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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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COLLEGIATETIMES 107th year, issue 54
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Tuition up 10 percent for in-state students GORDON BLOCK news reporter
“Now get a little closer,” Mitchell said, “and then you’re just going to push it right through him and hold it down.” Funke thrust the gig but didn’t connect. Mitchell said she was off just slightly to the left. “He’s going to peace out now,” said sophomore chemical engineering major Molly Boal, laughing. “You would too if you almost got speared.”
Virginia Tech will call on increases to student tuition to close the gap resulting from reduced state funding. The executive committee of Tech’s Board of Visitors agreed to the new tuition by unanimous vote at a special meeting Friday morning. While tuition rates are usually set at the full board’s annual spring meeting, the decision was delayed because of the late submission of the state budget to school administrators. Virginia students at Tech will see increases of about 10 percent across the board, with overall tuition and fees rising to $9,589, an $854 increase from the previous year’s tuition of $8,735. After this tuition amount is set, it will be dropped by $130 for in-state students, as a result of funds Virginia students provided through the American at Tech will see Reinvestment and increases of about Recovery Act of 2009. 10 percent across The costs for onthe board, with campus residency overall tuition are higher as well, as Virginia students and fees rising to living on-campus $9,589, an $854 will see their overall costs rise from increase from the $14,559 in 2009-10 previous year’s to $15,879 in 2010tuition of $8,735. 11. Out-of-state students living on campus will pay $29,507, up from $27,702 for the 2009-10 school year. In-state graduate students will now pay $10,993, up from $10,228 for the 2009-10 school year. Outof-state students will see tuition rising to $19,957 from $17,928. Virginia and Maryland students at the VirginiaMaryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine will pay $19,675 in 2010-11, an increase from $18,415 in 2009-10. Out-of-state veterinary students will pay $42,704, up from $40,607 in 2009-10. Coming with the increased tuition is a rise in student fees, including an increased price for parking. Student parking fees will now be set to $189 for the 2010-11 year, up from this year’s price of $136. Faculty parking fees will rise from $179 in 2009-10 to $220 in 2010-11. The student activity fee will see a $48 increase to $373, and the athletic fee will rise to $257, up from $232. The increases in Tech’s tuition parallel those made at other Virginia universities. Dwight Shelton, Tech’s vice president for finance and chief financial officer, said the increased tuition could bring increased revenues of about $19 million. Virginia students living off campus at James Madison University will see a $616 increase in their tuition, while out-of-state students living off campus will see their bill rise by $1,248. In-state students at Virginia State University who live off-campus will see their bill rise by $396, with their out-of-state counterparts facing a $628 increase. Charlottesville’s Daily Progress reported Friday
see FROGS / page two
see TUITION / page two
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BRIAN CLAY/SPPS
Thomas Mitchell, a senior mechanical engineering major and founder of Virginia Tech’s Frog Gigging Club, pulls a “gigged” frog off his bamboo pole and gig. RYAN ARNOLD features reporter rubber-legged Cyclops stalked the water’s shallow banks in the night. Thomas Mitchell, president of the Frog Gigging Club at Virginia Tech, sloshed along the pond’s edge wearing chest-high waders and a headlamp. Four novice gigging participants watched from dry land as Mitchell, a senior mechanical engineering major, scanned the calm surface for the reflection of a frog’s gleaming eyes. Junior psychology major Carolyn Funke held the weapon that would be used to pin the amphibian. Frog gigging is the hunting of frogs with a pole to which a multi-pronged spear, or “gig,” similar to a trident, is attached on one end. Mitchell capped his approximately nine-foot-long bamboo stick with a nearly two-inch-wide, three-tined spear that he ordered on eBay. Before the 10-minute drive on U.S. 460 West to the gigging destination, sophomore chemical engineering major AnnMarie Callsen, present out of mere curiosity, sought an explanation. “Why do people gig?” she asked Mitchell. Her fellow amateur “giggers” chuckled. “For frog legs,” he responded. “To eat them?” Callsen asked.
“Yeah,” Mitchell said. “It’s not just for fun: spear a frog and — laugh?” Comedian Larry the Cable Guy sparked Mitchell’s interest in frog gigging during spring 2009. Mitchell said one of Larry the Cable Guy’s jokes involved an analogy to frog gigging, and the curious phrase inspired online research. Mitchell’s first gigging outing was in April of last year with senior mathematics major Dat Tat Hoang, during which they snagged four frogs. Hoang prepared the legs for grilling, Mitchell said, in a marinade that contained around 10 ingredients including soy sauce, curry powder and garlic. “It’s fun,” Mitchell said. “I mean it’s a unique thing. We have a good time and have a tasty meal at the end.” The most successful gigging method, Mitchell said, is walking laps around the water body. He told the rookie giggers as they paced to listen for the guttural croaks of frogs. The vocals suggest their vicinity, he said, but the frogs aren’t easy to pinpoint. Their eyes hover just above the water’s plane, and a sweeping headlamp reveals their positions. “It takes a while to train your eye,” Mitchell said. “At first you can’t really tell the difference between just droplets of water and a frog eye that’s sticking out of the water.” The headlamp serves a purpose beyond the search.
BRIAN CLAY/SPPS
Junior Chelsea Hover and sophomore Ann-Marie Callsen hold up a fresh catch. “If you keep the light on them (frogs) while you gig them, it kind of stuns them,” Mitchell said. “It’s easier to sneak up on them.” About 10 minutes into the perimeter stroll, Mitchell spotted a frog. Funke shuffled carefully to the wet edge with the gig in hand. With a firm stance, Funke shifted the pole into both hands and, with Mitchell coaching, gradually moved the trident toward the frog.
top 10 Virginia Tech secures initial funding for hardest classes Course (spring 2009) Statics ESM 2104
Professor Kraig
Engineering Problem Solving: C++ ENGE 2314
Walker
1.57
Calculus MATH 1205
Agud
1.49
Calculus MATH 1205
Brunson
1.6
Calculus MATH 1205
Stoyanov
1.7
Physical Chemistry CHEM 3616
Valeyev
1.81
Exploration Engineering Design ENGE 1114
Williams
1.84
Electrical Theory ECE 3054
Poon
1.9
AC Circuit Analysis ECE 3004
Bostian
1.92
Principles of Accounting ACIS 2115
Easterwood
1.95
first American extension campus in India SHANNON CRAWFORD news staff writer
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Average GPA 1.3
Check out the Collegiate Times Grades Database as you set your schedule for searchable grade results from all of Virginia Tech’s departments, professors and classes.
MICHAEL MCDERMOTT/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Virginia Tech plans to expand the university by building one of the first foreign campuses on Indian soil. While Tech already has centers in the Dominican Republic, Switzerland and Egypt, an Indian satellite campus would be the university’s first in Asia. The proposed school will focus on information technology, automotive engineering, nanoscale science and engineering and biotechnology, as well as other related subjects. Surajit K. De Datta, associate vice president for international affairs, traveled to India with President Charles Steger in 2006. As a member of the project’s steering committee, he continues to play an important part in creating the plans for this endeavor. “There are a lot of hoops to go through,” De Datta said, explaining the trials he and other staff members endured to create a partnership in India. To date, a timeline for the project or a complete list of costs to the university has not been released, but De Datta has a timeframe in mind. “We are hoping to have a fully functional program in a minimum of two years,” De Datta said. De Datta said there were initially three necessary elements the university required in a partnership: an investment of $5 million, 30 acres of land and 70,000 square feet of indoor space for the campus. This was finally fulfilled when MARG Limited, a growing infrastructure development company, agreed to accept Tech’s requirements. Tech will be responsible for contributing at least $3 million, setting tuition, awarding degrees and forming the university. An established trust between MARG,
and the university will oversee financial resources The $5 million, 30 acre campus and budgets. will be based in Chennai. According to De Datta, no taxpayer dollars will be used in the initiative. While the campus would offer masters and doctorate programs, Steger also wrote in a letter detailing his plans for an India Initiative that the school would offer “dual degree programs between Virginia Tech and Indian Institutions.” JOSH SON/ Steger also included in his letter COLLEGIATE TIMES that Tech’s campus in India would Madhav focus on applied research to “benefit Marathe, anothindustry and create further opportunier member of the ties.” project’s steering comTech already attracts a large number of mittee and a computer Indian students, and according to Steger, the science professor at Virginia campus would allow the university to forge a Bioinformatics Institute, prerelationship with the nation as a whole. Chennai dicts that Tech will benefit from the University officials plan to locate the campus satellite campus in numerous ways. in an urban area in close proximity to Chennai, Marathe listed several advanthe fifth most-populated city in India. tages, including “access to a large De Datta, also the director of the office of internapool of technically skilled individuals, tional research, education and development, stressed a chance to work on important societal the importance of establishing Tech’s Indian campus problems in an emerging economy, an in a populous region in order to “follow where the opportunity to work on unique and imporstudents are, where the demands are and where the tant multi-disciplinary scientific and policy problems Indians are.” Additionally, De Datta said choosing an urban loca- in collaboration with local scientists, students and policy tion will help students find work after graduation. Also, makers.” Marathe indicated that studying abroad would allow because a degree awarded from Tech’s India campus will hold the same weight as a traditional Virginia Tech students and faculty to address issues “that are motivated degree, De Datta said graduates would be “highly com- by the Indian context but whose solutions would (have) global impact.” petitive in the world market place.”
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new river valley news editor: zach crizer university editor: philipp kotlaba newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/540.231.9865
april 27, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
Tuition: Federal bailout [ money softens increase BOV tuition increases for 2010-11 Undergraduate tuition Graduate tuition (in-state) Graduate tuition (out-of-state) On-campus housing (in-state) On-campus housing (out-of-state) Student parking fees Student activity fee Student athletic fee
2010-11
Change from 2009-10
$9,589 $10,993 $19,957 $15,879 $29,507 $189 $373 $257
$854* $765 $2,029 $1,320 $1,805 $53 $48 $25
* Will be dropped by $130 for in-state students thanks to federal stimulus funds SARA SPANGLER/COLLEGIATE TIMES from page one
that the University of Virginia will vote this week on a proposal to increase tuition and fees by a total of $956, totaling about 10 percent of tuition for in-state students and $1,902 — 6 percent of tuition — for out-of-state students. Shelton briefed the board on financial difficulties plaguing the university because of reduced state funding. University figures show
state funding dropping from $152.3 million for the 2010-11 fiscal year to $135.6 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year. Tech’s BOV executive committee consists of John R. Lawson II, rector; Ben J. Davenport, chair of the Student Affairs and Athletics Committee; Michele Duke, chair of the Research Committee; George Nolen, chair of the Finance and Audit Committee; Jim Smith, chair
of the Buildings and Grounds Committee; and Lori L. Wagner, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee. Two members participated in the meeting via telephone, with Nolen calling in from Hilton Head, S.C., and Smith calling in from Prospect Point, Cayman Islands. The BOV’s next scheduled meeting will fall on June 6 and June 7, 2010.
Frogs: Campus club takes expeditions to ‘gig’ frogs from page one
Mitchell told Funke that next time she could prepare for the blitz even more slowly than before. “They don’t spook that easily as you saw,” he explained to her. “I mean, here we were talking like two feet away from them.” Thereafter the giggers circled the waters for more than an hour but exposed no frogs, despite the symphony of musical throats. Mitchell said they didn’t have to leave hungry, though, having found a dead fish and a bobbing apple. Hailing from Rustburg, Va., junior marketing major Chelsea Hover tried frog gigging once during high school. “The last time I went,” she said to Mitchell. “I didn’t go out until, like, 2 a.m. Is it early to go out at 10?” It was Mitchell’s first gigging trip of the year, and he said the time wasn’t the biggest issue. “The problem with today is it’s going to get kind of chilly tonight,” he said, “like 37 or something.” In a couple weeks, Mitchell said, more frogs would frolic in the warmer weather. Before sidelining all hope, however, Mitchell saw a frog in the same location as Funke’s original attempt. He kept the gig for the attempt and precisely aligned its points with the target. After a jolt, Mitchell reached into the water to check his aim — bull’s eye, he announced. He pulled
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I’ve heard of fishing. I’ve heard of hunting. I’ve never heard of frogging. So it is something that’s not out there as much. ALEC MARHSALL SENIOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR
the gig up and shimmied the frog loose for display. “He’s a pretty good size,” Mitchell said. “Now you’ve got to keep in mind in September we got like nine of these guys in an hour and a half.” The largest frog Mitchell ever gigged, he said, spanned the width of his shoulders when it was fully stretched. Yet Mitchell has gigged just five times. The frog gigging club — discounting the four novices on this year’s inaugural outing — has five active members. Before joining, the activity was alien to most of them. Senior mechanical engineering major Alec Marshall said catching frogs is gratifying, though he had never frog gigged before Mitchell’s introduction. “I’ve heard of fishing. I’ve heard of hunting. I’ve never heard of frogging,” Marshall said. “So it is something that’s not out there as much.”
Mitchell said his grandparents knew about frog gigging, but younger generations are rarely familiar with the pastime he’s come to enjoy. Still, the means to gig are commercially available. At Dick’s Sporting Goods locations in Richmond and Lynchburg, associates in the lodge departments confirmed that the stores sold frog-gigging products. The Richmond employee said they aren’t in high demand at that location. In Lynchburg, on the other hand, three gigs sold within three days last week, and the store replenished its supply of six gigs once this year. The Christiansburg Dick’s Sporting Goods doesn’t stock frog gigs. There have been few adverse reactions to his hobby, Mitchell said, and they have a common source. “They’re typically Facebook comments,” he said, noting that it’s often females responding to his gigging pictures. “They usually make comments like, ‘Ew,’ in all caps or, ‘Gross,’ with exclamation points.” First-time gigger Boal said she had no qualms about piercing a frog at the midnight hour. “I dissected a frog in, like, sixth grade, and I wasn’t worried about it then,” she said. “I’m no more worried about it now.” Hover likened it to another part of her diet. “I eat cow,” she said, “so what the hell, you know?”
Nearly half of US adults have increased risk of heart disease THOMAS H. MAUGH III mcclatchy newspapers LOS ANGELES — Nearly half of all adult Americans have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, all conditions that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. One in eight Americans has at least two of the conditions and one in 33 has all three, sharply increasing their risk. Of those with at least one condition, 15 percent have not been diagnosed, according to the report released online. “The number that really surprises me is the penetration of these conditions into the U.S. population,” said Dr. Clyde Yancy of Baylor University Medical Center, president of the American Heart Association. “When that number is nearly 50 percent, that’s a huge wake-up call.” It means there are a large number of people “who think they are
healthy ... but are working under a terrible misconception,” he said. Though researchers should be able to use the new data to plan interventions, “the main thing here is for people to be aware that they have these conditions and know that lifestyle modifications and medications can control them and reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease,” said epidemiologist Cheryl D. Fryar of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, one of the study’s authors. African-Americans as a group had the highest proportion of hypertension, while whites were more likely to have high cholesterol and MexicanAmericans were more likely to have diabetes, the researchers found. The greatest disparity was in hypertension, where 42.5 percent of blacks had the condition, compared with 29 percent of whites and 26 percent of Mexican-Americans. African-Americans were more likely to have two or three of the conditions, the report found. “This was pretty much what we
expected,” Fryar said. “I don’t know that there is any one particular factor” to account for the racial disparities. That will require a lot more research, she added. The data come from the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which releases new figures every two years. The survey consists of interviews conducted in participants’ homes, standardized physical examinations given to some participants and laboratory tests using blood and urine specimens. “This report is so timely and important because it crystallizes exactly what the burden is,” Yancy said. “It tells us the challenge we now face that could stress and potentially defeat any health care system we could come up with.” Personal responsibility plays a big role in creating these three health problems, he said. “This trio begins with a quartet of smoking, a junk diet, physical inactivity and obesity. Those are all things we can do something about.”
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Police raid home of blogger who wrote of Apple’s new iPhone model
SAN MATEO, Calif. — Police raided on Friday the home of a journalist who works for a technology Web site that recently unveiled an as yet unreleased version of Apple’s iPhone. Members of a regional computer crime task force searched the home of Jason Chen, who writes for Gizmodo.com. The site released photos and information on the iPhone last week after saying the device had been left at a Redwood City bar by an Apple employee. Gizmodo said they bought the phone for $5,000. But now officials are investigating exactly how the device ended up with the company and whether it broke the law. No charges have been filed, said San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. A San Mateo County Superior Court judge signed off on the search warrant for Chen’s home, which was served on Friday evening, according to documents posted on Gizmodo. Officers from the regional Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team seized computers, a camera and other computer equipment. by joshua melvin, mcclatchy newspapers
Supreme Court to review ban on sale of violent video games to minors WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a challenge to California’s ban on the sale of violent video games to minors. Hot on the heels of overturning a congressional ban on videos depicting animal cruelty, justices said they would consider the constitutionality of California’s 2005 law sometime during the next term that starts in October. A federal judge has previously blocked the state law from taking effect. “The public agrees (that) video games should be provided the same protections as books, movies and music,” Entertainment Software Association President Michael D. Gallagher said Monday, adding that “we look forward to ... vigorously defending the works of our industry’s creators, storytellers and innovators.” The law’s author, California State Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, likewise said he was “pleased” with the upcoming court review. “The Supreme Court has never heard a case dealing with violent video games,” Yee noted, so “states are now certain to receive direction on how to proceed with this important issue.” The closely watched free-speech case is likely to become one of the first to be heard by the newest Supreme Court justice, who is expected to be nominated by President Barack Obama in coming weeks. The court’s newest member will replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who joined an eight-member majority last week in overturning the congressional ban on videos depicting animal cruelty. That 8-1 decision, with its expansive view of the First Amendment, suggests justices could be skeptical as they review California’s law. “The First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech does not extend only to categories of speech that survive an ad hoc balancing of relative social costs and benefits,” Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority last week. The California law now in question prohibits the sale of video games to minors under 18 “where a reasonable person would find that the violent content appeals to a deviant or morbid interest of minors.” As with laws governing obscenity, the state statute exempts games that have “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” by michael doyle, mcclatchy newspapers
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april 27, 2010
The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
Obama and Wall Street: It’s not 1936 T
he Barack Obama who went to Wall Street last week to ask investment bankers to support new financial regulations had little in common with the fire-breathing Franklin D. Roosevelt of 1936 who denounced “financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking,” and added pungently, “I welcome their hatred.” This wasn’t even the Barack Obama of a few months ago who denounced “fat-cat bankers” for awarding themselves bonuses after being saved by government bailouts. “Shameful,” he said then. Instead, last week’s Wall Street Obama was conciliatory, flattering the fat cats in his audience as “titans of industry” and asking for their help. “I urge you to join me not only because it is in the interest of your industry,” he said, “but also because it’s in the interest of your country.” It was a practical pitch rather than a call to patriotic duty. And it was a reflection of why Obama is heading toward a legislative victory on financial regulatory reform: He’s doing what he does best, building alliances among seemingly opposing forces around a politically pragmatic, if imperfect, compromise. Only a month ago, in the aftermath of the bruising partisan battle over healthcare and the tumult of the “tea party” backlash, the ideal of bipartisan legislation looked dead in Washington. Republicans thought they were on a roll; there was no percentage in any compromise with Obama. But financial regulation has abruptly changed that equation. Republican senators, including Southern conservatives such as Richard Shelby of Alabama and Bob Corker of Tennessee, want a bill they can vote for and are negotiating avidly with their Democratic colleagues to that end. What’s made this debate so different from health care? Three things. First, imposing tougher regulations on Wall Street is widely popular among all voters, not just Democrats. A Pew Research poll released last week found that while most Americans think Washington has “gone too far” in regulating business, they make one important exception: They want more regulation of Wall Street. Even some investment bankers agree that more regulation could be a good thing. Second, Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky offered up the tea-party remedy for collapsing banks — “Let them fail!” — and it flopped. Members of his own caucus weren’t ready to welcome that much potential chaos into the marketplace. Third, Obama and his allies, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, have played their hand well. They’ve warned Wall Street that resisting all new regulation would be folly given the public anger at the fat cats’ outlandish profits. But they’ve also watered down regulatory proposals to make them more palatable to the handful of Republican senators whose support they need. There’s always been widespread agreement on most of the fundamental pieces of financial reform
— another important contrast with the healthcare debate. Everyone agrees that banks and other major financial institutions should be restrained from taking so much risk that they become vulnerable to financial bubbles. Everyone agrees that there should be better monitoring to identify “systemic risks” before they explode. Almost everyone agrees that most trading in derivatives, the unregulated bets that got many institutions in trouble, should be moved onto exchanges and made more transparent. And almost everyone agrees that there should be a consumer financial protection agency to help ordinary people avoid pitfalls and scams. The debate, of course, is over how to accomplish those ends. The bill Dodd is moving through the Senate would put most of those problems in the hands of existing regulators, mainly the Federal Reserve. The bill the House passed last year, written mostly by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is tougher; where Dodd would let the Fed set capital requirements, for example, Frank would write them into law. Frank’s approach may be too rigid, but Dodd’s, which Obama has essentially endorsed, relies heavily on the same regulators who failed last time. Dodd’s bill, for example, would put the job of monitoring systemic risks in the hands of a “council of regulators” drawn from the Fed, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other existing agencies. But will the regulators really be willing to criticize the agencies they work for? It’s also not clear that either of these bills solves the problem of “too big to fail” — the dilemma of either bailing out a big firm on the verge of collapse, or risking a greater crisis if you don’t. Both bills try to head off those risks, but neither actually requires banks to get small enough that their failure won’t matter. There is a bill for that, proposed by two Senate liberals, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Ted Kaufman of Delaware, but it’s not going anywhere. Instead, when Obama promised Thursday that his proposals would “put a stop to taxpayer-funded bailouts,” it was a carefully crafted phrase. If there are any government-run financial rescue operations in the future, the administration says, they should be funded by the financial industry — and they shouldn’t be bailouts but “breakups” that liquidate the failing firm and fire its executives. Obama’s approach, as with healthcare reform, is incremental. It tries to bring everyone into the room, bankers and health insurance companies alike. It doesn’t scrap the institutions that created the problem; it builds on them. So he isn’t the populist FDR of 1936; he isn’t even the reformist FDR of 1933, who (as Obama noted on Thursday) established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in defiance of the horrified bankers of the day. Maybe it’s time to give the FDR analogy a rest.
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Drillfield embodies Tech, connection Hokies share As
we enter this last full week of classes, where has the semester gone? At one point it seemed that snow and cold weather would never end, and then it was spring break, and now it is the end of April. It has been a month filled with countless programs and events on campus. While most students are gearing up for finals and projects, there is a group that will be embarking on this college journey for the last time — the graduating seniors. Whether it is those receiving an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree, a doctorate or a degree in Veterinary Medicine, or it is their first or their third graduation, this time is filled with a lot of angst and reflection. For some, they already have their plans lined up for new academic pursuits in graduate school, for the start of a new phase with relationships or for new career opportunities. As I’ve encountered graduating students over these past few weeks, they ponder where the time went, and there is a sense of not wanting to leave just yet. Often times as students, we go through the motions of going to class and working on projects without taking the time to pause and observe the surroundings. The same is true for faculty and staff as daily tasks and challenges consume us. Take for example this month of April, as the campus has been the site of major events each weekend. It started with Easter weekend and a number of religious observances that took place, then Relay for Life and the International Street Fair, followed by the April 16, 2007, remembrance, the Big Event and Gateway. This past weekend, there was the spring game and Ut Prosim Weekend. I suspect that there were other events that I was not aware of that also took place. If we were to add the number of visitors that the campus had during this period of time, the numbers would easily hit hundreds of thousands. One of the special places that served as a venue for many of these efforts
was the Drillfield. As new members to the university community, we learn right away that the Drillfield is the symbolic heart of the university. We learn that there are streams that run underneath the Drillfield. We also learn the significance of the trees that are planted around the area and the five sidewalks that cross it. Recently, the Drillfield has been on my mind as I ponder the events that this location has experienced over time. Clearly this spot of land has seen its share of triumph and tragedy dating back to even before the first inklings of Virginia Tech. The oldest connection is that of the rich military history with the corps of cadets and the role the Drillfield has played for this group. In the wintertime, it becomes the site of the infamous snowball fight. In the spring, summer and fall, it becomes a haven for community sports like football and soccer. It has served as a venue where the community has gathered together to protest situations from budget cuts to the Vietnam War to concerns about the environment, or as a way to say thank you. It has also served as a place for evacuations in times of crisis. It has been the site of festivals, concerts, picnics, formal banquets and assorted fairs such as the Education Abroad Fair. It is the place where organizations try to promote their efforts and fundraisers. We have all walked past the students showcasing different causes. It is no surprise that it is the gathering place for efforts like Relay for Life and the Big Event. It has experienced the challenges of the ever-expanding university through utility work and the paving of sidewalks that used to be gravel. It has experienced its share of pranks and humorous situations. It has been a place of love from marriage proposals, weddings, hook ups and romance. We’ve also experienced the cruel
weather patterns that impact the Drillfield, from the frigid cold to the wind to the sideways rain and from the torrential rains to the sweltering sun in the summertime. It is also a window into the heart and soul of Tech with the War Memorial Chapel on one end, and the April 16 memorial on one side. The symbolism is powerful as you observe the pylons from the top of the chapel and look over the entire span of the Drillfield. It is a view that is breathtaking each time. It is fitting that the Drillfield includes the April 16 memorial. In the hours after the events of April 16, 2007, it was here that the students and community gathered to pay their respects and come together. If there was ever a time that showed the true role of the Drillfield, it was during this time. Like a true mother figure, the Drillfield helped absorb the tears that flowed that day. Often times we take for granted the meaning of this place as we walk on it to go to class, or as we drive around it. What would Tech be without the Drillfield? As we prepare for the last days of this semester, I encourage you to look at the surroundings of our university community, and to reflect as you walk around this campus. As you walk across the Drillfield, what do you see? What does it mean to you? For some, what will you feel when you cross the Drillfield for the last time before your graduate? I, too, will face these questions when the time comes for me to move on from Tech. Congratulations to the graduating seniors, and here’s to a successful end of the semester for everyone.
RAY PLAZA -regular columnist -faculty adviser
Military policy encouraging LGBT discrimination needs to end now T
ech, you’ve heard a lot from me about different issues this semes-
ter. I hope I have in some ways, whether you have agreed with me or not, helped you to look at issues that are important to this campus and community that may not have otherwise comet to your attention. Today, I want to leave you with something that I can remind you about in the fall. Something to look forward to after your travels, endless hours of work and hopefully some well-earned fun. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the current policy that restricts openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military, and it prohibits the military to pursue disclosure of sexual orientation of its service members. However, if a person is discovered to be gay or lesbian during their service, they can be discharged. When it began, DADT was an executive order issued by Bill Clinton in attempt to mitigate more restrictive legislation that made it possible for the military to pursue the disclosure of the sexual orientation of those serving. It’s about time to mitigate the discrimination of DADT by holding our current president and congressmen accountable to repeal DADT. We pride ourselves on being “modern,” rational and morally grounded, but we are schizophrenic in thinking so when our friends and neighbors in the LGBT community face discrimination in all tiers of society. Other groups such as women, ethnic minorities and especially immigrants face the same kinds of discrimination — but you’ve already heard me talk about them. Look around, discrimination is everywhere, whether you choose to see it or not.
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check it out
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” flag display will be on display all day today on the Drillfield.
]
Aside from being unjustly discriminatory, DADT is a simply useless, failed policy. For those of you who may have issues with our friends and neighbors in the LGBT community, I challenge you to justify the senseless logic that restricts them from military service when that restriction is directly detrimental to the welfare of our military and national defense. More than 13,000 people willing to serve our country have been discharged for being who they are, while over 65,000 continue to serve as they hide their identities in fear. Of that 13,000, hundreds were people with specialized skills, including Arab linguists, who were critical to situations in current combat zones. Because of DADT, the military is discouraging tens of thousands of people who want to serve our country, while punishing and discharging others at a time when morale and recruitment are not favorable. Not only is that discouragement stupid given our circumstances (to be blunt), it is expensive. For every person discharged, the military has to spend between $22,000 and $43,000 to replace the spot. Sure, there’s a big disparity between those two figures, but multiply any number you want between them times 13,000 and see just how fiscally irresponsible it is. I’m sure you could think of better things the military could use that money for rather than using it to send someone off who is willing and able to
fight for our country and our home. The DADT justification for its discrimination is laughable. The argument is essentially saying homosexuality undermines cohesion, unity and discipline in units. I say this is laughable because dozens of other countries around the world, including our allies, operate with open service policies, meaning that their militaries do not discriminate sexual orientation. They have had no problems with morale, cohesion, or discipline, and these open service units have worked side by side with our units many times around the world. Even our own military leaders have acknowledged the need to repeal DADT, including Robert Gates, secretary of defense. President Barack Obama said he would repeal DADT and it’s time we hold him accountable to do so. Contact your senators and tell them to support the repeal of DADT and support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act that would take its place. Look for events on campus next semester that are devoted to raising awareness of repealing DADT, as well as other important issues like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Can’t wait until then? Check out the Voices of Honor Tour screening of “Ask Not,” on Wednesday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Squires Colonial Ballroom. Admission is free.
NICOLE FAUT -regular columnist -sophomore -history major
Collegiate Times Editorial Staff Editor in Chief: Sara Mitchell Managing Editors: Peter Velz, Bethany Buchanan Production Manager: Thandiwe Ogbonna Public Editor: Justin Graves News Editors: Zach Crizer, Philipp Kotlaba News Reporters: Liana Bayne, Gordon Block News Staff Writers: Hope Miles, Katie Robidoux, Allison Sanders, Claire Sanderson, Priya Saxena Features Editor: Topher Forhecz Features Reporters: Ryan Arnold, Liz Norment Opinions Editor: Debra Houchins Sports Editors: Joe Crandley, Alex Jackson Sports Reporters: Thomas Emerick, Ed Lupien, Ray Nimmo, Garrett Ripa, Melanie Wadden Sports Staff Writers: Garrett Busic, Hattie Francis Copy Editors: Taylor Chakurda, Erin Corbey, Kelsey Heiter, Dishu Maheshwari Layout Designers: Kelly Harrigan, Josh Son, Sara Spangler Illustrators: Mina Noorbakhsh, Jamie Martyn Multimedia Editor: James Carty Online Director: Jamie Chung Collegiate Times Business Staff Business Manager: David Harries College Media Solutions Asst Ad Director: Kendall Kapetanakis Account Executives: Nik Bando, Brandon Collins, David Goerge, Wade Stephenson, Kelly Burleson Inside Sales Manager: Judi Glass Assistant Inside Sales Manager: Diane Revalski Assistant Account Executives: Maddie Abram, Katie Berkel, Kaelynn Kurtz Rachel Lombardo, Erin Shuba Creative Director: Sarah Ford Asst Production Manager: Chloe Skibba Creative Services Staff: Kara Noble, Jennifer Le, Laiken Jacobs Student Publications Photo Staff Director of Photography: Luke Mason Lab Manager: Mark Umansky Voice your opinion. Readers are encouraged to send letters to the Collegiate Times. 365 Squires Student Center Blacksburg, VA, 24061 Fax: (540) 231-9151 opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com All letters to the editor must include a name and daytime phone number. Students must include year and major. Faculty and staff must include position and department. All other submissions must include city of residence, and if applicable, relationship to Virginia Tech (i.e., alumni, parent, etc.). All letters should be in MS Word (.doc) format, if possible. By submitting a letter, you hereby agree to not engage in online discussion through comments on the Collegiate Times Web site. Letters, commentaries and editorial cartoons do not reflect the views of the Collegiate Times. Editorials are written by the Collegiate Times editorial board, which is comprised of the opinions editor, editor-in-chief and the managing editors. Letters to the editor are submissions from Collegiate Times readers. We reserve the right to edit for any reason. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Have a news tip? Call or text 200-TIPS or e-mail newstips@collegiatetimes.com Student Media Phone Numbers Collegiate Times Newsroom 231-9865 Editor-in-Chief 231-9867 College Media Solutions Advertising 961-9860 The Collegiate Times, a division of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, was established in 1903 by and for the students of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Collegiate Times is published every Tuesday through Friday of the academic year except during exams and vacations. The Collegiate Times receives no funding from the university. The Collegiate Times can be found online at www.collegiatetimes.com. Except where noted, all photographs were taken by the Student Publications Photo Staff. To order a reprint of a photograph printed in the Collegiate Times, e-mail spps@vt.edu. The Collegiate Times is located in 365 Squires Student Center, Blacksburg, VA, 24061. (540) 231-9865. Fax (540) 2319151. Subscription rates: $65 semester; $110 academic year. The first copy is free, any copy of the paper after that is 50 cents per issue. © Collegiate Times, 2010. All rights reserved. Material published in the Collegiate Times is the property thereof, and may not be reprinted without the express written consent of the Collegiate Times.
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features 5
editor: topher forhecz featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com / 540.231.9865
april 27, 2010
COLLEGIATETIMES
Student pilots earn their wings, soar outside of classroom LIZ NORMENT features reporter When things get too intense on the ground for senior mechanical engineering Colin Block, he just takes to the skies. “When I get sick of being around people it’s nice to get off of the earth for an hour so,” Block said. Block has had his pilot’s license for more than two years, and he first became interested in flying when another Tech student took him up for a flight out of the Blacksburg airport. “I thought the experience was so cool; I wanted to look into flying myself,” he said. While doing a co-op in Charlottesville during the summer and fall of 2008, Block would take lessons after work on nice days. “I was usually tired after a long day of work, and training took the rest of the energy out of me,” Block said. “It was really challenging but so rewarding to get up in the sky and see some amazing things.” Block describes the learning experience as a combination of stress, adrenaline and excitement. “It can be stressful doing something you’ve never done before, kind of playing with your life, but it’s just such an adrenaline rush,” Block said. One of his most memorable flights was one to Orange County, Va., during his training period. “It was later in the evening, the sun was setting so it was beautiful. I came in and had one of the best landings I ever had,” Block said. “I was beaming, my instructor was beaming and it made me realize that’s what I was doing this for — for moments like that one.” Anthony Ricciardi, an aerospace engineering graduate student, has always had an interest in flying and finally had the opportunity to get his pilot’s license while working. “I was working at a factory in Kansas that made Cessna planes, and we had a company flying club that you could join to get certified,” Ricciardi said. “It was great learning there because we got to fly in the planes that we made.” Since getting his license, Ricciardi has enjoyed being part of the private community of pilots, one that he said is an incredibly close group. “It’s kind of a whole new world you don’t realize is
LIZ NORMENT/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Anthony Ricciardi obtained his pilot’s license while working at a factory in Kansas that makes Cessna planes.
LIZ NORMENT/COLLEGIATE TIMES Graduate student Anthony Ricciardi performs his pre-flight inspection at the Tech airport.
[
on the web
Find more information about certification on the Hokie Flying Club Web site, at HokieFlying.com or at NewRiverAero.com.
]
there,” Ricciardi said. Flying to small airports that are often uncontrolled, Ricciardi has been able to experience firsthand just how trusting the community is. “I flew into an uninhabited airport one time and there was a car there, unlocked, with the keys in it,” Ricciardi said. “They’ll leave these courtesy cars that you can use as long as you put gas in it and just drive around and explore the area.” Although most of his experiences flying have been positive adventures, Ricciardi remembers having a few close calls in the air and on the runway. “I’ve had one or two times come close to crashing into other planes when practicing ground reference maneuvers,” Ricciardi said. Flying low at about 1,500 feet, these drills allow students to practice certain flight patterns using a ground reference point. “A lot of times people get so focused on the ground, they aren’t looking
out in the air,” Ricciardi said. “It could have ended up worse obviously, but close calls aren’t all that traumatizing — they’re learning experiences.” For aerospace engineering graduate student Jason Riopelle, close calls like this usually aren’t so scary. “Flying is a lot about being prepared and knowing what to expect,” Riopelle said. Although he’s had his share of dangerous experiences, the confidence he has when flying helps him through it. “You just have to remain calm,” he said. “There’s no time for fear in the cockpit.” Riopelle, who finished his training in 2007 at the Virginia Tech airport, has always had an interest in planes and flying. One of his favorite parts of having his license is being able to take friends and family up with him on flights. “They’re always a little worried at first, but when you explain to them the whole process and what’s going on, it puts everyone at ease,” Riopelle said. “Even if they’re nervous at first, my friends always tend to enjoy it along with me.” Riopelle, whose longest solo flight to date was from Savannah, Ga., to Blacksburg, relishes the liberating feeling flying gives him. “It gives you a new perspective on everything,” Riopelle said. “It’s such a freeing experience.”
sports 6
editor: alex jackson sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com / 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES
april 27, 2010
Hokies win series in Atlanta
Steelers pick Worilds in second round, other Hokies head to professional level RYAN TRAPP sports staff writer
LUKE MASON/SPPS
Tech catcher Steve Domecus slides into home plate during the Hokies’ 11-8 win over Rider on Mar. 16.
SHABAN, STELLAR PITCHING LEADS HOKIES OVER YELLOW JACKETS FOR 2-1 WEEKEND SERIES WIN JOE CRANDLEY sports reporter The Virginia Tech baseball team once again defied the odds this past weekend and won a series in Atlanta against the then-No. 4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Prior to the Hokies’ visit, the Yellow Jackets (34-7, 16-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost only a single home game out of 22 all season. Tech (28-14, 11-10 ACC) picked up its first victory of the weekend in an 11-inning pitcher’s duel between Hokies’ junior Justin Wright and Jackets’ future first-round draft pick Deck McGuire. Both pitchers allowed one run, with Wright pitching eight innings and McGuire seven. Senior Tech reliever Ben Rowen did not allow a run in three innings of relief, allowing sophomore first baseman Ronnie Shaban to hit the goahead single in the top of the 11th inning. A sacrifice fly in the same inning by redshirt junior shortstop Tim Smalling produced a final score of 3-1. On Saturday, the Hokies jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before a rain delay washed the game out in the bottom of the fourth. Tech sophomore starter Mathew Price returned to pitch the next day and finished with eight strikeouts, two earned runs, six hits, seven innings pitched and a win.
Freshman lefty Joe Mantiply finished the game for Tech, and the Hokies coasted to a 10-3 win. The bottom of the lineup came through for the Hokies in key situations in the second game of the series. Junior Tony Balisteri, hitting out of the No. 9 slot, picked up three RBIs, and No. 7 hitter Michael Seaborn got two of his own in the seven-hole. Designated hitter Matt Blow also knocked in a run from the
OOO HOKIES PLAYBOOK XXX
Wednesday, April 28th Softball - Hokies vs. Liberty (doubleheader) / 5 p.m. / Tech Softball Park
Friday, April 30th Baseball - Hokies vs. Boston College / 5:30 p.m. / English Field
Saturday, May 1st Baseball - Hokies vs. Boston College / 2 p.m. / English Field
Sunday, May 2nd Baseball - Hokies vs. Boston College / 1 p.m. / English Field
eighth position. With the series already locked up after two games, the Hokies appeared to be on their way to a sweep, but junior starter Jesse Hahn was unable to pitch due to arm trouble. Junior Manny Martir started in his place, but the Hokies used five different pitchers to complete the game. The Jackets knocked around Tech’s bullpen and took a 3-13 lead going into the top of the eighth after putting together a sixth-run seventh, but the Hokies simply would not quit. Tech answered with seven of its own runs in the eighth and the Jackets responded with a single run in the bottom of the inning. Down 10-14 in the final frame, the Tech bats put two more on the board, but redshirt senior Sean Ryan flied out to end the game with two runners left on base. With the series win, the Hokies moved up to No. 18 in the Baseball America Top 25, while the Jackets fell to No. 8. The series win over Georgia Tech marks the third of the month for the Hokies. Tech also defeated No. 4 Florida State in Tallahassee and No. 16 Miami at home, and it only dropped a series to No. 1 Virginia in Charlottesville but avoided the sweep. The Hokies will complete their eightgame road stint with a contest against the Virginia Military Institute (29-12, 108 Big South) on Tuesday night before returning home this weekend for a series against Boston College (23-17, 12-9 ACC). Tech defeated VMI 11-2 at home on March 30.
Five former Virginia Tech football players found homes in the National Football League last weekend by way of the 2010 NFL Draft, and three others only had to wait 24 hours after the draft to find theirs. Three Hokies will join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, two head to the Buffalo Bills, two to the Pittsburgh Steelers and one will fly alone with the Seattle Seahawks. While cornerback Stephan Virgil, offensive guard Sergio Render and defensive end Cordarrow Thompson will have an exceptionally tough time making the Bills, Buccaneers and Steelers, respectively, signing as undrafted free agents, here’s how those who were drafted will attempt to fit in with their teams. JASON WORILDS, OUTSIDE LINEBACKER — PITTSBURGH STEELERS (20TH PICK IN THE SECOND ROUND) Worilds was the first Hokie off the board, going to a very favorable situation with the Steelers. Switching from his defensive end position at Tech to linebacker at the next level will be a tough transition. What will be even tougher than making a position change, though, is the competition Worilds will face to earn playing time. Pittsburgh is known for drafting heavy at the linebacker position, and Worilds was just the first of three linebackers taken in rounds two through five. However, the Steelers have extraordinary depth at the position already. With standouts LaMarr Woodley and 2008 Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison already starting on the team, it will be tough competition. That being said, Worilds is clearly a pick for the future. The Steelers will look to develop him much like they did Harrison, utilizing him in special teams situations and as a back up to Woodley and Harrison. The Steelers have acknowledged that Worilds probably won’t see much game time in the near future and will have to earn his keep on special teams. However, with all-pro linebackers to mentor him on the pro-level, Worilds has the opportunity to develop into a quality player in the NFL. KAM CHANCELLOR, STRONG SAFETY — SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (SECOND PICK IN THE FIFTH ROUND) Chancellor was the second safety taken by the Seahawks in this week-
Seven rounds, five Hokies
GRIMM end’s draft after the Hawks took Earl Thomas out of Texas in the first round. The former Hokie looks to share time with Thomas who will likely start out of the gate in Seattle. Because he is not quite the ball-hawk Thomas is, Chancellor looks to be utilized more against the run game. Standing at 6 feet 4 inches, 230 pounds, Chancellor is more of a punishing, in-the-box hitter who can play close to the line of scrimmage. While he may not see an enormous amount of playing time, Chancellor can have an immediate impact in several situations on defense and especially on special teams in Seattle. ED WANG, OFFENSIVE TACKLE — BUFFALO BILLS (NINTH PICK IN THE FIFTH ROUND) With Demetrius Bell returning from a season-ending ACL injury he suffered in week 10 of the 2009 season, it’s unlikely Wang will see time as a starter for the Bills. However, at 6 feet 5 inches and 315 pounds, he has the size and athleticism to become a starter at the pro-level. While he needs time to develop his footwork, the Bills have taken him on as somewhat of a project in order to add depth to their offensive line. Given time to mature, Wang could become a mainstay at either the tackle or guard positions. But it could take some time before the first ever Chinese-American drafted into the NFL sees game time. BRENT BOWDEN, PUNTER — TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (THIRD PICK IN THE SIXTH ROUND) The Hokie that will make the most
BOWDEN
CHANCELLOR
WANG
WORILDS
immediate impact in the NFL is going to be Bowden. Bowden comes into Tampa Bay as one of only three punters drafted this year, and he looks to be the starter week one. The Buccaneers came into the draft looking for a new punter after releasing Josh Bidwell and Dirk Johnson at the end of last season. Bowden, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference averaging 43.8 yards per punt, looks to provide stability to the position in Tampa Bay, after the Bucs went through three punters last season. CODY GRIMM, STRONG SAFETY — TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (THIRD PICK IN THE SEVENTH ROUND) One round after taking Bowden, the Buccaneers looked to the maroon and orange once again for NFL talent. Grimm has every intangible quality NFL coaches look for: athleticism, toughness, determination, pedigree and playmaking ability. (Grimm forced seven fumbles his senior season.) But being undersized presents a huge obstacle for Grimm, who stands at just 5 feet 10 inches and 200 pounds. While making the switch from linebacker to safety, Grimm will most likely be utilized on special teams early on, the same place he made his name known with the Hokies. While the road ahead looks tough, Grimm is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. Grimm wasn’t offered a single Division 1-A scholarship coming out of high school, but he made the Hokies’ roster as a walk-on and worked his way up to becoming an all-ACC outside linebacker his senior season.