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Thursday, November 1, 2012 An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES
109th year, issue 38 News, page 2
Weekend, page 4
MORE
Opinions, page 3
THANONE IN FOUR
Sports, page 6
Study Break, page 4
UVA,Tech rivalry turns ‘Crimson’
BY PRISCILLA ALVAREZ | news reporter
One in four college women report experiencing attempted rape or acts that meet the legal definition of rape, but the number only skims the effect of sexual crime on college campuses. FILE 2011/SPPS
Virginia Blood Services is sponsoring the blood drive for Tech.
S
exual assault is underreported on college campuses because many women are embarrassed by it or believe it is rare. A former student of Amherst College, Angie Epifano, had the same mentality until she published her rape account in the opinions column of Amherst’s student newspaper. Amherst Student Reveals All Epifano was raped her sophomore year in college by an acquaintance in an on-campus dormitory. The detailed account describes the poor handling of her situation by the university. In a session with the campus’ sexual assault counselor she was told “… pressing charges would be useless, he’s about to graduate, there’s not much we can do. Are you sure it was rape? It might have just been a bad hookup…” The column has generated a conversation nationwide on how universities handle sexual misconduct on campus and the university policies in place to prevent it. In many cases, this has led universities to review Title IX, the education amendment of 1972 protecting students from sex discrimination essentially guaranteeing gender equity in educational environments. Reviewing Title IX About a year ago, the U.S. Department of Education added a new part to Title IX to cover sexual assault. “The conversation now is this part of Title IX the Dear Colleague Letter that is very much related to sexual assault and how colleges and universities respond to allegations of sex-
ual assault, “ said Frank Shushok, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and deputy Title IX coordinator of student-on-student sexual conduct. According to Shushok, Virginia Tech has collaborated to make slight policy changes as well as changes in practice. A new change in policy allows a victim to appeal decisions in the student conduct process. Before, only the person being accused of misconduct could appeal the decision, but both have the opportunity of doing so. However, sections regarding the practice of these policies are receiving more attention. “The Dear Colleague Letter has created a significant discussion about who can remain confidential about their obligations to report sexual assault, sexual harassment.” Shushok said. At Tech, Schiffert Health Center and the Cook Counseling Center are the only two places where a student can share, in confidentiality, that they’ve been sexually assaulted. Anyone else at the university that receives that information is obligated to report it, according to Shushok. The report goes to Title IX investigators who explore the case and submit findings to student conduct for the final decision. While this is one way of managing sexual violence on campus, programs have been put in place to educate students on sexual misconduct. Educating Students on Sexual Misconduct More than 90 percent of perpetrators are men, according to Jennifer
University rivals are competing to collect the most blood donations by early November JUSTIN GRAVES news reporter
85%
of sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance
Title IX
added the Dear Colleague Letter to encompass sexual violence in 2011
81% of on-campus sexual assaults are not reported to the police
see TITLE IX / page five
Our rivalry against the University of Virginia just turned red. Virginia Blood Services is sponsoring a blood drive taking the rivalry off of the football field and placing it a little earlier in November. The Crimson War Blood Drive is happening through the end of the week on campus. The event is a competition between UVa and Virginia Tech to see who can collect the most blood from their students. Plans are being made for the winner to be announced at the home football game against UVa on Nov. 24. “The goal is to collect 150 units in two days, and whoever is able to meet that goal or even exceed it, will be recognized as the winning school and receive either a trophy or a plaque,” said Lindsay Bade, the donor recruitment representative for the Red Cross. Donation stations will be set up at Owens, Pritchard and the Ambler Johnston’s residence halls
from noon–6 p.m on Friday, as they have been throughout this week. Students can sign up for an appointment through the Crimson War Blood Drive Facebook event. The donation stations will have free food from local shops and restaurants, among other perks. “Each presenting donor will receive a ‘blood drive challenge’ t-shirt and will be entered into a drawing for a door prize. There will be special food and possibly an appearance by the Hokie Bird,” Bade said. The event is being cohosted by the SGA, the Interfraternity Council, the Marching Virginians and Alpha Epsilon Delta, the health professional honor society at Tech. Senior biology major Sirisha Iruvanti is the president of AED, the largest health-related organization at Tech. Iruvanti is also the director of community initiatives for the SGA and helped coordinate its involvement in the event. “Basically, this is doing a great job of combining health and service, see CRIMSON / page five
Students vie for teaching opportunities across country ALEX GOMES news staff writer
Nov. 8, marks a deadline to apply to Teach For America, a growing organization in the field of education. Teach for America was created in 1990 to address the considerable achievement gap between low-income households and those with the means for a better education. Members of the organization don’t believe the quality of education should be dictated by a zip code. Largely through the use of young educators, the program has succeeded in lessening that achievement gap. According to Teach For America, children born into poverty are nearly half as likely to graduate high school, and a mere 8 percent of those will graduate college by the age 24. While those numbers may be intimidating, Teach for America has expanded greatly and made a serious impact on education in impoverished areas. What started as 500 teach-
ers looking to make a difference has grown to include more than 4,500 members. According to Nichole Prickett, a former Hokie and current recruiter for Teach For America, the program is only going to expand and improve over time. “We have 46 regions nationwide from Hawaii to New York. By 2013, we’re hoping to have 60 regions,” she said. While the demand for good teachers is always high, it’s not easy to successfully affect change in lowincome communities. To address this issue, Teach for America has to be selective in their application process. In 2010, out of the 46,000 applications received by the program, 4,500 applicants were accepted as corps members. “We need people that are passionate about impacting that community, and have that perseverance to stay with it,” Prickett said. “It is tough. It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.” Last fall, the demanding
nature of the job was realized for Tech alumni and current corps member Jessy Miller when she began her work in Louisiana. Though Miller was kept busy during her time at Tech, she was still surprised by the workload once she had started teaching. “Teaching is the steepest learning curve I’ve ever had in my life,” she said. “For me, it’s learning time management, classroom management and how to be an adult when I’m 700 miles from home. All those things roll into one.” Partly due to her firsthand experience with educational inequality during high school, Miller has her own reasons for working in the program. “I was bothered by the fact that my educational experience depended on where I lived,” Miller said. “When I found out about Teach For America’s mission, eliminating educational inequality, I was very inspired.” Despite Teach for America’s
PHOTOGRAPHER / SPPS
Christina Williams, a senior chemical engineering student, is a member of Teach for America. rigorous standards, its rewards are lasting, as evidenced by its alumni statistics. Only 10 percent of Teach For America members reported they had pre-
viously considered teaching, but by the end of the twoyear program, two-thirds of their alumni remain in education. As Monday, and the other
upcoming application dates get closer, Tech students can expect to see a lot more of Teach For America around the Tech campus — both see TEACH / page five