Are you just as LOST as we are?details | page seven An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 17
News, page 2
Student media to not lose funding
Features, page 7
Opinions, page 5
Sports, page 3
Classifieds, page 6
Sudoku, page 6
An unexpected break
STUDENT COMMISSION UNHAPPY WITH ONLINE COMMENTS, URGES WITHHOLDING MEDIA FUNDS, ADS CALEB FLEMING news staff writer Virginia Tech will not revoke funding to the Collegiate Times and other student media endeavors, contrary to the proposal a Tech advisory group laid out last Friday. “The university is not going to exercise administrative leverage to pressure the Collegiate Times,” said university spokesman Larry Hincker. “The chief legal counsel made clear that the actions (the Commission on Student Affairs) were asking for is not permissible under the law.” The Commission on Student Affairs had recommended the university ban student organizations from buying ads with university funds as well. The proposed financial cutbacks resulted from a controversy over anonymous reader comments posted to the Collegiate Times Web site. The CSA sent a letter early last week to Kelly Wolff, general manager of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech. The letter stated the Collegiate Times may be in violation of the university’s “Principles of Community” for its online commenting process, and declared that if the organization did not agree to negotiate the status of the commenting, the commission would recommend action be taken by the university.
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Check out the Collegiate Times Web site at www.collegiatetimes.com to see the original resolution and EMCVT’s response.
“In the Principles of Community, there is language talking about holding people with dignity and respect and having a civil tone,” said Ed Spencer, vice president for student affairs. “The commission members have been saying that if we’re going to publish comments, they ought to be consistent with letters to the editor so people in a civil community can be held responsible.” Spencer said the CSA and Collegiate Times began to discuss the current comment system, among other things, last semester. Spencer noted interest was generated again after a more recent article in the CT. “The interest got sparked again when some of the online comments came back in response to the article about the diversity summit,” Spencer said. “Commission members realized it was still going on and that’s why they asked to sit down and talk with the staff again about it.” Wolff claimed EMCVT would pursue legal action if the university followed through on the recommendations and rejected the offer to negotiate resolution. “Our role was to ensure that students’ editorial rights were defended,” Wolff said. She added that the effect of a funding cut would likely not extend as much to the Collegiate Times as it would to other student media organizations, such as WUVT, VTTV, and the Silhouette literary magazine. “Really, it would not have much impact on the Collegiate Times operations,” Wolff said. “It earns enough revenue to support itself.” Spencer said he was present at the first meeting in which more serious legislation was considered, noting his most prominent role was to explain the nature of the relationship between EMCVT and Tech, as well as its history. Spencer said the Collegiate Times currently receives free office space in Squires Student Center and $70,000 annually from Tech, among other things. The contract does not have an explicit end date. Wolff said it “continues in full force and effect until one part gives 24 months notice of the intent to non-renew/negotiate.” “It’s not the sort of thing you want to subject to the whims of this administrator or that administrator,” Wolff said. “It needs to be very stable.” Once the history of the relationship dating back to 1997 had been discussed, Spencer said “someone” on the commission made a notion to request further conversation with the Collegiate Times, and if that did not happen, to request that action be taken. Michelle McLeese, CSA chairwoman, presented the proposal that would recommend the university give notice that it does not plan to extend contract with EMCVT until an acceptable resolution was reached. The contract requires 24-month notice be given by either side before ending or renegotiating the contract. The CSA consists of 42 members, including students, faculty, and staff. see CSA / page two
DANIEL LIN/SPPS
The roof of Blacksburg High School’s gymnasium lies in ruins after collapsing on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 13. Students will not have classes this week.
High school gym future uncertain in aftermath of roof collapse ZACH CRIZER nrv news editor Blacksburg High School students will have the entire week off from school as officials continue to investigate what caused the school’s gym roof to collapse Saturday. There has been no announcement about where the students will attend school when they return to classes. All other Montgomery County Public Schools are operating on a one-hour delay Tuesday after being inspected following the collapse. A flat roof design may have contributed to the collapse of the gym at Blacksburg High School. The roof above the gym of the high school on Patrick Henry Drive collapsed Saturday afternoon. There were no injuries caused by the incident. Thomas Mills, a Virginia Tech associate professor of building construction, said the design of the gym’s roof made it more susceptible to snow and ice. Mills said current building codes require an ability to hold a snow load of 30 pounds per square foot. Buildings adhering to that code would be able to hold about four and a half feet of snow, but Blacksburg has only received about 28 inches of snow since Jan. 28. About 50 inches of snow have accumulated during the current
MICHAEL MCDERMOTT/SPPS
Large parts of the high school lay in rubble after the collapse of the roof. No injuries occurred. winter season. While Mills said nobody could be completely sure of the cause of the collapse without completing forensics, a flat roof design can create difficult conditions for specific areas of the building structure. “With flat roofs, you have a tendency for drifting to occur,” Mills said. “The snow gets taller and
higher right in those little areas, so you have a tendency to increase the loads in smaller areas. Typically, code loads are for a uniform surface area.” He said this could increase the loads on the edges of the roof, stressing the walls of the gym, as well as the roof. The flat structure could have also
inhibited drainage of melting snow, as water must flow off through roof drains and not simply down a sloped surface. “When it melts, the only place it would have to drain is through roof drains. Frequently, roof drains have a tendency to freeze. Ice gets in the drain, in the drain line, and water can’t run out.”
This effect could also have increased the load on the outside portions of the roof. He called the collapse a “gravity load failure,” and said the sudden nature of the incident was not unusual. The gym was the scene of a basketball game Friday night. The first signs of trouble appeared earlier Saturday morning, during a girls’ basketball practice in the facility. A crack developed on at least one wall, and debris began to fall from the ceiling. A Blacksburg Police press release said the building was cleared and an inspector was called in. School officials and the inspector were on school grounds, but not inside, when the roof collapsed. Neighborhood residents heard the collapse between 1:30 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. “We heard a loud sound, and my husband said, ‘I think the roof is collapsing,’ and we all ran to the window,” said Elizabeth Blankemeyer, whose house is on a hill overlooking the collapsed area of the building. “You couldn’t even see the high school. It was a brown cloud.” Debris from the collapse is now spread across the area. The building opened in 1974. Power to the building was shut off Saturday, but has been restored to the main area of the school.
Gun bill faces opposition ahead of vote ZACH CRIZER nrv news editor Blacksburg restaurant owners are lobbying against a bill that would allow permit holders to carry concealed weapons in establishments that serve alcohol. Jason Brauns, who owns Top of the Stairs on College Avenue, is a concealed carry permit holder, but does not want concealed weapons in his establishment. “In a nutshell, I have a concealed weapons permit,” Brauns said. “I believe in gun rights and being able to carry guns, but I don’t believe that in bars or anywhere alcohol is involved is the place for them.” The Virginia House of Delegates has passed the bill and the senate is expected to vote on it Tuesday. The bill would change Virginia’s laws on concealed weapons. Currently, weapons are not allowed in restaurants that serve alcohol. The bill would allow concealed
carry permit holders to carry guns in restaurants, as long as the holders do not consume alcohol. Robert Hodges, who owns Bud Foster’s Restaurant, said the legislation would put restaurant owners in an uncomfortable situation. “I think this is the worst thing the legislation in Richmond could ever do to restaurants and bars,” Hodges said. Brauns said the stipulation that requires the person concealing the weapon to not drink would be difficult to deal with. “I guess that would make it a lot more challenging to enforce that,” Brauns said. “I think it needs to be a blanket law on that. You can either carry it in there or you can’t.” If the bill were to be enacted into law, Brauns said he would put up a sign prohibiting guns in Top of the Stairs. Hodges said adding the sign could create an image problem with patrons visiting from
other areas. “You can put up a sign on your door that says ‘No guns allowed,’ but I’ll be honest with you, how likely is someone from out of town to enter a restaurant or bar where they have a big sign posted that says ‘No guns allowed?’” Hodges is afraid difficult enforcement conditions could lead to safety hazards. “As an owner and operator of a restaurant that does serve alcohol, yeah I have some concerns and some safety issues with the legislation,” Hodges said. “The fact that someone can walk in here with a concealed weapon just because they have a permit, get intoxicated, and if there is an altercation pull a gun and discharge it in my establishment concerns me greatly.” John Welch, a Virginia Tech senior and spokesman for Students for Non-Violence, said local state government officials are not accurately representing the citizens of the Blacksburg area.
Delegates Dave Nutter and Jim Shuler, who each represent a portion of Montgomery County, voted for the measure. Sen. John Edwards, who represents a portion of Montgomery County, has yet to vote. None of the officials immediately returned phone calls from the Collegiate Times. “They’re sort of out of touch with a lot of people that they’re saying we’re out of touch with,” Welch said. Welch said the bill will likely pass in the senate, but he has been leading the opposition effort. “I think there’s a good chance,” Welch said. “It was so close when it was in committee, so now all the pressure is really going on Delegate Nutter and Sen. Edwards, and we’ve been pounding his e-mail inbox for the last 48 hours.” universtity news editor philipp kotlaba contributed to this report