see page 5 for the outcome of this weekend’s doubleheader against UVa Tuesday April 30, 2013
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES 109th year, issue 109 News, page 2
Arts & Entertainment, page 4
Fees increase for specific majors TUITION INCREASES
Opinions, page 3
BY PRISCILLA ALVAREZ | news editor
Jill Sible, a member of the Blacksburg community, recounts her experience at the Boston marathon
FEE INCREASES
A
fter a sleepless night, Jill Sible woke up in her hotel room in Boston at 4:30 a.m. Prepared for the day’s 26.2-mile run, she slipped on the clothes she had picked out the night before and layered up for the morning cold. Sible was ready. Ready to accomplish a lifelong dream — to run the Boston Marathon. What she was not ready for, however, was what would happen later that day. On April 15, two bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring an estimated 170 others. Jill Sible is a runner. To date, she has officially run four marathons. Sible, assistant vice president for undergraduate education at Virginia Tech, grew up in southern New Hampshire, near Boston. She spent most of her life surrounded with the excitement of the Boston Marathon, hoping to someday run it herself. “We didn’t even call it the Boston Marathon, we called it “the marathon.” I mean, that was the epitome for runners,” said Sible, who also teaches courses in biological sciences. The marathon, founded in 1897 by inaugural U.S. Olympic team manager John Graham, is a 26.2-mile trek that goes through the streets of the greater Boston area on Patriot’s Day. “Having lived in Boston and grown up there, it’s a huge holiday in the state, so nobody’s working,” Sible said. “Everybody is either at the marathon, watching the marathon, or doing something else.” During her time as a graduate student in Boston, she had the chance of walking behind the marathon runners unofficially.
Engineering Fee
IN STATE + $532
OUT OF STATE + $1,296
$
+5.0%
Architecture Fee
$ 1000 Level Business Courses, per hour
$ Library Fee KELLEY FOLTS / COLLEGIATE TIMES
Tuition was approved to go up 4.9 percent for in-state, and 5 percent out-of-state students. CAMERON AUSTIN news reporter
The annual Board of Visitors met to discuss tuition Sunday, and unfortunately for students’ wallets, the price of a higher education degree will continue to rise. The meeting, which was held specifically to discuss charges for next year, resulted in a two-hour long deliberation that concluded in a 4.9 percent increase in tuition for in-state students, and a 5 percent increase for out-ofstate students. This will cost out-of-state students an extra $1,296, and an extra $532 for in-state students. Dwight Shelton, Chief Financial Officer for Virginia Tech, presented the proposals, which also include a library fee and an increase in program fees for engineering, and architecture and design programs. Though the board only approved minimal increases to these specific departments’ fees, board member George Nolen, alum and CEO of Siemens Corporation, suggested that certain degrees at Tech are “significantly underpriced.” “We need to make that quantum leap saying, ‘this degree is worth more than others,’” Nolen said. Engineering students will face an increase to annual fees from $30 to $33, while architecture and design students will face a $65 increase, from $650 to $715. Similar to the architecture and engineering fees, Pamplin College of Business will also start charging an additional $25 per class for 1000 level classes. Nolen argued that students graduating with degrees like business, information sys-
info on the go A new $20 library fee was approved to combat recent budget cuts and low national ratings. tems, and other technology and engineering fields are hired at an incredibly high rate, and that these degrees should cost more to obtain than an English degree, for example. The board approved these changes, along with the new tuition increases, with 11 yes-votes, and 1 no-vote. The singular no-vote came from Suzanne Obenshain. Obenshain, who was elected to the board in 2010 by Gov. Bob McDonnell, disapproved of increasing the outof-state rate only a little more than the in-state rate. She felt that there was a need to increase out-of-state tuition significantly more than the board had recommended. “If we are such a top institution as we claim to be, I think we will continue to attract out-of-state students despite tuition rises,” Obenshain argued. “We need to show Virginians that we’re taking care of Virginians.” Other board members, including President Steger, said that raising the out-ofstate cost any higher would result in losing out-of-state applicants and students. “I think we’ve exceeded what we can charge out-ofstate students,” President Steger countered. see FEES / page two
Study Break, page 6
In the nick of time
$
+4.9%
Sports, page 5
see RUN / page eight
KEVIN DICKEL / SPPS
Fuller, Painter only Hokies to get drafted BROOKS AKER sports staff writer
Just as the 2012 football season dragged on for many Hokie fans, it seemed that this year’s NFL Draft did the same. Only two Hokies were selected, both in the sixth round. Corey Fuller went to the Detroit Lions with the third pick of the sixth round, 171st overall. His offensive teammate, Vinston Painter, was selected soon after, going 173rd overall to the Denver Broncos. The sixth round splash was all the noise that Virginia Tech made in the 2013 NFL Draft. The two-person draft class was the smallest for the Hokies since 2009, when Victor “Macho” Harris was the sole Hokie drafted. This year’s draft is only the third time since 2000 that two or fewer Tech players have been selected, the others being 2009 and 2003, when two players were selected. Corey Fuller becomes the second Fuller brother to be drafted, following in the footsteps of his older brother Vincent, a safety for the Hokies from 2001-2004, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 draft by the
TREVOR WHITE / SPPS
Corey Fuller was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the third pick of the sixth round. He caught 43 passes in 2012.
Tennessee Titans. Corey started his collegiate athletic career as a member of the track team at Kansas, and spent two years there competing in sprints, the triple jump and the high jump. After transferring to Tech
and sitting out the 2010 season, Fuller played only 57 snaps on offense in 2011. He was stuck on the depth chart behind Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale, who finished first and second respectively in career receptions and
receiving yards in school history. But as a senior, Fuller started six games and caught 43 passes for 815 yards and six touchdowns. see DRAFT / page five
Hall commemorates donors with name LESLIE MCCREA news reporter
With large amounts of philanthropic support including gifts from two couples, the Performance Hall in the new Virginia Tech Center for the Arts will adorn a new name: The
Street and Davis Performance Hall. The 84,000 square ft. performance hall was a large undertaking within the new $97 million Center for the Arts project, scheduled to open this fall. “For people that have such an affinity and fondness for the col-
lege, having their name attached to something is a really special thing,” said Ruth Waalkes, Executive Director for the Center for the Arts. “We look for opportunities that we think can be meaningful for people.” Nicholas and Fay Street of Bristol along with William
“Jack” Davis, the Executive director for Tech’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, and Sandra Davis of Blacksburg all contributed to the construction, which will result in a 150,000 square ft. center when completed. see HALL / page eight