From May 3 to May, they'll have drop-off spots around town. They're asking for televisions, rugs, furniture and more.

You can find out more and a list a bin locations here.

Lots of people have been behind it though. According to a news release from the Speaker of the House, the bipartisan legislation has 58 co-sponsors in the Senate and 249 co-sponsors in the House, as well as the endorsements of the nation's leading veterans' organizations.

I also attended a conference this weekend where Patrick Campbell, legislative director of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, spoke about the need for the bill. He pretty much echoed the thoughts of these local students, too.

What do you think?

It's open until 11:59 on April 30.

Apparently, about 80 percent of the respondents are in favor of carrying on campus, says Ken Stanton, an organizer. He's encouraging those against concealed carry to respond.

Do that here.

That's the question two Virginia Tech men ducked last night at the "Candid Confab: My sister, your bitch" talk show in Haymarket Theater.

The show, sponsored by the People's Coalition and hosted by Tech student Jamel Toms, was designed to start a conversation about racism and sexism and featured a five-person panel.

Here's one take on it. What's yours?

So, out with it. When is the last time you referred to someone as a bitch? Why?

The press release:

RU Names New Dean for College of Humanities and Behavorial Sciences

Radford University has hired an author and scholar to be the new Dean of the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences effective July 1, 2008.

Brian Conniff comes to RU from the University of Dayton, where he has been Professor of English and, for the past eight years, Chair of the Department of English. He has served as President of the Academic Senate, as Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee for the College of Arts and Sciences, and on the Provost's Council. He has also worked extensively in the community as co-founder of the Dayton Literacy Project and a founding member of the steering committee for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

"Radford clearly has the administrative vision and the faculty commitment to become a national model of a comprehensive university focused on student achievement," Conniff said. "The College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences has a strong faculty committed to both teaching and scholarship. The structure of the college and the interests of the faculty will provide many opportunities for innovative collaboration across disciplines."

Conniff earned his B.A. in psychology from Rutgers University, his M.A. in English from the University of Scranton, and his Ph.D. in English from the University of Notre Dame.

Conniff is the author of a book on modern poetry and is currently completing a book on race, morality, and the law in contemporary American prison writing. He has published research on American, British, Irish, and Latin American literature, as well as literacy, service-learning, and higher education. His articles have appeared in a wide range of leading journals, including American Literature, Modern Fiction Studies, Religion and Literature, and The Journal of Reading.

Arabic and Chinese have become hot languages at schools across the nation. Even the folks in Nebraska are getting in on the action, although Spanish and French are still the favorites, people in the know say.

The Voice of America says interest sparked after the Sept. 11 attacks. I've written about the surge of languages in the past, even in high schools, and I'm always amazed at people who point to the attacks a reason to take a language.

Either way, the class could mean a lot. Who knows? Maybe even high school students could take it online.

Tell me, what other courses should schools around these parts be offering?

Here's some local coverage of it all.

The town wants to hear from you -- Virginia Tech students, staff and faculty. The Town Gown Community Relations Committee plans to discuss the happenings in town on Wednesday.

The round table starts at 8 p.m. in the Graduate Life Center. Town administrators, including comprehensive planners, will be on hand.

You can check out more here.

Free Beta Fish on the Drillfield

Come out and get lots of awesome stuff

Host:
VTU Concerts

-Reel Big Fish concert tickets
-Gold Fish
-Swedish Fish
-And more awesome stuff
Clearly somebody else didn't. People who like fish, for example. Read on ...

The message read: “There is a student armed with a weapon at Student Health Services on Belknap Campus. Please avoid the area. THIS IS NOT A TEST”
Read the rest of the story here to see how a campus alert system worked and what the university learned.

From drab textbooks to less-than-supportive professors and monotonous assignments, this guy takes it all on.

That article got the real geeks at Slashdot up in arms, too. One irate poster even listed the top five reasons to hire engineering grads.

Engineering kids, check out the squabble and let us know what you think.

New Jersey, the state, not a school, wants to know if the site violates consumer fraud laws.

This site has a bunch of people across the country up in arms because it's anonymous and even the creators won't do any talking. At least one school has worked to block the site, while one poster's threats ended up biting him.

Most of the posts have no replies, unless they relate the shootings from last April. Interestingly enough, people do seem to think it's OK to joke about the shootings on the gossip site.

So, I'm curious just how much students around here take this place seriously. Let me know your thoughts about the online gossip and if it's hurt you or people you know.