December 19, 2005Blog vacationClasses at Virginia Tech and Radford University won't begin again until Jan. 17 and Jan. 9, respectively. So I'll give the blog a break until Jan. 9, when Radford students return. Thanks for reading and happy holidays. December 15, 2005Virginia 21 campaignVirginia 21, a young voters advocacy group, announced a campaign Wednesday to persuade the General Assembly to increase funding for higher education. According to current base budget adequacy figures from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, higher education is underfunded by $377 million. That debt works out to $1,246 per student. As part of the group's campaign, they have set up a petition for students to sign on the internet. Virginia 21 Director Jesse Ferguson said Wednesday that past funding decisions by the General Assembly have correlated with rises in tuition costs. Tuition increases of 15 percent in years past gave way to increases of 9 percent after the General Assembly gave an additional $175 million for higher education. December 14, 2005Tech student diesVirginia Tech sophomore Daniel Lee Stevenson died Sunday. Tech's website has information on his funeral, to be held in Maryland Thursday. Tech officials are not releasing any further information on his death. Spokesman Mark Owczarski said the memorial announcement was put on the web site at the request of Stevenson's family. Any on-campus memorial plans are contingent on the family's wishes and would not happen until after Christmas break. December 13, 2005Katrina students returning home?Back in September, Virginia colleges opened their doors to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Now, even as Tulane University is announcing cuts to programs, it's message to other schools is, "Thanks for taking care of our students, now if you wouldn't mind, we'd like them back." So who out there knows of students heading back to the Gulf Coast next semester? Anyone like it so much here in Southwest Virginia that they've decided to stay? December 12, 2005Virginia Tech makes plans for MLK DayVirginia Tech students will have Martin Luther King Jr. Day off for the first time this year. But the school will be open and the holiday will kick off a week of events, including a visit by Jesse Jackson. Tech, which has a population that is about 5 percent black and falling, has had its share of race-relations problems in the past. In March 2003, the Tech governing board voted to end affirmative action in admissions, financial aid and hiring at the school based on the advice of Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. The board relented to public pressure and reversed that decision, signing a "Principles of Community" document this past March. The document reaffirmed the university's committment to multi-culturalism and free expression. Last month Tech unveiled an anti-harassment program to address concerns of gay and lesbian students.
December 9, 2005New sorority at Virginia TechAlpha Gamma Delta will become the 13th sorority at Virginia Tech in late January, the organization announced today. It has chapters at over 100 schools in the U.S. and Canada. Recruitment for members at Tech will be held after Tech's formal recruitment. For more information about Alpha Gamma Delta recruitment at Tech, go to this site. December 8, 2005Helicopter ParentsCurfews. Dress codes. For years colleges kept a very close eye on students and monitored their every move. The baby boomers changed all of that in the 1960s, so most of you current students have your parents to credit with the freedoms you enjoy while in school. But those same people who threw off the chains of their college oppressors are taking on the role themselves, in various embarrassing ways. The Helicopter Parent has become so prevalent that Virginia Tech has created the position of parent relations coordinator to deal with all of the nosy and overprotective moms and dads. Who out there has stories of overbearing parents interfering with you while miles away from home? Do you receive constant emails and phone calls? Do they speak directly with your professors or university officials? If so, I'd like to hear from you. December 6, 2005Hokie football gets some good news for a changeSo you're a Virginia Tech football fan. The past week hasn't been kind to you. On the field, your heavily-favored team blew the chance to win a second-straight ACC Championship Saturday. Instead of a trip to sunny Florida, you have to make plans for a trip to, well, sunny Florida. But who wants to find gators in their Christmas stocking when they were hoping for oranges? Um...well maybe that's not the best way to put it. But you're a Hokie fan, so maybe that comparison isn't so far off. Gators in your stocking. A Gator Bowl in your future. The two were probably equally horrifying prospects Saturday. And not only did your team lose, but it looked bad doing it. Penalties galore. Broadcasters bemoaning the team's behavior on national television. Your star quarterback pouting after the game instead of facing the music. But wait, it gets worse. Off the field you had to endure story after story after story in The Roanoke Times last week and on ESPN Nov. 27 about how some players on your team are living in Section 8 housing despite receiving housing stipends. But a story in The Chronicle of Higher Education offers some good news. And no, you didn't just save a bunch of money on car insurance by switching to Geico. Continue reading "Hokie football gets some good news for a change" » December 5, 2005Virginia Tech's role in "Extreme Makeover"If you were in downtown Blacksburg Sunday afternoon you may have noticed a stretch limo making its way around town. If you read today's story in The Roanoke Times, you'll see that the limo was part of a visit by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Today's story mentions that Virginia Tech students and professors did much of the design work for the new house for free. Read the below release from the school to get more details of how Tech has worked with the Extreme Makeover crew. Continue reading "Virginia Tech's role in "Extreme Makeover"" » December 2, 2005Students helping Katrina victimsLocal students are still headed to the Gulf Coast to help residents rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. Times reporter Kevin Miller and I wrote a story about students from Virginia Tech and Radford University heading down to the area last month. Now Virginia Tech student Meredith Morgan is organizing a trip to Gulfport, Miss. through the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society. The trip will run from Dec. 17 to Dec. 23. The group needs donations to ensure everyone can make it down there via a charter bus. Read on for further details from Morgan and to learn how to contribute. |
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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