collegiatetimes.com
September 11, 2018
COLLEGIATETIMES
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903
President Sands discusses future Hokies prove goals at the State of the University they’re the real Sands acknowledged the accomplishments that the university achieved in the past deal in blowout year and outlined Virginia Tech’s growing influence in the state. Navy SEAL candidates for the past two years.” Sands then asked the audience to take a moment to quietly honor Ensign Sarah Mitchell, who graduated from the Corps last year and was tragically killed in a training accident in the Red Sea over the summer. “It will be an honor to add Sarah’s name to the Ut Prosim Pylon later this year,” Sands said.
MIKE LIU
news editor
Virginia Tech President Tim Sands delivered the State of the University Address on Friday, Sept. 7. Sands highlighted the university’s accomplishments in the past year and shared its goals going forward. Sands kicked off the speech by acknowledging the fact that Virginia Tech was ranked second in the nation for town-gown relations and by appreciating the Blacksburg leadership that helped Virginia Tech achieve that rank. Sands went on to discuss the accomplishments of the Corps of Cadets in the past few years. “The Corps is a living link to our founding principles of honor and service, and the quality of our students is evidenced by the fact that Virginia Tech is the highest producing unit for Air Force officers for the past three years running,” Sands said. “We have been the top source of nuclear engineering officers for the Navy for the past five years, and the top university for
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I know you’ll be outstanding because you’re Hokies.” Tim Sands President of Virginia Tech
After welcoming a few people including Bryan Garey, the new vice president for human resources, and Dwayne Pinkney, senior vice president for operations and administration, for joining the university, Sands discussed the Virginia Tech class of 2022, which is the university’s sesquicentennial class.
After just two games, one as a sevenpoint underdog, Tech shows that it is capable of being an ACC leader. ROBBY FLETCHER
assistant sports editor
ETHAN CANDELARIO / COLLEGIATE TIMES Virginia Tech President Tim Sands discusses plans for the future of the university during the annual State of the University event, Sept. 7, 2018.
“You (Virginia Tech class of 2022) are the most diverse entering class we’ve had to date, with more than one third coming from underrepresented or underserved populations,” Sands said. “I know you’ll be outstanding because you’re Hokies.” Sands then moved on to the topic of leading higher education into the future. Sands discussed humancyber networks, which are the complex interfaces between the semi-autonomous networks of machines and networks of humans, and collective
autonomy, which is the interfacing of humans and machines at every scale. Sands pointed out that as human-cyber networks and collective autonomy are becoming more relevant in our daily life and significantly changing the way we live, higher education must “shift from simply acquiring knowledge to developing skills and abilities that will endure in a society that is supercharged by intelligent machines.” SOTU / page 3
Coming into any season at a football program as big as Virginia Tech, you’re going to find major questions surrounding the team before the season starts. This season especially, though, has raised some valid questions about if these Hokies have what it takes to truly be ACC contenders. Everyone knows they lost eight starters on their defense from last year, and everyone knows that the offense struggled at times against quality opponents with Josh Jackson at the helm, but nobody really knew if these problems were big enough to drag this team down to the depths of mediocrity this season. Now that they’re two games in, the smoke is starting to fade and the team that stands before us is a true ACC contender. To say this team has blown through expectations to start the season is a massive understatement
for Fuente’s squad. They came into a brutal matchup in Tallahassee against a Florida State team highly projected to win behind a solid defense and the arm of a potential day one draft pick in quarterback Deondre Francois, and they totally outclassed the Seminoles in every regard. Jackson and the offense didn’t play a necessarily great game in the rainy conditions at Doak Campbell Stadium, but they managed to put up over 300 yards of total offense, they never turned the ball over, and they did enough to manage the clock and keep the lead for the entire game. The defense, however, truly stole the show, forcing five turnovers, sacking Francois five times, and just in general keeping the Seminoles pinned back in their own territory the entire game. In fact, 55 percent of Florida State’s plays went for 0 yards or less. All in all, CONTENDERS / page 6
Student-run organization aids Roanoke refugees in process of resettlement The Coalition for Refugee Resettlement independently provides tutoring and assistance with citizenship tests. LILY CARROLL
lifestyles staff writer
for people who want to join our organization; they want to help out, but they also gain a lot of insight,” Joseph said. The CRR also partners up with the Roanoke Refugee Pa r tnership ( R R P), a community nonprofit that gives local refugees access to resources necessary for sustaining their economic and social livelihoods. T he R R P provides families transportation to medical appointments, helps them find suitable housing and collects donations of common household items. Working with RRP allows volunteers more flexibility in scheduling. The organization volunteers who are not available earlier in the afternoon are able to visit the families in the late evening. These volunteers not only help the students, but assist adults with English, as well as studying for citizenship tests. While the CRR has received support from these outside organizations, its
repeated requests for support from Tech, specifically for help providing transportation, have been denied. Finding transportation for 30 to 35 student volunteers every week can be a daunting task, especially for an organization that relies primarily on percentage nights and fundraisers. Nonetheless, the CRR continues to pursue the mission they were originally founded for, while constantly keeping in mind that they are not doing this to feel better about themselves, but rather to improve the lives of those they are helping in any way they can. “You don’t want to put yourself on a pedestal, (our adviser) argues ‘the least you can do as a human being is help others,’” Joseph said. The CRR is holding interest meetings on Sept. 10 and 11 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in McBryde 304. @CollegiateTimes
COURTESY OF COALITION FOR REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
EXTRA POINT
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In 2017, 53,716 refugees from around the world resettled into the United States. These individuals and families f led from war-torn countries seeking asylum. While California, Texas and New York are among the top states for refugee resettlement, there is a substantial population of refugees in Virginia — including the Blacksburg and Roanoke area. The Coalition for Refugee Resettlement (CRR), a Virginia Tech student-run organization, works with these refugees, tutoring elementary through high school kids as well as adults. The CRR started as Virginia Tech’s Pilot Street Project — an organization created in 2005 by the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships, to work with refugees through their transition to the United States. With support from
Roanoke Public Schools, the organization was able to develop an after-school program. “It’s more so a mentorship, which a lot of people don’t realize, because you are working with them one on one every week,” said Lian Joseph, senior international public policy major and president of the CRR. After participating in mandatory training, volunteers with the organization visit the school in Roanoke, typically spending two hours with the students. They provide homework help and general tutoring, particularly in English. The relationship is mutually beneficial, opening up volunteers’ eyes to the reality of the refugees’ lives and experiences. “You read about them, but I think it’s a lot different to be in person and talk to them. To hear their story and realize what you see and hear in the media is not representative of who they actually are. I think that’s really important
HOKIES VS. PIRATES Hokies look to remain unbeaten against ECU Pirates.
page 8
DAMON HAZELTON After departure of Phillips, QB Jackson has new deep ball target. page 8
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