Friday, March 29, 2013
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES 109th year, issue 92 News, page 2
People & Clubs, page 5
Opinions, page 3
Sports, page 6
Bill broadens mental health network MICHAELA REARDON | news staff writer
Local Hospitals Mental Health Facilities
RAs
The Angel Fund has worked with Del. Scott Cook Counseling Center Surovell and Sen. George Barker to enact change in the way Virginia’s univerities and community colleges handle the mental well-being of students.
Study Break, page 4
Next year’s common book chosen
A
n integral charity advocating mental health on college ca campuses is making headway in the state legislature after two successful bills landed on the Governor’s desk to be sign signed. A The Angel Fund is a non-profit organization that was formed in the aftermath of the April 16 shootings by friends f and family of one of the victims, Reema Samaha. the Angel Fun was created to address the many complex issues that Fund con contributed to the Virginia Tech tragedy: mental illness, cam campus safety and security, lack of information sharing an privacy laws. and O Over the past few years, the Angel Fund has been wo working hard to prevent future tragedies through advocac education and program implementation. Earlier cacy, t year, the Angel Fund contacted representatives of in the 3 the 39th and 40th districts to begin developing legislation w that would address the problems highlighted by the Virginia M College Mental Health Study conducted shortly after April 16. This survey, done in part by the Joint Commission on Health Care of the Virginia General Assembly, collected information ea public and private college in Virginia regarding from each studen access to mental health services, as well as the ways students’ Local community in which whic colleges respond to students’ mental health crises. intr “I introduced (House Bill) 1609, which will improve coordibe nation between public four-year higher education institutions, mental health facilities and local hospitals,” explained Delegate Tim Hugo of the 440th District in a press release. “My bill ensures that all four-year public p colleges and universities will have the mechanisms in plac place to provide services to students seeking treatment.
RYAN SUTHERLAND / SPPS
see NIGHT / page two
Both men and women march in solidarity to raise awarness for domestic abuse.
see BOOK / page two
JESSICA GROVES features reporter
BRAD KLODOWSKI/ SPPS
Jeff Noble, lead pastor of Northstar Church, creates close-knit ties with members. put out 479 chairs, and we realized since the second week of her freshwe hit the maximum. We weren’t man year at Virginia Tech. about to start going down hall“It’s been cool to watch it start ways and pulling chairs from class- out so small and really accommorooms.” date the numbers of people,” Hard Noble mentioned another dynam- said. “I think they do a good job of ic that created an obstacle for packed making it known that they are still church services: the bathrooms. growing.” “It sounds strange,” Noble said, In Hard’s three years of atten“But the commodes in the bath- dance, the church has gained rooms are industrial. When the hundreds of regular attendees. In walls are open, it’s a distraction January, the church reported their because they flush so loud.” attendance growth at a “State of Junior human development major the Church 2013” address. The year Kelly Hard has been with Northstar 2011 brought 450 attendants to
Northstar’s Easter service, and in 2012, 720 people attended Easter Sunday. Northstar isn’t committed to their visitors for the bragging rights, though. The church works just as hard to connect with newcomers as it does to provide them with Sunday morning service. Northstar hands out “howdy cards” during each of its meetings. Every time a visitor fi lls out a card, the church is able to contact them by email. “Howdy cards are really the only way to stay connected,” Noble said. “If they don’t fill out a howdy card, there’s no way for us to follow up.” In August and January, the church experiences a significant bump in attendance, but Northstar expects another to occur on Easter Sunday. Noble and Hard both said Easter is an opportunity to use cultural awareness of the holidays to bring families together. “I think (Northstar) defi nitely places an emphasis on community,” Hard said. “You feel like everyone there genuinely cares about you.” Noble said part of that community occurs behind the scenes before the church service even begins. Northstar pulls from a group of about 150 volunteers each week when it prepares for Sundays. It took an hour for 40 of those volunteers to set up Blacksburg High School’s gym for Palm Sunday. see MASS / page five
Rally aims to fight violence against women news staff writers
Last night, Womanspace, an organization dedicated to women empowerment, hosted the 24th annual Take Back the Night rally in the Wesley Foundation, with a candlelight march through campus and downtown Blacksburg. According to Susan Anderson, senior instructor of mathematics and faculty advisor for Womanspace, the rally helps to raise awareness of violence against women. “(It helps) people understand that violence occurs in every community, including our own,” Anderson said. Soulful music and invigorating drums amped up the energy just before the event, where multiple speakers shared their messages and
news staff writer
victims told their stories, all as part of the experience that inspires those in attendance. The rally featured speakers from organizations including the Woman’s Center at Virginia Tech, Cook Counseling Center, Montgomery County NOW, Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley, and others. “You hear survivors and (see) how it hasn’t defined them, that they are resilient and they want to take back the night,” said Alyssa Seidorf, junior management major, president of Womanspace and coordinator of the event. However, the march following the rally serves an entirely different purpose. “We believe that all the participants marching together, chanting the same chants will help create a
see ANGEL / page two
Church connects locals, students
KELLY CLINE & MELISSA DRAUDT
KEVIN LOHR At the beginning of March, Virginia Tech unveiled the common book for the 2013-2014 school year. Connor Grennan’s book “Little Princes,” which tells the story of the author’s trip to an orphanage in Nepal to help reunite the children there with their parents, will be distributed to all freshmen and firstyear transfer students next year. The selection of the 2013-2014 common book marked a significant change in the process. Before this year, faculty members on the Common Book Selection Committee had a very closed process, where they gathered recommendations about texts that might meet the criteria for a good common book for the university. One such criterion was using the themes found on the pylons atop War Memorial Chapel to connect in one or more ways to the text. “We wanted it to be something students could read on their own, so they didn’t necessarily need instruction to get a lot out of it,” said Megan O’Neill, associate director for First Year Experiences. “But we also wanted it to be something that built a community... (it) needed to be something that made people think about ways to get people to come together, not a topic that was divisive or didn’t encourage collaboration, communication and community building.” This year was the first year there was an open call for book nominations through the Tech website. Around 180 different books were recommended, and at least half of the recommendations were made by students. Those who recommended books were contacted and asked why they made their specific recommendation, how it applied certain themes from the pylons and how it could assist in forming community at Tech. When only 10 books were left, they were brought forward to the selection committee, who read them and participated in discussions that eventually narrowed the common book down to “Little Princes.” “It has to do with transition, coming to college and finding yourself,” said Lauren Cashman, a freshman biological systems engineering major. The common book is always made available to first year students and to faculty who primarily have freshmen in their classes. “The Virginia Tech Common Book Project is designed to create an opportunity for new students to have a common thought, mission or purpose around which they can build communication and a sense of community,” said Mary Ann Lewis, director of First Year Experiences. The common book project began in 1998 as an attempt to encourage students to broaden their perspectives through participation in university discourse around a common text. The program has been fairly static until the last several years, when the university instituted a more consistent approach by establishing the Office for First Year Experiences. Lewis said an increasing number of
ANDREA LEDESMA / COLLEGIATE TIMES
Decades ago, churches found their largest rises in attendance came on Christmas and Easter, which are two of the biggest religious holidays of the year. For Blacksburg’s Northstar Church, the numbers tend to surge at a different time of year: when school is in session. Northstar is already known for being unconventional. The church itself has no church building; rather, it takes place in Blacksburg High School off of Prices Fork Road. After beginnings as just one service for a small community of families, it has grown into a much bigger operation. “When you reach 80 percent capacity, people stop coming,” said Jeff Noble, the church’s lead pastor. “We used to do both nine o’clock and 11 o’clock services, but both of those hit the 80 percent.” Northstar frequently offers churchgoers a chance to attend any of three different services. The church meets at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. on those weeks and drops the last service on others. Some weeks, Noble said, the attendance is so large that the church moves out of the high school’s cafeteria and into the gym. “With both walls open, we can only squeeze 480 people in the room,” Noble said. “One Sunday, we
Committee changes process used to select the 2014 common book, ‘Little Princes.’
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news
march 29, 2013 COLLEGIATETIMES
editors: mallory noe-payne, priscilla alvarez, dean seal newseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
Puppy love
Night: Students speak out in march from page one
sense of community and solidarity among the participants and energize them and empower them,” said Anderson. “We hope that when we come back to the rally site, all that energy can be used to make a commitment to help create change.” During the march, what empowers people is their ability to show anger about these issues. “Being able to be loud in a public place; we can go out on the street and express (emotions) and know that we’re in a safe place to do that, that we’re surrounded by people that champion the effort to end violence,” Seidorf said.
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Women’s violence affects everyone, and that’s men included. Everyone needs to be aware of it...” Steven Lyle Student and advocate
Th is year, high school freshman, Claire Raimist, founder of a chapter of Help Save the Next Girl at Walkersville High School in Frederick, Md., and other members of the club traveled five hours to march with the Virginia Tech chapter. Raimist, who started the group in memory of her friend Annalee Marshall, former Hokie and member of Help Save the Next Girl, was pleasantly surprised at the turn out last night. “Being here and talking to everyone, I just can’t believe how many people want to take action,” Raimist said. Changes in the types of people that want to take action have been evident to Anderson over the years. Most notably, Womanspace wants to see an increase in male participation. “If everybody isn’t trying
to make positive change, change is incredibly slow,” Anderson said. “You really need both men and women working to create change together.” Steven Lyle, a junior chemistry major who attended the event, has a relative who has endured violence and agrees that men should play a role. “Women’s v iolence affects everyone, and that’s men included,” Lyle said. “Everyone needs to be aware of it and everyone should care about it.” Seidorf has noticed the value of male presence in her experience with the event. “As women, we need to band together and stand up for ourselves and take back the night, but we welcome all people, including men, to help us in that,” Seidorf said. “It’s a collective effort to end violence and men are 100 percent involved with that.” One of the male speakers at the event, representing the White Ribbon Campaign, which encourages men to help stop violence against women, was senior psychology major and member of Womanspace Thomas Friss. He joined the cause as a sophomore after seeing the Womanspace slogan, “Support without Shame.” “I always thought the victim blaming and slutshaming… was very wrong — something seemed off,” Friss said. “(I’m) just trying to do something, even if it’s just yelling the exact same message other people have been yelling for so long.” Anderson urges newcomers and people of all ages, both male and female, to participate. “I would encourage everyone to come out to the event,” Anderson said. “No matter how much you know about violence in our community, you’ll always learn something new.” Follow the writer on Twitter: @Melissadraudt
Dogs, with the Virginia Tech Helping Pet Assisted Wellness Service, visited Newman library March 28 in an aim to alleviate stress for students.
Angel: Tech sets a new standard HB1609/SB1342 The process of HB1609 and SB1342 going through the Virginia Legislature
Proposed to the House 1/6/13 Moved to committee on Education
1/11/13
Moved to sub committee on Higher Education
1/22/13
VOTE: Committee on Higher Education 7Y-0N
Proposed to the Senate 1/6/13 Moved to committee on Education
1/23/13
Moved to sub committee on Higher Education
1/28/13 1/28/13
VOTE: Committee Education 21Y-0N
VOTE: Committee on Higher Education 9Y-0N *With Amendments
1/31/13 2/1/13
VOTE: House Vote 99Y-0N
2/6/13
VOTE: Senate Vote 39Y-0N HB1609 read in the Senate
SB1342 read in the House
2/11/13
2/13/13
Passed through senate with amendments
VOTE: House Rejected Substitution 99Y-0N
Conference Committee 2/15/13-2/23/13
2/21/13
VOTE: Senate Rejected Substitution 1Y-39N
Conference Committee
2/23/13 2/23/13
Confrence Report Approved by House 99Y-0N
2/21/13
Conference Report Approved by Senate 38Y-0N
Sent to Governor McDonnell McDonnell amended the bill and returned the bill to the conference committee to be approved
MICHAELA REARDON / COLLEGIATE TIMES from page one
It is my hope that this will create a safer and more supportive environment for students and prevent further tragedies.” HB 1609 and its companion, Senate Bill 1342 — led by Senator Peterson — work to ensure proper student treatment once they are discharged from a mental health facility and return to a college campus. “What this bill does is create a memorandum of understanding, because what we saw with Virginia Tech with (Seunh-hui) Cho, there was a court order treatment and there was no follow through,” said LuAnn McNabb, president of the Angel Fund. “Virginia Tech didn’t know about it, the community clinic didn’t know about it — there was no follow through to make sure he got the treatment he needed.” According to Christopher
Flynn, director of Cook Counseling Center, Tech has a memorandum of understanding with the community service board and relationships with local hospitals. Th is gives support to students who are hospitalized and helps with discharge planning. A case manager at Tech follows up with students during hospitalization and at discharge. Flynn believes that Tech is a good example that other schools should follow. A similar bill was proposed last year but did not pass. “I was worried because the bill was defeated last year. What I did this year was go to all of the colleges and asked them to support the bill,” Hugo said. “I told them it was important to me, and I thought it was important to the Angel Fund. And in light of what happened at Virginia Tech, this was the critical issue.” During the hearing, Hugo turned to all of the Virginia
colleges and each one voiced their support of the bill. However, in the Senate, the wording of the bill was changed, significantly changing the effectiveness of the bill. Instead of saying, “schools shall create a memorandum of understanding,” the bill said “schools may create a memorandum of understanding,” which was not the original intent of the bill’s drafters. “In (the Conference Committee), it got changed to ‘may’ and I don’t really think that accomplished much, because the colleges could do that now,” Hugo said. “So I wrote a letter to the governor and asked him to amend the bill back to its original form — which is what the Angel Fund originally wanted and what I had originally passed.” The governor amended the bill, and the bill is now waiting to be re-voted on in a reconvened session next week. “It is literally a one-word change, but I think that it’s important. We want all the community service boards and all the colleges to work together,” Hugo said. “Truthfully, what this bill is trying to accomplish is to make sure we don’t have any more tragedies, and I think one of the weaknesses we have had over the years is a lack of emphasis on mental health.” The second piece of legislation spear-headed by the Angel Fund affects students at community colleges. “When the Virginia College Mental Health Care Study looked at all colleges, including community colleges, what they found is community colleges had zero access to mental health services because Virginia does not give them the funding to do so,” McNabb said. “Another reason is because they are a community, and they have commuter students. The students have mental health facilities in their own community as opposed to students coming from all over for a four-year college and a college campus.” The proposed legislation, led by Delegate Scott Surovell and Sen. George Barker of the
39th District, addresses the community colleges’ lack of access to mental health services by requiring that each community college must now have to find at least one person on their campus that students can go to. If a student is having an issue, the student can go to this person and they will assess the problem and direct the student to someone in the community that can help. “I have spoken with a number of campus police at community colleges — they have all said the same thing,” McNabb said. “They have had kids that were falling apart and had nowhere to go.” Addressing the issues with mental health services was the number-one recommendation by the Virginia College Mental Health Study. This bill was also proposed last year but received much opposition from community colleges for economic reasons. “During the year, I set up a number of meetings with community colleges and with the mental health reform group — sometimes separately, sometimes together — to try to work though the issues and come to a compromise,” Barker said. The bill was passed by both bodies and was signed by the governor last week. “The Angel Fund was supportive on moving forward on these bills,” said Senator George Barker of the 39th District. “It clearly helps when you have citizens and groups like the Angel Fund, who have experience with it that support you.” Next session, the Angel Fund hopes to continue working at getting the Mental Health Study’s recommendations made into law. “Last year, we worked on five bills and it was too much, so this year, we only focused on these two,” McNabb said. “Next session, we are working on information sharing between high school and college.” Follow the writer on Twitter: @MReardonCT
Book: Costs prove high every year from page one
departments within different colleges at Tech are working to include the common book in some of their classes. Many of these departments have professors who teach Pathways to Success — a class geared toward firstyear students to help them make a successful transition into life at Tech. Last year, 2,000 students were enrolled in Pathways to Success, and each of them had some sort of exposure to the book. “The past few years have been the first time there has been a requirement or expectation that in some class (the book) would be included in some way,” Lewis said. In order to get the faculty
trained to use the common book effectively in their curriculum, there have been an increasing number of workshops where faculty are given ideas of how to incorporate the text in their classes. The common book is normally distributed in residence halls by resident advisors. Lewis said 95 percent of first years receive a common book, and many RAs are even doing programming in their resident halls that is related to the text. While the common book project has been expanding its reach through the conception of the Office of First Year Experiences, it requires a lot of resources and has received mixed feedback. Lewis stated around 7,000
books are ordered annually at a cost of anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000. For Cashman, the common book isn’t achieving its goal in uniting the first year students, making the whole endeavor costly for the limited kind of personal effect it’s having. There is also varied feedback from students every year. For example, while the common book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” from 2010 received a mostly positive response from students due to its direct relevance to Tech’s recently enacted sustainable functions, “Ecological Intelligence,” the common book from 2009, was not a popular common book, said Lewis. The current common book, “This I Believe II,” — which
is a collection of essays — has been fairly impactful, due to students’ ability to sit down and find an essay that really resonates with them. The Office of First Year Experiences has some changes in mind to continue improving the common book project and find books that will impact students. “It would be really cool if, this time next year, every firstyear student who comes in could engage in a conversation about ‘Little Princes’ with a student or faculty, because they read it in some sort of meaningful way,” Lewis said. Follow the writer on Twitter: @MalloryNoePayne
opinions
editors: josh higgins, shawn ghuman opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
march 29, 2013 COLLEGIATETIMES
what you’re saying
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Student: Frankly most of the Christian Organizations at Tech already do this. Anonymous: Just like Rosenberg vs. University of Virginia VT’s actions will be challenged and this may go to the courts.Universities need to recognize all first amendment rights for students.School speech has come a long way since Tinker vs Des Moines. Hazelwood vs KuhlmeierWhat about when Commission on Student Affairs tried to cut off funding for Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech (Collegiate Times) over CT’s commenting policy on this website?VT & its governing bodies need to realize that students do not lose basic rights such as those in the first amendment; students again did not lose rights just because they set foot on campus.Having policies (www.policies.vt.edu/ index.php) that conflict with students rights.The 1st amendment (as part of The Bill of Rights) applies to all college campus as institution of The Commonwealth of Virginia. The Bill of Rights has been incorpoeated by the states.
MCT CAMPUS
College rankings lack full picture O ver the years, the college selection process seems to have taken a quantitative, over qualitative, approach, with parents and students alike becoming nearly obsessed with the numerical side of college rankings. This leaves many students to choose a college solely on the basis of a certain school or program’s ranking and not on other important factors that usually cannot be measured numerically. Most college rankings rely on empirical data like graduation rates, average GPAs of the incoming class, faculty-student ratios, endowment funds and class sizes, among other factors, but few rely
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A college education is so much more than just an education; it is an experience. Virginia has been graced to afford so many opportunities for those who choose to attend a public university.”
on other, less-tangible factors like overall student happiness or success after graduation. The big names in college rankings like US News & World Report, Forbes and Fiske, and others usually rely on these statistics to formulate an opinion on how certain numbers relate to the college experience as a whole. However, this methodology does not and should not be the deciding factor on a students’ education. A college education is so much more than just an education; it is an experience. Virginia has been graced to afford so many opportunities for those who choose to attend a public university, and there are many good colleges with excellent departments. For example, students are often preached to about attending the best college they can get into,
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not considering whether they could handle the rigorous environment of a top-ranked, highly touted college. Often, this leads to students ignoring the overall college experience to focus on one aspect of the whole: the prestige of the academic program. Unfortunately, many students that feel this way bite off more than they can chew, resulting in a low in-major GPA, as well as a bruised self-esteem. Employability should be used in college rankings. According to The Wall Street Journal, recruiters are seeking public university graduates over Ivy League graduates, with Virginia Tech ranking 13th on the list of most desirable public university graduates. Maybe college-ranking officials could keep important components like GPA requirements and test scores to their methodologies, but finding a way to integrate a method of measuring happiness of student body and success of alumni needs to be a priority. Ranking methods like the “alumni factor” take into account these intangible factors like happiness and alumni success. Not surprisingly, Tech ranks fourth in the “would choose again” category. I think, however, the mentality we as a culture have toward quantitative, concrete statistics is because we often value hard evidence and frown upon subjectivity. We are so awash in statistics that they bear a huge influence on making decisions to the point that we cannot see through them. Our collective mindset has warped the ideas of what a college education should do. Instead of seeing it as a way to become a wellrounded, educated citizen, it becomes distorted by desiring material gain, and the current perceptions college rankings place on students aren’t helping. ANDREW WIMBISH -regular columnist -English -junior
Student Publications Photo Staff Director of Photography: Brad Klodowski Lab Manager: Trevor White
Our Views [staff editorial]
Bills regarding mental health of college students need to pass By introducing and passing bills 1609 and 1342 in the Virginiaw. House of Delegates and Senate, Virginia legislators took the right step in reforming mental health policies in higher education. The bills create a “memorandum of understanding,” allowing higher education institutions to coordinate with mental health facilities and local hospitals, and it ensures that services exist for students seeking mental health treatment and that students receive proper treatment once they enter a college environment. We support this bill, as it is furthers
mental health reform in Virginia. by putting in place an effective system that ensures communication between universities and the health care system. However, it is important that the Senate changing the wording of the bill from “schools may create a memorandum of understanding” to “schools shall create a memorandum of understanding” because it significantly alters the bill’s meaning. Changing the wording to “shall” is crucial to the bill’s effectiveness and the ability to reform mental health care at the collegiate level.
Discussions enlighten students
A
panel discussion on the relationship between science and religion was held on Saturday evening in Haymarket Theater. While many were busy at the Ring Dance, it is still unfortunate the audience turnout was so small. Many students missed out on a fantastic opportunity to listen to the opinions of several of our own professors discuss a very divisive topic. The event, hosted by the Free Th inkers Club at Virginia Tech, opened with panelists giving background information about themselves and their views, then transitioning to a discussion period, where the panelists posed questions to one another. It concluded with a question and answer section, incorporating the audience into the experience. The four panelists included Nahum Arav of the physics department, Paul Carlier of the chemistry department, Matthew Goodrum of the science and technology in society department and John Tyson of the biological sciences department. Carlier and Tyson represented the theistic views on the panel, Arav represented the agnostic and non-theistic views, and Goodrum appeared to represent a middle ground between the two, never specifically mentioning what he believed. The event was incredibly
interesting and served as a great model for discussions on heated topics such as science and religion. The panelists spoke with civility and rationality, were cordial and all brought up valid and impactful points. While the event was great, there are a few things that could be improved for future
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Many students missed out on a fantastic opportunity to listen to the opinions of several of our own professors on such an important topic.”
panels. To start off, the event lasted an hour and a half, but an extra 30 minutes could have made the discussion more thorough. More precise, predetermined questions could also have aided in pinpointing specific points from each panelist. The panel itself did not seem evenly distributed in views, due to Goodrum’s more middle ground stance, and while his stance was essential to the discussion and provided an in-depth analytical and historical approach, perhaps the panel could have been more balanced if a fift h professor
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had been a part of the discussion and had taken the same stance as Arav. Of course, our own participation would improve any panel discussions as well. Without our attendance, without an excited and interested audience, these discussions will never appear as valuable as they truly are. In a world so polarized in views, we need to have rational discussions or debates like this to serve as a model through which our own debates can also take shape. These discussions open a window into the rationality and thoughts of those who may feel differently from our own convictions, which helps in the understanding of other stances. They also have the fantastic potential of tackling some of the subjects that make most individuals uneasy and ideas that most would prefer not to debate about at all. We need to have open and rational discourse with our peers and colleagues, and we need to possess the ability and skills to hold such discussions. As college students, now is the time to think and to question ourselves and to understand where we truly stand. RYAN PFEIFLE -regular columnist -university studies
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Week ending March 29th, 2013
Hot New Songs Dance With Me • Ra Ra Riot Pusher Love Girl • Justin Timberlake Where We Should Be • Cherub Just Give Me A Reason • P!nk, Nate Ruess Karate Chop (Remix) • Future, Lil Wayne
ACROSS 1 Bar fixture 7 Twosome 10 Border Patrol city of the Southwest 14 “Affirmative!” 16 “Affirmative!” 17 “Affirmative!” 18 Drill command 19 Shiny fabrics 20 Hiker’s map, casually 22 Nav. rank 23 Times for les vacances 25 Bank products
3/29/13 29 Block or stock suffix 30 Oil, informally 33 Give or take, e.g. 36 Japanese noodle dish 37 Zebra on a field 38 “It could go either way” 42 Pres. Carter, e.g. 43 Snarl noises 44 __ Inn
45 1975 seminal green movement novel by Ernest Callenbach 47 Post-WWII nuclear org. 49 Others, in Oaxaca 50 Down Under st. 52 Former boomer, briefly 55 Staff sign 58 Frankenstein’s creator
DOWN 1 Ouzo flavoring 2 Fictional salesman 3 Bridge seats 4 Devoted 5 “Deal!” 6 Bandleader Tito 7 Excellent, in modern slang 8 Second, e.g. 9 “Beetle Bailey” dog 10 Boors 11 Thurman of film 12 Director Brooks 13 Social worker 15 Jazz pianist Allison 21 Carpenter’s tool 24 Performed terribly 26 Bright lobbies 27 Down on one’s luck 28 They may be hard to crack 29 Bodybuilder’s pride 31 Lifesavers, for short 32 Crossed (out) 33 Tape, perhaps
34 DVD button 35 Buzz 36 Eastern royal 39 More than that 40 Swipe 41 Atlanta-based health org 46 Sacred scrolls 47 Fireplace receptacle 48 Come out 51 “Stat!” relative
Thursday’s Puzzle Solved
(c)2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Aries (March 21-April 19) Leadership suits you well now. Don’t be inhibited by another. You’re really up to the task. Use your intuition, and ind the answer in a familiar place. Go for it. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Discover and create romance today and tomorrow. Words are more powerful than you give them credit for, so use them wisely. Find wisdom in silence, elegance in poetry, and the delicious satisfaction of a clever wit. Gemini (May 21-June 20) You don’t need to try to do everything, certainly not all at once. Listen to your inner wisdom, and focus on what’s important. Stay in communication with your partner.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -Focus to increase your wealth. Consider possibilities that surprise you. Deep inside, you know what you need to do; it’s surprisingly simple. The gentle approach works best now. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) In a startling revelation, you discover that the other side has a good point. Go over the details once again if you have doubts. Expand your view. Thrifty habits and ef iciency make what you want possible.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) There’s a breakthrough at work. You’re unstoppable, especially around inances. Use this burst of energy to ind new sources of income. Listen to a loved one. Stand up Cancer (June 21-July 22) straight and take care of your Rearrange what you’ve got, rather back. than getting more. Use the same routine that worked before and Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You’re bene it. Celebrate with a home- getting stronger and aren’t afraid cooked meal and shared coziness. to get “no” for an answer. The It’s the time together that matters, more attempts, the more you not the stuff. accomplish, even considering failures. But don’t get worn out; take time for your well-being.
Stay in the know.
52 More cunning 53 “Ciao!” 54 Rolls rollers 56 Short cut 57 Shape (up) 59 Endure 60 Torpedo, or its launcher 61 Yellowfin tuna 62 Shooter 64 Mattress feature
3/28/13
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Being in doubt isn’t a bad thing. There’s a lot to learn in the process. Relax in a hot tub or sauna, as you consider. In the end, intuition provides an answer. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) It’s a good time to work on team projects. Write down progress and keep measures for improvement. Resolve a long-standing problem close to home. Relationships low with energy, passion and a quest for truth. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Career matters emerge for your consideration. Conditions are in your favor, and you’re full of great ideas. Apply them with grace and respect, and avoid stepping on someone’s toes. Honey works better than vinegar. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Should you stay or should you go? Make a list of complaints to disappear, and tackle them one by one. Focus on your genius. You’re looking good.
Pick up your copy of the Collegiate Times. Every Tuesday through Thursday.
editors: emma oddard, nick smirniotopoulos featureseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
he she
people & clubs
SAID
march 29, 2013 COLLEGIATETIMES
5
Becoming a Hokie
He said: Take time to decide, choose wisely An open letter to visiting high school seniors: Congratulations on being recently offered admission to Virginia Tech! I hope you have been enjoying the beautiful spring weather and being yelled at by people walking backward. I know that you have many options concerning higher education these days, especially since the Internet encourages everyone to take a buckshot approach to the whole ordeal, and I am glad that you applied to our school. But now that the admissions letters have been mailed and you’ve posted incessantly about them on Facebook, you’re suddenly facing a conundrum: which of the 57 schools to which you applied should you actually attend? Where do you want to spend the next four — give or take — years of your life? No doubt well-meaning advisors, teachers, friends, family members and back issues of U.S. News and World Report will pull you one way or another, but I would like to offer you some worldly advise to help narrow down your short list. You may want to take some notes. First and foremost, consider the local nightlife. I can’t stress this enough. You’ve seen colleges in movies and on television, right? I don’t really want to go so far as to say that each and every depiction of college in popular culture is accurate, but it’s pretty clear that college is supposed to be all about sex, football and especially drinking. You probably didn’t really consider the booze factor — given that you’re under 21 and nobody under 21 drinks — but a little planning and forethought can now go a long way toward improving quality of life during your junior, senior and second senior years. Your future self will thank you. To do a quick evaluation of schools under consideration, pull up Google Maps — or Apple Maps, if you’re feeling especially dangerous — and fi nd your potential campus. Now, do a quick search for bars. If you find a dozen bars within walking distance from campus, that’s great. If the closest place is 10 miles away and attached to a Days Inn, you’re going to have a bad time. So, now that every school in Utah is off your list, you need to consider the most fundamental aspect of your potential university: the food. College students march on their stom-
COLLEGEMEDIA.COM/BUGLE
achs, as Napoleon famously said. No matter where you go, you’ll probably need to eat several times a day. Why not enjoy the experience? If lobster and steak aren’t on the menu, that should be a red flag. Hibachi restaurants are a plus. Finally, every college has a leader who works tirelessly to promote the school’s mission. Someone who epitomizes the university in heart and soul, and who makes sure that students’ needs are met. I’m referring, of course, to the mascot. Experts have known for decades that mascot-based decisions represent the key component of a successful March Madness bracket, but mascots should be factored just as heavily into your college search, as well. For the rest of your life people you meet will associate you with your college mascot — it’s going to be on your car, on all your sweatshirts and on your children. It may even be tattooed on your body. It is very important to make a solid, well-informed choice. If your potential mascot doesn’t rollerblade through the rec center regularly or follow you on Twitter, you need to seriously reevaluate your decisions. This should eliminate schools with mascots like plants, colors, plants and colors, or boll weevils. Seriously, University of Arkansas at Monticello? You went with “boll weevils”? Well, I’ve hit on all the really important college considerations, although I can’t help but think that I’m forgetting something. Maybe athletics, but that’s kind of a corollary to the mascot. At any rate, I’m sure it couldn’t be anything all that important. So, make sure to take into account these crucial points while making your final college decision. And, when you tell your parents why you decided to attend Tech next year, feel free to reference this column. Mention that I’m a grad student; it will help establish ethos. We’ll talk more about that in my composition class next fall. Oh, that’s it! Academics. You may want to consider that too. Just another reason to come to Blacksburg. ANDREW KULAK - news reporter - graduate student - English major
THE YEARBOOK OF
VIRGINIA TECH
She said: Time is fleeting, cherish memories There is a particular kind of horror in discovering your old social media posts. It’s the kind of feeling that grips you deep down under your skin with a sickening mixture of embarrassment, nostalgia and disappointment. Unfortunately, it’s also a feeling that I have recently experienced. Let’s backtrack a bit. Between this week’s historic Supreme Court cases, the onslaught of Blacksburg springwinter and what seems to be every other person’s little sibling’s acceptance into Virginia Tech, my Facebook feed has not been particularly original. Don’t get me wrong — I’m thrilled that your third cousin, your best friend’s baby sister and your embarrassingly young boyfriend are “gonna be a Hokie too!” and that you’re “so PROUD of you baby xo.” Really. Just beyond thrilled. The only thing is, as a graduating senior, I’m not particularly fond of this lurking reminder of my impending expulsion into the real world. So, logically,
when faced with a torrential amount of painful celebration posts, I retreated from my newsfeed and indulged myself in a bit of self-stalking. Now, let’s backtrack a bit more. I don’t know if you guys remember the time period right around 2008 on Facebook. It was my sophomore year of high school and, for whatever reason, it was really trendy to publish “Top 25 Lists” about yourself and then tag your 30 closest friends so they could offer up cutesy comments. The lists trend more or less disappeared when Facebook did its first major redesign and the “Notes” feature that you would publish your lists in became more difficult to access. Five years and several redesigns later, however, I found that these mortifying messages of my junior years gone by had not magically deleted themselves over time, but were in fact still featured in all their glory in the deep recesses of my profile. Perhaps more unsettling than the actual discovery of these
notes was how little the list item tid-bits about myself had changed over time. Apart from some truly heinous proclamations of love for Jesus and Sarah Palin, five years has not had much of an impact on my Top 25: I still want to be a designer, I still write a lot of lists and fall back on cynical humor to compensate for actual conversation, and I still adore Tech. There are a lot of things I’ve pushed to the back of my mind over the years. School spirit has been one of them. But I used to have a lot of pride in my school. I wore the same white Tech T-shirt I bought on my first campus visit once a week for two years in high school. I had a calendar that I used solely to count off days until my next trip to Blacksburg. Way back in the corners of my apartment, I have the first copy of the Collegiate Times I ever picked up because I just can’t bring myself to throw it out. I knew before I loved this school — heck, before I’d
even started looking at colleges seriously — that I wanted to work here. I remember reading the “She said” column and knowing I wanted to write it. For whatever reason, I was consumed with Hokie pride right up until my first month of college, until the more non-conformist side of my personality beat it out of me. I’m not saying I regret that or that I’m about to sign up for some alumni tickets to the first football game in the fall. But it’s nice to remember every now and then that I was once as excited as the kids posting endlessly on Facebook and tagging their tweets “Virginia Tech class of 2017,” and that there might be some girl reading this who felt the same way I did so long ago. VICTORIA ZIGADLO - featured columnist - senior - English major
Mass: Community joins together to celebrate Easter from page one
“I don’t think most people understand the degree of effort that goes into everything,” Hard said. One of the ways Northstar accommodates such large numbers is by cutting down on service time. Noble said some visitors appreciate hearing the church’s message without having to suffer through a longer service. “(On Palm Sunday), one of my daughter’s friends brought her dad to church,” Noble said. “My daughter was afraid it might be too loud for him, but I caught him on the way out and he said ‘Oh, we’ll be back. This is fun.’”
WWW.BUGLEONLINE.COM
Noble added that he wasn’t sure if he could characterize church service as fun, but he was glad to see a visitor leave with such a positive experience. “I love seeing families, particularly adults, come through,” Noble said. “We’ve seen a lot of students say (to their families), ‘No, I want you to come to my church for Easter.’” As a church that has no true building, Northstar has to rely on the help of others. Noble said working with Blacksburg High School and the church’s different volunteers is what brings Northstar together each week. “(On Palm Sunday), I had
four guys come up to me and ask me to put them in charge of something, to tell them what to do,” Noble said. “They worked until we left. You don’t think a mobile church can build deep relationships, but it’s something special to work together with people to get something done.” This Easter, many students and community members will visit the church for the first time, and Noble hopes they come without expectations. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how they’re encouraged and blessed and surprised that church is not just something to be endured,” he said.
Easter schedule The Northstar church Easter masses will be held as follows: Location: Blacksburg High School, 3109 Prices Fork Road Northstar church will hold Easter services at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. For other Easter events and services, check online at www. collegiatetimes.com
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sports
march 29, 2013 COLLEGIATETIMES
editors: matt jones, zach mariner sportseditor@collegiatetimes.com/ 540.231.9865
Dual Perspectives: World Series champion picks Washington Nationals have the best odds
MCT CAMPUS
It’s no secret to those who know me that I am an avid supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals. Given the opportunity, I would select them to win the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the Masters and the PBA Tournament of Champions each and every year. However, in an attempt to keep the Collegiate Times as unbiased and as reputable as a newspaper should be, my higher-ups have instructed against choosing the Redbirds as this year’s champions. While I wouldn’t be shocked — ecstatic, yes, but not shocked — if the Cardinals came away with their third title in seven years, the Washington Nationals have the best chance to be crowned kings of baseball come
October. From top-to-bottom, the Nationals have one of the best rosters in baseball. In addition to that, the Nationals proved to others — but more importantly themselves — they could compete with the big boys of the National League. This recipe of confidence and ability will make for happy Nats’ fans. At some point during the Nationals’ prolonged stay in the cellar of the NL East, their front office decided the key to rebuilding the franchise wouldn’t come from free agency or trade, but rather the draft. It certainly helped that they held the first overall pick in 2009 and 2010 and were able to draft perhaps the two most MLB-ready prospects of the decade in Steven Strasburg
and Bryce Harper. Strasburg, who has proven at times that he can be considered amongst the leagues most dominant starters, is returning to the top of Washington’s rotation after being shut down following the implementation of an innings-limit last year. The rotation — which led the NL in wins, games started, and was fift h in quality starts — only improved this offseason by adding Dan Haren to the replace Edwin Jackson. If the pitching staff is able to keep the games close, trust the bats to do the rest. The Nationals are fortunate to have almost every position player that played a significant role in 2012 returning in 2013, with the notable exception of Michael Morse. The Nationals finished second in the NL in home
runs, fi ft h in runs scored and fourth in team batting average. Looking back, last year’s late inning collapse in Game 5 of the NLDS was the best possible outcome for the Nationals — and not only because my Cardinals came out on top. It showed a team that had plenty of talent, much like they do now, which it will take to win in playoffs. They now have the experience to complement their talent and, excluding any unforeseeable situations, they should be fighting for the World Series trophy come October. JACOB EMERT -sports reporter -sophomore -communication and history major -@jacobemert
Ryan Zimmerman and the Nationals are the favorites to win it all.
Behind Verlander and Cabrera, Tigers will run away with the central Last season, after signing superstar first baseman Prince Fielder, the Detroit Tigers were considered a shoo-in to win over 90 games and the World Series. After stumbling through the regular season — they finished with only 88 wins — the Tigers still made it to that World Series, where they lost to the San Francisco Giants. This year the expectations for the Tigers are just as high, and now, they are much better
equipped to handle them. This offseason, the Tigers addressed the hole in the outfield left by the underwhelming performance of Brennan Bosch, signing Torii Hunter. Hunter may not be quite as athletic as he was with the Minnesota Twins, but he is still a good player. Keeping its pitching staff intact, Detroit also re-signed starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez. While Sanchez isn’t anything special, the rotation as a whole
got significantly better. Outside of the Washington Nationals, the Tigers have the best onethrough-five in their starting rotation. But that’s not to say that the team wasn’t already filled with talent. The last two American League MVPs are on the Tigers in Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. Both men also won their respective Triple Crowns the year they won the MVP award. And it’s not just the stars that
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are good. Catcher Alex Avila is one of the best young offensive catchers in the game, while center fielder Austin Jackson has a deadly combination of speed and power. The Tigers will also be getting some help from the disabled list, with designated hitter Victor Martinez coming back from the knee injury that sidelined him for nearly all of 2012. Of concern for the Tigers though is their infield defense, which was one of the worst in
the majors last season. While Cabrera has improved at third base, he is not a true third baseman by any stretch of the imagination, and shortstop Jhonny Peralta doesn’t have the range to cover Cabrera’s mistakes. However, any time infield defense is your biggest concern going into the season, you don’t have much to worry about. The Tigers are helped by their division foes that range from barely decent to disasters.
While the Nationals have the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers have the Los Angeles Angels, the Tigers have no real competition to take their division. Put all of this together, and you have an obvious choice for a World Series champion in 2013. JAMES O’HARA -sports staff writer -junior -computer science major -@nextyeardc