October 26, 2007One little, two little, 56 little drunk Hokies...The Virginia Tech Police Department came out with its report of arrests on Thursday night and, perhaps not surprisingly, there were a few folks arrested for "appearing intoxicated" in public. All told, Tech police made 56 alcohol-related arrests Thursday night, most in the vicinity of Lane Stadium. It looks like Oct. 25 was every bit the "alcoholiday" it was advertised as. Not sure how many of those arrested were drinking in celebration or drowning sorrows after Thursday's loss to Boston College, but given the late turn of events in the game and the fact that early arrests outnumbered later ones, I'm assuming there were quite a few happy drunks who had their night of celebration ruined long before Matt Ryan connected with Andre Callender in the end zone with 11 seconds left. Continue reading "One little, two little, 56 little drunk Hokies..." » Institute gives Tech sustainability C-While Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg celebrate their “Sustainability Week,” a national organization is saying Tech is a little below the national average in actually achieving the goals. The Sustainable Endowment Institute gave Tech an overall C- in its annual report card, citing a lack of transparency within the school’s foundation as the major pitfalls. The institute is a nonprofit aimed at researching and improving campus sustainability – or its ability to maintain without harmful effects -- in operations and endowment practices. October 25, 2007Microsoft buys share of FacebookAs if Facebook users weren't already miffed about changes to the social-networking giant, now Microsoft owns about a 2 percent chunk. In a deal reached this week, Microsoft paid $240 million to buy into Facebook, which is valued at about $15 billion. It means they'll be able to float banner ads where they want. Everyone knows Facebook is gaining popularity, even after opening to non college students. Apparently, it's growing by about 200,000 registered users a day. October 17, 2007Norris Hall options narrowedTask force narrows options for Norris Hall's future A task force charged with deciding the future of Virginia Tech's Norris Hall has selected three proposals for study, the university announced today. They are: -- To "re-create community" within the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the College of Engineering by consolidating department operations and installing state-of-the-art videoconferencing, research and laboratory space for students. -- To create a "Center for Violence Prevention and Peace Studies," including an interdisciplinary, student-led research center that engages faculty from numerous departments. -- To develop a "Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships" based on the VT Engage program, which currently is asking every person on campus to complete 10 hours of community service by April 16. A community room would offer collaborative meeting space for students and members of community agencies. In all, the task force looked at seven proposals for the future of a 4,500-square-foot building, site of 31 of the 33 shooting deaths on April 16. Teams that sumbitted the three propsals have until Nov. 9 to fully develop their ideas in no more than 10 pages, according to a university news release. They will then present their proposals to the task force on Nov. 15. The task force is charged with making a recommention on Norris Hall's future to President Charles Steger by Dec. 1. Faculty, students and staff are represented on the group of 12. October 12, 2007Chili ChallengeI’m a little worried about a group of roommates from Blacksburg that I met today. All three completed Virginia Tech’s Chili Challenge, scooping up spoonfuls of habanera, jalepeno and pablano-laced chili in an effort to win a bright-red T-shirt designed by one of their fellow students. All I can is I hope their house has more than one bathroom. More Facebook troubleHere's yet another example of Facebook causes folks problems. A Regent University student is facing disciplinary action after school officials objected to a posting on his Facebook page. Adam M. Key, a second-year law student, copied a picture of televangelist Pat Robertson appearing to offer an obscene hand gesture, according to a news article. The same picture had been circulating on YouTube. Regent, a private Christian university that Robertson founded, told Key he could publicly apologize or offer a legal brief in his defense. Key chose the latter, citing First Amendment protection. But, the school tossed out his brief. He still faces expulsion. October 11, 2007Radford hires lead communications officerJohn Hachtel, a marketing and communications specialist, will begin as Radford University's head communications officer on Nov. 12 The university announced Hachtel's appointment as Vice President for University Relations late this afternoon. Hatchel comes to Radford from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He's spent 15 years in higher education, including stints at Auburn and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Hachtel will "lead the university relations staff in strategic planning efforts" as well as "developing and implementing an institution-wide marketing communications plan," according to a Radford news release. Design your own rideMove over Xzibit. Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg are hunting for local people to "pimp" their buses. The one that travels from the university's bookstore to its Oak Lane complex at least. Students, faculty and staff have one more day to submit their designs to the "Design Your Ride: Show Hokie Pride" contest. The winner will have his or her artwork displayed on the Hokie Express bus for at least three years, according to Fiona Rhodes, a town marketing rep. October 9, 2007Group to take gun protest to UVa.A group looking to change gun purchasing laws in the state plans to take its protest to Charlottesville next week on the six-month anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. Thirty-two people -- each one representing someone slain on April 16 -- will briefly lie on the ground. The protestors hope to illustrate the amount of time it took shooter Seung Hui Cho to obtain the weapons he used during the shootings. The first gathering of people who started the Web site was on April 22 in Alexandria. There, 32 women dressed in black with maroon and orange ribbons draped around them. Since its inception, 28 protests have taken place, from New York to Chicago. Organizers provide "protests in a box" to those interested. October 5, 2007Halloween funThe creepy, furry spiders are out in public and candy corn is stacked on shelves, so that means everyone's favorite spooky holiday is nearing. And, even if your bosses is a monster, I'm not talking about talking about National Boss Day, but Halloween. So, to make things more festive around here, we want to hear from you. How do you plan to dress for trick-or-treat (or drink), as it may be? Send us your best costume ideas, then make sure you take losts of pics. We'll feature a few, let you vote on the winners and those could be featured in an article. Happy Halloween! October 2, 2007Vote for the best flims50-plus people. 24 hours. 4 minutes of fame. The race to complete a four-minute film started with a posting on a Web site at 4 p.m. last Friday. Now you can help pick a 4-star film among those Virginia Tech students who entered the school's Four Minute Film Festival. If you've already seen the short takes, go straight to our poll. If not, watch the movies here then vote. The young film makers will love to claim bragging rights -- and a prize. Vote by noon Thursday! The winner will be announced late Thursday afternoon at the Four Minute Film Festival awards ceremony. Beware: some of these films touch on mature content. |
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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