Brew Do
comes to Blacksburg this weekend
Thursday, October 4, 2012
see page three
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES 108th year, issue 23 News, page 2
Stadium Woods stir new debate
Features, page 3
Opinions, page 5
Sports, page 4
Study Break, page 4
Start-ups flock to Blacksburg BY DEAN SEAL news reporter
CAMERON AUSTIN news staff writer
It’s not over yet. Proponents of saving Stadium Wood’s have a new battle on their hands. This time, it deals with parking. For several years, Virginia Tech football players have been parking in Stadium Woods, on top of the roots of the old-growth trees. Despite the high publicity of Stadium Woods, the athletics department and Parking Services are still allowing football players to park in the woods. “This year we asked about this location in particular, in light of stadium woods being as high profile this year,” said Tom Gabbard, the associate director of athletics. “We were granted permission to park there from Parking Services,” he said. Stadium Woods, the 14 acre grove of white oak trees on campus, has been under intense scrutiny since last year when the athletics department was eyeing the woods as a possible location for a new football training facility. The university denied the proposal after they received thousands of emails, phone calls and petition signatures in favor of saving the woods. Rebekah Paulson, director of Friends of Stadium Woods, wants the athletic department to take into consideration the damage that’s occurring when cars are parked over the roots. “I think they are mad, and don’t want to back off any further then they’ve already been told to do,” she said. By definition, old-growth trees are trees that haven’t been touched by European settlers. They can live to be 700-800 years old and are characterized by the unique habitat they create. Tech is the only university in North America that has an old-growth forest on its central campus. Paulson is upset by the lack of care for the trees. “Athletics, the administration, and facilities department doesn’t care whether the trees are hurt or not,” Paulson said. Friends of Stadium Woods distributed flyers at the last home game, and spent time personally talking to the football players that park there. The football players expressed that they were only parking there on orders from the athletic department. “We needed a place for the team to park that’s convenient,” Gabbard said. He says they have no plans for moving the players’ cars at this time. The location, which is only used for football player’s parking, is occupied by the team the night before a home game, and through all the activities that takes place the day of the game. Susan Day, assistant professor in the urban forestry department, explains that parking on the roots for even a short period of time can damage them. “When you compact the soil, you reduce the new root growth, prevent the roots from functioning and you create a severely stressed environment for trees,” Day said. While conducting research on certain trees in the woods that were dying, Day discovered an interesting trend. “When you look at tree rings of trees that are dying, 18 years earlier you can see that the growth rate went from very robust, to see ROOTS / page two
T
his year, Blacksburg was ranked No. 32
for the Best Small Place for Business and Careers in Forbes Magazine. With
HEYO BRAD KLADOWSKI/ SPPS
a look at the growing number based
of
technology
businesses
that
have made Blacksburg their home over the past year, it’s unsurprising that Mayor Ron Rordam has declared Blacksburg, “a new hub for tech-based KICKSTARTER
entrepreneurship.” KEVIN DICKEL/ SPPS
Among the technologybased companies calling Blacksburg home, some originated here with Tech alumni at the helm, while others simply saw the promise in Blacksburg’s supportive community.
MODEO DANIEL LIN/ SPPS
see TECH / page two
Goalie makes the most of his opportunity DAVID COOPER sports staff writer
Few athletes ever get the opportunity to play for their dream school. Sometimes the difference between getting that opportunity and missing out on it comes down to a single event, which can determine everything. One Hokie athlete knows this all too well. Junior Kyle Renfro is entering his third season as the men’s soccer goalkeeper and has amassed statistics that put him in comparison with some of the best college goalkeepers in the country. Renfro started in the third game of his college career against South Florida in a game that was nationally televised, and when healthy, he has been the Hokies’ starting goalkeeper ever since. He has amounted eight shutouts in his career and is rapidly climbing the all-time saves list at Virginia Tech. However, it did not always seem like Renfro would be playing college soccer at the highest level. Kyle started playing sports at a young age and, like many athletes, had to make the decision about which sport was going to take precedence over the others. “I started playing rec ball when I was younger and it was just something I enjoyed,” Renfro said. “I played multiple sports growing up but soccer was the one thing I was best at. I enjoyed it and loved it so I just stuck with it and dropped the others throughout my life.” By the time Renfro entered Brookville High School in Lynchburg, Va., he had narrowed it down to just two sports — basketball and soccer. Renfro was named captain of the soccer team twice and three times for the basketball team, where he played alongside another current Hokie, quarterback Logan Thomas.
KEVIN DICKEL / SPPS
Goalkeeper Kyle Renfro is closing in on Tech’s all-time saves record. He also has eight career shutouts. Not only was Renfro a standout athlete in high school; he was also diligent in the classroom. He was able to sustain a 4.0 GPA throughout his four years there. During Renfro’s time at Brookville, he had decided that soccer was the sport he wanted to pursue. As well as playing for Brookville’s soccer team, he also played for a small club team based in Lynchburg. Before entering his junior year of high school, the athlete made a decision in an attempt to gain more exposure to college soccer scouts. “My last two years of travel, I transferred to Roanoke (to play for the Roanoke Star Soccer Club) because the competition is the best in
the state and it’s how to get recruited,” Renfro said. Although Kyle made the decision to play against tougher competition for his last two years of high school, it was already too late for him to prove himself to big soccer programs. Danny Beamer, Roanoke Star executive director and former coach of Renfro, said the player was at a disadvantage. “He played in Lynchburg at a club that didn’t play in as many high level recruiting tournaments, and I just think coming to play later (at Roanoke) put him behind a little bit,” Beamer said. see GOALIE / page four