March 2, 2021

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March 2, 2021

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

GOOD LUCK ON EXAMS, HOKIES!

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opinions

PAGE 2 March 2, 2021

crossfire

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Now more than ever, students must do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 The community cannot lower positive case numbers without the support of all students, both on campus and off.

On Feb. 16, 2021, the Virginia Tech community opened their emails to find a message from University President Tim Sands regarding the ongoing pandemic. In the letter, Sands urges all students to take necessary precautions to keep themselves and other Hokies safe after COVID-19 variant strands were detected in the area.

Six days before Sands’ message was sent out, I went home to quarantine after being exposed to the virus. After hearing the news, in just the span of a few hours I had packed up my clothes, stuffed my schoolwork into my backpack and hurried out my dorm room to make the drive home.

It seems as though people don’t realize how COVID-19 impacts others until they actually experience it for themselves.

Returning home to quarantine was a difficult decision and raised so many questions that my family did not have the answers to. Since my dad drove me home, does he have to quarantine too, even though we wore masks in the car? How long after I was exposed should I get tested? Should my dad get tested too — and, if so, when should he get tested?

These questions were not easy to answer, and it was tough knowing there was no one right way to approach the situation. It was frustrating, and I would not wish the experience on anyone. The situation has not only changed my perspective towards the virus, but towards the actions of my peers as well.

The social experience is one of the biggest aspects of college. You get to meet

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new people, make new friends and finally live an independent life away from home.

When this was taken away because of the pandemic, many students had to adapt to a different idea of what college would be like.

As students returned to campus in August, we had to trade social gatherings for social distancing and smiling faces for masks.

It wasn’t easy, and we all had to ditch our fantasies of having that stereotypical college experience, but these precautions kept us safe. Ultimately, we got through the entire fall semester without being sent home, which was a feat I don’t think most students saw coming.

Going into the spring semester, I thought our success would continue. I was happy to be a part of a community that came together to create our little “Blacksburg bubble.” But as the school’s cases started to rise, I became more skeptical of how well my peers were handling the virus. I began to hear stories of students attending parties, walking around without masks and more students testing positive. It felt like we were taking our fall successes for granted and using them as an excuse to violate the rules still in place for our health and safety.

According to the university dashboard, there have been 207 positive cases of COVID-19 during the week of Feb. 18 to the 24. There are also 190 students currently quarantining on campus as of Feb. 24. It can be easy to look at these numbers purely as statistics rather than as actual sick people,

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Nearly two weeks ago, President Tim Sands sent an email out to the Virginia Tech community admonishing students for disregarding safe COVID-19 practices.

Some students read the email and agreed with the general premise — students certainly could and should do more to protect one another and everybody on campus from this virus — and some students shook their heads as they read the email, unable to ignore the flagrant hypocrisy they felt Sands was demonstrating. We’ll let you decide for yourselves: does Sands have a point, or is he just saying what he thinks people in the community want to hear?

- Julianne Joyce, opinions editor but it does not change the fact that this virus is infecting more of the population every day.

Friends, family, staff and others throughout the community are being affected and COVID-19 does not discriminate.

Whether you are that 11th person gathered in an enclosed area or somebody who doesn’t wear a mask while hanging around those outside your pod, remember that we are all still in this together. The community cannot lower positive rates without the support of all students both on campus and off. As the spring semester continues, I encourage all students to remember how their actions can affect those around them.

Even the smallest misstep can cause a ripple effect of positive cases. If we want to stop the spread for good, students must uphold the safety of themselves and others in the Blacksburg community.

Read the opposing side on page 3

OLIVIA NELSON • freshman • biochemistry

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March 2, 2021 PAGE 3

Virginia Tech has never been a safe place for students or faculty during this pandemic President Sands presents the new COVID-19 variant as a serious cause for concern in the Blacksburg community.

S

ince March of 2020, colleges and universities have tried to figure out the best way to keep students safe while also providing them with a top-notch education.

On Feb. 16, 2021, Virginia Tech President Tim Sands emailed out one of his standard COVID-19 update announcements, in which he referenced the seriousness of the virus, along with some of the concerns associated with one of the new COVID-19 variants, which allegedly originated in the United Kingdom. The email referenced some of the challenges facing the university in light of the new, more infectious COVID-19 strain.

“By this point in the fall, positivity was declining. It is now increasing. A complicating factor is the evolution of the virus into new variants, such as the B.1.1.7, or U.K., variant, which we should assume is present in our community,” said President Sands in his email. “Recent studies indicate the U.K. variant is more infectious and causes people to become even sicker than before.

We are seeing evidence among our student population that the prevalence of moderate symptoms is increasing.”

What President Sands and Virginia Tech failed to mention in the email was that positive test results were not “declining” at this point in the semester last fall; they only briefly dipped right before steadily increasing again for the rest of the semester.

Virginia Tech was referencing results found through the random testing of Virginia Tech students, so the numbers were not representative of the university overall.

President Sands presents this new variant as a serious cause for concern in the Blacksburg community and Southwest Virginia as a region.

Objectively, Virginia Tech is sending the correct message. Taking COVID-19 seriously is essential for not only students’ and faculty members’ general health, but also for those whose lives could potentially be at stake if they were to be infected. The potential COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom is said to already be taking over the United States, and it is still in question whether the current vaccines can protect against the new strains of the virus.

In his email, Sands continues to promote his message of safety with a subtle shift of

blame to the student body.

“Finally, to be candid, I’ve also been disheartened to hear about members of our community who haven’t adhered to public health guidance with the vigilance that’s so very much needed,” Sands said.

While it’s true that some students have ignored protocols at times, many have behaved responsibly and cannot be entirely blamed for cases going up. Students have been put into difficult situations, constantly having to make the decision between experiencing college and playing it safe.

These protocols simply do not cut it.

Downtown bars and restaurants, along with other public event spaces such as the Blacksburg Recreation Center, have remained open. These places require masks upon entry but many do not enforce the mask-wearing policy once inside and allow gatherings of dozens of people in indoor settings.

The annual snowball fight happened a couple weeks ago, where many students took part in a long-standing Virginia Tech tradition. Allowing that many students to congregate in the middle of the Drillfield, as if the snow were a barrier for COVID-19 particles, was hypocritical on the part of the administration. A counter argument could be that they were all wearing masks, but how can we know all of those students were maintaining a proper six feet of distance from each other?

I believe spending time in a classroom with peers and professors makes for the best possible learning scenario. However, reality dictates this cannot be accomplished due to this pandemic.

The decision Tim Sands made to bring students back to campus last August truly contradicts his official stance on the severity of COVID-19. The decision to go entirely remote in March of last year was made when cases in the United States had not even reached 20,000. The decision to go back to school was made when the case count in the United States was reaching a relative peak of 70,000 cases.

“The risks of a residential model at Virginia Tech today are different than they were in March. It is important to remember that we have vastly more information today about COVID-19 than we did in the

spring,” President Sands said in his Aug. 10 press release where he announced the early plans for returning to campus. “In terms of risks, we do not believe that residential halls are our biggest vulnerability, nor do we think that classroom settings are going to be a significant factor in the spread of COVID-19.”

From the beginning, President Sands was ready to shift the blame on students rather than accept the inevitability that was the spread of the virus after bringing thousands of college students together on one campus. Virginia Tech’s protocols (or lack thereof) never came into question, which did not come as a surprise to me, as they ignored the obvious health risks associated with bringing students back in the first place.

Now, while Sands and the administration certainly can make the case that students have not been loyal to the protocols, it is important to understand that COVID-19 is not something that only spreads through students being irresponsible. Students and faculty members can contract the virus through a multitude of ways, including through handshakes or through sweat and germs left on surfaces.

“I tested positive after moving in and had to isolate for a week and half. When I got out, I thought things would’ve been fine, nothing more would happen, and the semester would go on,” said freshman Colin Roberts, a resident of O’Shaughnessy Hall. “A few weeks later my friend’s girlfriend that lives on a floor below us tested positive and had to isolate.”

Roberts is one of the many freshmen missing out on the dorm experience.

“We were safe and wearing our masks all the time, other than to eat or hang out in each other’s rooms,” Roberts said. “Our RA on the fourth (floor) has now made it so that we can’t eat in the lounge until the cases in the building are gone.”

RAs and students are taking it upon themselves to take the measures necessary for preventing their friends and fellow dorm residents from becoming sick. Of course, there will always be students who are less diligent about adhering to the school’s protocols, but overall, students care much more about keeping everybody on campus safe than Sands gives them credit for.

The United States has failed miserably in controlling the spread of the virus, but this does not give those in leadership positions permission to blame the youth, especially when those very leaders are responsible for making the decisions that put those youth, their teachers and every faculty member at significant risk.

The decision Virginia Tech administrators had to make back in August was a difficult one. The economic impact of not bringing students back to school would have been detrimental to the many small businesses that survive through the university.

However, I believe that it is important to prioritize the overall public health above the economy. Hundreds of thousands of families across the country are mourning deaths that have occurred over the past year.

Coming from a school enriched by its science and engineering departments, it was disappointing to see how science was practically ignored in the decision to bring students and faculty back. The decision that was made was an economic decision, and we can all just hope students who have contracted COVID-19 this past school year do not suffer from the health complications that could potentially last their entire lives.

RORY AILOR • junior • multimedia journalism

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news

PAGE 4 March 2, 2021

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After slow start, Virginia delivers on New River Valley COVID-19 vaccines Virginia begins to administer Phase 1B vaccines and expects to move forward with Phase 1C in March.

CT

COVID-19 update

ASHLEY LONG / COLLEGIATE TIMES MOMIJI BARLOW news writer

On Thursday, Jan. 14, Gov. Ralph Northam authorized the New River Valley to expand vaccinations for COVID-19 to those aged 65 and over, as well as those aged 16 to 64 with qualifying health conditions.

The New River Health District is currently operating under Phase 1B of the vaccination distribution plan, which began on Jan. 11, including frontline essential workers, people aged 65 and over and people aged 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions.

This is the order in which people who pre-register and make an appointment will be vaccinated, according to the New River Valley Health District’s website.

After a challenging start to the rollout of the vaccines in Virginia, state vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said during a Jan. 29 tele-press conference that the state is improving.

“There was a lot of frustration and negative press over our national statistics and where we stacked up against other states,” Avula said. “Largely that was around one particular metric: the percentage of doses administered, so the number of doses administered out of the total doses that have come to Virginia.”

According to Avula, Virginia was ranked 50 out of 50 states for vaccine distribution, but indicated the state had moved to 21st during his Jan. 29 press conference and is expected to continue to improve.

Part of the issue is the balance between supply and demand of the vaccine, since the number of people who want to be vaccinated is larger than the number of doses available.

“We’re in that situation where we want to speed up (vaccinations), even though we know we’ll have to hit a steady state of incoming doses per week,” said Dr. Daniel Carey, state secretary of health and human resources.

ANISHA KOHLI / COLLEGIATE TIMES A nurse at Schiffert Health Center administers a vaccine, Jan. 31, 2008.

The Virginia Department of Health is also attempting to optimize the number of doses administered by encouraging vaccine providers to convert second doses of the vaccine into first doses.

“The first dose and second dose are the same dose of vaccine,” Avula said. “Up to this point we have been drawing down every first dose and then we’ve been also drawing down all of the second doses that are available. One of the challenges of that strategy is that it has created a lot of second dose inventory for different providers, that can’t actually be delivered until people are ready for their second dose, and have waited that full three or four weeks for their second dose.”

The state’s solution to this problem is to label second dose vaccines as the first doses so vaccines may be administered immediately.

Avula says that managing and tracking doses will be important in the coming weeks,

and remains optimistic about Virginia’s vaccination plans.

“Really good news on all fronts, both the pace at which vaccination is happening and the capacity which continues to exist, and then the increase in vaccines coming to us this next week,” Avula said. “I think probably the only piece of bad news is that it’s not a 100 percent increase, because we really need and could handle significantly more vaccines at this point, given the infrastructure that’s been built up around the state. I think we’re looking at late March to get through all of (Phase) 1B.” The New River Health District is currently receiving 2,000 doses a week, compared to 80,000 Virginians in Phase 1B who are eligible, according to its website.

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OUR CORE VALUES

study break

Impartiality means reporting, editing and delivering the news honestly, fairly, objectively and without opinion or bias.

Credibility is the greatest asset of any news medium, and impartiality is the greatest source of credibility.

To provide the most complete report, a news organization must not just cover the news, but uncover it. It must follow the story wherever it leads, regardless of any preconceived ideas on what might be most newsworthy.

The pursuit of truth is a noble goal of journalism. But the truth is not always apparent or known immediately. Journalists’ role is therefore not to determine what they believe

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FOR RELEASE MARCH 2, 2021

at that time to be the truth and reveal only that to their readers, but rather to report as completely and impartially as possible all verifiable facts so that readers can, based on their own knowledge and experience, determine what they believe to be the truth.

When a news organization delivers both news and opinions, the impartiality and credibility of the news organization can be questioned. To minimize this as much as possible there needs to be a sharp and clear distinction between news and opinion, both to those providing and consuming the news.

Today’s birthday horoscope (March 2): Realize bold visions this year.

Planning and detailed preparation sets the stage to make dreams come true. Making a professional shift this spring leads to domestic renewal this summer. Shifting perspectives with communications next winter inspires a career breakthrough. Invent and animate inspiring possibilities.

Bliss by Harry Bliss

March 2, 2021 PAGE 5

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Arthur with Emmys 4 DVR copying button 7 Futuristic TV family 14 Reply to “Excuse me, you’re in my seat” 16 Modified to fit 17 Reacted to shearing 18 Fitness regimen 19 *Tour de France participant 21 Manage moguls 22 Rhinitis docs 23 Thumb drive port 26 Pinochle combos 30 Meticulous to a fault 31 __ vez: Rosa’s “once” 34 *Lo-cal tea brand 38 Islamic holy month 40 Scam targets 41 *Singer who’s the namesake of the high school in “Grease” 43 Rapper Lil __ X 44 Poirot’s pals 45 “To recap ... ” 47 Small point 48 Pedestal or plinth 51 Wedding vow 54 One who might use one of the ends of the answers to starred clues 59 SeaWorld tanks 62 Collectibles from afar 63 Happening now 64 Med. imaging procedure 65 Bob and weave 66 Medical ins. plan 67 Denver-toWichita dir.

DOWN 1 Lettuce variety 2 “The Name Game” singer Shirley 3 Smart __: wiseacre 4 Campus mil. group

By Jeffrey Wechsler

5 First name in stunt driving 6 Formally transfer 7 “Shogun” setting 8 Decree 9 Stories 10 Practice boxing 11 Giants legend Mel 12 Bridal bio word 13 ’60s antiwar gp.

15 “The Big Bang Theory” actress __ Bialik who is also a scheduled 2021 “Jeopardy!” guest host 20 Remainder 23 Remove, as a brooch 24 Actress Hayek 25 Grace verb 27 Stream swirl 28 “You made that up!”

29 Claim to be untrue 30 Well-suited 31 Not at all bucolic 32 Judd of country 33 Scope 35 “Frozen” reindeer 36 Guitarist Lofgren 37 Org. in many civil rights cases

3/2/21

Last week’sPuzzle puzzle Solved solved Monday’s

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

39 Short muscles?

42 God, in Grenoble 46 Tic Tacs, e.g.

48 Yawning, perhaps 49 Essential acid 50 Minor arguments 52 Prepare for takeoff, as a frosty windshield 53 Aquatic predators 54 “The Alienist” author Caleb

3/2/21

55 Field for this puzzle’s theme 56 Possible cause of student nervousness 57 Revolution prefix 58 Hamlet, by birth 59 Allentown : “Alas!” :: Altenburg : “__!”

60 Sine __ non 61 Ocean State sch.

PAGE 6 March 2, 2021

lifestyles collegiatetimes.com

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Going Greek online: Running home through Zoom

Virginia Tech participates in the first ever virtual sorority recruitment, hosting an all-online experience for Potential New Members and current sisters alike.

ELISE MCCUE lifestyles contributor

Waking up at 5 a.m. to apply a full face of makeup, coming back to campus a week early, walking from house to house in 30-degree weather in dresses and heels, returning home around 10 p.m. every night of the week and the emotional ups and downs of being accepted or rejected –– all of these experiences are part of the whirlwind event that is formal recruitment for NPC sororities. However, things looked a little different this year as the Virginia Tech Panhellenic Community participated in their first ever virtual formal rush process.

Under this virtual modality, hundreds of girls were able to find their on-campus home from the comfort of their actual homes.

Formal sorority recruitment, is typically an annual week-long event that takes place on the Virginia Tech campus one week before the start of the spring semester. The potential new members, or PNMs, get a taste of what it’s like to be part of each sorority’s sisterhood during open house presentations and conversations with existing

members. With each round, PNMs choose and get chosen by the sororities they feel at home with until, at the end of the week, they finally find their new home on Bid Day when they accept an offer to be part of a sorority’s life-long sisterhood. However, COVID-19 threw a curveball into the traditional way recruitment is run and things looked a little different this year.

Virginia Tech Panhellenic made the decision to host an entirely virtual sorority recruitment this past season due to health and safety concerns surrounding the pandemic. It was uncharted territory for coordinators of the event, active members and PNMs alike. Between the girls with no prior exposure to sororities to the girls who come from a long line of sisterhood, formal recruitment this year was a new experience for everyone.

Of course, with this new modality came new issues. Gone were the problems of being packed into crowded holding houses between rounds or the physical exhaustion that a 10-hour day of conversations wrought. This year,

INQUIAD CHOWDHURY / COLLEGIATE TIMES The Gamma Phi Beta sorority house, Feb. 23, 2020.

PNMs and sororities faced a whole new variety of issues: choppy internet halting the flow of conversation, dud Zoom links and pesky microphone static that zombified voices. Call them technical difficulties, call them a sign of the times, but no one was safe from these issues. These minor issues, for some, made it difficult to connect with active members. How is one supposed to discover deep connections when their internet has connectivity issues?

Well, when it comes to the bond of sisterhood, there was no feat that couldn’t be overcome, virtual or other wise. For freshman Hannah Arroyo, the occasional glitch did not stand in the way of her finding her home at Delta Gamma.

“I really wanted it to be in person, honestly… it was definitely more convenient, but it was difficult trying to make those connections,” Arroyo said when reflecting upon the experience of rush being online versus in person.

“You see those open house videos, but you’re still wondering ‘What are these houses actually like?’” Arroyo said, echoing a common question that passed through every PNM’s mind.

A big part of the experience is being physically present in the houses; each is unique with its own special vibe.

Sometimes, no amount of conversation can fully convey what it feels like to be a sister; you just have to experience it for yourself. Sororities, however, did adapt and gave PNMs a chance to see what the houses looked like with virtual tours. Between the house tours, inviting open house videos and genuine conversations over Zoom, sororities did their best in making each PNM feel as if they were physically present to feel how it is to be a sister.

Alpha Delta Pi sophomore Ashley Brinkley viewed virtual recruitment as the great unknown. Not only was this a new experience for her due to its modality, but this was also her member

class’ first time recruiting.

“I didn’t really know what it would be like since it was my first time recruiting this year for ADPi,” Brinkley said.

Apprehension was a key player leading up to the event, but the sorority women, th rough cooperation and an optimistic attitude, worked hard behind the scenes to make recruitment run as smoothly for the PNMs over Zoom as it did for them in person.

Additionally, they did not just want to make recruitment run smoothly, but they wanted it to be as genuine as possible for these PNMs by adding personal touches to their presentations each round to make the new girls feel the sense of community that ADPi has to offer.

For Brinkley, the virtual nature of recruitment actually made the experience more relaxed and natural.

“I honestly had a great time doing it though because I got to sit in my own room and be relaxed talking to girls,” Brinkley said. “I was really able to be my true self because I was in my own safe space.”

While the modality of Virginia Tech’s Panhellenic sorority recruitment process was not anyone’s first choice, virtual recruitment presented opportunities for more personal, one-on-one con ne ct ions f rom t he com for t s of each girl’s home. Through the extensive planning of the Panhellenic community, the cooperation of the sisters, enthusiasm of the PNMs and flexibility of everyone involved, Tech’s first-ever virtual rush was more successful than anyone could have imagined.

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March 2, 2021 PAGE 7

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ANISHA KOHLI / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Expect the unexpected: Life as a freshman cadet in 2021 New cadets adjust to their first year of training during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OLIVIA FERRARE lifestyles editor

Virginia Tech houses one of the only two senior military colleges in a major state university. To outside students, the life of a cadet can be an everyday mystery. Jacob Gehrt and William Connolly, both freshmen general engineering majors in the Lima company, sat down and explained their year as new Hokies, from arriving in August for New Cadet Week to all of the changes COVID-19 has brought to an already hectic school year.

As a cadet in red phase, the first half of the first semester, one has limited free time and follows strict rules and schedules. Freshmen look forward to white phase, the second half of the first semester and the first half of the second, as this brings some freedom

to join clubs and even grow out a little hair for the guys. They can dive deeper into passions through corps, ROTC or university organizations. Connolly has started the tapping process, which is similar to “rushing” a fraternity/ sorority, for the Skipper Crew. This crew is one of the plethora of organizations that date back to the beginning of Virginia Tech. The blue phase is from Feb. 19 to April 17, and it is the final step in the “new cadet” process.

On April 17, freshmen cadets transition into upperclassmen, a position in which they get to enjoy increased privileges and plan out what new responsibilities they will undertake in their next years on campus.

Gehrt describes the freshman year process as being a follower, where he learns from older cadets such as cadres

and commanding officers, and decides how he will lead as an upperclassman as he transitions from one stage to another. Both freshmen expressed their appreciation for the strong bond within their company and the constant process of learning on the job. Freshmen cadets are perpetually surrounded by amazing teachers and mentors, guiding them to a more successful collegiate and professional career. While not every aspect of cadet life is a walk in the park, sharing the entire journey with true friends is something both Gehrt and Connolly are grateful for.

“This experience trains you for the unexpected, so keeping an open mind and remembering why you’re there in the first place is the most important thing to do,” Connolly said.

Both Gehrt and Connolly stressed

that dedication and motivation are two characteristics integral to success in the Corps.

After the recent Cadets vs. Civilians snowball fight, one of the biggest (and snowiest) traditions in the Corps of Cadets now seems like the perfect time to reflect on the long-standing relationship between the two sides of campus. Geh r t and Connolly commented on the immense respect and love the community has shown to them and their peers; a mutual understanding that every student, no matter who, will go on to do amazing things.

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sports

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Tech wins Men’s ACC Indoor Championship The Virginia Tech track and field team sets records to secure the championship.

GLEN RORIE sports staff writer

The Virginia Tech track and field team caps off another season with an impressive feat as the men’s team won the ACC Indoor Championship. The men’s team blew the competition out of the water as the second place finisher trailed them by 50+ points.

Thursday: Day One On Thursday, they won three events and medaled five times. Rachel Baxter once again secured her ascendancy over the ACC as she won women’s pole vault with the jump of 4.37; Baxter is now a back-to-back ACC women’s pole vault champion. Antonio Lopez Segura won the men’s 5000m run as he broke the meet and facility record with the time of 13:49.86. The men’s distance medley relay team won the final event on day one as they squeaked out the first-place position over Pittsburgh’s DMR by a couple of milliseconds.

The two other medals received for the Hokies on the first day came from Aidan Clark, who received a bronze medal in the men’s high jump and Harrison Rice who placed second for a silver medal in the men’s pole vault.

Friday: Day Two Sean Murphy competed in the heptathlon consisting of 60m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m run. He saw career highs in the 1000m dash, 2:47.07, and pole vault, 4.00m.

At the conclusion of his events, his score totaled out to be 5350 points and he took third place in the ACC Championship. With that total, he now holds the Virginia Tech heptathlon record, beating the old record by 68 points.

17 Hokies advanced in the preliminaries and into the finals.

Saturday: Day Three, Final Day To start off the final day of the ACC Indoor Championship meet, Chauncey

Chambers leapt his career best in the men’s triple jump, 15.92m. With that jump, Chambers placed second and took home the silver medal. Tyson Jones and Essence Henderson both took silver medals in their shot put events. Jones threw 18.75m for the men’s shot put and Henderson threw 16.55m for the women’s shot put.

On the track, Ben Fleming took home the bronze medal in the men’s one mile run with the time of 4:00.01. Fellow Hokie Fitsum Seyoum followed close behind Fleming for fourth with his personal best of 4:00.74. The spectacle of Jacory Patterson once again continued as he conquered both the men’s 400m dash and 200m dash. Patterson broke the meet record in the 400m dash as he ran a 45.38. He ran his personal best in the 200m dash as he once again broke another Virginia Tech school record with the time of 20.62.

He now holds two Virginia Tech records as he wielded two gold medals from this meet and is a back-to-back ACC champion.

Caitlan Tate took home the gold for the women’s 400m dash as she ran a 53.32 to a comfortable victory.

Bashir Mosavel-Lo and Lindsey Butler both won the 800m dashes. Mosavel-Lo took home the gold with a personal best of 1:48.34, barely beating out second place who had run 1:48.39. Butler also ran her personal best and the meet record with a time of 2:01.96. With that time, she now holds the Virginia Tech women’s 800m dash record.

Ben Nibbelink received a silver medal as he ran a 7:56.88, another personal best in the books for the Hokies.

After this meet, the Hokies finish off their indoor season with the NCAA Indoor Championships from Mar. 12 – 13.

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Hokies defeat Syracuse Orange 76-68 Head coach Kenny Brooks discusses his team’s phenomenal performance on Sunday.

AMBER WILLIAMS sports editor

The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team (12-7, 7-7) defeated the Syracuse Orange (11-6, 8-6) on Sunday, scoring 76 points in total to the Oranges’ 68. This victory set a program record for the Hokies by marking their fifth successive ACC win.

Aisha Sheppard was on top of the scoring for the Hokies, tallying 23 points.

Center Elizabeth

Kitley added a crucial 18 points for Tech and Georgia Amoore and Cayla King each contributed 14 points to the win.

Syracuse started the game in the hole, only shooting eight points in the first quarter to the Hokies’ 20. Heading into the second half the Hokies held a 22-point lead with 44 total points and continued to hold the lead, never letting the Orange take control.

COURTESY OF HOKIESPORTS The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team wins against Syracuse, Feb. 21, 2021.

“The first half I thought they were phenomenal,” said head coach Kenny Brooks. “We executed, we got the ball where we wanted to, and we controlled the narrative . . .”.

The Hokies shot 50% on field

goals and made 41.7% of its three pointers.

Virginia Tech will next play UNC at home on Feb. 28.

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