HOKIES LOSE SHOCKER TO PITT, SEE PAGE 8 Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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Freshman defies limits BY PRISCILLA ALVAREZ | news reporter Freshman Christian Gahr slept in on his first day of senior year and woke to the tweets of his fellow peers complaining about their classes. Luckily he didn’t have to go to school because he had already been admitted to college. After three years of high school education, California native Gahr was ready to move on and jump-start his college career at 16-years-old. “I’d just rather go straight to college instead of staying in high school because I knew I was going to be taking five or six AP classes anyway,” Gahr, a biology major, said. In the fall, he approached his high school counselor about applying to college first semester of his junior year. His counselor had known one other case of a girl who had graduated from high school in three years and moved on to college. With that in mind, Gahr applied to Virginia Tech. Gahr joined other students across the nation who are applying to college early. “We’re seeing students finBRAD KLODOWSKI / SPPS ish earlier than in the past. Christian Gahr, a 16-year-old freshman on campus, is an exception to the rule that you have to graduate high school before coming to college. I think because now-a-days
#CAMPAIGNCOUNTDOWN
we’re seeing students that are taking a lot of dual enrollment credit, AP and IB credit, some of them just really want to get out of high school and start their academic work at a college. It’s a small population,” said Mildred Johnson, director of Undergraduate Admissions. Gahr became part of that small population in the spring when he received his acceptance letter. “I was kind of like ‘I’m a junior. I’m probably not as competitive as someone who went through their senior year who have more on their transcript.’ When I got it I was like ‘oh cool now I have the option of not going through senior year’,” Gahr said. Gahr had already fulfilled Tech’s requirements to apply through his completion of 18 units of high school course work, which included AP classes. However, it was not an easy decision. For about a week, Gahr considered his options and came to the conclusion that staying would be moving backwards. While his dad encouraged see AGE page three
Tech prepares for green week
Board orders regulations for abortion facilities in VA
FILE / SPPS
Last year’s Sustainability Week, an annual fixture for Blacksburg and Virginia Tech, featured decorated buses. MAX LUONG news staff writer
Planned Parenthood in Blacksburg is likely to undergo costly renovations to meet new requirements for clinics. MALLORY NOE-PAYNE news editor
The Virginia State Board of Health voted last Friday to adopt regulations requiring existing clinics that provide abortions to follow the same building regulations as hospitals. Abortion rights supporters have described the regulations as unnecessary and cumbersome, and a political tactic for minimizing access to abortion clinics. In a 13-2 vote, members of the board reversed an earlier deci-
sion, which would have exempted existing buildings from the regulations previously applied only to new construction. Anti-abortion defendants have applauded the board’s decision, although some board members deny the rules have any political agenda, instead saying regulations are only for ensuring health and safety. “The primary purpose of the regulations is to ensure there is a safe, clean, healthy environsee CLINIC / page two
Today marks the kickoff of Blacksburg’s annual Sustainability Week. For the next three days, students will embark on various “green” efforts in and around campus. For the technologicallyinclined, a TED Talk as well as electric vehicle demonstrations are scheduled. Several electric and plugin hybrid cars will also be on display at the Blacksburg Library from 6:00-8:30 this evening. On Thursday at noon, the Lyric Theatre will feature a TED panel discussion of local experts on the mass usage of electric cars in the future. Students have also
become accustomed to the ceremonial tradition of the campus tree planting. Today at 1 p.m. in front of Owens, student-led groups will plant native Birch and Hawthorne trees donated by the Forestry and Horticulture Depa r t ment s . T he first 40 volunteers will receive a free Arbor Day t-shirt. “There’s nothing I like more than planting a tree and a shirt that is free!” said Mike Demsko, a freshman in university studies. On Thursday evening at the Smithfield Plantation, the volunteer student organization Sustainable Food Corps will host a tasty, hands-on workshop, star ting at 4:30 p.m.
The tour of the Smithfield Garden will show how it uses sustainable technology to produce crops donated to local food banks. St udents more interested in the community gathering aspect of Sustainability Week can mingle at The Farmer’s Market on Wednesday at 2 p.m. and enjoy the booths, clubs, and live music from the local band “Black Twig Pickers”. As opposed to the more objective-specific themes of previous years, the aim of Celebrate Sustainability this year is to broadly observe the community’s collective efforts toward the environment and to c e le br at e a c c omplishments made so far.
The Town of Blacksburg and the independent non-profit Sustainable Blacksburg have collaborated to sponsor these events in order to both raise environmental awareness and contribute to nature. “Once again, we’re honored to be participating partners in Blacksburg’s Sustainability Week,” said Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam. “Together, we will continue to emphasize the importance of sustainable lifestyles and the value of conserving our resources, while celebrating all that makes Blacksburg such a great place,” he said. Follow this writer on Twitter @MaxLuongCT