Oct. 28, 2014

Page 1

collegiatetimes.com

111th YEAR, ISSUE 1

October 28, 2014

COLLEGIATETIMES An independ independent, dent, sstudent-run tudent-run newsp newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

“WHAT HAPPENED?” Thursday’s blowout loss leaves many fans wondering, “Where do we go from here?” Thu RICKY LABLUE sports editor

A ggame that was highly anticipated by Virginia Tec Tech fans quickly turned into a game that they w would like to forget. The Hokies were outclassed from the b beginning. Miami turned up the heat on Tech an controlled the game from the outset, winning and 30 30-6. Miami scored 21 points in the second qua quarter and never looked back. For Virginia Tech, the sseason has turned into a downward spiral. Here m takeaways from Virginia Tech’s primetime are my disappo disappointment.

Remains identified as Hannah Graham’s

Defense is feeling the effects of injuries On defense, the Hokies were missing defensive tackle Luther Maddy, linebacker Chase Williams and cornerback Brandon Facyson. That’s three starters. The lack of depth is hurting Virginia Tech. Miami running back Duke Johnson ran all over the Hokies. Johnson finished with 249 yards, and backup running back Gus Edwards totaled 115 rushing yards. Quarterback Brad Kaaya wasn’t expected to do much after Miami’s early success, and even he threw a touchdown pass. The Hokies knew that Johnson was dangerous coming into the game; Johnson is Miami’s all-time career yardage leader. see TAKEAWAYS / page 6

Mellow Mushroom opens downtown

Human remains found in Albermarle Co. last Saturday were confirmed to be those of UVA student Hannah Graham. MAURA MAZUROWSKI news editor

XXX // COLLEGIATE COLLEGIATE TIMES TIMES KEVIN DICKEL

KATELIN OWENS news staff writer

HANNAH GRAHAM Human remains discovered in Albemarle County, Virginia have been positively identified as those of missing UVA student Hannah Graham, authorities confirmed on Friday. Graham went missing in the early morning of Sept. 13, last being seen on surveillance cameras leaving Tempo Bar at approximately 2:00 a.m. at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia. Cameras show her with suspect Jesse Leroy Matthew, Jr., who has been charged with the abduction of and the intent to defile Graham. The remains were discovered on Oct. 18 on an abandoned farm on Old Lynchburg Road, roughly eight miles from where the 18-year-old, second year student was last seen. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Graham family and Hannah’s friends during this incredibly difficult time,” said the Albemarle County police in a statement on Friday. Graham’s parents John and Sue Graham addressed the confirmation of the remains that were announced by the Virginia Medical Examiner and the Albemarle County Police Department. “When we started this journey together we all hoped for a happier ending,” said the Grahams in a statement on Friday. “Sadly that was not to be, but due to the tenacity and determination of (Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy) Longo, Hannah is coming home to us and we will be eternally grateful to him for this.” The police are currently continuing their investigation. “The focus of this investigation now is to determine what charges will be brought and the appropriate time to make those charges,” said Albemarle County see GRAHAM / page 2

Blacksburg welcomed a popular name in pizza to the downtown scene on Saturday evening. Mellow Mushroom, a well-known, eclectic pizzeria franchise, opened its doors on Oct. 25 for their “Friends and Family VIP” event. Around 350 “Shroomers” were invited to attend the event, including Mayor Ron Rordam, who assisted Mellow Mushroom owners Leslie and Jeff Knapp in a ceremonial ribbon cutting signifying the official opening of the restaurant. The money received from the event on Saturday was donated by Mellow Mushroom to the Giving Tree Food Pantry in Christiansburg. Knapp, owner of the new Mellow Mushroom in downtown Blacksburg, introduced the famous pizzeria to Hickory, North Carolina four years ago after visiting the original location in Atlanta, Georgia. With the opening of her second Mellow Mushroom restaurant, Knapp expects to be doing a lot of traveling back and forth to manage the two locations. “We fell in love with the food and the concept. It became a family favorite of ours,” Knapp said. For times when Knapp is not in Blacksburg,

a general manager will be hired to run day-today operations. It’s unclear how many jobs the new location will create, but Knapp says that “corporate, for opening, because it can get a little hectic, (will) look at anywhere between 100 to 125 (new employees).” Mellow Mushroom features pizza, hoagies and calzones and offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Prices range from $6.95 for lunch specials and up to $26.99 for a large specialty pizza. In addition to the variety of pizza options, the restaurant will offer 60 different types of beer on tap, with an additional 40 types in bottles, with a “fair amount” in rotation, said Jeff Knapp, Leslie’s husband. They are also expecting to sell growlers of their craft beers. Knapp, a Virginia Tech alumni, sought to plant a Mellow Mushroom in Blacksburg nearly three years ago, finally breaking ground for the location of the project last May. “We wanted (to introduce) a place that could serve students as well as young professionals, families and alumni returning to this area,” Knapp said. “(Blacksburg) is like our second home.” The new one-story location, replacing what once was Backstreet Pizza, features an outdoor patio that sports a fire pit, murals that adorn

KATELIN OWENS / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Mayor Ron Rordam cut the ribbon at the Mellow Mushroom launch on Saturday. the walls and chandeliers made out of “welded gears,” with it all fitting in just 5,000 square feet. There is no parking at the location, but it is central to downtown. The pizzeria opened its doors to the public on Monday, Oct. 27 and is located at 207 South Main St.

@KatelinOwensVT

Crazy In Love with Queen B A new course in the Africana Studies department, “Theorizing Beyonce,” will be offered this spring. ABBEY WILLIAMS lifestyles editor

In the midst of course request and planning schedules for the upcoming semester, student buzz has risen about a new class with an unexpected focus: Beyonce. Professor Petra RiveraRideau, who has worked in the Africana Studies department at Tech for three years, will be offering “Theorizing Beyonce” for the first time in spring 2015. “My idea came from two places,” said Rivera-Rideau, who also teaches introduction and graduate-level Africana courses. “First, there are some Beyonce courses at other universities. There are other

WATCH: ANNABELLE Find out what our columnist thinks. page 5

universities and courses that use one particular person as a focal point, like Duke has a class on Michael Jackson and Georgetown has one on Jay Z. I was always interested in teaching a course like that.”

It’s a Beyonce class, but Beyonce is our entrance point for much bigger discussions about historical and contemporary cultural politics.”

crime blotter

Petra Rivera-Rideau

In addition to being influenced by other academics, Professor Rivera-Rideau also gained inspiration from her students. “In my intro course, one of the assignments students have to do is write a paper where they look at some sort of representation of race in popular culture,” Rivera-Rideau said. “I often have students pick Beyonce and I realized a lot of my students were using Beyonce’s work to think about the issues and theories we were dealing with.” “Theorizing Beyonce,” technically listed as AFST 4354: Issues in Africana Studies, will center around the famous singer in an effort to discuss greater race and gender issues.

“It’s a Beyonce class, but Beyonce is our entrance point for much bigger discussions about historical and contemporary cultural politics,” Rivera-Rideau said. “It’s not like we’re going to sit around and watch music videos and just talk about how awesome she is. We’re using her to think about very rigorous and complicated ideas, like representation, race and gender in the United States.” According to Rivera-Rideau, Beyonce’s status as a pop icon makes her valuable for students to investigate on several levels. “She’s such an attractive and difficult figure for people to analyze, because she’s

/CollegiateTimes

TIME FOR CRIME Check out what happened over the weekend. page 3

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see BEYONCE / page 5

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