Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Print Edition by Collegiate Times

Hokies hurdle into polls

see page five REBECCA FRAENKEL / SPPS

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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Still no answers in year-old Harrington case GORDON BLOCK associate news editor CHARLOTTESVILLE — In the case of slain Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, there are many questions, few answers and little resolution. On a bright fall afternoon in Charlottesville, there was solace. Standing on the bridge where their daughter disappeared 12 months earlier, Morgan’s parents Dan and Gil, flanked by her brother Alex, thanked the University of Virginia community and various law enforcement agencies for their efforts in their daughter’s murder. Sunday’s gathering dedicated a permanent plaque for Morgan Harrington. During the months of her disappearance, Copeley Road bridge was the site of many vigils and commemorations. The university’s Board of Visitors approved the plaque in September. Speaking at the dedication, Dan Harrington noted the night of his daughter’s disappearance, there were mistakes from many, including the John Paul Jones Arena staff, Morgan’s friends and Morgan herself. “Morgan had no luck that night,” Dan Harrington said. “If only one person had intervened, my daughter would still be alive and we wouldn’t be here a year later with all the pain and sorrow we have.” Morgan Harrington, a 20-year-old education major, went missing one year ago when she left her friends during a Metallica concert at the Charlottesville arena. Last seen alive at the Copeley Road bridge a few hundred yards away from the arena, Harrington’s remains were found in late January at a farm about 11 miles away from the bridge. Gil Harrington stressed the need “to catch the monster who savagely mur-

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Alex, Dan and Gil Harrington (L-R) spoke about the challenges their family still faces one year after Morgan Harrington’s disappearance. dered our daughter from the streets of this community.” She also focused on her positive shift in feelings toward the Copeley Road bridge area. “This place is a threshold to move into a new culture of respect and transparency that will protect our young people and will promote community safety here and in other areas,” she said. Arthur Garson, UVa’s executive vice president and provost, closed the ceremony, asking gatherers to “remember Morgan, and move forward.” Sunday’s dedication drew around 100 family friends, police officials and school representatives at the bridge, which was closed for the ceremony. Several in attendance were seen wearing purple shirts with the family’s dotted “2-4-1” logo, standing for “I love you too much, forever, once more.” Once a private Harrington family saying, the phrase became a hopeful one adopted by many during

the months of searching for Morgan Harrington. Ed Spencer, Tech’s vice president for student affairs, made the drive from Blacksburg to Charlottesville to represent Tech at the ceremony. “There’s a lesson from this about watching for and caring for others,” Spencer said. “No one deserves to die a violent death.” Kenny Jarels, a family friend of the Harringtons and an electrical and computer engineering employee at Tech, noted the need for continued vigilance in looking for Morgan Harrington’s killer. “We need some closure on this one,” Jarels said. “We’re not going anywhere until this is resolved.” Corinne Gellar, spokeswoman for Virginia State Police, said the case was still “a priority for investigators” and discussed the problems of working with theories and “half-truths” while searching for the killer.

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Gil Harrington, Morgan’s mother, hugs a young woman during the ceremony on the Copeley Road bridge. “There has to be that absolute,” Gellar said. No suspects have been identified, but police arrested a Northern Virginia man in August for intentionally giving police misleading and false leads on the case. Following the dedication ceremony, attendees moved from the Copeley Road bridge to nearby Newcomb Hall, where a documentary on Nepali art dedicated to Morgan Harrington was shown by one of her mentors, Jane Vance, an instructor in Tech’s department of religious and cultural studies. In an early portion of the film, Morgan can be seen smiling as a student in Vance’s

classroom. Before the film screening, Morgan’s father Dan Harrington expressed a need for himself and his wife Gil Harrington to “find some joy in our life.” “It’s been tough,” he said. “It’s been a tough year.” Dan Harrington spoke of the need to limit public appearances such as his and his wife’s monthly stops at the Copeley Road bridge, noting “you can only do that for so long.” He also noted the stress of the public nature of his family’s search and discovery of their daughter. “It grinds you down,” Dan Harrington

said. “I think we’ve tried to be as public as we can be, but it’s tough to put yourself out there all the time.” Dan Harrington said the focus for his family is to “keep pressure on police to keep looking for Morgan’s killer.” “There’s a killer that’s still out there, and that message cannot be lost in this,” he said. “There’s still work to be done.” Those with information about the case can call the Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000 or Virginia State Police at 434-352-3467. A $150,000 reward is still available for information leading to Morgan Harrington’s murderer.

Skipper cannon malfunctions Fundraiser to aid Honduras LIANA BAYNE associate news editor The cadet gun captain of the Skipper Crew said Monday he is confident the corps of cadets’ iconic cannon, which malfunctioned during the second quarter of Saturday’s football game against Wake Forest, would be operational this weekend. The 10-member crew of sophomore and junior cadets that man Skipper during football games noticed the malfunction when one of its brass primers, which are the size of a rifle casing and ignite the cannon’s charge, became stuck inside the cannon. Because of this, more primers could not be inserted into the cannon, making it incapable of firing. “It’s unfortunate that something so small could render it inoperable,” said Tim Brooks, a junior cadet and the gun captain of the Skipper Crew. Brooks said although the cannon became inoperable, the cadet operating it at the time “immediately knew what was wrong.” Brooks, who has worked with the cannon since his freshman year and has been the gun captain since March of this year, said everyone on the Skipper Crew can do every job. Although the members of the crew recognized the problem, they were not able to repair it on the field. “Although attempts were made on the field to repair the cannon, the proper tools were not available to conduct the repairs,” Brooks said. “We were really frustrated,” he said. “We make it a priority not to miss shots.” Brooks said Monday the primer’s casing was still stuck inside the cannon and

MAJONI HARNAL features reporter

DANIEL LIN / SPPS

Junior cadet Tim Brooks, the gun captain of the Skipper Crew, attempts to repair the cannon on the ﬁeld during Saturday’s game. repairs were about to begin. He said his team would pursue one of two options — either using a nail press to hammer the stuck casing further into the cannon or using a drill to loosen the brass currently stuck inside. Brooks believes the casing got stuck inside Skipper for one of two reasons: It either did not have enough oil around it, causing it to get stuck, or the brass casing itself malfunctioned. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Brooks said, noting that this is the first time the Skipper Crew has experienced this particular issue. He said the repairs shouldn’t carry any extra cost. Skipper was first introduced to the Virginia Tech football tradition in 1964 by several cadets, including Homer Hickam, an alumnus notable for his

memoir, “Rocket Boys,” which was later adepted into the film “October Sky.” The cannon is fired in celebration of every score at Tech home football games and during other corps events. Cadet members of the Skipper Crew said Saturday afternoon the cannon has not malfunctioned since 1982. Cadet members of the crew expressed hopes the cannon would be functional again for the next Tech home football game against Duke next Saturday. Brooks said he hopes to have Skipper fully functional for a corps formal retreat on the Upper Quad Friday afternoon. Brooks said he was “95 percent sure” the cannon would be functional again by the weekend. “I wouldn’t say I’m stressed out,” Brooks said, “but I’ve been like, ‘I’ve gotta get this up and running.’”

A rare occasion is coming up at Virginia Tech — the university’s five a capella groups, Soulstice, Naturally Sharp, Mixed Emotions, Sensations and Juxtaposition, will be performing together in concert to raise money for charity. Joined up with Students Helping Honduras, the a cappella groups will be donating their time and vocal chords for a benefit concert on campus. The free event is tailored so all proceeds may directly help SHH and its on-going efforts. While SHH has held concerts with a capella groups before, this will be the first time all five have managed to work out their schedules for the musical spectacular. The night will have twofold benefit — the music at the concert and donations for the cause. Money raised at the event will fund SHH’s projects in Honduras, many of which build basic structures Americans take for granted. Volunteers raise funds for their trip and then travel to Honduras to build schools, houses and other components the village needs. Soulstice president and senior communication major Madalyn Ainley said her group has participated in the concert all four years she has been at Tech. “They just contacted us about the event,” Ainley said, “and we always love doing philanthropic events.” Soulstice is not alone. SHH, which started as a oneman organization at the College of William & Mary, has grown into a multiple chapter organization drawing hundreds of members and acclaim from a CNN special entitled “Heroes.” After an initial mission trip to a makeshift village, founder Shin Fujiyama was saddened by the damage done in Honduras by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and decided to do something about it. It’s a concept so simple, but not many people put

in the effort of Fujiyama and his organization. After seeing the villagers’ positive reactions after rebuilding the school, Fujiyama raised enough money to buy a tract of land upon which SHH can build one house for every family in the destroyed village. Tech’s SHH Fundraising Chair, junior marketing major Brittany Seaton, elaborated on the huge undertaking by SHH. “Forty-four houses have been completed, and it’s taken five years,” Seaton said. Having visited and helped in Honduras twice, Seaton is no stranger to the cause. Her first, independent trip in 2009 consisted of a week of digging trenches and ditches. “Everything is done by hand,” Seaton said. “There is no money for machinery so even basic things that pipelines for water and waste need to be dug by hand.” Seaton is one of many volunteers faced with a culture shock when arriving in Honduras. “I had never been out of the country,” Seaton said, “but I had that college kid mentality that I could change the world.” However, Seaton said it was stunning to see how underdeveloped the country was. She said it was probably the stark differences in reality that motivated her to join SHH upon her return to Tech. And beyond their physical help in Honduras, volunteers have some fun and experience new things. Seaton visited a state-run orphanage where she had the chance to interact and play with many children. Seaton said she was shocked when villagers remembered her during her second weeklong sojourn to Honduras. She did not think her brief trip had any significant impact. Not only did the village people remember who she was, but they were also extremely grateful for her efforts and the efforts of her group. The performance will be tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Colonial Hall in Squires Student Center.

2 news

news editors: philipp kotlaba, liana bayne, gordon block newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865

october 19, 2010

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sports headlines

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COLLEGIATETIMES

DAILY

Offense

CRIME Date

Time

Location

BLOTTER Status

Larceny of a parking meter

Oct. 14 Oct. 15

5:00 p.m. - Washington Street 7:42 a.m.

Arrested

Women’s soccer falls to Blue Devils

Larceny of wiper blades

Oct. 12 Oct. 14

4:00 p.m. - Alumni Mall Rd. 9:00 a.m.

Inactive

Appearing intoxicated in public

Oct. 16

2:21 a.m.

Squires parking lot

Arrested

The Virginia Tech women’s soccer team struggled mightily in the second part of a two-game homestand, losing 3-0 to the No. 23 Duke Blue Devils on Sunday. The loss came just three days after the Hokies tied No. 19 Wake Forest 3-3 after going up 2-0. Duke dominated possession, and it didn’t take the Blue Devils long to get on the board, thanks to a critical Hokies miscue. After Duke’s Callie Simpkins took a shot from directly in front of the goal, Tech defender Kelly Lynch headed the ball into the back of her own net for an own goal. That own goal would remain Duke’s only score until well into the second half thanks to Hokies freshman goalie Dayle Colpitts. Finally, Duke was able to score on its own terms in the 69th and 83rd minutes, sealing the 3-0 win. Tech (8-6-1, 2-3-1) will now play three straight road games, beginning Thursday in Miami. The Hokies return home Oct. 31 to face North Carolina State.

Appearing intoxicated in public

Oct. 16

2:23 a.m.

Perry Street

Arrested

Underage possesstion of alcohol

Oct. 16

3:50 a.m.

Payne Hall

Sent to Office of Student Conduct

Underage possesstion of alcohol

Oct. 16

10:20 a.m.

B-Lot

Arrested - ABC Officer

Underage possesstion of alcohol

Oct. 16

11:30 a.m.

B-Lot

Arrested - ABC Officer

Appearing intoxicated in public (x13)

Oct. 16

3:30 p.m. - Lane Stadium 5:25 p.m.

Nine arrested and four sent to Office of Student Conduct

Appearing intoxicated in public, Underage possesstion of alcohol (x4)

Oct. 16

4:20 p.m. - Lane Stadium 4:45 p.m.

Arrested

Underage possesstion of alcohol

Oct. 16

4:31 p.m.

Lane Stadium

Arrested

Assault on a police officer, petit larceny, credit card theft, underage possession of alcohol, destruction of property, appearing intoxicated in public, obstruction of justice

Oct. 16

5:15 p.m.

Lane Stadium

Arrested

Appearing intoxicated in public

Oct. 16

5:18 p.m.

Drillfield

Arrested

Assault and battery (punched in face)

Oct. 16

5:00 p.m.

outside McComas Hall

Under Investigation

Simple assault

Sept. 28

5:00 a.m.

outside Shanks Hall

Under Investigation

Possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia

Oct. 16

10:35 p.m.

Slusher Wing

Arrested

Petit larceny, credit card theft and appearing intoxicated in public

Oct. 17

2:16 a.m.

Alumni Mall Rd.

Arrested

Simple assualt and destruction of property

Oct. 17

2:25 a.m.

Squires Parking Lot

Inactive

Underage possession of alcohol

Oct. 17

1:53 a.m.

Newman Hall

Arrested

Larceny of a wallet from a vehicle

Oct. 17

3:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.

Washington Street

Under Investigation

Underage possession of alcohol

Oct. 17

12:12 a.m.

Lee Hall

Three arrested

Larcent of an ID holder and credit card

Oct. 17

7:50 p.m. - Torgersen Bridge 8:00 p.m.

-nick cafferky, sports reporter

CORRECTIONS JUSTIN GRAVES -Contact our public editor at publiceditor@ collegiatetimes.com if you see anything that needs to be corrected.

Under Investigation

Daily Fire Log--No incidents to report Traffic--Traffic crash (vehicle/bike) on Stanger Street reported at 1655 hours on October 14, 2010. One summons was issued for failure to yield to pedestrian in crosswalk. Minor injuries.

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sports headlines

]

Injuries, losses hurt Tech men’s soccer The men’s soccer team has had to deal with recent injuries in addition to losses over the past two and a half weeks. The Hokies 2-0 loss to Wake Forest on Oct. 1 was the first of three straight losses for the team. Consecutive losses to Longwood and Maryland, a debilitating 7-0 blowout, followed. Friday’s game at Virginia was a heartbreaking defeat for the Hokies. The team led up until the 76th minute when UVa scored its first goal. Tech then lost in overtime with a final score of 2-1. For the remainder of the season, Tech will try to minimize its mistakes and continue to serve as a threat to its opponents, according to head coach Mike Brizendine. “We can beat anybody in the country,” Brizendine said. “I really believe that. But we’ve also shown that we can lose to anyone, too. Those inconsistencies are what comes with a younger program.” Additionally, freshman starting goalkeeper Kyle Renfro was lost for the season after separating his right shoulder in the Hokies game against Wake Forest. Renfro had surgery last week to repair the shoulder and will again have surgery in December to repair his left shoulder, which he separated twice before the regular season. -courtney lofgren, sports reporter

opınıons 3

editors: scott masselli, gabi seltzer opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865 COLLEGIATETIMES

october 19, 2010

The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

Yale fraternity pledges’ chant not appropriate ledges of Yale University’s Delta Kappa Epsilon fraterP nity lined up last week outside their campus women’s center and repeatedly shouted, “No means yes, and yes means anal ... fucking sluts!” as part of their initiation process. While I’m both disgusted and appalled by this sadistic chant for not only permitting and encouraging sexual assault, I’m even more concerned this call to violence is a symptom of misogynistic beliefs and discourse that still plagues our culture despite so many advances on the part of women’s rights and gender equity. Despite a published apology and condemnation of the DKE chapter’s actions from the fraternity’s headquarters that essentially serves to cover itself, this chant suggests so many deplorable misunderstandings of sexuality and consent while being deeply rooted in sexual control and coercion. In what might be news to the members of this fraternity, women are capable of enjoying great sex with partners who revere them as equal counterparts and are not interested in defiling or dominating them for the sake of espousing their own warped sense of masculinity. Further, their location for such a display of unconcealed hate is especially distressing. Our own Virginia Tech Women’s Center is a safe space for men and women to gather for counseling and programming that aims to denounce the exact behavior these fraternity brothers participated in. Their bombastic speech served to besmirch the ambitions of a women’s center and intimidate clients from utilizing the resources offered. Their chant, which mocked one frequently expressed during Take Back the Night rallies (including our own at Tech), ridiculed the goal of eradicating campus rape cultures by deriding consent and commanding broth-

ers to further degrade a woman if she were to comply with sexual interaction. True, these men were exercising their right to freedom of speech, but the call to violence they purported is unpardonable and begs campuses to ascertain their own rape and consent culture. It also has led lawmakers and Yale’s campus officials to question whether this was an act of hate that could lead to university-wide consequences. What these young men at Yale are trying to do is eliminate consent, thereby aggressively asserting dominance over women. Perhaps they feel powerless in an age of an equitable sexual landscape. Perhaps they’re intimidated by the competition of women also being capable of vocalizing sexual desire and achieving pleasure. Perhaps their penises are small and this dialogue is a predatory way to counter their deflated egos. What they fail to recognize, among so many other things, is women have a right to say “no” to rape and sexual assault just as they are equipped with a right to say “yes” to a sexual partner. I would hope DKE, Greek organizations and entire student bodies take this opportunity to have an open dialogue to discuss misogyny, sexual consent, gender rights and respect among both sexes. Fraternity-sanctioned misogyny warrants more than a mere slap on the wrist. As a culture and especially as a student body that faces sexual aggression and assault, we are responsible for educating our peers about misogyny and investing ourselves in the abolition of such detrimental thought.

CATY GORDON -guest columnist -senior -English major

Becoming a true hero through Tech’s service opportunities hat is a true hero? According to Michael W Merriman, founder of True Hero, Inc., it is a student who serves others that embodies the characteristics of true heroism: authenticity, loyalty and nobility of purpose. Merriman founded True Hero, Inc. with the goal of increasing the visibility, recognition and funding of the numerous student service projects happening across the country and the world. He found his inspiration to pursue this endeavor after participating in his son’s high school service trip to an orphanage and AIDS clinic in Honduras during March 2008. This summer, Virginia Tech service-learning students were among those receiving True Hero recognition with a $2,000 grant to support its work with refugees from African nations. The outreach to refugees, better known as the Pilot Street Project, was launched in 2006 to provide adult ESL and homework help to Somali Bantu people who arrived in the United States in 2005. The program has since grown to provide a variety of educational programs for newcomers in three different public housing complexes. Approximately 130 Virginia Tech students, many from service-learning classes, are involved in the program annually. In addition to survival English, the project offers programs in citizenship preparation, family literacy and financial literacy. A partnership with Refugee and Immigration Services includes a College Preparation class. The project also plans to support five Somali Bantu men who want to attend the Grower’s Academy sponsored by VT Earthworks. In spring 2010, a student organization formed to support the project. The Coalition for Refugee Resettlement currently handles all homework help and in-home tutoring for school-aged children. Elders in the Somali Bantu community articulated the need for youth and teen programming. Service-learners interviewed teens who described what they needed to help them in their high school classes and to prepare them for post-secondary education. An adolescent literacy program was designed based on the teens’ insights. The project is partnering with the Start City Soccer Foundation

in Roanoke to provide one-onone tutoring, science and math homework help and recreational soccer at William Fleming High School. True Hero funding is supporting a newly launched family literacy program for mothers and their pre-school aged children at Indian Rock Village in Roanoke. The Pilot Street Project was awarded a True Hero grant after posting a description of its work at Truehero.org. Tech received the third most votes — 667 — of the 75 projects posted during the 2009-2010 competition. The project is now live for the 2010-2011 competition. Go to TrueHero.org to vote. In addition to True Hero, the Pilot Street Project/Coalition for Refugee Resettlement is participating in another online challenge with Global Giving, an online fundraising site that connects donors to grassroots organizations around the world. During the Global Giving December Open Challenge, the project will appeal for funds to develop adolescent literacy initiatives for refugee youth.

“

Approximately 130 Virginia Tech students, many from servicelearning classes, are involved in the program annually.

The Global Giving Open Challenge goes live on Nov. 22 and lasts one month. The project needs to raise $4,000 from 50 donors in order to gain a permanent presence on the site. The Pilot Street Project and Coalition for Refugee Resettlement is a signature program of the Center for Student Engagement & Community Partnerships. Students interested in learning more about the project and how to get involved can visit our website at vtserves.vt.edu or contact William Evans at wevans@usc. edu.

MICHELE JAMES-DERAMO -guest columnist

MAHEEN KHURSHID / COLLEGIATE TIMES

How can one argue that mental illness is not real? aving been interested in the field of psychiatry for quite H some time, I was extremely excited when my assignment to shadow a psychiatrist began. Immediately, conditions I read about in textbooks such as depression, drug withdrawal and narcissistic personality disorder became personal — I saw the faces of these people and listened to individuals living with (and often suffering from) mental illness. All of this happened so fast — in one day — however, the diagnoses and dialogues stayed with me. That night, I began to look up information on the mental illnesses I came across. Interestingly enough, during my research, I stumbled upon something that really stood out to me. It was a claim I had never heard of before — and it seemed to be held by more than just a few outlandish extremists. It was the claim that mental illness is not real. I was immediately perplexed. How could someone say mental illness was not real? How could groups of people and organizations exist that support such a notion? Growing up in a family that has been no stranger to the effects of ADHD or what it is like to have a relative with Down syndrome, it was hard for me to understand how such a claim could ever be made. Surely, I have not been seeing people feigning illness and suffering while doing rounds with this psychiatrist in the hospital. The claim goes like this — although there are people who act differently, people who have strange behavior and conduct, no one is really “sick.” They are not something to be fixed, but rather, just different. Dr. Thomas Szasz, a psychiatrist and one of the major voices claiming mental illness is not real, says “mental illness” attempts to define an action we as a society find disturbing or unpleasant. Szasz has given the example of the different ways society views different behaviors — for example, if you talk to God, you are praying. However, if God talks to you and tells you to do things, you are not usually seen as a prophet but rather as schizophrenic. If you converse with dead people in some societies, you are a spirit medium; in other societies, you are mentally ill. I agree with this point — depending on the social construction of your environment, different behaviors will

be viewed differently. What used to be dismissed as “boys will be boys” 50 years ago is now called hyperactivity disorder. Ultimately, Szasz says illness is something people have, and behavior is what they do — “no behavior or misbehavior ... can be an illness.” This is the main argument made against psychiatry as a field — people claim psychiatrists blur the lines between illness and misbehavior, working either to help some people (allowing people to be free of moral responsibility for their actions) and/ or to hurt others (telling them their behavior needs to be fixed). People sometimes assert psychiatry came about simply for power and social control and is, at its core, nothing but a fabrication. Although seeing where proponents of such claims come from, I must disagree with this line of thinking. My biggest issue comes with the claim about behaviors not being illnesses. It is true when you dissect a body, you do not find mental illness as blatantly present like you would a physical ailment (such as a ruptured spleen). However, that does not mean mental illness is not present. Mental illness, as the name implies, takes refuge in the brain. However, it is difficult to take someone’s brain out of their head and do research to find the exact cause of autism or the neural connections responsible for manifestations of people and sounds that aren’t actually present. A brain generally looks like a brain, regardless of whether the person with that brain has a mental illness — and therein lies the problem. Although tests, such as EKGs and neural imaging are available to analyze the brain, general practice today does not include the common use of such expensive technology — rather, many technologies still use the trial and error use of medication. The main key into the abnormalities in the brain is through behavior — the physical manifestations of the workings of the brain. I confirmed this by paying close attention to how the psychiatrist I was working with did his job. I watched him as he examined the patients. Not only did he pay attention to their chart, medications and physical health, but also (as he informed me afterward) their hand movements, body language, eye contact, dress, social life, balance, memory, sentence structure, personal outlooks

on life and more. He did all of this to reach a conclusion about the mental illness a patient had and to decide the subsequent treatment if necessary. And what he does helps people who have mental illnesses lead normal and comfortable lives. Critics of mental illness may point out how what is regarded as mental illness changes with time and never stays constant. As I stated earlier, I will agree with this point. The term “female hysteria” is no longer used as a diagnosis, although it was very prevalent to diagnose women with this mental illness before the 20th century. Another example would be homosexuality, viewed by the American Psychological Association as a mental illness up until about 1973. However, this social construction of illness can also be seen in physical illness. For example, hypertension was never recognized as something that needed to be treated until about halfway through the 20th century. In the past, arthritis, one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in America today, was actually a badge of honor for individuals who lived long enough to have it. Even ways we approach illnesses change with time — we no longer use bloodletting and lobotomies as major tools in treating people as we did in the past. Ultimately, psychiatry is simply a field that is constantly changing, much like every other field of medicine, as the times change. As a result, what is viewed as illness in every field of medicine is constantly changing. Psychiatrists simply have to take a more unique approach to identifying illness because of the nature of the brain and the ways we currently go about diagnosing and treating mental illness. Mental illness is not a fabrication, and to claim such would be denying people the opportunity for treatment that could help them live normal lives. Perhaps, even worse, it would be denying ourselves the opportunity to delve deeper into the human mind.

JOSH TREBACH -regular columnist -junior -biological sciences major

Rick Boucher’s track record makes him better choice for 9th District shocked to read columnist Matthew Hurt’s Sept. 30 column Iaboutwas the 9th Congressional District race. I find it surprising that someone who claims to be a lifelong resident of Southwest Virginia would prefer to be represented in Congress by someone who does not live in the 9th District. This clearly shows Hurt is misinformed about Rep. Rick Boucher’s work. The first outright fabrication in Hurt’s column is that Boucher’s policies are “job-killers” and bad for business. The truth is Boucher, the incumbent Democratic candidate, won the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise award this year for his pro-business record in Congress. He has also received acclaim from the National Federation of Independent Business for his long-established record of job creation. Hurt’s second fabrication is the allegation that Boucher has restricted growth in the 9th District. Nothing could be further from the truth. Boucher has created 5,000 jobs directly through his Showcasing Southwest Virginia program in companies he brought to our region. Furthermore, his broad job creation strategy, including investments in water, wastewater, broadband

and transportation, are responsible for job gains throughout his service in Congress. In fact, according to data from the Virginia Employment Commission, the localities Boucher has represented since he began his service in Congress have experienced a net gain of 28,000 jobs since he took office. For these reasons, dozens of business leaders from throughout Southwest Virginia have endorsed Boucher and have formed Business Leaders for Boucher. These business leaders recognize he is good for business and he will work to bring new jobs to the residents of Southwest Virginia. Hurt also criticizes Boucher for supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, often called the “stimulus legislation,” last year. Apparently, Hurt does not support our university, because Virginia Tech has received more than $61 million from the stimulus legislation to improve facilities and maintain our place as a national leader in scientific research. It would have been shortsighted and bad for the 9th District for Boucher to reject legislation that has universally helped his district — from new water and wastewater

systems to school improvements to more broadband development. While we are on the subject, Boucher has consistently come through for the Hokies and supported Tech. Withhishelp,theschool’sCorporate Research Center is expanding, we received the largest federal grant in Tech history and the Tech airport has been modernized. Hurt claims to be a lifelong resident of Southwest Virginia, and he is a student at Tech. It is disappointing to see him trying to mislead his fellow students into voting for Boucher’s opponent, who does not live in 9th District and has stated he will refuse to move here if elected. On Nov. 2, I am going to cast a vote for Southwest Virginia, for jobs and for Virginia Tech, and I encourage my fellow students to join me in voting for Congressman Rick Boucher.

BRANDON CARROLL -regular columnist -senior -ﬁnancial planning major

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october 19, 2010

ACC win puts Hokies on right path

Tech 52, Wake Forest 21 3:30 p.m., Oct. 16, 2010 Lane Stadium/Worsham Field, Blacksburg, Va.

WAKE VT

7 21

7 28

7 3

0 0

ith evening approaching at halftime of Saturday’s game against W Wake Forest, the shadows projected

21 52

First Quarter WAKE