April 24, 2015

PREVIEW: RELAY FOR LIFE & SPRING GAME

SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE collegiatetimes.com

111th YEAR, ISSUE 108

Friday, April 24, 2015

COLLEGIATETIMES An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

Passenger rail service in NRV by year 2020 MELISSA DRAUDT news reporter

Leaders throughout the New River Valley are pushing an initiative to extend a passenger railway system to the area by the year 2020.

This is following the January decision to extend Amtrak passenger rail service from Lynchburg to Roanoke beginning in the fall of 2017.

“It’s about providing transportation choice,” said Elijah Sharp, director of planning and programs at the New River Valley Planning District Commission.

“A lot of faculty from both universities as well as students travel all over the state on a relatively frequent basis, and it’s an opportunity to create another transportation option here in the region,” Sharp said.

Local leaders think that this change is necessary for the community at this point in time.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there’s a sustainability angle to bringing other types of transportation through getting cars off the road and reducing congestion,” Sutphin said.

Congestion on highways is a relevant topic for residents of the New River Valley, located near one of the most congested

interstates in the eastern United States, I-81, to which the proposed rail line would run adjacent.

“I think that one thing that’s really important is to understand that passenger rail is all across the country … and people are realizing it’s a safe and efficient mode of travel,” said Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations. “And considering the increasing congestion on 1-81, this just makes a lot of sense.”

Leaders also believe that passenger rail will bring economic benefits to the area.

“Communities in Northern Virginia that have a metro stop … have had more growth and more economic benefits as a result of having that metro stop,” Sutphin said. “Passenger rail in Blacksburg is possible to have a similar effect on our community.”

Leaders at Virginia Tech believe bringing passenger rail to the region would benefit the university by connecting this area to the nation’s capital.

“We think that Virginia Tech and particularly Virginia Tech students are an important demographic that will be using the rail,” Hincker said.

“It’s going to go right into Washington D.C., and a huge percentage of students, close

BEN WEIDLICH / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Members of the group use a loudspeaker to announce their cause on the steps of Burruss Hall.

USAS protests Members of United Students Against Sweatshops rally against Tech’s affiliation with JanSport.

EMELIA HUGHES, MAX LUONG, GAUTAM RAO staff

“Hey hey, ho ho — JanSport has got to go!”

Between 15 and 20 members of Tech’s chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops congregated at Burruss Hall on Thursday at 3 p.m., opening their rally with this chant.

The rally included a march and a sit-in at President Sands’ office. Its objective was to pressure Tech to cut ties with college apparel manufacturer JanSport, which is owned by VF Corporation.

As the rally began, USAS members introduced themselves by their names and their preferred gender pronouns.

“We really try and organize from a collective liberation perspective,”

see AMTRAK / page 3

Bla c

Roanok e burg ks

Current AMTRAK routes

Current AMTRAK stations

Routes under consideration

BEN WEIDLICH / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Protestors perform a sit-in in the Office of the President on April 23, 2015. said senior sociology major and USAS member Claire Wiklund said. “We need to make a space that’s comfortable for all people.” “(VF Corporation is) one of the only college apparel manufacturers that has yet

to sign onto the Bangladeshi worker-drafted Accord (on Fire and Building) Safety,” said junior sociology major and USAS member Nathaniel Bogan.

“Our demand is that Virginia Tech cut ties with

VF Corporation and, by extension, JanSport, which is part of VF Corporation,” Wiklund said. “We’ve been rallying for this for (about) two years. It’s part of … an see USAS / page 3

See what Spoon University is serving up at Virginia Tech EMILY MCCAUL lifestyles staff writer

MALIK KEATON / COLLEGIATE TIMES Michelle Prong (12) and Vanessa Gonzalez (7) celebrate after scoring against Radford.

Hokies beat Radford, face N.C. State in crucial series SIERRA HUCKFELDT sports editor

After shutting out Radford in five innings on Wednesday, the Virginia Tech softball team will take on ACC rival NC State in a three-game series this weekend at the Tech Softball Park.

Going into this weekend, the Hokies have a 33-13 overall record and

8-9 in the ACC. The NC State Wolfpack has an overall record of 28-19 and is 10-8 in the conference.

With the AC C Championships only two weeks away, this series will affect both teams’ conference records and overall seeding for the tournament.

“These games are huge,” said second baseman Kylie McGoldrick. “These are

statement games. They’re great for our ACC record and overall RPI.” Recently, the series has been very evenly matched.

Over the past 29 games the teams played against each other, NC State has won 15 and Tech has taken 14.

“They’ve got a lot of strengths, good hitting in the top of the order in particular,” said head

Virginia Tech is continually recognized for its wholesome hospitality, superlative sports and unprecedented food, taking multiple titles for having the best campus food in the nation. This kind of recognition makes Virginia Tech ideal for food blogs like Spoon University.

Spoon University is a New York-based online food publication founded as a campus-wide print source at Northwestern University in 2012 by seniors Mackenzie Barth and Sarah Adler to give college students a fresh take on how to find and cook healthy foods on and around their campus.

After graduating from Nor thwestern in the spring of 2013, Barth and Adler created, launched and unveiled the website for Spoon University, focusing on appealing to the needs of students who wanted to eat healthy in the

see SOFTBALL / page 2

MEET YOUR BARTENDER

MCBRYDE 100

Dustin Addington from Buffalo Wild Wings opens up.

Changes are on the way for one of Tech’s most frequented lecture halls.

page 5

page 3

midst of their fast-paced, college lifestyles. Spoon University quickly grew in popularity nationwide, now holding nearly 125 college chapters – most recently Virginia Tech.

Spoon University at VT launched its website (vt. spoonuniversity.com) just last Friday, April 17, 2015.

The website provides blog posts from a staff of 20 student writers at Virginia Tech. Students share their experiences with food through how-to videos, quick recipes and healthy

on-campus (as well as offcampus) suggestions.

Kasey Kraft, a senior studying public relations, founded the chapter and now serves as vice president of operations.

“I actually heard about it through my friend Annie Trimber from Northwestern University, and she worked for the original chapter,” Kraft said. “She was a writer for them, and now she serves as an advisor helping a bunch of students start chapters nationwide.”

CONTRIBUTED BY SPOON UNIVERSITY AT VT

Members of Spoon University at VT pose at the chapter’s launch party on Saturday, April 18.

/CollegiateTimes @collegiatetimes

ctlifestyles CT MOBILE APP iTunes / Google Play

PAGE 2 Friday, April 24, 2015

editor@collegiatetimes.com

collegiatetimes.com

opinion collegiatetimes.com/opinion

sports collegiatetimes.com/sports

column

Time to take climate change seriously

I

t’s 2015 – if one refuses to believe that Planet Earth is warming, one is delusional. Citing the most recent climate data from NASA; not only was 2014 the hottest year in recorded history, nine of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2000.

According to NASA, these rising temperatures are causing sea ice to shrink by a startling rate of 13.3 percent per decade, in addition to a whopping 258 billion metric tons of land ice lost per year. The melting ice has increased the rate of global average sea level rise to 3.19 mm per year, a figure that is already showing its devastating effects on island chains like Kirbati and The Maldives.

Also according to NASA data, carbon dioxide levels are at their highest level in 650,000 years at 400.06 parts per million, choking the atmosphere. These statistics are not pieces of propaganda from some far-left think tank. They are empirical facts from one of the world’s most renowned scientific agencies.

The only questions regarding climate change that deserve attention are: What extent is it anthropogenic and how can we protect ourselves?

No serious scientist will claim that the Earth’s overall temperature isn’t rising, however there is isolated debate on the extent to which humans have contributed to the warming. With further research, scientists will be able to better inform policy makers on the steps needed to take to combat environmental threats.

However let’s say anthropogenic climate change does not exist, but instead it’s a natural fluctuation. This still means that ice is melting, sea levels are rising, cities are flooding, wildfires are raging, droughts are lingering and people’s lives are being destroyed.

If there is a building on fire, firefighters should rush to the scene, regardless of what caused the flames to spread. The governments of the worlds need to work together to combat this global existential threat which far exceeds the severity of today’s political or socio-economic problems.

In the short run, there needs to be stricter emissions standards, deforestation bans, increased public awareness, improved infrastructure and disaster preparedness plans for populated coastal areas – unfortunately, no short-term solution can deter the rise of the sea level.

Cooperation on climate change seems like it should be a no-brainer, but it is difficult to support something one doesn’t believe exists.

An alarming 270 Republicans in Congress openly deny scientific Global Warming.

Last winter, Republican James Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, held a snowball on the Senate floor to show that it was cold out, therefore disproving climate change.

Similarly, 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz appeared on Seth Meyers’ latenight talk show babbling on about how global warming must not be true because it was cold when he visited New Hampshire a few days before the broadcast.

The ignorance of this dialogue is worse than stupid – it is extremely dangerous and certainly no joking matter.

Ultimately, we do not have another planet on which to run the human experiment.

Whether climate change is real or not, we should treat it as if it were true. The Earth is far too precious not to. On the slim-to-none chance that all the world’s climate scientists are totally wrong - there is no global warming, mankind has had no significant impact on the environment or biosphere - the worst thing that would have happened is that we made an analytical mistake that could be corrected.

Whereas if we do nothing and climate change turns out to be true, the results would be disastrous for our home planet and threatening to the survival of our civilization.

There is no hidden agenda, only facts. It’s time lawmakers cut their pathetic rhetoric on environmental issues and start to act like they show some concern for the health of the only place our species can operate.

TOM BEDDOW • member of Virginia Tech Young Democrats

BEN WEIDLICH / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Center Logan Spaw (19) scores for Tech, batted in by senior Lauren Gaskill (3).

SOFTBALL: Hokies to play last home series before ACCs from page 1

coach Scot Thomas.

“They have a good, solid overall program. You can’t look at one factor, you have to look at all of them and make sure we do the best that we can.”

On Saturday Alumni Day will be celebrated along with 20 years of Virginia Tech Softball. On Sunday, Senior Day ceremonies will commence and all of the graduating students on the team will be honored.

There are five graduating seniors on the team this year: Lauren Gaskill, Michelle Prong, Kylie McGoldrick, Bailey Liddle and Logan Spaw.

“It’s bittersweet. We’re all excited about it, but at the same time it’s hard because we’re not ready to be done with our softball,”

McGoldrick said. “My time here at Tech, there are just no words to describe it. I absolutely love this place; it’s my second home. Our coaching staff has always supported us, along with the whole community.”

These seniors have taken command in the infield, with Liddle at first base, Gaskill at shortstop, and McGoldrick at second base. Three of the seniors, McGoldrick, Gaskill and Prong, all have batting averages above .300.

“Gaskill and McGoldrick came in as leaders right away. When you look at someone like Bailey Liddle, who really came in as a recruited walk-on, she really stepped up in her roles over the years as a first baseman,” Thomas said One senior of the five, Michelle Prong, did not

attend Virginia Tech originally. The Stanford transfer began playing for Virginia Tech in 2014.

“She called me and wanted to transfer back to finish playing here,” Thomas said. “We’re glad to have her. She’s been awesome, as she is a great mature kid who’s been a great addition to our lineup.”

First pitch for Saturday’s game is at 12 p.m. On Sunday, the game will be played at 3:30 p.m., followed by the third game on Monday at 7 p.m.

“Every game is huge this weekend and throughout the end of the season. We’ve got to go out there and take care of business,” Thomas said.

@CollegiateTimes

column

Solving climate change rests with the people

Baseball looks to improve record at Duke before ACCs MIGUEL PINEDA

T

oo often, American politics sounds like a high school cat-fight. The he-said, she-said bickering distracts from finding solutions. In particular, the overwhelming lack of bipartisanship regarding climate change has forced voters to divide by party lines.

In a 2007 fundraising letter, by former Democratic vice president and environmentalist Al Gore wrote about conservatives on climate change: “For me, the most disturbing aspect of the Republican political culture is how it puts its unquenchable thirst for power, domination and a radical ideology above facts, reason and the truth.”

On the flip side, at a Californian logging conference in 2010, republican Gov. Sarah Palin called global warming studies “a bunch of snake oil science,” adding that environmental activists want to “lock up the land” from public access.

It seems no matter which side you stand behind, you’re wrong. That’s the problem with making climate change an emotional debate – the ad hominem attacks have removed all logic from the discussion. We became distracted as soon as we allowed brand-name politicians to point fingers.

What’s the government’s role in solving the problem? Let’s start at the beginning.

A key foundation of libertarian philosophy is the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP). The NAP defines every person’s basic right to make his or her individual choices, as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others.

It denies anyone the right to use aggression against people or their property. Libertarians use this principle as a moral code, but the NAP can also relate it to climate change.

Even if you don’t believe climate change is a noteworthy issue, burning fossil fuel is because it causes pollution. This pollution violates the NAP because it poisons the air that others need to breathe. Pollution that spreads to private property violates the owners’ rights to keep their property free from outside influence.

Climate change, meaning long-term global temperature change resulting from the buildup of carbon and methane gas, will negatively effect the next generations, violating their rights to a functional and safe

environment.

So the real question: should the government step in?

The libertarian answer: No. If the government further involves itself – whether by regulating the amount of fossil fuels individuals can use, by banning fracking or by limiting the energy sources companies can employ – it will be another violation of the NAP. Banning a type of energy production would put thousands out of work and destroy a lucrative industry, whereas controlling the use or sale of energy sources that would interfere with the free market.

The federal government has already interfered in the free market at the expense of the environment. According to an article written

by Kate Sheppard of the Huffington Post, federal government forfeited $18.5 billion through subsidies to domestic fossil fuel exploration and production last year, a sum that has increased by approximately $5.8 billion during President Obama’s time in office.

Yes, those subsidies are compiled from taxpayer money and they are funding the industry that is blamed for climate change.

So if the federal government won’t swoop in and save the environment, what should we do?

The libertarian solution: fix it ourselves.

Start small by using reusable bags at the grocery store, investing in portable water bottles instead of buying plastic and carpooling to work or taking public transportation. On a larger scale, we can petition the feds to stop financially supporting the oil industry.

If we continuously chose to support environmentally conscious brands, the pressure of the free market will allow green companies to keep their business models.

There are ways to fix environmental problems without involving federal regulation. While the big party politicians throw their tantrums, we citizens can make a change.

On Tuesday, April 21, the Virginia Tech baseball team was handed a 7-4 loss at the hands of Radford. The offensively consistent Hokies could not seem to get it going, with the only highlight of the game being Erik Payne’s homers in the top of the sixth and eighth innings.

“I thought he might’ve came with a breaking ball, but he threw a fast ball middle of the way and kind of hit it up, so I just tried to find the barrel, and I caught it up with a little bit of wind to help it,” Payne said.

The Hokies are seeking to increase their success in the ACC and add more victories in the win column for the upcoming tournament, as they face the Duke Blue Devils during a three-game series in Durham.

The Blue Devils will host the ACC tournament this year at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, but won’t likely be participating. Duke is 22-17 (5-15 ACC) and currently ranked last in the Coastal division.

The Hokies have had a mixed season, with their most recent ACC win against No. 23 North Carolina. Tech sits at 19-22 (8-12 ACC) and is fifth in the Coastal division.

“We just need to get back to where we were this past weekend,” said first baseman Brendon Hayden. “(This) past weekend we were hitting the ball well and we just need to get back on track. Today we had a little off day, but next two days we will be working towards that.”

The sense of urgency is high for the Hokies, who hope to go on a run to end the season.

“We need to win all the games we have left because we cannot afford to lose any more,” Hayden said. “I think we are on the outside looking in, and we just need to get back on track and start winning more games.”

Duke swept the Hokies in their last meeting.

“We understand what is at stake this weekend, and we have to go out there and win the series the next few weekends if we want to make the ACC tournament,” Payne said.

If the Hokies win two out of their three against the Blue Devils, then they have a chance to pass both Virginia and Georgia Tech in the conference standings. However, a sweep could put the Hokies in second among Coastal teams.

“I’m not worried about our offense at all. We just came off of a weekend against some of the better arms in the country, and we scored seven and 10 back-to-back days, and we have been scoring minus the Miami weekend,” said head coach Patrick Mason.

As the Hokies prepare for their series against Duke, Mason is confident that his team is aware of how important this series is.

“Yeah they know, absolutely they know 100 percent, but we will talk about it obviously tomorrow and Thursday to get ready for the weekend,” Mason said. “Getting ready for a weekend hasn’t been much of an issue, especially on Friday nights. So we will be ready.”

@CollegiateTimes

COLLEGIATETIMES NEWSROOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231-9865

BUSINESS STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231-9860

Editor in Chief: Ricky LaBlue (editor@collegiatetimes.com)

Business Manager: De’Lis Marshall (business@collegemedia.com)

Managing Editors: Samantha Hill, Gautam Rao Design Editors: Andrea Pappas, Lauren Boitnott Copy Editors: Rebecca Robertson, Melissa Fairfax

COLLEGE MEDIA SOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231-9860 Ad Director: Cameron Taylor (ad.director@collegemedia.com)

Multimedia Editor: Leslie McCrea

Account Executives: Hansol Kim, Mitchell Moss, David Nichols, Kevin Reilly, Brandon Riffe, Ashley Battle

News Editors: Maura Mazurowski, Max Luong

Inside Sales Manager: Rachel Biltz

Lifestyles Editors: Abbey Williams, Katrina Spinner-Wilson Sports Editor: Faizan Hasnany, Sierra Huckfeldt

Inside Sales Associates: Lauren Bracket, Thomas Deverin, Haley Keen, Darienne Hammer, Kassie Ruprecht

CAITLYN TIERNEY

Opinions Editors: Taylor Lewis, Nicholas Work

Creative Director: Kitty Schafenorth

• VP of Young Americans for Liberty

Photo Editor: Zack Wajsgras

Creative Staff: Luke Lesinski, Zeyu Li, Hannah Murray, Mukund

Voice your opinion. Send letters to the Collegiate Times.

365 Squires Student Center

sports reporter

All letters must include a name and phone number. Students must include year and major. Faculty and staff must include position and department.

Other submissions must include city of residence and relationship to Virginia Tech (i.e., alumni, parent, etc.). We reserve the right to edit for any reason. Anonymous letters will not be printed.

Assistant Photo Editor: Ben Weidlich Have a news tip? newstips@collegiatetimes.com

Katti, Casey Phillips, Mattie Catherman

solutions.collegemedia.com advertising@collegemedia.com

Letters, commentaries and editorial cartoons do not reflect the views of the Collegiate Times.

The Collegiate Times, a division of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, was established in 1903 by and for the students of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Collegiate Times is published every Tuesday through Friday of the academic year except during exams and vacations. The first copy of the Collegiate Times is free, any copy of the paper after that is 50 cents. To order a reprint of a photograph printed in the Collegiate Times, visit reprints.collegemedia.com. The Collegiate Times is a division of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to provide educational experience in business and production of mass media for Virginia Tech students.

Editorials are written by the Collegiate Times editorial board, which is composed of the opinions editors, editor-in-chief and the managing editors.

© Collegiate Times, 2015. All rights reserved. Material published in the Collegiate Times is the property thereof, and may not be reprinted without the express written consent of the Collegiate Times.

Blacksburg, VA, 24061 opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com

editor@collegiatetimes.com

Friday, April 24, 2015 PAGE 3

collegiatetimes.com

news collegiatetimes.com/news

Renovations to come in McBryde 100 LEWIS MILLHOLLAND news reporter

McBryde Hall, one of the most frequented lecture halls in the university, is scheduled for a $2.8 million facelift to improve student and professor experience alike.

Each year the office of the provost invests a few hundred thousand dollars on smallscale renovations for classrooms and instructional labs in need of improvements. At the minimum McBryde Hall was slated for seat upgrades.

However, Vice Provost for Resource Management and Institutional Effectiveness Ken Smith brought it in a firm in 2012 to explore more extreme possibilities.

“It’s old. The last time we really did anything in there I think may have been some seat replacements back in the late 90s,” Smith said. “It was way beyond the scale of what that annual program could do.”

Now, the augmented McBryde renovations will improve seating, acoustics, technology and facilitation of professor-student interactions.

All the existing seats in the lecture hall will be removed and the floor will be raised to connect with the current stage.

This will greatly reduce the slope of the room while maintaining sight lines.

“One of the things that’s important to faculty, especially in a large classroom, is to be able to walk out into the audience and interact with them,” Smith said. “This will take out (faculty) having to come down the steps to walk up the aisle – they’ll just walk right out into the students.”

Some intermediate rows in the audience will be left blank to allow professors to wander around the room while lecturing.

Responding to one of the top suggestions students regularly make on Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) evaluations, power outlets will be made accessible throughout the rows of McBryde 100.

“That’s a very expensive improvement to make,” Smith said. “We are in historic kind of buildings, which have concrete walls, concrete floors - having to drill and core, it’s pretty expensive.”

Smith said the request for power access is “the number one thing we hear from students.”

SPOT evaluations are opened to students at the end of each semester, and provide a medium to submit feedback on their academic experience and facility environment.

“We were hearing a lot of comments about McBryde 100, because so many students are in there,” Smith said.

Smith emphasized the point that SPOT evaluations are the number one resource for the university administration to hear the voices of the students. He encouraged students to take the time to provide detailed feedback.

Many introductory-level courses are taught in McBryde 100, including ACIS 1504, GEOS 1004, CS 1044 and BIOL 1004.

“I had a class there freshman year.,” said Erin Tuthill, a junior doublemajoring in hospitality and tourism management and marketing. “I felt like it was always either too hot or too cold. When I had to take an exam in there, it was way too cramped.”

“

I felt like it was always either too hot or too cold.

When I had to take an exam in there, it waws way too cramped.”

Erin Tuthill junior / HTM and marketing

Tuthill described the current McBryde 100 as “old,” “smelly” and “run-down.” She expressed her enthusiasm for the proposed renovations.

“I don’t know if it will really benefit me because I don’t think I’m ever going to have a class in there ever again, but that’s nice for the up-and-coming people who do have stuff in there,” Tuthill said.

Construction of McBryde 100 is set to occur this summer, completing before classes resume in the fall.

“One big constraint we have with this particular room is because it’s so heavily scheduled – it’s one of our biggest production spaces,” Smith said. “It’s as much a performance hall as a classroom.”

A major obstacle in renovating old classrooms is the availability of space. Because classrooms are in such high demand, it is impossible to take too many seats offline at once.

The new classroom building being constructed where Perry Street meets West Campus Drive is planned to hold around 1200 seats.

“Having that additional capacity will let us go into the existing inventory and continue to make improvements, and to really do some things that are dramatic,” Smith said.

According to Smith, the classrooms in the Perry Street building will provide a “very progressive academic space,” with the flexible capability to

be reconfigured for lectures, group work, individual assignments and exams.

“We want to make the transitions between those activities as (smooth) as possible,” Smith said.

SCALE-UP classrooms, an acronym for Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs, was developed in North Carolina State University to establish a flexible, hands-on, col laborative lea r n i ng environment.

Vi rgi n ia Tech has embraced the SCALE-UP classroom structure in many of its new buildings. Often, the concept is paired with “flipped classrooms,” where students learn from lectures or reading at home and come into class to work through problems.

Smith described the SCALE-UP structure as a “furnishings approach” to a more engaging environment.

“What we want the classroom space to be is a place for students to come and yes, listen to the faculty member, but also engage in the material, engage with each other, apply what they learn,” Smith said. “That requires a different type of space.”

Even though students in SCALE-UP classrooms may score similarly on tests at the end of a semester when compared to students learning in traditional classrooms, Smith stated that students learning in a flexible environment display a more lasting retention of the material learned in that course.

The extra seat capacity the Perry Street classroom building will provide uncaps the old limit on classroom renovations.

“That classroom building will give us a quantum increase in that kind of space,” Smith said. “We won’t be so much constrained by seat capacity as we are now. We’ll be able to be more aggressive in our renovations of the older classrooms.”

The Perry Street classroom building is scheduled for completion July, 2016.

Responding to negative SPOT evaluations, the office of the provost renovated the lecture classroom in the Graduate Life Center over the winter break of 2013.

With improved lighting and acoustic improvements, Smith identified a “whole different tone in the comments” in SPOT evaluations the following semester.

“Our goal is to improve those large classrooms that we have,” Smith said. “McBryde 100 is obviously a big part of that.” @CollegiateTimes

AMTRAK: Passenger rail anticipated for year 2020 from page 1

to 30 percent, are from the Northern Virginia area. When you throw in suburban Maryland just north of Washington D.C., that (number) becomes even larger.”

Extending travel options between the NRV and Washington D.C. will allow important business opportunities for Virginia Tech students and faculty.

The process to implement this passenger rail extension is still in its beginning stages.

Planners are currently working on the first of two studies to gather information on rider demand and location feasibility.

“We’re doing a study to identify demand and evaluate potential stop locations … in the New River Valley,” Sharp said. “The types of things

we’re looking for in demand are certainly population employment densities. We’re also looking at events as far as tourism that’s bringing folks to this area, what attracts folks to the region, and we’re also learning a lot from our survey.”

The study consists of a survey that’s been distributed to residents of the New River Valley. According to Sharp, as of Wednesday morning, there have been over 3,000 responses since its launch last week.

This initial study costs approximately $60,000 and is being funded by the New River Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Initially, there were 24 potential site locations in the NRV. Some of the sites in consideration are located in Radford, Christiansburg and Pulaski.

Planners hope to complete

the initial study by December 2015 before pushing for a more detailed infrastructural feasibility analysis that will be conducted by the VA DRPT and Amtrak in 2016.

Although there is still a lot of planning and research to be done before changes can be implemented, leaders are confident in their goals of bringing passenger rail to the NRV region.

“Our local leadership is pushing for 2020 and that’s certainly an ambitious goal but I’m not sure that it’s unreasonable to think that it’s possible at this point in time,” Sharp said. “It’s something that’s happening in a nearby community and it’s time for conversations at the local level to keep that momentum going.” @CollegiateTimes

C

o u nt e r clo ck w i s e f low around an upper level low spinning over eastern Canada has led to an extended period of below-normal temperatures across the Blacksburg area. The long range looks to feature much of the same with a cooler, wet pattern continuing through the end of April.

After a chilly start, today’s highs will climb into the upper 50s this afternoon under mostly sunny skies.

Breezy northwest winds will make it feel colder, so a light jacket might be a good idea.

A few clouds will begin filtering in this evening ahead of a system set to bring rain to the area over the

weekend. With that said, conditions will remain dry for the overnight Relay for Life event.

Showers will then break out Saturday morning and continue on and off through the day. With the clouds and the rain, temperatures will be quite cool with highs only making it into the low 50s.

Damp weather will continue into the day on Sunday as the back edge of precipitation rotates through. We will finally start to clear out late in the day, setting the stage for a pleasant Monday. This break looks short lived with yet another low pressure system set to bring more rain across the area by the middle part of next week.

As always, be sure to check out @ HOKIEwxWATCH on Twitter for continuous updates and all of your Blacksburg-related weather needs.

JAMES MORROW • weather correspondent • @wxBONE

BEN WEIDLICH / COLLEGIATE TIMES

USAS protestors enter President Sand’s office for a sit-in.

USAS: Student activists approach Sands’ office from page 1

international movement.”

USAS members held posters with statements including “Virginia Tech funds Jansport funds Worker Abuse (sic),” “UT PROSI M: SE RV I NG CORPORATE AMERICA SINCE 1872 (sic),” “Invent a future Without Sweatshops (sic),” and “WORKER SAFETY IS A HUMAN RIGHT (sic)”.

“One of the biggest inspirations we’ve had (is from the) University of Louisville,” Wiklund said.

“Their chapter of Cards United Against Sweatshops has been sitting in for the last three days (near) their president’s office.”

Louisville news station WLKY reported that over a dozen UofL students have been protesting their own university’s affiliation with JanSport since Monday night.

“Students have a history of teaming up in solidarity with workers,” said

freshman international studies major and USAS member Sarah Shinton. “(April 24) marks the two-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, a preventable factory collapse in Bangladesh where over (a thousand) died and more than 2500 people were injured,” Bogan said. “This is not an isolated incident.”

JanSport is owned by VF Corporation, which had no presence in Rana Plaza at the time of the 2013 factory collapse, according to director of communications at VF Corporation Craig Hodges.

“We have donated money to the Rana Plaza Fund to support victims and families of that tragedy, although we were not sourcing at Rana Plaza at the time,” Hodges said.

While they did not sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety i n Ba ngla desh, V F Corporation is a member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. According

to the Alliance’s website, “collectively, these Alliance members represent the overwhelming majority of North American imports of (ready-made garments) from Bangladesh.”

Bogan believes the alliance is half-hearted, saying it “served as a loophole … from directly a d d r e s si ng wo r ke r’s rights.”

While it is yet to be determined whether the rally will be fruitful, USAS continues to carry on its mission at Virginia Tech.

Several members of USAS waited at the Office of the President to try and speak on the matter with President Timothy Sands, who was reportedly unavailable.

While Tech’s chapter of USAS has grown over the past two years, according to Wiklund, their request to meet with President Sands has yet to be fulfilled.

@CollegiateTimes

PAGE 4 Friday, April 24, 2015

editor@collegiatetimes.com

collegiatetimes.com

study break

Stay in the know.

The Collegiate Times.

Pick up your copy today.

Today’s Birthday Horoscope: Your universe centers on home this year. Balance a new phase in your work with health and family time. Rigorous scheduling and budgeting pays off. Take on projects domestically and in your community. Launch bigger actions after 6/14. A new fun (and romantic) phase arises after 10/13. Plan a peaceful retreat for after 10/27. Nurture each other.

Piled Higher and Deeper by Jorge Cham

read all about it GET TECH HEADLINES IN YOUR INBOX

xkcd by Randall Munroe

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COLLEGIATE TIMES EMAIL EDITION collegiatetimes.com/subscribe

3 6 3

1

1 2 9

6

8 1 5

8 3 4

FOR LEASE

2 4 9 5

7

8 6

4

1 5

2

FOR LEASE

Pheasant Run

Pheasant Run

4 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhouse for lease 2015-16 school year.

4 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath Townhouse for lease 2015-2016 school year Available August.

Available August

$1050/MO plus utilities.

$1400/mo.

Plus utilities

Call Tony

at 304-281-0006 LEASE or tljr59@gmail.com

DOWN 1 Lambasted 2 Put to work again 3 Titillating 4 Singer with the Mel-Tones 5 Brick baker 6 George W.’s first press secretary 7 Attacked with clubs and such 8 In the future 9 Glum 10 Liar’s undoing 11 Fact-finding process 12 Understanding between nations 13 Method 18 It stretches from Maine to Florida 22 Make better, as cheddar 25 Lord’s laborer 26 Falling object’s direction 27 __ Spiegel: German magazine 30 Stumblebum 33 Roadside rest stop 34 Clairvoyance, briefly 36 Like many a slick road 37 Passé 38 Lash flash?

39 Suffix with cord 40 Scale fourths 41 Fictional Arabic woodcutter 45 Wall St. hedger 46 Ares or Mars 48 Stimulate 49 Uncle __: Berle nickname 50 Western dry lakes

Contact Andy at 571-228-7590 or andyf1235@yahoo.com

FOR RENT Pheasant Run Crossing 2015-2016

By Jerome Gunderson

4/24/15 28 Christmas mo.

29 Water temperature gauge?

31 Pro vote 32 USPS carrier’s assignment 33 Words of sympathy 35 Potato cutter 37 Light controller— either of its first two words can precede either part of 17-, 25-, 51- and 61Across 40 Flora eaters, perhaps 42 Brief and forceful

ACROSS 1 Poker Flat chronicler Harte 5 Syrup brand 9 Scatter 14 Plane opening?

15 Farsi-speaking republic 16 Sports venue 17 Where sea meets sand 19 Like most attics 20 Mob enforcer 21 Gp. concerned with fluoride safety 23 Links elevator?

24 Old Great Lakes natives 25 Behind-thescenes worker

43 Pilot’s no.

44 Toothed tool 47 Unused 48 Rock guitarist’s aid 51 Distract 54 Spring time 56 Place for a pint 57 Place for a cup 58 Anatomical ring 59 Steppes native 61 Sentry’s job 63 Carrying a lot of weight 64 Cold capital?

65 Largest continent 66 Used hip boots 67 Feat 68 Winemaking waste

4/23/15

M

V

N

L

G

M

S

P

F

N

R

D

D

J

M

U

T

WORDSEARCH

A

A

Z

O

I

P

B

U

W

S

L

U

O

U

C W U

Z

N

F

C

N

L

E

P

R

G

O

U

I

S

O W M

C

A

Crayons!

A

J

E

A

A

E

D

P

Q

A

J

J

R

B

B

G

S

F

T

D

G

V

R W M

L

P

M

R

M

A

L

H

J

N

K

Locate the list of words in the word bank in the letter grid

E

P

E

H

S

O

F

E

R

N

A

A

E

W

X

I

A

Y

WORD BANK

E

R

H

S

R

G

N

P

N

H

L

W

P

N

B

K

E

G

A

A

N

U

K

L

I

I

S

X

E

H

X

S

X

Y

L

H

Q

U

Z

L

B

V

S

Z

A

E

X

M

J

C

A

H

U

J

Z

Q

P

B

U

T

I

Z

D

N

I

N

C

H

W O

R

M

K

P

P

L

Y

Y

G

A

T

M

D

S

J

K

G

D

E

Y

C

Z

T

V

I

Z

Z

Z

V

Y

U

C

U

B

J

U

C

U

N

W D

I

F

Z

I

Z

O

N

K

N

H

N

X

Z

U

B

N

F

L

O W

R

E

B

M

I

T

X

A

E

G

Q

F

Q

Jim’s Motorcycle Service

O

D

O

K

G

J

B

I

F

I

X

U

B

N

E

L

S

T

H

N

O

S

E

C

M

N

N

C

U

W W

A

D

S

O

Q

540-951-5185

W O

D

A

H

S

E

N

O

S

G

M

P

C

U

Y

E

W

D

S

P

D

L

L

L

P

B

S

S

D

B

K

V

G

M

SERVICE

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

U

Info at : www.1417christinecourt.com or call : (434) - 713 - 9332

52 How to turn something into nothing?

53 Effect’s partner 55 Go by bike 58 Youngest to reach 500 HRs 59 Auto club offering 60 What mad people see?

62 Pint contents

A

Stay in the know.

Asparagus Purple Pizazz Cerulean Sunglow Inch Worm Blush Melon Macaroni and Cheese Shamrock Fern Tumbleweed Manatee Beaver Shadow Denim Timberwolf

Pick up your copy of the Collegiate Times.

Every Tuesday through Thursday.

editor@collegiatetimes.com

Friday, April 24, 2015 PAGE 5

collegiatetimes.com

lifestyle collegiatetimes.com/lifestyle

Dustin Addington: Buffalo Wild Wings T YOUR BA EE M

DER EN RT

“Meet Your Bartender” is a biweekly column that runs every other Friday and feature profiles of just a few of the people pouring your drinks downtown.

BEN WEIDLICH / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Buffalo Wild Wings bartender Dustin Addington balances work and being a student.

SAMANTHA SMITH lifestyles staff writer

Dustin Addington moved to Blacksburg from Norton, Virginia, to attend school at Virginia Tech as a food science and technology major.

Addington is now a senior and has been working at Buffalo Wild Wings for the past year.

After graduation, Addington hopes to find a job in quality assurance.

“

It’s fun to learn about people. In bartending you learn a lot about people because you talk with them.”

Dustin Addington BWW Bartender

Being both a student and a bartender can be tough due to the unusual hours, but Addington said that it is definitely doable.

“You just have to manage your time well, that’s the only thing,” Addington said.

“Knowing when you have assignments due, you have to get those done early so that when you’re here until 3 o’clock in the morning, it’s okay because you’ve done it all.”

In fact, Addington prefers evening hours to a typical 9 to 5 shift due to the flexibility it gives him during the day.

“It gives me the day to get everything I need done.

So I don’t get in until 6, so I

have all day until 6 o’clock,” Addington said. “When I didn’t have a job, I did homework until like 8:30 or 9 o’clock, and then I didn’t do anything the rest of the night.

So I guess I just made better use of my time.”

Although Addington has only been bartending for a short time, he has grown to love his current profession due to his love for talking with others.

“It’s fun to learn about people. In bartending, you learn a lot about people because you talk with them,” Addington said. “When someone is casually sitting at the bar having a beer, then I get to know them a little bit and learn about their major and what they want to do with their life, so it’s fun.”

In addition to the enjoyable aspects of bartending, there are a few disadvantages, the main drawback being the overwhelming and stressful nights.

“If there’s a bar full of people, how do you manage to serve all those people and keep the drinks that are coming out well?” Addington said. “You just have to find the happy balance of ‘how many things can I do in one step?’

It’s a lot of multitasking.”

Even though the most popular drink at Buffalo Wild Wings is a beer, Addington said he always recommends the Knockout Punch.

“It’s like a drink that you can have that’s sweet and not overwhelming, so it’s the perfect balance in my opinion.

It’s what I always recommend to people,” Addington said.

When Addington finds

himself at a bar, he likes to order something that isn’t as sweet.

“I really like Long Islands … They just have a good taste.

It’s a powerful drink, and it tastes good. It’s not super sweet either; I don’t like sweet drinks,” Addington said.

Buffalo Wild Wing’s proximity to the Virginia Tech campus tends to attract a different crowd than the bars downtown.

“I think we get a happy medium because we’re so close to campus,” Addington said. “It’s easy for people who want to bring their kids in, and they can come in and have a drink over (in the dining room) or they can have a drink (in the bar area). I feel like a lot of bars don’t offer that downtown.”

For students who are new to drinking, Addington offers some distinct advice.

“Have an open mind, be willing to try new things,” Addington said. “Say it’s something like gin; no one likes gin. Give it a try. Most people like things when I recommend them, so just keep an open mind.”

Despite the late nights spent behind the counter, Addington loves working at Buffalo Wild Wings and serving the Hokie community.

“I really like making drinks and talking to people,” Addington said. “I love Blacksburg and I love the people that come here and I love Hokies all around, I guess because I am a student.”

@smith992_CT

SPOON: Food publication serves VT community from page 1

Kraft said she had to get 300 students to sign an online petition to bring the chapter to Tech. She used social media to get her message out there and completely filled out the petition while getting more than 20 applicants for positions within the chapter.

“I brought (Spoon University) to Virginia Tech because I guess what I wanted it to do here in Blacksburg was to create a sense of community around food,” Kraft said.

“I think we’re really fortunate to have unparalleled campus dining and local restaurants who are so welcoming to our college students, and they really, really love us.”

Kraft said she wanted to bring students together over that food culture to bring awareness to all of the options on and off campus.

“Most of the recipes I’ve noticed are foods that can be made on a college student’s schedule,” Kraft said. “Like today, I literally whipped up an egg in the microwave, and I got (the recipe) from Spoon – I even showered while it was in the microwave because I was running super late.”

Courtney Duke, a senior studying public relations and editor in chief of Spoon University at Virginia Tech said Spoon University has given her a fun break from the typical journalistic

writing she’s used to in class.

“I actually never applied to be editor in chief; I applied to just be a contributing writer,” Duke said.

“When they got back to me they were like, ‘We were really impressed with your application, and we don’t have an editor in chief yet for your chapter, so would you be interested?’ I almost turned it down just because of the time requirement, but I’m so glad I took it.”

“

I want this to be for Tech. I want it to serve the community.”

Courtney Duke editor in chief of Spoon University at Virginia Tech

The chapter holds weekly meetings to pitch and discuss story ideas.

Once the stories are written and edited to make sure the format matches the national standard, they go to the national editor before they’re published.

Duke said stories go through the extra editor because the chapter is still new, but once the writers and editors have more experience with Spoon University, they will be able to publish on their own.

Duke later went on to state what she felt Spoon

University could do for Virginia Tech and what she would like to see it do for the community, embracing the ‘Ut Prosim’ spirit.

“Because it’s such a new organization, we have so much room to grow,” Duke said. “I want this to be for Tech. I want it to serve the community. We have a lot of special stuff that other schools don’t have, and so I’d like to see Spoon reflect that.”

Currently, all of the writers for Spoon are under the age of 25, with all of the publications streaming from college campuses across the country. The publication’s website provides new, simple and interesting recipes, recommendations and documented experiences for young adults looking to eat healthy in the midst of their fast-paced lives (focused on their specific campuses).

Kraft said she feels that students are intimidated by cooking, but Spoon University helps them see it’s easier than they thought.

“It’s just really accessible and makes cooking fun,” Kraft said. “I think it helps students, and it kind of helped me realize that I don’t have to always eat on campus. I can cook for myself, and I don’t have to eat Easy Mac every single day of my life.” @emccaullll

PAGE 6 Friday, April 24, 2015

collegiatetimes.com

editor@collegiatetimes.com