MCT CAMPUS
PENN STATE CHARGES Tumult strikes Happy Valley, page six
Friday, November 11, 2011
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
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COLLEGIATETIMES 108th year, issue 115
Spring Break Guide, page 2
People & Clubs, page 5
Opinions, page 3
Sports, page 6
Classifieds, page 4
BREAKAWAY
KEVIN DICKEL / SPPS
HOKIES WIN 37-26 SEE FULL STORY ON COLLEGIATETIMES.COM
Virginia Tech defeated leading ACC Coastal rival Georgia Tech Thursday night behind career nights from quarterback Logan Thomas and running back David Wilson. The Hokies beat the Yellow Jackets 37-26 in Atlanta to grab a strangle hold on the ACC Coastal division. Tech controls its own destiny in the division, with Virginia being its
main obstacle to playing in the ACC Championship Game. Thomas led the Hokies’ charge, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two more. One rushing touchdown came on a quarterback sneak where Thomas broke free from the pack and scored from the 12-yard-line. Wilson had a career-high 175 yards.
Students challenged to write a novel in a month
Past Tech president’s diary to be displayed JAMES SHEEHAN news staff wrier
PAUL KURLAK / SPPS
Abby Garrett, a freshman engineering major, is working on her novel at the GLC plaza. She hopes to have written 50,000 words by the end of November for National Novel Writing Month. Although her biggest constraint is time, she’s making writing part of her daily schedule.
STUDENTS FORM SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES IN THE SPIRIT OF NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH DONAL MURPHY news staff writer Not many freshman engineering students can write novels, but Abby Garrett is trying to write one in a month’s time. November marks National Novel Writing Month, and a number of students at Virginia Tech are planning to participate and write a novel of their own. NaNoWriMo is an annual challenge for all writers willing to attempt it, and those participating are charged with writing 50,000 words in 30 days. The tradition started over the Internet in 1999 by Chris Baty, starting in the San Francisco Bay
area, eventually becoming a national sensation. “When you start off, it’s great — you have fresh brand new ideas, and then you get about a fifth of the way through, and you realize ‘I don’t know where I’m going.’ It’s really hard to get past that, but once you get past that it goes well,” Garrett said. Garrett has done NaNoWriMo for two years previously, making this her third year writing a novel. However, this year, she is still uncertain as to what her novel is about. “I don’t really know yet,” she said. “The thing with NaNoWriMo is that the point is to just get words on the page. So sometimes you’ll start writ-
ing and have no idea what it’s going to end up being like. And then you get to the end, and while you may have started writing about one thing, by the end you’re completely somewhere else.” The biggest constraint most students face is the pressure of college classes and time. “In college it’s much harder to stay on top of that kind of thing,” said Erika Lower, a sophomore humanities, sciences and environment major. Lower was unable to do NaNoWriMo this year, given the weight of her class load. She participated in NaNoWriMo before in high school, writing a novel about two astronauts who were lost in a time rift and struggle to return to their present. “Several of my friends are doing
it, however, and I’ve taken it upon myself to act as a cheerleader,” she said. “One of the things I really like about NaNo is the sort of spirit that’s involved with the online community.” But for new writers, the creation of fiction is intimidating in its own right. Fred D’Aguiar, an English professor, suggests that students read along with their writing to maintain a source of writing style and structure, as well as additional influence and inspiration. For students looking into writing careers, he advises they keep an eye on what is being written and published in magazines, keeping up to date on what is popular and maintaining their own convictions in their writing. see NANO / page four
Charles Minor, Virginia Tech’s first president who served from 1872-79 once punched a professor — just one of many incidents that led to his firing. Minor, who is arguably Tech’s most controversial president, was also an author, who published a book about Abraham Lincoln titled “The Real Lincoln,” published in 1927. However, almost nothing remains of his original writings, as they were destroyed in a fire in 1905. But his original COURTESY OF DEPT. OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS diary still exists. Union Private E.P Harmon confiscated the diary. In 2008, after a hotly contested auction, the attract more students to Tech and Department of Special Collections at offer remedial classes for students Tech acquired the diary. arriving with subpar academic backThe diary, which will be on display grounds, Cox said. on Nov. 12 in Newman Library, has a Minor’s career at Tech came particularly unique history. In addi- to an end when he came to blows tion to serving as Minor’s cashbook, with Gen. James H. Lane, the First it was also used by a Union private Commandant of Cadets, at a faculty during the Civil War. meeting. Minor and Lane were in Before he began his seven-year ten- disagreement about the level of miliure as Tech’s first president, Minor tary training that should be offered. was a captain in the Confederate Both were charged with disturbing army, serving as the chief ordinance the peace, and Minor was fired from officer for South Carolina, Georgia the university, Cox said. and Florida. The fight between Minor and Lane Achieving moderate success as was a huge blow to the school’s image. an army officer, Minor entered his In the 1879-80 school year following presidency confronted with a host of Minor’s dismissal, total enrollment at issues, including a student body that Tech dropped to 50 students — down lacked in size and preparedness. from 160 the previous year, according “Minor was embarrassed that the to university archives. students didn’t have the background As Tech’s first president, Minor was to do work at the college level,” said an integral part of the school’s humble, Clara Cox, the former director of yet turbulent beginnings. His diary is University Publications for Tech. “He one of only a few original writings reported to the state that the students currently in Tech’s possession. came with the ‘scantious preparation.’” see DIARY / page four He had to place advertisements to