November 30, 2005Virginia Tech football players in Section 8 housingI've written a story each of the past two days on Virginia Tech students, including 19 football players, living in subsidized housing thanks to a loophole in the law. Tuesday's story gauged university response to an ESPN "Outside the Lines" piece that first revealed Virginia Tech athletes living in apartments for free, despite receiving housing stipends. Today's story gave the tale of a non-athlete student living in Section 8 housing and explained how legislation proposed by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin will close the loophole. Senate Amendment 2076 will require most students to submit parental income and financial aid beyond tuition (such as stipends) when applying for Section 8 Housing. The stories, like just about anything pertaining to Tech football, have elicited a sizeable response on our message board. While we continue to follow the story, there will be nothing new on it in Thursday's Roanoke Times. So I thought I'd spend some time today weighing in on some of the opinions readers have sent in. Continue reading "Virginia Tech football players in Section 8 housing" » November 29, 2005Students and police: Two sides to every storyA week after my story on Radford students and police ran, I'm still receiving feedback. I'll share a couple of nuggets here. One respondant suggested that the story focused on city police statistics when the situation on campus was actually improving. Another respondant, the mother of a student who was recently arrested, shared her story. An emailer who wished to remain anonymous pointed me to the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, telling me incidents of students with alcohol poisoning have gone up recently. That, he argued, explained the increase in alcohol violations. He also noted that statistics compiled by the university's police force show incidents of assault on campus actually went down from 2002 to 2004, along with alcohol violations on campus. For what it's worth, phone calls to the university police department to comment for the story went unreturned. I received another email from Karen Castelli, the mother of a girl who was recently arrested for underage drinking. Here's her email in its entirety: "I just read your article on underage drinking and even though my daughter is only 19, I am very upset about the way the police officer acted when he arrived at her apartment for a noise disturbance. She lives on Madison and on a Wednesday night, 2 of her friends were loud on the balcony." "The officer (T. Dula) arrived and when my daughter answered the door, he asked her to come out of the apartment. She was drinking as were about 8 of her friends and she said no that he could not come in. He blocked the door with his foot so she could not close it. He then told her he would arrest for obstruction of justice if she didn't come out and have all of her friends come out with her. She did and they were all charged with underage consumption of alcohol. (Also a noise ordinance)" "I know that she was in violation, but I am concerned with the intimidation tactic used. I plan on seeking legal counsel for her, but do not know any lawyers in that area. I have called a few, but none take these types of cases. I emailed the police department, but they never replied. It is just frustrating to be a parent and not know how to help. Thanks for any info you can give me." Alcohol on college campus is, undoubtedly, a well-covered topic. I even questioned if we give too much attention to bad student behavior, which is usually alcohol-related in an earlier blog entry. Since then, we've published a story on family history and alcoholism. Let us know what you think about the stories, the coverage and where the line needs to be drawn when it comes to tolerating underage drinking. November 28, 2005Brian McCloskey RewardThe family for Brian McCloskey has announced the following reward for information about his death. Police have not released any new information on the cause of his death or suspects in the case. $10,000 REWARD FOR INFORMATION On late Friday night/early Saturday morning (November 4&5), Brian McCloskey, a freshman at Virginia Tech, was found lying near the bike path in the Pheasant Run Crossing town home community. Brian had sustained massive injuries that eventually took his life. November 23, 2005Sports, students and drinkingAs Virginia Tech fans prepare for the final home football game of the season Saturday, they might be interested to read this article in USA Today about colleges cracking down on alcohol advertising and drinking outside and inside stadiums. Alcohol is not sold inside of Lane Stadium, but anyone who's been to a game knows there's plenty of drinking beforehand in surrounding lots. Students have told me they tape mini-bottles to their legs and girls put them in their shirts to avoid detection when entering the stadium. Colleges are trying to put a limit on alcohol consumption before it reaches the level of professional sports, where beer flows freely in stadiums. The Washington Post recently published an article about alcohol-fueled rowdiness in the stands. Tech's Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center is conducting a study where they take fans blood alcohol content after games. Researchers have found that a significant number of people still have elevated, if not necessarily illegal, blood alcohol levels after leaving games. Only about five percent of those surveyed were students. Saturday's game will be the last day of research for the study. So when you're leaving the game you may run into folks other than police officers interested in how much you've been drinking. November 22, 2005Brian McCloskeyNothing new on the death of Virginia Tech freshman Brian McCloskey. Blacksburg police remain mum on the investigation, even when speaking to McCloskey's mother. The report below is courtesy of Roanoke Times police reporter Joe Eaton: Brian McCloskey’s mother Dawn Powell got the call that her son was injured around 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 5. She drove from her Maryland home to Carilion Memorial Hospital wondering how badly he was hurt. When she arrived her son was in a coma. He died five days later. On Monday, Powell said police still had not told her how her son died. “I know that they went to a party. And they were at a party, and somehow he got separated from his friends. And he was found later by people in a car that had pulled up and saw him lying there. First they didn’t think it was a person. They thought it was a grey bag or something,” Powell said. If Blacksburg Police know more about what happened to McCloskey, they are keeping it close to the vest. Police spokesman Lt. Bruce Bradbery on Tuesday said the department has not ruled out that the 18-year-old was run over by a car or beaten. The investigation continues, he said, although it has slowed down while the students are out of town over Thanksgiving. He expected no new announcements until at least next week. November 21, 2005Radford students and police feedbackIf you're not a reporter I'm not sure you'd understand the sensation of coming into work the morning after writing a controversial story. Before you turn on your computer, before you even take off your jacket, your eyes are fixated on the little blinking light on your phone. Your heart pounds faster than the little diamond blinks -- and that sucker blinks pretty fast. You pick up the phone and type in your extension and password. If the day and time of the electronic voice indicate the message was left the previous night, you relax. If the message was left earlier that morning, you brace yourself for criticism. Well, thanks to the miracles of modern technology, reporters get to have that feeling twice in the morning. Once when you check your phone messages and again when you read your email. So after a couple of phone messages revealed that no one was irate enough to call me about my story Sunday on conflicts between Radford police and students, I checked my email. Understand, I don't think this was a particularly inflamatory piece. But one of the great things about reporting in a small community is that anything you write that is construed in a negative way by anyone comes back to you. I think it keeps reporters at small and mid-sized papers more in touch with the people they cover than their big-city brethren. Call it the thin-skinned effect. People in small towns really care about their community. The only critical email I received Monday morning was sent by someone who is constantly making it clear how much she cares about Radford's reputation -- city councilwoman Laurie Buchwald. I think I have a good rapport with Laurie, who works with a number of community organizations as well as city council. She makes no bones about essentially being a cheerleader for the city, pointing out positive developments and good work being done by Radford citizens every chance she gets. I knew the email wasn't in praise of the article as soon as I saw it was copied to my editors and she addressed me as "Mr. Esposito." And this email was a double feature, criticizing not only Sunday's story but a blog I wrote last week concerning negative stories in the media about college students. "I wonder how your colleagues feel about your description of articles that tell the more positive side of life as do-gooder stuff that takes no skill to write?" part of the email reads. She was reacting to my previous blog in which I asked if it takes any real skill as a journalist to write about good things that everyone wants to talk to you about. "Aren't we trying to get to things that most people wouldn't otherwise know about?" I asked. I didn't mean this as a slight against my colleagues. I myself have written about four times as many positive stories about the city and Radford University in the past two months as I have stories that could be considered negative. And perhaps I should have said the reporting of these "do-gooder" stories is generally easier than reporting on what Laurie would deem a negative story. The simple matter is there aren't enough hours in the day or pages in the paper for reporters to write about every good and bad thing that happens on their beat. We're constantly judging what makes a particular story unique, interesting or impactful. I was simply asking readers to make this same judgement and tell us if college students are being portrayed inaccurately. As someone who believes I should focus more on the positives, Laurie gave just the sort of response I was looking for. Unfortunately she didn't post it as a comment to my entry. So I'm kind of doing it for her. As for Sunday' story, Laurie questioned the timing and accused me of writing something to inflame the situation. I quoted five people whose take on the whole situation was that it was not that big of a problem or was improving. Two people were quoted as saying it was a problem that was getting worse. Police, school officials, politicians and students were all quoted. But when people feel pride in their community, they sometimes are more aware of the negative things people say about it than the positives. No doubt they know about the good things, it's the idea that there are critics out there -- critics whose opinions reporters dare give credence to -- that get their attention. Like I did with my blog, I was simply trying to raise a question Sunday based on some facts: Arrests and citations for drinking, vandalism and assault and battery in Radford are up. Why? I've always believed that the best way to solve problems is by open discussion. I have no problem with calling attention to problems between students and police in the city I cover or problems facing reporters and editors at the newspaper I write for. It doesn't mean anyone is bad or wrong. We're just humans who could benefit from a little advice. Thanks for yours, Laurie. November 17, 2005Is good news no news?Are you happy with the way the media, and The Roanoke Times in particular, portrays college students? Is a collection of all of the things you do that we deem to be newsworthy a good representation of who you really are? I mean, college students do all sorts of good things, from charity work to voter registration drives. We write plenty of soft do-gooder features, some about college students. For instance, dozens of Radford University and Virginia Tech students are headed to the Gulf Coast to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. Kevin Miller wrote about some of those students in a story last month. I'm writing a story for Friday on another group headed down there. But these are short, quick-hit stories slipped into the pages of The Current. Another story I'm writing for Sunday examines the problems Radford students and police are having this year. It's about five times as long as the piece I wrote about the students going to the Gulf Coast. Similarly, we dedicated what seemed like our entire bureau to a story on the supposed craziness that follows a Virginia Tech football game. The reaction of most of the writers and photographers that night was, "Shucks, there were hardly any arrests. No fighting? No fires or huge parties? No story." But people want to read about "Girls Gone Wild" coming to Radford University or a near riot in Blacksburg after a football game, right? That's the type of stuff that interests most reporters. People behaving is not news. If it was I suppose we'd all be living pretty difficult lives. Every Friday a group of reporters at the newspaper's New River bureau go out to lunch to discuss different elements of our craft. Last Friday we discussed a speech given by Washington Post columnist William Raspberry to students at my alma mater, Washington and Lee University, a few years ago. The topic of the speech was "What are journalists for?" Raspberry makes some good points. He contends that good stories can be written in a compelling way and are important to the public. If good is being done to correct a societal ill, the conflict that is needed to make most stories readable can be created between the problem and the problem solvers. That's all well and good and I think there's a place for that type of reporting. But journalists take pride in their role as watchdogs for the public. If we report on how things are going well and everyone is doing right by society we're not really serving that role. What if the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina went incredibly smoothly? What if it was the most successful relief operation in history? It wouldn't have received the same type of press and people would've been interested in that for a day, maybe two. And furthermore, does it take any real skill as a journalist to write about good things that everyone wants to talk to you about? Aren't we trying to get to things that people wouldn't otherwise know about? It's not negative journalism, it's alerting the public. I think everyone agrees that there's a line between the two philosophies. But where does that line lie? And are we currently giving the public a warped view about what college students are all about? November 16, 2005Brian McCloskeyA medical examiner's report hasn't shed much light on the death of Virginia Tech freshman Brian McCloskey. As police expected, he died of multiple blunt force injuries. Police are investigating it as a homicide. For more on the story, read tomorrow's Roanoke Times or go online today for the most up-to-date news. Solar HouseVirginia Tech's Solar Decathalon team will hold a celebration Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Dietrick Dining Center from 5 to 7 p.m. Tours of the house will be available from 4 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m. Tech placed fourth in the competition last month. Below is a release from the university detailing the Nov. 29 event: BLACKSBURG, Va., Nov. 16, 2005 - A community celebration in honor of Virginia Tech's Solar Decathlon 2005 team will be held Tuesday, Nov. 29 on the Virginia Tech campus. The team, comprised of students from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, the College of Engineering, and the Pamplin College of Business, competed last month in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2005, an international competition held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Office of Student Programs is coordinating a special meal in D2 (Dietrick Dining Center) from 5 to 7 p.m. All students, faculty, staff and community residents are invited to attend. The house is currently installed on Dietrick Lawn and the community is invited to tour the award winning house and see its numerous innovate features first-hand from 4 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m. Virginia Tech's team won first place in Best Architecture, Best Dwelling, Best Daylight, and tied for first place in Best Electric Light, and placed fourth in the overall competition. The entry also won an AIA Presidential Award. The 18 teams that competed in the Solar Decathlon were charged with creating attractive, practical, and efficient solar homes. The Department of Energy sponsors this decathlon to encourage innovation in solar developments while educating the public about alternative energy technologies. Festivities in D2 will begin at 5:15 p.m. with comments by Paul Knox, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies; , Zenobia Hikes, vice president for student affairs; and Robert Schubert, professor and associate dean for research and outreach in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and a lead faculty advisor to the decathlon team. The menu will include roast beef with au jus and horseradish cream, Cajun catfish, lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, sushi, eggplant Parmesan, crème brulee, and many other delicacies. The newly renovated D2, in Dietrick Hall, is an all-you-care-to-eat restaurant that features eight dining venues, including an authentic Brazilian churrascaria, wok-prepared Asian favorites, a Mediterranean venue with vegan and vegetarian selections, an all-American salad bar, and Mexican, Italian, and dessert favorites. The price for this dinner is $8.95 or $2.85 for students with Flex Dining Plans. Students can enter a drawing to win door prizes, including two solar iPod chargers, a solar flashlight/radio, and solar battery chargers. Photos from the competition in Washington, D.C., will be displayed in D2. November 15, 2005CIA recruiting at Virginia TechFor the second time this year, the Central Intelligence Agency will be coming to Virginia Tech to recruit students. And for the second time this year, they will be met with protests from students who view the CIA as an immoral organization that engages in torture and murder. Nicholas Kiersey organized a protest last spring when the CIA came to campus. He released the following statement Monday about the CIA's trip to Torgeson 3100 Thursday at 7 p.m.: "Blacksburg, VA November 13, 2005 - A coalition of concerned graduate students and campus organizations at Virginia Tech are this Thursday staging a 'teach in' to protest CIA recruitment on campus. Planned events also include the protest of a 'career information' session to be held by the CIA later that evening. On November 2nd, 2005 the Washington Post published an article entitled “CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons”. The article reported that the CIA has set up a covert network of secret prisons and interrogation centers, known as “black sites”, in several countries around the world, including several democracies in Eastern Europe and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Prisoners at these facilities are held indefinitely and often in isolation, without due process of the law. Moreover, CIA interrogators working at these sites are permitted to use the CIA's approved "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques," some of which are prohibited by the U.N. convention and by U.S. military law. Among the tactics approved for use are "waterboarding", intended to induce in prisoners the idea that they are drowning. While intelligence officials defend the unrestricted operation of these sites as necessary for the successful defense of the country, it should be noted that both the sites and the suspected practices carried out at them would be illegal if operated within the USA, which is a signatory to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Importantly, the same is true for the democratic host states in Eastern Europe where some of these sites are located. The 'Teach In' will take place on Thursday, Nov. 17, 5-6.30pm, in Torgerson 3100. The event will feature talks by Virginia Tech instructors and the presentation of a draft letter to President Steger's office, signed by a number of concerned Virginia Tech faculty and students. The letter will request that Virginia Tech place a moratorium on all CIA activities on Virginia Tech's campus until such time as a thorough and independent investigation certifies that the organization has been thoroughly reformed and no longer engages in practices that contravene international law and basic standards of human rights. The CIA's scheduled 'career information' session will take place at 7pm in the same location. Sponsoring campus organizations include: The International Club and Amnesty International at Virginia Tech." Four year degrees? How old fashioned.An interesting article in USA Today last week discussed the growing number of students who take non-traditional routes to graduation. One reason for this is the increasing cost of tuition. This causes many students to take on part-time jobs. These jobs, combined with the thousands of internships students apply for each year, necessitate smaller course loads or time off. Still other students just don't really know what they want to do. Or rather, they know that they want to continue being an undergraduate. You fifth-year seniors out there know who you are. But can any of you compare to 12th-year senior Johnny Lechler? November 14, 2005Brian McCloskeyAs of this morning, police had no news to report on the death of Virginia Tech freshman Brian McCloskey. Below is a statement issued by Virginia Tech President Charles Steger Friday: "I know that I speak for the campus community when I say that we are deeply saddened by the death of Virginia Tech student Brian Joseph McCloskey, a freshman in University Studies from Olney, Maryland. We send our sincere condolences and profound sorrow to Brian’s family and friends. The cause of Brian’s death is unknown at this time and Blacksburg Police are continuing to investigate. However, I am also deeply disturbed that this death may not have been accidental. It is plainly unacceptable and outrageous that someone from the campus community experiences harm in this way. We trust that police authorities will quickly resolve the cause of death. We are deeply committed to the safety of our community, particularly our students. Every effort is being made to identify individual(s) responsible and resolve this tragic death." November 11, 2005Police and studentsDuring my travels in Radford and Blacksburg this fall, I've heard persistent rumors that Radford police have been particularly heavy handed when dealing with students this year. The numbers support those rumors. Welcome...As you can see in the short description of me under my photo, I'm the college life reporter for The Roanoke Times. Though I was born and raised in Rhode Island, I'm pretty familiar with Virginia, having been down here since attending Washington and Lee University where I graduated in 2000. So feel free to send me any ideas you have and I'll hold up my end of the deal with daily entries. Should be fun. |
About this blog
Rhode Island native and Virginia Tech reporter Greg Esposito posts on everyday college life, trends and issues affecting the 35,000-plus students in the New River Valley and beyond.
Tim Thornton, who is old enough to have children attending college, is still taking classes and is still fascinated by colleges, the students who populate them and the bureaucrats who operate them. His reporting beat is Radford University.
West Virginia native Anna Mallory blogs on student life topics at Virginia Tech, Radford University, New River Valley Community College -- and beyond.
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