Tuesday, September 17, 2013 An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 www.collegiatetimes.com
COLLEGIATETIMES 110th year, issue 16 News, page 2
Lifestyles, page 5
Opinions, page 3
Sports, page 6
Study Break, page 4
TUESDAY MORNING TAKEAWAYS
Unpaid internships: Worth the experience?
Tech earns close win against ECU
BY MATT JOHNSON news staff writer
Unpaid internships continue to be a point of contention nationally as some students feel the financial pressures of free labor.
O
ver the summer, Virginia Tech students and college students all over the country worked in unpaid internships in different professional sectors with varying levels of success. But unpaid internships have become a hot topic among members of government, higher education institutions and employers. A federal judge in New York recently ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated minimum wage and overtime laws by not paying interns that worked on the movie “Black Swan.” The two interns who filed the suit said that they were doing menial labor, such as preparing coffee, and stated that they didn’t receive educational experience or training while interning. This lawsuit has prompted discussion regarding the legality and ethics of unpaid internships. On Virginia Tech’s campus, Career Services follows the standards set by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
BEN WEIDLICH / SPPS
Logan Thomas (3) was pressured by ECU, but still performed well. “We believe that the U.S. Department of Labor criteria…must be reviewed and further clarified to ensure they account for the incredible diversity of students, higher education institutions and employing organizations involved in such programs,” the NACE said in a June 2010 statement.
There’s an unnecessary burden on college students with unpaid internships.” Steven Kark, English department internship coordinator “… For an unpaid internship to qualify, it has to be directly applicable to their academic courses,” said Jim Henderson, associate director of Employer Relations at Virginia Tech Career Services. “The benefit of that work really should be for the student and not for the employer. It should
The defense and Logan Thomas helped carry the team, despite Cody Journell’s kicking struggles JACOB EMERT sports editor
never be to replace a paid worker.” “When we have employers that post jobs on Hokies4Hire, many of them want to have unpaid internships,” Henderson said. “We’ll have that discussion with them about what’s eligible for an unpaid internship. But still, each student should do due diligence.” Unpaid internships that require a student to travel or live in an expensive area can force students to spend more then their internship is worth. “There’s an unnecessary burden on college students with unpaid internships,” said Steven Kark, director of internships for the department of English. “It’s how some companies are training employees. I think it’s becoming more and more common.” see UNPAID / page two
Senegal officials visit Blacksburg JOSH HIGGINS news reporter
While Virginia Tech is well known for its agricultural programs, its impact is reaching all the way to Senegal. On Sept. 12-13, a delegation of 22 university presidents and government officials from Senegal came to campus to participate in a tour to help improve agricultural higher education in Senegal. Guru Ghosh, vice president for Virginia Tech Outreach and International Affairs said in a release that Senegal is one of the world’s most untapped places in the developing world for food security. “We are honored by this visit and look forward to fruitful discussions,” he said.
NEWS
During their time here, the Senegalese delegation visited the Corporate Research Center, the Cyrus McCormick Farm and the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center. During these visits they examined the university’s partnerships with the private sector and attempted to take away knowledge to address Senegal’s agricultural growth. The visit was coordinated through the Education and Research in Agriculture in Senegal program, which aims to fight hunger and food insecurity in Senegal, as well as improving Senegal’s agricultural education system. Tech partnered with four other American universities — the University of Connecticut, Michigan State, Purdue and Tuskegee
— to tackle the issues facing Senegal. Tech’s Office of International Research and International Development manages the effort, and is part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future ini-
LIFESTYLES
tiative, which attempts to address “underlying causes of hunger and under-nutrition around the world.”
@JoshuaLHiggins
see page 2
OPINIONS
Lunch Pail D The level of execution from Bud Foster’s defense is getting slightly ridiculous. Dating back five games to the final regular season game of last year — a 17-14 win over Virginia — the Hokies have not allowed more than 217
see TMT / page six
Eco-friendly dining containers offered ZACK WAJSGRAS news staff writer
Every day hundreds of white Styrofoam containers are used and thrown out across campus with students taking meals to-go. Rial Tombes, the Sustainability Coordinator for Virginia Tech’s dining services, has introduced two new environmentally-friendly programs this year to help address some of the inefficiencies in the dining halls. Tombes has received many complaints from students asking, “why are we using Styrofoam?” This led her to search for an alternative form of to-go containers. This fall, the West End market began offering reuseable containers that students and faculty can check out, take home and bring back to the dining hall. It costs students $12 for a year-long membership to the program, which gives students access to three containers at any given time. Once returned to West End, the staff will wash and clean them for another student to use. This was an improvement
MULTIMEDIA Check out Koofers’ new online service, Campus Recruiter, which networks students with recruiters before even attending the career fair.
See what’s in store for this week’s weather forecast.
Read what students have to say about internet addiction. see page 3
COURTESY OF VT NEWS
Tech officials welcomed Senegalese university presidents on Friday.
It was a nail-biter that could have easily been a blow out. Regardless, Virginia Tech improved to 2-1 after their 15-10 victory over East Carolina Saturday.
total yards in a game. This season they’ve given up an average of 190.7 yards a game, second best in the nation behind Michigan State (177). The Hokies and the Spartans are the only Division I schools averaging less than 200 yards this year. On Saturday, the Pirates received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, going 75 yards for a 7-0 lead in just 1:39. After the opening drive though, Foster’s defense buckled down.
more info Sustainability Week will be held from Sept. 18-20, with events celebrating Tech’s effort to be green. to the to-go program Owen’s dining hall implemented in 2011, which required students to wash and clean their containers before bringing them back. Tombes mentioned that the changes were designed to make it “a little bit easier” for students. So far the containers are growing in popularity, but Rial hopes that the new additions to the program will be more inclusive by making the process easier on students. The ultimate goal is to create a compostable container, but Tombes feels that the program has taken a good step forward, and students will be open to the idea of more sustainable dining. see DINING / page two
ONLINE Did you miss the Brew Do festival this weekend? The Collegiate Times captured all the fun on video.
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