Nov. 5, 2014

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collegiatetimes.com

111thh YEAR, ISSUE 42

November 5, 2014

C LLEGIATETIMES An independent, inde depende d nt student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

Sands restricts travel to prevent spread of Ebola President Timothy Sands released a statement on Tuesday in regards to Presidential Policy Memorandum No. 288, a precaution against Ebola. CAMERON AUSTIN editor-in-chief

Voting comes to campus

President Timothy Sands has restricted university travel by employees and students to particular countries, effective immediately, to prevent the spread of Ebola. In a statement released on Tuesday, Sands issued Presidential Policy Memorandum No. 288, which “prohibits employees and students on university business from traveling to countries where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued Warning Level 3 Travel Warnings.”

I want to emphasize that there is very little risk of Ebola affecting Virginia Tech.”

For the first year, Virginia Tech offered on-campus voting for two precincts which shared one voting location in Squires Student Center.

Timothy Sands President of Virginia Tech Currently, the CDC has only classified the countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as Level 3 travel warnings. “I want to emphasize that there is very little risk of Ebola affecting Virginia Tech,” Sands said in his statement. “To date, Virginia Tech has not identified any member of our community, or any visitor to campus, who is at risk for Ebola.” Sands also said that any university departments that are expecting anyone from those countries must inform the Office of the Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs no later than 30 days prior to their arrival. The university has a protocol in place to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. That protocol was effectively used during the H1N1 and SARS outbreaks, according to Sands.

ZACK WAJSGRAS / COLLEGIATE TIMES

AMANDA GORDON lifestyles staff writer

In the past in Montgomery County, casting a ballot has been difficult and inconvenient for students due to the lack of available of polling locations. Democratic Committee Liaison for Montgomery County, Sarah Lewis, believes this kept an important demographic of voters from sharing their opinions. “In previous elections anyone living on campus had to catch a bus that only comes at a certain time to take them to the airport to be able to vote,” said Lewis, a senior psychology major. “Most freshman don’t have time in their schedule to do that, so it really did keep students from voting.” Now due to changes overseen by

the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and the Blacksburg Town Council, students have access to another voting location.

In previous elections anyone living on campus had to catch a bus that only comes at a certain time to take them to the airport to be able to vote.” Sarah Lewis Democratic Committee Liaison

Yesterday Virginia Tech held its first ever on-campus voting, enabling students who live on campus to vote in the same area.

This change was brought about with the redrawing of district lines that originally split apart the campus into four different precincts. Now there are two precincts that share one voting location — the Commonwealth Ballroom at Squires Student Center, which was open for students and community members to vote from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Katie Coulter, president of the Young Democrats at Virginia Tech, has followed her predecessors in working to bring a voting location to campus. “The effort to get voting moved on campus outdates our time here at Tech,” said Coulter, a junior sociology and urban and public affairs major. “There was a definite solidarity from student see VOTE / page 3

@CameronOAustin

Committee to vote on curriculum The University Curriculum Committee for Liberal Education will meet Wednesday to discuss the proposed revisions of Tech’s general education requirements. MAX LUONG news staff writer

Virginia Tech administration is trying to shake up students’ curricula — one liberal arts class at a time. For years, Marlene Preston and the University Curriculum Committee for Liberal Education (UCCLE) have developed the Pathways proposal — a new way for students to supplement their course load with CLE classes. “The proposal is designed to support our emphasis on ‘hands on, minds on’ approaches to education,” said Preston, chair of UCCLE. The committee will meet Wednesday to vote on the provisions of Pathways, which offers students a three-forked path to complete general education. The two paths that differ from the traditional CLE model involve the student committing to a crossdisciplinary minor, or arranging an “alternate pathway” at the discretion of a faculty advisor. “The alternative pathways give students room to pursue their extracurricular interests or studying abroad,” said Jill Sible, vice provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Sible spoke positively about the overall feedback on the general concepts of the proposal, but said faculty could be reluctant to implement the curriculum if operational changes shake up their departments. Most faculty members who are concerned with details of the policy will find their questions unanswered in the early stage of the implementation process: according to Preston,

Proposal for Pathways: General Education at Virginia Tech Students can opt for one of three options under the proposed revision. Traditional Distribution Model This option is similar to the Curriculum for Liberal Education currently in place. Students select from a range of courses in certain categories that will satisfy the requirements.

Pathways Minor

Alternative Pathway

Under this option, students can add a minor of 18 credits or more that has been specifically approved as a Pathways minor by the University Curriculum Committee for Liberal Education

Students pursuing this option can choose from various opportunities that will satisfy guidelines set by the committee such as study abroad, undergraduate research, internships and service learning.

the UCCLE must first wholly approve the main components before addressing implementation details. “What’s happening in the classrooms is really up to the departments,” Sible said. The Pathways method arrives as tuition rates reach an all-time

national high. While many students have found ways to accelerate their path to a degree, those bearing the financial brunt of a four-year path are skeptical of the new requirements. “I came to here to get a degree in see PROPOSAL / page 5

FUNDRAISNG AT TOP OF THE STAIRS

THE LOVELIEST BONES

Two fraternities will host charity events.

Activist Naomi Natale speaks on genocide.

page 5

Men’s soccer prepares for ACC quarterfinals TODD SMITH sports reporter

Despite a tough final month of the regular season for the Virginia Tech men’s soccer team, the program still qualified for the ACC tournament. The Hokies had the chance to automatically make it into the tournament with a win against Duke on Oct. 31. Instead, following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Blue Devils, Virginia Tech had to rely on other games around the conference to help them qualify. Fortunately, things went the right way for the Hokies and they earned the ninth out of a possible 10 seeds;

see SOCCER / page 2

CORY HANCOCK/ COLLEGIATE TIMES

Virginia Tech men’s soccer prepares for a better post-season.

/CollegiateTimes page 3

they will now travel to Charlottesville to face the eighth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday night. UVA ended the season with a record of 9-5-2 (3-3-2 in the ACC), while Virginia Tech ended at 7-7-2 (2-5-1 in ACC play). The Cavaliers also ended the season in the Top 25 polls. This marks the first time that the rivalry between Virginia Tech and Virginia extends to postseason play. These two teams previously met in Charlottesville on Sept. 12 in a close fought 1-0 loss for the Hokies.That game saw the Hokies get

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