arguably been hardest hit by the loss of Davis. Forced into playing point guard by committee, Biggs’ scoring took a significant blow. In the Hokies’ last two games, Biggs made just one of 16 shots from the field and scored a total of two points. The sharpshooter, who set a Tech single-season record last year with 71 three-point field goals, missed on all 12 of her three-point attempts in two
games without Davis. The impact of Davis’ injury has been catastrophic to the Hokies’ play on the court, as well as their chances for postseason play. Following its win against Miami, Tech had an opportunity to improve its ACC record to 4-3 and get two quality wins for its NCAA Tournament résumé. Two games later, a much less impressive 4-5 ACC record stares it in the face. If there is any chance for an NCAA Tournament bid, the Hokies would almost undoubtedly have to win the ACC Tournament and receive an automatic-bid. That would require winning four games in four days, and possibly beating any one of the five top-25 ranked teams in the ACC. Through their game against Maryland, the Hokies’ Rating Percentage Index was 86th in the nation. RPI is a type of ranking in both men’s and women’s NCAA basketball used in determining seeding for the NCAA Tournament. The lowest at-large RPI to make the 2009 women’s NCAA Tournament was Georgia, ranked 56th at the end of the 2009-10 season. The Lady
Bulldogs squeaked into the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed after winning two games in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The lowest at-large RPI to make the men’s NCAA Tournament in the last 15 years was New Mexico, ranked 74th in 1999. If the season ended today, the Hokies would be seeded 10th in the ACC Tournament and would face Maryland in the first round of play. Tech heads into the final leg of the regular season desperately needing wins. With eight games remaining, seven against ACC opponents, the Hokies will have to pick up the pace to have any shot at competing in the ACC Tournament. The Hokies will need to get back to revitalizing their tournament chances when they host Wake Forest this Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.
MICHAEL BEALEY -sports staff writer -business major -freshman
february 4, 2010
page 8
host Heels MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM SEEKS REVENGE AFTER DISAPPOINTING SECOND HALF IN CHAPEL HILL ALEX JACKSON sports editor The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will look for a much-needed win Thursday night as it takes on the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies (16-4, 3-3 ACC) enter tonight’s game in search of an identity. After a tough loss against the University of Miami on Sunday, the Hokies sit in a position much less comfortable than the one they were in almost a week ago. Last Thursday, the Hokies played a tough game against their in-state rival, the University of Virginia Cavaliers, and with a thrilling performance in the waning minutes, defeated the Cavs 76-71 while bolstering their NCAA Tournament resume in the process. Three days later against Miami, the Hokies looked nothing like they did days before. In the first half, Tech was outscored 47-30 by what was thought to be one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s more inept teams. While the Hokies made a run in the second half, almost knotting the score several times in the final period, their efforts weren’t enough. “We cut it to five points numerous times and just didn’t really find a way to close the thing and make the plays you need to make to have a chance to win a game on the road,” said Hokies’ head coach Seth Greenberg. “Our toughness, our communication was just not what it needs to be if we’re going to be relevant in the next 10 games.” Greenberg’s team, now 3-3 in conference play, will need to make all the noise it can in the next 10 games if it wants to reach its goal of the NCAA Tournament. With in-conference losses against three currently unranked teams — Florida State, North Carolina and Miami — there is little room for the Hokies to slip. But there really isn’t much room for any ACC team to slip. The Tar Heels (13-8, 2-4 ACC) enter Thursday’s game just as, if not more, desperate than the Hokies are. In their past five games, the Heels are 1-4, with just one win against NC State to go with four losses to Clemson, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and most recently, UVa. A loss for the Heels on Thursday would put head coach Roy Williams’ team, a team that hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and currently holds the title of defending national champions, in official panic mode. “Its not just one thing,” Williams said. “We’ve got some work to do. There’s
no question about it. ... I always have hope. There’s no question about that. That’s the only way I know to go about doing it — to work as hard as we possibly can.” While the Heels have struggled as of late, there is no question about the level of talent on their team. Led by both Deon Thompson, who is currently averaging 14.7 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds, and Ed Davis, who averages 14 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, the Heels will look for their second win against Tech this year with an offensive attack much different than that of the Hokies. Thompson and Davis stand at 6-foot9-inches and 6-foot-10-inches, respectively. With nearly 30 points and just over 16 rebounds of production per game coming from the two, the Hokies will need to keep Thompson and Davis contained. “I think (Davis) is just magnificent,” Greenberg said. “He’s long, he’s agile, he scores around the basket, he can
set you out to 15 feet. He’s just a really gifted player. “You’ve got to try to make it hard for him to catch it deep and you’ve got to make sure that we do a good job of chesting him up and eliminating his second-chance points.” On the offensive side of the ball, the Hokies will need a big game as always from junior point guard Malcolm Delaney. In the two team’s first matchup, Delaney carried the Hokies into halftime with a 38-34 lead, scoring 20 of his 26 points in the first half. In the second half, however, the Hokies were outscored 44-26, while Delaney converted on just one of five field goal attempts. “In the second half,” Williams said, “we started playing better defense and not fouling (Delaney) and putting him on the free-throw line so many times. We tried doing a better job of keeping him in front of us and getting a hand up on his shot.” “You can’t stop Malcolm,” Williams continued. “He’s just too good. Hopefully, you can slow him down a little bit. ... It helped us that the other guys didn’t have a great night.” While Delaney maintains his position
as the ACC’s leading scorer, he hasn’t been as effective lately compared to his early season performance. In his past three games, Delaney has made just 35.3 percent of his field goals and has made a shockingly unimpressive two of 18 from three-point range. Greenberg says that’s mainly because of the way Tech’s opponents have been defending Delaney.
“I don’t think it’s a shooting struggle,” Greenberg said. “I think it’s that people are defending him. He’s getting an extra defender and they’re helping on every single screen. “You know, he doesn’t get a lot of shots with room and rhythm. I mean, when you’re a guy that has that ability to make plays on a team that at times is offensively challenged, you know, that’s
going to happen.” Greenberg made it clear that he wasn’t worried about Delaney down the stretch. “He’s a world-class shooter. I’m not worried about that,” he said. Greenberg, Delaney and the Hokies will tip-off at 9 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum. The game will be televised on Raycom Sports.
LUKE MASON/SPPS
Tech forward Victor Davila (left) and guard Malcolm Delaney (right) against the University of Virginia last Thursday. The Hokies defeated the Cavaliers 76-71 in Charlottesville.